our sins Q. Is it not the great Commendation of Gods love in that he gave his Son to dye for us while we were yet sinners A. Rom. 5.8 God commendeth his love towards us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us Q. Is not Prayer a means to obtain the favour of God and to gain the knowledge of his love A. Job 33.26 He shall pray unto God and he shall be favourable unto him and he shall see his face with joy Q. How should we express our love to God for giving his Son to die for our sins Should we not do it by our hatred of sin that was the cause of the death of his Son A. Psal 97.10 Ye that love the Lord hate evil he preserveth the souls of his Saints he delivereth them out of the hand of the wicked Q. How else should we express our love to God for his great love to us A. John 14.15 If ye love me keep my Commandments Q. Ought not Gods love to us make us love him A. 1 John 4.19 We love him because he first loved us Q. Should not Gods love to us cause us to love one another A. 1 John 4.11 Beloved if God so loved us we ought also to love one another Q. Should not Gods love in giving Christ to die for us encourage us to trust in him that he will freely give us all things A. Rom. 8.32 He that spared not his own Son but delivered him up for us all how shall he not with him also freely give us all things Q. What is the whole duty of man A. Eccles 12.13 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter Fear God and keep his Commandments for this is the whole duty of man Q. How many Commandments did God deliver to Moses written in two Tables of Stone A. Deut. 4.13 And he declared unto you his Covenant which he commanded you to perform even ten Commandments and he wrote them upon two Tables of Stone Q. What is the Preface to the Ten Commandments which God spake to the People when he gave them his Commandments A. Exod. 20.1 2. God spake all these words saying I am the Lord thy God which have brought thee out of the Land Egypt out of the House of Bondage Q. Which are the Ten Commandments Rehearse them in order as they are recorded in the 20th Chapter of Exodus from the 3d to the 18th verse A. 1. Thou shalt have no other Gods before me 2. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven Image nor any likeness of any thing that is in Heaven above or that is in the Earth beneath or that is in the Water under the Earth thou shalt not bow down thy self unto them nor serve them for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me and shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me and keep my Commandments 3. Thou shalt not take the Name of the Lord thy God in vain for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his Name in vain 4. Remember the Sabbath-day to keep it holy six days shalt thou labour and do all thy work but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God in it thou shalt not do any work thou nor thy son nor thy daughter thy man-servant nor thy maid-servant nor thy cattle nor thy stranger that is within thy gates For in six days the Lord made Heaven and Earth the Sea and all that in them is and rested the seventh day wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath-day and hallowed it 5. Honour thy Father and thy Mother that thy days may be long upon the Land which the Lord thy God giveth thee 6. Thou shalt not kill 7. Thou shalt not commit adultery 8. Thou shalt not steal 9. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour 10. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbours house thou shalt not covet thy neighbours wife nor his man-servant nor his maid-servant nor his ox nor his ass nor any that is thy neighbours Q. Hath God commanded nothing in his Law but what is holy just and good A. Rom. 7.12 The Law is holy and the Commandment holy and just and good Q. Is not the Law spiritual requiring spiritual duties and forbidding spiritual sins And may we not thereby discern our selves to be carnal A. Rom. 7.14 We know that the Law is spiritual but I am carnal sold under sin Q. Was the Law given us for this end that we might be justified by the deeds of it or Was it given to drive us to Christ that we might seek for justification in Christ through Faith A. Gal. 3.24 Wherefore the Law was our School-master to bring us unto Christ that we might be justified by faith Q. Would there have been no need of the death of Christ if we could have obtained such a righteousness as might have justified us in the sight of God by our observing the Law A. Gal. 2.21 I do not frustrate the grace of God for if righteousness came by the Law then Christ is dead in vain Q. Is not Jesus Christ the end of the Law for Righteousness to every one that believeth A. Rom. 10.4 Christ is the end of the Law for Righteousness to every one that believeth Q. Though we cannot obtain Righteousness by the Law yet must we not be very careful to keep the Commandments of God A. Psal 119.4 Thou hast commanded us to keep thy Precepts diligently Q. What Promise have you that God will enable you to keep his Commandments A. Ezek. 36.27 I will put my Spirit within you and cause you to walk in my Statutes and ye shall keep my Judgments and do them Q. Hath not God promised under the New Testament to write his Laws in our hearts which in the times of the Old Testament were written in Tables of Stone A. Heb. 10.16 This is the Covenant that I will make with them after those days saith the Lord I will put my Laws into their hearts and in their minds will I write them Q. Is there no man upon the face of the earth that keepeth all the Commandments of God at all times without breaking any of them A. Eccles 7.20 There is not a just man upon earth that doth good and sinneth not Q. If we have respect to all the Commandments of God and endeavour with sincere hearts to obey them Will not God accept us through Christ Jesus although we come short of what the Law requires A. Psal 119.6 Then shall I not be ashamed when I have respect unto all thy Commandments Q. Must we not obey the Commandments of God from a principle of faith and love and with a pure heart A. 1 Tim. 1.5 Now the end of the Commandment is charity out of a pure heart and of a good Conscience and of faith unfeigned Q. Are not Christians under the New-Testament freed from
not know God at the day of judgment seeing the Lord will have no mercy on them A. 2 Thes 1.7 8 9. The Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty Angels in flaming fire taking vegeance on them that know not God and that obey not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his power Q. Seeing the case of ignorant persons is thus dangerous doth it not greatly concern us to get wisdom and understanding A. Prov. 4.7 Wisdom is the principal thing therefore get wisdom and with all thy gettings get understanding Q. What must we do to get wisdom A. Jam. 1.5 If any of you lack wisdom let him ask of God that giveth to all men liberally and upbraideth not and it shall be given him Q. Will not the knowledge of the holy Scriptures make us wise to salvation And should not this cause us from our childhood to give our minds to learn the Scriptures A. 2 Tim. 3.15 From a child thou haste known the holy Scriptures which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus Q. Did God inspire all those things which are written in the holy Scriptures into their minds who wrote the Scriptures A. 2 Tim. 3.16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine for reproof for correction for instruction in righteousness Q. How do you prove the Lord to be an eternal God A. Psal 90.2 Before the Mountains were brought forth or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world even from everlasting to everlasting thou art God Q. Is not the Lord an unchangeable God A. Mal. 3.6 I am the Lord I charge not therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed Q. Is not the Lord an Almighty God A. Gen. 17.1 I am the Almighty God walk before me and be thou perfect Q. Is not Lord a faithful God A. 2 Thes 3.3 The Lord is faithful who shall stablish you and keep you from evil Q. Is not the Lord a merciful and gracious God A. Psal 103.8 The Lord is merciful and gracious slow to anger and plenteous in mercy Q. Is not the Lord an holy God A. Psal 145.17 The Lord is righteous in all his ways and holy in all his works Q. Are not the eyes of God upon all men in every place A. Prov. 15.3 The eyes of the Lord are in every place beholding the evil and the good Q. Doth God know all our thoughts and hear all our words and is he acquainted with all our ways A. Psal 139.2 3 4. Thou knowest my down-sitting and mine up-rising thou understandest my thought afar off Thou compassest my path and my lying down and art acquainted with all my ways For there is not a word in my tongue but lo o Lord thou knowest it altogether Q. Doth God see what we do in the dark as well as what we do in the ligt A. Psal 139.12 Yea the darkness hideth not from thee but the night shineth as the day the darkness and the light are both alike to the. Q. Doth not the Lord fill heaven and earth with his presence A. Jor. 23.24 Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him saith the Lord Do not I fill heaven and earth saith the Lord Q. Is not the Lord at all times round about his people A. Psal 125.2 As the Mountains are round about Jerusalem so the Lord is round about his people from henceforth even for ever Q. Seeing God is continually round about us ought we not to set the Lord always before us and walk as in his sight A. Psal 16.8 I have set the Lord always before me because he is at my right hand I shall not be moved Q. Is not the Lord a just God without iniquity A. Deut. 32.4 He is the rock for all his ways are judgment a God of truth and without iniquity just and right is he Q. Seeing the Lord is an holy God without iniquity do not they wrong God who say or think that he is the author of sin A. Jam. 1.13 Let no man say when he is tempted I am tempted of God for God cannot be tempted with evil neither tempteth he any man Q. Do not they conceive amiss of God who think the Godhead is like unto Gold or Silver or any other thing which is graven by the art of man A. Acts 17.29 For as much then as we are the off-spring of God we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto Gold or Silver or stone graven by art and mans device Q. Cannot we live or move or subsist in our being without God A. Acts 17.28 In him we live and move and have our being A. Whence cometh every good and perfect gift Q. Jam. 1.17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above and cometh down from the Father of light with whom is no variableness neither shadow of turning Q. Will God give all good things to them that seek him A. Psal 34.10 The young Lions do lack and suffer hunger but they that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing Q. What shall be done for the man that serveth God and his Son Jesus Christ A. Job 12.26 If any man serve me let him follow me and where I am there shall also my servant be If any man serve me him will my Father honour Q. What must we do that we may serve God acceptably A. Heb. 12.28 Wherefore we receiving a Kingdom which cannot be moved let us have grace whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear Q. How do you prove that God made and preserveth Heaven and Earth and the Sea and all things that are therein A. Neh. 9.6 Thou even thou art Lord alone thou hast made Heaven the Heaven of Heavens with all their host the Earth and all things that are therein the Seas and all that is therein and thou preservest them all and the host of Heaven worshipeth thee Q. Is not Gods making Heaven and Eearth an evident proof that nothing is to hard for him A. Jer. 32.17 Ah Lord God behold thou hast made the Heaven and the Earth by thy great power and streched out arm and there is nothing too hard for thee Q. Why did the Lord make all things A. Prov. 16.7 The Lord hath made all things for himself yea even the wicked for the day of evil Q. Who created man and how was he created A. Gen. 1.27 God created man in his own image in the image of God created he him male and female created he them Q. Did not the Image of God in which man was created consist in knowledg A. Col. 3.10 And have put on the new Man which is renewed in knowledge after the Image of him that created him Q. Did not the Image of God in which man was created consist in Righteousness and
A SCRIPTURAL Catechism Useful for all Sorts of Persons Both such as desire to Teach their FAMILIES And such as desire to Learn the Principles of the Christian Religion Out of the HOLY SCRIPTURES By Owen Stockton Minister of the Gospel 2 Tim. 3.15 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 H. Brome at the Gun at the West End of St. Pauls MDCLXXII TO THE READER ALl Scripture being given by Inspiration of God is profitable for Doctrine for Reproof for Correction and for Instruction in Righteousness And therefore the whole Word of God is to be read with diligence and to be embraced with the same faith love reverence and obedience with which we would receive it if we heard the Lord himself speak those things with an audible voice which we find written in the Scriptures Yet in regard there are some things in the Scriptures which are hard to be understood and the memories of children are not capable to retain all things that are written therein The most edifying way of teaching our children the Holy Scriptures is as I humbly conceive to select such portions of Scripture as may be useful to bring them to the knowledge of the Principles and to direct and perswade them to the practice of the duties of the Christian Religion which is designed in this ensuing Scriptural Catechism Which may be of great use to such as are young for the grounding them in the knowledge and belief of the Truth and teaching them to lead holy and godly lives whereby they may glorifie and enjoy God become serviceable in their generation and obtain the eternal Salvation of their Souls If any say There are many good Catechisms already extant and therefore there is no need of this I answer 1. There are not many of this nature which contain both the Articles of our Faith and directions for an holy life all the Answers to the Questions being nothing else but express words of Scripture 2. This is not intended as an hinderance to any other Catechism which any persons find useful for themselves or Families but it may be conjoined with or follow after the learning of any other Catechism provided it be such as contains nothing in it contrary to sound Doctrine 3. There is a singular advantage in learning a Scriptural Catechism above others because no Instructions are so powerful for enlightning the Understanding creating Faith awing the Conscience perswading to Holiness supporting the weak administring comfort and guiding those that are instructed in the way to Eternal Life as those which are drawn out of the holy Scriptures It may be some will say This Catechism is too large our Children and Servants will never be able to retain it all in their memories To such I answer 1. It contains nothing but the Scripture which is often preached to us and which we are commanded to read and meditate on night and day and to talk thereof when we lie down and when we rise up when we sit in our houses and when we walk abroad And therefore by reason of our frequent converse with the Scriptures this may be more easily attained and retained then Catechisms of another nature 2. These Scriptures are but a very small portion compared with the many choice Instructions heavenly Counsels divine Precepts and precious Promises which doe abound both in the Old and New Testament 3. Children and Servants of ordinary capacities committing but one or two of these Scriptures to their memory every day which is no hard task may in a competent time retain the whole which may be a great help to make and keep them sound in the Faith and direct them how to order their Conversations aright whereby they shall come to see the Salvation of God 4. It will be easie redressing this complaint For if it be judged needful I can soon contract this and frame one consisting of sewer and shorter Texts of Scripture for the use of such whose age or weakness of parts will not permit them to get or keep in memory so large a Catechism as this is Or Parents may chuse out of this the shortest Scriptures and such as suit best their childrens state and condition and teach them those shorter Scriptures omitting the others till they come to a greater maturity of age and understanding It may be some on the other hand will say This Catechism is too short That there are material things omitted which might have been inserted To such I answer 1. The main and Fundamental Articles of our Faith and the most weighty duties relating to practice such as Faith Repentance the love of God and our Neighbour glorifying God Self-denial forsaking all for Christ Contentment c. are briefly handled in this Catechism 2. I was the shorter in this because I had thoughts of composing a larger for persons of riper years which if I should not do it will be easie for such as are well versed in the Word of God to add any other portions of Scripture which they judge meet for instructing their Families besides what are contained in this Catechism either according to this method or what way else they shall see good I shall not need to shew here the great benefit of teaching our Children the holy Scriptures nor give any directions how this work may be managed with success because this is already done in the Treatise of Family Instruction whither I refer the Reader A Scriptural Catechism Q. WHat will it profit a man to know God and his Son Jesus Christ A. John 17.3 This is life eternal that they might know thee the only true God and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent Q. What is God and how will God be worshipped A. Joh. 4.24 God is a Spirit and they that worship him must worship him in Spirit and in truth Q. How many Gods are there and how many Mediators between God and men A. 1 Tim. 2.5 There is one God and one Mediator between God and men the Man Christ Jesus Q. How do you prove that there are three Persons in the Godhead and that these three Persons are one and the same God A. 1 John 5.7 There are three that bear record in heaven the Father the Word and the Holy Ghost and these three are one Q. Can no man please God without faith A. Heb. 11.6 Without faith it is impossible to please him Q. What must every one believe concerning God that cometh to him A. Heb. 11.6 He that cometh to God must believe that he is and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him Q. Will the Lord have no mercy upon such people as live and die without understanding A. Isa 27.11 It is a people of no understanding therefore he that made them will not have mercy on them and he that formed them will shew them no favor Q. What shall become of those that do