Person and that distinct both from the Father and from Our Lord Jesus Christ. Q. Wherein do the Holy Scriptures speak of this Blessed Spirit as of a Person A. * They give him the Proper Names of a Person God Acts v. 3 4. Lord 2 Cor. iii. 17 The Spirit 1 Sam. xvi 14 Jo. xvi 13 The Comforter Jo. xiv 26 xvi 7 c. * They ascribe to Him the Properties of a Person Vnderstanding 1 Cor. ii 11 Will 1 Cor. xii 11 * They Represent Him as doing Personal Acts He is Sent He Cometh Goeth Heareth Teacheth Jo. xiv 26 xv 26 27. Jo. xvi 7 13 c. Is Tempted Resisted Grieved Eph. iv 30 Speaketh Commandeth Intercedeth Acts x. 19 xiii 2 Rom. viii 26 * They join him with those who are confessedly Persons viz. God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. In the Form of Baptism Mat. xxviii 19 In St. Paul's Wish for the Corinthians 2 Cor. xiii 14 In St. John's Catalogue of Witnesses 1 Jo. v. 7 They Oppose him to such Spirits as We All allow to be Persons 1 Sam. xvi 14 * They represent him under Personal Apparitions Mat. iii. 16 Acts ii 3 and by all this undoubtedly assure Us that He is a Person Q. By what Arguments from the Holy Scriptures do you prove that He is a Divine Person A. By the same by which I before shew'd the Son so to be They ascribe to him the Names of God Acts v. 3 4. 2 Cor. iii. 17 The Attributes of God Heb. ix 14 Psal. cxxxix 7 Job xxvi 13 The Honour of God They tell us That He is the Spirit of God 1 Cor. ii 11.17 That a Sin may be immediately committed against Him Mat. xii 31 That his dwelling in Us makes our Bodies the Temples of God 1 Cor. iii. 16 That Christ by being Conceived by him became the Son of God Luke i. 35 They teach us to Baptize in his Name together with those of the Father and Son Mat. xxviii 19 And shew Us even St. Paul himself paying a Religious Invocation to him 1 Thes. iii. 12 13. 2 Thes. iii. 3 c. Q. How do you prove him not only to be a Divine Person but a Person distinct both from the Father and the Son A. He proceedeth from the Father and therefore is not the Father Jo. xv 26 He is sent by the Son and therefore is not the Son Jo. xvi 7 15. He is sent sometimes by the Father in the Name of the Son and sometimes by the Son from the Father and therefore is neither the Father nor the Son Jo. xiv 26 xv 26 Q. But did not you before say that there is but One God And how now do you say that the Father is God the Son is God and the Holy Ghost is God A. That there is but One God the Holy Scriptures plainly declare and even Reason it self confirms it to Us. And yet the Same Scriptures as plainly declare Every One of these Three to be God And the only way we know of Reconciling these Two seemingly contrary Assertions is to say that these Three partake of One and the same Divine Nature communicated from the Father to the Son and from Both to the Holy Ghost And that therefore They together make but One God Q. How can it be possible that Three distinct Persons should so partake of the One Divine Nature or Essence as All together to make but One God A. That is not my Concern to determine This I am sure that if the Scriptures be as We all allow that they are the Word of God what they plainly deliver must be true because it is in effect delivered by God himself who can neither be Himself deceived nor will deceive Me. Now that they deliver both these Propositions to me That the Father is God the Son is God and the Holy Ghost is God And yet that there are not Three Gods but One God I am as sure as I can be of any thing that is spoken or written for my Understanding That therefore both these Assertions are True and Credible I am sure But how or after what manner I am to understand them so as to remove all shew of Contradiction in them this the Holy Scriptures have not Revealed nor do I therefore presume to pronounce any thing more particularly concerning it Q. Why then do you say that they are Three Persons and but One in the Divine Essence A. Because I know not how better to express the Vnity and Distinction of them and they are Terms which the Church has long Received and I see no Reason to depart from them unless I knew of some better and more apt Expressions to Use in their Stead Q. Is there any thing farther needful to be known concerning the Holy Ghost A. Yes there is and that is with Relation to his Office That it is he who Sanctifieth Me and All the Elect People of God Q. How is it that the Holy Ghost does this A. He Regenerates Us at our Baptism Jo. iii. 5 Tit. iii. 5 Gal. v. 15 He Vnites Us unto Christ 1 Cor. xii 12 13. 1 Jo. iii. 24 Co-operates with Us in all our Religious Vndertakings 2 Cor. ix 5 He Illuminates our Vnderstandings Psal. cxix 18 Acts xvi 14 Disposes our Wills Phil. ii 12 Settles us in the Faith of Christ Eph. ii 8 Phil. i. 29 Heb. iv 2 Enables us to fulfil our Duty Rom. viii 14 Gal. v. 16 Helps our Prayers Rom. viii 26 34. 1 Jo. v. 14 Fortifies us against Temptations 1 Cor. x. 13 And Carries us through all the Dangers that either our Own Weakness or the Cunning and Malice of the Devil may raise against Us to draw us away from or hinder Us in Our Duty Phil. i. 6 1 Cor. i.8 2 Cor. i. 22 Eph. iv 30 Q. Will the Holy Ghost alone do all this for Us A. No but we must Use our Own Endeavour if ever we mean to be assisted by him It is by the Grace of the Holy Spirit alone that we are Able to do those things which God and our Duty Require of Us. But that Grace is not to exclude but to assist and perfect our Own Endeavours and to enable us thereby to do that which without it we should never have been able to have done Phil. ii 12 Work out your own Salvation with Fear and Trembling For it is God which Worketh in you both to Will and to Do of his Good Pleasure Q. By what means may we obtain this Help of the Holy Spirit A. By fervent Prayer to God for his Grace Luke xi 9 and by a diligent Care to use that Portion of it whatever it be which God hath given Us to his Honour and Service Mat. xiii 12 xxv 29 And upon our doing of which not only that Grace which we have already shall be sure to be continued to Us but greater Degrees shall be added to it 2 Pet. iii. 18 Q. Are these the only Ends
The Image of the invisible God Col. i. 15 2 Cor. iv 4 to be from God Jo vii 29 to have Life from the Father Jo. v. 26 and the like And upon this Account it is that our Saviour himself says that the Father is greater than he Jo. xiv 28 That he can do Nothing of Himself but what he seeth the Father do Jo. v. 18 19. Or if this be not yet plain enough they tell us farther in express terms that he is the Begotten and the Only begotten Son of the Father Jo. i. 14 18. iii. 16 18. Heb xi 17 1 Jo. iv 9 v. 1 Q. But will not this make the Holy Ghost as much God's Son as Christ And how then is Christ his Only Son A. In Matters of this kind which are so far above our Capacities and of which we know Nothing but what God has been pleased to Reveal to Us we must speak as God in his Word has taught us to speak Now the Scriptures no where call the Holy Ghost the Son of God nor God the Father of the Holy Ghost And therefore though we know not what the precise Difference is yet because the proper Act of a Father is to beget we say that Christ Received his Divine Nature from God by Generation but of the Holy Ghost we say as the Scriptures do that He Proceedeth from the Father Jo. xv 26 and is the Spirit not of the Father only but of the Son also Gal. iv 6 Rom. viii 9 Phil. i 19. 1 Pet. i. 11 Q. What is the last Respect in which our Saviour is here Represented to Us A. His Relation to Vs OVR LORD Eph. iv 5 1 Cor. viii 5 Rev. x. 6 Q. How is Christ OVR Lord A. As he is God together with the Father and as by Him God Created the World so has he the same Original Right of Dominion with him and is Lord of All his Creatures Q. Is there not some Other ground for this Title and which Restrains it in a particular Manner to Mankind A. Yes there is Inasmuch as by his Coming into the World and Dying for Us he Redeemed Us from Death and so became Our Lord by virtue of that Purchase which thereby he made of Us. Q. When did Christ begin in this Respect to be Our Lord A. He entred in part upon this Authority before his Death though not without Respect to his dying for Us As is Evident from his publishing his Gospel abrogating the Law and setting out the Conditions of Life and Death to Mankind Hence before his Death he asserted to himself the Power to forgive Sins Mat. ix 2 6. But the full exercise of his Dominion he entred not upon till after his Resurrection when as himself declared to his Apostles Mat. xxviii 18 All Power in Heaven and Earth was given unto Him See Eph. i. 20 21. Q. How long will Christ continue in this Respect to be Our Lord A. Christ will continue to be Our Lord for Ever and of his Kingdom there shall be no End Luk. i 32 33. But then as the subject Matter of a great part of that Authority which he now exercises over his Church is proper only to the present State of it and will determine at the Day of Judgment so will all the farther exercise of such Authority cease together with it Christ as Mediator must Reign till he has put all his Enemies under his Feet till Sin Death the Devil and all Wicked Men shall be destroy'd and all his Faithful Servants be delivered from the Power of them Psal. cx 1 1 Cor. xv 25 But that being done Christ will deliver up this Authority to God even the Father 1 Cor. xv 24 Nevertheless still as God-Man he will continue to Reign with and over his Saints to all Eternity in Heaven And so make good what Daniel foretold concerning him Dan. vii 14 That his Dominion is an Everlasting Dominion which shall not pass away and his Kingdom that which shall not be destroyed SECT X. Q. WHAT does your Creed teach you farther to Believe concerning our Lord Jesus Christ in the following Articles which Relate to Him A. All such Matters as are necessary to be Known and Believed by Us with Relation to the great Work of our Redemption which was accomplish'd by Him Q. By what means did Christ accomplish the Redemption of Mankind A. By giving up Himself to the Death upon the Cross for Us. 1 Pet. i. 18 19. Q. How could Christ whom you believe to be God die A. He took upon him our Nature He became Man like unto one of Us and being found in fashion as a Man he yielded up himself to Death even the Death of the Cross for Us Phil. ii 7 8. Act. xx 28 Q. After what manner was Christ made Man A. Not by the Conversion of his Divine Nature into the Humane nor by any Confounding of the Two Natures together But by Vniting our Humane Nature to His Divine after a Singular manner and such as cannot be perfectly Express'd by Us. Q. Were then Two distinct Natures the Divine and Humane Vnited together in Christ A. Yes there were And that in such wise as to make the same Jesus Christ by the distinction of the Two Natures in the Vnity of the same Person become truly and really at Once both God and Man Q. How was Christ made Man A. He was Conceived by the Holy Ghost and Born of the Uirgin Mary Q. How could Christ be conceived by the Holy Ghost A. Not by the communication of any part of his Own Substance to Him but as that Blessed Spirit set Nature on Work and took away the need of any Human Concurrence to his Production And as having thus prepared a Body for him of the Substance of the Virgin he breathed into it a most Perfect Reasonable Soul Q. Wherefore was it needful for the Holy Ghost to do this A. Both for the Honour and Purity of our Blessed Saviour That so he might come into the World free from all tincture of Sin And also that by the extraordinariness of His Birth He might fulfil the Prophecies which God had before deliver'd concerning it Q. How was Christ born of the Virgin Mary A. The Substance of his Body was derived from that of the Blessed Virgin He grew in her Womb and at the full time of her Delivery she brought him into the World And upon all these Accounts she was as much his Mother as any Other Woman is Mother of the Child that is born by Her Q. Had our Saviour then a Real Body like unto One of Us A. He had both a Real Humane Body Luke xxiv 39 1 Jo. iv 2 3 and Rational Soul Mat. xxvi 28 Luk. xxiii 46 And was in all things like unto Us only without Sin Heb. ii 17 iv 15 Q. Wherefore do you give the Title of Virgin to the Mother of our Lord A. To testify our belief that
by Us in order to our better Performance of those Duties we have before mentioned Such are Some extraordinary Acts of Prayer and Devotion A Retirement from the Business and Conversation of the World but especially from the Follies and Vanities of it And these accompanied with some Acts of Prayer and Mortification whilst we are making the Examination of our Selves before proposed But these must be govern'd by the Rules of Prudence as every Man's Business Opportunities Needs State of Health and the like Circumstances either Require or will allow of Q. Is such a Preparatory Examination of our Selves so necessary before we Come to the Holy Table that we may in no Case presume to Come without it A. No it is not Those who live in a Strict and Regular Course of Life and have nothing extraordinary happen'd to Them as they always know what their State towards God is so are they always Ready to Receive this Holy Sacrament and need not be afraid to partake of it because they had not the Opportunity of making a particular previous Preparation of themselves for it Yet if even these should design to go at a certain Time before known to the Communion they not only piously may but in duty Ought to do somewhat of this kind in order to their going with the better Dispositions to it Q. What if by this means a Good Christian should not be able fully to satisfy himself concerning his Worthiness to Go to the Holy Table A. In that Case he ought to Consider what it is that puts him in doubt of it and having so done let him take the Advice of some Person whom he can Rely upon but especially of his Minister about it That so being free'd from his Scruples he may Go with a Quiet Mind and a full Perswasion of Conscience to this Spiritual Feast and certainly Receive the Benefits of it Q. What if it shall appear that He is not in a State of Going worthily to this Sacrament A. He must for the present Refrain from it and make all the haste He can to Remove the Impediment and Reconcile himself to God that so He may be in a Condition both to Come worthily to it and to be made Partaker of those Graces which are thereby Communicated to every Faithful Receiver of it SECT LII Q. IS there Any Thing yet farther Required of Those who Come to the Lord's Supper A. Yes there is namely that they be first CONFIRM'D by the Bishop It being ordain'd by the Church That none shall be admitted to the Holy Communion until such time as He be Confirm'd or Ready and Desirous to be Confirmed Q. What do you mean by Confirmation A. I mean the Solemn laying on of the Hands of the Bishop upon such as have been Baptized and are come to Years of Discretion Q. How is this performed among Us A. It is directed to be done after a very Wise and Solemn Manner For First The Bishop having given Notice to the Minister of his Intention to Confirm and Appointed a Time for the doing of it the Minister is to call together such of his Parish as are Come to Years of Discretion and have not yet been Confirmed and to Examine them in their Church-Catechism and to prepare as many as he can for the Bishop to Confirm Secondly Having done this he is either to bring or send in Writing with his Hand Subscribed thereunto the Names of all such Persons within his Parish as he shall think fit to be presented to the Bishop to be Confirm'd These being Approved of by the Bishop are brought openly into the Church and Required by the Bishop in the Presence of God and the Congregation there Assembled to Renew the Solemn Vow and Promise which was made in their Names at their Baptism and in their Own Persons to Ratify and Confirm the same acknowledging themselves bound to believe and do all those Things which their Godfathers and Godmothers then undertook for them Which having done the Bishop heartily prays to God for his Grace to enable them to fulfil this their Vow and laying his Hand severally on Every One's Head Beseeches God to defend this His Servant with his heavenly Grace that He may Continue His for Ever and daily Increase in his Holy Spirit more and more until He comes to his Everlasting Kingdom To all which are finally added the Joint Prayers both of the Bishop and the Church to the same Effect and so the Ceremony is ended Q. What are the Reasons that chiefly moved the Church of England to Retain such a Ceremony as this A. There may several be assigned but especially these Four * Apostolical Practice * The Reasonableness of the Thing its self * The Benefit of it to the Person who is Confirmed and * The Satisfaction that arises from hence to the Church of Christ. Q. Did the Apostles Practise such an Imposition of Hands A. The Apostles did lay their Hands on those who had been Baptized and by their Imposition of Hands such Persons did Receive the Holy Ghost Acts viii 17 xix 6 Q. Does the Bishop give the Holy Ghost now as the Apostles did by their Imposition of Hands A. That we do not say nor did the Apostles themselves do it They Laid on their Hands and God Gave his Holy Spirit to those on whom they Laid them And we piously presume that by the fervent Prayers of the Bishop and the Church those on whom He now Lays his Hands shall also Receive the Holy Ghost if they do but worthily prepare Themselves for it Q. Is there any Promise of God on which to build such a Hope A. A General One there is and such as may in this Case above any be depended upon by Us. For First We are directed to Pray not only for Our Selves but for One Another also To encourage us hereunto Christ has promised Us to Grant whatsoever is piously ask'd by the joint Suffrages of his Church of Him Mat. xviii 19 And particularly has declared That God will Give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him Luk. xi 9 Add to this That it has always been accounted a part of the Ministerial Office not only to Instruct but to Pray for and Bless their People When therefore the Chief Pastor of the Church and his Congregation solemnly join together to beg of God the Grace of his Holy Spirit in behalf of such Persons as these who have just now been dedicating themselves a-new to his Service and Ratifying the Covenant made between God and them at their Baptism how can we chuse but believe that God will certainly Grant their Request and Give His Holy Spirit to those for whom He is thus earnestly and solemnly Ask'd of Him Q. From whence does it appear that such an Imposition of Hands was Reasonable to have been Ordain'd and to be Continued in the Church A. From the Condition of those who are commonly Baptized among Us and who being for the most
and to their being saved hereafter Q. What are those things which may be accounted thus necessary to be known by All Christians A. They may in general be reduced to these two Heads viz. The Knowledge of the Gospel-Covenant that is to say Of the Promises made by God to Mankind through our Lord Jesus Christ and of the Conditions upon which We may become Partakers of them And 2dly Of the means which God has appointed whereby to convey his Grace to Us and thereby both to assist and confirm Us in the discharge of our Duty to Him Q. What are the Promises which God has made to Mankind through Jesus Christ A. Pardon of Sins Grace to fulfil our Duty in this Life And upon our sincere Performance thereof Everlasting Salvation in the Life which is to come Q. What are the Conditions required of Us by God in order to our being made Partakers of these Promises A. A hearty Repentance of our Sins past A sincere Endeavour to live according to God's Commands for the time to come And both these made perfect by a lively Faith in God's Mercies towards Us through Jesus Christ Jo. iii. 16 Q. What are the Means ordained of God whereby to convey his Grace to Us A. They are chiefly two Constant Prayer to God for it And a worthy Use of the Holy Sacraments Luk. xi 13 Mark xvi 16 Acts ii 38 1 Cor. x. 16 xi 23 c. Q. Are there not besides these some other means ordain'd by God and necessary to be made use of by Us in order to our Salvation A. Yes there are particularly the Hearing Reading and Meditating upon his Word The Substance of which tho' it be sufficiently gather'd together and represented to Us in our Catechism yet ought not that to hinder our Reading of the Holy Scriptures nor to deprive Us of any other Means of Christian Instruction but rather should be used as a Help whereby to render both the Reading and Hearing of God's Word more plain and profitable to Us. Psal. i. 2 2 Tim. iii. 16 Jo. v. 39 Rom. xv 4 Q. Does your Church-Catechism sufficiently instruct you in All These A. It does For therein both the Nature of the Christian Covenant is declared to Us and the Conditions are set forth on which we may become Partakers of it And we are particularly Instructed both how we ought to Pray to God and what those Sacraments are which are necessary to be Administred unto and Received by All of Us. SECT II. Q. WHat is your Name A. N. or M. Q. Who gave you this Name A. My Godfathers and Godmothers c. Q. What is that Name which is here demanded of you A. It is my Christian Name therefore so called because it was given to Me by my Godfathers and Godmothers at my Baptism For as from my Natural Parents I derive the Name of my Family so from those who were my Spiritual Parents I take that Name which properly belongs to me as a Member of Christ's Church Gen. xvii 5 15. Gen. xxi 3 4. Luk. i. 59 60. Luk. ii 21 Q. Whom do you mean by your Godfathers and Godmothers A. I mean those Persons who became Sureties for me at my Baptism And upon whose Promise there made in my Name I was Baptized and so foederally admitted into the Communion of Christ's Church Q. What are the Benefits which by your Baptism have accrued to you A. They are Many and Great Ones but may in general be reduced to these Three that thereby I was made a Member of Christ the Child of God and an Inheritor of the Kingdom of Heaven Q. How were you hereby made a Member of Christ A. As I was made a a Member of his Mystical Body the Church of which Christ is the b Head a 1 Cor. xii 27 Ye are the Body of Christ and Members in particular b Ephes. iv 15 v. 23 Christ is the Head of the Church Q. How were you hereby made the Child of God A. As by this means I was taken into Covenant with Him was adopted into his Family dedicated to his Service and intituled to his Promises Gal. iii. 26 27 Ye are All the Children of God by Faith in Jesus Christ. For as many of you as have been Baptized into Christ have put on Christ. And if ye be Christs then are ye Abrahams Seed and Heirs according to the Promise See Gal. iv 5 7. Eph. i. 5 Q. How were you hereby made an Inheritor of the Kingdom of Heaven A. As by my Baptism I became intituled to a Right to it and was actually put into such a State that if I be not wanting to my self I shall not fail of being made Partaker of it Tit. iii. 4 c. But after that the Kindness and Love of God our Saviour toward Man appeared Not by Works of Righteousness which we have done but according to his Mercy he saved us by the washing of Regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost That being justified by his Grace we should be made Heirs according to the hope of Eternal Life 1 Pet. i. 3 c. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who according to his abundant Mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the Dead to an Inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that fadeth not away reserved in Heaven for Vs. Q. Are All who are Baptized made Partakers thereby of these Benefits A. They are all at that time either made Partakers of them or intituled to them But those only continue to hold their Right to these Privileges who take care to fulfill their part of the Covenant which was therein made between God and Them Q. Have none but such as are Baptized a Right to these Benefits A. None have a Right to them but such as are Baptized or were ready to have been Baptized had they had the Opportunity of Receiving that Holy Sacrament Jo. iii. 5 Except a Man be born of Water and of the Spirit he cannot enter into the Kingdom of Heaven Mark xvi 16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved SECT III. Q. WHat did your Godfathers and Godmothers then for you A. They did promise and Uow three things in my Name c. Q. What is the first Thing which your Godfathers and Godmothers promised in your Name A. That I should Renounce the Devil and all his Works the Pomps and Uanity of this Wicked World and all the sinful Lusts of the Flesh. Q. What does the Renouncing of all these import A. It imports an utter forsaking of Them And obliges me not only inwardly to detest Them but so to watch and govern all my Outward Actions as not to follow nor be led by Them Q. Do you think that you shall be able thus to renounce the Devil the World and your Own Flesh A. So perfectly as I could wish I cannot hope to do it in this present Life
Yet I trust that by the Grace of God I shall always from my heart detest and abhor them And so order my Life and Actions as not to be drawn into any evil Courses by them nor even into the actual Commission of any very great and voluntary Sins Q. What mean you by the Devil A. It is the common name given in Scripture to those wicked Spirits who having rebelled against God and being thereupon justly cast off from that Glorious State in which they were created by him do make it their constant Business and Endeavour to draw as many of us as they can into the same Rebellion and thereby into the same State of Misery with themselves 1 Pet. v. 8 Be sober be vigilant because your Adversary the Devil as a roaring Lion walketh about seeking whom he may devour Q. What are the Works of the Devil which together with him you at your Baptism promised to Renounce A. All manner of Sin But chiefly I comprehend under this first Rank those Sins which either more immediately relate to him or proceed from his Suggestions such as Pride Malice Envy Revenge Murder Lying and above all Witch-craft and Idolatry Q. What is the next Enemy which at your Baptism you promised to Renounce A. This Wicked World with all the Pomps and Uanitiy of it Q. How is it that you call the World the Work of God's Hands a Wicked World A. Not that it is in its self so but only to shew how far and in what respect I am to Renounce it namely in all such cases in which it would draw me into any Wickedness for the sake of any thing which I desire or enjoy in it Gal. 1.4 Christ gave himself for our Sins that he might deliver us from this present Evil World 1 John ii 15 Love not the World neither the things that are in the World If any Man Love the World the Love of the Father is not in him Q. What do you mean by the Pomps and Vanity of this Wicked World A. They do most properly denote the vain shew and magnificence of such as are Great and Rich in it But do withal comprehend the Riches themselves which minister to these Vanities together with the Covetousness Injustice Oppression and whatsoever other Sins of the like kind Men commit for the support of their Vanity and to obtain such things as minister only to the Pomp and Pride of Life Q. What is the Third Enemy which your Religion engages you to Renounce A. The Sinful Lusts of the Flesh. Q. What mean you by the Word Flesh A. I mean that Natural Corruption which dwells in our Flesh and through which we are continually apt either to be led into Sin or to be hindered in our Duty Rom. vii 18.23 For I know that in me that is in my Flesh dwelleth no good thing Rom. viii 13 Therefore we are Debtors not to the Flesh to live after the Flesh for if ye live after the Flesh ye shall die but if ye through the Spirit do mortifie the deeds of the Body ye shall live See Gal. v. 16 17. Q. What do you understand by the Sinful Lusts of the Flesh A. Those inordinate Desires and Inclinations which proceed from this Principle and dispose us to those Sins which are in a peculiar manner called in Scripture The Works of the Flesh See Gal. v. 19 Rom. viii 13 Coloss. iii. 5 1 Joh. ii 16 Q. What was the Second thing which your Godfathers and Godmothers promised for you at your Baptism A. That I should believe all the Articles of the Christian Faith Q. Where are those Articles to be met with A. They are only to be found in and believed upon the Authority of God's Word Yet have been collected into that short Summary of our Faith which is commonly called The Apostles Creed Q. What was the Third thing which your Godfathers and Godmothers promised in your Name at your Baptism A. That I should keep God's Holy Will and Commandments and walk in the same all the days of my Life Q. Has there been any such Summary Collection made of God's Commandments as you say there has been of the Principal Articles of your Christian Faith A. Yes there hath and that by God himself in those Ten Commandments which God deliver'd to the Jews heretofore Exod. xx and which continue no less to oblige us now Mat. v. 17 c. Q. Dost thou not think that thou art bound c. A. Yes verily and by God's help so I will c. Q. Upon what grounds do you think your self obliged to make good what your Godfathers and Godmothers promised for you at your Baptism A. Upon many accounts but chiefly because what was then transacted was not only done in my Name but for my Benefit and Advantage And I must resolve to fulfil what they promised for me or I shall not receive the Blessings which in consideration thereof God was pleased to make over to me Besides that they promised nothing on my behalf but what it would otherwise have been my Duty as well as Interest to have fulfill'd Q. By what means do you hope you shall be Able to fulfil what they promised for you A. By the Grace of God which I am assured shall not be wanting to me if I do but heartily pray to God for it and take care to use it as I ought to do Luke xi 13 If ye being Evil know how to give Good Gifts unto your Children how much more shall your Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him Q. How are you assured of God's Grace to enable you to Believe and to Do what he requires of you A. Inasmuch as by my Baptism I was put into a State of Salvation which I could not have been were I not thereby secure of whatsoever is needful on God's part to be bestow'd upon me in order to my attaining of Salvation through Jesus Christ our Saviour Rom. i. 16 The Gospel of Christ is the Power of God unto Salvation to every one that Believeth Phil. ii 13 14. Work out your own Salvation with Fear and Trembling For it is God which worketh in you both to Will and to Do of his Good Pleasure Q. How came you to be called unto such a Blessed State as this A. Only by the Mercy of God and thro' the Merits of Jesus Christ our Saviour and therefore I do most heartily thank our Heavenly Father that He has called me to this State of Salvation through Jesus Christ our Saviour Q. Do you think that you shall be able still to go on and persevere in this State A. It is my earnest desire and purpose so to do and I trust that by the Grace of God I shall do so For which Cause I will never cease to pray unto him for the continuance of his Grace that so I may be found Faithful and Sincere in my Duty to my
Lives End 2 Thess. iii. 3 The Lord is faithful who shall stablish you and keep you from Evil. Eph. iv 30 Grieve not the Holy Spirit of God whereby you are sealed unto the day of Redemption Phil. 1.6 Being confident of this very thing That he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it untill the day of Jesus Christ. SECT IV. Q. BUt what if notwithstanding all your present Desires and Resolutions you should chance to fall away from your Duty and thereby put your self out of this state of Salvation â—s there no way left for you to recover your self and to return again to it A. Yes there is by a true Repentance for the Sins which I shall have Committed and an humble Confession of them to God with earnest Prayer for his Forgiveness through the Merits and Intercession of Jesus Christ our Blessed Saviour and Redeemer Q. What mean you by Repentance A. I mean such a Conversion of a Sinner to God whereby he is not only heartily Sorry for the Evil he has done and Resolved to forsake it but do's actually begin to renounce it and to fulfil his Duty according to his Ability with a steadfast purpose to continue God's faithful Servant unto his Life's End Q. What are the chief Acts required to such a Repentance A. To forsake Evil and to do Good To turn from those Sins which we repent of and to serve God by an Universal Obedience of him in whatsoever he has required of us Q. What is the first step towards a true Repentance A. To be thoroughly Convinced of the evil of our Ways and heartily Sorry for it Q. Is any kind of Sorrow to be look'd upon as a part of true Repentance A. No there is a Sorrow for Sin which proceeds not from any Love of God or Sense of our Duty to Him nor yet from any real Hatred of the Sins which we have committed but meerly from the fear of God's Judgment and of the Punishment which we may be likely to suffer for them This is that Sorrow which is commonly called Attrition and may be in the most Wicked Men without ever bringing them to any true Repentance for their Sins Q. What then is that Sorrow which leads to a true Repentance A. It is that Godly Sorrow which proceeds from a Sense of our Duty and of the Obligations we lie under to the performance of it When we are Sorry for our Sins upon the account of our having thereby offended God broken the Covenant of the Gospel and grieved the Holy Spirit which was given to us and are therefore resolved immediately to forsake our Sins and never to return any more to them Q. How is such a Sorrow to be wrought in a Sinner A. Only by the Grace of God and the serious Consideration of our Own Estate towards him the former to be attain'd by our constant Prayers for it the latter by accustoming our selves often to Examine our Souls and to try our Ways by the measures of that Obedience which the Gospel of Christ requires of us Q. Do's not God make use of many other ways to bring Men to such a Sorrow A. God has many ways whereby to bring Sinners to Repentance Sometimes he do's it by bringing some temporal Evils and Calamities upon them Sometimes by visiting them with Terrors and Disquiets of Mind Sometimes he calls upon them by the Outward Ministry of his Word and Sometimes by the Evils which befal Others especially those who were their Companions in their Sins But whatever the Occasions be which God is pleased to make use of to bring us to Repentance it is the Grace of the Holy Spirit and the serious Consideration of our own wretched Estate that begins the Work and produces in us that Godly Sorrow which finally ends in a true Repentance Q. What are the chief Motives with respect to us to engage us thus to Sorrow for our Sins A. The Threats of God denounced in the Holy Scriptures against Impenitent Sinners and the Promises there made of Pardon to all such as shall truly Repent and return to their Duty as they ought to do Q. What is the next thing required in order to a true Repentance A. Confession of Sin Not that God has any need of being informed by us of what we have done amiss but to the end we may thereby both raise in our selves a greater shame and sorrow for our Evil Doings and give the greater Glory to God by such a solemn humbling of our selves in Confession before him Q. Is such a Confession necessary to our Forgiveness A. So necessary that we have no promise of any Pardon without it Prov. xxviii 13 He that covereth his Sins shall not prosper but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have Mercy 1 Joh. i. 8 9. If we say that we have no Sin we deceive our selves and the Truth is not in us If we confess our Sins he is Faithful and Just to forgive us our Sins and to cleanse us from all Vnrighteousness Q. To whom is our Confession to be made A. Always to God and in some certain Cases to Man also Q. What are those Cases in which we ought to confess our Sins to Man as well as unto God A. They are especially these Three 1. Iâ— case we have Offended or Injured our Neighbour and upon that account need to obtain hiâ— Pardon as well as God's 2. If by any opeâ— and notorious Transgression we shall happeâ— to have either deserved or it may be to havâ— fallen under the Censures of the Church anâ— so Confession to the Church be necessary to restore us to the Peace of it Or 3. If we shalâ— have any private reason that may move us to acquaint any Person with our Sins for Advice for Prayer for Absolution or for any the like Advantage which cannot be had without it Q. What think you of that Confession commonly called by them Auricular-Confession which the Church of Rome requires as necessary to Forgiveness A. I look upon it as a great and dangerous Imposition that has no warrant from God is a great Rack and Snare to the Consciences of Good Men and may be apt to encourage most Others in their Sins Whilst by the Absolution which is so readily given them thereupon and the Efficacy of which is so highly magnified in that Church they are taught to entertain a much less Opinion both of the Heinousness and Danger of their Evil-doings than either the Scripture Warrants or their own Interest should prompt them to admit of Q. Is there not somewhat yet required beyond this in order to our Forgiveness A. Yes there is for to all this there must be super-added an Actual forsaking of those Sins which we Confess and that Absolute and without Reserve so that we must firmly resolve and as much as in us lies heartily endeavour never to return again any more to them Q. But
ought there not beyond all this some Satisfaction to be made to God for the Sins which we have committed A. Yes certainly and such there has been made by our Saviour Christ for us who has fully satisfied the Justice of God in that kind and left nothing more for us to do in that behalf Q. What do you then say to those Satisfactions which the Church of Rome teaches we may and ought to make for our Sins A. That they are built upon a false Foundation are contrary to the Goodness of God and beyond the Capacity of Man Q. What is the Foundation upon which they are built A. It is this That when God forgives us our Sins whether upon our Own Repentance or by virtue of the Priest's Absolution He remits indeed the Fault and purges away our Guilt and by this acquits us from the Everlasting Punishment that would otherwise have been due to them But yet still retains us under an Obligation to some temporal Sufferings either by Satisfactory Works to be done for them in this Life or by undergoing a certain proportion of Pain for them after Death in a Place which they call Purgatory Q. How does it appear that this Foundation is false and erroneous A. Because in the first place it is Absurd to suppose that God should forgive the whole Guilt of our Sins and yet having done so should afterwards punish us for them And secondly It is injurious to the Sufferings and Merits of Christ whose Death was a sufficient Satisfaction for the Sins of the whole World and has left no room either for God to require or for us to Pay any thing more Q. Does Repentance then if it be sincere without any thing more restore us again to our State of Grace and reconcile us to God Almighty A. If it be sincere it does through Faith in Jesus Christ. Q. Does God allow Repentance to all Sins Jo. vi 29 Act. xiii 38 xvi 30 31. 2 Pet. i. 5 c. A. There is No Sin but what True Repentance washes away But there may be some Cases in which God may deny Us his Grace so that we shall not be able truly to Repent Q. What Cases are They A. They may All be reduced to this One General namely a Wilful Abuse and Resistance of the Divine Grace Whether it be by a long Habit of Sinning or by frequent Acting against the Dictates of our own Consciences and the Motions of God's Holy Spirit To say nothing of some Sins which are in an Eminent manner destructive of the Divine Grace such as Pride Covetousness Sensuality but especially that Sin which is particularly called in Scripture the Sin against the Holy Ghost Q. What is meant by that Sin A. I suppose it to have been the particular Sin of the Jews heretofore in not only obstinately refusing to receive our Blessed Lord for their Messiah after sufficient Proofs given by Him to convince Them that He was so but ascribing those Miracles which He wrought in proof of his Authority to the Help of the Devil when at the same time they either were abundantly convinced Or but for their Own Fault might have been that He did Them by the Power of God Mat. xii 31 Comp. Mark iii. 28 Luk. xii 10 Q. Do you look upon this Sin to have so wholly belonged to those Men as not to be capable of being Committed by Any Now A. That very Sin which in Scripture is so called cannot now be committed because Christ is not now upon Earth nor have we therefore any Occasion Given us thus to Blaspheme against the Holy Ghost Yet some Sins there are of a like Nature which may still be committed and which being Committed may prove no less dangerous to Those who are Guilty of Them than that Sin did prove to the Pharisees heretofore Q. What Sins are those which you suppose to come the nearest to it A. Apostacy from the Christian Religion after having been convinced of the Truth and made Partakers of the Promises of it Next to that an Apostacy from the Truth and Purity of the Gospel for the sake of some worldly Fears on the One hand or present Hopes on the Other to the Communion of a Church which not only obstinately resists the Truth but damns and persecutes all such as profess it And lastly Apostacy to Idolatry which seems to be the Sin unto Death spoken of by St. John 1 Jo. v. 16 and for the Remission of which He gives Us but little Encouragement to Pray V. 16 Q. What then do you think of Those who Go off from the Communion of the Church of England to That of the Church of Rome A. As of Apostates and Idolaters To whom God may by an Extraordinary Effect of his Mercy give Grace for Repentance and so for Salvation but of whom otherwise we have no Ground of Hope Q. Do you think such in a more dangerous Estate than those who were from the beginning bred up in the Roman Communion A. I do forasmuch as they have both rejected the Truth once known and received by them and cast off the Way in which the Providence of God had placed them and that it may be on some base grounds to be sure without any sufficient Reason to justifie their doing of it Q. What then do you think of those who have always been of the Communion of that Church A. I think them in general in much greater danger Now than they were before the Reformation And still those in more danger who have lived among those of the Reformed Church and so were in a better Capacity of being convinc'd of the Errors of their Way But most of all do I think the Estate of those dangerous or rather desperate who are Learned and know their Errors or are Priests and so called to instruct the People in the Purity of Christ's Religion The Sincere and Ignorant who want Capacity or want Opportunity to know the Truth I hope God will forgive The Careless the Prejudiced but most of all the obstinately blind among them I neither can acquit nor do I think that God will forgive Them SECT V. Q. WHat was the second thing which Your Godfathers and Godmothers promised in your Name A. That I should Believe all the Articles of the Christian Faith Q. Where are those Articles to be found A. In the Holy Scriptures and particularly those of the New Testament Q. What mean you by the Holy Scriptures A. I mean those Books which thro' the Assistance of the Holy Spirit were written by Moses and the Prophets under the Law and by the Apostles and Evangelists of Christ since the publishing of the Gospel to direct us in the Knowledge of God and of the Duty which He Requires of Us. Q. How do you know what Books were written by these Persons in order to these Ends A. By the Constant Universal and Undeniable Testimony both of the Jewish and Christian Church From the
former of which we have Received the Scriptures of the Old from the latter those of the New Testament Q. How do you know that these Books were written by the Assistance of the Holy Spirit A. By the Authors who wrote them who were doubtless no less inspired in what they Wrote than in what they Taught of the Gospel of Christ. 2. By the Design of God in the composing of Them which was to leave thereby a Constant Infallible Rule of Faith to the Church in all Ages of it 3. By the Opinion which all Christians from the time that they were publish'd have had of Them and the deference which upon that account they have paid to Them And lastly By the Subject-matter of Them and those internal Marks of Divine Wisdom and Piety which are so conspicuous in all the Parts of Them Q. Do you look upon these Scriptures as the Only present Rule of your Faith A. I do Nor is there any Other certain Foundation on which to build it Q. What think you of the Tradition of the Church A. Could I be sure that any thing not contain'd in the Scriptures came down by a certain uninterrupted Tradition from the Apostles I should not except against it Nay I do therefore receive the Holy Scriptures as the Rule of my Faith because they have such a Tradition to warrant me so to do But because there is no such Tradition for any thing besides therefore neither do I build my Faith upon it But on the contrary do suppose that by the Providence of God the Holy Scriptures were purposely written to prevent those Doubts those Forgeries and Deceits which his Infinite Wisdom foresaw an Oral Tradition would always have been liable unto Q. Can the Holy Scriptures alone make your Faith perfect A. They Can Nor ought I to believe any thing as an Article of my Faith which is not to be found in them or cannot plainly be proved by Them Q. What do you think of the Church's Definitions A. That I ought to submit to them in whatsoever they define agreeably to the Word of God But if in any thing they require me to believe what is contrary to the Word of God or cannot be Proved thereby I ought absolutely to reject the One and am under no Obligation to Receive the Other Q. But is not this to make your self wiser than the Church A. No by no means but only to make the Word of God of more Authority with me than the Word of Man Whilst I chuse rather to Regulate my Faith by what God has deliver'd than by what Man Defines Q. Are the Holy Scriptures so Plain and Easy to be Understood that every One may be Able to judge for Himself what he ought to Believe A. In Matters of necessary Belief they are very plain even to the most Ordinary Christian Yet we do not deny but that every Man ought to hear the Church and attend to the Instructions of those who are the Pastors of it Only we say that neither the Church nor its Pastors ought to teach any thing as an Article of Faith or Require any Man's assent to it as such that cannot be shewn to have been either expresly deliver'd in the Word of God or by a plain and necessary Consequence be Proved thereby Q. But how shall the Unlearned be able to know what the Scriptures propose seeing they are written in a Language which such Persons do not understand A. By Reading them in their Own Vulgar Tongue into which every Church has or ought to have them faithfully translated for the Benefit of Those who do not understand the Languages in which they were Composed Q. Do you then think that the People ought to be suffered promiscuously to Read the Holy Scriptures A. Who shall forbid Them to Read what was purposely designed by God for their Instruction The Scriptures are as much the Voice of the Apostles and Evangelists to Us of these Times as their Preaching was to those of the Age in which they lived And it may with as good Reason be Ask'd Whether we think the People ought to have been promiscuously Suffer'd heretofore to hear the Apostles Preach as whether they ought to be Suffer'd promiscuously to Read their Writings Now. Q. But amidst so many Things as the Holy Scriptures deliver how shall the People be able to judge what is necessary to be Believed by Them A. Let them Believe All they meet with there and then to be sure they will Believe all that is necessary But for the sake of those who either want Ability to Read or Capacity to judge what is most necessary in Point of Faith to be known and profess'd by Them the Church has from the beginning collected it into a short Summary which every Person of Old was Required both to Know and assent to before he was admitted into the Communion of it Q. What is that Summary of which you speak and which you account to comprehend all the most Necessary Articles of our Christian Faith A. It is commonly called The Apostles Creed not that the Apostles Themselves Composed it at least not in the very Form in which we now have it but because it seems to come the Nearest of any to the Apostles Times and does with the Greatest Simplicity of Expression comprehend a short Summary of the Apostles Doctrine Q. What mean you by the Word Creed A. It is the same in Latine as Belief in English And it is so called in both from the first words of it I BELIEVE and which in Sense though not in Expression Run through every Article of it SECT VI. Q. REhearse the Articles of your Belief A. I Believe in God the Father Almighty c. Q. You said that those Words I BELIEVE were not only the First Words of your Creed but the most Material as running in effect through Every Branch of it Tell me therefore what do you mean when you say I Believe A. To Believe in the General is to Assent to the Truth of any thing upon the Sole Authority of the Person who delivers it Who if He be a Man only the Assent which I give to what He says produces in Me a Humane Faith if as here He be God then the Assent which I give to what is deliver'd by Him is properly a Divine Faith Q. What is the difference with respect to Us between these Two A. It is very Great For because a Man though never so Wise and Careful himself may yet not be honest and so Impose upon Me Or should he be never so Upright may yet after all his Care be Mistaken himself and thereby lead Me into Errour therefore in Assenting to what such a One proposes I can at the most give but such a Belief to it as is suitable to a meer Humane Testimony I may Believe what he says to be True but yet so as not to exclude a Possibility of its being Otherwise Whereas God
more comprehended in this Article with relation to God the Father A. This only That as God at the Beginning thus Created All things so having Created them he has ever since continued to Support and Preserve them Heb. i. 3 And that so particularly that there is not the least thing in the World to which his Providence does not extend it self Mat. vi 26.30 x. 29 30. Q. How do you profess to Believe all this of God A. Because though some part of it might have been discover'd by Natural Reason and accordingly was found out by the Wiser Heathens yet the full and perfect Knowledge of all this is due to Revelation And by the Accounts we have of these things in the Holy Scriptures we both more clearly Understand Them and are more firmly perswaded of the Truth of Them SECT VIII Q. WHAT does the Second Part of your Creed contain A. It contains a short Summary of all Such things as are Necessary to be known and believed by Us concerning our Lord and Saviour JESVS CHRIST Q. How is He here described to Us A. By his Person his Office his Relation to God and to Vs. And in Iesus Christ his only Son our Lord. Q. How is his Person set out in this Article to Us A. By the Name Which he went by whilst He was upon Earth JESVS Q. How came our Saviour to be called by that Name A. He was so called by the express Command of God deliver'd by an Angel first to the Blessed Virgin Luk. i. 31 and then to Joseph Mat. i. 21 Q. Is there any particular Significancy in that Name that should move God in such an Extraordinary manner to give it to Him A. There is For it denotes a Saviour and was given by God to our Blessed Lord to shew that He was to be the Saviour of the World and that No other was to be so Mat. i. 21 Thou shalt call his Name Jesus for He shall Save his People from their Sins Acts iv 12 Neither is there Salvation in any Other for there is none other Name under Heaven given among Men whereby we must be Saved Q. How was this Jesus to Save the World A. By delivering Us both from the Power and from the Punishment of our Sins and by putting us in a way of attaining unto Everlasting Salvation Tit. ii 11 c. Rom. vi 4 5 c. Q. What is the Title given to our Blessed Lord with respect to his Office Q. He is called CHRIST which is the same in Greek that MESSIAS is in Hebrew or Syriac And is as much as to say the Anointed Joh. i. 41 We have found the Messias which is being interpreted the Christ. Joh. iv 25 I know that Messias cometh which is called Christ. Q. Why had our Saviour this Title given to Him A. To shew that as by the Ceremony of Anointing heretofore God consecrated Those whom he called to some certain Offices so was this Jesus to be separated though not by a Visible Vnction yet by the Invisible Power and Grace of the Holy Spirit for all those Offices to which Men were Anointed by God's Command under the Law Act. x. 38 God Anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with Power Q. What were those Offices to which Men were consecrated by the Ceremony of Anointing under the Law A. They were chiefly Three to the Office of a Prophet a Priest and a King Q. Was our Saviour to be consecrated to All These A. He was and that by express Prophecies before his Coming into the World See Psal. xlv cx Deut. xviii 15 18 c. Isa. ix 6 lxi 1 Q. How did God Anoint him to these Offices A. The Holy Ghost came upon him and God by a Voice from Heaven declared him to be his Son and commanded all the World to Hear him Mat. iii. 16 17. And he Received the Spirit without Measure for the Discharge of all of Them Joh. iii. 34 Q. You say that God before Prophesy'd of such a Christ Did the Jews know that He had done so A. Yes and at that very time that Christ came into the World they Generally expected the coming of Him Mat. xi 2 Joh. iv 25 vii 31 Luke iii. 15 Q. How then came it to pass that They did not more readily Receive Him A. Because they had flatter'd themselves with the Expectation of a temporal Prince who should deliver them from their Enemies and Restore again the Kingdom unto Israel And therefore they could not bear the disappointment of Receiving such a Messias as our Saviour professed himself to be Luke xxiv 21 Act. i. 6 Q. What Security have we that this was indeed the Messias of whom Moses and the Prophets Spake A. The Greatest that can be Imagin'd a He came at the exact Time that the Messias was to Come a Gen. xlix 10 Malach. iii. 1 Dan. ix 25 26. He descended of the Tribe out of which the Messiah was to proceed Gen. xlix 9 10. Isa. xi 1 10. comp Mat. i. Luk. iii. He was born at the Place where the Messias was to be born Mich. v. 2 Mat. ii 1 He was conceived of a Virgin as the Messias was to be conceived Isa. vii 14 Mat. i. 25 Luk. i. 27 34. Besides all which he had such extraordinary Witness born to him as is not to be Gain-said God raised up a Singular Fore-runner to prepare the Way for him Being come into the World He Own'd him by a Voice from Heaven to be his Son Mat. iii. 17 He himself wrought such Miracles as no One ever did Joh. vii 31 He empower'd his Disciples to work the Same Miracles in his Name and for the Confirmation of his Authority Mat. x. 7 8. Mark xvi 17 18. Being put to Death at the Instigation of the Jews He was by God raised again the Third Day from the Dead and in the presence of his Disciples visibly taken up into Heaven where he now sitteth at the Right-hand of God Acts i. 3 9. Q. You said that Jesus was called Christ because he was to be consecrated by the Holy Ghost to the several Offices to which Men were Anointed under the Law Tell me therefore How does it appear that this Christ was a Prophet A. It is manifest that He exercised all the Parts of the Prophetick Office He foretold things to Come Jo. ii 19 Mat. xvii 22 23. xxiv 2 c. He declared God's Will to the World And he commission'd his Disciples to Go and Publish the same Doctrine of Salvation to all Mankind Mat. xxviii 19 20. Mar. xvi 15 Q. How do you believe Christ to have been a Priest seeing He was not descended of a Priestly Tribe or Family Heb. vii 14 A. As the Scriptures teach me to believe I believe him to have been a Priest not according to the Legal Institution but of another and more ancient Kind after the Order of Melchisedeck Psal. cx
where he now Sitteth at the Right-hand of God the Father Almighty Q. After what Manner did Christ Ascend into Heaven A. He went up Visibly in the Presence of all his Disciples A Cloud came down under his Feet and he mounted by degrees in it They follow'd him a long time with their Eyes till at last having lost Sight of Him but yet still looking after him to the Place Where he passed Two Angels appear'd to them and thus confirm'd them in the Truth of what they had seen Ye Men of Galilee why stand ye gazing up into Heaven This same Jesus which is taken up from you into Heaven shall so Come in like manner as ye have seen Him Go into Heaven Acts i. 9 10 11. Q. Did Christ Ascend in the same Body in which He conversed with his Disciples after his Resurrection A. He did Ascend in the same Body and has assured Us thereby that We shall hereafter be Received up thither in our Bodies as well as Souls and so Reign in Both together with Him Q. Into what part of Heaven did Christ Ascend A. He ascended into the Highest Heaven where God does in a singular Manner shew his Majesty and Glory And therefore our Creed tells us that being ascended into Heaven he sat down at the Right-hand of God the Father Almighty Where also He shall continue till he shall come again from thence to judge both the Quick and the Dead Luk. xxii 69 1 Cor. iii. 1 2. Q. What do you mean by the Right-hand of God A. Not to Represent God under the Figure of a Man nor to intimate any particular Posture of Christ Above though having a Humane Body he might well enough be described in it But as by the One I understand a Place of Power Honour and Authority 1 King ii 19 Psal. xvi 11 xliv 3 Luk. xxii 69 Heb. i. 3 4. So by the Other I suppose is meant the settled Possession and Enjoyment of all these Prov. xx 8 Heb. x. 12 And the Sense of the whole I take to be this That Christ being Ascended up into Heaven was immediately thereupon enstated by God in the full Possession of his Regal Office and Dignity and shall continue to enjoy it till he shall have finish'd the whole Work of our Redemption By bestowing Glory and Salvation upon all his faithful Servants and by finally destroying in Hell-fire all the Enemies of his Power and Dignity Q. Does our Saviour do any thing at present for Us with God in Heaven A. Yes he perfects his Priestly Office there by Interceding Effectually with God for our Forgiveness As the High Priest under the Law when he went into the Holy Place before the Ark with the Bloud of the Sin-offering did thereby finish the Propitiation which he was to make for the Sins and Offences of the People of the Jews Rom. viii 34 1 Tim. ii 5 Heb. ix 11 12 24. 1 Jo. ii 1 SECT XIV Q. HOW long shall our Saviour Christ continue to Sit and Intercede for Us at God's Right-hand A. Till the End of the World Which being Come He shall Return from thence with Glory to Iudge both the Quick and the Dead Acts iii. 21 The Heavens must Receive him till the times of Restitution of all Things And then This same Jesus which was taken up into Heaven shall so Come in like manner as he was seen to Go into Heaven Acts i. 11 Q. What do you mean by that Phrase the Quick and the Dead A. By the Quick I understand those who shall be found Alive on the Earth at the Day of Judgment 1 Cor. xv 51 1 Thess. iv 15 By the Dead those who shall have before departed out of this Life And I make mention of Both to shew that ALL Men shall be judged And that Christ shall be the Judge of ALL. Acts x. 42 2 Cor. v. 10 2 Tim. iv 1 1 Pet. iv 5 Q. Do you then believe that there shall be a General Day of Judgment to the whole World A. I do believe there shall be such a Day and that most Solemn and Terrible Mat. x. 15 xi 22 24. xii 36 Jo. v. 22 25. Acts xvii 31 Rom. ii 5 c. 2 Pet. ii 9 iii. 7 Heb. vi 2 ix 27 1 Jo. iv 17 Jude 6. Wherein first the Angels shall Sound the Trumpet at the Voice of which all that are in the Graves shall Arise and Come forth and be Gather'd together into One certain Place Then our Saviour shall come down in the Clouds of Heaven with Power and Great Glory and the Books shall be Open'd and the Judgment sit and every Man be judged out of the things which are Written in those Books according to his Works See Mat. xxv 31 comp Mat. xxiv 30 Q. After what Manner shall this Judgment be transacted A. The particular Manner is unknown to Us Yet this we are told that we shall then be call'd to an Account for all that we shall have done in the whole Course of our Lives here on Earth Every evil Work every foolish and wicked Word every secret Thought shall be brought to light Nothing that we now covet the most to hide but shall be then disclosed And we shall be either Acquitted or Condemn'd according to what we shall have done whether it be Good or whether it be Evil. Eccles. xii 14 1 Cor. iv 5 2 Cor. v. 10 Mat. xii 36 Rom. ii 5 Rev. xx 12 Q. Shall there be any particular Method observed in the Proceedings of this Judgment A. Yes there shall For First The Just shall be Raised and Judged and Acquitted and Caught up into the Air at some convenient distance from the Earth where with the Holy Angels they shall fill up the Retinue of our Blessed Saviour Then the Wicked shall be Raised and brought to Judgment And being condemn'd not only by Christ and his Saints but by the Sentence of their Own Consciences they shall together with the Devils be driven away by the Angels thereunto appointed into their Place of Torments Which being done Our Saviour shall together with all his Saints Return triumphantly to Heaven and there Reign in Glory at the Head of them for Ever and Ever Mat. xxv 1 Thess. iv c. SECT XV. Q. WHat does the THIRD PART of your Creed contain A. It contains all that is needful to be Known and Profess'd by Us with Relation to the Holy Ghost Q. What do you account needful to be believed concerning Him A. Not only that there is a Holy Ghost but that he is the Third Person in the ever-blessed Trinity and partakes as such of the same Divine Nature with the Father and the Son Q. How does this appear A. By the plain Testimony of the Holy Scriptures by which alone we are capable of knowing any thing in these Matters Now those Sacred Writings evidently speak of him not only as a Person but as a Divine
for which the Holy Spirit was given by Christ to his Church A. No His Operations are very many and can hardly be particularly Enumerated He not only Regenerates and Sanctifies Us Disposes us to our Duty and Fortifies Us against Temptation but moreover Directs us in Our Doubts Comforts us in our Afflictions Supports us in our Troubles Arms us against the Fear of Death Gives us Strength and Courage in Trials and Persecutions And in such Cases as he sees needful Seals our Souls with such an Inward Sense and Assurance of God's Favour as makes us firmly satisfied of our future Everlasting Salvation Rom. v. 5 viii 14 17. 2 Cor. i. 22 Eph. i. 14 Gal. iv 6 Q. How long shall the Holy Ghost continue thus to Comfort Sanctify and Guide the Faithful A. As long as there shall any Faithful Remain in need of his Assistance Which because there will be to the End of the World therefore Christ has promised that He shall also till then continue to Conduct and Govern his Faithful Servants Jo. 14.16 Mat. xxviii 20 SECT XVI Q. WHat does the FOVRTH and Last Part of your Creed Relate to A. To the Church of Christ Its Duty and Privileges here and its future Hope of Glory and Immortality hereafter Q. What is the First Thing which you are taught to believe concerning Christ's Church A. That there is a Holy Catholick Church Q. What is that Church of which this Article speaks A. It is the Vniversal Church of Christ the General Assembly of All those who from the time of the first publishing of the Gospel to this Day have believed in Christ or shall hereafter profess his Faith to the End of the World Q. How can such a Church be the Object of our Faith A. Not as to that part of it which we see and communicate with but chiefly in these Two Respects First As we Believe by the Word of God that those who have Gone before Us in the true Faith of Christ and the Fear of his Holy Name though out of all Visible Communion at present with Us do yet Live to God and are still Members of Christ's Church though in a different State from Us and shall together with Us be gather'd into One Glorious Society at the last Day And Secondly As upon the same Grounds we do also farther believe that in all the Ages yet to come to the End of the World Christ shall continue to have a Church upon Earth So that no Power of Men or Malice of the Devil shall ever be able utterly to Root it out or to destroy it Q. How can a Society consisting of such different Members and those at so great a distance both in Time and Place from One Another yet all together make but One Church A. Because how different so ever the Members of this Church may otherwise seem to be yet they are all * United together under One Head the Lord Jesus * Are * Sanctified and Ruled by the same Holy Spirit * Endued with the same Love to God and towards One Another * Live by the same Laws * Profess the same Faith * Partake of the same Sacraments * Have the same Hope of Salvation set before them * Worship the same God by the same Advocate and Saviour Jesus Christ And as to what concerns all the true and lively Members of this Society * shall one Day be Gathered together into One actual Place and Portion in the Glorious Kingdom of God for Ever Q. Wherefore do you give this Church the Title of Catholick A. Upon several Accounts but chiefly these Two First To distinguish it from the Jewish Church which was confined to a certain People and was to continue but for a certain Time Whereas the Christian Church takes in all Mankind and is to last to the End of the World Psal. ii 8 Acts x. 34 35. Mat. xxviii 19 Mark xvi 15 Luk. xxiv 47 1 Cor. xii 13 And Secondly To shew that in this Creed which comprehends what is to be Believed by all Christians we profess not our Faith of any One determinate Church which may cease and fail such as the Church of England or Church of Rome but of the Catholick or Vniversal Church of Christ as that which shall never fail and to which alone the Promises of God belong Q. May not any One determinate Church be called the Catholick Church A. No it may not any more than London may be called England or England the Whole World The Catholick Church is the Vniversal Church and that neither Ours nor any other particular Church is nor whilst there are more such Christian Churches in the World can be But a Catholick Church a Particular Church may be called And such Ours is though that of Rome I doubt will hardly be able to make a Good Pretension to this Title any more than to the Other Q. Do you make a difference then between A Catholick Church and THE Catholick Church A. There is certainly a wide difference between them THE Catholick Church is as I before said The whole Church But A Catholick Church implies no more than a Sound part of it a Church in Communion with the Catholick Church of Christ in opposition to the Conventicles of Hereticks and Schismaticks Who whatsoever they may pretend are really no parts of the Catholick Church nor shall be consider'd by Christ as such Q. Whom do you account Hereticks and Schismaticks And how does it appear that they are not Parts of the Catholick Church A. The Catholick Church is that Church which professes the true Faith which Christ and his Apostles deliver'd to it and that if not free from All Errour whatsoever yet without any such Errours as destroy the Foundation of that Doctrine which was committed to its Custody Now a Heretick is One who not only Errs in some Matters of lesser moment but in Matters of such Consequence as subvert the very Foundation of Christianity But he who does this can never be a Member of that Church whose Doctrine he not only does not Receive but rejects And who by his Errours destroys that very Faith by which alone he can be intituled to the Character either of a true Disciple or a sound Member of Christ's Church Q. But why may not Schismaticks be accounted true Members of Christs Church A. Because none are Schismaticks but such as forsake and cut themselves off from the Communion of the Catholick Church Now it is a Contradiction that those should continue Members of the Catholick Church who by their Own voluntary departure from it have renounced the Communion of it Q. Do you look upon the Church of England to be a true part of the Catholick Church A. It certainly is Inasmuch as it professes the true Catholick Faith deliver'd in the Holy Scriptures and drawn up in the Creeds of the Church and by the most ancient Councils acknowledged to be sufficient to denominate those who profess'd according thereunto
to be truly Catholick Christians And also holds Communion with all such Churches as profess the same Faith and as far forth as they do so Q. What is your Opinion of the Church of Rome in this particular A. That she is both Schismatical and Heretical Schismatical in cutting off all Others from her Communion who will not profess her Errors and submit to her Vsurp'd Authority Heretical in professing such Doctrines as quite destroy the Foundations of Christianity and are inconsistent with that Truth which yet she pretends to maintain Q. In what Respect do you believe the Catholick Church to be Holy A. As both the * End of Christ in Gathering of it the * Rules he has given to it the * Promises he has made it * It s Sacraments * Ministry all its * Ordinances were design'd to make it Holy But especially as * All Those who are indeed the Faithful Members of it are actually Sanctify'd by the Grace of the Holy Spirit And so are truly though imperfectly Holy now and shall be made altogether Holy and without Spot hereafter Eph. 5.25 SECT XVII Q. WHat is the first Duty or Privilege belonging to those who are Members of Christ's Church A. The Communion of Saints Q. What do you mean by Saints A. Though the Word in our Language be more Restrain'd yet in that in which this Creed was composed it may indifferently denote either Holy Persons or Holy Things And this Article may very well be extended to both of Them Q. Whom do you mean by Holy Persons A. Though all Christians in General are so called in Scripture and we are Charitably to presume that All such are Holy Persons Yet by Saints we are most properly to understand such as answer the End of their Calling by a Lively Faith and a Holy Conversation in which Two the Gospel-Saintship seems to consist Q. With Whom and in what Things do you believe such Persons to have Communion A. I believe that all the true Members of Christ's Church have a Right of Fellowship or Communion with God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ as they are Received into Covenant by the One through the Death and Passion of the Other I believe that they have a Fellowship with the Holy Ghost by his Dwelling in Them and Sanctifying of Them I believe that they have Fellowship with the Holy Angels who both Minister unto them in their Exigencies and have a most tender affectionate Concern for Them I believe that they all have a Fellowship with One Another as * Members of the same mystical Body of Christ * Professors of the same Faith * Heirs of the same Promises * Guided by the same Spirit and * Governed by the same Laws And I believe that they ought as living Members * to have a Fellowship of Love and Charity also towards Each Other And Lastly I believe that they have a Right of Communicating in all the Ordinances of the Gospel In the Prayers of the Church in the Ministry of the Word and Sacraments and whatsoever else hath been ordain'd by Christ or establish'd in the Church for the common Good and Benefit of all the Members of it Q. Do you not by this Account of the present Article utterly shut out those from any part in it who yet are most commonly called Saints I mean Such as have departed this Life in the Fear of God and the Faith of Jesus Christ A. No by no means I believe them to partake in this Communion also as they are still living Members of Christ's Holy Catholick Church And therefore I believe that They have a Fellowship no less than We with God and Christ. That they are Sanctified by the same Spirit Are Visited by the Holy Angels Have some kind of Fellowship with One Another and with Vs also however separated by Death from Us. Q. Wherein do you suppose their Fellowship with Us to consist A. I look upon the Case to be much the same with Us as it is with Members of the same Civil Society upon Earth when they are in a foreign Country far distant from One Another * We are Members of the same Church * Vnited to the same Head * Sanctified by the same Spirit * Heirs of the same Promises * Shall in a little time be in the same Place and State and when the End of the World comes * we shall All be translated to the same Glory and Happiness in God's Heavenly Kingdom Q. To what Offices of Communion does this Belief oblige Us at present towards Each Other A. To the Members of Christ's Church still Living it obliges Us to Love and Charity to mutual Prayers for and Help of Each other in all such Things as may promote the Salvation of Us all How the Saints departed maintain Communion with Us We cannot tell Probable it is that they do in general pray for us as it is certain they wish well to Us. But for our selves who are yet here on Earth we must Bless God for the Grace he was pleased to bestow upon Them and by which they were delivered from the Sins and Temptations of this Evil World and enabled Faithfully to serve him unto the End We must set before Us their Examples and Imitate their Vertues We must account of them as Living Members of Christ's Body and be not only Ready but Desirous to Go to them whenever it shall please God to call for Us. We must take care decently to dispose of their Bodies and faithfully to fulfil as much as in Us lies what they have left in trust with Us to be done for Them after their departure Q. What think you of that Honour which is paid to Them in the Church of Rome A. It is not only Vain and without all Warrant from God's Word but is indeed Superstitious and Idolatrous To Pray to any Creature and He at a vast Distance from Vs In the House of God with all the Outward Marks of Adoration nay and oftentimes in the same Words and in the same Breath that We pray to God and that lastly with a Confidence that the Person so pray'd to can Hear our Prayers and Answer our Desires being evidently to Give to the Creature the Honour due to the Creator which cannot be done without the Peril of Idolatry SECT XVIII Q. WHat is the next Privilege which you believe does of Right belong to those who are the Members of Christ's Church A. The Forgiveness of Sins Q. What is Sin A. It is the Transgression of God's Law 1 Jo. iii. 4 Whether by our Omitting to do what that Required us to have done Or by Our doing any Thing contrary to its Commands Q. What mean you by the Law of God A. The Will of God howsoever made known to Us whether by the Light of our Own Consciences or by the Declarations of his Word especially that which is deliver'd to us in the Books of the New Testament Q. How does God
not die nor their Fire be quenched but they shall dwell in Everlasting Burnings Mark ix 44 Isa. lxvi 24 That there shall be weeping and wailing and gnashing of Teeth Mat. viii 12 xiii 42 50. All which Phrases howsoever they be understood must denote Suffering as well as Punishment An Eternity of Pain not an Eternal State of Death and Insensibility Besides that Everlasting Death or Destruction would not otherwise be properly speaking an Everlasting Punishment For as soon as Men are thus Dead they cease to suffer and for that very Reason cease to be punish'd And one may as well say that a Malefactor who was Executed for his Crimes a Hundred Years ago still continues to be punish'd by the Magistrate as that after a Man should be once annihilated he should afterwards continue to be Punish'd for his Sins by God Almighty Q. Wherein do you suppose the Everlasting Happiness of the Righteous shall Consist A. As to the Particulars of it they are altogether Unknown to Us nor indeed are we able in our present Estate perfectly to comprehend the Greatness of them Thus much in General we are told that we shall be placed in a most Glorious and Perfect State free from all Sin and from all Misery Where we shall Enjoy all the Pleasure and Satisfaction that our Natures vastly enlarged shall be capable of We shall dwell in the Presence of God shall be continually entertain'd not only in the Contemplation but with the Fruition of all the Riches of his Goodness and Glory We shall be Companions with the Holy Angels and pass our time in the Greatest Love of God and of One Another that can be imagined We shall turn all our Service into Praise and Wonder shall have nothing left to wish or desire of him And we shall both Love and Serve and Praise him with such Rapture and Satisfaction with such Joy to our selves as well as such Fervour towards God as no Thoughts can Conceive nor is it possible for us by any Words to express the Greatness of it SECT XXI Q. WHat was the Third Thing which your Godfathers and Godmothers promised for you at your Baptism A. That I should Keep God's Holy Will and Commandments and Walk in the same All the Days of my Life Q. Do you account it to be Necessary for you herein also to fulfil what they Promised for you A. I do and that so Necessary that I cannot be Saved without it Q. Do you then expect to be Saved by Virtue of your Own Good Works A. God forbid On the contrary I am perswaded that when I shall have done All that I can I shall be but an Vnprofitable Servant Luk. xvii 10 But however I must sincerely Endeavour what in Me lies to keep God's Commandments and then I am assured that God will Reward Me not according to my Works but according to his Own Mercy and Promises to Us in Jesus Christ. Q. Are you able of your self by your Own Natural Strength to Keep God's Commandments A. No I am not For in Me that is to say in my Flesh dwelleth no Good Thing Rom. vii 18 It is the Grace of God which must work in me both to Will and to Do according to his Good Pleasure Phil. ii 13 Q. Being thus assisted by the Holy Spirit can you Perfectly keep God's Commandments A. No I cannot nor will it ever be possible for me in this Life to do it I must serve God Sincerely with all my Heart I must serve him Zealously with all my Strength I must Go as far as I can and as the Measure of the Grace which he is pleased to allow me will enable me to do towards Perfection But to discharge a Perfect that is to say an Vnsinning Obedience to God's Commandements this neither I can nor did ever any One else but he who was God as well as Man do it For in many Things we Offend all And if we say that we have no Sin we deceive our selves and the Truth is not in Vs. Jam. 3.2 1 Jo. i. 8 Q. Will not this Undervalue the Grace of the Holy Spirit by which we are Sanctified A. Not at all Forasmuch as I ascribe to that the Glory of all the Good I do and take to my self the Shame of whatsoever is Evil or Defective in Me Q. What think you of Those of the Church of Rome who notwithstanding this talk of Works of Supererrogation and thereby pretend not only Perfectly to keep God's Commandments but to do even More than God Required them to have done A. I think that they neither understand Themselves nor their Duty It being certain that the Measure of our Duty is to Love the Lord our God with all our Heart and with all our Soul and with all our Strength Beyond which as it is not possible for any Man to Go so neither is there any that can justly say He has ever for any long time together absolutely come up to the utmost height of it Q. Seeing then our Obedience cannot be brought to Perfection in this Life what is that Obedience which God does Now Require of Us in Order to our Salvation A. It is the Obedience of an Honest Humble Sincere Heart Such as Leads us in the First Place to an Vniversal Obedience of All God's Commandments Secondly to a hearty Endeavour to come up to as perfect a Discharge of Our Duty according to the Measures of them as our present Condition will admit of And that Thirdly with Constancy and Perseverance unto our Lives End Mat. x 22. 1 Cor. i. 8 1 Pet. i. 13 Heb. x. 38 39. Rev. iiâ— 10. SECT XXII Q. HAS there been any such Summary Collection made of the main Branches of what we are to Do as we Had in the Creed of what we are to Believe A. There is such a Collection and that deliver'd by God himself in what we commonly call the Ten Commandments Q Do those Commandments which were Given by God to the Jews still continue in force and Oblige Us Christians A Yes they do Mat. v. 17 c. and that in Some measure more Strictly than they did Them The most part if not All of them having been either more fully Expounded or more perfectly Delivered to Us by Christ in the New Testament than they were first given by God to the Jews in the Old See Mat. v. vi.vii Chapters Q. Why do you call Them the Ten Commandments A. Not only because they have been usually divided into that Number but because they were Originally delivered so by God and are accordingly so called by Moses Exod. xxxiv 28 Deut iv 13 Q. What do these Commandments in General Refer to A. To the Two Great Branches of Our Duty Our Duty towards God and Our Duty towards Our Neighbour Q. What Authority Have you for this Division of these Commandments A. The Authority of our Blessed Saviour Mat. xxii 37 And indeed God Himself seems to
Credit or Countenance that is given to Them * all Counterfeiting of Hands and Seals or any Other Writings to His Prejudice All * Tale-bearing * Rash-speaking and * Censuring All * Credulity or being Ready to believe what is Evil of our Neighbour All * Encouragement that is Given to those who are apt to speak Evil of Other Men. Q. What is Required of Us by this Commandment A. To be Religiously strict in speaking Truth of our Neighbour * Not Only to take care that what we say be true but that by our manner of delivering it by our flourishing upon it or Otherwise Circumstantiating of it we do not give Occasion to any to Mistake Us. * To be charitable both in what We hear and say of Other Men. * To Vindicate their Reputation as far as fairly we can and to * hold our Tongues at least not to * Aggravate their Faults where we cannot SECT XXXII Q. WHat is the last Commandment A. Thou shalt not Covet thy Neighbours House Thou shalt not Covet thy Neighbours Wife Nor his Servant nor his Maid nor his Ox nor his Ass nor Any thing that is His. Q. What is the Sin forbidden in this Commandment A. The Vnlawful Desire of what is Another Man's Q. When is such a Desire Vnlawful A. When it puts Men on any deliberate Thoughts and Contrivances to obtain that which is Anothers without the Consent and Allowance of Him to whom it belongs Q. What if a Man's Desire be so bounded as not to put him upon any undue Means to Obtain what is Another Man's A. If it be so bounded within the Use of Lawful Means that He is determined not to make use of any other tho' he should never obtain it it is not Sinful As if Ahab had only desired Naboth's Vineyard for the Convenience of it and as soon as he saw that Naboth would not part with it had Rested in the Refusal and Gone no farther he would have done nothing Amiss But if a Man's Desire be Violent and Vnreasonable if it makes him Resolve to compass what he Covets by any means if fair means will not do to have it by foul Ones such a Desire as this is Sinful And therefore when Ahab grew discontented at Naboth's Refusal and after that the Malice and Cunning of Jezebel had destroy'd him went down and took possession of it the Event shew'd his Coveting to have been Criminal and that his Desire was as Inordinate as the Event was Tragical Q. What think you of such a Desire as tho' it be Violent and Immoderate yet is presently Suppress'd and does not proceed to any Wicked Resolutions Endeavours or Actions in Order to the Accomplishment of what it Covets A. St. James seems to warrant us to think favourably of it Jam. i. 14 15. Yet it cannot be doubted but that all such Desires proceed from an Evil Principle within Us and we ought to Watch all we can even against the first Motions of them and suppress them Mat. v. 28.29 30. Q. What is the Duty Required in this Commandment A. Contentment with our Estate whatsoever it be so as neither to Murmur against God nor to Envy our Neighbour upon the account of any thing which He possesses There being nothing more Certain than that He who is not satisfied with what Himself Enjoys will be apt upon every Occasion criminally to Covet what is Another Man's SECT XXXIII Q. WE have now done with the several Branches of that Duty which God Requires of Us and which our Godfathers and Godmothers promised at our Baptism that we should fulfil Is there any thing yet Remaining necessary to be known by Us in Order to our Salvation A. Yes there is namely To understand what those Means are which God has Ordain'd for the conveying of his Grace to Us and to enable Us to fulfil that Duty which He has Required of Us. Q. By what means may we obtain the Grace of God in order to this End A. Chiefly by these two Hearty Prayer to God for it and a Right Use of the Holy Sacraments Q. What is Prayer A. It is a Religious Calling upon God founded upon the Belief both of his Infinite Knowledge Power and Presence and of his Gracious Goodness and Mercy towards Us in Jesus Christ And by virtue whereof He is not only always Present with Vs to Hear and Receive our Prayers Thoroughly Acquainted with All our Needs and fully Able to Supply them but is also most willing and ready so to do if We call upon Him as we ought to do Q. Upon what is the Necessity of our Praying to God founded A. Besides that it is a part of that Religious Worship which it behoves Us to Pay to Him and being publickly Perform'd is One of the Highest Acts of Outward Honour that we are capable of Giving to him it is necessarily Establish'd upon these Two Principles First A due Sense of our Own Weakness and Wants And Secondly A firm Belief that God is both Able and Willing to Relieve Us. Q. What are the Wants which we chiefly need to have Supply'd by God A. There is Nothing wherein we do not stand in need of his Support Our Life Health Food and Raiment all that we have or hope to Enjoy in our present Estate proceeds from him and We do in all These intirely depend upon his Providence But that for which we ought to be more especially concern'd and have yet more need to beg the Divine Assistance is for the supplying of our Spiritual Wants That God would Enable Us to fulfil our Duty towards Him and thereby 〈…〉 would Qualify Us for his Favour at the present and for his Pardon and Acceptance when we Come to die Q. Are we not able of our Selves to fulfil our Duty towards God as we ought to do A. So far from it that we cannot have so much as any Saving Knowledge of it or Desire after it without the Concurrence of his Grace to Open our Vnderstandings to Purify our Affections to Regulate our Wills and to prepare us both to Believe and Do according to his Good Pleasure Q. By what Means may we be Enabled to Live according to God's Commandments A. By the Special Grace of the Holy Spirit which he never denies to any Christian who heartily Prays for it and duly Improves that Portion of it which God has before bestow'd upon him Q. Does God always Answer the Prayers that are made to Him A. He does if they are made after such a Manner as he Requires and for Such Things as He sees to be Expedient for Us unless he should have some extraordinary Reason to Refuse Us In which Case though he may not Grant Us the very Things which we desire yet He will recompense Us the more abundantly in Some Other way Q. After what Manner ought we to Pray to God A. With Faith
with Diligence with Attention with Fervour and with Perseverance Q. Are these Conditions so strictly Required by God that no Prayers are heard by Him which want any of Them A. That may not Generally be affirm'd There are great Inequalities in the Affections of the best Men in their Prayers Nor can Any avoid all kind of Wandrings and Disturbances in them Nay sometimes the best Christians may be the most distracted with vain Thoughts and melancholy Fancies in their Devotions That which is certain is this that Every Man ought to Pray as frequently as his Circumstances of Life will permit him and when he does pray ought to do it with the utmost Zeal and Attention that He is able to do Which having sincerely Endeavour'd he ought not to doubt but that God will Pardon his Infirmities in that as well as in the other Instances of his Duty and accept his Prayers and grant him his Desires Q. What are the Things which we ought to Pray for A. For those of this Life in General only unless it be on some special Occasions and with an intire Submission of our Selves to God's Will in whatsoever He shall please to Order for Us. But as to the Graces which are necessary for Us in Order to the Other Life we are to pray particularly earnestly absolutely and without any Qualifications because we know these Things to be always proper for Us to Ask and always Suitable to the Will of God to Give to Us. Q. At what Times ought We to Pray A. Continually and without Ceasing Not that we are to account our selves thereby Obliged to Spend our whole Time in Prayer but to look upon those Expressions to imply a constant daily Attendance upon this Duty the Frequency whereof must be left to Every One's State and Condition to determine Q. What is that General Proportion which Every Christian ought to observe in the Times of his daily Prayers A. If He has Opportunity for it and can have leisure so to do it were to be wish'd that He should come Every Day to the Publick Prayers of the Church But if this cannot be done He must at least every Day without fail Pray to God in Private Morning and Evening and if He has a Family he should every Day at some convenient Time Pray with that also in Order to the better keeping up a Sense of Religion in it Q. Do you think it to be a Matter of Necessary Duty to Pray Publickly with the Church A. In General it certainly is especially upon the Lord's Day and such Other Solemn Times of Prayer as both the Laws of the Realm and the Canons of the Church require of Us. As for the daily Prayers if we live in a Place where they are publickly Read and are not hinder'd by any necessary Business to come to Them I do not see how we can excuse our selves from usually joining to Them Q. Has our Saviour left Us any particular Direction how we should Pray A. He has left Us a Form of his Own Composing not only to be continually made Use of by Us but also to be a Pattern to Us after what manner We ought to put up our Own Addresses to God Q. In what does that Form chiefly direct Us to compose aright our Own Prayers A. It teaches us especially these Four Things First That we should make our Prayers short and pertinent as being most suitable both to the Wisdom and Majesty of God and to our Own Weakness and Infirmities Secondly That we should Pray for Others as well as for our Selves and that in our Private as well as our Publick Prayers Thirdly That we may pray for the Necessaries of this Life though our main Concern should be in our Prayers as well as our Endeavours after Those of the Other Fourthly That we should Pray to God ONLY and to Him as our Father through Jesus Christ our Lord. Q. Have you any thing Else to Observe from the Form of this Prayer A. This only that to Pray to God by a Set-form is so far from being a Thing either in its self Vnlawful or Injurious to the Holy Spirit that we see our Saviour himself has here given Us an Example for it as under the Law God was pleased in several Cases to direct the very Words in which he would be address'd to by the Jews SECT XXXIV Q. SAY the Lord's Prayer A. Our Father c. Q. What are the General Parts of this Prayer A. It is divided into Three General Parts * A Preface or Introduction * The Petitions and * A Doxology or Conclusion Q. What is the Preface to this Prayer A. Our Father which art in Heaven Q. Wherefore did our Saviour begin his Prayer with this Compellation of God Our Father A. To shew us that all our Hope of being heard or accepted by God is by vertue of that Relation wherein we stand to him in and through his Son Jesus Christ. Jo. xiv 6 No Man cometh unto the Father but by Me. Jo. xv 16 xvi 23 24. Verily Verily I say unto you whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my Name he will give it you Ask and ye shall Receive that your Joy may be full See Col. iii. 17 Q. Why was that Circumstance added Which art in Heaven A. To shew the Difference between Him and our Earthly Parents who sometimes are hard towards their Children and will not give them what they ask Oftentimes are not able to supply their Needs And in many Cases cannot tell what is best for them but either deny them when they ought to have given them what they desired or Give them when it would have been more advisable not to have done it Whereas our Heavenly Father is All-Merciful All-Powerful and All-Wise and by consequence liable to none of these Defects Q. What do you Learn from this Introduction A. To come to God with Great Assurance but with Great Reverence too Who as Our Father will not fail to hear his Children if they ask as they ought of him As he is a Heavenly Father can give us whatsoever we stand in Need of Q. Is God so in Heaven as our Earthly Fathers are upon Earth A. No by no means For God being infinite is every where present neither shut out of any Place nor Circumscribed by any But because God is pleased to shew himself in Heaven in the highest Excellencies of his Divine Majesty and Glory and is there attended by his Holy Angels therefore Heaven is consider'd as his Court and his Throne And we very properly direct our Prayers to God there where our Saviour sits to Intercede with Him for Us and where the Blessed Spirits attend upon him and fall down before him and worship him Q. Wherefore are we taught to say OVR Father A. Not as if God were not the Father of Every One of Us in Particular as well as of Us All in General or that We might
not Each of Us truly and properly say My Father But to enlarge our Affections and correct our Pride and increase our Charity and to teach us that there is no Man so mean but what has as Good a Right to call God his Father as the Greatest among Us nor any therefore who ought not to be look'd upon as a Brother by Us and to be treated and loved and pray'd for by Us accordingly SECT XXXV Q. HOW many Petitions are there in this Prayer A. Six Three with respect to the Honour and Glory of God and which may be accounted pious Wishes rather than formal Petitions And Three with Relation to our Own Needs Q. What is the First of These A. Hallowed be thy Name Q. Wherefore did Christ begin his Prayer with this Petition or Desire A. To shew us that we ought to make God's Glory the First Thing in our Prayers as well as the Chief End of all our Actions 1 Cor. x. 31 Whether ye Eat or Drink or whatsoever ye Do do all to the Glory of God Q. What is here meant by the Name of God A. The same as in the Third Commandment viz. God himself and whatsoever does in any wise Relate to Him Exod. vi 3 xxxiv 5 6. Psal. cxxxviii 2 Q. What is meant by Hallowing A. It denotes the Separation of any Thing to a Holy Vse and the Treating and Respecting of it accordingly Q. What then do you look upon to be the full Import of this Petition A. That it would please God to make himself Known to and to be Adored and Glorified by the whole World That he would so dispose Ours and all Other Mens Hearts that we might never mention his Name but with a Religious Reverence That whatsoever has any Relation to him his Word his Sacraments his Ministers his Houses of Prayer may all be treated by Us with a Regard suitable to the Majesty of Him to whom they belong And that neither we our Selves nor any Others may ever entertain any Opinions or commit any Sins whereby either God the Father or his Son Jesus the Glory of the One or the Gospel of the Other may be vilified or profaned SECT XXXVI Q. WHAT is the Second Petition of this Prayer A. Thy Kingdom Come Q. In how many Respects is God a King A. Chiefly in these Three First As he is the King of all the World which he Created by his Power and Rules and Governs as well as Supports by his Providence Secondly With Relation to his Church and People which he Governs and Conducts by his Word and Holy Spirit And Thirdly With Respect to his Heavenly Kingdom where he Reigns with Glory and Majesty over his Angels Now and will Rule over all his Saints hereafter to all Eternity Q. How is it that we here either Wish or Pray that God's Kingdom may Come A. As we desire First That all Men may both more clearly Know and more worthily Obey the true and only God the Lord of Heaven and Earth Secondly That to this End it would please God to enlarge the Borders of his Church and bring all Nations within the Pale of it And that where it is already establish'd he would Go on more and more by his Grace to destroy the Power of Sin and the Dominion of Satan and to implant the Fear and Love of his Name in the Hearts of all his Servants That so Thirdly His Eternal Kingdom may also be enlarged the Fulness of his Saints be accomplish'd and the blessed Time come when we shall All be translated into his Heavenly Kingdom and all Other Powers and Dominions being done away God alone shall be Exalted and Rule over his Saints for Ever and Ever SECT XXXVII Q. WHAT is the Third Petition of this Prayer A. Thy Will be done in Earth as it is in Heaven Q. How does God declare his Will to Us A. Chiefly Two Ways By the Dispensations of his Providence and by the Rules he has set us to Live by whether They be by Nature implanted in Us or be Revealed to Us in the Gospel of Christ. Q. Does this Petition respect both these A. It does and so teaches us to Pray that with Respect to the former of Them we may always seriously consider the Ways of his Providence and discern what it is that He would have Us either Do or Suffer in Obedience thereunto That whatsoever it be that he shall thereby call us to whether to a Prosperous or Unprosperous State to Receive Good from him or to Suffer Evil we may in the One improve his Blessings to the Glory of his Name and the Benefit of those about Us In the Other may patiently submit to whatsoever he shall call us to Suffer for his Sake With Relation to the Latter the Rules he has Given Us to walk by that we may faithfully Obey all his Commandments how contrary soever they may chance to be to our Own corrupt Desires and Affections and continue his Obedient and Constant Servants all the Days of our Life Q. Why is this Circumstance added As it is in Heaven A. To shew us what kind of Obedience we ought to pay to God's Will That as the Angels in Heaven not only Do the Will of God but do it with all Readiness Chearfulness Constancy and Delight so may We if it shall please God in some measure fulfil it too Q. Is it possible for us ever to attain to such a Perfection of Obedience in this present Life A. It is hardly to be Expected yet we must Pray for it and endeavour to Come up as near as is possible to it And in the mean time must Learn from hence not only how we ought to Serve God but how we shall hereafter do his Will when we come to the blessed State as well as Place of those Holy Spirits in Heaven SECT XXXVIII Q. WHAT is the First of those Petitions which you said Related to our Own Needs A. Give us this Day our daily Bread Q. What do you Observe from the General Composure of this Part of the present Prayer A. That as Man consists of Two different Parts A Soul and Body and has need of several Things to be given him for the Good of Both So are we here directed to beg of God First What is necessary to our Present Life and Secondly What may conduce to the Everlasting Happiness of our Souls in the Life that is to Come Q. How does our Saviour express what is necessary to be asked by Us for the Sustenance of our present Life A. He calls it Our daily Bread Q. What does the Word Bread denote A. It is Commonly used in Scripture for all sort of Provision as it is indeed the chiefest and most necessary and such as may Supply the Defect of all Other And it is here made Use of to signify All that is Necessary for our Support excluding at the same time whatsoever
Persons of all Countries are to be Baptized so no doubt but the Form of Words may be translated into the Language of Every Country and Baptism be effectually administred so long as the Sense is preserved That which we insist upon is that every Person who is Baptized ought to be Baptized in the Name as well as to profess the Faith of the Father Son and Holy Ghost Q. What is the Inward or Spiritual Grace of this Sacrament A. A Death unto Sin and a New-birth unto Righteousness for heing by Nature born in Sin and the Children of Wrath we are hereby made the Children of Grace Q. Are all Men by Nature born in Sin A. They are ever since that by the Transgression of our First Parents Sin entred into the World Nor was ever any Exempt from this unhappy State but he only who knew no Sin the Lord Christ Jesus Q. Are all Men by Nature Children of Wrath A. Being born in Sin they must of necessity be also Children of Wrath Seeing All Sin is both hateful to God and worthy of his Punishment Q. Have the Children of Believing Parents in this Case no Privilege above Others A. Yes they have For being descended from those who are Members of Christ's Church they are born within the Covenant are the Heirs of God's Promises and have a Right to Baptism as the Children of the Jews had to Circumcision And therefore should they chance to Die before they have Received it yet this being no Fault of theirs we piously believe that it shall be no barr to their Pretensions but that they shall nevertheless be saved by the Merits of Jesus Christ. Q. How are those who are Baptized made thereby Children of Grace A. As by Baptism they are taken into Covenant with God are Regenerated by the Holy Spirit and Wash'd from their Sins by the Blood of Christ So that should they Die before they commit any Actual Sin we are assured by God's Word that they shall certainly be Saved Q. Are all who are Baptized made Partakers of these Benefits A. They are all thereby put into a State of Salvation and become Children of Grace But those only continue in this State and hold fast their Right to these Benefits who take care to Live according to the Gospel of Christ and to fulfil those Promises which either Themselves made or which were by Others made in their Name and on their Behalf at their Baptism SECT XLV Q. WHat is required of Persons to be Baptized A. Repentance whereby they forsake Sin and Faith whereby they stedfastly Believe the Promises of God made to them in that Sacrament Q. What Repentance is required to prepare any Person for Baptism A. The same which is Required to qualify a Man for God's Forgiveness after Baptism For Baptism if duly Received washes away all Sin And therefore no One can worthily come to it who does not heartily Repent of all his Sins and firmly Resolve never more to Return to any Act. ii 38 41. iii. 18 viii 37 Q. What is the Faith which Every One ought to bring to this Sacrament A. A firm Belief of the Truth of the whole Christian Religion but more especially of all those Articles of it which he solemnly at his Baptism is to profess his Belief of to the Church Act. viii 37 Q. If such a Repentance and such a Faith be Required of all who are Baptized How come Infants to be Baptized who by reason of their tender Age cannot perform either of Them A. Because they promise them Both by their Sureties which Promise when they come to Age themselves are bound to Perform Q. Are not Actual Faith and Repentance required of those who are to be Baptized A. Yes if they be Persons capable of it Otherwise it is sufficient that they be Obliged to Believe and Repent as soon as they shall be Capable of so doing Q. How can any One Promise this for Another A. Upon a Supposition of Charity That as Children are born of Christian Parents and under a Security of being bred up to a Sense of their Duty and the Knowledge of the true Religion and of the infinite Obligations that lie upon them to Repent and Believe So they will take care by God's help so to order both their Faith and Manners as their Interest as well as Duty Requires them to do Q. But what if they should not fulfil what has been promised in their Names A. In that Case the Covenant made on their behalf will be Void And so by not fulfilling what was promised for them they will lose all those Blessings which God would Otherwise have been obliged to bestow upon Them Q. Would it not be more Reasonable to tarry till Persons are Grown up and so in a Condition to make the Covenant themselves before they were permitted to be Baptized A. We are not to consider what we think best but what God has directed Us to do Now God expresly order'd the Children of the Jews to be admitted into Covenant with Him at Eight Days Old Into the Place of Circumcision Baptism has succeeded as the Gospel has into the Place of the Law There is therefore the same Reason why our Children should from the Beginning be admitted into the Christian as why the Jews Children should have been entred into the Legal Covenant Our Infants are as capable of Covenanting as theirs were And if God thought fit to Receive them and did not Account the Incapacity which their Age put them under any bar to hinder them from Circumcision neither ought we to think the same Defect any sufficient Obstacle to keep our Infants from being Baptized SECT XLVI Q. WHat is the Other Sacrament of the New Testament A. The Sacrament of the Lord's Supper Q. Why do you call it the Lord's Supper A. Because it was both Instituted by our Lord at Supper and was designed to succeed into the Place of the Paschal Supper among the Jews Q. Ought this Sacrament to be administred only at the Time of Supper A. That is not necessary any more than that we should be Obliged to Eat our Own Supper before it that we should Celebrate it only Once a Year in an Vpper Room in an Eating Posture and the like Our Saviour took that Occasion and that Season for the Institution of it but he did not intend thereby to Oblige Us to Celebrate it in all the exact Circumstances of Time Place Posture c. that occurr'd in his Own Administration of it Q. Why was the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper ordain'd A. For the continual Remembrance of the Sacrifice of the Death of Christ and of the Benefits which we receive thereby Q. What do you mean by a Continual Remembrance A. A Remembrance that is not to determine after a certain Time as the Paschal Supper did but is to continue to be kept up by this Holy Sacrament to the very End of the World Q. Is
require this of all of Us That those who Administer this Sacrament should Administer it as Christ did and those who Receive it should Receive it as the Disciples did of Him Q. Do you then make no Distinction between the Priests and the People in what concerns this Holy Sacrament A. As to the Manner of Receiving it none at all When those who are Priests Receive this Sacrament of another Priest it is as when they hear the Word Preach'd They do it not as Priests but as Christians And therefore at the Institution of this Sacrament our Saviour Christ alone acted as a Priest He resembled the Ministers of his Church the Disciples represented the Faithful who were afterwards to Receive the Sacrament from the Ministers of the Church after the very same manner that They Received it at Christ's Hands Q. But is not this Sacrament as Perfect in One Kind as in Both A. Can a Thing be perfect which wants one half of what is Required to make it Perfect Q. Yet it cannot be deny'd but that he who Receives the Body of Christ does therewith Receive the Blood too A. Though that be not the Question yet if not only may be but in this Case is absolutely deny'd by Us nor indeed can it without a manifest Absurdity be affirm'd It was the Design of our Saviour Christ in this Sacrament to Represent his Crucified Body his Body as it was Given for Vs. Now we know that when He suffer'd his Blood was shed and let out of his Body and that to Represent his Blood thus separated from his Body the Cup was consecrated apart by Him And how then can it be pretended that he who Communicates in Such a Body must partake of the Blood together with it But this is not our Business The Points which we insist upon are these First Whether Christ having confessedly instituted this Sacrament in both Kinds and commanded Us to Do likewise those do not evidently depart from his Institution who Give and Receive it only in One And if they do Then Secondly Whether They have any Reason to expect to be made Partakers of the Benefits of this Holy Communion who do not Receive it after such a Manner as Christ has commanded Us to do Q. Did the Apostles give the Cup to the Lay Communicants in their Churches A. Yes certainly or else St. Paul would never have argued with the Corinthians against Communicating with Idolaters as he does 1 Cor. x. 15 c. I speak as to Wise Men judge ye what I say The CVP of Blessing which we bless is it not the Communion of the Body of Christ Ye cannot drink the CVP of the LORD and the Cup of Devils Nor have spoken of this Sacrament as he does in the next Chapter Ver. 26 27 28 29. In every One of which He takes notice of their Drinking of the Sacramental CVP as well as of their Eating of the Sacramental Bread Q. What then do you think of Those of the Church of Rome who deny the Cup to the Laity A. As of a most presumptuous Sort of Men who Sacrilegiously deprive the People of what Christ has given them a Right to Q. Do you think this Change so considerable as to warrant you to break off Communion with that Church which has made it A. No one can with a good Conscience Receive this Holy Sacrament after any Other Manner than Christ has ordain'd it to be Received If therefore the Church of Rome shall obstinately Refuse to give it to the Lay Communicant in Both Kinds he is bound in Conscience not to Receive it of her Priests at all But to go to those who are ready to distribute it to them in the same Integrity in which it was first Instituted by our Blessed Lord. SECT XLVIII Q. WHat is the Inward Part or Thing Signified in this Holy Sacrament A. The Body and Blood of Christ which are verily and indeed taken and received by the Faithful in the Lord's Supper Q. Are the Body and Blood of Christ really distributed to every Communicant in this Sacrament A. No they are not for then every Communicant howsoever prepared or not for it would alike Receive Christ's Body and Blood as to its Substance there That which is given by the Priest to the Communicant is as to its Nature the same after Consecration that it was before viz. Bread and Wine Only alter'd as to its Vse and Signification Q. If the Body and Blood of Christ be not really given and distributed by the Priest how can they be verily and indeed Taken and Received by the Faithful Communicant A. That which is given by the Priest is as to its Substance Bread and Wine As to its Sacramental Nature and Signification it is the Figure or Representation of Christ's Body and Blood which was broken and shed for Us. The very Body and Blood of Christ as yet it is not But being with Faith and Piety Recieved by the Communicant it becomes to Him by the Blessing of God and the Grace of the Holy Spirit the very Body and Blood of Christ As to those who come Unworthily to it it is made Damnation that is it Renders them worthy of it and without Repentance will Certainly consign them over unto it Q. How does the Bread and Wine become to the faithful and worthy Communicant the very Body and Blood of Christ A. As it intitules him to a Part in the Sacrifice of his Death and to the Benefits thereby procured to all his faithful and obedient Servants Q. How does Every such Communicant Take and Receive the Body and Blood of Christ in this Sacrament A. By Faith And by means whereof he is as truly intituled to a part in Christ's Sacrifice by Receiving the Sacramental Bread and Wine which is there deliver'd to Him as any Man is intituled to an Estate by Receiving a Deed of Conveyance from One who has a Power to surrender it to his Use. Q. What are the Benefits whereof Those who thus Receive this Holy Sacrament are made Partakers thereby A. The strengthning and refreshing of their Souls by the Body and Blood of Christ as their Bodies are by the Bread and Wine Q. How does such a Receiving of this Holy Sacrament strengthen our Souls A. As it adds a New Confirmation to Us every time we Receive it of God's Mercy towards us through the Sacrifice of Jesus Christ and thereby Fortifies and Corroborates Us more and more both in the Discharge of our Duty and to a Resistance of all Such Temptations as may be likely to Draw Us away from it Q. Does it Strengthen Us in any Other Respect besides this A. Yes it does For being thus secured of a Right to Christ's Sacrifice for Us we are thereby fortified against all Doubts and Fears of our Salvation Are confirm'd against the Apprehension of any present Dangers or Sufferings which we shall Reckon not worthy to be compared with the Glory which shall be
part Infants and so constrain'd to make Use of Others to become Sureties for them at their Baptism it was certainly very Reasonable that there should be some Solemn Time appointed when such Persons being come to Years of Discretion should Themselves Ratify their Baptismal Covenant and Acknowledge their Obligation to believe and do what their Godfathers and Godmothers had before promised for them Q. What are the Benefits of this Institution to those who are Confirmed A. Besides the Benefit of God's Grace which we reasonably presume to be hereby procured to such Persons by the Prayers of the Bishop and Church on their behalf these Two Advantages do Evidently accrue to Them That First They are by this means secured of the Care of their Godfathers and Godmothers to see that they be duly Instructed in the Principles of their Christian Religion and in which were this Ordinance strictly observed they could not be deficient without being certainly found out and censured by the Church for their neglect And Secondly That by being thus Solemnly called upon to Ratify their Baptismal Vow and Covenant They are engaged to begin betimes both to Consider their Duty and to apply themselves to the serious Discharge of it Q. How does this Ordinance give a Satisfaction to the Church of Christ as to these Matters A As by this means Care is taken to have all these Things Openly transacted before it The Person who perhaps was privately Baptized being Now publickly Confirmed in the Face of the Congregation The Vow which was made by Others in his Name being here Solemnly Renew'd and Ratified by Himself The Child who was Baptized by some Minister of an Inferior Order being now Established in the Communion of the Church by the Chief Pastor of it And lastly The Godfathers and Godmothers who became Sureties both for the Good Instruction and Education of the Person whom they Answer'd for being hereby fully acquitted and discharged of their Trust and declared to have faithfully Fulfilled what they had so sacredly Promised and Vndertook to Do. Q. Do you look upon all Godfathers and Godmothers to be Obliged to see that Those for whom they Answer be first duly Instructed in the Principles of their Religion and then brought to be Confirmed by the Bishop A. They are certainly Obliged as far as a Solemn Promise made in the Presence of God and in a Matter not only Lawful but Pious and Charitable can Oblige them Nor can I imagine how any One Who has taken such an Obligation upon Himself will ever be Able to answer it either to God or his Own Conscience if He shall neglect to fulfil what He undertook in that behalf Q. What think you of Those who Come to the Lord's Supper without either being Confirmed or having any Desire or Intention to be Confirmed A. They are doubtless to be blamed Inasmuch as thereby they not only break the Orders and disobey the Command of the Church which for such Good Reasons as we have seen Requires them to be Confirmed but seem ashamed to Own their Christian Profession and to despise the Prayers of their Bishop for such Graces as they certainly ought to Desire and cannot reasonably Hope by any more effectual means to obtain of God than by a Pious and Reverend Participation of this Holy Ordinance Q. May not the Grace of God be Obtain'd as well by our Own Prayers as by the Bishop's Imposition of Hands upon Us A. That is not the Question We know that God has promised his Holy Spirit to Every One who faithfully Prays for Him But the Question is this First Whether if a Man may Obtain this Grace by his Own Prayers alone He may not expect more certainly to do it by adding the Prayers of the Bishop and the Church to them And Secondly Whether He who Carelesly Neglects or Presumptuously Despises the Orders of the Church and the Pious Provision made by Her for all Her Members at their first setting out into the Dangers and Temptations of the World may not justly fear lest God should Refuse that Grace to his Own Solitary Prayers for which He Neglected or Despised the Prayers of the Bishop and the Church on his behalf Q. What is Required of Persons to be Confirmed A. First That they be of Years of Discretion That is to say Of a Capacity to understand the Nature of their Baptismal Covenant What God therein Promises to Us And what we are thereby Obliged to Believe and Do in Obedience to his Will Secondly That They be not only Capable of this Knowledge but be Actually Instructed in these Things Thirdly That being hereby brought to a Clear Sense of what was done for them by their Godfathers and Godmothers at their Baptism They be now Ready and Desirous in their Own Persons to Ratify and Confirm the same And lastly That in Testimony of their sincere Resolutions to make Good what they here Promise and Vow they do now truly Repent of All their Sins and stedfastly Resolve by the Grace of God to Go on in a Constant Obedience to God's Commands unto their Lives End Q. At what Times ought such Persons to be Confirmed A. At such Times as the Bishop appoints for this Purpose Only if it be possible they should endeavour to be Confirmed and thereby fully take upon themselves the First Sacrament before they proceed to the Participation of the Second Q. How often ought any Christian to be Confirmed A. The Nature of the Office plainly shews it Confirmation as it is understood and practised by Us is nothing Else but a Solemn Ratification of our Baptismal Covenant Now no Man ought to be Baptized more than Once Nor will He therefore need any more than Once to take that Covenant upon Himself If after this He shall fall into any Sins whereby to put Himself out of a State of Grace Or even to be cut off from the Communion of the Church there are Other means of Restoring him again to Both upon his Sincere Repentance for what He has done Amiss But our Baptism must not be Repeated Nor will our Confirmation therefore need to be any more Repeated by Us. FINIS ERRATA PAge 45. l. 24. for be was r. was a. P. 115. l. 28. r. Commandment P. 127. l. 26. for Thaâ— God would r. Both. P. 130. l. 15. for to Them r. in Them P. 151. l. 27. r. don't P. 159. l. 14. blot out to Borks printed for Richard Sare at Grays Inn Gate in Holborn THE Genuine Epistles of St. Barnabas St. Ignatius St. Clement St. Polycarp the Shepherd of Hermas c. with a large Preliminary Discourse 8 vo A Practical Discourse against Profane Swearing 8 vo The Authority of Christian Princes over Ecclesiastical Synods in Answer to a Letter to a Convocation man 8 vo An Appeal to all the true Members of the Church of England on behalf of the King's Supremacy 8 vo A Sermon at the Dorsetshire Feast 1690. Before the Queen at Whitehall May 10. 1691.