referred and then as requiring the Duty forbids the sin and forbidding any sin supposeth a precept for the Duty contrary to that sin so shall I teach you both these what are the Duties required and what the Sins forbidden in each Commandment proving their respective answers as we go along by the Scriptures First then let me ask you the Questions in your Church Catechism Q. What is thy Duty to God A. My duty towards God is to believe in Him c. Now see how every Commandment is explained in this Answer Q. What doth the first Commandment require of you according to this Answer in your Catechism A. Gods inward worship which is to believe in him to fear him and to love him and him alone as the only true God with all my heart with all my mind with all my soul and with all my strength Catechist This distinction of Worship that it is either Inward of the Soul or Outward of the Body is evidently the Apostles when he tells us 1 Cor. 6.20 That we must glorifie God with our bodies and with our spirits which are his Now the inward that of the Spirit is required by this Commandment that is in the positive part which is implied in the negative for that we are forbidden to have any other God but Him or before him implies that we must have him that is acknowledge him and worship him for our God and for our only God and to believe in him and fear him and love him this is to acknowledge him to be and to have him our God according to that Text Deut. 10.12 What doth the Lord thy God O Israel require of thee but to fear the Lord thy God and to walk in his ways to love and serve the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy Soul Q. May not loving God be accounted the summ of our whole Duty to God as Love of our Neighbour is of our whole Duty to our Neighbour A. Yes and without loving God there can be no keeping his Commandments in sincerity Catechist Our Saviour said John 14.15 If ye love me keep my Commandments No other way can we shew our love to either God or Christ Jesus On the other hand the Scriptures set forth obedience or keeping Gods Commandments as the work of Faith and labour of love Heb. 6.10 1 Thes 1.3 and St. Paul saith The love of Christ constraineth hereunto 2 Cor. 5.14 And it is certain all other Graces abound where as the Apostle expresseth it Rom. 5.5 The love of God is shed abroad in the heart by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us Q. What do those words Before me teach you Thou shalt have no other Gods before me A. Always to consider that God is every where present and beholds the Idolatry of the heart as well as in action Catechist I know O my God saith David 1 Chron. 29.17 that thou triest the heart Jer. 17.10 I the Lord search the heart I try the reins even to give to every man according to his ways and according to his doings Q. What then are the sins forbidden in this Commandment A. Atheism or having no God Polytheism or owning more Gods than One Irreligion not glorifying not worshipping the true God as God and inward Idolatry that is believing fearing or loving any lust or Creature as our God or giving Religious Worship or honour to any other Being Catechist Atheism or in the Psalmists words Psal 14.1 The Fools saying in his heart much more speaking it out in words That there is no God Polytheism The having Lords many and Gods many But to us saith the Apostle 1 Cor. 8.4 There is no more Gods but One. Irreligion not Glorifying not worshipping God which is all one as if we believed and professed There is no God A sin taxt by S. Paul in the Gentiles Rom. 1.21 That knowing God they did not glorifie Him as God Idolatry which is not only the worshipping idols or images made of silver and gold the works of mens hands which have eyes and see not which have ears and hear not mouths and speak not Ps 135.15 16. But also the immoderate love of any Creature For Christ saith Mat. 6.24 Ye cannot serve God and Mammon and this do all covetous and worldly minded men From whence S. Paul saith expresly that covetousness is idolatry Col. 3.5 And he speaks of some who make their belly their God Phil. 3.19 which do all Epicures gluttons and drunkards and intemperate persons and some he saith mind earthly things All these then are sins against this first Commandment which requires the Inward worship of God Q. What doth the second Commandment require A. Gods Outward worship that is to worship God not only with our hearts and Spirits which God alone seeth but also bodily in the sight of men and not by Images but as he himself appoints us in his word Catechist It is a marvellous thing that there should be any need of convincing men that God is to be worshipped Outwardly as well as Inwardly with our Bodies as well as with our Spirits or that any persons of understanding should make that foolish use of our Saviours words to the woman of Samaria John 4.24 God is a spirit and is to be worshipped in Spirit and in truth as if pretending to worship God in their hearts and spirits could excuse their utter neglect of his outward worship or their not Kneeling in prayer or any other irreverent undecent behaving themselves in the worship of God But if there be any need to speak to this point I think here is enough in the very letter of this Commandment to stop all mouths Thou shalt not bow down before images and worship them For in that we must not do it before images implies that before God we must do it we must bow down before him when we worship him that as the Apostle saith 1 Cor. 6.20 We may glorifie God with our bodies as well as with our spirits which are his Hence the Psalmist saith Psal 132.7 We will go into his Tabernacle and fall down before his footstool And hereunto are we daily invited in his words Psal 95.6 O come let us worship and fall down and kneel before the Lord our maker This must we do only to avoid Superstition and Will worship we must have a care to do it in such a manner as God directs in his word and not worship God in any way invented by man contrary to his word See Deut. 4.2 and 12.32 Whatsoever I command you that observe and do ye shall not add to the word I command you neither shall ye diminish ought from it that ye may keep the Commandments of the Lord your God which I command you Q. What are those kinds or parts of Worship which God himself hath appointed us in his word A. Daily Prayer and Thanksgiving often Reading Hearing and Meditating upon His word and the due Use of the Sacraments Catechist That
Lord and Saviour should direct us so strictly to pray to God and him only to no other whom we cannot call by this title Our Father which art in heaven Religious prayer and Invocation is a Divine Honour it is proper to God who saith Psal 50.15 Call upon me in the day of trouble and we cannot give Gods glory to another without the guilt of Idolatry To pray unto Saints or Angels implies an adoring them as Omnipotent able to help us Omnipresent and Omniscient capable of hearing us wherever and whensoever we call upon them And can we he sure of either of these or are they possible where have we any precept or direction in all the Scriptures to make our Addresses and Supplications unto them or any example of any Saints that have done it before us or any promise of their hearing our prayers or helping our necessities or of our obtaining what we ask of them or by their Mediation And having none of these how can we pray to them in duty or in Faith But this we can do to God and to him only Our Father which is in Heaven For being Our Father he is gracious and of great kindness having Fatherly bowels ready and willing to hear and help us and being Our Father in Heaven He is Almighty the Great giver of all goodness and therefore able to hear and help us And therefore to him alone let us make our prayers and supplications saying with Holy David Psal 25.1 Vnto thee O Lord do I lift up my Soul Psal 121.1 2. I will lift up mine eyes to the hills from whence cometh my help My help cometh from the Lord who made Heaven and Earth Q. What is the meaning then of this Preface Our Father which art in Heaven A. It teaches me to call upon God as my Lord God Our Heavenly Father who is the Giver of all Goodness and so assures me that he both will and can hear and help me Catechist Your Catechism here gives you a very short but pithy explanation of this Title of the Great God as the Hearer of prayers Psal 65.2 Our Father which art in Heaven Therein every one calls upon God in such words as S. Thomas expresseth his faith in Joh. 20.28 My Lord and my God Thou in whom I have a special interest as my God Yet mark it not so mine but that he is also others Our heavenly Father For I am in Charity to look upon others as my Brethren having a filial relation also to God as well as my self Now as I said in that He is our Father This assures us that he is ready and willing to hear and help us as any Father will do for his children for so Christ argues Matth. 7.9 10. If a child ask bread of his father will he give him a stone or if he ask a fish will he give him a Scorpien Will he not give him all good things and things needful and profitable for him Hon much more will God as a Father give us all good things that we ask him For Psal 103.13 As a Father pitieth his children so doth the Lord them that fear him And then that he is Our Heavenly Father this assures us of his power and ability that he can help us For Psal 99.1 The Lord is great in Sion and he is high above all people Psal 97.1 The Lord reigneth let his Children rejoyce For nothing then can harm them without his leave and providence Psal 2.1 Even when the Heathen rage and the Kings of the Earth bandy together against the Lord and against his Anointed he that setteth in Heaven shall laugh them to scorn The Lord shall have them in Derision He that dwells in Heaven Pray how dwells the Lord there Surely not so there but that he is in all places Omnipresent Jer. 23.23 Am I God at hand and not afar of saith the Lord Do not I fill heaven and Earth saith the Lord But he is in Heaven because there is the Habitation of His throne of Majesty Psal 97.2 And there and from thence he more especially manifesteth his exceeding great power and glory So is he Our Father in heaven in that sence and as our Catechism adds by way of explanation He is therefore the Giver of all Goodness of all good things Jam. 1.17 Every good and every perfect gift comes from above even from the Father of lights with whom is no variableness neither shaddow of turning So much of the Preface now to the petitions Q. How many petitions are there in the Lords prayer A. Six Three with relation to Gods glory and three to our own benefit Q. Why are we taught to pray first for what respects Gods Glory before we pray for things relating to our own benefit A. To teach us that we ought to make Gods Glory the great end of our prayers as well as of all our Actions and in all cases to prefer it before all things whatsoever Catechist Gods glory is the great end of our Creation and of whatever God doth that the whole Earth may be full of his Glory Isaiah 6.3 Solomon saith Prov. 16.4 The Lord made all things for himself yea even the wicked for the day of evil that is to glorifie his justice in them Now what is Gods end in all his doings should be Our great end and aim in all our prayers and all our actions 1 Cor. 10.31 Whether ye eat or drink or whatsoever ye do do all to the glory of God For the first Petition then Hallowed be thy name You may observe in the first place that your Catechism explains Hallowing Gods Name to be as much as worshipping him which we often also express by glorifying or honouring him and taking due notice thereof I ask you first Q. Are we able to Worship Honour or Glorifie God as we ought to do A. No. Q. How ought we to Worship or Honour or Glorify God A. Above all Beings in heart word and deed Catechist Do but remember the Apostle's expression to this purpose 1 Cor. 6.20 We must glorifie God with our Bodies and with our spirits which are his Now alas this we sinful corrupt degenerate mankind are in no wise able to do until he regenerate and renew us in the words of his Covenant his Covenant of Grace Ezek. 11.19 Put a new heart and a new spirit within us take from us the stony heart and give us an heart of flesh In a word till he put his Spirit his Spirit of Grace within us to cause us to walk in his Statutes and in his Judgments Q. What desirest thou therefore in this petition Hallowed be thy Name A. I desire God to send his Grace to me and to all people that we may worship him as we ought to do Q. Dost thou desire this or any other Blessing of God for thy self only A. No I desire it for all people and whatever Blessing I desire for my self in any petition in Christian Charity I pray the same
Gods gift and Blessing Ps 127.2 It is in vain to rise up early and sit up late and eat the bread of carefulness if God do not bless the house and all in it Nor can they could we get them at all nourish us without that blessing of God For Deut. 8.3 Man liveth not by bread alone but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God that is by his word of Blessing upon it So true it is that in him we live and move and have our being Act. 17.28 this is implied in the Petition Q. What dost thou therefore pray for in this fourth petition A. That God would bless all our lawful endeavours and so send us all things needful both for our Bodies and our Souls Catechist You may remember Agurs prayer Prov. 30.8 which is in other words the same with this Give me neither poverty nor riches feed me with food convenient for me lest being rich I be full and deny thee and say who is the Lord or being poor I steal or be tempted to do unjustly taking the name of God in vain And since our souls have their proper food and nourishment as well as Our Bodies even the Word and Sacraments the Church therefore teaches you that you herein pray for the continuance of these also even what is needful for the nourishing our Souls to eternal life Some of the Fathers therefore by daily bread understood the Holy Sacrament Q. What is implied in the fifth petition Forgive us our Trespasses c. A. That we are by our sins Debtors to Gods Justice and liable to Condemnation Q. Can any man living satisfie Gods Justice for this debt A. No nor all the world Catechist Alas We sin daily and in many things offend all Jam. 3.2 And by every sin become debtors to Gods justice and are guilty of death For Rom. 6.23 The wages of sin is death It being said by the just God from the Beginning Gen. 2.17 In the day thou sinnest thou shalt die the death And as no man can satisfie Gods Justice for sin for his own sin so Psal 49.7 None can redeem his brother nor pay to God a ransom for him He that satisfies for others sins must have no sin of his own How should they answer for others who are themselves guilty Q. What dost thou therefore pray for in this fifth Petition A. I pray unto God that he will for the merits of Christs Satisfaction be merciful unto us and forgive us our sins Catechist What we pray for here is just what God promiseth in his new Covenant Jer. 31.34 I will forgive their iniquites and remember their sins no more Now this was a Covenant of mercy made in Christ upon his undertaking to satisfie Gods Justice for our sins saying Psal 40.7 Lo I come to do thy Will O God For thus Ps 85.10 in him and by him Mercy and Truth met together Righteousness and peace kissed each other Col. 1.20 He made peace through the blood of his Cross For 1 Joh. 2.2 He became a propitiation for our sins and for the sins of the whole world For his sake therefore it is that we hope and pray for mercy and forgiveness Q. What mean you by forgiveness of sins A. A free and full acquitting us of their guilt and punishment Catechist Free therefore do we Protestants utterly disclaim all opinion of Merit which is indeed utterly inconsistent with the words Mercy and Forgiveness Rom. 3.24 We are justified freely by his Grace through the Redemption that is in Jesus And it s a full Forgiveness therefore we also deny the Papists opinion of Purgatory pains to satisfie for our sins by enduring a temporal punishment for them For when God forgives he will not again exact the debt in part or whole he saith in his Covenant of Grace and Mercy I will so forgive their sins as to remember them no more Q. Who are they that may expect such Forgiveness at the hands of God A. True penitents only that are so sorry for their sins as to forsake them and such as from their hearts forgive others their injuries and offences against themselves Catechist For the former I refer you to what I taught you upon the Article of Forgiveness in your Creed And for forgiving of others it is so necessary to qualifie us for Gods pardon that Christ tells us plainly what we must look for Matth. 6.14 If ye forgive men their trespasses your Heavenly Father will forgive you yours but if ye forgive not men their trespasses neither will your Father forgive you your trespasses So much for this petition also Q. What is implied in the Sixth petition Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from Evil A. Our greatest Misery in this life to wit that Satan the world and the flesh are always tempting us to sin and we ourselves are prone to yield to and unable of ourselves to resist any temptation Catechist We must as the Apostle Gal. 6.1 warns us look upon ourselves as surrounded with temptations Consider ourselves lest we be tempted And therefore as Christ exhorts Mark 14.38 Watch and pray lest we enter into Temptation And alas in regard of them we have no reason to be in love with but even to be weary of this Life saying with David Ps 120.5 Wo is me that I sojourn in Mesech and have my habitation in the tents of Kedar For 1 Pet. 5.8 Our adversary the Devil goes about like a roaring Lyon seeking whom he may devour And he makes use of all the good and evil things of this world to be snares to us to intangle us in one or other sin or wickedness and our flesh is weak and our own hearts treacherous too willing to yeild themselves a prey to that Ghostly enemy The Great Devourer Q. What must we in justice expect if we either yeild to commit sin to which he tempts us or continue in it A. All Evils of Punishment both in this Life and the Next Catechist Prov. 13.21 Evil pursueth sinners Rom. 1.18 The wrath of God is revealed from Heaven against all ungodliness and vnrighteousness of men For he hath spoken it Rom. 2.6 That he will render to every man according to his works Ver. 9. To them who obey not the truth but obey unrighteousness indignation and wrath Tribulation and anguish to every soul that doth evil Jew or Gentile These things are implied in the petition Now then Q. What dost thou pray for in this petition A. That God would assist us by his Holy Spirit to resist and overcome all Temptations and either to keep us from being tempted to sin or from falling into sin or from living impenitently in it so that we may escape his punishments Temporal Spiritual and Eternal Catechist Need have we to pray and that continually for the Almighty Guidance and Assistance of Gods Holy Spirit in this our Spiritual warfare for we are poor weak and frail Creatures of ourselves The spirit being willing
That all lyes are of the Devil is plain by what Christ said John 8.44 When the Devil speaks a lye he speaks of his own For he is a Lyer and the Father of lyes And as for Officious lyes that is lyes for the better as we commonly say S. Pauls Rule to Christians condemns them sufficiently Rom. 3 8. No man may do evil that good may come of it For they that do so their Damnation is just Now have you but one Commandment remaining which most Divines expound to design chiefly the regulating the very heart and so to have influence upon all the rest which restrain the hands and tongue and outward man from all acts of Injustice and Unrighteousness but let us learn what your Catechism teaches you of it Q. What duties doth the Tenth Commandment require of you according to your Catechism Thou shalt not covet c. A. Labour and diligence in my Calling that I may get mine own Living and Contentment doing my duty in that state of life unto which it hath pleased God to call me Catechist If any man be idle and will not labour S. Paul censures him to hunger saying neither let him eat 1 Thes 3.10 For such a man crosseth Gods Ordinance who as it is in Job 5.27 made man to labour as the sparks to fly upward Such is therefore Gods Canon-law Eph. 4.28 Let him that stole steal no more but rather let him labour with his hands the thing that is good that he may have to give to him that needeth And as for diligence in this labour we know what God promiseth and may daily see how God prospers it Prov. 10.4 He becometh poor that dealeth with a slack hand But the hand of the diligent maketh rich Chap. 13.4 The Soul of the sluggard desireth and hath nothing but the Soul of the diligent shall be made fat Now being diligent and industrious in our Callings we must be content with that Condition and State of life wherein God hath placed us 1 Tim. 6.6 Having food and raiment let us therewith be content For Godliness with Contentment is great gain Let your Conversation therefore be without Covetousnes Heb. 13.5 And be content with such things as ye have for he hath said I will never leave thee nor forsake thee And herein we have the Apostle for an excellent example who saith Phil. 4.11 I have learnt to abound and to suffer want and in whatsoever Estate I am therewith to be content Q. What then are the sins forbidden by this Commandment A. Idleness in my Calling Discontent with my present Condition Envying Coveting or inordinate desiring the Goods of others Catechist Hear a little out of the Scriptures of each of these The Prophet Ezekiel 1.6.49 tells you what the sins of Sodom was even fulness of bread and abandance of Idleness And as Solomon often inveighs against the sluggard so his Censure of this vice to name no more methinks deserves your good remmembrance Eccl. 10.18 By much slothfulness the Building decayeth and through Idleness of the hands the House droppeth through As for Discontentment in whatever Condition Gods providence placeth us it is quite contrary to Holy Davids resolves Psal 39.9 I will lay my hand upon my mouth and say nothing because it is thy Doing And to Jobs carriage under his unspeakable losses and crosses For when all was destroyed and he fell into most extreme poverty and misery He sinned not but said chap. 1 21. The Lord gave and the Lord hath taken away blessed be the name of the Lord. And to his murmuring wife he said chap. 2.10 Thou speakest like one of the foolish women for shall we receive good and not evil at the hands of the Lord And now as we must not be discontent with nor impatient under our own Condition so must we not envy at another mans For Envyings are numbred amongst the works of the flesh Gal. 5.21 And the Apostle saith 1 Cor. 13.4 Charity envyeth not but rejoyceth in others good The Psalmist therefore cautions every godly man against envying fretting at even the wicked mans prosperity in this world Ps 37. throughout And the Apostle saith Rom. 13.13 Let us walk not in strife nor envying no more than in gluttony and drunkenness and St. James makes envy the Fountain of many mischiefs saying chap. 3.16 Where envying is there is Confusion and every evil work And lastly as for Coveting and inordinate desire of others goods The letter of the Commandment expressly forbids it saying Thou shalt not covet thy neighbours house c. And therefore I say in the words of the Prophet Ezekiel 33.31 Let not your hearts go after your Covetousness So have you now all the Commandments set before you by which I exhort you often to examine yourselves how your estate stands towards God and concerning your hopes of Salvation and great cause have we all to say as Holy Church directs us after the repeating them in the Communion Service and that even from the bottom of our hearts Lord have mercy to pardon us all our Omissions and Commissions therein and for the time to Come write all these Laws in our hearts So proceed we to the next General Head in Catechism The Lords Prayer for an Introduction whereto I ask you Q. My Good Child Dost thou think thou art able to do these things of thy self or to keep these Commandments of God or to serve him of thy self by any natural power of thine own A. No. Q. What then is needful to enable thee thereunto A. Gods special Grace Catechist I have minded you before of what our Saviour said to his Disciples John 11.15 I am the Vine ye are the branches He that abideth in me and I in him bringeth forth much fruit for without me ye can do nothing Joh. 15.5 it is God that worketh in us both to will and do that which is good And thence are we able to do all things Phil. 4.13 any good thing through Christ strengthening us Q. Why are you unable to keep Gods Commandments or to serve him without this special Grace assisting you A. Because my duties are Spiritual and having many mighty Enemies and strong Temptations I am by nature prone to all evil and averse from all good Catechist I have before upon the fourth Question in Catechism and in the Creed instructed you in this your natural Corruption and I cannot do it too often S. Paul speaks much of it in Rom. 7. saying In me that is in my flesh dwelleth no good thing Ver. 18. For to will is present with me but how to perform that which is good I know not Ver. 14. What I would that I do not but what I hate that do I. Our Enemies they are mighty and very subtile even the Devil the world and the flesh Our duties are spiritual for God saith My Son Give me thy heart Prov. 23.26 and will be worshipped in spirit and in truth Joh. 4.24 But we are carnal sold under
sin Rom. 7.14 The natural man receiveth not the things of the spirit of God because they are spiritually discerned 1 Cor. 2.14 Q By what means then may you obtain Gods special Grace A. By diligent that is by daily fervent prayer Catechist Of the efficacy of our prayers to obtain Gods special Grace Our Saviour assures us and that by way of Argument which gives us much stronger consolation Luk 11.13 If ye being evil know how to give good gifts to your Children how much more will your heavenly Father give his Holy Spirit to them that ask him But then Our asking must be thus qualified that it may obtain it must be daily we must pray continually or without ceasing 1 Thes 5.17 and fervently Jam. 5.16 The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much Ask therefore and so ask and it shall be given you seek and ye shall find knock and it shall be opened unto you Matth. 7.7 Q. In what bodily posture must you pray A. Kneeling or at least with the greatest reverence possible Catechist For in this posture of kneeling have Gods Saints always made their solemn prayers or for the most part And as we cannot use too much reverence in our Addresses to so great a God so unto this are we daily invited in the words of the Psal 95.6 O come let us worship and fall down and kneel before the Lord our maker Q. What things must you pray for besides Gods Grace A. Only for things agreeable to Gods will Catechist 1 Joh. 5.14 This is the Confidence that we have in him that whatever we ask according to his Will he heareth us Q. In whose Name and Mediation must we put up our prayers A. Neither of Saints nor Angels but only that of our Lord Jesus Christ Catechist So he himself directs us For he the is one Mediator betwixt us and the one God 1 Tim. 2.5 Therefore he saith Joh. 14 13.14 Whatsoever ye shall ask in my name that will I do that the Father may be glorified in me If ye shall ask any thing in my Name I will do it And he assures us even with an Oath that his Father will do it chap. 16.23 Verily Verily I say unto you whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my Name he will give it you And he seems to solve the doubt why he saith he will do it and his Father will do it too ver 26. Ye shall ask in my Name and I say unto you that I will pray the father for you c. For Heb. 7.25 He is able to save to the ultermost seeing he liveth for ever to make intercession for us With great reason therefore doth our Holy Church conclude all her prayers with these words Through Jesus Christ our Lord. And praying in Christs Name we cannot pray better or more acceptably than in his words too Q. Which is the best form of prayer and most perfect pattern to direct you in praying A. The Prayer Christ taught his Disciples called The Lords Prayer Q. Let me hear you then say the Lords prayer A. Our Father which art in heaven Hallowed be thy name c. Catechist It is rightly called the Lords prayer as the Eucharist is called the Lords Supper because he composed it as he instituted and ordained this his Supper Now observe when Christ taught his Disciples this prayer it is said in Luk. 11.2 When ye pray say plainly making it Our duty as his Disciples as we will owne ourselves to be Christians to use this form of prayer at all times for it is a most perfect and Comprehensive prayer containing all that is needful to be prayed for and therefore supplying the defects of all other our prayers But at another time Matth. 6.9 He said After this manner pray ye as plainly there making it a pattern to all other our prayers And so doing Our prayers cannot be other than according to Gods will and being so we are sure he will hear and grant our petitions Now tell me what your Catechism teacheth you of this Q. What desirest thou of God in this prayer A. I desire my Lord God our Heavenly Father c. Catechist This is a very solid answer and teacheth you a great deal in a little Compass My part is to help you to understand to what part and petition of your Lords prayer every clause in this answer is to be referred and to make these and all other needful things concerning it as plain as I can In the mean time Let me give you this instruction It will be very good and profitable for you Good Children to get some other good and godly prayers by heart for your daily use out of some or other good books such as those sometimes annexed to your Bibles or those in that excellent Book called The Whole duty of man or the like And till you can do that let me tell you you may make a very good prayer of this your answer and using it devoutly and with understanding it will be acceptable to God Instead of saying I desire my Lord God Our heavenly Father c. it is but altering it thus and it will be a very good prayer O Lord God Our Heavenly Father who art the Author of all goodness I desire thee I beseech thee that thou wilt send thy grace to me and to all people that we may worship thee serve thee and obey thee as we ought to do and I pray unto thee that thou wilt send us all things that be needful both for our bodies and our Souls and that thou wilt be merciful unto us and forgive us our sins and I humbly beg that it will please thee to save us in all dangers Ghostly and bodily and that thou wilt keep us from all sin and wickedness and from our Ghostly Enemy and from Everlasting death And I trust and beg of thee that I may always trust that thou wilt do this of thy own mere mercy â—nd goodness through our Lord Jesus Christ Amen Say this your answer in such a form of â—â—ayer upon your knees every day morning and evening â—ith understanding and from your hearts and Souls and doubt not God who delights not in quaint words nor in the multitude of them will graciously accept it both till you have furnished yourselves with some larger forms and afterwards Now for our further understanding of our Lords prayer and of this account your Catechism gives of it I ask you Q. How many parts are there in the Lords prayer A. Three a Preface the Petitions and the Doxology or Conclusion Catechist See what you may learn by the Preface first Q. To whom must you pray that you may be sure to speed A. To our Father in Heaven only Catechist A very necessary Observation since we know the Papists practices of making their prayers to Saints and Angels nay to very Images and especially to the Virgin Mary Which if any Christians can lawfully do it is marvellous that our