The Lord is known by the Judgments that he executeth Psal 9.16 And I am confident he that considers of them with the Reason of a Man shall not at the same time have ignorance enough to become an Atheist Some Examples whereof it will be proper to set down 1. A Souldier of King Pyrrhus being found dead and his Dog by him and could not be driven from him the King had notice of it and caused his Souldiers that were in those parts to be brought to the place and to pass in order two and two by the dead Body when the Murderers came the Dog fell upon them with the greatest fierceness imaginable upon which they confessed the Murder and dyed for it Which none can judge to be a story feigned in favour of Christanity since 't is reported by Plutarch a Heathen Writer in his Book De solertia Animalium Doth not this prove that there is a Supream Being that takes notice of mens wickedness and to whom it belongeth to execute wrath for it He that can think a Dog should do thus Naturally or by chance is a Person too bruitish to be disputed with Salust also a Heathen Writer tells us of Jugurtha that after the many Villanies he had committed and the disturbances he had made his Mind and Conscience was so strook with Terrours that he would go from one Room to another several times in the Night Season in a manner utterly unbecoming a Prince he durst not trust any man in any place he feared all Friends and Foes and would look pale at every noise he heard From whence the Author though a Heathen Man as was said concludeth that there is a God that observeth Mens Actions It is not my purpose to mention the Examples of God's Judgements recorded in Scripture or Church History for tho' those are most considerable in themselves yet too many in this Age can make light of these things supposing them to be the Politick Inventions of Christians to make their Religion regarded in the World But Arguments to the Eye-sight one would think may signifie something to these Men and are such as Mr. Hobbs his Philosophy will not teach them to deny or doubt of And such they might have had in various Instances One having stol'n some things at Reading in Berks being eating said If I know of them I wish to God this Bit may be my Death And by that next Bit he was choked presently and fell down dead in the sight of those that accused him and the things were found about him The Truth of which hath had Testimony enough in that place And more lately An Example beyond exexception was given us in the Year of our Lord 1677. one that had stollen a Bible wished That if he had done so his Hands might Rot off A few days after this wish there began to be a Blackness about his wrists which turn'd to a swelling exceeding painful to himself and as lothsome and offensive to others after it broke at length there came out wormes And having been a Spectacle of God's just Displeasure to Multitudes that came to see him for many weeks his hands did Rot off and he died a little time after on the 21. of June 1677. in King's Swinford in Staffordshire of which there is a Narrative in print published by Dr. Symon Ford with such concurrent Testimony as no sober man can cavil against If this doth not prove that there is a God that took notice of his Stealing and his wicked Wish aforesaid and that God was highly offended thereby I shall never know what is a sufficient proof of any thing And if any man shall impute this great thing to Fortune or Chance or to any thing else than to a Divine power that judgeth in the Earth I shall fear he is one of those who the Devil and Sin hath blinded to Destruction Thus Reader I have proved that an Atheist is a Fool and if thou art so wise as to live like a Christian endeavour to serve thy Lord with Joyfulness of Heart whatsoever Sorrows may threaten thee in the World For his mercy is to everlasting upon them that fear him Psal 103.17 VVhatsoever changes may be in thy self or others yet He who is thy Happiness changeth not Mal. 3.6 If all thy Friends on Earth should forsake thee yet thou shalt live under the care and compassions of thy Heavenly Father who will never leave thee nor forsake thee Heb. 13.5 If thou art never so weak and thy Enemies never so strong yet thou shalt alwaies have an Infinite Goodness and Everlasting strength to trust unto If all the Streams of Creature Comforts should fail thee at once yet still thou shalt have a God to enjoy To whom be Glory for Evermore A Morning Prayer for A Family O Most Great and Glorious Lord our God thy Name alone is Excellent and thy Praise above Heaven and Earth we confess thou art infinitely pure and perfect in thy Self and hast been abundantly good and gracious towards us Thy great goodness hath followed us daily and thy Mercies have been renewed upon us every Morning And it is thy goodness alone O God that we have awaked in Comfort and not in Torment To thee therefore we desire to offer up our Morning Sacrifice of Prayer and Thanks-giving And tho' we are unworthy to offer thee any Sacrifice yet we beseech thee O Lord Accept of us and our services in the worthyness of thy Son Jesus Christ the Righteous for his sake we humbly pray thee forgive us all our Sins of what number or nature soever against thee by Thought Word or Deed by Negligence and Ignorance by Presumption and Wilfulness O let thy mercy be magnified in the pardon of them all And let them never be charged upon us to our Discouragement in this world or our Destruction in the world to come And O Lord we pray thee let us not only find Mercy with thee hereafter but also let us obtain powerful and effectual grace to live as becomes thy Servants Here. O turn our Hearts still more unto thee and fix our Affections on the things that are Above and give us Hearts suitable to those blessed Laws which thou hast commanded us to walk in O Lord we know thou hast the greatest Right unto us O do thou maintain thy Right within us Set up thy Throne in our Souls and let thine own Arm Rule for thee there And graciously subdue every Thought Affection and Passion that exalts it self against thy Law Give us thy Holy Spirit to Sanctifie our Natures more and more and to instruct us savingly in the Truths of thy Holy Word Lord help us so to make it the Rule of our Lives as that it may be our Comfort at our Deaths We know O God it is not in Man to direct his ways we pray thee do thou undertake the work and make our ways acceptable to thy Self To this End increase our Knowledge of thee quicken our Love to thee
A FORM of Sound WORDS OR A Brief Family-Catechisme Containing the Cheif Heads of CHRISTIAN RELIGION Fitted for the weakest Capacities Together with some Arguments against ATHEISME By J. B. a Minister of the Church of England Psal 119.124 Deal with thy Servant according to thy Mercy and Teach me thy Statutes 2 Tim. 3.16 From a Child thou hast known the holy Scriptures which are able to make thee wise unto Salvation through Faith which is in Christ Jesus LONDON Printed for Jonathan Robinson at the Golden Lyon in St. Paul's Church-yard 1682. TO THE READER Christian Reader AS it hath been observed in War That small Shot hath commonly done more Mischeif than great So I think in the Christian Warfare that small Books especially Catechismes have done more good than larger ones for the most part For as many that have most need of them have but little money to lay out on books and but little time to read them So I believe They are the less apt to concern themselves with them when they see they are any thing large Wherefore I have studied Brevity herein And do satisfie my self the more with it because I judge as that Most Reverend Man of God That a few Articles of Religion may be of that weight that they may be sufficient to make a man wise to Salvation Bishop usher See his excellent Sermon on Eph. 4.13 p. 16. of whose Judgment it were easie to shew many others of the Lords Worthies * Prima ista pauca credibilia c. uti Doctiss Davenant in Adhortat pro pace Eccles to have been It is needless for me to enlarge in this place and no less vain to make an Apology for my self for as herein I desire not to displease any so I am confident I do no man wrong by this Paper And am not without hopes that it may do good to some Reader If Thou art one that can spare a little Money I would Request Thee to bestow a few of these Papers or some others that are better upon thy poor Neighbours for their Souls good and if thou art a Housholder to make use of some such for the good of them that are under thy Charge I have no more to add but my Wishes of thy Spiritual Welfare and to desire Thee to beg the Blessing of The God of all Grace upon all the means of Grace that are afforded us For whose sake I am Thy ready Servant J. Brandon A FAMILY CATECHISME WHereas thou hast a God to serve as at the End of this Paper is plainly proved and seeing thou shalt shortly have done with all this World and canst have no hopes of a better World hereafter unless thou dost serve him truly Here I would therefore know Quest What is the Rule according to which thou art to serve Him Answ The Holy Scripture is that Rule Q. Where doth that appear A. Isa 8.20 To the law and to the Testimony if they speak not according to this word it is because there is no light in them Gal. 6.16 As many as walk according to this Rule peace be upon them Q. How far forth can the Scripture instruct us A. It it able to make wise to Salvation 2 Tim. 3.16 Q. How doth it so A. By teaching us to know our selves and our God Q. What doth the Scriptures teach us of our selves A. That we are fallen from that Holy State in which Mankind was made and are become sinful and subject to the wrath of God through Sin Q. How so A. Adam though he was made upright as 't is written God made man upright Eccl. 7.29 turned from the Holy Commandment given unto Him and did eat of for-bidden Fruit Gen. 2.16 17. compared with Gen. 3.13 And so became a Sinner Q. But why must his posterity be 〈…〉 he himself was a sinner may no◠〈…〉 came of him be without sin A. No. He had Children after 〈…〉 likeness Gen. 5.3 And who can bring a 〈◊〉 thing out of an unclean Job 14.4 Q. Are all men become sinful A. Yes Who can say My Heart is clean I am pure from my Sin Prov. 20.9 If we say we have no sin we deceive our selves 1 Joh. 1.8 Q. What are men therefore in their Natural State A. Children of wrath Eph. 2.3 We were by Nature Children of wrath even as others Q. What doth sin make the sinner worthy of A. The wages of sin is Death Rom. 6.25 where it is to be noted That this is not spoken of any particular gross Sin only but of sin as such and therefore of every sin And the Death which the Apostle speaks of includes Eternal Death or Damnation It being such a Death as is opposed to Eternal Life in that Verse Q. Doth not this make all sins Equal for if every sin makes a man worthy of Damnation what can be said more of the greatest sins than is said of the least A. No. This doth not take away the differences or degrees of sin for tho' all Sin deserve Damnation that is Condemnation from God yet greater sins deserve the greater Damnation as we read of some that they should receive the greater Damnation because they devoured Widow's Houses and for a pretence made long Prayers Matth. 23.14 Q. Is it not strange That Sin should make a man worthy of so great a Misery A. No. No wonder at all because it is committed against so great a God being an Offence and Dishonour to him and a Transgression of his Law Rom. 2.23 Jam. 3.2 1 Joh. 3.4 Q. May a man therefore be ruined everlastingly for the first sin he is guilty of A. Yes doubtless and would be so indeed if God should enter into Judgment with him for it and shew him no favour Q. Can you shew any Examples from Scripture to confirm this A. Yes The Angels many of them tho' greater in Power than Man yet were ruined for their first Sin against God 2 Pet. 2.4 God spared not the Angels that sinned but cast them down to Hell And therefore that He hath not dealt so with all Mankind is to be ascribed to His meer Mercy Q. Sin being so great an Evil because it is an offence against God Tell me therefore what God is A. God is a Spirit Uncreated Unchangable from Everlasting to Everlasting Most Holy and Wise Just and Merciful True and Powerful being in all Places and seeing all things at once First God is not a Bodily Substance but a Spiritual Substance Joh. 4.24 saith Christ himself God is a Spirit Q. What can you gather from thence A. Thence I gather three things especially 1. That God must be worshipped in Spirit and in Truth that we must glorifie God with our Spirits or Soules as well as with our Bodies thinking Highly and Honourably of him as well as speaking so 2. That 't is Vain and Ridiculous as well as impious to make any Picture or Image of God for no Image can be like a Spirit let men make something like
their Souls before they undertake to make the likeness of their God 3. That they are Fools or worse than such that will not believe there is a God because they never saw Him For a Spirit as such cannot be seen Secondly God is a Spirit Uncreated for 't is He that is the Creatour In the Beginning God created the Heaven and the Earth Gen. 1.1 Q. What learn you from that A. Thus much That the Creatures received all their perfection from God but he received none from them Thirdly God is Unchangeable Mal. 3.6 I the Lord change not Jam. 1.17 With him is no variableness nor shaddow of turning Q. What learn you from hence A. 1. That we should be constant in the way of Religion and Obedience For all those Attributes of his his Greatness and Goodness and the rest that should engage us to his Service and encourage us in it are the same at all times 2. That we should possess our selves in Patience and not be discontented at any changes we meet with in the World for God on whom all our Happiness dependeth is still the same as able to help us and as ready to receive us if we return unto him as ever he was Fourthly God is Eternal Isa 40.28 The Everlasting God fainteth not neither is weary Psal 90.2 From everlasting to everlasting thou art God Q. What do you gather from that A. 1. That All Creatures are as nothing in Comparison of Him for they had their beginning and could not continue but by his Power and Providence 2. That God hath an Eternity to do all his works in That he can punish the wicked with Everlasting punishment and give his Servants Everlasting Joy Fifthly God is most Holy Exod. 15.11 Glorious in Holiness Isa 6.3 Holy holy holy is the Lord of Hosts Q. What Gather you from this A. 1. That he is holy in all his works and cannot be the Author or approver of any Sin 2. That an unholy Person is not fit to enjoy Him in Heaven 3. That we must be Holy because the Lord our God is holy 1 Pet. 1.16 Sixthly God is most Wise Jer. 10.12 By his wisdom he established the world And His Vnderstanding is infinite Psal 147.5 Q. What may we gather from it A. 1. That God knows what is best for us in the world 2. That he alone can give us the true wisdom and 3. That it is our wisest course to do as he commands us in his Holy Word The fear of the Lord that is wisdom and to depart from Evil is understanding Job 28.28 Seventhly God is most Just Isa 45.20 A just God and a Saviour Psal 92.15 The Lord is upright and there is no unrighteousness in Him Q. What can you conclude from it A. 1. That he will do no unjustice himself nor approve of it in his Creatures The Righteous Lord loveth righteousnes Psal 11.7 And will punish the wicked for their iniquity Isa 13.11 2. That He will judge the told in Righteousness Psal 9.8 3. That the unrighteous shall not inherit the Kingdom of God 1 Cor. 6.9 Eighthly God is Merciful Exod. 34.6 The Lord God Merciful and Gracious Eph. 2.4 God who is rich in mercy Q. VVhat learn you from that A. Several things 1. That we must seek to him in our trouble whether should Men flee for help in Misery but to Him who is the God of all Mercy Psal 50.15 God saith Call upon me in the time of Trouble 2. That they are utterly inexcusable that refuse to serve a Mercifull God 3. That we must be Merciful because our Father in Heaven is Merciful Luke 6.36 Ninthly God is most True Exod 34.6 Abundant in Goodness and Truth A God that cannot Lye Titus 1.2 Q. VVhat do you gather thence A. 1. That All is true that his Word tells us and that therefore his Threatnings against the wicked and his Promises to the godly shall be accomplished in time in that way as they are made 2. That He is a Lover of Truth and that Lying Lips are an abomination to Him Prov. 12.22 Tenthly God is most Powerful 2. Cor. 6.18 Saith the Lord Almighty 1. Chron. 29.19 In thy Hand is all Power and Might Q. VVhat follows from this A. 1. That we are safe enough if God defend us whatsoever dangers we may be in 2. That he can deliver us out of the greatest Distresses and make a way for us to Escape when we can see no way for it 3. That All out States and Concerns are in his hand He is able to save and to destroy Jam. 4.13 Eleventhly God is present in all Places VVhither shall I flee from thy Presence Psal 139.7 And Jer. 23.24 Do not I fill Heaven and Earth saith the Lord Q. VVhat do you gather from thence A. 1. That no place can secure us from his Displeasure if we provoke him by wicked Courses 2. That if we serve and please him in the main we may be assured that we have a Friend at hand wherever we be that is every way sufficient for us 3. That seeing we cannot flee from him we have no way left for our safety but to return unto him in true Obedience and to beg his Mercy Protection and Salvation Twelfthly God seeth all things at once Job 28.24 He looketh unto the Ends of the Earth He seeth under the whole Heaven Heb. 4.13 All things are open unto his Eyes with whom we have to do Q. VVhat do you infer from hence A. That he is acquainted with all our ways Psal 139.3 and that therefore we are concerned to take heed to our ways and Rule our selves according to his Word Psal 119.9 2. That it is a folly for Men to hide their Sins by lies or excuses or any other ways 3. That we want for Encouragement in secret Duties VVe can do no good so privately but our God takes notice of it He can see his Servants in secret and will one day through his Mercy reward them openly Matth. 6.6 Q. God being such a God as you have now said and proved VVhat can you most easily conclude from it A. I conclude from Hence that He is a glorious God indeed and hath none like unto him that he is every way fit to be the Ruler of Heaven and Earth the Disposer of all Things the Judge of all Men the Revenger of VVickedness the Rewarder of VVell-doing the Portion and Felicity of all his Servants Q. God being so great and glorious Is it not enough that we Love and Honour Him If we do so what matter is it how we behave our selves as to our Neighbours or our Governours or how we stand affected towards Them A. No VVe must keep a good Conscience towards Men also in Acts 14.16 Paul did exercise himself thereunto to have a Conscience void of offence towards God and towards Men. Our Saviour also teaches us to do as we would be done by Matth. 7.12 So 1 John 4.21 This Commandment we have of him that