President White Library, Cornell University. BX5035.L C 69 ne N62 ,VerS " y U *"" y EX puinimii™ii»i! 1 ,.ffif,.F? techism of the Churc olin 3 1924 029 447 137 Cornell University Library The original of this book is in the Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924029447137 AN EXPOSITION CATECHISM CHURCH OF ENGLAND. RIGHT REVEREND FATHER IN GOD, WILLIAM NICHOLSON, SOMETIME LORD BISHOP OF GLOUCESTER. SECOND EDITION. OXFORD : JOHN HENRY PARKER. MDCCCXLIV. oxfobd : pbinted by i. shkimpton. A plain, but full EXPOSITION OF THE CATECHISM OF THE Church of England. Enjoyned to be Learned of every Child, Before he be brought to be con- firmed by the Bishop. Collected out of the best Catechists, By the Right Reverend Father in God WILLIAM Lord Bishop of Glocester. Negligentia magna Parochi in docendo ad salutem necessaria, nempe Symbolvm, Decalogum, et Pater Noster, mortalis est. Ubi passim magnus abusus est eorum, qui contenti docuisse Symbolvm Latine, non escplicant populo rudi mysteria fidei, prasertim Trinitatis, Incarnationis, tantopere ad salutem necessaria, Vce Parochis, vce Episcopis, vce Prcelatis. Eman. Sa Aphorism., voce Parochus. LONDON, Printed by T. H. and W. H. and are to be sold by most Booksellers in London. 1686. ME M IH BISHOP NICHOLSON. The following Memoir of the Author of this Exposition, is mostly abridged by Bishop Heber, from Wood's Athense, in note (k) to his Life of Bishop Taylor. William Nicholson was the son of Christopher Nicholson, a rich clothier of Stratford, near Hadleigh, Suffolk. He was brought up as a chorister at Magdalene College, Oxford, where he was afterwards Bible Clerk, and eventually became tutor to Lord Percy, and Chaplain to his father, the Earl of Northumberland. In 1616 he was elected Master of the Free School at Croydon, where his discipline and powers of instruction were much celebrated. He resigned this situa- tion in 1629, when he was instituted to the rectory of Llan- dilo Vawr, in Caermarthenshire ; and he afterwards became a Canon Residentiary of St. David's, and Archdeacon of Brecknock. In 1643 he was named as one of the Assembly of Divines at Westminster, probably by the interest of the Earl of Northumberland, but he never took his place among them; and his Livings being shortly after sequestered, he again (now in partnership with Bishop Taylor) taught school for his maintenance, in which way of life he continued till the Restoration. In 1660 — 1, he was appointed Bishop of Gloucester, by the interest of Lord Clarendon, whom Wood insinuates that he had bribed. But as his character appears to have stood high with all parties, and as he had a strong and legitimate claim on the patronage of the government, for his unshaken loyalty, and bold and pertinacious defence of the Church during its most helpless and hopeless depression, it seems most reasonable, as well as most charitable, to ascribe his preferment rather to his merits than to simony. Wood says of him, " He was a right learned Divine, well seen and read in the Fathers and Schoolmen, but, above all, VI MEMOIR Or BISHOP NICHOLSON. most excellent he was in the critical part of grammar, in which faculty none in his time, or perhaps before, went beyond him. His writings shew him to be a person of great erudition, prudence, modesty, and of a moderate mind." He died Feb. 5, 1671, and was honoured by the following epitaph by the excellent George Bull, afterwards Bishop of St. David's. jETERNITATI s. IN SPE BEAT* RESURRECTIONIS HIC REVERENDAS EXUVIAS DEPOSUIT THEOLOGUS INSIGNIS, EPISCOPUS VERE PRIMITIVUS, GULIELMUS NICHOLSON. IN AGRO SUFFOLCIANO NATUS, APUD MAGDALENSES OXON. EDUCATUS, QB FIDEM REGI, ET ECCLESIvE AFFLICTS PR.ESTITAM, AD SEDEM GLOCESTRENSEM MERITO PROMOTUS, 1660, IN CONCIONIBUS FREQUENS, IN SCRIPT1S NERVOSUS, LEGENDA SCRIBENS, ET FACIENS SCRIBENDA. GRAVITAS EPISCOPALIS IN FRONTE EMICUIT, OMNES TAMEN BLANDE, ET HUMANITER EXCEPIT, PAUPERIBUS QUOTIDIANA CHARITATE BENEFICUS, COMITATE ERGA CLERUM, ET LITERATOS ADMIRANDUS, GLORLE, AC DIERUM SATUR, IN PALATIO SUO UT VIXIT PIE DECESSIT. FEB. V. r .SITATIS -i LXXXI1. ANNO | D oMINI | MDCLXXI. ELISABETHA CONJUX PR^EIVIT, IN HOC SACELLO SEPULTA, APRIL. XX. AN. DOMINI MDCLXIII. OWENUS BRIGSTOCK DE LECHDENNY IN COMITATU CAERMARTHEN, ARMIGER, PREDICT.® ELIZABETH* NEPOS, HOC GRATI ANIMI MONUMENTUM, (EXECUTORE RECUSANTE) PROPRIIS SUMPTIBUS EREXIT AN. MDCLXXIX. RIGHT REVEREND FATHER IN GOD, GILBERT/ BY GOD'S ESPECIAL PROVIDENCE, LORD BISHOP OF LONDON, AND DEAN OF HIS MAJESTY'S CHAPEL. May it please your Lordship, That I present this work to your view is not for any worth I conceive in it; for it is fitted for such capacities as the Church ordained the original which it explains. And then it cannot be expected that I should search into those depths that ought to be presented to so learned, so grave, and so ripe a judgment. But you are a chief and principal father, and propugnator of that religion professed in the Church of England, which is every way consonant to the doctrine and discipline of the primitive times, of which the foundations are laid down and discovered in this Catechism, in the polish- ing of which I have bestowed my pains ; and therefore this hath encouraged me to present my conceptions to your quick eye, and to submit them to your censure, being resolved to stand or fall, as your wisdom shall pass sentence. Some years are passed since these brief and plain col- lections were published, and the occasion the following epistle will speak out. With approbation they have been received, and the whole impression sold off; so that being called upon by eminent men in the Church to publish them again, I thought it my duty to invoke your lordship's patron- age, and that you would be my buckler, as you have been hitherto, against any that should dare to oppose these solid and fundamental truths, which none will be so impudent to contradict but branded heretics and hot-brained fanatics. a [Sheldon ; consecrated Bishop of Canterbury in 1663.] London in 1660, and translated to V1U THE EPISTLE DEDICATORY. These in great swarms, as angry wasps, buzz and hum about our hives, and that they invade not, and steal not the honey from our bees, there cannot be any better defensative pro- vided than an injunction for frequenting catechizing, without which sermons, as now in fashion, upon desultory texts, will be of little use. And lamentable experience hath taught us that this is an undeniable truth. For ever since sermonizing hath justled out this necessary instruction b enjoined on the Lord's day, and every holiday to be done by every rector, vicar, and curate, half an hour or more before evening prayer, our people have been possessed with strange errors in religion, and hurried on by the spirit of giddiness, of faction, of rebel- lion. It is therefore my heart's desire, that both the Queen's injunction, the practice of the canon, and that command of his gracious Majesty's wise and pious grandfather, King James, of blessed memory, were imposed afresh, and strictly called upon to be observed, viz. that afternoons' lectures were converted into explanations of some necessary rudi- ments of the Catechism ; a custom which is yet in use in the most of the "reformed Churches beyond sea, and were it but for that only, those who bear so great affection to their prac- tice in other things, might, methinks, cast one good look towards it. I wish d , saith a discreet and learned author, that they of the presbyterian inclination would more listen to these their friends, and if not for conformity's, yet for Chris- tianity's sake, not suffer preaching so totally to usurp and justle out this most necessary office, that, as an inmate, it should expel the right owner. Fas est et ab haste doceri, taught they may be from those puritans of the Church of Rome, the Jesuits, who take it for their glory that they are the most diligent catechists, and for to encourage the children that come to be catechized, from their desks and pulpits, do usu- ally scatter their airo^oprjTa among them. This is the work upon which I would advise and beseech my fellow-labourers to spend themselves, and their pains especially ; and to ease b Queen Elizabeth's Injunctions, Dordr. p. 31. 1559. Injunct. 44. et Canon 59. anno " Hamon Le Strange, Alliance of 1603. Rubric after Confirmation. Divine Offices, Annot on o. 4. c Confess. Belgica, Ca, 68. Synod THE EPISTLE DEDICATORY. IX their labour, and to help them onward in this good work, it is supposed these observations may be very instrumental. Now of all the Catechisms I have seen, in this one thing I must give the prerogative to this of our Church, and com- mend it to babes in Christ, for whose sake it was composed ; that in the entrance into it the child is put in mind of his solemn vow and promise made unto God in his Baptism, which consists in his abrenunciation, the profession of his faith, and observation of the commandments; and after to give hearty thanks for his matriculation, or engrafting into Christ, in which most Catechisms are altogether defective. Further, all the answers following are brief, but full, and fitted for weaker memories, requiring only explication, but not addition. Quintilian was wont to say that they who I were to bring up children must deal by them as men do with ] narrow-mouthed bottles, instil their principles, as they do the water, by little and little, for if it be over-hastily done, more will flush over and be lost than poured into the vessel. This I have endeavoured here, and if well, I implore your lordship's countenance ; if short of your expectation, I humbly beg your lordship's candour to bring your mantle and cast over and cover my defects. And of this I have good hope, because since the first hour that it was my happiness to be known to your honour, you have been pleased to look upon me with a fatherly eye. That eye which you cast upon all men that are worthy of your favour. These live in you, and live by you, among which you have set me up to be a prime example. In all gratitude I do acknowledge, that next to His Majesty, for whose goodness to me I can never return sufficient thanks, your endeavours from an obscure man have advanced me to a place of honour and dignity in the Church, which, that I may manage with prudence and sobriety, to the honour of God, the good of His people, the peace and re-union of this distracted Church, God Almighty assist me with His grace, and you and all good men with their prayers. Did I intend to run out into encomiums, I have an ample field ; this one may suffice for a large testimony of your sufficiency, wisdom, sincerity, and piety, that the most excellent of princes, and the best of men shines upon you in so full a lustre, as if he hoped by you and those he hath chosen to X THE EPISTLE DEDICATORY. assist you, to dispel all the clouds that have darkened the face of our Church these twenty years. The Burden is both weighty and troublesome, which that it may be undergone with prudence, and borne with patience, is the hearty prayer of him who is Your Lordship's, in all due observance, WILL. GLOCESTER. London, June 20, 1661. TO ALL HIS LOVING PARISHIONERS OF LLANDILO-VAWR, THE AUTHOR PRAYETH INCREASE OF GRACE, KNOWLEDGE, HEALTH, AND FUTURE HAPPINESS. It may seem strange to wise and learned men, that after the exact pains by great divines taken in the exposition of the Church Catechism, either in whole or in part, I should offer to the public view these my less polished conceptions. But before I be utterly condemned for the undertaking of a needless labour, my desire is, that these reasons which have moved me to it, be fully weighed, as my apology, which I hope may prove so just, that at least I shall deserve excuse, for more I expect not. The labours of those learned men, I gratefully and ingenu- ously acknowledge, are far beyond any thing I can do ; but withal, either for phrase or matter, so high, so absolute, that they are in many expressions beyond the vulgar capacity whom chiefly I intend to inform, and therefore have ex- pressed myself in the easiest and most familiar language I could invent, and inserted no more than I held requisite for all to know : all superfluities and quaint or long discourses, being purposely omitted. Besides, those excellent endeavours of other learned men are come to the knowledge, much less to the hands, of few men in these parts, where I have been resident more than twenty years, and may therefore presume that many may look XU THE EPISTLE DEDICATORY. into these principles of divinity, delivered by one who is well known among them, and cast as kind an eye upon the work as they have always done upon the author; who, although no native, yet he acknowledgeth himself for very many civi- lities, much indebted to the whole people of these ancient Britons. But that which hath most of all prevailed with me, is the sad face of religion we behold and condole here, ever since the act of propagation of the Gospel hath been put in ex- ecution in those parts. For the itinerants are so few, so ignorant, so mean, that I say no worse ; that as it was in the days of Eh, so now, for their sakes, the sacrifice of the Lord is abhorred, and the people are scattered upon those moun- tains without a shepherd. It was written by Hippolytus, who lived about 1,300 years since a , that in the last times of Antichrist the holy houses (of God he means) shall be like a cottage ; the precious Body of Christ and His Blood shall not be extant; the Liturgy shall be extinguished; the singing of Psalms shall cease; the reading of the Scriptures shall not be heard. Truth they say is the child of time, and time hath pre- sented unto us so sad a spectacle in these parts, that there is not one syllable of all this which is not verified. The holy houses of God, (for in relation to the service of God in them heretofore performed, I will yet so call them) these holy houses, I say, are become like the Prophet's lodge in a garden of cucumbers, deserted, ruined ; no cottage on a hill more desolate, more defaced, the people having no encou- ragement to resort to that place where they have neither minister to pray with, or for them, or to sing praises to God with them, nor any at all in many places, no, not so much as a gifted man (as they use to gloss it) to instruct them. For these are not ubiquitaries, and consequently are forced to be a Ad Antichristi novissima tempora St. Hierom upon Daniel, and by Mr. Ecclesiarum sedes sacrae tugurii instar Mede in his Antiquity of Churches, erunt ; preciosum Corpus Christi et And that which is delivered by Suarez, Sanguis non extabitj Liturgia extin- Pererius, Ovandus, Acosta, Aquipon- guetur j Psalmorum decantatio cessa- tanus, and Bozius, learned men of the bit j Scripturarum recitatio non audie- Romish party, concerning the suppres- tur. [De Consummatione Mundi, § 7.] sion of religion in the time of Anti- This testimony is cited by Claud, christ, is every way consonant to the Sainctes in his Tract before the Litur- judgment of Hippolytus. gies, torn. 4. Biblioth. Patrum out of THE EPISTLE DEDICATORY. Xlll non-residents, that you may know this was not the sin alone of the now vilified and dejected clergy. Farther, the precious Body and Blood of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, exhibited in the Sacrament, hath been prohibited to be administered in public assemblies, and the ministers imprisoned and punished for doing their duty. That the Liturgy is extinguished, singing of Psalms ceased, the reading of the Scriptures utterly by our new teachers neglected and cast aside, I need not say, since it is noto- riously known to you, and all other in these parts, that no service nor Psalm, nor reading of the sacred text, hath been in public use, ever since these novelists have set footing amongst us. I leave it now to all judicious men to judge what a near resemblance there is betwixt these our times and those of Antichrist, of which Hippolytus gave us those former characters. Lest, then, the foundations of religion, which are so much shaken, should perish together with the practice of it, and be buried under so much rubbish which is cast upon it, I have taken this pains to preserve its lustre and integrity in the memories of all those who bear any love to substantial, con- fessed, and ancient truths. New light is a notion of a hot brain, and will easily, like an ignis fatuus, or Will with the Wisp, carry a man out of the safe and straight way, and thereby endanger the man ; but the ancient light established and received in the Church of England, is a secure guide to direct you, that you neither incline to the cunningly composed charms of Popery on the right hand, nor the brainsick imaginations of men of unstable minds on the left. That truth which this my once glorious mother taught me, and by a sad search I found consonant to the Word of God, I always held forth unto you, for those many years I was permitted to be your pastor, being all that time your cate- chist; and what I then opened at large, that in a short sum, my dear parishioners, I here present unto you, and all other Christian people, as a memorial and legacy of my love and desire, that they and you should live and die good Christians. Above these three years, by the severity of these times,, as XIV THE EPISTLE DEDICATORY. you know too well, and I with grief, I have not been suffered, but peremptorily prohibited, to make use of my talent to your benefit, or any other; being ejected and silenced, not for any crime then alleged, or for aught I can understand, to be alleged against me, except it were that I could not be persuaded to subscribe the engagement. For that I suffer ; and I would to God that in it I suffered only ; mine is but a temporal loss, yours is a spiritual. I can feed myself when you and millions besides starve for want of heavenly food. The sharp famine that is come upon this people, ought to be lamented with tears of blood. " Therefore, said I, Look away from me, I will weep bitterly; labour not to comfort me, because of the spoiling of the daughter of my people." For the event upon the act is so lamentable, that it will despoil many of the power and life of religion, and without some vigorous remedy, a few years will more and more con- firm it. There being no visible means left to continue in the memories of the aged, the principles which they had learned, nor to bring to the memories of the younger sort the necessary foundation of Christian religion. To supply which defect, and to prevent as much as in me lies, this inconvenience, I have as plainly, and as briefly as I could, collected this sum of divinity. Speak I may not, write only I can, and if you and your posterity, with other Christians, shall make good use of this plain food, I little doubt but this little will nourish you in a right way to Heaven. For here you are directed what to know and what to do, in which two consists the life of religion. It is the highest of wisdom, so much as lies in us, of man to make a God. For as it is the most noble work of the Di- vine mind, perpetually to contemplate itself, and rest in the eternal love of itself; so it is also the sum of all our wisdom and piety, to know God, and to love God. We know Him when we know His will, and we love Him when we make His will our rule for our life and practice. This is, to use St. Paul's words, " to behold as in a glass the glory of the Lord, and to be changed into the same image." The High- Priest in the old Law was to have upon him a double orna- ment, a plate of pure gold upon his head, and another plate of twelve precious stones upon his breast ; the seat of know- THE EPISTLE DEDICATORY. XV ledge is the head, the breast the place of love, by which not unaptly may be shadowed out unto us that we reserve for our Christian piety the two chief parts about us, the head for the knowledge, and the heart or breast for the love of our God. Upon the reflection of these two I have drawn all these principles. God make you as careful in the knowing and practising, as I have been cautelous in the composing; for I have made choice of that only which I judged necessary to inform your understanding, and rectify your will, to increase your knowledge and better your life. You may then, by the knowledge and practice of what is here delivered, grow up to be perfect men in Christ Jesus, and receive at last a crown of glory, which is the perpetual prayer of him who is Your aged Pastor, WILL. GLOCESTER. THE TITLE OR INSCRIPTION. a catechism: THAT IS TO SAY, AN INSTRUCTION TO BE LEARNED OP EVERY CHILD, BEFORE HE BE BROUGHT TO BE CONFIRMED BY THE BISHOP. A Catechism is a word used in a Church sense, signifying a little book in which is delivered the brief sum, or chief Het>. 6. 1. principles, of Christian religion. He who teacheth this is called the Catechist, and he who is taught is Catechumenus, Gal. 6. 6. a disciple, a scholar, one taught, instructed, or edified. For KaTryxtfam is rendered by Hesychius, the learnedest of gram- marians, ol/eoSofitfa-a), ' I will build or edify.' All those former words are derived from r?%o?, ' a sound,' from which comes our English word ' echo/ which is but a reciprocation of the voice, or a return or report of what is uttered. Not without reason, then, the Spirit of God chose, and the wisdom of the Church retained, those forenientioned notions, because the chief principles of Christianity were at first instilled by the ear : the sound of the Apostles' words [Rom. 10, going out into all lands. For at the highest they are but ^ echoes a , or sounds, whose propriety is to report what is heard. Which ought to be observed accurately by all Catechists, who are not to teach for doctrine their own conceptions, but to sound into the ears of others what they have heard, and nothing but what they have heard ; to wit, the certain words of their Master and His Disciples first sounded in the Gospel. 2. Of the Catechist. In St. Paul he is called 6 Karrj^&v, or, ' he that teacheth ;' Gal. 6. 6. in the primitive Church, 6 /co/n^wm??. To which office, a Quae nee reticere loquenti, nee prior ipsa loqui didicit. Ovid. Met. iii. 357. NICHOLSON. B 2 A plain and full Exposition of the though they, who now pretend to the highest gifts, will not stoop, yet b great men in the Church have owned that name. 3. Of the Catechumeni, or Catechised. These audientes, or 'hearers/ commonly called catechumeni in the Church story , the word and root of which word we find in the New Testament, being to learn the Catechism, before ■ they were admitted to the Sacrament, were of two sorts : 1. Adulti, men grown, whether of Jews or Gentiles, who were persuaded to receive the Gospel, but were not yet baptized, and consequently not to be admitted to the Sacra- ment, before they had given an account of their faith, and promised to live a holy life consonant to the rules of the Gospel. 2. Christians' children born in the Church, who because born within the covenant, and by Baptism received, when they were grown to capacity, were taught the principles of Christianity, of which when they could give a reasonable account, they were brought to the Bishop to be confirmed, of which more by and by. 4. Of the matter of the Catechism. These principles were only such things as were necessarily, or very profitably, to be known by every Christian. The question was short, and the answer full and pertinent : and that they might be the easier learned and remembered, they were conveyed in the fewest and plainest words that might be, that caution of the wise being observed, Doctor doceat discipulos via brevi, "Let the master teach his scholars the shortest way:" no rule being much worth which is long, and loaded with unnecessary words. To this end our Saviour drew the whole law to two heads : love to God ; b Pantasnus, Clemens Alex., Origen, tium, Cyp., Ep. 24. [29 ed. Fell.] Heraclas in the famous Church of ' Tertull. de Corona Militis [2]. Alexandria. Euseb., lib. vi. [6. 8. 26.] Cyp. de Hteret. Baptiz. [Ep. 73. ed. Great Cyril at Jerusalem, Greg. Nyssen. Fell. Sciant . . . catechumenos . . . Hieronymus in Catalogo Script. Eccle- primo integram fidem et Ecclesiae uni- siast. Augustine wrote a book " De tatem tenere, at ad debellandum diabo- Catechizandis rudibus"— Hieronymus lum de divinis castris cum plena et '£ I i?^ ad Domnionem confesseth sincera Dei Patris, et Christi, et Spiritus that he had for his catechists Nazianzen Sancti cognitione procedere.1 et Ep. 13. andDidymus. Optatus in the Church [18. ed. Fell.] August, de Fide et of Carthage appointed Doctor Audien- Operibus [9.] Catechism of the Church of England. 3 love to our neighbour. St. Paul to one syllable : love is the R ora . 13. fulfilling of the law. Repentance toward God, and faith %j£ 20 21 _ toward our Lord Jesus Christ, are set down as the sum of the Heb - 6 - *■ Gospel. These, then, are the principal matter of any Cate- chism, and the briefer the rules are about them, the better. Divines may learn to be wise from other professors, who deliver the grounds of their art and science in little breviates ; knowing well that the scholar is not capable of deeper dis- courses till these grounds be well laid and committed to memory. Hence it is that lawyers have their institutions; physicians their aphorisms ; philosophers their introductions ; grammarians their accidence ; scriveners their characters and first draughts of letters : in a word, all knowledge proceeds from simple terms, and so must the knowledge of Christ : it must be taught in the easiest way, and learned by the easiest rules, which ought to be, and is in the Catechism, summarily, briefly, and yet fully proposed. He that knows more can but descant upon this ; and he that knows less, knows too little. 5. This is to be learned of every child. With us the persons to be instructed in these principles are children ; which is not to be understood exclusively, as if those who are grown to riper age were not to be taught in these : but the Church, supposing the aged to be already well grounded in these principles, fits and enjoins these lessons to the younger sort. In this being awed by that command which God gave to the Jews, "Thou shalt sharpen them," Deut. 6. 7; i. e. my commandments, statutes, judgments, or " teach them k^fo. diligently thy children ;" and obeying that Apostolical pre- cept, " Fathers, bring up your children in the nurture and Eph. 6. 4. admonition of the Lord ;" treading in the footsteps of Abra- Gen. 18. 19. ham, that taught his household the covenant, and the mother of Timothy, who instructed her son in the Scripture from a 2Tim.3.i5 ; child. 1 - 5 - By this means children seasoned with the principles of religion, before malice, self-love, by-ends, or corrupt examples, have depraved their minds and actions, a good foundation would be laid betimes for direction of the course of their whole lives, and the seed of the Word would be in them pre- b2 4 A plain and full Exposition of the served whole and sound. Men would be better livers, and sounder believers. Horrid vices would not usurp the name of virtues, nor hellish opinions appear vested with the cloak of truth. For, out of question, were the younger sort imbued with the undeniable grounds and clear knowledge of the orthodox religion, they could not be so easily carried down the headlong stream of wickedness, nor moved aside by every light puff and wind of doctrine ; the Jesuit would not gain so many proselytes, nor the sectary so many light- headed followers. 6. Before he be brought to be confirmed by the Bishop. The love, care, and gravity, then, of the Church, was that of a mother, that would have all her children brought up in the fear and nurture of the Lord : of which education, when they could give a sufficient testimony, then they were to be intheEu- brought to the Bishop to be confirmed; and she professeth the Cate- the reasons, which led her to this just and pious resolution, chism. tQ be these taree . 1 . That children, being of discretion, may then themselves with their own mouths, and with their own consent, openly before the Church, ratify and confirm what their godfathers and godmothers have promised for them in Baptism: and also promise that by the grace of God they will evermore endeavour themselves faithfully to observe and keep such things as they by their own mouth and confession have assented to. 2. Forasmuch as Confirmation is ministered to them that be baptized, that by imposition of hands and prayer they may receive strength and defence against all temptations to sin, and assaults of the world and the Devil : it is most meet to be administered when children come to that age, that partly by the frailty of their own flesh, partly by the assaults of the world and the Devil, they begin to be in danger to fall into sundry kinds of sin. 3. For that it is agreeable with the usage of the Church in times past, whereby it was ordained that Confirmation should be administered to them of perfect age, that they, being instructed in Christ's religion, should openly profess Catechism of the Church of England. 5 their own faith, and promise to be obedient to the will of God. Thus far the Rubric. And the reasons are weighty. For, the child being grown up, before God, the Bishop, and the congregation, with his own mouth takes upon him that same obligation, which at his Baptism his sureties had undertaken for him : so that he frees them, and binds himself, renewing the old bond to perform the conditions, in believing, doing, and forsaking, what is to be believed, done, or forsaken. Which double vow, made first by others solemnly for him, then again as solemnly renewed by him, sadly thought on, in all reason will have a powerful impression on the heart for the present, and an effectual influence on his whole life for the future. Which work, because it is difficult, and beyOnd the power of man, therefore the Bishop was to impose his hands upon him, to bless him, to pray for him, that God would strengthen him, and daily increase in him His mani- fold gifts of grace ; that He would bestow upon him the The Prayer spirit of wisdom and understanding: the spirit of counsel ma ti n. and ghostly strength : the spirit of knowledge and true god- liness, and fill him with the spirit of His holy fear; with much more to the same purpose, as it is to be seen in those pious prayers appointed to be used at Confirmation. Which the Church held fit then to be administered when tempta- Cereus in tions, in respect of the child's proclivity to vice, might most Hor. strongly assault him. And that which moved our Church of England to retain this, was because the first reformers in it found that this rite was agreeable to the usage of the Church in times past. Which is very true. There be, that make it an Apostolical institution, having an eye to the sixth chapter of the Epistle to the Hebrews, verse 2. And Calvin, Beza, and Aretius seem (upon the place) to like well of it d . Sure a [Calvin, in Heb. 6. 2. Liberi Heb. 6. 2. Quinque capita cate- fidelium quoniam ab utero adoptati chismi numerat, nempe, professionem erant, et jure promissionis pertinebant emendationis vitae j fidei summam de ad corpus Ecclesiae, infantes baptiza- Deo; doctrinse explicationem com- bantur : transacta vero infantia, post- pendiariam, quae in baptismo et impo- quam instituti erant in fide, se quoque sitionemanuumtiadirudibuspraesertim ad catechesiu offerebant, quae in illis solebat (i. quum ad baptizandos in- Baptismo erat posterior. Sed aliud fantes, vel adultos, item quum ad im- symbolum tunc adhibebatur, nempe ponendas aliquibus manus convenie- manuum impositio. Hie unus locus batur;) caput resurrectionis mortuorum abunde testatur, hujus ceremoniae ori- et futuri judicii. Aretius in Heb. 6. 2. ginem fiuxisse ab Apostolis. Beza in Hinc colligi posse puto, qua; fuerunt 6 A plain and full Exposition of the I am that the ancient Fathers and Councils are full and evident witnesses for it. The Councils enjoin it to be done ; the Fathers witness that it was done, whose testimonies I could and would produce at large, but that it is already done by a grave Divine, a true lover of peace, truth, and order e . Were Confirmation in frequent use, and restored to its original purity, these benefits would from thence ensue : — 1. Catechising would be brought in use and esteem. 2. The unity of faith would be maintained. 3. Parents would be more careful to instruct their children. 4. Children would be sounder in faith, and better man- nered. 5. Ignorant and scandalous persons might be better discerned, and so the offence taken from mixed communion removed. 6. The wrangle about the formality of a Church cove- nant, and collecting of members, quieted and composed. There being in Confirmation the substance of what is so much, and so hotly contended for, and that far better grounded and bottomed than any new device can be, it is my heart's desire, and let the God of peace in mercy be pleased to bow down His ear to it, that our brethren of the Church way may be moved to recall, revive, and admit this (at least ancient ecclesiastical, if not apostolical) institution. For thereby they might effect in a peaceable way, the dissipation of the clouds of ignorance, the restitution of the true light of the Gospel, the removal of profane persons from participation of the Lord's Body, the admission of such as charity shall judge worthy. I say all this may be done in a peaceable way, which (not without great difficulty, regret, effusion of Christian blood, and much wealth,) hath been projected and pursued. Catechismi, turn temporis initia, sell x el P ^ ea '^ a i or The Apostolic Institution loci praecipui . . . Quintus locus Cate- of Imposition of Hands for Confirma- chismi erat impositio manuum ; de h&c tion, printed anno 1649. There also cseremonia' admonebantur Neophyti, may be read the approbation of it by the quandoquidem turn in frequenti erat learnedest Divines of the Reformed usu, quid ilia esset, cur instituta, qui- Churches, with the profits that will bus, et per quos imponerentur manus, ensue upon the use of it, and the incon- item ad quid conduceret, discebant veniences upon the neglect. [This tract primi fidei tyrones.] will be found in the 10th volume of Bp. e In a manual that bears the title of Hall's Works.] Catechism of the Church of England. 7 I shall add only one thing more, and so close up this pre- face, which is an humble request to all our dissenting brethren, that since they dislike this short instruction of our Mother the Church of England, they would agree to, propose a Catechism of their own, by which it may appear what questions are requisite to be demanded of, and to be answered to by, any Neophyte, before he may be admitted a member of a collected Church. And there is great reason for this my request. First,. because I read not of any settled Church except the Arrians, who have been or are at this day without such a brief intro- duction. To them indeed, the Arrians I mean, Athanasius Scuitetus objects that they had no Catechism. cap . sa ' Then again, without this, they cannot assure us of any harmony among themselves : but to us their Church must seem like to that state of the Cyclops in Euripides, of which Silenus thus certifieth Ulysses, a/covei otiSep o«)Set? ovBevbi, Eurip. no man in any thing heard what the other said : or if you Cyc1 ' had rather, like those builders at Babel, where men under- stood not one another, which hindered the work, because that one was not able to know what his fellow called for. Bring me, quoth one, a trowel quickly, quick, Du Bartas One brings him up a hammer : hew this brick, poet, bom Another bids, and then they cleave a tree. 1590.] Make fast this rope, saith one, they let it flee. One calls for planks, another mortar lacks, They bring the first a stone, the last an axe. In this confusion, as there can be no certainty among themselves, so there cannot be any encouragement to those whom they account without, to come in and join with them, till they may know upon what terms to be admitted ; which by a brief Catechism set forth by a common consent of their congregational Churches would be apparent. Lastly, this lies rather upon them to condescend to, if they be, as some conceive, the one hundred and forty four thou- Napier. sand that stood upon mount Sion with the Lamb. For [cLSen"' among them, there was the voice of harpers harping with ^°E e vX- their harps. Harpers are musicians, and music pleaseth not ^\^ 12 except the strings be first tuned, and if it be in consort, as here it was, then the instruments must be tuned one to 8 A plain and full Exposition of the another. For where this is not done, we may take up the old proverb asinus ad lyram, the ass takes up the harp, and those that hearken to the music deserve Midas's reward. I humbly then beseech them to tune their harps and their hearts one to another, that the discord offend no more ; so shall we the easier be persuaded that they are of that num- ber that stood with the Lamb upon mount Sion, because Ps. 122. 3. Sion is built as a city that is at unity in itself, or compacted together : so shall we be the more ready to lend an ear to their harmony. Now of this we can have no certain know- ledge, much less encouragement, till we find in them musical souls, and an harmony in judgment, and this their judgment manifested that way I have proposed. To which motion I beg of them to yield for His sake, who came to reconcile all things in heaven and earth, God to man, man to God, angels to men, and man to man, being the Prince of peace, our Lord and only Saviour Jesus Christ. The sum of the whole Catechism. It contains 1. A Preface, absolved in the four first questions. 2. The Creed of the Apostles, \ . . , „ ... c „ m , m „ 5 ,1 and the Exposition ot 3. The Ten Commandments, > ;1 ,, a mu t A' t> I tliese tln,ee - 4. The Lord s Prayer, / 5. The Doctrine of the two Sacraments, Baptism, and the Supper of the Lord. Quest. What is the first question of the Catechism ? Answ. What is your name ? A. B. C. Sec Quest. Why begin you with that question ? Answ. Upon very good reason, viz. that a man should never call to mind his name, but remember that he is a Datum non Christian : for his name was given him, it was not at his birth belonging to him. Every Christian bearing two names; the one of nature, which is the name of his house, family, or kindred, and this he brings into the world with him; the Sobre nom- other of grace, of favour, being his Sirname f , that is over and nor name, above added unto him. And as the first puts him in mind what he was, so doth this second what he is. f [Surname ; vulgb, sed non adeb i. e. nomen addititiura, scilicet respectu recte, Sirname ; a G. surnom : It. sopra- nominis baptismo inditi. — Skinner, nome ; cognomen, q. d. supeinomen, Sobre nombre. Sp.] Catechism of the Church of England. 9 2. And it is set before the other, because it is to be esteemed above the other, it being an higher honour, grace, and favour, and a matter of more comfort and hope to be a Christian, than to be a man. Our regeneration is to be Phil. 3. prized before our generation, our new birth before our first Pa _ ^ 5 , birth. For by the one we are miserable, by the other we are f£™' 5 7 ' in the way to be happy. 3. It is wisdom then in a Christian, by occasion of this question, 1. To enquire how he came by this name, and to know that his name is a sign of something that he is to learn and do. That he is first to learn the duties of Christian religion, and then to practise them : walking worthy of that name by which he is called, lest he Eph. 4. l. cast a disgrace upon it. It is honourable and holy, being imposed by a Sacrament : yet an unholy life will spot it, and make it unholy and dishonourable. 2. When this name is imposed, care would be taken, that all fantastical names be avoided, and such only imposed as may bring to mind the piety, charity, vir- tues, and excellencies of those persons that bare them, whose ways and works may be patterns for posterity to imitate. Which rule we shall find very curiously observed by the Patriarchs of old, and by the people of God in the Scriptures. Quest. Who gave you this name ? Answ. My Godfathers and Godmothers, in my Baptism, wherein I was made a member of Christ, the child of God, and an inheritor of the kingdom of Heaven. The explication. In which answer you are to consider, 1. The imposers of your name : your Godfathers and God- mothers. 2. When it was imposed : in your Baptism. 3. The benefits, favours, and honours then given; which are three. iCor.6.15. 1. To be made a member of Christ, lom. 8. 3 °' 2. The child of God. w. ij. ' n f TT 1 J ™ "• 3. An inheritor of the kingdom ot Heaven. i, % Rom. 8. 17. 10 A plain and full Exposition of the Of Godfathers and Godmothers. As, when one is born, first he needs a nurse, after a master, one to feed, another to instruct him : so every babe in Christ needs milk, and after strong meat, that he may grow to be a perfect man in Christ Jesus. It seemed good to the wisdom of the Church to that end, to take sureties of the child, who being honest and charitable men, would under- take to see what was promised to be performede. Some of late call them witnesses very improperly, as if they came to see and testify what is done. It savours more of piety, to give them their old names, by which they are put in mind how they ought to be afiected toward those children for God's sake, and to take care for their religious education, for which the Church accepts them as sureties. 2. The second thing to be considered is, that this name B Jun. and Tremel. in Isa. 8. 2. derive this custom from the Jews. Adhibui mihi testes fidos Uriam sacerdotem, et Zechariam filium Jeberechise, i. e. viros nominatim advocates, ut testarentur nomen illud filio meo impositum in Ecclesia cum circumcideretur. Nam eo tempore indita fuisse olim a parenti- bus nomina, constat ex Gen. 21. 3, 4. Luc. 2. 21. Atque ex hoc ritu pro- feetum esse ilium nostrum constat, quo certi homines speciatim, [maxime vero calamitosis temporibus, (ut ista futura erant,)] adhibentur testes accessus ad Christum et ad Ecclesiam per Baptis- mum, et nominis inditi. — Hos vulgo compatres et commatres, Graci olim ffvvriKvovs appellabant. But more an- ciently they were called 'KviSo%oi, and by the Latin Church Susceptores, Spon- sores, Fidejussores. iEthiopum Canon Universalis ; Bibliotheca Patrum[Maxi- ma. torn. 27. p. 636.] Tertull. de Baptis. cap. 18. Quid necesse est, sponsores etiam periculo ingeri. Aug. Ep. 23. ad Bonifacium. Offeruntur parvuli ad percipiendam spiritualem gratiam . . . . ab eis, quorum gestantur manibus. He means the Godfathers. But we have yet more ancient testi- monies for this custom : the baptized desiring by the mediation of his a«/o- S6xov, undertaker, that he might be a partaker of God and of the Divine Mys- teries. After his profession, the Priest hrniBriffiv aurou rp ite, , glory of God. And this is now our present estate of nature in which we Pa. 51. 5. are born, which is a wretched and lamentable condition, in that being thus considered, we are all lost, and cast away, Eph. 2. 3. being children of wrath, and to be inheritors of eternal fire Matt. 25.41. prepared for the Devil and his angels. 2. Now to raise our hearts in the sad thoughts of this our wretched estate, necessary it is that we take a view of that comfortable condition that man is in by the grace of God : which is this. Man being thus fallen, lost, and condemned to death, it Eph. 1.5-7; pleased God out of mere mercy, freely to make a new cove- nant with him for life and salvation. It was made with the same Adam that fell, and in whom we sinned, in these words, Catechism of the Church of England. 13 " The seed of the woman shall break the serpent's head :" Gen. 3. 15. that is, Christ, who was the seed of the woman, as appears Gal. 3. 16, should break and destroy the serpent's head; that is, the power, strength and dominion of the Devil. And this covenant was repeated, and renewed to Abraham, " In Gen. 22. 17, thy seed," that is, Christ, " shall all the nations of the earth Gal. 3. 16. be blessed." Christ then is the foundation of this second covenant, by which all mercy and grace is made over to us. For " in Him all the promises of God are Yea and Amen." 2 Cor. l. 20. Yea, that is, verified ; and Amen, that is, ratified and con- firmed immutably. Now the particulars of this covenant are these, 1 . A revelation of His will, or the law of faith, according to which Christians ought to five, " I will put My laws in Heb. 8. 10. their minds, and write them in their hearts." 2. A promise and assurance to deliver us from our enemies, Luke 1. 71. which are Satan and sin. 1. From Satan, " He hath delivered us from the power Col. 1. 13. of darkness." And, God sends His ministers to in- struct, that men "may recover themselves out of the 2 Tim. 2. 26. snare of the devil." 2. From sin, that is, from the condemnation for sin, and the dominion of sin, " For the law of the Spirit of life Rom. 8. 2. in Christ Jesus, hath freed me from the law of sin and death." And the promise is extant, " I will be mer- Heb. 8. 12. ciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and ini- quities I will remember no more." 3. A promise He hath made to give us grace and strength to " serve Him in righteousness and holiness all the days Luke 1. 75. of our life." Which though it be not perfect in this life, yet if it be with a perfect, upright, sincere and single heart, He 2 Cor. 8. 12. hath promised to accept it. Now this is the present state, which in Christ we have recovered. 3. Of man's third estate. 3. The third state of a Christian is future, and follows upon this state of grace, being the crown of immortality and eternal glory. Of which I shall speak more, when I expound the last article of the Creed. The seal of those promises made over unto man by this 14 A plain and full Exposition of the second covenant, is Baptism : to which those have right and title, who are born within the pale of the Church, and at the setting of the seal they have these three privileges, to become, Col. 1. 18. 1. A member of Christ, that is, to be reckoned Christians: ^ ph. l. 22, £ Qr Qhrigf. j s fljg jj ea d of the Church, and all Christians the 4. [is.] 16. b 0( iy . f which every one that professeth Christian religion is a part, and is so to be esteemed. But these parts are of two sorts. l Jolm 2. 19. 1. Either equivocal. parts, so taken and reputed by us; 4—6. such as are a glass eye, or a wooden leg to a man, 2 -^o ' which are so called, but truly are not such : and who- 47—50. soever profess the supernatural verities revealed by Christ, and make use of the holy Sacraments, may in this sense be called the members of Christ : because they are reckoned for parts of His visible body. John 15. 5. 2. Or univocal parts, that in name and nature are true 12, 13. ' believers, which are indeed the true members of Christ, lom. 8. \. &n & d° belong unto His mystical body, and receive Pt\ x % 5 v from Him as from their Head, life, sense and motion. 1 John 1. 7. _ .... They are united to Him, live in Him, and are informed by His Spirit. They are washed and regenerated by His blood. And they have His righteousness imputed unto them, by which they are freed from the guilt and l cor.i. 30. punishment of sin. This the Apostle teacheth, " But of Him ye are in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us, wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, re- demption." And to these last only the two next privileges belong : to be first, 2. A child of God. God is a Father, which being a word of relation, must imply that He hath a son, or sons. Pa- 2. 7. 1. One Son only He hath by nature : Our Lord and John 3. 16. Saviour Jesus Christ, His only-begotten. The very "character and brightness of His person." 2. But other sons He hath by adoption, that through Christ He hath adopted for His children, being bought with His blood, and quickened by His Spirit; and all those who are true members of His body, are His children in this sense, and have power to call Him Rom. 8. 15. « Abba, Father." Gal. 4. 6. ' Catechism of the Church of England. 15 3. An inheritor of the kingdom of Heaven. This benefit follows upon the former. For this is St. Paul's conclusion, " If we be children, then also heirs, even the heirs of God, Rom. 8. n. and heirs annexed with Christ." Inheritances descend by birth, or are conveyed by gift, or will. The first way we were no heirs, not born to the crown in Heaven. So Christ only, the true natural Son of God, was the heir. But the second way, that is, by gift, and will of Heb. l. 2. God, we come to inherit, and therefore the Apostle saith that we were co-heirs, or heirs annexed. And this is so peculiar to His children, that no other have any portion in it. Men at large may have large portions of earthly blessings. But this inheritance is a reserve. It is a Matt. 5. 45. gift, " Fear not little flock, it is your Father's will to give Luke 12. you a kingdom." 82 " Quest. What did your Godfathers and Godmothers promise for you ? Answ. They did promise and vow three things in my name. First, That I should forsake the Devil and all his works, the pomps and vanities of the wicked world, and all the sinful lusts of the flesh. Secondly, That I should believe all the articles of the Christian Faith. Thirdly, That I should keep God's holy will and command- ments, and walk in the same all the days of my life. Explication. Three things are here vowed solemnly in the name of the baptized ; abrenunciation, faith, obedience. 1. An utter renouncing and forsaking of God's enemies, and that which He hates. 1. The Devil and all his works. 2. The pomps and vanities of the wicked world. 3. All the sinful lusts of the flesh. The sum is, that in him that is baptized, there be a constant resolu- tion to have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness. To this end there is first a profession Eph. 5. 11, made, 16 A plain and full Exposition of the 1. Of Abr •enunciation. That this was required of those who were baptized 11 , appears by undeniable testimonies of the ancient Fathers. Neither is it easy to prove that ever Baptism was administered with- out this abrenunciation : to lead to which, there was an interrogatory proposed, the selfsame which is now proposed at Baptism. To which St. Peter is thought to allude when 1 Pet. 3.21. he saith, that the Baptism which saveth us, is not (as legal purifications were) a cleansing of the flesh from outward impurity, but eirepwrrifia, an interrogative trial of a good conscience towards God 1 . For eirepcorrifia signifies not an answer, but a question, and so is always taken in the Scrip- tures, for here is a mutual stipulation, of God to save us : of us again, sincerely and conscionably to serve Him, and lead a new life k . h He that was to be baptized was commanded Tpls efitpvinjffai Tip atrip ^aravy, Kal irpofferi ra ttjs airoTayrjs ilwKoynffai. Dionys. de Hierarch. cap. 2. And again, cap. ult. b irats airord an< * * s wrou S^ lt inwardly by His Joh. 20. 31. Holy Spirit, and outwardly by the revelation of His Rom. 10.14. , word. Acts 8. 37. The subject in which this faith is, is the heart, which com- prehends the understanding, the will, and the affections; which being regenerated in every true believer, Col. l. 9. l. The understanding is enlightened with all saving knowledge. Phil. 2 13. 2. The will is inclined to assent to, and receive what we know. Cant. 2. 5. 3. And the affections bent to love it. Which three when they meet in any Christian soul, then the man is said to believe, and to be endued with the habit of faith. This faith is a quality, and as all other qualities, it admits of degrees. So that in respect of the subject, or persons in whom it is, it is more or less : for there is a strong faith and a weak faith. 1. A strong faith there is, that lays hold on the object Rom. 4. 20. without wavering; such as was in Abraham : " He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strong Mat. is. 28. in faith." Such was in the woman of Canaan, " O woman, great is thy faith." And happy are they upon whom God Heb. li. l. bestows these gifts: for this "faith is" the comfortable "sub- ij!r6v Kvpiov thjlwv, a\r\- ' Ignat.adTrall.[Coteler.tom.ii.p.65.] 8£>s ivra 4k yevovs Aa/315 Kara trdicpa, 'O 'Irjtrous Xpurrbs aKTjdcos 4y€Vvfj0Tj Kal vlbv 0eou Kara 84\rjfia Kal ovva^iv 0eov, 4k ®eov, Kal 4k TtapQevov 4ffTavp&QTj f yeyeyrjfiej/ov aKydws 4k irapdevov — &At;- Kcd airedavev 4irl HovtIov Hi\drov Bus 4rrl TIovtIov XliKdrov Kal 'HpuSov KaTTJXOev els aSrjv f*.6vos Kal at/earrTj TCTpdpxov Ka6rj\ufi4voy vnep 7ifiuv 4v $ia Tptiiv T)\j.fp5>v lyelpavros avrbv tov (TookI. Ad Sraym. § I.] TlaTpbs, Kal Teaaapi.KovTa T\fi.4pas aw- Beza in loc. Rom. 12. 6. Potest b*iaTptyasToisairoffT6\ois,av£\ri$Q'r} , Kpbs autem T7js ava\oyias vocabulum du- riv Ilarepa, Kal 4KXQ'n 4irl TIoi/tIov TliKarov, a\r)8as scriptum fuit, ideoque norma et regula 4aTavpi>Si\, Kal airiiavev, /3\eir6vTu>v tuv fidei merito a Tertulliano vocatur. 4irovpaviav, koX iiuyciwv, Kal vnoxOoviaw Catechism of the Church of England. 23 which is the brief of that rule ; and why he may not allude to this last, I see not. Now the reason why the Apostles delivered the Christian faith in this short sum, is thought to be this, a command they received to preach the Gospel, over all the world; to which purpose they were to disperse themselves ; that there- fore they, and those they taught and sent, might agree in and constantly teach one and the same doctrine, before their dispersion they agreed upon this form as a rule, and a square to examine all doctrines by, and a means to suppress all schisms and heresies' 1 . Symbolum. And it is called symbolum from ovfifiaXkecrOai,, that signifies to put together, and to cast in money to make up a sum, or reckoning*. Hence the word symbolum signifies a shot, a badge, a collation, or the word given to the soldiers in war. Cyprian.[or 1. A shot, or collation, because every particular Apostle did i oc . cit. cast in, and collate his article to make up this sum, at least the whole doth arise out of their common writings. Euseb. 2. Or else because this should be nota, tessera, indicium, a Hom. i. badge, a word. For as a soldier is known in the field by the e ym ' word, to what side he doth belong ; so those who maintained the truth of the Gospel, and had obliged themselves, as it were sacramento militari, to fight under Christ's banner, and to maintain the truth, should be known from all believers, and misbelievers; so that if any false brother should creep in, interrogatus symbolum, prodat se an sit hostis, vel socius: being asked his creed, upon the account given, he should shew himself whether he was a friend or an enemy 2 . 3. All the articles of the Christian Faith. All] It lies not then in a man's power, which articles he will choose to believe, and which to disbelieve. For a man professeth in his Baptism to believe all. This Athanasius hath thus expressed. ' Whosoever will be * Cyprian, [or rather Ruffinus.] in unum conferunt.] Expos. Symbol, [ad calcem Cypriani.] z Cyprian, [or Ruffinus.] Ioc. cit. y Cypr. [or Ruffinus] Ioc. cit. [Syrn- [See on the meaning of this Name bolum enim et Graece indicium dici Symbolum, Bingham. Ant. b. 10. ch. 3. potest et collatio, hoc est, quod plures in § 1.] 24 A plain and full Exposition of the saved, before all things, it is necessary that he hold the Catholic faith : which faith, except a man keeps whole and entire, without doubt he shall perish everlastingly.' 1. Then a man may not be a heretic in disbelieving any article here set down, in which all heretical sects are faulty. 2. Nor he may not impose any new articles, as necessarily to be believed, which is the heavy yoke of Rome. All these are to be believed, and these only; the rest are more than need. 3. Of Obedience. That I should keep God's holy will and commandments, and walk in the same all the days of my life. Psai. 119. The third thing promised in our Baptism is Obedience, Eph. 5. 2. which, if right, 1. God's will and commandments must be the rule. 2. We must walk in the same. 3. It must be all the days of our life. 1. In obedience, deterius subjiciatur meliori. Our reason, which is often but an ill counsellor, must submit and yield to a higher and better guide. Our actions must conform to the Divine will and wisdom, which is the original of all sanctity and goodness. Neither is it enough that we conform in the external execution, for besides the act done, our heart must be made a holocaust, and choose the duty because God com- mands it. 2. This His will must be our walk, for we are to walk in the same. 1. That we err not. 2. That we stand not still. Lu. l. 75. 3. This must be our continual walk : " Serve we must in righteousness and holiness all the days of our life." Our obedience then must have these three conditions ; it must be, Eom. 12. 2. 1. Recta, well regulated by His will. Mat. 7. 21. 2. Operosa et moliens aliquid, not lazy obedience, but doing, stirring, and walking. M U arki3 5 i3 3 ' Constant, a11 our Qavs - A g 00a man is well compared to a cube, or die, that hath all sides square, being fast settled, and not like a reed shaken with every wind a . a [Comp. Aristot. Rhet. III. xi. 2. Ethic. Nio. I. x. 11.] Catechism of the Church of England. 25 Quest. Dost thou think that thou art bound to believe and do as thy godfathers and godmothers have promised for thee ? Answ. Yes, verily ; and by God's help so I will, &c. This answer consists of many particulars. 1. An ingenuous confession of the obligation, 'Yes, verily/ 2. A profession of faith and obedience, yet with a necessary caution, by God's help, f By God's help so I will.' 3. A hearty rendition of thanks. 'I heartily thank my heavenly Father.' 4. The motive to this thankfulness, 'because He hath called me to this state of salvation through Jesus Christ our Saviour.' 5. A petition for grace and perseverance in our Christian profession. 1. And I pray to God to give me His grace. 2. That I may continue in the same to my life's end. Thus far of the preface to the Catechism. Now follows the body of the book, in which are contained four things, according to the four main duties required of a Christian. 1. Faith. 2. Obedience. 3. Prayer. 4. The receiving of the Sacraments. "Which being his main duties, and no man being able to do any duty rightly and certainly, without a rule to direct him ; that a Christian should not want a rule for his direc- tion in every one of these duties, it pleased the Church to set him a rule, by which he is to try every one of these. 1 . The rule of his faith, is the Creed. 2. The rule for his obedience, the Decalogue. 3. The rule for his prayers, the Pater Noster, or Lord's Prayer. 4. The rule for the Sacraments, the doctrine here de- livered. The intent then of this Catechism is to deliver these rules, and to explain them easily and briefly, that no person pretend ignorance, or be to seek what to believe, or what to do in the matter of religion. 26 A plain and full Exposition of the 1. Of the Creed, or rule of faith. Catech. Rehearse the articles of thy belief. Answ. I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, &c. The first duty required of a Christian is, that he believe. For it is not possible that he should obey the commandments of God, or pray unto Him, or expect the performance of any promise from Him, or desire by the Sacraments to have them sealed to him, except he hath faith, trust, affiance, and con- Heb. 11. 6. fidence in God. "Whence the Apostle saith, " Without faith it is impossible to please God, for he that comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him." As then in religion, we must begin with faith, so doth the Catechism with the rule of faith ; sets Mat. 7. 21. that first down, and then briefly explains it. J™!. 22. ' But here it must not be passed over with silence, that both Joh. 13. 17. f.^ ca techizer and the catechized turn the words into works, and make every article practical. That is, that the knowledge thereof float not in the brain, or the words slide not only from the tongue, but that they sink down into, and warm the heart, and render it apt and ready to the practice of some duty. More plainly, that we know not only what the words signify, but to do somewhat that is agreeable to our belief. Of the parts of the Creed. Zanch. Some make three, some four parts of the Creed: the Apost™ matter is not great, for it comes to the same purpose. Both being done docendi causd, for the ease of the teacher and the scholar. But the whole twelve articles may be reduced to these two heads. 1. The first being concerning God. 2. The second of the Church. r pi. In general, 'I believe in God.' of God -l n. God the Father. , I* J L2. In special of-^ 2. God the Son. handleth ) U. God the Holy Ghost. L of the Church, ' I believe the Catholic Church/ Three Persons there are in the Holy Trinity, and these have Catechism of the Church of England. 27 their distinct actions, which yet are so terminated in each one, that the other are not excluded, but rather included: for, Opera Trinitatis ad extra sunt indivisa. The works of the Trinity to all outward acts, are not divided. 1. The first act is Creation, and that is attributed to the Father in the first article. We thus expound it in the Cate- chism, ' I believe in God the Father, who hath made me and all the world,' or as it is in the Nicene Creed, 'all things visible and invisible/ 2. The second act is Redemption, and that is attributed to God the Son, in the six following articles, which describe unto us the Person and the Office of this our Redeemer. 1. His Person, 8edv0pay7ro?, God and Man. 1. God, for He was His only Son. 2. Man, being incarnate, conceived of the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary. 2. His Office in general, to be a Saviour, Jesus, and Christ, anointed to that end, a King, a Priest, a Prophet. To His priestly office the articles that concern His Passion do pecu- liarly belong ; because He offered Himself that He might be isa. 53. 10. a propitiatory Sacrifice for the sin of the whole world. To Het>!2.9, 2 i7. His kingly and prophetical the four last, for He overcame hell Eev - 1- 18- as a king, and rose as a king, and ascended in triumph as a king, and sits on the right hand of God as a king, and shall judge the world as a king. And " when He was ascended up Eph.4 [8.] on high, He gave gifts unto men," or endued men with gifts, ' " some apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body" of the Church, which is the prophet's office. In these six articles then is taught us in brief the history and mystery of our Redemption ; which the Catechism hath thus explained : " I believe in God the Son, who hath redeemed me and all mankind." 3. The third act is Sanctification, and that is attributed to Rom. 8. the Holy Ghost in the Nicene Creed, and in the Catechism ' in these words, ' And I believe in the Holy Ghost, who sanc- tifieth me and all the elect people of God.' These elect people of God are in the Creed called the Holy Catholic Church, in which there is the Communion of Saints, collected by His Spirit, sanctified by His Spirit. And about 28 A plain and full Exposition of the the benefits conferred on them the remainder of the Creed is spent. Which benefits are, 1. In this life, ' Eemission of sins,' 2. After this life, {' ^snrrection of the body, I Life everlasting. This is in general, the summary contents of our Creed, and by it we may be put in mind, Joh. n. 15- 1. To try our faith, "Examine yourselves, whether you be 13. 5. Lu. in the faith." 8. 13. g Then upon trial to make it our cognizance and note of distinction from all hypocrites and enemies to Christ. Lu. 17. 5. 3. By perceiving the weakness of our faith, to beg an increase of it, as did the disciples. 4. To remember that we vowed to believe all this in Baptism. Eph. 6. 16. 5. That this in all tentations and pressures must be- our Mat. 15. 21- , . ,, 28. shield. 6. Lastly, it should put us in mind to be thankful unto God for our creation, redemption, sanctification, and recep- tion into the Church, by which we come to be partakers of the following benefits, viz. remission of sins, and resurrection to everlasting life. Now follows the Exposition of every article. Quest. Which is the first article of the Creed ? Answ. I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth. The Explication. In this article we are to consider, 1. The act, I believe, Credo, which gives name to the Creed. 2. The object of our faith, God. ' I believe in God.' 3. The description of God, as it relates to the first Person. 1. A Father. 2. Almighty. 3. Maker of heaven and earth. 1. Of the act, I believe. 1. Credo. I believe. The person I, brings the faith home, and makes it particular, and thus the phrase runs in all the Catechism of the Church of England. 29 other articles, putting us in mind, that it is our own faith (when we are of age to profess it) which will be beneficial to us, and not the faith of any other person. " Abraham be- Eom. 4. s. lieved God, and that was counted to him for righteousness." Gen " 15 " 6 ' To him in a restrained sense. The belief here, is not a bare confession, an opinion, or an assent. The phrase imports more, for it is not Credo Deo, I believe God, though it requires that also, a man being bound to believe, that whatever command God hath given must be obeyed, whatever judgment He hath threatened shall be inflicted, whatsoever promise He hath made shall be performed. But as I said, the phrase imports more, because Credo in Deum, is, as if I said, I put my whole trust, hope, and confidence in Him ; I rely upon Him : I embrace Him for my God, and I adhere to Him. " Art not Thou from Hab. 1. 12. everlasting, O Lord my God, mine Holy One ?" 2. The object, God. By this word is signified to us the essence of the Deity, who is called Jehovah, I am. For whereas all other things Exod. 3. 14. are subject to change, we can say of them, they are not what they have been, or shall not be what they are : He evermore is the same, and His years shall not fail. This word then intimates unto us, that He is of a nature, 1. Eternal. 2. Immortal, or tie living God. u om . lm 2 o. 3. Immutable : having a being in and from Himself, which j^^ 1 '^' is the original and beginning of all being. 12. Hence then we are to believe, 1. That there is a God. Besides Scripture, reason doth Rom. 1. 19, sufficiently prove it, and to this the Apostle appeals. 15'. 17. 2. That this God is but One : the Scriptures declare this 24 " 29- expressly, " Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Deut. 6. 4. Lord/' " There is no other God but one." And reason 1 Cor. 8. 4. concludes it also, because there can be but one infinite, independent, and omnipotent cause. 3. That yet in this unity of the Godhead, there is a Trinity of Persons, the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. " There 1 Joh. 5. 7. be Three that bear witness in heaven ; the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost." " Go ye therefore and Mat. 28. 19. teach all nations, baptizing them in the Name of the 30 A plain and full Exposition of the Gai. 4. 6. Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." And Mat. a 16, he that dou J3 ts i et him g0 to Jordan. Quest. How are these Persons distinguished ? Answ. Not in the essence of the Godhead, for their Uoii. 5. 7. essence is one and the same. "These Three are One." Nor yet in their dignity and attributes : all being co-equal, co-essential, co-eternal; all uncreate, incomprehensible, almighty. The distinction then is, that under this notion of a Person, this one God is made known to us. 1. The First Person under the notion of the Father. 2. The Second Person under the notion of the Son. 3. The Third under the notion of the Holy Ghost. Then again they are distinguished by their internal pro- perties. 1. 'Ayevveala. Not begotten belongs to the Father. He is of none. Ps. 2. 7. 2. Tevvr] therefore hath God exalted Him, and given Him isa. 53. 12. a Name above every Name," &c. And this His exaltation is expressed in the following articles. Mat. 28. 1. His resurrection ; He rose again the third day. Acts l. [9.] 2. His ascension ; He ascended into heaven. Het. 1. 13. 3. His glorification ; He sits on the right hand of God. Acts 17. 31. 4. His return in glory; He shall come to judge the John 5. 22. quick and the dead> This is the sum - of that part of the Creed, that belongs to Catechism of the Church of England. 35 our Saviour and Eedeemer Jesus Christ. I shall now more fully explain every particular article. 1. The first Article concerning Christ, viz. And in Jesus Christ His only Son our Lord. In Christ we are f 1. His Person consisting of two natures, to consider I 2. His Offices. 1. Of the Person of Christ. In the Person of Christ there was an union of two Natures, Rom. 9. 5. the divine and human ; the divine, for He was His only Son ; the human, for He was Christ, that is, Anointed. " The Joh. 1. 14. Word was made flesh," and His name "Immanuel, God a- ' " with us." And this assumption of the humanity, and joining of it with the Deity, made Him a fit Person to be our Mediator and Redeemer. 1. The divine nature was necessary, that so His satisfaction might be of an infinite merit, and proportionable to our Heb. 9. 14. offence. God redeemed the Church with His blood. 2. The human nature was necessary ; that He might per- form perfect obedience to the law, and die for our sins, which the Godhead could not : God redeemed indeed, but it was Gal. 4. 4, 5. with blood, and then He must be man, for God had no blood to shed. 2. Of Christ's Office. His office in general is to save : to that end He came into iTim.i.15. the world, and to that end He took the name, Jesus. Jesus is a Hebrew name, and it signifies a Saviour ; " Thou Mat. l. 21. shalt call His name Jesus, for He shall save His people from Tlt ' 2 ' 14 ' their sins." To save and redeem from sin, implies three things. 1. To obtain pardon for sin, both from guilt and punish- 2Cor.5. 19. ment and reconciling sinners to God ; and thus Jesus was 11 om ' ' ' a Saviour, for He obtained our pardon, freed us from the ^lalt wrath of God, and reconciled man to God. d2 36 A plain and full Exposition of the Col. 3. 5. 2. To deliver from the slavery and dominion of sin, and Bom. 6. 5,6; tQ ^ pQwer to repent for itj an(i to mor tify it ; and thus nS°o 7 ™' also He saves His people from their sins, because in all His people, by the power of His Spirit, He so weakens and mortifies sin, that it shall not reign in their mortal bodies. E P h. l. s. 3. To perfect salvation, and save in another world : and 2 a pet 3 'i 36 ' thus also He saves His people, His purpose being to bring l'pet. i. 4. them to salvation after this life. The practical part, or that influence, which this salvation purchased by Jesus, ought to have upon us. Lu.i.46,68; 1. It is proper to stir us up to be affectionate and grateful 2 - 13- to this our Saviour, that being the only Son of God, would yet take our nature upon Him that He might be our Jesus. 2. It should beget in us a just hatred of sin, that brought God from heaven to expiate, and die for it. 3. It is most proper to enforce repentance, and amend- ment of life, this being the end of Christ's death to redeem Tit. 2. H. us from all iniquity, and to purify to Himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. Christ. Ps. 2. 6. The next title that is given our Saviour, is Christ, which no"?'"'' m the Hebrew is Messiah, signifying Anointed, and it inti- Deut. 18. mates the three offices, to which men were admitted by the 15 18. Acts 3. 22. ceremony of anointing. The king, the priest, the prophet, . were anointed among the Jews. That then our Saviour was Christus, that is, Unctus, Anointed, shews that He was to be all these, a King, a Priest, and a Prophet, to His people. Lu. 4. 18. But here observe, that this unction was not performed with material oil, but by the Holy Ghost, and with this oil of Heb. l. 9. gladness, as it is called, He was anointed above His fellows, Ps. 45. . k £ n extensive and intensive. 1. First, extensive, because the three offices met in His Person, which were never conjoined in any other. Aaron was an anointed priest, Saul an anointed king, Elisha an anointed prophet, Melchisedech king and priest, David king and pro- phet, but none but He all these, King, Priest, and Prophet* 1 . d [When Jesus came into the world, these three, therefore was He called A because He was to do the office of all Xpurrbs " the Anointed," in a more pe- Catechism of the Church of England. 37 2. Intensive^, that is, in the intensest, and highest degree, that possibly this unction might he had, and faculty to use it to all effects and purposes, to which grace doth or can extend : and thus Christ, and Christ alone, did partake of this unction, or gifts of the Holy Ghost. For " to every one of us is Eph. 4. 7. given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ : from Him we receive grace for grace." But He was "full of [Joh.i.i6.] grace and truth," " and in Him dwelt all the fulness of the Joh. 1. 14. Godhead bodily." Because in His person there was the 2°9. ' ' grace of union, therefore was in it the grace of unction. The condition of man without Christ, is very lamentable, and this ariseth from 1. ignorance, 2. disorder, 3. guilt. But by the offices of Christ, there ariseth an antidote for these three. 1. His prophetical office is able to dispel our ignorance : Heb. 3. l. for as a Prophet He doth illuminate and teach us knowledge, i c ' r . i. 24. 2. His regal office is of power to remove all disorder : as pf' 2 2 ' 6 3 ' a King He can set all right, and keep all right. Dan - 2 - 44. 3. His Priesthood was ordained to remove our guilt. For Coi. 1. 26, it was the priest's duty to intercede, to make an atonement 2 cor. 5. 15. for, and to reconcile God and the people. S™ 14.15 Of each of these a little more. Heb. 7. 25. 1. Of Christ's Prophetical Office. The prophet's office was, and is, to teach and open to man the will of God. And this office Christ did, and doth yet perform unto His Church, perfectly revealing what is the will of God about our salvation. Whence He is called the Pro- Deut.18.15. phet. The Apostle of our profession. " The Angel of the Heb. s. 1. covenant." " The wisdom of God." " And the treasury of all 1 cor 3- !. 1 ^ wisdom and knowledge." Now this He hath done three Co1- % 3 - ways. 1. By the promulgation of the Gospel. Lu. 4. 18. culiar manner than they were ; for they in none of them all three. Melchisedecli were anointed with material oil, He was king and priest, hut no prophet; with the Holy Ghost ; they by the David prophet and king, hut no priest ; hands of men, He by no other than Samuel priest and prophet, but no God Himself; they to save for a time, king; He the sole perfect Christ, be- He to save for ever. They were typical, cause all three, David's Priest, Moses' He a perfect Christ ; in Him all those Prophet, Daniel's King ; for He was to offices were conjoined, which in them reign in the house of Jacob for ever, were never perfectly to be found. Two Nicholson on Creed, p. 164.] of these met in some one or other, hut 38 A plain and full Exposition of the Mat. 5 to 8. 2. By His interpretation of the law, in His sermon upon the mount. E P h. 4 n. 3. By sending apostles, prophets, evangelists, doctors, ^• 12 - 28 - teachers. Our duties to this Office are, Rom. 1. 16, 1. Faith to believe what He hath taught. Lu. 14 35 ; 2. Obedience to His sermon, and the whole word of God : 9 - 35- subduing proud reason to the doctrine of Christ. Lu. io. 16. 3. To have all His ministers in great regard for their Gal. 4 14 , , , Phil. 2. 29, work s sake. 30. 2. Of Christ's Kingly Office. p s . 2. 6. The kingdom of Christ is, [that] by which He dispenseth Lu^i. 2 ^' an d orders all things with authority and power, which belong to man's salvation. And this His power, as a King, He shews, Heb. 8. io. 1. By erecting and setting up His throne in the hearts of His people, giving them grace to destroy and subdue every rebellious lust, and habit of sin, that it never reign there. Heb. 2. 14 2. By subduing Satan, and shortening his power. "I saw Satan fall from Heaven." l Cor. 15. 3. By conquering death itself, "the last enemy to be de- [26 - ] stroyed." Mat. 22. 4. By erecting a universal power. 1. In respect of all BLnyi. 14 ages. 2. Over all men. 3. Over all creatures. Eph! i'. 21 22 7- Our duties to His Kingly Office are, Eph. 5. 24 1 . That we be obedient faithful subjects to this King. joh.".i6. 24 2. That we trust and petition to Him for our protection. Ep™6. io,' 3. That we fight His battles, against sin and Satan. Ps 2*11 '12 4. That we pay Him His tribute of honour and reverence. isa. 66. 2. 5. That we tremble at His Word, His threats, His judg- Phil - 2 - 12 -ments. 3. Of Christ's Priestly Office. Col. i. 20, Christ's Priestly Office consists in this, that He did expiate Kom. 5. io. God's anger, and reconcile us to God. This His priesthood Heb. 7. 17, was not legal, " but after the order of Melchisedech." And this office He executes, isa. 53. io. 1. By offering His soul a sacrifice for sin. Catechism of the Church of England. 39 2. By His intercession and praying for us. Joh. 17. 3. By making an atonement for us. l joh. 2. 2. 4. By blessing us : and this blessing is the turning eveiy Acts 3. 26. one of us from our iniquities. Our duties to this His Priestly Office. 1. To pray Him to intercede for pardon and grace for us. Heb. 4. 16. 2. To account His grace the greatest blessing. Phil. 3. 7. 3. To receive it, when it flows, with humble hearts. Joh. 5. 4. 4. To use His grace to the end designed, viz. reformation. 2 Cor. 6. 1,2. 5. To expect no pardon from this our High- Priest, or Heb. 12. eternal salvation, but upon the good use of His grace. 25-30. 6. That we bless God again, for blessing us. So did Mel- Gen. 14. chisedech. 19 ' 20 - His only Son. That is Christ's third title in the Creed, by which we are Joh. 1. 1. 14. to understand that He was the eternal Son of God, not as 1 j on \ 5. 2b. all creatures are by creation; nor as all the elect people °f jjteh'5'2 God are, by grace and adoption ; but the only Son of God by Heb. 1. 3. eternal generation. Co-eternal, co-essential, and co-equal with the Father and the Holy Ghost. Very God of very God, begotten not made, being of one substance with the Father. The use for our Comfort. 1. That being God, He is able to save to the uttermost. Heb. 7. 25. 2. That being His Son, He will adopt us. Heb. 2. 10. Our Lord. That is His fourth title. And it is a name of power and relation. 1. Of sovereignty and power, and so is a farther illustra- tion of His Kingly office, that He is exalted to the throne, and therefore hath power to save. At His birth the Angel gives Him this title, "Christ the Lord." And after His Lu. 2. 11. resurrection, St. Peter tells the Jews " That God hath exalted Acts 5. 31. Him with His right hand, to be a Prince and a Saviour." Not a temporal Saviour, as other princes, lords, and christs had been ; but a Lord that brings everlasting salvation. Heb - 5 - 9 - 40 A plain and full Exposition of the Heb. 7. LA Lord able to save 25-27 [Zech. 9. 9. L Himself and others. Hebffk 14. 2. The bodies and souls of His servants. ^•.^■j? 7 ,' 3. Not only from carnal, but ghostly enemies. 39,40.Eph. J ' & •> 1.20-22. 4. Lastly, not from temporal calamities only, but from sm. 13-il ^' ^ •^ J0r( ^ a ^^ e ^° S^ ve whatsoever He is Lord of. Acts 3. 15. 1. He is Lord of life; and life He imparts. l Cor. 2. 8. 2. He is Lord of glory ; and glory He imparts. Mat. 25.21. 3. He is Lord of joy, and that He bestows. 2. And secondly, Lord is a name of relation, for a lord must have servants : and in this sense it may well be taken here, intimating that however He be the Lord paramount and absolute, yet to all Christians He stands in a nearer relation. Not a Lord at large, but their peculiar, proper Lord. ' Our Lord ;' not so to the devils ; for say they, " What have Mat. 8. 29. we to do with Thee ?" Not so to the unbelieving Jews or l Cor. l. 23. Gentiles ; for to these Jews he was a " stumbling block," and to these G-entiles " foolishness ." To Christians alone, that call Him and own Him for their Lord and Master, to those, l Cor. l. 24. 1 say, " which are called, both Greeks and Jews, Christ is the power of God and wisdom of God." The uses of His Lordship. l Cor. 7. 23; 1. That if He be our Lord, then we must be His servants, Mai.'i. 6. obey His commandments, and carry ourselves as it becomes dutiful servants and subjects. Jas. 4. 12. 2. That we acknowledge His power to give laws for the 3 | a ' 22 . ordering of His kingdom, house, family. Ln. l. 71. 3. That we rely upon this Lord for salvation, for pro- Iaa. 3 . , . Section, for deliverance, from all the enemies of our peace. II. The second Article concerning Christ. Lu . i. 35. Who was conceived of the Holy Ghost. Mat. l 25. Bom of the Virgin Mary. In this article is set down our Saviour's Incarnation, of which, 1. The efficient cause, was God. Joh. 3. 16. 2. The Trporiyovfievrj, or first mQving cause, His good 1 Job. 4. 9. i pleasure. Lu.i. 76- 3. The irpoicaTapicTiicr), or the occasion, man's misery. Catechism of the Church of England. 41 4. The final. His own glory, and man's salvation. phi. 1. 11. This His Incarnation, was the assuming of flesh, of which p ' ' ' there was a double principle. . 1. One in heaven; the Holy Ghost. 2. The other on earth; the Virgin Mary. 1. As He was man, He was dirdrcop, had no man for His Heb. 7. 3. father, being not conceived after the ordinary manner of men ; but by the secret power and operation of the Holy Ghost. Lu. l. 35. 2. Yet when He became man, He had a mother, descended Ps. 132. n. Jer 31. 22. lineally of the seed of David; and she a Virgin, and so the prophecy fulfilled, " A Virgin shall conceive, and bring forth isa. 7. u. a Son." Our nature was polluted with the contagion of sin : that Ps. 51. 5. 17 1 1 t* c therefore this infection might not pass into Christ, He would be conceived by the Holy Ghost, by whose sanctity the seed, Lu. l. 35. which He took, might be purged from original corruption. Our nature was again to be redeemed by the seed of the Gen. 3. 15. . ("Gal 4 41 woman, as God had promised ; and therefore He took flesh L from the Virgin's womb. His conception by the Holy Ghost filled Him with all grace and holiness, " full of grace and truth." Joh. 1. 14. His nativity of the Virgin Mary made Him subject to all Heb. 4. 15 ; human infirmities, that are not sinful. This was the first step and degree of His debasement and humiliation, for quid sublimius Deo ? quid vilius came ? what higher than God ? what more mean than flesh ? and yet the [Joh. l. Word would be made flesh. The duties we learn from it are, 1. Joy. " Behold I bring you glad tidings of great joy." Isa. 9. 3. 2. Praise. At His birth the angels sing " Glory in the Lu! i. li, highest." The shepherds praise God. At His conception ?£ u L 46 _ Mary her Magnificat. °5.] 3. Humility. Deus humilis et superbit homo ? is God pmi. 2. humble and man proud ? 4. The justice and necessity of our new birth : justice, by way of retaliation: necessity, "for except a man be born Joh. 3. 5. again, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God." 5. The principles of this our new birth are, the Spirit of Tit. 3. 5. God, and the heart of man. For as Christ's birth proceeded Heb. 8. io.' 42 A plain and full Exposition of the from two principles, the one active, which was the Holy Ghost; the other passive, viz. the Virgin's womb; so our new birth must have both these principles also. The active, which is the secret operation of God's Spirit, and the passive, in which the work is wrought, which is the heart of man. And that which can prepare and fit the heart for Christ to be born in it, or the Holy Ghost to overshadow it, is the virgin temper, of humility, innocency, submission. It behoves us then humbly to submit to the work of the Spirit, and to prepare virgin hearts for Christ to be born in, and the Holy Ghost to overshadow 6 . III. The third Article of the Creed. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead and buried ; He descended to hell. This is the brief description of the second degree of our Saviour's humiliation, and it comprehends His whole Passion ; His Agony, Bloody Sweat, His Cross and Passion, Death and Burial. That there is no mention here made of His whole life ; but so quick a transition from His birth to His death, the reason is conceived to be, because His life was so humble, and full of misery, that it may well be thought to be a con- tinual suffering. Under this word, then, ' He suffered,' we may well comprehend all His infirmities, His hunger, His thirst, His weariness, His reproaches, His griefs, His sorrows, His temptation, the gainsaying of sinners, which He sus- tained. This article is especially to be understood, because upon l Cor. 2. 2. His death the whole hinge of our salvation turns. " I desire to know nothing but Jesus Christ crucified." And it needs no long exposition, for that the whole history of it is so clearly and fully set forth by the evangelists ; yet these par- ticulars would be remembered. 1. "Who it is that suffered, Jesus Christ the Son of God. isa. 53. io. 2. That He suffered freely, and voluntarily. 17, is. ' 3. "What He suffered, the wrath, though not the whole Lam. 1. 12. wrath of Go( j [? See Hammond, Pract. Catech. Book 5. § 2.] Catechism of the Church of England, 43 4. That these His sufferings were not only in His body, Mat. 26. 38. but also extended to His soul. 5. That He suffered the death of the Cross, which was a Mat. 27. painful, shameful, bloody, accursed death. [Deu.21.23. 6. Under whom He suffered, viz. Pontius Pilate, the y^$2. deputy at that time of Judea, under Tiberius. Although He were God, yet He submitted to a legal power. 7. That He submitted to the separation of His soul from Mat. 27. 50. His body, or the power of death. ' He was crucified, dead/ 8. Nay, He yet went one degree lower, for He was laid up in the heart of the earth. Buried He was, though "Heisa. 53.9. Mat. 27. made His grave with the rich." 57-60. 9. The motive of His suffering ; no worth in us, nor no Eom. 5. merit on our part, but the bowels of His infinite charity and mercy. 10. The end that He suffered ; not for any commodity to Himself, but merely for our good and benefit ; which is in the Scriptures expressed in divers words, that import the same things : as, 1. That we might obtain remission of sins. " He hath Eev. 1. 5. . Col 2 13 loved us, and washed us from our sins in His blood." 14. ' " He blotted out the hand-writing," &c. "Without Heb. 9. 11, shedding of blood there is no remission." end. 2. That we might be delivered from the tyranny of the Heb. 2. 14. b . 2Tim.2.26. devil. "Now is the judgment of this world, now is j h. 12. 31. the prince of this world cast out." 3. That we might be freed from punishment. " The chas- isa. 53. 5. tisement of our peace was upon Him." " He bare our [1 Pet. 2. sins in His body," that is, the punishment of our sin. - 1 4. To reconcile us to God. " We are reconciled by the Eom. 5. 10. death of His Son." 5. That He might redeem us. 1. From our vain con- 1 Pet. 1. 18. versation. 2. From the curse of the Law. Gal. 3. 13. 6. That by His blood we might have an entrance to Heb. 10. 19, TT 20 - Heaven. The uses we are to make of His Passion. 1. That we, as He, submit, and shew a passive obedience Rom. 13. 1. to authority. Though He could have commanded whole 53*54. ' legions of angels, yet He would suffer under Pontius Pilate. 44 A plain and full Exposition of the isa. 53 3 2. That we seriously consider, that He was vir dolorum, Rom. 8. 17. J ) _ 2 Tim. 2. 12. a man of sorrows, and suffer with Him at least in com- Lu. 23. 27. Lam. 1. 12. paSSlOn. Coj'.Vn 26 ' 3. That we lay to heart the greatness of our sins, that a ? 1- , 6 ' 6 " ca used these sorrows, and abhor them. [36— j 41. 4. That we do not wallow in sin, and so, as much as lies Heb. £ 6. . . . „.. ' [Gal. 5. 24] m us, crucify Him again. Coi m 2. 6 ii 6 ' 5. But rather that we " crucify the flesh with the affections Rom. 8. 13. an( i lusts." " Destroy the body of sin." Heb. 12. i,2. 6. That we make His death an example of innocency, patience, humility, charity, and be content to suffer for God, Rom. 8. 17. being assured that if we suffer with Him, we shall also reign with Him. 2 rt' % 19 ' ^' ^ a * we remem b er the greatness of God's love in giving 13. His Son, His Son's love in giving Himself to die, and so to ' die for us ; to love, admire, and thank Him for it. Rom. 8. 33, 8. That yet upon the accusation of Satan, or our own con- 34 • 7. 25. Rom. 6. ' science, we be comforted. Because by this one sacrifice of Christ upon the Cross, we are saved and redeemed. Rom. 5. 1-3. 9. That W e be not disheartened by death, or the grave, l Cor. 15. seeing that sin, " the sting of death," is taken away, and death made an entrance to life. He descended to hell. There be two opinions about the exposition of this part of the article, and both may be piously retained. 1 . Some judge that Christ did locally descend into hell, as it signifies the place of the damned. But not to suffer there : for without question, to His sufferings there was a con- summatum upon the Cross ; but to triumph over Satan in his own territories, and .openly to shew him the victory He had gotten over him by death f . This is the passive or common opinion of the ancients, and is yet of many sound modern divines. They to this purpose urge these places of Scripture. Ps. 16. 10. " Thou shalt not leave My soul in hell." " He descended 6q ° 3 ' ' into the lower parts of the earth." " Who shall descend lom \§'i * n *° * ne deep," that is, to bring Christ again from the dead. iR P iq 3- " ^krist was quickened in the Spirit, by which He went and ' Vide B. Bilson's Descent of Christ and 169. Ed. 1599. See Ham. Pract. into Hell, p. 591, and p. 602. [pp. 154. Cat. p. 388.] Catechism of the Church of England. 45 preached to the spirits that were in prison." " And having Col. 2. 15. spoiled principalities^ and powers, He made a show of them openly." 2. Others are of opinion, that by His descent to hell, is meant no more, but that He continued, was not only dead, but continued in that state, His soul being really separated from His body for some space; but not so long, that His body did putrify in the grave ; so that by them this word ' dead' is referred to the separation of His soul from His body; but His descent to hell, to His continuance under the power of death. I will not be the arbitrator, let every man be persuaded, as the arguments produced by either side will persuade him. However this is safe; that Christ did descend virtually, i. e. the power and virtue of His death was such, that He Rev. 1. 18. conquered for us the power of hell. IV. The fourth Article of the Creed. He rose again the third day. They who conceive Christ descended locally to hell, make those words a part of this article, and will have it, together with this, the first step of our Saviour's exaltation; when death being conquered by His mighty power, He truly rose Eom. 6. 9, from the grave, the third day, in that very flesh in which He died, but now dying no more, lives for ever. That Christ arose, needs not be proved to Christians. The Mat 28. testimony of Angels, of the watch, of the Apostles, His often Lu. r 24. and often apparitions, the effusion of the Holy Ghost upon ^ts t°' the Apostles, the miracles done by them in His name (by Heb. 2. 4. which God confirmed from heaven what they preached) are sufficient witnesses. We are here then only to consider, 1. Who it was that rose, viz. the same Christ that went to the grave, and the same body that was crucified, and laid in the grave. Of this, His apparition to Thomas is a sufficient Job.. 20. 27. testimony, when He shewed His hands and His feet. 2. Who it was that raised Him : it was the work of the Acts 2. whole Trinity. It is attributed to the Father. To Himself job. 10. being God the Son. ' To the Spirit. In this then lies the g 'J,% u Joh. 2. 10. 18. 19; Acts 3. Rev. 1. Col. 1. ICor. 20. Rom. C 15. 5. 18. 15. 1.9. 46 A plain and full Exposition of the difference betwixt the resurrection of Christ and others; that He rose, they were raised. He rose sua virtute, they precarid. His Deity raised His humanity : but others were raised by others, they raised not themselves. And the second differ- ence is, that He rose as " the Prince of Life," as " the first- born among many brethren;" as "the first-fruits of those that sleep," for " He saw no corruption, neither hath death any more dominion over Him." But Lazarus and others saw cor- ruption, and were to see it again; since, though they were restored to life, and called from their graves, yet they were mortal creatures, and must die the second time. 3. When He did arise. The third day, nor sooner, nor later. 1. Sooner He would not arise, that He might take all occasion away from His adversaries of cavilling, that He was not truly dead : it was that His death should not be questioned. 2. Longer He would not defer it, partly that He might not see corruption; for as physicians teach, after seventy-two hours the body putrifies : partly that He might bring comfort to His disciples, who by His Lu. 24. 21. death began to despair, whether or no He were the Messiah that was to redeem Israel. To confirm their faith, then. He arose so soon. Besides, by this stay in the grave, and rising from the Mat. 12.39. grave, the type in Jonah was fulfilled. As Jonah "was three days and three nights"""in the whale's belly, so shall the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth." Which yet must be understood by a synecdoche, a part for the whole, for He lay not there above thirty-six, or thirty-eight hours at the most g . 4. Necessary it was for Christ to rise. Phil. 2.:8, 9. 1. That He might receive honour for His depression and humility, that being debased as a servant, and crucified as a sinner, He might be declared to be the Son of God. Rom. 4. 25. 2. For our justification, that we might be assured that Acts 20! 28. the great debt of our sin is discharged. The Com- Dan. 9. 24. * [Another type was fulfilled by 11, 12; which was the self-same day of Christ rising the third day — that of the the week on which Christ rose. See waved sheaf in the feast of the first- 1 Cor. 15. 20. where Christ is called fruits, which was waved " on the mor- the first-fruits.] row after the sabbath;" Lev. 23. 10, Catechism of the Church of England. 47 forter, that He promised, was to convince the world, i. e. satisfy the consciences of men, concerning that everlasting righteousness, purchased by Him, and to be brought in by Him. And the conviction was, that He arose ; for had not the debt been fully paid, and the purchase made, He must needs have been de- tained under the bonds of death. 3. This gives us assurance that our bodies shall arise l Pet. l. 3. also. For He was but the "first-fruits." And the same l Cor. 15. T20 23 1 body — " this corruptible must put on incorruption, this jy e r. 54. mortal, immortality." " This" signally, individually. The use of this Article, for our present practice is, 1. That as He rose from the grave, so we actually rise from sin to a new life ; for sin is a sleep, nay worse, a death. Eph. 2. 1. " Dead in sin. 2. That this be not deferred and put off, no more than Rom. 13.11. Christ did defer His resurrection : after some few hours He Heb.\ 7. arose from the grave ; and a few hours will be enough, nay, too much, to sleep in sin. 3. This work is to be done perfectly, all our old sins are to 1 Thes. 5. be shaken off, as Christ left the napkin, the clothes, all the furniture of a dead corpse in the grave. 4. And when we begin the work, we must continue in it, and go through with it. "Christ being raised from the dead, Rom. 6. n, dies no more." " Likewise reckon ye also," &c. V. The fifth Article of the Creed concerning Christ. He ascended into Heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty. In this article is set down the next degree of our Saviour's Marki6.i9. exaltation; to Heaven He ascended, that being there, in glory Ep^Wo?" He might execute all His offices : and it was prefigured by Heb - 9 - 7 - the entrance of the High Priest into the holiest of all, having two degrees. 1. His ascension; foretold, Ps. 68. 18; performed, Acts 1, Mark 16, Luke 24. 2. His session; foretold, Ps. 110. 1; revealed to Stephen, Acts 7. 56; proved, Eph. 1. 20, Heb. 1. 13. 48 A plain and full Exposition of the Acts 1. a After our Saviour had conversed forty days from the time He rose, with His disciples ; partly to confirm the truth of His resurrection, and partly to instruct them in their future administration, Joh. 3. 13; 1. He ascended by the same power He arose, not by any n\ is. other power, but His own, that of His Deity. Acts l. 9. 2. Visibly, the disciples beholding it, that they might be aVTOTTTCtl. Mat. 24. 30. 3. On a cloud : in a cloud He is to come, and therefore He went on a cloud, which cloud yet was not necessarium vehiculum, a necessary chariot, support or stay to Him ; such He needed not, but rather adminiculum solenne, a solemn and triumphal throne, which it pleased Him to assume for His greater majesty and glory. 4. And this cloud left Him not, till it mounted Him to Heaven. ' Into Heaven,' saith the Creed, consonant to that Eph. 4. 10. in Acts 1. 11. and Luke 24. 51. et? rbv ovpavbv, which yet seems to be higher ; the altitude to which He was exalted, was mrepavw iravrmv rmv ovpavwv; inrep above, and avm aloft, above all the heavens, even the highest of them. That these texts may be harmonious, know you must, that Heaven is subject to a double acception. For, 1. It is taken for those common received orbs, be they ten or eleven, it matters not ; and to Heaven Christ may well be said to ascend, because His progress from below, was towards these orbs above, quasi ad terminum. Eev. 21. 2. Or secondly, Heaven is taken for the empyreum Heaven, fisa°63. 15. called in Scripture, " the City of God ;" " the seat of His „?• tv. 2 !L holiness ;" " Jerusalem which is above :" " the Heaven of Heb. 12. 22. * . , ... Deu. io. 14. heavens/' being above the rest. And into this, Christ being 8. 27. ascended, may well be said to be inrep tt&vtiov t&v ovpav&v, 2.^ r ° n because He hath under Him all the other visible orbs, as His footstool. The reasons of our Saviour's ascension may be these. 1. For His own honour. The Jews while He was on earth, endeavoured to bring down His Name, Person, Power ; but Pa. no. 7. God hath righted Him in all these, lifted up His Person, Rev. 5. 12. enlarged His Power, exalted His Name, Claritas humilitatis Phil 9 9 prcemzum. Heb. 7. 25. 2. That He might save, redeem, and work out our salva- Catechism of the Church of England. 49 tion to the uttermost, do in Heaven for us what was to be done. 1. Be our advocate and intercessor. i j h. 2. 2. 2. Send down the Holy Ghost. job. 16. 7. 3. Be our protector and lord in Heaven. fj^ - . 4 3. That He might shew His kingdom to be eternal, heavenly, spiritual; "not of this world," as the Jews ex- Dan. 2. 44. pected, in which error the Apostles were also involved. ^ts i 8 ' 6 36 ' 4. That He might exalt our nature. For when Jesus was taken to Heaven, our nature united to His Person was thither taken together with Him, and made superior to the Angels, for, " to which of the Angels said He at any time," &c. Heb. 1. 5. 5. That He might prepare a place even for our bodies. At Job. H.2,3 ; His parting He sent down His pawn, viz. His Spirit by which He did descend to us; He took our pawn, our flesh with Him, to assure us we should ascend to Him. At His [Eev.1.18.] rising, He took to Himself the keys of hell and death, and let Himself out, and all His : and so now at His ascending, He took to Himself the keys of Heaven, and opened the king- Heb. 10. 20. dom to all believers. In His ascension, dedicata sunt nostra ascensionis primordia, the beginnings of our ascension were dedicated. The influence upon our life is, 1. That we ascend after Him; have our conversation in Col. 3. 1. Heaven ; be heavenly-minded ; seek after, and savour the phiL s. 20! things that are above. Mat - 6 - 2L 2. That we defile not our bodies, and pollute our souls ; Rev. 21. 27. for into that City no unclean thing shall enter. The Angels at His ascension appeared in white apparel ; with our Lord ascended no pride, no malice, no wickedness, &c. Sits on the right hand of God the Father Almighty. This is the third degree of our Saviour's exaltation. God is a Spirit, and hath neither right nor left hand. This then is spoken after the manner of men, who place him whom they will most honour, upon their right hand, as appears by the 1 Kings 2. honour Solomon did to his mother. The sheep were set at Mkt. 25. the right hand, and Zebedee's wife was desirous that one t 33 -] NICHOLSON. E 50 A plain and full Exposition of the [Mat. 20. of her sons should be placed on the right hand. So God is Epfi. i. 20. said to place His Son on His right hand, purposing to Him the greatest honour; an honour so great and peculiar to rieb. 1. 13. Christ, that it never was done to any creature, no, not an Angel. By it He is exalted to he, Eev. 15. 3. 1. King of saints. Acts 17. 3i. 2. Judge of sinners. Acts 5. 3i. 3. Prince of our salvation. Heb. 3. i. 4. The High Priest of our profession. Heb. 9. 24. Now there was an union of His regal power, and His 20? '" ' ' priestly office, giving commands to His Church, and inter- ceding with God for His Church, having power actually to bestow that grace and pardon, for which He intercedes. Of which, that we may be the more fully persuaded, the Person before whom He intercedes, is, 1. A Father, and therefore willing, 2. Almighty, and therefore able, to grant what He asks. The influence upon our lives is this. 1. That we hence learn the art of ascending, which is to Jas. 4. 6. descend first; for "God gives grace to the humble, and Prov - 3 - 34 resists the proud." Joh. 5. 23. 2. That we give up ourselves to be ruled by His com- mands and institutions, and to all that rule under Him. Heb. 4. 3. To offer our petitions by Him, and depend upon His intercession. Heb. 6. ii. 4. To receive and make advantage of the grace which flows from Him. isa. 26. 4, 5. To look to Him in all our temptations, and pressures, and expect help from His right hand. Joh. 5. 23. 6. To honour the Son as we do the Father, to cast our Ps. 2. io. crowns at His feet, stoop at His sceptre, live by His laws, Eer. 3. 21. an( j f n ow Him so here, that we may sit in His throne. VI. The sixth Article of the Creed concerning Christ. Jude 14, From thence He shall come again to judge both the quick Acts 17. 3i. and dead. 1 Thes. 4. 16 - This is the last degree of our Saviour's exaltation, and it is Joh. 5. 22, future; raised He is to the throne to be the Judge at the last Catechism of the Church of England. 51 day. There be three benefits that Christ confers upon His Church, one of redemption, another of patronage, a third of judicature ; by His death and passion we are redeemed ; by His ascension He becomes our advocate and patron ; and in this He is appointed to be our Judge. The day when He shall do this is called the day of the i Thes.5.2. Lord, and such a day there shall be. And it is called His [L u ° r '9.'26. - day, because His glory and majesty shall be most resplendent 2Pet -i-i 6 in it. There is a particular and a general day of judgment. 1. A particular, that passeth upon every man immediately Lu. 16. 19, upon his death, when the soul departed is set at God's ad fin ' tribunal, and called to question for all thoughts, words, actions. Rev. 14. 13. 2. A general, of all men after the re-assumption of their Mat. 25. bodies, which is here intended, and described. \ Thes. 4. Of these, some are departed before that day, called here {j 14 " 1 ™-'™ dead, and these must rise again with their bodies to judg- ment : all must appear. Others shall be living at that day, 2 Cor. 5. 10. called here'the quick, and these shall not die, but be changed i c™r. 15.51! only. Of both kinds Christ must be Judge. i 7 Thes - 4- St. Paul acquaints the Athenians, that " God hath ap- Acts 17. 31. pointed a day in which He will judge the world in righte- ousness :" and this was one of the points he reasoned on Acts 24. 25. before Felix. And yet scoffers there are, that ask, "where is 2 Pet. 3. 3, 4. the promise of His coming," and their lives answer such Eccies. U. conceits. Now if the light of reason, nor the light of con- wis. 5. 6, 7. science, nor the light of Scripture, nor the faith of devils (for [Jas. 2. 19.] they tremble at it) cannot confute and convince such atheists, the last day appointed by God for the judgment shall do it, when " the Lord shall descend from Heaven with a shout, with 1 Thes. 4. the voice of the Arch-angel, and with the trump of God." The reasons why Christ shall come again to judgment. 1. Because this makes very much for His honour. The Jews and profane men as yet objected His cross, His passion, and ignominious death, humble birth and life. Christ cruci- [1 Cor. 1. fied is a stumbling-block to the Jews and Gentiles. Now '■' that day will repair His honour, and shame His enemies. "They shall see Him whom they have pierced, and mourn." Zech. 12.10. 2. That God's justice and wisdom in ordering the world e 2 52 A plain and full Exposition of the might be apparent. In this life, though many wicked men Ex. 14. 26- have been made examples of God's wrath, as Pharaoh, Julian, 31 " Arius, &c. yet the most have descended into their graves in peace, spent their lives, and ended their days in riches, Heb. li. mirth, pleasure. On the other side, good men have been oij no * x tJ under the cross, destitute, afflicted, tormented, martyred. That then it might appear to the whole world, that He was wise in His dispensations, and just in His retributions, this Lu. 16. 25. day shall make it manifest, when Lazarus, and all His 2 Cor. 4. 17. servants for their light and momentary afflictions shall have an exceeding weight of glory ; and Dives, and all ungodly men, for their riot, pleasure, pomp, oppressions, cruelties, shall be accursed and tormented. This we now preach and believe, but both those that believe it, and believe it not, shall find it true by experience. Jer. 17. 9. 3. Many things now are hid and secret. " The heart of 2 Sam. 15. 7. man is deceitful above all things, who can know it ?" Absa- lom pretends a vow when he raised rebellion against his Mat. 26. 49. father : Judas kisseth Christ when it is his intent to betray Mat. 16. 6. Him : the Pharisee leavens his face, fasts, and prays, when his u ' '" -J purpose is to devour a widow's house. All these things are yet in occulto, secret, and many more, so that a hypocrite may pass with us for a good saint. But that day will reveal 1 Cor. 3. 13. all ; every man's work shall then be made manifest ; every man's heart shall then be opened. Our Saviour's words will Lu. 8. 17. be made good ; " There is nothing secret, which shall not be made manifest, neither any thing hid, that shall not be known, and come abroad." 2 Cor. 5. 10. 4. The body, together with the soul, partakes in the service and disservice of God, and ought therefore in justice to partake of bliss and pain, which is hid and unknown, should it always lie in the earth. Our Saviour will therefore come again, and at His coming raise these bodies, which, being united to the souls, shall receive their doom, and in Mat. 25. 46. the open view of God, men, and Angels, they that have done good shall go into everlasting bliss, and those that have done ill into everlasting pain. The influence that this should have on our life is this. 2 Pet. 3. 1. To keep a perpetual watch over all our ways, to look Catechism of the Church of England. 53 that our lives be holy, just, sober, because we must give an Lu. 12. 43. account when Christ shall come to judge. 2. To take heed that our accounts be even against His coming, because, though we expect a gracious, yet we look also for a righteous judge, one that is no accepter of per- sons. It is the Lord Jesus. The Lord that gave the law in 2 Thes. 1.7. terror in Mount Sinai, will require a terrible account of it : and He will be Jesus, a Saviour to none but those who make a conscience, and do their endeavour to keep it. The Apostle thus presents Him to us : " the Lord Jesus taking p Thess. 1. vengeance in naming fire ;" meek as a lamb, and yet the g] v 6 16 Lamb hath His wrath ; a judge upon whom the Spirit sets this character, that will " search the hearts and reins/' These Rev. 2. 23. notions may carry us on not to disguise our actions with the colour of religion, or vain confidence of favour. For He will try, sift, search all things, and without flattery or favour [Rom. 2. 6. proceed according to every man's works. ev. 22.12.] 3. Yet if our heart can assure us that we serve Him con- [1 Joh.3. stantly, uprightly, sincerely, though with weak endeavours, ' J and many failings, here is comfort for us that He shall be the Judge of our sins, that gave Himself and died for our sins. He then that came to save, is not like to condemn ; not them who believe in Him, and shew their faith and labour of love by a good life. Who shall accuse ? Who is it that Rom. 8. 33, condemns? There is in that reverend Bishop's book of the Sabbath, Dr. Francis White, sometime Lord Bishop of Ely, an excel- lent brief of man's redemption by Christ, which, because it may give much light to this mystery, and to those articles of the Creed which set it forth, I thought good to exscribe it, and propose it in this place. It is extant, p. 297. Saith he, [3rd Edit.] 1. It is acknowledged that the work of human redemption was a most gracious and glorious work ; and that in three respects. 1. The fountain and original cause thereof was the Eph. 2. 4. riches of the mercy of God, and the abundance of 9 ° 0m ' His love to mankind. 2. It was effected by extraordinary means, to wit, not j h. 3. 16. merely by the word and imperative power of God, Phii.2. 6-8. but by the mission, incarnation, humiliation, and 54 A plain and full Exposition of the passion of the only and dearly beloved Son of God. Lu. 2. 14. 3. Because the fruit, benefit, and effect thereof, was glory [Rom. 2. and honour to God Almighty; and glory and honour, and eternal happiness, to every one which believeth and worketh good, both to the Jew and Gentile. Joh. 19. 30. 2. The doctrine of our Church is : that the dearly beloved ' Son of God, Jesus Christ, made perfect our redemption by l Tim. 2. 6. His death : to wit, the whole work of man's redemption, 1 Cor. 6. 20. , . , , ' , , , , j. ■ j which was to be performed by the payment ot a price, and satisfaction for sin. For this great work of human re- demption was not effected by the resurrection of Christ, but by His obedience and sacrifice upon the Cross; and it was fully wrought and finished upon the passion Friday, when, after our Saviour said, Consummatum est, It is finished, He gave up the ghost. Joh. 1. 12 ; 3. But, besides the price and ransom paid by Christ our Uoh. l. 7. Saviour for the redemption of all men, it was necessary for man's actual deliverance out of captivity, that the fruit, effect, and benefit, of Christ's redemption, be applied and conferred. For without this latter redemption, the payment of a price only, could have profited nothing. Now this work of application, and actual collation of the fruit of Christ's passion and sacrifice upon the Cross, upon man, began to be in fieri, in doing, on the day of His resur- rection, but it was not then finished and perfected. For to the consummation thereof all these actions following were necessary. Eph. 4. 8, 1. Our Saviour's ascension into Heaven. &c Rom 8 34 ^. His intercession for us at the right hand of God the Heb/7. 25.' Father. 1 Jon. 2. 1. Acta 2. 4, 3. The mission of the Holy Ghost upon the Apostles and c ' primitive Church. Lu. 24. 47. 4. Apostolical preaching of the Gospel both to the Jews and Gentiles, l Cor. 15. 5. The donation of heavenly grace prevenient, subsequent, Phil. 2. 13. excitant, adjuvant, or co-operant. Our Saviour then rested not from the whole work of man's redemption upon His resurrection-day. For His actions of collation and application of the benefit, and ultimate effect Catechism of the Church of England. 55 27 ' tended to all places and all persons. Formerly the Jews Ps. 2. a only were His people, but now the partition wall is broken Acts io.35. down, and all nations, and all persons in all nations, have a 5 s- 7i ~ 8 ; 4 capacity to be of the Church of Christ. 1. This Church is but one, as it is in the Nicene Creed; one body knit together by one Spirit, under one head. " There is but one Lord, one Spirit, one Faith, one Baptism." Eph. 4. 4. Acts 20 17 Inwardly then and essentially it is but one, but outwardly Acts 15. 3,4] and externally you may say there be many Churches either national or congregational: who are bound to retain one faith, but may differ in rites and ceremonies 1 . 2. Farther yet in respect of the different state and condi- R ev . 7. 14, tion, this one Church is distinguished into the J um P an ' \ Militant. 1. The triumphant Church is that blessed company ofHeb. 12. 23. Martyrs and Saints, whose warfare is finished, and are entered into their " Master's joy." 2. The Church militant is the society of those Christians, Mat. 18. 17. who being dispersed over the world, are always in arms, f 2 eT ii 1 ' 9; in war, and fight against Christ's, and their own spiritual jj Tim.^4. 7, enemies, and are only in expectation of their crown and triumph. Now this Church militant consists of two sorts of people, Mat. 3.12; either of professors, or true believers. For which reason it ^ifcfr 30 ' is compared to a net, to a field, to a barn floor, to ten virgins, 25 - 2 - whereof five were wise, and five foolish. 1. Professors are such, who profess the name of Christ, and are called Christians, who yet may be for manners, profane : for worship, unsound and hypocrites : for doctrine, heretics : for communion, schismatics : all these belong to Christ's visible body. [! See Articles of the Church of England, Art. 34.] 60 A plain and full Exposition of the 2 Tim. 2. 19. 2. True believers, who are truly and inwardly such as they seem and are called: for manners, pure and holy: for worship, sound and sincere : for doctrine, orthodox : in communion, united. All these are univocal parts of Christ's mystical body. Further, both these considered together make a visible Church. For outward professors are the object of the eye. Seen it is, and seen ever it shall be, who they are that call themselves Christians. But who they are that in truth and sincerity profess Christ, that truly repent, and believe the Gospel : that are of the number of the elect and shall be really saved, this we see not. And in this respect we call the Church invisible. Acts 10. 3. To believe the Catholic Church then, is to believe that Mat. 25. there is a society of Christians dispersed into all quarters of l 1 '^ the world, who are united under Christ their head, formalized 15, 16. and moved by His Spirit : matriculated by Baptism : nourished 3, 13. ' bv the Word and Supper of the Lord : ruled and continued 1 Pet 2 2 " Joh. 6. 53, under Bishops and Pastors lawfully called to these offices, itoh 6 4 n w ^° succee ^ those upon whom the Holy Ghost came down, l Pet. 5. 2, 3. and have the power of the keys committed to them, for ad- ACtS 0. u _ y. m m m n i • t ■ • t • -it t i 1 Cor. 2. 4. ministration of doctrine and discipline ; and who are bound 2 Tim 4 2 Joel i. 17. to preach the Word, to pray with, and intercede for the Marki6 5 P e °pl e , t° administer the Sacraments, to ordain ministers, 15, 16. and to use the Church censures. Mat. 28. 19, 20. 1 Cor. 4. 19, 20, 21 ; 5. 3, 4. Holy. That is the second attribute. And so the Church is notwithstanding all the wrinkles, and spots found in it ; because, is. 28. 16. 1. The Head of the Church, Christ Jesus, is holy, that knew 27? " no sin, that did no sin, and therefore the corps united Eev. 7. 14. to sucn a jj ea( j ma y we u De esteemed holy ; she hath "washed her robes in the blood of the Lamb." l Pet. 2. 9. 2. Of the real infusions of holiness, and gifts of grace that [i. 9.]' proceeds from the Holy Spirit, which animates the parts. Qua partis sunt, tribuuntur recte toti secundum illam partem, what belongs to a part only, may justly be attributed to the whole in respect to that part. Catechism of the Church of England. 61 3. All her administrations and powers are ordained to pro- 1 Tb.es. 4. duce holiness. The religion she professeth is a holy | s . 19 _ 7> 8 . religion : the law holy, just and good. ^ L 2 t'o . t or that actual and inherent holiness, that is in the i Cor. 6. n. lives of the true professors. " You are washed, you are 2 Cor. 5. 17. sanctified." They are bom again, new creatures, a 2Pet1 - 4 - reformed people. Though then the Church cannot be said to be dva/idp- l Joh. l. 8. Tyros, spotless, without sin, or holy, because original sin, f™'Jo?£i[ though it be washed away in Baptism, as touching the guilt, Heb - 12 - L yet in act and root remains : yet holy she may well be said to be, having obtained the grace of justification and regeneration. 1. For the holiness of Christ the Head, is imputed to it. l Cor. l. 30. 2. And she again follows, endeavours, and studies to be 2 et 27.' holy (though in much imperfection) by the grace of the Heb.. 10.21, Holy Spirit, which is given to her. Rev. 22. 11. 1 Joh. 3. 3. The influence this Article hath upon our practice. 1. That we break not into parties, factions, schisms, lCor.i.iO; , 11. 18. heresies. Ep h. 4. 3. 2. That we preserve unity, charity, and brotherly love. Acts 2. 46. 3. That we be obedient to the Church, and those that Heb. 13. 17. have the oversight of us, in every particular and national Church. 4. That we follow after holiness, labour and contend for Heb. 12. 14. increase of grace, and all other duties of Christian purity. Heb! 13. 21. God is our Father, the Church our. Mother, both are holy, q^'^I' therefore we must be holy children. j Pet - 1- 1 3 - 2. The Communion of Saints. Saints is a word of that large extent, that it takes in them that are glorified in Heaven, and those who are in some degree sanctified on earth. Betwixt these there is a commu- Acts 15. 9. nion, which is communis unio, of which the Apostle gives us 1 Cor. i. 2. seven heads, in which the Communion of Saints doth consist 5 p 6- " 4 ' respectively. 1. One body, meaning the mystical body of Christ, the 1 Cor. 12. Catholic Church, to which all Saints are united. In that ' body then they communicate. 62 A plain and full Exposition of the 2. One Spirit that animates them, of which all living 1 Cor. 12. members of the body participate. In that Spirit they then communicate also. i Cor. i. 3. One hope of our calling : for all are called to the Com- lTim. 6. munion of Christ, and to eternal life. In the calling and 12 1 J end they communicate. 4. One Lord, not only by right of creation, but redemp- tion. They then communicate in all the relation, and must be this Lord's servants. Jude3. 5. One faith, one and the same religion, one and the same profession, and in this common "faith once given to the Saints," they communicate. 6. One Baptism, and in this they communicate also : for all were baptized in the Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. 7. One God and Father: one God whom they serve, and one Father whose children they are, and in Him they have a common interest. These are the most essential and internal characters, in which the Communion of Saints doth consist ; but yet another more external there is, by which they may be more evidently known to be of this Communion, and this is their outward communication j for tcoivcovla, which we translate ' communion/ doth often also signify communication, Heb. 13. 16 ; Rom. 15. 26; 2 Cor. 8. 4; 2 Cor. 9. 13; 1 Tim. 6. 18. In which places to communicate, is to give, impart, to distribute, to make another partaker, of any gift, beneficence, hberahty 1 ". Which for the object may have the soul or the body. So that the communion, or rather communication of Saints respects a Hberahty both spiritual and corporal. 2 Tim. 4 2, 1. Spiritually we communicate to others, when in charity ' and piety we communicate to men's souls, advice, counsel, reprehension, pray for them, or with them, administer to them the Sacraments, use the censures of the Church : in a word, any way apply unto them the means left in the Church to promote their salvation. 2. Corporally, we do them good, when we communicate to the bodily indigencies of the poor Saints, as their necessities require. This done Acts 2. 45 ; Rom. 15. 26. Commanded, 1 Cor. 16. 1,2; 2 Cor. 8. 12. m [Hammond Praot. Cat. lib. 5. § 4.] Catechism of the Church of England. 63 The meaning therefore of this part of the Creed, is, that the Saints have in common one God, one Christ, one Spirit, one Lord, one Faith, one Baptism, one Hope : and that they communicate in all duties of charity and piety. The duties from hence are, 1. That we break none of these bonds of unity, and make Eph. 4. 3. not a monopoly of that which is in common. 2. That we be charitable and liberal, and communicate to Heb. 13. 16. the necessities of the Saints. a " ' ' 3. That we advise, counsel, exhort, edify, reprove, do every 2 Tim. 4. 2. spiritual office one to another, that may promote any man's salvation, as our place and vocation requires. 4. That we pray with, and for one another. He that Eph. 6. 18. separates, and hath not charity enough to join in prayer with A g ts 2 'o.36. other Christians, or is so proud and malicious, that he will ^fr^f 4 ; not pray for other Christians, nay for all men, is not of ^ Christ's mind, that prayed for His persecutors. 46. 5. That we praise God with and for one another. i s a 53. 12. ' 6. That we imitate the Saints in Heaven", that praise God, p^ p ^ 8 *- and pray in general for the militant Church on earth ; for it Kom - *• 8 - cannot be conceived, that they being united to the Saints on 1 Cor. 13. earth in charity (which must needs be heightened by their ev ' ' ' glorification, and the beatifical vision) will omit this especial testimony of charity. 7. That we pray for the consummation of all things, when Heb. 11. 40. the Saints in Heaven with the Saints on earth shall be made im ' perfect * 8. That we delight in the society of Saints, and renounce Ps. 16. 3. all fellowship with sin and sinners. 9. That we bear one another's burdens, infirmities, "rejoice Gal. 6. 2. with those that rejoice, weep with those that weep." 15°™' 10. " That no man lay a stumbling-block or an occasion to Rom. 14. fall in his brother's way," that is, that we beware of scandal- " izing our brother. Remission of Sins: This article of remission of sins doth very aptly follow the Catholic Church, and Communion of Saints, in that none n Morton's Appeal, b. 2. c. 12. § I. 64 A plain and full Exposition of the shall have their sins remitted, but those who are in the Corn- Mat, l. 21. munion of the Church ; Christ Jesus " shall save His people from their sins." "We read, Isa. 33. 24. of sins to be re- mitted : but to whom ? To them that dwell in Her, that is, the Church. And Zech. 13. 1, a prophecy there is, that a fountain should be " opened for sin and uncleanness ;" but it is restrained to the house of David, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, l Joh. 3. 4. Every sin is a transgression of the law, dvo/ila. The law Rom. 5. 12. was first broken by Adam, and by him " sin entered into the world, and death by sin," " and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned," being in his loins, which is original sin. This law was and is called the law of nature, which God first wrote in the heart, then in two tables of stone. And of this there is made a second breach by all mankind Num. 15. actually, in thought, word, and deed ; sometimes weakly, Ps'. 19. from infirmity ; sometimes unwittingly, from ignorance ; M at. 5. sometimes wilfully, out of perverseness ; and sometimes pre- 21, 22. sumptuously, out of pride and malice. These are committed against God, against man ; once, or often ; dishonour or hurt more or less : so that from the cause from whence they rise, and frequency of the act, and the object against whom com- Jas. 4 17. mitted, or the wrong or damage arising from them, (whether [43.] ' ' a duty be omitted, or an offence committed) they receive Joh. 19. n. ^eir denomination, and are called greater and lesser sins. But sins they are howsoever, being transgressions of the law. Upon this breach of the law there ariseth a guilt, and upon the guilt, an obligation to punishment, for qui tenetur crimine, Rom. 3. 23. tenetur etiam pmnd. For the first, the crime : all men are attached, for all have sinned, and are in the state of captives and prisoners, and bound to answer for their misdoings at the great and fearful tribunal. Non factum at this bar no man can plead, or should he, the accuser of the brethren and his own conscience would l Joh. 3. 20. arise and plead against him ; " and if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things." Hitherto then tenetur, he is held and convicted guilty. Rom. 4 25. But yet full satisfaction he may plead, the obedience of the Son of God both active and passive; active in keeping and i p et 2. fulfilling every tittle of the law ; and passive in suffering the LLy 6Q) _-±. Catechism of the Church of England. 65 wrath of God due for the breach of the law : out of which is. 53. 5, 6. obedience ariseth that actual justice in Christ, that being imputed to us, in respect of that relation in which we stand i Cor. 12. unto Christ, (He and all His elect being taken for one body,) 2 Cor. 1. 21. doth release, acquit, and discharge the guilty prisoner. l Jo11, 1 ' '• For upon this plea the Judge is pleased to remove out of His court of justice, and sit down in His seat of mercy, and there pronounce a sentence of absolution, instead of a sentence of condemnation, acknowledging the plea to be just, which the faithful and penitent sinner puts in : viz. that His only Son "blotted out the handwriting of ordinances that was Col. 2. 14. against us ;" which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to His Cross. 1. He sat down, I say, in the court of mercy, when He pronounced this sentence of absolution or remis- sion, because it proceeded Scopedv, freely : " freely from His grace," Rom. 3. 24. Now Scopedv signifies such a gift of grace, qua causam juris antecedentem non habet. Thus it is used, Psalm 35. 19°- And in this sense applied to Christ, Joh. 15. 25, ifuarjadv fie Scopedv, " They hated Me without a cause." And what cause did we give God to love us, or Christ to die for us ? what reason could there be on our part, [Lu. 2. u. of God's evSoKias, good pleasure, or His Son's <$>£kav- Tit. 3. 4.] 6p(07riap^dv. LXX.] NICHOLSON. j< 66 A plain and full Exposition of the estimable. But whatsoever it cost Christ, it cost us nothing, and so it is freely of grace from Christ. 2. And to us it is freely grace from God the Father, by a sentence, I said, from His mercy-seat, not because He acquits us, and remits our sin without a full satisfaction to His justice, or accepts that for perfect righteousness, which isa. 53. 6. is not perfect, but because when He might have exacted lJoh. 2.1,2. the uttermost farthing of us, the principal debtors, He re- Mat. 3.17. ce j ves t h e ftj] a t the hands of a surety, and that surety His own dear Son, Who had never offended or displeased Him. But here it must not be forgotten, that upon the pro- nouncing this gracious sentence of absolution and remission, He covenants with all that He absolves, for new obedience, Lu. l. 75. that they serve Him in righteousness and holiness ; that Eph. 4. they become new creatures, put off the old man, and put on oft 2 !' 12' ^e new; deny ungodliness and worldly lusts, and live righteously, and soberly, and godly in this present world. 2 Cor. 4. 16. This we call Sanctification, which must inhere in us, and be n, 12. perfect, though not in degrees, yet in parts, which He hath [l^j ' promised to accept, and will remit the imperfection for \?Z\\l- Christ's sake. Heb. 8. 12. Remission then of sin imports two things. 1. A freedom and discharge from the law of sin. 2. A freedom and discharge from the law of death. For in sin there is, as appears, Rom. 8. 2, a double law or power. X- A law dominandi, of domineering. 2. A law damnandi, of condemning. But to those who are in Christ, both these laws are made void, made null, and quite abrogated. Rom. [6. 1. The law of sin, by which it commands and domineers, 14.' J " is cashiered; for no regenerate man obeys it in the lust fmM 6 !!. hereof. 2. The law of death, by which sin damned and con- l Cor. 15. demned, is now of none effect ; for by Christ the sting of death is taken out. Both which the Apostle punctually and Rom. 8. 1,2. comfortably hath thus expressed, "There is no condemnation to those which are in Christ Jesus, who live not after the flesh but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life, Catechism of the Church of England. 67 which is in Christ, hath freed them from the law of sin and death." And upon it he sings his emvi/aov, or song of triumph. " Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's Ver. 33. elect ? It is God that justifieth, who is he that condemneth ? It is Christ that died, yea rather that is risen again, Who is even at the right hand of God, Who also makes intercession for us." To believe then the remission of sins, is to believe those two great fundamental doctrines of justification and sane- tification. Which in brief is this, 1. That God graciously and freely, without any merit or Rom. 3. 24. desert on our part, gave His Son to die for the world. 2. That for His meritorious death and passion He remits 2 Cor. 5. 19. the fault, absolves from the guilt, and acquits from punish- ment all penitent and believing sinners. 3. That imputing to them the obedience of His own Son, 2 Cor. 5. 21. Phil 3. 9. and His righteousness, [He] accounts them just in His sight. 4. That all who are justified, and thus acquitted, have 2 cor. 7. 1. holiness in some degree, according to the condition of this life, inherent in them : which, though it cannot wholly dis- charge from sin, yet it frees from the dominion of sin, so that Rom. 6. 5, 6. no justified person yields himself a slave and a vassal to sin, 00^3. 5.' but resists its commands, mortifies, crucifies it, and makes it 2 Cor " 5 ' 17 ' die daily. " He that hath this hope, purifies himself/' 1 Jot. 3. 3. And that of this article we might have the greater 2 Cor. 5. 18. security, God hath committed to His ministers the word of reconciliation ; to effect which, all that He hath left in their hand and power, especially tends. 1. .His word He hath committed unto them, and that hath a cleansing power. " Now you are clean by the word I have Joh. 15. 3. spoken unto you." Preach they must, and the main part of their doctrine is repentance and remission of sin. Lu. 24. 47, 2. They are to pray, ex officio, and one part of their prayer is intercession; to stand betwixt the temple and altar, and cry, " Spare Thy people, O Lord, spare Thy people." Aaron, Joel 1 17. Phineas, stood in the gap, and made atonement : and the 25. 11.' ' presbyters are to be called to pray over the sick person, that Ps " 106 " 30- the sin he hath committed may be forgiven. Jas. 5. 14. 3. Come to the Sacraments, of which they are the minis- v 2 68 A plain and full Exposition of the ters ; two they are, and both have remission of sins annexed Acts 2. 38. to them, that is the grace assured by these seals. " Go and baptize all nations for remission of sins/' that is the promise Mat. 26. 28. made to Baptism. " This is My blood of the New Testament shed for you, and for many, for the remission of sins :" that is the grace of the Eucharist. 4. Lastly, to the priest's hand He hath delivered a key, and the use of it is for the detention and remission of sin, Joh. 20. 23. " Whose sins you remit, they are remitted." Cast but up all this, and you shall see to what it will amount. The total will set forth unto us the infinite justice and mercy of God about sin. His justice that would not pardon a sinner without satisfaction first made. His mercy and readi- ness yet to grant a pardon, that He would give His Son to purchase a remission for us. And that to pass over the security to us, He hath left us His word to publish His will about it, instituted Sacraments to seal it, ordained us Priests, and left keys in their hands, to administer. That so by the words dropped from their lips, by the prayers offered by their devout and charitable hearts, by the Sacraments consecrated by their hands, by the keys left in their office, the full pardon and remission of sin might be made known, obtained, sealed, and delivered over to sinners. The practical part of this Article. Rom. 7. 1. To be thankful to God for our pardon. Rev. 5. 2. To give Him the sole glory of the purchase, acknow- 8 " 10 " ledging it to be His mere mercy, to send His Son for that end. Ps.i37.5,6. 3. Never to forget His mercy, that would, while we were Rom. 5. , . ™ t j io, ii. yet sinners, oner us pardon and grace. Acts 2 38 ^* ^° se * ourse l ves seriously to perform the condition on which remission is promised and purchased for us, without which our pardon can never be secured to us. Joh. 14. 1,2. 5. To continue in good hope, and never despair, that if we do our part, God will not fail to do His. Mat. 6. 12. 6. To pray to God daily for mercy and remission. Phil. 2. 29 ; 7. Highly to esteem all those ways and means which God Mat. 13. hath ordained in His Church to convey this pardon and 44-40. • • j. remission to us. Catechism of the Church of England. 69 . / believe the Resurrection of the body. Resurrectio mortuorum, fiducia Christianorum. The Resur- TertuiL rection of the dead was the hope of the Fathers, and is the carris."!' 1. expectation of Christians : " For if the dead rise not, we are 1 Cor. 15. . .... 17-19 of all men most miserable ; our faith is vain, our preaching is vain." We in this article then confess, that there shall be a future restauration, or rising again of this same flesh of ours out of the grave, which being arrested by death, was laid up in that prison ; so that all the dead are prisoners of hope, that a day of delivery will come, when their bodies, secured in their tombs, shall be set free from this bondage of corruption. 1. The time when this shall be done, is at the last day, when the Lord Himself " shall descend from Heaven with a i Thes. 4. shout, and with the voice of the Archangel, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ shall rise first." 2. This is an act of power; for it shall be done by the power of God, and of Christ. 1. As it proceeds from the power of God, so it shall have its effect upon all men, good and bad alike; for all must " appear, and receive according to what they [2 Cor. 5. have done in their body, whether good or bad." The ^ek. 37. dry bones came again together, and lived again : but it was the power of God's Spirit that did it : and Phil. 3. 21. the Apostle making mention of this act, refers it merely to this cause. God shall do [it] by the ivepyeia, " that mighty working whereby He is able to subdue all things to Himself." 2. But as it proceeds from Christ, or the Spirit of Christ, so it shall have its effect upon the body of the Saints only. They are in Christ, as in their Head; and the Spirit of Christ is in them, as members of His Body ; and by this power they shall rise and live. This is that the Apostle teacheth, "If the Spirit of Rom. 8. 11. Him who raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you. He also shall quicken your mortal bodies." Observe that the Apostle saith not, "shall raise;" for the [faoTronS- wicked, will they nill they, shall be raised, but not Hookef* by the Spirit of God that dwells in them ; it is an ^5. c.j>& act of mere power, not of grace. But of those in t Cor. i. u.] 70 A plain and full Exposition of the whom the Spirit of Christ dwells, he speaks other- wise; their mortal bodies shall be "quickened." There needs only some power to stir, and excite the vital part; which, though dull and sluggish, yet remains in them, as it is in trees that have their sap in the root in the depth of winter, and being quickened, warmed by the heat of the sun in the spring, be- 1 Cor. 15. comes active, and shoots up into the branches ; so 45- also this seed or principle of life that dwells in the bodies of the Saints, even when they lie in the heart of the earth, being called up by the power of God, shall kindly and sweetly dispose them toward their Resurrection. Whereas then all may be said pro- perly to be raised, the Saints in a peculiar sense are said to be quickened, as having a kind of energy pre- served in their mortal bodies by the Spirit of Jesus : quickening being the reduction of that to life that hath life in it. 3. And as it is an act of power, and must be, for, apri- vatione totali ad habitum non datur regressus, so it is an act of justice also, that the same body arise, and no other, that so that individual body which is a co-partner in sin, may be punished; and that which doth partake in righteous actions and sufferings, may be rewarded. Job 19. The same body, I say, shall arise ; the same for substance, l Cor. is. but not for qualities ; for freed it shall be not only from sin, "- " ■-! but from all defects, ad naturam non ad injuriam reddimuri. Diseases, blindness, lameness, mutilation, &c. shall be taken away; and most likely it is that man shall be restored to that integrity and perfection in which the body of Adam was first created, l Cor, 15. 4. In one word, it shall be a " spiritual body,' 5 not moved by a natural principle, but by the Spirit of God, which spirituality consists in this, as divines have taught 1, ; l Cor. 15. 1, Immortality. Death shall be no more. " This mortal must put on immortality." And of this the reason given is this ; when reward and punishment is eternal, the subjeot of these must be eternal and perpetual also. i Tertul. [de Resur. Carnis, § 57.] » Pet. Mart, in 2 Reg. cap. 4. e Scholastics. Catechism of the Church of England. 71 2. Glory, splendour, brightness, or clarity. They " shall Mat. 13. 43. shine as the sun ;" be like our Saviour's body. " He Phil. 3. 21. shall change our vile body, that it may be like His glorious body;" and what the quality of that is, was shewed in His transfiguration, when " His face did Mat. 17. 2. shine as the sun, and His raiment was white as the light." 3. Agility, nimbleness, quickness, no motion quicker. " They shall follow the Lamb whithersoever He Rev. 14. 4. goeth :" which motion in Him being very speedy, the motion of their bodies must needs be very speedy also, so that no gravity or ponderosity of the flesh shall be able to retard them. In the book of Wis- dom it is thus expressed. " They shall run to and Wisd. 3. 7. fro as sparks among the stubble." From Christ's body when He walked on the waters, and when He did ascend to Heaven, as it is conceived, all heavi- ness was removed, as it shall be in the Saints of God at the last day, when they shall meet the Lord in l Ties. 4.17. the air. 4. Impassibility, nor cold, nor heat, nor diseases, nor griefs, nor passion shall molest them, or disturb them. " It is sown in corruption, it is raised in incor- l Cor.15.42. ruption." As for those passions and senses which perfect the nature of man, and help it, no way hurt it, these shall remain after the Resurrection, but so ordered and regulated, that man from them shall receive no prejudice. 5. Subtilty, which is not so to be understood, as if the bodies of the Saints should be turned into an airy body, but all grossness and feculency shall be trans- parent as the sun, and shall as near come unto the nature of a Spirit, as it is possible for a body : " It i cor.15.44. is sown a natural, but it shall be raised a spiritual body." The practical part. 1. To keep our bodies in a rising condition, not polluting 2 Cor. 6. these temples of the Holy Ghost with sloth, drunkenness, 16 ' 17 ' 72 A plain and full Exposition of the 1 Cor. 3. ic, lust, or spot of sin ; but in all purity and sobriety to prepare them for this heavenly condition, which we expect. 2. That since they shall be spiritual, we inure them to the directions of the Spirit, and make them tame and tractable to comply with it. 3. That we comfort ourselves in our death, and in the departure of our friends, with what is written Job 19. 25 ; 1 Thes. 4. from 13. to the end. Rom. 8. 17. 4. That we suffer patiently even to death; for if we suffer with, and for Him, we shall reign with Him. Rev. 22. 20. 5. That we pray to God for the consummation of all things, 12, 13!' ' that they whose souls are at rest, may have their bodies joined Heb. 11. 40. fo their souls, that they with us, and we with them may be perfect. 6. That we be thankful to God for His revelation and Acts 17. 18, promise, which was unknown to the heathen, and being preached unto them, seeemed ridiculous. 32. And the Life everlasting. Rev. 20. 12, All, good and bad, must receive their bodies again, and rise : but the condition of good and bad is not the same; Joh. 5. 24, " for they that have done evil, shall rise to the resurrection 25 29 of judgment or. damnation ; but they that have done good, unto the resurrection of Life." In this clause is set forth unto us the happy state of those that die in the Lord, who after this life shall have everlasting Life. Our life in this world is soured with two conditions. 1. It is short, momentary, finite. 2. It is full of misery, trouble, sorrow, care, anxiety ; so that it cannot be rightly called vita Mart. L. 6. vitalis, because non est vivere, sed valere vita 3 . Upon which p ' ' ' ground we call the life of damned Spirits a death ; because, though they live, and live for ever, yet they live not well, they live in pain and sorrow. That Life which is reserved for God's servants, is free from both these inconveniences. joh. 3. 16; 1. For it is everlasting, an infinite, endless estate, and lPet. l. 4. then, nor short, nor momentary. Mat. 25. 21. 2. And it is properly a Life, a Life of joy, a Life of rest, PsTie^ii^ con tent, peace, bliss, felicity. Mat 5 P ^ on est en ' m vela v ' ta ' n ' s ' u *" feli"'^ vivitur. August. Enchir. c. 92.] [3-i'i. i Catechism of the Church of England. 73 And this felicity is in Scripture set out unto us two ways. fy>o-«, by 1. Negatively or privatively. "They shall hunger and of^ii!^ thirst no more, neither shall the sun give light to them, or ^.V, 6 ' any heat:" "God shall wipe all tears from their eyes, and 3, s. there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying, nor pain." "No more curse." "No night then." Anything that might abate, allay, or retard their happiness, shall be removed. 2. Affirmatively, or positively ; which felicity is of two fleV«, by kin J a position or KmClS - settling us 1. Essential, that consists in the vision of God, who being in all g° 0 hi] £ r 8 -. and the continuance of that ; the trouble of this, and the rest Rom - 8 - 18 - in that : and therefore we never forfeit that eternal bliss, or incur the danger of eternal woe, for any transitory joy, honour, gain, ease: no, but to enjoy that happiness, we Heb.12.1,2. refuse not the cross itself. 2. Momentum est hoc, unde pendet aeternitas. True it is, that this life is but a moment ; but yet such a moment, that our eternal well-being receives its rise and first motion from it. "This day," saith our Saviour to Zacchseus, "is Salvation Lu. 19. 9. come to this house." This day, i. e. that very day when ° ' ' Zacchseus became a convert. Wisdom then it will be so to improve every moment of this present life, that it may be a foundation for eternity. The end of the explication of the Creed. THE SECOND PART THE CHURCH CATECHISM. THE TEN COMMANDMENTS, AND THE EXPOSITION OF THEM : IN WHICH IS TAUGHT THE DUTY OF OBEDIENCE TO GOD AND TO MAN. You say your Godfathers and Godmothers did promise for you in your Baptism, that you should keep God's Command- ments. Tell me how many there be. Answ. Ten. Which for this reason is called the Decalogue, or ten words. And the breviate of these ten in the Gospel is Lute 10. 27. Love. "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God, and thy neigh- Rom. 13. 8, bour as thyself." Love is a debt, and it " is the fulfilling of the law." This law is sometimes called the law of nature, sometimes the moral law, and sometimes the law of Moses. Rom. 2. 14, 1. It is called the law of nature, because the good or evil actions commanded or prohibited in it, may be resolved into some dictates or principles of natural reason, imprinted in man's heart at the creation 3 - 1. The commands of the first table require fidelity, reverence, honour, worship, to be rendered to the Almighty God ; and they forbid idolatry, superstition, blasphemy, profaneness. Now all these duties are grounded, and may be resolved into some dictates and principles of reason, and therefore we may well call the law that regulateth these actions, natural. ■ Dr. Fr. White, de Sab. p. 29, 30. Exposition of the Catechism of the Church of England. 75 For because the true and everlasting God is the supreme Lord and Governor of the whole world, and of man in particular ; and because man hath his being, his power, his preservation, his well-being, and happiness from Him : and further yet, because man is in such manner subject to God, as that this great Lord and King hath absolute power over him, so that He can save and destroy him, reward and punish him, accord- ing to His own will and good pleasure. Upon these grounds and reasons it is most just, safe, and beneficial, according to the rule of natural un- derstanding, that man, being God's creature, subject, servant, do render unto his supreme Lord, Protector, Creator, Governor, fidelity, service, fear, reverence, obedience, love. 2. The duties of the second table are as easily resolved into principles drawn from nature and reason, which is this, 'Do as you would be done by.' Being a superior, you expect to be honoured, not dishonoured: therefore honour, and do not dishonour a superior. Wronged no man would be, in his life, in his wife, in his goods, or good name. Therefore in these, saith reason, wrong not another, covet not thy neighbour's wife, goods, &c. because thou thyself art offended, if another man should covet thine. Evident then it is, eadem Dei et natures vox, that the voice of God and Rom. 2. 14. nature in these things is the same. 2. It is called the moral law, because it belongs ad mores, being a just rule or measure imposed by God, directing and binding to the obedience of things holy, honest, and just. Rom. 7. 12. It teacheth us to live " righteously, soberly, godlily, in this [Tit. 2. 12.] present world," and to avoid all ill manners that are contrary to these. 3. It is called the law of Moses, because that after the first tables, in which they were written by God's own finger, were broken by him, they were, by God's command, by Moses Exod. 32. written again, and by him delivered to the children of Israel 2 8.' ' 27 ' for a perpetual and a standing law. To be a perpetual and a standing law, I say ; for though by Christ the curse and malediction were taken away, (for it 76 A plain and full Exposition of the Rom. 3. 19 ; hath no " power to condemn those who are in Christ,") yet Mat.f 'i7, the ohligation yet remains. For Christ "came not to destroy 32%4 8 39 ' tlle laW ' but t0 fulfil {t " and in tte Same clia P ter im P 0setn 440 ' ' it ; " But I say unto you, &c." And the Apostles establish Eom. 2.V. the law, and urge the law as a rule for good and evil. i 4 dor."9. 1 9. Q»e*f. What then dost thou chiefly learn out of this law, ?R h- ?'A, or in these ten Commandments ? 1 Cor.14. 21. Jam. 2. 8, 9, Ansio. I learn two things : 1. My duty towards God. 2. My duty towards my neighbour. Quest. How many Commandments teach you your duty to God? Answ. The four first Commandments; so that this first [Gen.2.io.]part of the law seems to me not unlike the river that went out of Eden, to water Paradise, and from thence it was parted, and became into four heads. 1 . The first teacheth us the duty we are to perform to God inwardly ; from the heart to acknowledge Him for God, our God, and to be but one God. 2. The second sets us a rule for our outward religious adoration; that we fall down before Him, and Him alone, as God; and abhor the adoration of all idols and images. 3. The third directs our tongue and speech; that we acknowledge His Name to be holy and reverend, and therefore take it not into our mouths in vain. 4. The fourth commands us to set out a sufficient and con- venient time to His service ; especially to observe that day that is appointed to that purpose. And the manner how these duties are to be performed, is Lu. 10. 27. with all the heart, all the soul, all the strength. With the heart, that is, freely and cordially, not out of coaction or compulsion:, with the soul, that is, understandingly, not ignorantly and out of custom : strength, that is, so far as we can, not lazily, remissly, coldly. Lastly, with all these ; for God will have all, or none at all ; He will admit of no co- partner or co-rival in His service. Quest. How many Commandments teach you your duty to your neighbour ? that is, to any one that bears the face of a man. Catechism of the Church of England. 77 Answ. The six last, called the second table. ' Superior ; and your duty to him is enjoined in the fifth command, "Honour thy father and mother." 1. In his own person. This neighbour is either a own Com. 6. 2. In his wife's person. Inferior or Com. 7. equal; and he 3. In his goods. Com. 8. may not be 1 4. In his good name, wronged, Com. 9. 5. In purpose or intent, motion or design. Com. 10. But before we come to interpret every one of these laws in particular, some general rules are necessary to be set down, which being understood and remembered, will give great light and ease to the interpretation of the whole : and they are these. 1. Such as the law-giver is, such is His law : but He is a Joh. 4. 23, Spirit, and therefore the law is spiritual, and reacheth unto Mat. 22. 37. the powers of the soul, and chargeth the hearts and thoughts with obedience, as well as the outward man. Human laws j h. 19. 7. bind the hand and tongue; the divine, the heart. It chargeth the understanding to know every duty, the memory Heb. 10. 16. to retain every duty, the will to choose the better and leave the worse, the affections to love what God loves, and hate what He hates. 2. ■Nullum prcBceptum consistit in indivisibili. A great latitude then every precept hath, and though brief in words, is very large in contents, far more being commanded or forbid, than is named. For the extension of any command, observe, 1. That every command is both affirmative and negative : Mat. 5. 21, under the affirmative, all duties that can be reduced Mat. 4. 10. to that precept are commanded, and all the breaches fg h - 4 - 31, forbidden; and under the negative all the breaches are forbidden, and all the contrary duties com- manded. 2. In any precept, whensoever a duty or a sin is. com- 1 Thes. 5. 22. 78 A plain and full Exposition of the Mat. 25. manded or forbidden, all the degrees of that sin or 27,30. „ , ' & . duty, all the causes, antecedents, consequents, cir- cumstances, occasions, provocations, furtherances, are commanded or forbidden also. 3. That every commandment is to receive interpreta- tion from the end ; for, finis dat amabilitatem, men- suram, ordinem mediis, the end stirs up love, sets a measure and order to the means; as, "Thou shalt not kill ;" the end is for the preservation of man's life, and the restraint of cruelty. Here then a man is bound to fly whatsoever shall hurt, and to do what- soever may preserve the life of man. And the like is to be said of the rest. 3. That the negative bind semper et ad semper, i. e. they oblige perpetually, and may upon no occasion and at no time be dispensed with; as, "Thou shalt not kill," "Thou shalt not steal," &c. always, and in all places bind. For they are acts of sin, and cannot in any time or place be well done. But the amrmative bind not ad semper, to all times ; but are to be performed readily, and with a willing mind, at all hours and seasons when matter and circumstances require them to be done. Thus those commands are to be under- l Thes. 5. stood, "Pray always, Give thanks always, Rejoice in the Phil. 4 4. Lord always," &c, that is habitually, or in a ready disposi- tion of mind and will, not absolutely always. For there is a Mat. 9. 13. time to labour, as well as to pray ; and a time when God " will have mercy and not sacrifice." 4. That most of the commands are given in a negative form, to put us in mind of our inclination to ill, that ought very greatly to be restrained, and first rooted out before we isa. 1. 16, can be capable to do good: "Cease from evil" first, then " learn to do good." 5. That they are given in the second person singular. " Thou shalt have no other gods," &c. ; that no man shift off the command from himself, as if it concerned him not. For it is an usual put off; that which is spoken to all, is esteemed as spoken to none. 6. That they are given in the future tense, as being not Deu. 6. 7. only given to them who then lived, but to all succeeding generations. Catechism of the Church of England. 79 7. That the five first have reasons added to them, is, 1. That we may know that our own reason is much darkened, and must be quickened before we shall do our duty cordially to God and our superiors. 2. That we may know that God puts nothing upon us but what is reasonable, and such, as if we hearken to reason, we shall judge fit to be done. 3. That these reasons, drawn from rewards and punish- ments, are most powerful. 8.' But among all reasons, that prefixed in the preface, "I am the Lord thy God," &c, must needs be most effi- cacious, and of largest influence. For he that shall truly lay that to heart, that it is God, his God, that commands, cannot choose but be ready to obey. The Preface to the Commandments. The same which the Lord spake in the twentieth chapter of Exodus, saying, " I am the Lord thy God, which brought Catech. thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage." By this preface, 1. There is first a terror strucken into us, that we take heed to what follows. For these are not the words of a mortal man, but of the eternal God. The same, the very self-same, which Jehovah spake in lightning and thunder, Ex. 19. 18, and the voice of a trumpet drowning that thunder, upon ' ' Mount Sinai, when the smoke ascended, the fire flamed, and the mountain trembled, and all the glory of Heaven was turned into terror. God, by publishing His law in this man- ner, would have all to whom it was given know, that they have not to deal with an impotent lawgiver, that can more easily command than punish; but with such a Potentate, that can command Heaven, earth, fire, air, in revenge of the breach of His law ; for the breach of this He will call all men to an account. And if He were so terrible in proclaim- ing, how fearful will His presence be, when He comes as a Judge to call for an account of this law ? That day will be Heb. 12. 18, full of horror to all rebels. 2. A ground laid for obedience in the following words; in which consider, 80 A plain and full Exposition of the 1. That He is the Lord, Jehovah, 6 &v, a Lord absolute and independent, one of Himself, all other things being from Him in creation, direction, preservation, at all times, in all places, a munificent, bountiful Lord. A Lord that had power and authority enough to make a law. Such a Lord, then, ought to be heard, when He speaks to His servants, and they are to obey Him. 2. If this reason from His greatness move not, then He labours to gain their and our attention and good will from His goodness; that this great Lord was their God. " I am the Lord thy God." 1 . Thy God by covenant with Abraham. 2. Thy God by propriety. The nations had every one their gods and idols, but He was the God of Israel ; and whom should a people hear speak but their God ? 3. Lastly, to gain attention, He puts them in mind how lately He brought them out of Egypt, a " house of bondage." And these reasons are as powerful to move us to be obedient to this law, as they could be to Israel. For He is our Lord, as He was theirs ; and then we being His servants must hear Him speak and obey Him. He is our good God, that hath made a covenant with us before many nations of the earth; why then should we not observe His statutes, and keep His laws ? The delivery indeed from Pharaoh and the Egyptian bondage, literally concerns Israel; but He hath bestowed upon us a greater favour, sent us a more beneficial deliver- ed. 1. 13. ance, having " translated us out of the kingdom of darkness, Lu. l. 79. into the kingdom of His dear Son," and enlightened us " that sat in darkness, and in the shadow of death :" a benefit that ought never to be forgotten, and never to be requited with disobedience and rebellion to His laws. Egypt signifies darkness, and may aptly be a type of sin, which is a work of darkness. 1. Either because it is committed against God who is light, by the suggestion of the prince of darkness, l Thes. 5. 7. 2. Or because too often committed in the dark. " They that sleep, sleep in the night, and they who are drunk, are drunk in the night." Catechism of the Church of England. 81 .3. Or else because it deserves to be punished with Mat. 25. 30. eternal darkness. The devil is too like Pharaoh, that hath always sought to kill the male children of Christianity in the birth : of which purpose when he failed, he loaded the backs of the primitive Christians with rods, and hard tasks, never ceasing till he pursued them to death. From which when it pleased God to deliver His people, and give them rest, then he sets upon them with another stratagem, and labours to bring them under again by transforming himself into an Angel of light : 2 Cor. n. so that if possible by any means he may make them his captives and bond-slaves to sin. But from this darkness, from this tyrant, from this slavery, the Lord our God hath delivered us. And our 2 Tim. 2. 26. deliverance exceeds that of Israel in three respects. 1. Theirs was from the captivity of their bodies; ours from the bondage of our souls. 2. Theirs from Egypt only, and the tyranny of man ; ours from hell and the tyranny of the devil. 3. They were redeemed by strength of arm, by signs i p e t. i: is, and wonders, without any price at all ; but He bought 19, and paid for us with His own blood: Justitim opus erat, non potentice, 'it was a work of justice rather than power/ As therefore our deliverance was greater, the benefit is greater, and the means by which it was done more miracu- lous ; so it should cast upon us a stronger obligation to hear and do whatsoever our Lord God shall command us. And now hearken to what He commands. The First Commandment. Thou shall have no other Gods before Me. At this time, when Israel came out of Egypt, all nations had corrupted their ways before God, and though atheism had not prevailed, nor doth yet over any whole nation ; for nulla gens tarn barbara, &c. b , there never was any nation so barbarous, which did not acknowledge and worship some b Cic. de Natura Deorum. [See De Legibus, lib. 1. § 8.] NICHOLSON. Q. 82 A plain and full Exposition of the god or other; yet among the Chaldeans, Philistines, Egyptians, their gods were multiplied, and were according to the numher of their cities: at last the number of the heathen gods grew so great, that Varro reckons up 30,000. That then the Israelites, or God's people, for the future, should not choose and adore any strange gods, it pleased the God of Heaven to give this strait charge, " Thou shalt have no other gods before Me." From the end it must receive its interpretation. And the end is, that God alone over His people bear rule, and wholly enjoy His authority. And to effect this end, He command- eth all impiety, and all false opinions, concerning His Deity) to be far removed from us : and He enjoineth Himself to be worshipped and adored by us in the true practice of god- liness. Commanded we are here ; 1. To have a God : in that is religion. 2. To content ourselves with one God, and no more : in that is unity. 3. To have the true God for our God, and no other: in this is truth. So that God commands us here to be religious, and to embrace one true religion. The chief acts of which are reduced to J ' ^ these heads. 1 ho ? e ' Llove. 1. Faith, by which we know, assent, and trust to God. Infidelity, ignorance, doubting, error, heresy, apostacy, are enemies to faith. 2. Hope is an expectation of those things which God hath promised. Despair, impatience, murmuring, and presump- tion, are inconsistent with hope. 3. Love is an affection that ariseth from the goodness of God. And the opposites to it are the love of the world, the love of a man's self, profaneness, superstition, base and servile fear. The duties then of this Commandment are in respect of 1. Faith. Jer. 9. 24 1. To know God ; for if we know not God, we neither Ps°. S i43. 8. can believe in Him, hope for any thing from Him, nor love, 1 Cor. 13. Catechism of the Church of England. 83 nor worship Him, &c. Take away knowledge, and take Prov. l. 4, away all. 2. That we know God, as He hath revealed Himself in Joh. 17. 3. His Word, and His works. To acknowledge Him to be such a God in His essence, in His attributes, in His Persons, as the Scriptures have taught us. 3. To believe all His revelations, to adhere to His promises, ' 2 Chron. ■ 20 20 to stand in awe of His judgments, and to tremble at His j sa _ 2 6 - i.S3» 1. '. 1 o ; 25. 1. Num. 23. 18-23. 3. Charity, or Love. De Ph V 3 V-9 10. That we love God above all things, and for Him- 'Deu. 6. 5; self. 11. That we obey Him, and fear Him, and be zealous for s Ex.20.20. TT . . ' Kev.3. 19. Him 2 . 12. To esteem, prize, and value God more than all 3 . 'Mat. 10. 13. To do any thing, or suffer any thing rather than dis- pmi. 3. 8. please Him 4 - ' 'Gen. 39. 9. 14. To be afraid to lose His favour,. and grieve for His ^il 1- 1 5 Jok 20. 13. absence 5 . isa.26.8,9. 15. To have a care to recover His love again 6 . Ps. 132. i. o2 Prov. 8. 13. 2 Cor. 6. 1. Ps. 42. Phil. 1. 21, 23. Ps. 13. 5 ; 116. 1, 5. Neb.. 1. 5. Lu. 11. 1-14. 1 Cor. 6. 20. Ps. 95. 6. Ps. 95. 1, 2, &c. Ps. 96. 1-3. Ps. 98. 84 A plain and full Exposition of the 16. Not to think the time long we serve Him. Mat. 5. 6. 17. To hunger and thirst after Him and His sanctifying Spirit. 18. To resist and hate sin, receive grace, and im- prove it. 19. To desire the perpetual vision of God. All these are the main acts of love, and they are grounded upon God's goodness and mercy. Farther yet out of these three theological virtues, and the consideration of God's attributes, arise 1. Invocation, when in our necessities by instant prayer we call upon Him. 2. Humble adoration, when with all submissiveness we adore and worship Him. 3. Thanksgiving, when with a grateful heart we bless Him, and praise Him for His manifold mercies. 4. Praise, when we think and speak honourably of God, recount and magnify His ways and works, and confess His attributes and perfections. Ps. 115. l. 5. Humiliation of heart, to ascribe nothing to our own power, nothing to our own merits, but to let God have all the glory. Heb. io. Now all these duties must be done J %' 23, 24. ( Constantly. 2Cor.lJ.2- Sincerely, without hypocrisy; and constantly, without 2 - 17 - fainting. Which may be easily collected out of these words, Coram Me. Before Me. 1. The service we do, is before His face, in His eye, in His presence, and therefore must be entire and sincere : for if it have any hypocrisy or mixture of base ends in it, He will Rev. 2. 23. reject it. He is a witness and spectator of all our hearts and 17. io. ' counsels, and therefore it behoves us to see that our religion be such as that eye will approve that looks into the secret recesses of the heart. Gal. 6^ 9. 2. It requires that our religious duties be constant also, " - for gnal panai, ' before me/ oftentimes signifies continuance of »JS-?y] time, as Numb. 3. 4. Eleazar and Ithamar minister in the [pDJ? Priest's office gnal pene Aharon, that is, Aaron being yet alive. So 1 Sam. 31. 1; Deut. 21. 16. The sense then, Catechism of the Church of England. 85 " Ye shall have no other gods before Me," is, so long as I am, so long as I live. But I am alive and live for ever, Eph. 6. 13. therefore be a constant servant unto Me, and serve for ever. The sins and offenders against this Commandment are, 1. Against Faith. 1. They, who as the fool, Ps. 14. 1, "say in their heart, there is no God." 2. They which know not God, and are wilfully ignorant of Jer. 4 22. the laws of God, that they may sin with confidence. 3. They who stagger in the faith, are doubtful, and dis- 1 Pet. 2. 7, 8. believe what He hath revealed, and despise any of God's precepts. 4. They who are apostates from the truth of religion. 2 Pet. 2. 5. They who disbelieve any articles of the Creed, and are ^ t , j. u _ heretics. Gal. 1. 6. 6. They which rend the unity of religion, and are schis- Heb. 10. 25. matics. X8, 19. 7. They who pass away their time securely, as if there g^lpet were no God, and are practical atheists, and profane persons. 2. 10 " 2 0- 8. They who use charms, sorceries, enchantments, witch- Lev. 20. 6. . Col 2 18 crafts, predict fortunes, that give themselves to the devil, 1 c' or .' 10 .' and make contracts with him, invoke Angels, Saints, or evil 20 ' 21 - spirits, or any other creature. 9. They that pray to unknown or false gods ; these are 1 Joh. 5. 21. . n t , " Eph. 5. 5. idolaters. 10. They that rely, and trust upon any thing or means 2 Chion. more than God, and prefer any service before His will. 11. They that tempt God, and rely upon His protection Mat. 4. 6, 7. against His rules, and without His promise, promising them- selves security and success in a way, which the word of God will not warrant. 12. They that make religion to serve ill ends, or do good Gen. u. to evil purposes, or do evil under a pretence of good. 2Sam.i5.7. 13. They that walk in forms and shadows of religion, but Rom - 3 ' a deny the power of godliness. These are hypocrites. 2 Tim. 3. 5. & rt't. --■ 1J. 2. Hope. 14. They who are impatient, and repine and murmur at 1 Cor. 10. 86 A plain and full Exposition of the P». 7a 3, the prosperity of the wicked, and submit not to the will of 12 ' 13 ' God. Gal. 6. 12. 15. They that deny God and religion, rather than they 21, 22. ' will take up the cross and follow Christ. Ps. 2. n. 16. They who do not serve God with a joyful heart. isa. 7. 12. 17. They who presume upon God's mercy. Gen. 4. 13. 18. They who despair of His mercy and protection. Ex. 5. 2. 19. They who are so proud that they care not for God. Jer. 50. 29. Ps. 10. 4. 3. Love. •2Pet. 3.3,4. 20. They who accuse God of severity or remissness 1 . *Kom.i.3o'. 21. They who do not obey, love, fear God, nor are zealous Eev. 3. 15, for ffim2 Josh. 24. 22. They who do not esteem of God as they ought, nor 3 Eom. 8. 7. desire Him 3 . T u 19 22 4 E - zek! 44. 23. They who do not hate sin, nor labour to be reconciled Jer. 8. 4-6. to Him 1 . Ps. 143. 6; 24 _ They who do not improve His grace, and thirst after s p's. 63. l. His righteousness 5 . Joh. 7. 37. 25. They who do not pray to Him, nor praise, nor thank 6 Ps. 109. 4. Him 6 . Bom!" i 2 .' !i. 26. They who arrogate the glory of any action or power BfarVf'ri' *° themselves, and give not the glory to God 7 . Eev. 16. 9." Dan. 4. 29, 30. The second Commandment. Thou shalt not make to thyself any graven image, nor the like- ness of any thing that is in the heaven above, nor in the earth beneath, nor in the waters under the earth .• Thou shalt not bow down to them, nor worship them, fyc. Deu. 4. As in the first Commandment God did condemn all false 15-17, &c. g 0( j Sj s0 ij e ^th i n this second forbid all false external worship. In that we are taught Whom we are to worship, viz. the one true God. In this, how we are to worship Him, viz. not after our own inventions, but as He hath com- manded in His Word. The duties of this Commandment are learned from the intents of it; for, 1. It was directed against the false adora- tions of the heathen, who believed the images of their gods to be filled with their deity. 2. And it was a caution to all Catechism of the Church of England. 87 men to prevent those low imaginations they might have, to think God to be like to man. 3. And a prescription for God's worship. In it take notice /precept, "Thou shalt not make," &c. of the \ sanction, " For I the Lord," &c. 1. The precept f 1. Against the making an image, is double, (2. Against the worshipping, being made. 1. The former part of the precept is illustrated by a double distribution. 1. Of the kinds of images, graven or painted: graven massy images, molten out of any metal, or carved in wood or stone; or painted, being the e'Uap or re- semblance of the Deity. This command is not so strictly to be understood, as if the art of carving or painting were unlawful; which is attributed Exod.3i. l. to God's Spirit, and of which we have the draughts in the Cherubims, and other utensils, and ornaments of the temple. [Ex. 26. l ; But it must be understood secundum subjectam materiam, i kings 6. according to that matter about which the Commandment was 29 ' 35 ^ given, viz. the representation of the Deity, and because the attempts of men were to represent this, (" make us gods that Ex. 32. 1. may go before us") therefore God prohibits here any such attempt. "Which the more seriously any man thinks of, the more foolish it must needs be. For what can be more vain than to go about to shape a body to an incorporeal sub- Ps. 113. 4, stance ; to make that essence which is invisible the object of &c. ' the eye ; to liken Him that is a Spirit to a poor man, nay ^" 7 4 °^ 5 ' worse, a beast, a bird, a fish; to confine Him, who fills all places, in the compass of a little brass, stone, silver, gold, formed according to the pleasure and skill of the workman ? He that goes about to do this, as did Demetrius, is an idolater materially, which is here first forbidden. Non fades tibi. Acts 19. 24. 2. The second part of the distribution is, " Nor the like- ness of any thing in heaven above, nor in the earth beneath, nor in the waters under the earth." By which is prohibited the shaping any image after the heathen manner. In the heaven they worshipped the sun, moon, and stars: in the earth an ox, a calf, a cow, &c; in the water the crocodile, &c. In a word irav o a-co^ei koX diroKTeivei, every thing that could save or kill. And 88 A plain and full Exposition of the for these they had peculiar names; and these they did represent by symbols, and pictures, and massy images. Now in any of these forms, and conse- quently in all, God forbids His people to represent Him ; which, if it be done, is thus far only material idolatry. 2. But there is a higher step of this sin, that which makes it exceeding sinful. Formal idolatry, it is, when men fall down, kneel, and worship the image they make, or is made for Ex. 32. them. Aaron made the calf and was the material idolater : but the Israelites which worshipped the calf that Aaron made, were the formal idolaters properly. [Mart Qui fingit sacros auro, vel marmore vultus, Ep. 24.] Non facit ille Deos : qui rogat, illefacit. Who shapes a God of gold, of stone, of tree, Makes not the God, he makes that asks, 'tis he. And this prostration, this adoration, this bowing before them, this worshipping is prohibited, by the second clause of this Commandment. "Thou shalt not bow down to them, nor worship them." 3. To the command there is annexed sanctio, a reason that hath many reasons in it, to deter men from idolatry, and to persuade men to bow to, and worship the God of Heaven only : which is the affirmative part of this precept. For He that saith, "Thou shalt not bow down to them," saith in effect, thou shalt bow down and worship Me. And the reasons are these, 1. That He is El, fortis Dew, a strong God, able to punish, able to reward, those that disobey, or obey Him; Isa. 40. and His strength here is opposed to the vanity of idols, who can neither hurt nor help ; but He can do both. Jos. 24. 19. 2. That He is Zelotes, a God that is jealous of His honour, 25™ ' ' and will not give it to another : no more endure a co-rival in His worship, than a husband a co-partner in his bed. Prov. 6. 34. " Jealousy is the rage of a man." Kom.' i.' ao. 3. That for this sin He will visit. It is iniquity, and s. 5. 4-6. t nose that are guilty of it are said here to hate Him, and His vengeance shall pursue them, and their children, " unto the third and fourth generation," which we may find verified in all the Kings of Israel, and many of Judah ; and this reason Catechism of the Church of England. 89 is drawn a poena, and dissuades from bowing to, and worship- ping of images. 4. That in whom the contrary is found, bowing and adora- tion yielded to Him, to these He will be merciful, and to their posterity. "I will shew mercy to thousands of them that love Me, and keep My Commandments." Now, whereas God doth assign four generations to His wrath, and doth stretch His mercy unto thousands, it is an argument, that of His own nature, He is more bent to shew mercy than unto severity. The Commandment being thus analyzed, now let us see what is commanded, what forbidden in it. 1 . The duties commanded are, 1. To apprehend God as an infinite, incomprehensible Rom. l. 23. essence without any visible form or shape, and therefore not capable of any representation, by image, resemblance, or picture. 2. To worship God with all bodily worship and external Joh. 4. 24. forms of address, and adore Him with all humility and reverence, but especially to use those of which we have either precepts or examples in Scripture, or the practice of the nation or Church we live in. 3. To observe religiously and purely all the substantial Ps. 50. and external parts of God's worship ; praying, hearing of the ^ c tj % 42. Word, the Sacraments, and the discipline of the Church. 4. In God's worship to use such ceremonies, as serve for, 1. Decency, 1 Cor. 14. 40. 2. Order, 1 Cor. 14. 30, 32, 40. 3. Edification, 1 Cor. 14. 26. Gal. 2. 18. 2. Offenders against this Commandment. 1. They that fancy to themselves any likeness of the R om . 1.23. Deity, except that which is only analogical, and lies in His attributes, and is communicated in some sort to Him and His creatures; as wisdom, power, justice, mercy, life, &c. 2. They that frame any image or picture to represent Ex. 32. 4. God. 3. They that make or use any image of Christ, Angel, or J^- 19. 10. 23. 90 A plain and full Exposition of the Saints, Cross, &c, with a design or address of any religious worship to them, or through them. Jer. 10. 8. 4. They that worship idols, or false gods, or the true God through an idol. Ps. 5. 7. 5. They that deny to worship God with lowly reverence Lu. 18. 13. of tteir hodieS) accor ai n g as the Church requires reverence externally. Eccies. 5. 6. They who carry themselves rudely, carelessly, irre- l'cor. ii. 4. verently at prayer, at hearing of the word of God, at the io. 17-22. relying f the Sacraments, or at the execution of Church discipline, or undervalue and cast aside these ordinances. Col. 2. 23. 7. Those who worship their own imaginations, and mag- Mat.i5.8,9. n yy an( j get U p ^^ Qwn inventions under the colour of religion. l Cor. n.16. 8. They that reject all ceremonies of order, decency, and Rom. 14. 19. ed i fica tion. Lu.7.3i-36. 9. They who regard not God's threats of vengeance, nor yet are moved with His promises of mercy. In a word here is forbidden, Gal. 5. 20. 1. Idolatry. etSaXoXarpela. 2. Will- worship. ideXodprjcrKela. Col. 2. 18, 3_ Superstition < „ . ]■ SeicriScuuovla. 23. y (.Negative J Acts 25. 19. ° . Read those tracts of Dr. Hammond, which he hath learn- edly and judiciously written of these three. The Third Commandment. 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. Jer. 17. 9. " The heart of man is deceitful above all things," and by Mat. 15. 19. i t tbe tongue is taught to utter lies. After then that God hath enjoined the heart to serve Him in truth in the former Commandments, in this He lays a command upon the tongue to be serviceable in truth also. 1. The propagation of the Gospel, the confession of the faith, the celebration of God's ways, invocation and giving of thanks, are acts to be done by the tongue, and must be really done without collusion, and sincerely, without dissi- Catechism of the Church of England. 91 mulation, for else in the doing of these we take God's Name in vain, and break this command. 2. There he many things also that are necessary for the continuation of the societies of men, as leagues, confede- racies, inquisitions about facts, which can never be trans- acted without oaths, in which there is a solemn invocation of God, and therefore in these we may not take God's Name in vain. The tongue then in this Commandment is tied to its good behaviour : and from the hurt it may do by its falsehood to the integrity of religion, and societies of men, security is given, so far forth as a command from God may do it. This Commandment hath two parts \ ' " 12. A commmation. 1. The prohibition is, Thou shall not take the Name, fyc. in vain. 1. The Name is that by which any thing is made known; as, 1. Here first His titles, His proper names, as Jehovah, Jesus Christ, the Lord our God, El, Elohim, &c. 2. His Word, by which He hath revealed Himself. p s . 138. 2. 3. His properties or attributes. Ex U '3& is 4. His ordinances, Sacraments, and what relates to His 19 - worship. In vain. 2. In vain, that is, rashly, foolishly, but especially falsely, when our intention at that instant was fallacious, or contra- dictory to our undertaking, for this is to " speak vanity to Ps. 12. 2. our neighbour," to lift up the soul to vanity, that is, to he to Ps. 24. 4. him. In vain a thing is said to be done, when, 1. The agent is vain, that doth not a thing with his heart. 2. The action is vain that attains not the end. 3. The end is vain, if any other than intended, viz. God's glory, our own salvation, or our brother's good. The sum then of this Commandment is this, that we take not, assume not, use not the Name of God, His attributes, 92 A plain and full Exposition of the His sacred Word, or any mysteries of religion, rashly, irre- verently, contemptuously, foolishly, profanely, falsely, to bolster up a lie: but on the contrary, we highly esteem, and with great reverence and sobriety speak of, and use all these ; and that under this penalty following, For the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh His Name in vain. 2. This is the commination. And it is a /iewocrt?, or a Tutot?)?, that speaks less and means more. He will not hold him guiltless, that is, he shall be very guilty, and proceeded against as a guilty Lev. 24. io, person, sometimes in this life, as it happened to the blas- Zech.5.l-5. phemer, and is threatened to the perjurer. And if he 9 C &} b r IV 9 ' ® - They that bind themselves with an oath to do mischief 7 . Mat. 5. 37. 9. They who provoke others to take oaths for the com- 12.] passing ot some design. 8 Deu. 23. 10. They that perform not their vows to God, which they have made of lawful, honest, and possible things 8 . 9 Mat. 14 11. Those who perform unlawful vows and oaths 9 . 1 Jer. 4. 2. 12- Those who swear to things uncertain and unknown 1 . *Zectf l\ ^' Those who swear against their conscience, and perjure themselves 2 . s Mat. 5. 34, 14. In a word here is condemned Juramenta popinarum, platearum, officinarum,falsariorum; tavern-oaths, street-oaths, forged oaths 3 . 4 Jer. 12.16. 15. They that use counterfeit and mocking oaths 4 . s 2Pet.3.i6. 16. They who make the Scriptures a nose of wax, and 3, &c. wrest them to maintain their own inventions 5 . Rev. 22. 19. The Fourth Commandment. Remember thou keep holy the Sabbath day, fyc. The worship of God being settled in the former Command- ments, necessary it was that for the solemnization of it in public, there should be an appointed time set out to it. And in this command the time is designed for this worship, viz. the seventh day from the creation. In strict terms it was given to the Jews : and it hath two parts, the precept, and the reason of the precept. The Catechism of the Church of England. 97 precept again stands upon two legs, the moral and cere- monial. 1. The moral part of it is, that a certain time be set out for the public worship, which is perpetual and eternal. 2. The ceremonial is, that it be precisely the seventh day here mentioned, which St. Paul saith, " was a shadow of good Col. 2. n. things to come." Equity requires that men should set out one day in a week to spiritual and religious duties e : now the primitive Church, instead of the Jewish Sabbath, which was to be abolished after the death and resurrection of Christ, made choice of this day, in which He arose from the grave, on which He sent down the Holy Ghost, as a day of gladness and exalta- tion to them and all posterity, and honoured it with the name of "the Lord's Day;" the observation thereof having Kev. 1. 10. continued all ages since the Apostles. Neither have Christians since judged it reasonable or convenient to alter such an ancient and well-grounded custom, which is commonly re- puted to be an apostolical tradition. What was ceremonial, then, in this command is done away, but what is moral yet remains, and is of perpetual observ- ance ; to wit, these two duties, sanctification and rest. 1. The first is sanctification; for it must be kept holy. 2. The second is rest ; Thou, nor any that belongs to thee, shall do no work. Both these are necessary; 1. Rest even from those works which have no vicious quality in themselves, but may be, if used, impediments to the sacred and religious offices of the day. 2. And sanctification of the day by the exercises of re- ligious duties : for to rest, and not to sanctify, is to keep the Sabbath of an ox or an ass. The ends why the Sabbath or Lord's Day was ordained are these : 1. For the exercise of all duties of piety, in public espe- cially. 2. For the practice of all duties of charity and piety. 3. To remember the great works of God, especially of the creation, and redemption of the world. e Fr. "White, Ep. El. de Sab. p. 268, &c. NICHOLSON. H 98 A plain and full Exposition of the The Duties of the Sabbath. 1. To sanctify the day set out to God, and to "call it a isa. 58. 13. delight, the holy of the Lord, honourable." Ps. lis. 24. 2. Upon this day especially, to bless God, for creation of the world, and the Son of God for our redemption. Rev. i.io. 3. To remember that upon this day Christ rose again for our justification, and that therefore we make it our day of resurrection from sin. Acts 16. 13. 4. That we spend this day in holy offices and devotion. 'Acts 2. 46. 1. In hearing divine service in the Church 1 . ! iTim.2.i. 2. In public prayers 2 . »Actslti5; 3 - I n hearing the Word of God read or expounded 5 . 'AT'iiu ^' I n rea( iing good and pious books 4 . 5. In meditation and pious conference. » Acts 20. 7. 6. In receiving the Sacrament, catechising 5 . 6 Ps. 22. 22, 7. In thanksgiving, and praising the name of God 6 . i4!i6. C ° r ' 5. To do all acts of charity; such as are, ' isa. 58. 6. 1. To loose burdens, and remit offences and debts 7 . 8 Mat. 5.23. 2. To reconcile neighbours 8 . 9 iCor.i6.2. 3. To give alms 9 . ^Hei>?ia' 4. To provoke one another to good works'. *ic 6 'u 3 5- To exhort and edify one another in love 2 . lThess. 4. 6. To visit the sick 3 . 18 a Jas. i. 27. 7. To give ease and rest to our servants and cattle. 4 Mat. 12. 6. To rest from our common affairs, and all servile works Mark 2 27 an< ^ labours, except of charity and necessity 4 . Lu. 14. l. 7, That we rest and abstain from all desires, lusts, words, works, pleasures, which are our own, proceeding from our Isa. 58.13. corrupt nature, and are not seasoned with grace : that so we may keep a spiritual Sabbath. 8. That we remember this Sabbath is but a type of that Heb. 4. 9. eternal rest and Sabbath we expect in Heaven. " There remains a rest (Sabbatismus), for the people of God." They sin against this Commandment, Lev. 19. 30. 1- That put no difference betwixt this festival and the common days of the week. Catechism of the Church of England. 99 2. They that set themselves, or compel, or entice others to Neh. 13. 15. needless worldly labours, and servile works on this day. 3. They that refuse and neglect to come to the public Heb. 10. 25. assemblies of the Church, to hear and assist at divine offices. 4. They that being superiors, suffer those under their authority to be absent, and neglect holy duties. 5. They that spend the day in idle and vain sports, forbid- 1 Cor. 10. 7. den recreations, or actions of sin and folly ; eat, drink, dis- course, or sleep it away. 6. They that travel unnecessary journeys. Acts 1. 12. 7. They that buy and sell, keep markets and fairs, follow Ex. 16. 29. or assist law-suits. fi^ 3 ' 8. They who neglect charitable duties. Jas - 2 - 1 5 » 9. They who judaize either in their opinions of the Sab- 1 Cor. 16. 2. bath, or their observation of it. c^' £ ie.' 10. They who under pretence of sermonizing, have cast off God's solemn worship on this day ; such as is, solemn reading of the Old and New Testament, common prayer, supplica- tion, giving of thanks, singing of Psalms and hymns, ad- ministrations of Sacraments, exercise of church censures, collections for the poor, ordination. All which were the offices and actions which were performed in the common assemblies in the primitive Church on this day, and there- fore they never thought preaching the sole work of the Lord's day f . 'Justin Martyr. Apol. 1. [t?j rod purrlas $ot) fiiyapis air$ dvairc/iTei, Kal 7]\lov A6yojUey77 ^iepa ttAvtuv Kata ir6- 6 \abs eirevcpTjfiei Aeyay rb 'Aft-fty. Kal Keis 3) aypobs pevdyray eirl rb ai/rb 7] dtdSotrts Kal t\ /j.eTti\r]ypis airb ray avvitevais yiverai, /col ra airofnyriiwysi- ibxapur-rtfih-rav tKauTai ylverai, Kal fiara ray airoffrSXay, ^ ra ffvyypdfifiaTa tois oil irapovffi Sia ray StaKdywy neftire- ■ tSiv irpos woietraf eiretra aviara- iitiKovpzi 6ps Kal eux a " T0 ' J & XP*'¥ °^" L KriSe/iay yiyerai.'] h2 100 A plain and full Exposition of the AN EXPOSITION OF THE COMMANDMENTS, OF THE SECOND TABLE. Quest. How many Commandments be there of the second table? Answ. There be six. Quest. What do you learn out of these Commandments ? Answ. I learn my duty to man, or to my neighbour. Quest. What is your duty to your neighbour ? Answ. This in the Catechism is set down : 1. First in two general propositions. 2. And then by teaching the duties of every of these six precepts in particular, though delivered in large words as most comprehensive. The two general propositions are these : Lev. 19. 18. 1. My duty to my neighbour is, that I should love him as myself. In that there is Charity. Mat. 7. 12. 2. To do to all men as I would they should do unto me. In that there is Justice. These Commandments, then, are the foundation of all jus- tice and mercy to men. And the intent is, that no man suffer self-love so far to interpose, that he be partial in judging what is his duty, either in the point of charity or justice toward another, but make himself the rule ; and what charity or justice he desires other men to extend to him, the self-same he extend to them. A rule of that great perfection, that Severus the emperor, yet a heathen, is said for it to have borne a reverence to Christ and Christianity, and to have [Hist. Aug. taken it up for his motto, Quod tibi fieri ne vis, alteri ne fece- p. C i72.°Ed. fis : in effect, do as you would be done by. Par. 1620.] jj. canno f; \, e denied but this is so reasonable a principle, that every man will assent to the equity of it so soon as spoken, and needs no proof: but then alone acknowledges it, and performs it as a duty of religion, when he looks upon it as commanded by God, and out of the reverence he bears to the Supreme Lawgiver conceives, that out of conscience he is bound to it. Upon which, that there might be a stronger obligation for Catechism of the Church of England. 101 justice, and the greater affection to charity, it pleased God to subjoin this second table to the first, ut rivus justitiee ducatur a fonte pietatis, that the streams of justice and charity to man, should be derived whenc they sprang, that is, from the spring and fountain of piety. And these two are as inseparable as the spring and the rivulet ; so that the truth of religion is inconsistent with the neglect or omission of the duties of justice and charity Tit. 2. 12. towards men. This is the character that St. James sets, by which a true, sincere, honest, religious man may be known to us ; " To visit the fatherless and widows in affliction." To Jas. 1. 27. abhor idols, to keep the Sabbath, to hear sermons, to make many and long prayers, not to swear, are not the notes to know him by, but his acts of justice and charity. And St. John in plain terms tells that man who loves not his 1 Joh. 4. 20, . 21 brother, that he is a liar, adding this reason : " this Com- mandment we have from God, that he that loves God must love his brother also." I willingly confess that this argument, drawn from the external works of justice and charity, is strong to prove the negative, not the affirmative. For there may be acts of justice and charity, where there is not true religion; as in the heathens and all moral men; but it is certain, that in whomsoever there is true religion, there will be these ; so that that man will be a just and charitable man. And this I conceive to be the reason, that in the Prophets, Apostles, and Evangelists, the trial of a man's religion is commonly put upon these. He may pretend the keeping the Commands of the first table, and be very severe in them, which, whether he do truly or hypocritically, is known only to God, for man's eye can never pierce to, and search the heart. But whether he be just and charitable or no, man may know by his actions, in which, if he find him failing notoriously, wilfully, maliciously, he may certainly conclude that his re- ligion is vain. 1. Thou shalt love, DiUges. (Amor. Three words there are used for love. X Benevolentia. \Dilectio. 102 A plain and full Exposition of the 1. Amor, may have for its object all creatures; for being the works of God's hands, they are good, and therefore amanda, to be loved. 2. Benevolentia, is a good will borne to reasonable creatures only, which may be rash and erroneous ; for a man may bear Gen. 37. 3. good will to a person, and for a cause that he ought not. 3. Dilectio, ariseth from election and consideration, and under this word we are enjoined our duty. We are not bound barely amare, to love sensually and passionately, or bene velle, to wish well partially and intemperately, but diligere, to love discreetly, and upon good reason to make our choice. Verus amator, debet esse verus (estimator. He ought to weigh things right that will love aright; for hasty love is commonly light and foolish. The spouse in the Canticles [Cant. 2. 4.] prays in this form; Ordinate in me charitatem. It is her petition that her charity be well ordered, and well ordered it will never be, till it become Dilectio, that we know what to choose, and what to hate, and why to choose, and why to hate. Now the method and order of love in brief is this : Ex. 28. 12, 1. That we love God first and most. The high priest carried the name of God on his head, but the names of the Israelites on his breast-plate and shoulders. That great and fearful Name must be in the highest place ; the love super- eminent we bear to it; and then for God's sake it must descend to our neighbour, as the breast-plate and shoulders. Ex Deo natalis amoris, ' Love's birth is from God.' 2. Thy neighbour. 2. The next step is, that we love our neighbour, i. e. every man, be it a friend, or be it an enemy. If a brother, there is in him proximitas originis, a nearness of blood ; if an enemy, proximitas natures, or societatis, a nearness either in nature in general, or some bond of civil society. Now in this love of our neighbour, heed would be taken of two things : 1. That our love be not erroneous, that we take not our neighbours' sin for our neighbour, and love their sins because we love their persons, [Hot. Sat. Stultus, et improbus hie amor est, dignusque notari ; Catechism of the Church of England. 103 and God prohibits it. " Thou shalt rebuke thy neighbour, [Lev. 19. and not suffer sin upon him." '- 1 2. That we look to the degrees of proximity, and accord- ingly extend our love ; for our neighbour is to have the priority of our love before another, as they stand farther off, or are nearer unto us. And the order is this : 1. The nearest conjunction among Christians is that of the Spirit of grace, of religion, and these are to have the first place in our love. " Do good to all men, but Gal. 6. 10. especially to those who are of the household of faith." 2. Among these, if there be no disparity, then those first who are nearest unto us, either in friendship, blood, or some other way. 3. After, as they stand nearer or farther off in relation. 1. The husband or wife. Parents. 2. The children, and those of the family. 3. Our kindred. 4. Our friends or acquaintance, near neighbours. 5. Our countrymen. 6. Societies of men before any particular. But this is not perpetual, and may be broken by many acci- dents, and intervenient occasions. 3. As thyself. Our own selves are set for the rule to love our neighbour. "No man hates his own flesh, but loves and cherishes it," [Eph.5.29.] and so he must deal by his neighbour. But it is to be observed, that the adverb sicut, " as," is not a note of parity, but similitude, and shews not the quantity, but the quality of our love. For no man is bound to love another equally, or so much as himself, but with that truth of love that he loves himself : the love then of man to man ought to be true and not false j real, and not feigned nor adulterate. A man would be loath that other men should dissemble with him, neither may he then dissemble with them. " Let love be without Rom. 12. 9. dissimulation." It should have these conditions : 1. Justice. 2. Order. 3. Truth. Be Dilectio, l.Justa; 2.0rdinata; 3. Vera. 104 A plain and full Exposition of the These are the general heads, whence all duty to man doth arise : which because they are derived into many streams, for our direction in them, it hath pleased God to set down six precepts, of which the Catechism in the following words gives us a summary account ; which, for the ease of the learner, I thought good to digest into these short questions and answers. Quest. Which is the fifth Commandment? Answ. Honour thy father and mother, that thy days may be long in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee. Quest. What do you learn out of this Commandment ? 1. To love, honour, and succour my father and mother. 2. To honour and obey the King and his Ministers. 3. To submit myself to all Governors, Teachers, spiritual Pastors and Masters. 4. To order myself reverently and lowly to all my betters. Quest. What is the sum of the four next Commandments ? Answ. To hurt nobody by word or deed. Quest. Which is the sixth Commandment ? Answ. Thou shalt not kill. Thou shalt do no murder. Quest. What dost thou learn out of this Commandment ? Answ. To hurt no man. To bear no malice or hatred in my heart. Quest. Which is the seventh Commandment ? Answ. Thou shalt not commit adultery. Quest. What dost thou learn out of this Commandment ? Answ. To keep my body in temperance, soberness, chastity. Quest. Which is the eighth Commandment ? Answ. Thou shalt not steal. Quest. What dost thou learn out of this Commandment ? Answ. 1 . To be true and just in all my deabng. 2. To keep my hands from picking and stealing. Quest. Which is the ninth Commandment ? Answ. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour. Quest. What dost thou learn out of this Command ? Answ. To keep my tongue from evil speaking, lying, and slandering. Quest. Which is the tenth and last Commandment ? Catechism of the Church of England. 105 Answ. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his servant, nor his maid, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is his. Quest. What dost thou learn out of this Commandment ? Answ. Not to covet or desire other men's goods, but to labour truly to get my living, and to do my duty in that state of life unto which it shall please God to call me. Hitherto I have followed word for word the Catechism, only I have brought into questions and answers, what is in one continued tenor of words delivered, and I have applied the answer, as it belongs to every Commandment, that the sum of every one may be more easily perceived and remem- bered, which as they stood was not so easily discerned. And here I must take leave to admire the wisdom of the Church, that in her explication was so brief and full, making choice of such large words that might extend and compre- hend what any expositor could say upon any Command. But children's memories were not to be overcharged with more at first. He that of these desires to take a fuller view, may, if he please, peruse that which now follows. The Fifth Commandment. Honour thy father and thy mother, that thy days may be long in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee. The intent of God in giving this command is, that all politic and civil societies among men be preserved and settled in peace, unity, and good order, which, without mutual duties of superiors to inferiors, and of inferiors to superiors, will never be done. In this Command the duties of both are pointed at. In it consider, 1. The title given the superior ; a Father, and Mother. 2. The debt due unto them, Honour. 3. A promise annexed to them that do the duty : ut sis longcevus. 1. By Father and Mother understand all that are above us, in what relation soever, natural, civil, ecclesiastical, as it is well expounded in the Catechism. And the reason why God made choice of this word Father, under which to express all superiors was, because Father and Mother being names of 106 A plain and full Exposition of the Bom. 13. 1. 1 Pet. 2. 13. Gen. 3. 16. Eph. 6. 5. Col. 3. 22. 1 Pet. 2. 18, 19. nature, and originally names of power and authority, teach us that, 1. Regality, superiority, and authority, is no human invention proceeding out of ambition, or conquest, or faction, but from nature itself. Sub et supra, are as old as fatherhood. 2. That monarchy must then be as ancient also; for the father during his life ruled the family, as appears in Genesis. 3. And consequently Honour, which is the duty to a superior, is as natural and ancient ; and must be done cheerfully, in simplicity and singleness of heart. 2 Tim. 3. 3 1 Tim. 6. 1. 1 Pet. 2. 17, Bom. 13. 7. Lev. 19. 32. 1 Pet. 3. 6. Eom. 13. 1. 1 Pet. 2. 18, Gal. 5. 23. Eom. 13. 4,7. lTim.2.1,2. 1. And first the duties of inferiors to superiors are these, in regard of their 1. Paternity; aropyr), natural affection and love. 2. Excellency ; high estimation and honour. 3. Superiority; reverence, veneration, courteous behaviour. 4. Office; obedience, subjection, service, patient suffer- ance. 5. Authority and power ; fear, meekness, gentleness. 6. Care, pains, vigilancy ; tribute, custom, maintenance. 7. And that we may under them lead a quiet and peaceable life, in all godliness and honesty; prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks. 2. The duties of superiors to inferiors. Father and Mother are words of relation, and they must have a correlatum, which in strictness of speech is a son ; but in this command is an inferior : here then to the son. to his people or subjects. to the wife. to the servant. to the flock or people. to those under his government. to the younger! rAge to the poor r . r . < Estate. to the ignorant-J L Gifts. 1. The Father 2. 3. The King The Husband 4. The Master CO 5. The Pastor 6. 7. 8. The Magistrate The Aged The Rich 9. The Learned Catechism of the Church of England. 107 And then these reciprocal names will put the superior in mind of reciprocal duties in all these relations. 1. The Father's duty to the Son is, 2C0r.12.14. 1. Nourishment, maintenance, provision. IphVi' 3 ' 2. Education, instruction. Prov - 22 - & „ „ . Heb. 12. 9. 6. Correction. Not to provoke to anger. Eph. 6. 4. 4. Blessing. 2. The King's duty to his subjects, and magistrates', to those under them. 1. To be the keepers of both tables: to see that truth Rom. 13. 4. be maintained, justice executed. 2. To see that God be honoured ; abuses in religion Deu. 17. 19- reformed. ftg" 3. To be a "nursing father" to the Church. \tl\ 2. Or, " that it may go well with thee," may carry this Isa - 5 ?- *• sense, which St. Paul intimates, 1 Tim. 2. 2. honour kings, that " you may lead a peaceable and quiet life :" for where this order is broken, and superiors dishonoured, there ariseth nothing but confusion; peace and quietness is disturbed, and then it goes well with no man; a long life is a discomfort and no felicity. These if you mean to enjoy, you must honour ; for, upon dishonouring, they vanish. 3. Or else this promise might shew God's ordinance. For God gives a healthy and long life as a reward and blessing to crown our obedience even before the sons of men ; " Such Ps. 37. 22. as shall be blessed of Him shall inherit the earth ; but they job 21'. *' that be cursed of Him, shall be cut off." 17 " 20 - In this particular the disobedient son was to be cut off Deu. 21. 18. by the hand of the magistrate, and was to be stoned ; and Solomon tells us, " the ravens of the valley shall pick out his Prov. 30.17. eyes." God's \ato then was, that he should not be longeevus, long-lived. And sometimes God executes this vengeance with His own hand, as upon Corah and his rebellious con- Nu. 16. federates, "O fool, this night shall thy soul be taken from [Lu. 12. 20.] thee." Read the story of the kings, and you shall find that rebels and traitors were not long lived, but perished by the sword and immature deaths. The Sixth Commandment. Thou shalt not kill, or murder. God having in the former Command secured the superior, in those that follow secures all men in general, whether superiors, inferiors, or equals ; and first He begins with the 110 A plain and full Exposition of the person, and secures his life. Life we would have above all things ; nay life we must have, or enjoy nothing : nor wife, nor good name, can do any good to a murdered man : hence it is that God secures that to us which is absolutely neces- sary, peremptorily commanding that no man assault our person, and attempt to take away our life from us. But because the negative includes the affirmative, we must do all those duties of justice and charity, by which the life of man may be preserved. Inhumanity and cruelty are the fountains which let forth the streams of blood. Brotherly kindness and compassion teach us to preserve the life of man ; whatsoever, then, may be derived from either of these, are the duties of this Com- mandment, ut homo homini non sit lupus, ' that a man be not a wolf to a man ;' ut homo homini sit Deus, ' that a man may be as a G-od to his brother.' 1. Forbidden here then there is, 1. Cruelty and inhumanity. This forbidden, Deut. 22. 6. [Deu. 14. " Thou shalt not take the dam with the young." "Nor seethe Pror. 12. a lamb in his mother's milk," and " a righteous man regards 10 " the life of his beast, but the bowels of the wicked are cruel." Nu. 22. 29. " Would there was a sword in my hand, that I might slay thee," saith Balaam to his ass. If cruelty were not to be used to a beast, much less to a man. God never intended Caligula, that man, made after His image, should be dlfuiTi ire^vpd- InvitaTU j^evo? 7n?\o?, f a piece of clay kneaded with blood.' Mat ! 57 '"' ^' -^ kinds of homicide : as our Saviour hath interpreted this command, whether of the heart, tongue, or hand. Mat. 15. 19. 1. " From the heart proceed murders ;" of this kind are, Eom. l. 31. 1. Unmercifulness, and a desire to oppress the poor. Mat° S !.'22 7 ' 2. Anger immoderate or causeless, too lightly begun, Eph. 4. 26. or too long continued. Gal. 5. 20. 3 - Envy, grudging, repining, rancour, disdain, emu- lation. Eom. l. 4. Hatred, malice, uncharitable suspicion. i 9 Cor.'i3. 5. Desire of revenge, irreconciliation, frowardness, £" 7 - .. contention. rRom. 12. [Ron Acts 23. 12. 6. Counsel, plotting or consent to murder any man. Lu. 22. '2. ' 2. The breaking out of this murder of the heart, in Catechism of the Church of England. Ill 1. The tongue, manifested 1. By evil speaking. Eph. 4. 31. 2. Disdainful speaking. Racha. 13, 19. 3. By bitter and angry words. " Tbou fool." Mat. 5, 22. 4. Mocking in all ill manner. Lev. 19. 14. 5. Brawling, threatening, provoking. Tit. 3. 2. 6. Clamour or vociferation. Eph. 4. 31. 7. Detraction, censoriousness. Acts 24. 5 ; 28 4 2. The hand, which is actual murder, and this may not be acted ; 1. Not upon a man's self. For no man is master of his own hfe ; he is God's servant, and the Lord that gave it must take it away. " Lord now lettest Thou Lu. 2. 29. Thy servant depart," sung old Simeon. 2. Another he may not kill, neither commit homici- Gen. 4 10, dium, fratricidium, parricidium, &c. 'not kill a man, his brother, his father.' Quest. Whether then may the magistrate put any man to death ? Answ. Yes, but he may not murder any man : lawfully he Ex. 23. 7. may, and must take away some man's Hfe ; for God hath put 32. the sword into his hand, and made him a minister to execute om ' ' ' wrath. ' Thou/ then, in the command, is the private man, who hath no commission from God ; not the superior, whom God (who alone hath vita et necis potestatem, power of life and death) hath set in His place, and in His right and power Gen. 9. 6. to execute malefactors. So that to speak properly it is not the magistrate that takes away the malefactor's life, but God that commands His vicegerent and deputy to do it. Now that the magistrate proceed justly and fall not within the compass of murder, necessary it is, 1. That there be a just cause. 2. A right end and intent. 3. That he be God's deputy, that is, have a just and lawful power ; for where any of these three, especially the last is wanting, the man is plainly (who is ad- judged and executed) murdered ; and the doers are 2 ctron. murderers, be they in what height, place, or power soever. Now to this murder of the hand are reduced, 112 A plain and full Exposition of the ■Deu. 19. 1. Chance medley 1 . ! Ex. 21. 2. Manslaughter 2 . LeV 13 24 17 3 - Mutilation, or dangerous wounds, fighting 8 . 'Jfl^ ' 4. All duels 4 . 19, 20. 1 Jas. 4. i. 5. All unlawful war, treasons 3 . M3en.io.9; ^ Those medicines that procure abortions 6 . ? Tu«l s. 4. y_ Cowardice in a magistrate, that delivers an innocent 22,23. person to the will of his enemy. This was Pilate's 'Deu. 1.17. ^ J Lu. 23. 24. case 7 . In this precept is commanded, » Job 29. 15, 1. To love one another, and to do all offices of charity, by 2Cor.8.3,4. which the life of man may be preserved 9 . i -Pet. 1.22. 2. To preserve our own health, and of others, so far as 23. we can 9 . ■Rom 12 18. 3. To preserve and follow peace with all men. To be lThes.4.11. quiet ,_ •Col. 3. 12. 4. To be merciful, bountiful to prisoners, captives, &c. 2 UPet?3 8 8. 5 - To be courteous, kind, affable 3 . Col. 3.12. 6. To bear one another's burdens 4 . 4 Rom. 15. i. 7. To forgive and remit offences, and to be easily pacified Gal. 6. 2. j -i jl «2 Cor. 2.10. and reconciled . Eph. 4. 32. j nee( j n0 ^ ,j e i mea t; e farther who they are that break, who keep this Commandment; since by the inspection of the particulars it is easy for any man to do it. The Seventh Commandment. Thou shalt not commit adultery. Col. 3. 5. ©v/tos, anger, and the ill effects thereof, are restrained in the former Commandment ; in this, iiriBvfiia icaicr), evil lust and concupiscence. The end intended in this Commandment is Chastity, that we keep our bodies chaste, as the temples of the Holy Ghost : whatsoever therefore may conduce to this end, must be done, what may stain our chastity must be avoided. 1 Thes. 4. 5. What is here commanded. 1. Chastity. 2. Sobriety. Catechism of the Church of England. 113 3. Temperance, or moderation in meats and drinks, purity 1 . ' i Tim- 3. 4. Modesty in apparel, in behaviour, in words 2 . *i'p e 't.3.2,3. 5. Castigation of the body 3 . Mat. 5.28 9 6. Prayer, watching, fasting 4 - ?iCor. 9 9.27. 7. Marriage to those who hare not the gift of continency 5 . Rom.i3.i4 8. The bed undefiled : or the chaste use of a wife 6 . l Cor. 7. 6. ' 9. Not to separate, divorce, or put away a wife 7 . s x cor.'k 9. 10. Labour in an honest vocation 8 . ^Heb 1 ?^' 11. To make a covenant with the eyes and ears 9 . ' Mat.19.3. J Ez. 10. 19. 12. To keep honest, modest, and chaste company 1 . 8 2Thess.3. In this Commandment are forbidden. Mat. 5. 28. 'Prov.7.22. All kind of sensuality, lasciviousness, wantonness, or un- p s- 50. 18. cleanness, which is contained under these four words 2 , s Rom. 1.29. 1. iropvela, which in a married person is whoredom or a Deu.22.22. adultery 3 ; and under it may be reduced, Heb?i8. 4. 1. Incest, which is committed with one allied in the 4 Lev. 18. 6. degrees prohibited 4 . 2. Concubinage, which northward they call a ligbie. 3. Polygamy, or the taking and keeping of two or more 5 Gen. 2. 24. - % Mat. 19. 5. wives 3 - Mal . 2 . 2. "irovqpla, villainy : under which are contained, 14-16. 1. Bestiality 6 . «Lev.i8.23. 2. Sodomy 7 . 'Lev.18.22. 3. ifkeove^la, an immoderate desire : and under this are, Ge™ 19. 1. Harlotry, when committed with a common strumpet 8 . s Deu.23.i7. 2. Fornication, when with a maid not common 9 . 9 Eph! b. 3. 3. Immoderate use of the marriage bed 1 . EphVig 6 " 4. ica/cla, naughtiness, lasciviousness, wantonness ; to which p^jk 5 : I 9 - . may be reduced this fifth following. [1.] All that feeds this sin, or are incentives to it; as 1. Luxurious diet, inflaming wines, &c. 2 . '-J^i \^l' 2. An idle life 3 . Rom.'i3.i3. 1 Cor 5 11 3. Morose thoughts that dwell on the fancy with de- s Ezek 16. tight 4 - . *Mat.l5.19. 2. All outward provocations to it, which are the snares of j^o" 3 ' 14 " lust : as lascivious dressings 8 . 12, 13. 1. Embroidered hair 6 . 16-23. 2. Painting the face 7 . '2Km'gs' 9 ' 3. Strange apparel 8 . 9 pr° 7 .9-27. Nicholson. I [Deu.22.5.] 114 A plain and full Exposition of the Mark 6. 22. 4. Wanton gestures, dalliances. l Cor. 5.11; 5. Corrupt company. Prov. 6. 27. 6. Lascivious books. 7. "Wanton pictures, tales, stories, songs. 8. Immodest kisses. 3. The signs of it. isa. 3. 16. 1. In the eye, wanton glances. Eyes full of adultery. Iph. 4 '^ 4 2. In the speech, oarrrpol Twyoi, smutty words. teiil'ii. 4 - In a word > ^ desires of wantonness consented to, though they break not into act. Those who keep their bodies chaste, or use the means to chastity, are those who keep ; Those who pollute, or give way to any temptation that may pollute, are the men that break this Commandment. The Eighth Commandment. Thou shalt not steal. Man may have a just title to somewhat, which he may call his own, whether his title ariseth by just acquisition, inheritance, by gift or donation, or by contract. And it is the purpose of God here to secure suum cuique, every man in his estate, setting a hedge and a fence about his goods by an eternal law of commutative justice, that no man dare to break over, or rush upon, what is his, without an apparent injury, and an affront done to God. This being the end : 1. Here is commanded, iTim.6.7,8. 1. That every man be content with his estate; and to have moderate desires. Phil. 2. i. 2. To preserve our neighbour's goods, and to suffer every 2i. 6 Dg9 uian to enjoy his own quietly and fairly. ?T?es^ 3 4. 8 6. 3. To give and pay every man his due; and injure P,5 u -? 5 ;j 3 -no man. Mic. 6. 11. Pro. 27. 23. 4. To use justice in all our dealings, contracts, bargains. Lu. 15.13. 5. To be frugal, and not to spend above our estates. [lThes.V.b. 6. To use honest means to get a livelihood, viz. prayer 7 To T 3- an< * ^ a ^ our - Catechism of the Church of England. 115 7. To use our goods to benefit others justly, liberally, 1 Tim. 6. cheerfully. l'u. 6. 35. 8. That we restore what is unjustly gotten or detained. lx b '22 3 i-7! Lu.'l9.'8. 2. Here is forbidden, 1. Unjustice, violence, oppression. Rom. l. 29. 2. Covetousness, and hoarding up all that comes in. i Thes.4.6. 3. Tenacity, or the niggard's hand. l Tim. 6. 9. 4. Contentiousness, and vexatious lawsuits. Eccies. 4. 8. 5. Immoderate care and solicitude. iP 0T „W' Mat. 6. 25. 6. Deceit, fraud, circumvention in bargaining, contracts, l Thes.4.6. buying, selling. 7. Picking and stealing ; or secret purloinings. Eph. 4. 28. 8. Open robbery, violence, plundering and rapacity. 1 Cor 6 10 | 9. False weights and measures. Deu. 25. 13. 10. Sacrilege : to detain tithes, tribute, custom. Eo ^ 2 . 22. 11. To borrow, and not to pay again when they are able, ^u^o 25 12. To detain hirelings' wages ; cheat orphans and widows. Mat. 22. 21. 13. To embezzle other men's estates, and fail a trust. James 5. i 14. To receive bribes, and to set justice to sale. Ley. 6. 2, 3. 15. To break their promise, and refuse to stand to their j^ 1 t j^ bargain. 1 Pet. 2. 1. 16. To embase and adulterate coin, and pass it for good and perfect. 17. Prodigality, to waste their own estate. Lu. 15. 13. 18. They who make not restitution, offend. Lev. 6. 4,5. 19. To live an idle life, and not to use honest labour to live, g ^ 2% 2'Thesi. 3. 11. The Ninth Commandment. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour. The scope and intent of the lawgiver is, that as God is a God of truth, so those who honour Him, labour to preserve truth among men, and hate the contrary, which is all false- hood and lying ; since by a false testimony, the credit, repu- tation, and good name of our neighbour, that I say nothing of his goods and life, are much impaired and wronged. This sometimes is called in question in judgment, some- times again it may be hazarded in private commerces among 1 2 I vanity, tale-bearing 1 . Lev. 19. 16. /-indiscreet professing of > speech. 116 A plain and full Exposition of the men ; and therefore God here gives an order for the tongue, that whensoever, or whatsoever there be an occasion to speak of him, we cast off lying, and speak every man tbe truth of, and to his neighbour. Our words then must be, /lying, and slander, ■Eph.4.25. 1. True: to which is opposed -J calumny, detraction, Rom. 1. 30. Ley. 19. 16. » STslae 3 : 2. Free : to which is opposed (j^j™^ cowardly fear 2 ! Joh. 18. 36. v ., . J . Acts 5. 42. „ o- i i- i • j f guile and whispering, s Lu.22.57. 3. Simple: to which is opposed < °. . . A . „ r ,, , Eom. 12. 9. I dissimulation, flattery". 2Cor.i2 2 2a 4 - Profitable: to which ( unprofitable, hurt- ^Thes 2 ^' is °PP osed \ M > rotten 4 4 Eph.4.29. /immoderate prating, fu- 5 Prov. 17." 5. Few: to which is opposed •< tihty, unseasonable sup- lame®' a 6. (pressing the truth 5 . Eccies. io. q Courteous : to which is opposed scurrility, railing, Gal. 214-14. scoffing 6 . G TJ-nth 2 4 Eph. 5. 4. 7. Affable : to which is opposed morosity, churlish Gen. 21. 9. j 7 ' 1 Sam. 25. Words 7 . io n \a * 1. The virtues here commanded are, truth, freedom, sim- 2sam.lo.5. ' ' ' plicity, &c. 2. The opposite vices forbidden, viz. lying, slandering, &c. 1. They then keep this Commandment, s Pro. io. 12. 1. That preserve the good name of tbeir neighbour 8 . "A a cts4.26; 2. That truly and freely, and simply, give a testimony to 5. 29, 30. t r uth, especially being called to it by lawful authority 9 . ■Jameai.19. 3. That use few, courteous, profitable, and affable words 1 . Eph. 4 29.' 4. That speak well and charitably of their neighbours 2 . 8 1 Cor! 13. 5,7. 2. They offend against this Commandment, 3 Mat.26.60. 1. They that bring in, and they that are false witnesses against any man 3 . 1 1 Kings 2. They that accuse their neighbour unjustly, and raise Lev. 19. 16. false tales, and they who report and scatter them 4 . MLufn. 16. **• They that openly slander, detract, scoff, or rail, at their M^t 7 l 3 ' Drotner » or uncharitably censure him, and backbite him 5 . Koui. 2. 1. Catechism of the Church of England. 117 4. They who are suspicious, raise jealousies, and are busy « 2 Sam. 16. bodies in other men's matters 6 . f' Pet 4 15 5. They who flatter and dissemble with a double tongue 7 . 'Prov. 26. 6. They who are whisperers 8 . 8 Eom!i.29. 7. They who use churlish words, and are vain boasters 9 . ^^ m ' 25 ' 8. They who give malicious false testimonies in public or 2 Pet. 2. 18. private 1 . Ps.68.i-8.' Ex 23 1 9. They who conceal the truth to the prejudice of another, 2 p TO .24.ii. being required by justice and charity to give testimony to it 2 . Lev. 1 5. 1. 10. Judges that give false sentences 3 . 1 Kings 21. 11. Advocates and lawyers that wittingly plead bad causes 4 . « Ex. 23. 2. 12. Eegisters or notaries that make false acts 5 - l^ "' 13. All that equivocate or lie 6 - 5 T Isa d°;J- *■ Jer. d2. lo, 14. e j Tim 4 2 The Tenth Commandment. Ex . 23! 7. ' Col. 3. 9. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his man servant, nor his maid servant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is his. This Commandment cuts to the quick ; and the scope of it is to extirpate the very root, and destroy the seed of all injustice and uncharitableness from the earth. It shews that God looks farther than man, and that His law is more perfect and exact than all the laws of men ; for, whereas the laws of men can only restrain the outward act, Rom. 13. 4. bind the hands, and stop the mouth, and, in case they prove unruly, punish the malefactor ; God's law takes hold on the Heb. 10. 16. first and inmost thoughts, intentions, and motions to evil, M^k 12.36. and in case they be entertained, will call man to the bar for John 4 - 23 - them. I little doubt but what is here forbidden, was also pro- hibited in the former Commandments} for in them all in- tentions to evil are restrained. But yet with this difference ; in them it was by reduction and implication; in this it is plainly and by explication; in them somewhat darkly; in this clearly, evidently, expressly. And such an express and Command was necessary. For such is the deceitfulness of man's heart, that he is apt to flatter himself, and to conceive, that when he hath forborne the outward act, he hath done God's will. This is apparent 118 A plain and full Exposition of the in the young Pharisee, who, because he had lived dfiefiirrco<;, Lu.i8. 21. a blameless and good moral life, and outwardly observed Moses' law, professed openly, "all these have I observed from my youth." And again it is more evident in the old Pharisees, that confined the duties to the external act. So that it was necessary for our Saviour to teach these Rabbies that Moses meant somewhat beyond what the bare words Mat. 5. sounded, " You have heard that it was said by them of old, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not commit adultery ;" but I say, causeless anger, desire of revenge, lust after a woman, is a breach of the law. Thus much, a man being over indulgent to himself, would never have thought of; and therefore God by an express and peremptory law hath commanded, Non concupisces, "Thou shalt not covet." And the examination of our ways by this, will conclude the most strict Ever and Pharisee under sin, Bom. 7. 24. and make him cry out with St. Paul, " O miserable man that I am ! who shall deliver me from this body of death ?" Concupiscence is that which is here prohibited, not simply Rom. 7. all, but that which is evil ; for our desires are of two kinds, good and evil, l Tim. 3.1. 1. There is a good desire of superiority; a good desire of Gen! 24. 3. ' punishment upon a malefactor ; a lawful desire of a woman, Prov to 7 8 mea tj an< i drink ; a lawful desire of goods and riches ; a good c°\ B 7 'i7 7- ^ es "" e * na * * ru th should flourish, and a good lust of the spirit against the flesh. So long as the desire is regulated and kept in by the law of God, it is good and necessary, and God hath left it im- pressed in the soul, as the incentive to all duties, both reli- gious, natural, and moral. 2. But besides this good desire, there is a bad, which is Eph. 4. 22. called " the old man," " sin that dwells in us," " the sting l Cor! 15. 56. °f death," "the thorn in the flesh," "the concupiscence of l Pet IV men " Which is a foolish, hurtful desire retained in the a^Vm 1 ' sensua l P 3 ^ °f the soul, which is so far from being a help to the understanding and will as it ought, that it darkens and seduceth it. And hence it comes to pass, that an object of profit or pleasure being proposed, it is first delighted with it, then it stays and dwells on that delight, after it consents to receive Catechism of the Church of England. 119 it, or at least doth not resist or reject it, rather sets the thoughts to compass it, or at last yields to act it. By this gradation, sin from the conception is brought to the birth ; which progress St. James hath thus excellently Jas.1.14,15. expressed, " Every man is tempted, when he is drawn away by his own lust, and enticed." " Then when lust hath con- ceived, it brings forth sin ; and sin, when it is finished, brings forth death." Evident here it is, that lust in the heart of man, is as it were the matrix, in which sin first receives the conception, articulation, life, motion, and growth, till it come to the birth ; and the midwives, as I may so say, to bring it forth, are "the lusts of the flesh, the pride of life, and the lust of Uoim2.i6. the eyes," that is, profit; which last is especially forbidden in this Commandment. And two objects are here named. 1. Our neighbour's goods, his house, his servants, his cattle. 2. Our neighbour's wife, " Thou shalt not covet," &c. Because men commonly lust after these. 1. By wanton fleshly desires, they lust after their neigh- bour's wife. 2. By covetousness, they lust after their neighbour's goods, his house, his man servant, his maid servant, his ox, his ass. And yet these are not all the irregular lusts, by which a man is tempted, and drawn away, and enticed. There is, 1. A lusting after our neighbour's dignity, honour, Hab. 2. 9. place, through pride and ambition. This is pride of y^iflV life in St. John. 2. A lusting after our neighbour's blood and fife, out of l Sam. 18. envy, hatred, malice, revenge. These are lusts of the flesh. 3. A lust to take away our neighbour's good name and i Kings reputation ; arising out of the same, or other vicious Mat. 9. 3, 4. causes. That therefore no man should conceive that his covetous Terttd. de and wanton lusts were alone restrained, and not his proud, p °'^ '* and ambitious, revengeful, malicious, and envious also; that no man dream of a liberty in any, it hath pleased the law- giver here to give a /caOdpriicov, a purge to all, and to set a bar to all, by this general prohibition, 120 A plain and full Exposition of the Thou shalt not covet his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is his. His honour is Ms, his life is his, his good name is his, as well as his wife, his man servant, his maid servant, his ox, or his ass ; and therefore we may no more covet to take from him the one than the other ; what is his, he must quietly and peaceably enjoy. 1. In this precept is commanded, Phil. 4. li, 1. That we be content with our own, and the portion that God gives us. Isa. 5. a 2. Not to be covetous of what is another man's. Eph. 4. 28. 3. That we labour in that vocation to which God hath called us, honestly. Acts 20. 33, 4. That the commencement of any motion to desire what Gal. 5. 24. is another's, is to be disbanded instantly, and not suffered to stay in the appetite in any degree of morose delectation. Acts 5. 4. 5. That those things be our neighbour's which God hath given him. Hah. 2. 5, 6. 6. That by this gift every man hath a property, and dis- tinct right, in that he possesseth, and therefore no man may desire to invade or dispossess him. Eph. 6. 12. 7. That we fight against fleshly lusts, and labour to mor- Gai. 5. 24! tify, crucify, and subdue them. Prov.'hio- 8. That we stop sin in the beginning, and rest not till ex-, 20 - tinguished. 2. Offenders against this Command are, Mat. 20. 15. 1. They who envy other men's wealth and prosperity. 1 Kings 21. 2. They which desire passionately to possess what is another man's. Micah2.i,2. 3. They who with greediness pursue riches, honours, pleasures. Mat. 6. 25- 4. They who are over solicitous, careful, vexed, distracted, disquieted about the purchase of worldly things. Prov. 30. 5. They who having sufficient, still desire more. 2Thes.s.n. 6. They who are idle, and labour not in an honest way to Gen. 47. 3. get the]x living _ 13-25. 7. They who stifle not sin in the conception and birth; 5-13. or, being brought forth, do not mortify and crucify it. Many other offences there are against God's law, but they Catechism of the Church of England. 121 may, either by these general rules, be discovered, or else by the particulars known ; there being very few which will not with ease be reduced to one or other of those heads above mentioned. Some of these are here twice set down, and under divers Commandments, because divines sometimes re- duce them to one Commandment, and sometimes to another. Quest. Whether is a man able of himself to do these duties to God and man ? Answ. No. For, my good child, know this, that thou art not able to do these things of thyself, nor to walk in the Commandments of God, and to serve Him, without His special grace, Here I thought good to insert this discourse about the ability of man to keep God's law. When the young man came to our Saviour to ask Him the way to Heaven, the answer which Christ returned was, " If Mat. 19. 17. thou wilt enter into life, keep the Commandments." And no question, were a man able to keep the way without erring, or stand upright in the way without slipping or falling, this very way would bring a man safe to life. For it was not said in vain, " He that does these things shall live in them." Ezek. 20.13. A hard, narrow, and straight way indeed it is, yet it should 14 f ' " ' be considered, whether out of wilfulness we do not desert it ; and, under pretence of difficulty and disability, take liberty to satisfy our own lusts and affections, and to break asunder those bonds, and cast away those cords, by which the very light of reason (which is a ray of the Divine image shining yet in our souls) would fasten and oblige us. To open this point fully. Man must be considered either as a mere natural man, or as supported by special grace. 1. Let man be considered in the state of nature only; though he cannot shake off sin, that hangs so fast on, nor repress the dominion of it universally, yet he may forbear many evil outward actions in particular, to which he returns " like a dog to his vomit," in which he wallows " as a swine 2 Pet. 2. 22. in the mire." For though inbred concupiscence doth tempt and incline, yet it doth not confine and determine any man to this or that sin in particular ; as to act this murder, this adultery, that theft, that slander, &c. 122 A plain and full Exposition of the The first reason. And this is manifest, because reason in man is natural grace, it being a gracious part in God to make man a reason- able creature : and this light of reason shews that there is somewhat of its own nature, virtuous and just, which is to Rom. 2. 14, be prosecuted ; somewhat vicious and unjust, which is to be avoided, though there never had been any positive law to command the one, or to restrain the other. Were right reason then heard to speak, the outward acts of God's com- mands would not easily be disobeyed. Examine but every precept apart, and the reason of the observance will appear so equal, that it will be no hard matter to judge by what irrational persuasions a man is drawn away from his own power and abilities, as if he were unwilling to use it against his pleasing desires. 1. By the very first Commandment he is enjoined to sub- ject himself to Almighty God as a Superior Power, to serve Him as his Lord, to adore Him as his Maker, to love and honour Him as his Father. There is nothing but corrupt reason that can entice him to the breach of this Command. For let him deliberate with that natural understanding with which God hath endued him, and reason will dictate thus much, that it is both just, safe, and beneficial, that man, being God's subject, servant, child, creature, do render unto his supreme Lord, Master, Father, Creator, fidelity, service, fear, reverence, love, honour. 2. From this step to the next of God's laws. " Thou shalt not make to thyself any graven image, thou shalt not bow down to it, and worship it." What difficulty, what impossi- bility is there in this, that it may not be kept ? For what man, endued only with the light of reason, and is not for- saken of God, will prostrate himself before, and call upon a blind, deaf, dumb, dead stock, far more worthless than the meanest creatures ? who can imagine to represent an infinite essence, and a spirit, by finite and material lines ? which is so far, not only against reason, but even common sense, that Ps. 135. 18. David made it a qumre, whether the idolater or the block to which he boweth, were more senseless. Catechism of the Church of England. 123 3. But sure I am the rash and foolish breach of the third Command, admits no excuse for it, but custom, which aggra- vates all other sins. Pleasure it hath none to speak for it, profit ordinarily it brings none, which are the two great enchanters of mortal men, and advocates for other trans- gressions. Theft gives satisfaction to our needs ; adultery to our lust ; oppression to our ambitious, covetous heart. But this contempt and abuse of God's name, satisfies no sense, advanceth not the estate. Advise then with reason, and she will tell you that there is no reason to be given why any man should take God's name in vain, except he desires to dwell with everlasting burnings. 4. No, nor any reason for the breach of the next; very much for the observation of it. For what burden, what pain, what inconvenience is there in this, to set apart a day to the service of God, and rest from our ordinary labours ? rather what great ease, what equity? God bestows upon us six days, it is but reason then the seventh be His, and that it be a resting day, a holy day, a day of rest, for the content of the servant, and the comfort of the master ; a day of holi- ness, in which both master and servant may tender their de- votions, and express their thanks to their good Lord. Were these dictates of nature well learned, and weighed, all the pretended difficulties of the first table would vanish j and easy it would be to persuade obedience to these whole- some laws. And the self-same fight of nature that persuades to piety, would persuade to justice and charity also. 1. For, do not children receive from their parents their natural life, livelihood, education ? Have they not begotten us, born us, cherished us in our weak and helpless infancy, and bestowed upon us the harvest of their labours, cares, sorrows ? Were this well thought on, it could never be held a burden, that we return unto them due respect, honour, love for love ; since natural reason and affection inclines men to be grateful towards great benefactors. 2. To proceed; remove those following laws, and whose life, whose wife, whose goods, whose good name can be freed from invasion ? He that will not kill, may have a design to do it ; and he that will not defile his neighbour's wife, yet may have a lustful eye. Now all these injuries and desires 124 A plain and full Exposition of the God hath staved off, with His own dictate and maxim of nature, Quod tibi fieri non vis, alteri ne feceris. Kill not, do not covet to kill ; pollute not, do not covet to pollute ; steal not, do not desire to steal ; belie not, do not desire to belie another ; because thou thyself art offended, if another do or covet to do, in any of these, the least wrong unto thee. The sum of all this is, that the commands of the Decalogue are highly consonant to the rule of reason, and for the out- ward acts, and gross breaches thereof, they may be forborne by any man who will hearken to what his reason will teach him. The second reason. This is manifest also, in that the lewdest man attempts not malicious wickedness without some precedent delibera- tion. A debate there is betwixt reason and passion, plea- sure, profit, and the soul, before the consent is gotten ; and reason being overborne by self-love, yields against the evi- dence of conscience; and then follows a free election, and contrivance by what means the plot may be brought to pass. And yet when it comes to the birth, and is ready to be [Ovid Met. delivered, the most wicked man will hold in, and restrain 7. 20.1 himself, put case the eye of some honest Cato, the reverence of some man he honours, some present fear of danger doth overawe him. Why is it else that sin is delayed, sought to be put off to darkness, to corners, and to be acted in another place and time ? This clearly shews that it is more possible for a natural man to keep the outward act of God's commands than he usually doth. The third reason. Lastly, this is evident even by the laws of men, who have set penalties upon those who break the moral law. Now it were unreasonable for a prince to lay a punishment on that crime which is unavoidable. These very penalties, then, sufficiently demonstrate, even in the judgment of men, noto- rious crimes, such as are murders, adulteries, thefts, per- juries, &c, might be avoided by mere natural men, were but the law of reason heard to speak. Thus it is with nature in those actions which are mani- Video me- liora, pro- boque ; deteriora sequor. Catechism of the Church of England. 125 festly ill ; as for those which are good, a possibility there is, even of a mere natural man, to perform many a moral act, which for the substance of the work is simply good, and yet is omitted. Evident it is, that he who is i/ru^Meo?, carnal, may give a cup of cold water to one that belongs to Christ, he may cast two mites into God's treasury, he may give meat to the hungry, and drink to the thirsty ; or he may, if he please, omit it, or deny it. Which, because he could do, and Mat. 25. did not, he is justly condemned. ' 3 ' But what then ! What ? Are the Commandments of God to be kept by a mere natural man ? I say it not. Thus much only; that many outward, scandalous acts may be restrained and forborne; many good actions that are omit- ted, done by observation of the rules of nature. Men, con- sidered as men, may be far better morally than they are; less sinful, more charitable, more just ; though in the inward part and actions of obedience, they will come far short. And this I take to be the meaning of the ancients, Chrys. Basil, August. Hieron. Concil. Araus. c. 25, who with one mouth affirm, Deus non mandat impossibilia, f God com- mands no impossible things ;' and St. Augustine's reason is, quia Justus est, because He is a just God g . He doth not as Pharaoh, require the tale of brick, where He denies the straw. 2. Not without His special grace. You have seen how far the Commandments are possible, and may be kept by a mere moral or natural man. But besides these outward acts, there be many inward, and from both these there issue many other duties, which for many causes may be defective, yea, and will be defective so long as we carry about us this body of sin. There is one per- fection of this life, another of the life to come. Now the law of God expects from us in this life, not absolute perfection but such a perfection as is to be had in this life, which the school calls perfectio viatorum, the perfection of wayfaring B Chrysostom de Pcen. horn. 6. Basil Ben.] Idem, in Psal. 56. § 1. Hieron. in Psal. 113. Aug.de Temp. Serm. 61, Exp. Symb. ad Damasum. [Vallarsii, et 191. [Ed. Ben. vol. 5. App. Serm.236, torn. 11. p. 148.] Concil. Araus. cap. 25. et 273.] Idem de NaturS et Gratia, [Harduin. torn. 2. p. 1101.] cap. 43. [§ 50.] et cap. 69. [§ 83. Ed. 126 A plain and full Exposition of the men, and define it thus h ; when the will of man habitually entertains nothing that is contrary to the love of God. To arrive to this pitch, the power of nature is too weak, it must be attained by the grace, or, as our Catechism hath taught us, by the special grace of God ; for it is peculiar to those who are born again, sanctified by the Spirit of God, cleansed by Christ's blood, engraffed and made partakers of John 15. 4. the Divine Nature. "Without Me," saith our Saviour, "you can do nothing." But with Him, that is, Christ, they may do much ; they may go far, they may walk uprightly and sincerely in this way. Poor and infirm people, that conceive the contrary, have not yielded themselves to be governed by the Spirit of Christ. Would they but make a trial, they should find that true, which St. Paul confessed by experience in himself. He 2 Cor. 12. complained of the " thorn in the flesh," but after he had received "sufficient grace," he confesseth that Christ's "yoke was easy, and His burden light;" that no command was PMi. 4. 13. grievous to him. " I can do all things through Christ that Ps. U9. 32. strengthened me." And David, that was troubled at his slips and falls, yet when God had once set his heart at liberty by this spiritual unction, could run the way of God's Commandments; not walk softly, but run over them with great haste and pleasure. Even as a cart-wheel, that creaks, and complains all the way it goes, under the smallest burden, while it remains dry ; but having some small quantity of oil put to it, runs on merrily, and without any noise : so also he that groans under the burden of God's law, and complains of the weight, of the uneasiness, of the difficulty of it, being suppled with this holy oil, runs on with comfort, and murmurs not. This grace of God in this life, never raiseth the man to perfect, exact, and unsinning obedience ; but it makes him Gal. 6. 15. a " new creature," creates in him a sincere obedience to the whole Gospel, it shuts the door against all temptations and security, sloth, presumption, hypocrisy, partial obedience, and habitual progresses in sin; it teacheth and enables us to. mortify, crucify, and shake off the fruits of the flesh; and upon our fallings, it quickens us to bewail and lament our h Thorn. 2. 2. 44. art. 4. ad seoundam. Catechism of the Church of England. 127 frailties and infirmities; for Christ's sake, of our heavenly Father to beg a pardon, and ever after to reform and amend what is amiss. In this sense a regenerate man, assisted, or rather in- formed by the "special grace of God," may, nay, must walk Lu. 1.74, 75. in the Commandments of God, and serve Him. This is the condition of the second covenant ; and God's grace, shed in a good man's heart, enables to perform it ; which obedience, when it is truly and faithfully done, though mixed with much weakness and imperfection, and many sins, so that they be not leavened with wilfulness and impenitence, God hath pro- mised to accept and crown. For, for our comfort, the law is now in the hand of a Heb. 9. 15. Mediator ; and having the whole in His own hand, He could make what order for it He pleased. Among others, that was one, that if there be in a man a ready will, a man shall " be 2 Cor. 8. 12. accepted according to that he hath, and not according to that he hath not." How kindly did He accept the poor Lu. 21. 2-4. widow's two mites? How candidly did He take Mary's box of spikenard, because that little they did was all they could do ? This Mediator is the man Christ Jesus, and He well re- 1 Tim. 2. 5. members of what mould we are made, and therefore being a compassionate High Priest, He will take all well that is done with an honest and good heart, and intercede for the imperfections. Had there been a bruise in the reed, Moses would have broke it quite ; no more than an ember in the flax, the severe lawgiver would quench that. But He who Heb. 9. 11- 20 * 7 25 hath undertaken to be our Mediator, will not deal so with ' ' us; mediate He will, and strengthen the bruise; plead for He will, and blow up, not blow out this little ember. His hand will not break the one, nor His foot tread out the other. Blessed be God, this is the help those who are " born of the Mat. 12. 20. Spirit," are like to have from the bowels of a Mediator. Now look upon Him as a judge, and then there is great comfort likewise. For howsoever those who are none of Christ's, shall appear and answer at the great tribunal of justice; yet all they that belong to Him shall take their trial at the bar of mercy. Into this court He is pleased to remove, where exalting, or 128 A plain and full Exposition of the rather super-exalting His throne of grace, all His are to answer to these articles. 1. Whether they have hearkened to grace, and have had a care, a respect, an eye, a love to God's Commandments ? 2. Whether their hearts were troubled, that their care was not such as it ought, nor their obedience equal and cor- respondent to their love and desires ? 3. Whether they have not grieved, quenched, done despite to the Spirit of grace ? 4. Lastly, whether they have daily prayed for increase of grace, whether daily for remissions of sins, which was also Dimitte one of the commands of this Mediator, "forgive us our sins, ta nostra, and lead us not into temptation?" And if we can answer with a good conscience to these interrogatories, our desires and endeavours will pass for real performances, our sorrow for not keeping will be accepted, and our asking of pardon, procure and obtain mercy. Quest. How is this special grace and help to be attained ? Coeiiciavis Answ. By prayer; for prayer is the key that opens the gate of Heaven, and moves God to bestow a blessing : Ascendat whence it was, and is good counsel, " let prayer ascend, that descendat grace may descend." And thus much this Catechism inti- mates, warning us at all times to call for this "special grace, by diligent prayer." Quest. Is there any rule and form of prayer prescribed? Lu. ll. 2. Answ. Yes, the Lord's Prayer. When ye pray, say, " Our Father which art in Heaven ;" which command no man can with a good conscience obey, that holds all set forms neces- sary to be cast out of the Church. A prayer it is, full and comprehensive of all we can sue for; enlarge ourselves we may, but more we cannot ask than is comprehended in it. In this, we have not only Christ's name to countenance our suits, but words put into our mouths by Christ to sue in. Cyp. de Arnica et familiaris oratio est Deum de suo rogare ; ad awes ejus ascendere Christi orationem. Agnoscat Pater Filii sui verba, quum precem facimus ; qui habitat intus in pectore, ipse sit et in voce ; et cum ipsum habeamus apud Patrem Ad- vocalum pro peccatis nostris, quando peccatores pro delictis nostris petimus Advocati nostri verba promamus. Catechism of the Church of England. 129 That is, ' It is a grateful, friendly, and familiar prayer to entreat God by that petition He framed ; the prayer that Christ taught ascending to His ears. Let the Father acknow- ledge the words of His own Son when we pray. Let Him who dwells in the heart be in the voice ; and since we have Him an Advocate with the Father for our sins, when we poor sinners ask pardon for our offences, let us produce and send up the words of our Advocate/ This by Tertullian is called legitima oratio, ' the lawful De Orat. prayer/ And the ancients began their liturgy with it, Et c . 9. hdc prcemissd legitima oratione, jus est accidentium desiderio- rum, ' this lawful prayer being premised, a right there was of succeeding petitions/ Quest. ' Let me hear, therefore, if thou canst say the Lord's prayer ?' Answ. " Our Father which art in Heaven," &c. Quest. ' What desirest thou of God in this prayer ?' Answ. The answer in the Catechism is in one continued tenor of words, which I digest into this form. 1. The sum of the preface. 'I desire my Lord God, our Heavenly Father, who is the Giver of all goodness/ 2. The sum of the two first petitions. ' To send His grace unto me and all people, that we may worship Him and serve Him/ 3. The sum of the third petition. ' That we may obey Him as we ought to do/ 4. The sum of the fourth petition. 'And I pray God that He will send us all things needful for our bodies and souls.' 5. The sum of the fifth petition. 'And that He will be merciful unto us, and forgive us our sins/ 6. The sum of the sixth petition. ' And that it will please Him to save and defend us in all dangers, bodily and ghostly, and that He will keep us from all sin and wickedness, and from our ghostly enemy, and from everlasting death/ 7. The sum of the close is this. 'And this I trust He will do of His mercy and goodness, through our Lord Jesus Christ, and therefore I say, Amen. So be it/ Thus far the Catechism; to which I shall make bold to add a few brief notes, for further explication. NICHOLSON, ]£ THE EXPOSITION THIRD PART OF THE CATECHISM, THE LORD'S PRAYER. This Prayer excels all other, not only for the Author, but also because in so short a compass of words it comprehends a Tertuii. de whole sea of matter. Compendiis paucorum verborum quot attinguntur ? edicta Prophetarum, Evangeliorum, Apostolorvm, sermones Domini, parabola, ewempla, prmcepta. It is the breviary or epitome of the whole Book of God. For in this epitome of words, the substance of the Law and Gospel is delivered; our love, with the expressions of our duties inti- mated j good things for ourselves and our brother desired. 1. Honour exhibited, when we call Him Father. 2. Faith in the invocation of His Name. 3. A tender of our obedience in His will. 4. A commemoration of our hope in His kingdom. 5. A petition of life in bread. 6. Confession of sin, in our begging of remission. 7. Our care to avoid temptations, in our request for de- fence and tutelage. That I may say the same over again a little more plainly, observe, I pray, how the body of this Prayer answers to the body of the Law. 1. God is "our Father." Therefore have no other gods. 2. God is " in Heaven." Therefore have no graven image. 3. " Hallowed be His Name." Therefore take it not in vain. isa. 58.13. 4. His "will be done." Therefore not our own, especially on His day. Catechism of the Church of England. 131 5. " Give us our daily bread." Therefore not to take it by killing, stealing, &c. 6. " Lead us not into temptation." Therefore not to tempt ourselves, by suffering our eyes to gaze upon strange flesh, which is an occasion of adultery; or by letting covetous motions enter into our hearts. This is to covet. 7. Trespassers we are all, and therefore had need to pray, "forgive us our trespasses." Docet Dominica Oratio nos esse peccatores, et totam vitam esse pcenitentiam, 'the Lord's Prayer teacheth that we are sinners, and that our whole life ought to be a life of repentance/ In little you see much is comprehended. As for the method of it, it is admirable, and the order wonderful; the petitions being not nakedly set down, but headed with a solemn preface ; not abruptly broken off without a reasonable and most weighty conclusion. On both sides there is a hedge set, to teach us that we break not in upon God irre- verently in our petitions, nor break from Him unmannerly and abruptly. There be of this Prayer rl. The head, preface, or exordium. Three parts < 2. The body, consisting of six petitions. v3. The foot, or conclusion, or doxology. The three first petitions concern God. The three last petitions concern man or ourselves. And by this method we are to learn, that our first and Mat. 6. 33. chief care ought to be the glory of God, the advancement of 01 ' ' His kingdom, and obedience to His will; after which we may petition for ourselves. To which if you annex the doxology, in which we close with God's glory, the observation will be enlarged and strengthened, viz. that the glory of God ought to be our first and our last aim ; for that which concerns us is limited and circumscribed with it. The preface to this Prayer is Our Father which art in Heaven. x , . , rl. The title, "Father." In which we are I . , . f 12. The possessive, " Our Father." V3. The adjunct, " which art in Heaven." k2 132 A plain and full Exposition of the 1. Father. In what sense God is our " Father," and we His children, is expressed before. But this name is by our Saviour made choice of here, because it, of all other, may give encourage- ment to petitioners. To the throne of grace it is they come and ask, on which their Father sits, as the great Master of requests; and what is it that is reasonable and beneficial isa. 65. 24. that a father will deny the son he loves ? Paterni est 14, 15. animi velle subvenire, ' No man so easily entreated as a Lu ii 3 'i8 3 ' father to help a child.' This is our Saviour's argument to encourage us to " ask, seek, and knock." " If you who are evil, give to your children good things, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Spirit to those that ask Him," &c. This name put heart into the prodigal, Luke 15. " I will arise and eo to my father." And what came of it ? 18 20 A pardon granted, and sealed with a kiss. "When his father saw him afar off, he had compassion on him, he ran to meet him, and fell upon his neck and kissed him." But I pray observe, that this prodigal approached not his father's pre- sence without confession and submission ; on which terms if you come, you shall be accepted ; if with an impudent bold- Mai, l. 6. ness, rejected. For as a father's name is a word of love, so it is of reverence also. 2. Our. isa. 64. 8. " Father," is a term of relation ; " our," of appropriation ; Eph. 4. 6. y e t so th a t it intimates a community ; the meaning is, that God is so " our Father," that He is also the Father of all l Pet. 2. 17. our brethren, whom St. Peter charges us to love, " Love the brotherhood." Now this love and charity cannot be better expressed than by a prayer for them. In these our devotions, then, our brethren must not be forgotten. As there is a communion of Saints, so the Saints ought to communicate in each other's prayers. Here we begin with " Our Father," and the petitions that concern ourselves following, are set Mat. 5. 44. down plurally, "Forgive us, lead us not, deliver us:" "us," John 17. 20. others, not me only. In doing this office we shall follow our Saviour's example, and execute St. Paul's injunction, l Tim. 2. i. " Let prayers be made for all men." Catechism of the Church of England. 133 3. Which art in Heaven. By these words we are not to conceive that the infinite essence of God's Majesty can be confined by any limits, no, not of the Heaven itself; for the Heaven of heavens are not 1 Kings able to contain Him. But in Heaven this our Father is said p' s . 139. 8. to be, 1. For the manifestation of His glory to the Saints and Mat. 17. 2, Angels, who enjoy the beatifical vision in that place. 2 Coi. 12. 4. 2. For that His wisdom appears most in the rule of the p^ 1 ^. 2 ' motions of those heavenly bodies, by which all inferiors are i sa - £?■ *> 2 - J ' J Jer. 23. 24. ruled. Ps. 19. 1. 3. For that the gifts we ask and expect come from thence. " Every good gift, and every perfect giving is from above, Jas. 1. 17. and comes down from the Father of lights." 4. For His purity and holiness. No part of the world so 2 Pet. 3. 13. free from impurity and dregs, as the heavens are ; and there- Hab. 2. 20. fore none so fit to be His seat ; a place like Himself. When we say, then, God is in Heaven, it is all one as if we did acknowledge that we meant not for supply of our wants to depend upon any father upon earth, since we have Mat. 23. 9. a Father above, who is of more infinite glory, power, majesty; of greater wisdom, liberality, purity, than any earthly father can be. 1. This clause supplies the deacon's office in the primitive Church, and calls aloud, Sursum corda, ' Lift up your hearts/ Ps. 25. 1. To which we are to answer, Habemus ad Dominum, 'We lift 1 Tim. '2.' 8. them up unto the Lord/ Base thoughts and earthly cogita- tions, become not a son that petitions to a Father in Heaven. The synagogues were placed upon hills ; Sion on a mount, opus est ascensu ad Dominum, intimating that the whole man in his devotions should ascend and approach as near God as is possible. 2. And yet with this cautelous memorandum, that He is in Heaven, and we on earth ; a great distance and disparity there is betwixt us. Homely and familiar behaviour, polluted and unclean lips and hands, do no way become us before so great and sacred a majesty. That though indeed we may Lu. 18. 13. be bold with Him as sons, yet we may not be unmannerly Het>! 12. 28. and saucy, as if we were His fellows and companions. And 1,2, 134 A plain and full Exposition of the I am verily persuaded, that whoso use it, are not truly- sensible, or do not believe that they are in the presence of Eccies. 5. their heavenly Father. Wise Solomon gives this advice, "Be not hasty with thy mouth to speak a word before God:" not a word, no babbling then, no TroXvTwyla, vain repetitions ; and why so ? He is in Heaven, and thou on earth ; therefore let thy words be few. The first petition. Hallowed be Thy Name. The three first petitions are rather acclamations than prayers, in which we absolutely vote for, and to God, with- out any condition or limitation, honour, power, obedience. 1 Pet. 2. 9. And this is votorum caput, the first vote ; because the glory l Cor. i6. 31. an d honour of God is the ultimate end, and therefore must Ps. 96. 8. ]j e ^g gygt } n our intentions. The name of God is the representative of God Himself; and by it His essence, His attributes, His word, any thing by which He is made known to us, and may be honoured by us, is understood. Lev. 19. 2. " Hallowed," that is, sanctified and reverenced. We can Ps! 96. 7, 8. neither add to God's holiness, nor yet take from it ; but we are said to hallow His name, when we acknowledge it, and honour it for such. Therein setting, as it were, a crown of Num. 8. 5, honour and holiness upon the head of God. For, to hallow, Lev! 25. is to set apart a thing from the common use, to some proper 'fox "29 l en< ^ : * na * ** ^ e no * aDUse( l an( l profaned, but holily and l Kings 8. reverently used. [64.] . . Prov. 20.25. This His Name is honoured by our hearts, our mouths, 1 Pet. 3. 15. -, our works. Eom.io.io. 1. By our hearts, when in our very souls we know and acknowledge Him as God. Rom. 15. 6. 2. By our mouths, when we call upon Him, adore Him, praise Him. Mat. 5. 16. 3. In our works and lives, when we live as becomes Christians. " So let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in Heaven." For where this is not done, His Name is Catechism of the Church of England. 135 blasphemed among the Gentiles. Sicut virtutum fama ad Uom. 2. Nominis respondet gloriam, ita male conversantis infamia ad 1 ' J ejusdem Nominis respondet injuriam*. 'As the fame of a virtuous life redounds to the glory of His Name, so doth the infamy of a vicious conversation to the injury of the same Name/ That, then, which we vote here is, 1. That there may be a reverence, awe, a separate respect wrought by His grace in us to His Majesty, His attributes, His works of grace, His word, His Name, His day, and to whatsoever is sacred, or by which He may be known and honoured. 2. That this His Name may be magnified, adored, and advanced through all the world ; and that all our acts of religion, our prayers, our praises, our hymns and liturgies may be useful and beneficial, and effectual for the dispersing His fame and honour. 3. That our lives may be conformable to our religion, and so His Name may be sanctified not only by us, but in us b ; that we may purge out the filth of sin, 1 Pet. 1. and be holy, as He is holy. 4. That the sins of sacrilege, profaneness, idolatry, irre- verence, indevotion, be turned out of the world, and the contrary virtues of piety may be set up, and flourish among men. Let Thy kingdom come. This is the second vote. In which we petition that Satan's Acts 26. is. kingdom may be abolished, and the kingdom of our Lord o1 ' x " 13 ' Jesus Christ advanced. Regnavit diabolus, regnavit pecca- tum, regnavit mors c . ' The devil reigned, sin reigned, and mortal men for a long time were captive.' Here, there- fore, we petition, that God being set upon the throne, the devil may perish, sin may be destroyed, death may die, and captivity may be led captive, that we being freed, may reign to eternal life. • Chrysol. Serm. 69. Orationis Dominicas. b Tertull. [de Orat. c. 3.] Cyprian " Chrysol. Serm. 67. [de Orat. Dom.] Chrysol. in Expos. 136 A plain and full Exposition of the This kingdom of Christ is threefold; of Power, of Grace, of Glory. 1. Of Power. For Heaven is His throne, and earth His Mat. 10. footstool, and His will and providence the law by which all 29 ' 3 °' creatures work ; will they, nill they, subject they must be ; for "the Lord reigneth, be the people," nay, devils them- Ps. 99.1. selves, "never so impatient." In order to this kingdom we pray, Phil. 2. 1. That all angels, men, and creatures, may submit to His command, fiph. l. 2. That His enemies, whether men or devils, may be Col. 2.' is. brought to confusion, and crushed with His rod of f john 9 3 8 i ron > tnat Satan's power be destroyed, sins weakened, ?T'i4 15 schismatics, heretics, hypocrites, and profane persons, 2 Thes. 2. rooted out. Eom°'i4i7. 2. There is also a kingdom of Grace, which our Saviour p& 51 '12.' tells us > " is within us." The Spirit of God is the regent in ^ Cor. 5. 20. ^s kingdom ; the ministers, ambassadors ; the gospel, the Rom. i. n. laws ; the sacraments, the seals ; the discipline of the Church, Ps. 45. 6. the rod ; and all tends to the extirpation of sin, and esta- blishment of righteousness. " The sceptre of Thy kingdom, O Lord, is a right sceptre." In order to this kingdom we pray, 1 . That the Spirit of God may reign in our hearts, and there exercise absolute dominion, casting down every high thought, ruling in the understanding by faith, in the will by charity, in the passions by mortifica- tion, in the whole body by obedience. 2. That there may be in us a ready submission to His ambassadors, His laws, His discipline, and a right use of the Sacraments. 3. That the peace, truth, and glory of the Gospel, may be published and preached through the whole world, making a greater progress, extending itself where it is not, and intended where it is. iwi. 60. 3. 3. There is yet a third kingdom, that of Glory ; in which, John 17. a * Christ's second coming, the subjects of grace shall receive r 2 ' 21 2 10 *^ e Sl° rv prepared for them. Eom. 8. 18. Ttom. 7. 6. Gal. 5. 16. 2 Cor. 10. 5. Eom. 1. 17. Col. 3. 14. Col. 3. 5. Rom. 6. 19. Heb. 13. 17. Catechism of the Church of England. 137 In order to this kingdom we pray, 1. That His kingdom of grace, which hath so much of sin Phil. 1. 23. and infirmity in it, be translated into His kingdom of glory. 2. That the number of the elect being accomplished, the 2 Tim. 4. 8. final dissolution of all things may come, that we may [R e v.6.u.] obtain full salvation and redemption, and enjoy the glory prepared for us. 3. That God would get Himself glory by the final doom p s . 68. 1. and destruction of His enemies. 24, 25, 52-57.' Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven. This is the third vote. And it is a most just request, and well succeeds the former, in that the former will never take effect without this. Equal it is, that if He be our King, we obey His will, without which He will not graciously reign over us. " Not every one that calls Me, Lord, Lord, shall Mat. 7. 21. enter into the kingdom of Heaven, but he that doth the will of My Father which is in Heaven." tv r 1 ' The P etition > " Th y wiU be done " " , , <2. The manner, " In earth as it is in considerable. I „ „ 1. Thy will be done. The will of God is double. ( L T ^ s revealed wilL Signi. (. 2. His secret will. Beneplaciti. Deu. 29. 29. 1 . His revealed will is His word, His commands, whatsoever they are, in the Old or New Testament ; those which belong to faith and manners. In order to this will we pray, 1. That we enquire what the "good and acceptable will Bom. 12. 2. of God is," and make it the rule of all our actions, E ° ph n 4 ; g 4 ' from thence take our advice and counsel, and not Heb - 10 - 7 - from our own corrupt hearts, Ne fiat voluntas carnis, Rom. 13. 14. " Fulfil not the lusts of the flesh." 2. That since we know His will is our sanctification, we 1 Thes. 4. let Him have His will, and be holy, as He is holy. 2. His secret will is that whereby He determines of all events, good or bad ; for there is nothing comes to pass with- out His will. This must not be the rule of our actions, (for it 138 A plain and full Exposition of the [See Job l. is hid from us,) but it is of our sufferings and passions, and 1 Sam. 3.18. to it we are bound to submit, as did St. Paul, that being told io!™.'] 15 ' of bis sufferings at Jerusalem, professed, "that he was not itu~' onl y rea but to die for it " To wnicQ tne Church submits, saying, "the will of the Lord be done:" Lu. 22. 42. and so our Saviour, " not My will, but Thine be done." 2. In earth as it is in Heaven. This is the manner how His revealed will must be done by us, and His secret will submitted to, when He will have it done by us, after an angelical pattern ; and if so done, it will be, Ps. 119. lc, 1. Cheerfully, without grudging and murmuring. Lu. 19. 6. 2. Readily, without let or delay. 28^29." 8. Sincerely, without hypocrisy and doubling. pf n9 9 ii2 4 ' Constantl y> without flitting. Ps. 119. 6. 5. Wholly and universally, without choosing and ex- Luke 1. 6. Eom.i2.i8. ceptmg. Acts 2.V *" 6. Harmoniously, peaceably, and in much unity, not griev- ing, envying, afflicting, or persecuting a fellow-servant. It is well observed, that these three votes are addressed to God by way of adoration. In the first, the soul puts on the affections o£.a child, that regards the father's interest, honour, and glory. In the second, the duty of a subject to his legiti- mate prince, seeking the promotion of his regal power. In the third, the affection of a spouse, that submits and conforms to her husband's will, loving what he loves, and choosing what he makes choice of a . Give us this day our daily bread. Those petitions now follow that concern ourselves and our profit. God's three stand first, as in reason they ought: Mat. 6. 33. For " seek first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness ;" and now our three follow, which will also declare our depend- ance upon Him. Mat. 6. 30, 1. By asking of Him our daily bread, we shew that we depend upon His fatherly providence for our livelihood. d Dr. Taylor, Life of Christ, Part 2. Disc. 2. [vol. 3. p. 75. Ed. Heb.] Catechism of the Church of England. 139 2. By suing for remission, we depend upon His mere Eph. 2. 4,5. mercy for our pardon and forgiveness of our sins. 3. By seeking freedom from temptations, that we depend 1 Cor.10.13. upon His power and might to resist the devil and his evil Mat. 26. ii. motions. Every man consists of a body and a soul: the soul, the better part, is least looked after, the body is most set by ; in which our Saviour graciously condescends to our weak dis- positions, and indulges that we ask first for the necessities of that part we love best, desire necessary things for this body, bread to eat, and clothes to put on, before that which more nearly concerns us, remission of sin, and liberty from evil, and temptations. It is His meaning by the gift of these to allure us the Gen. 28. 20. more to ask, and be more earnest for heavenly and spiritual gifts, and to conceive we shall not be denied, since He that bestows the less, will not deny that which is more necessary Acts 14. for us. That which we ask here is bread, but by it we are to understand all competent means and outward blessings that shall be meet for our necessity, for our Christian and sober delight ; as health, wealth, food, raiment, physic, sleep, Prov. 27. peace, seasonable weather, whatsoever we shall need all Lam. 5. 9. j Prov. 31. our days. 14 1. The Person to whom we come and ask is our heavenly Father; Him we are to entreat. Give, good Father, give, bestow, continue, and prosper. 2. The persons for whom we ask, "us." Not to me alone, but others also. 3. The matter for which we petition. "Bread," which hath here three limitations : 1. " Our bread," that which we may have right to. 2. iiriovcriov, that which we need, or cannot be without ; otiata, our substance will decay without it : or else ewiovGvov, that which, hriovat)';, is necessary for that day which is after this; which we have need of all our lives. 3. "This day:" yet, good Father, this day bestow the present part. " Give." That teacheth us how to esteem of the things of Hos. 2. 8, 9. 140 A plain and full Exposition of the Ps. 104 27. this world, not as our own acquisitions ; but as deodates, gifts given by God to our prayers, and honest endeavours. Blessings these are that come from above. Job 31. "Us." Bids us be charitable in our petitions and dis- Ezek°'i8.7. tributions of our bread; we ask not only for ourselves, and then may not keep all to ourselves. Prov. 30. " Bread." Is but simple fare, and intimates that we be 8 9 . . content with a little. Prov.20.i7. "Our." And yet how little soever this bread is, it must 2 Thes.3.i2. be our own bread, not stolen bread, no bread of deceit, not taken out of another's mouth. Prov. 25.16. "Daily bread." Bread instantly necessary; such pro- vision, or such a proportion thereof, as all our lives shall best agree to our condition, and as is fit for our charge and calling, l Tim. 6. 8. " This day." Not month or year : this teacheth us to 31-34. restrain our care, and not to reach it too far; though we J s.37.3, . k aye ft f l0C n e) this day, only enough from hand to mouth, yet we pine not away with an immoderate anxiety and vexation of getting more. So that the meaning of this petition is, Prov. 30. 1. That we beseech God to take us into His fatherly care, Gen. 28. 20. and distribute unto us this day, daily, or day by day, that Ps! 37. 5. which shall be sufficient, necessary or proportionable to the remainder of our lives, l Kings 2. Yet so, that we expect not, that He feed us, as He gave Ex. 6 i6. 14 bread to Elijah, or feed us immediately from Heaven, as He Lute n. 9. did Israel in the wilderness ; but that He give it by those p s n J28. i.' means by which He had appointed us to receive it, that is, upon prayer and honest labour. iThes.4ii. 3. That He bless it to us when He hath given it, make us A C a tsi8. 3. content with it, and make it to us the staff of bread. "For Prov.i'o 6 22 man ^ ves not ky bread only, but by every word that pro- isa. 3. i. ceeds out of the mouth of God." Dan. 1. 13-15. 4. But besides this ordinary bread, there is bread that John G. 27.' came down from Heaven, I mean Christ and His benefits, represented, sealed, and exhibited to us in the Sacrament; this we are to desire, this to entreat God to give; for the other will perish, but this will nourish our souls to eternal Catechism of the Church of England. 141 life. And to this purpose Tertullian, Cyprian, and Chry- sologus interpret the petition loc cit. though they mention the former sense also e . Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive them that trespass against us. This petition well succeeds the other, hecause if not obtained, the other will not be granted, or if granted, will prove no blessing. God gave Israel quails at their request, but while the quails were yet " in their mouths, the heavy Ps. 78. wrath of God fell upon, and slew them, and smote down the j^. 4.' 2, 3. chosen men that were in Israel." While a man then is in Hos - 13- 11- his sin, either he asks and hath not, or else God hears and gives in anger, and so he is not much the better. If therefore you intend to have bread, and the staff of bread, humbly beg Forgive us our trespasses. 1. To forgive, is to absolve and free from guilt and punishment. 2. Trespasses are all manner of offences, which in the Greek are styled ofa/Xtf/Mara, debts. For so is every sin a Gal. 5. s. debt, and every man a debtor. Bound he is to God in a Mat ' 18, 24 " duty of obedience, which because he pays not, he is bound to suffer the penalty, and were it not that God for Christ's sake did freely remit and forgive it, he must lie in the prison R 0m . 6. 23. of hell till he pay the utmost farthing. Two things are here implied. 1. A free and humble confession \ Originally. Ps.51. 3-5. that we are debtors, ) Actually. 2. That we are utterly unable to make satisfaction. Mic. 6. 6,7. And therefore we pray to God to remit and forgive ; it is r^. 3. 23 only a free pardon that can do us good ; for if He exact the |j^ t 6 14 debt, we are utterly undone. 15. Only with this proviso, that this pardon may be as free Mat. 18. and full to us as the pardon we give to our brother that hath offended us. * [Tertull. de Orat. c. 6. Cyprian and Chrysolog. de Orat. Dom.] 142 A plain and full Exposition of the Forgive as we forgive, fyc. Which is a necessary qualification to make us capable of pardon at God's hand, and teacheth us charity when we Mat. g. i5 ; pray; for "if you will not forgive men their trespasses, 18 ' 35 " neither will your heavenly Father forgive you your tres- passes." Forgive as we forgive, sets limits, bounds, and stint to the pardon. Tantum, quantum. Excellently Chrysologus, Serm. 67. Quantum vis dimitti tibi, dimitte tantum ; quoties vis dimitti tibi, toties tu dimitte; imo quia vis totum dimitti tibi, totum dimitte : homo intellige, quia remittendo aliis, tu tibi veniam dedisti. As much as thou desirest to be forgiven, forgive so much ; as often as thou desirest to be forgiven, forgive so often; yea, because thou desirest the whole be forgiven thee, forgive the whole. O man know, that by pardoning others, thou hast obtained pardon for thyself. The full explanation of this petition is in the Article of the Creed. I believe the remission of sins. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. God's children having obtained forgiveness of sins, and so [being] admitted to favour, have yet store of enemies; the devil, the world, and the flesh, which will be tempting to evil. 1. By temptation is meant all allurements of pleasure, of profit, of adversity, detriment, or danger, that may occasion our fall into sin. 2. To bring, or lead into it, or make to enter, is, to occa- Deu. 8. sion our entering, by which we should be so entangled, that Pr'ov. 30. we know no way out ; and this God may do by sending an 8 ' 9- extraordinary measure of prosperity or adversity. 2 Cor. 12. 7. Also by letting loose " Satan to buffet us ;" or by leaving 2 Chron! men *° themselves, having withdrawn His grace. 32 - 3L sProbationis. Of trial, pro- There is a double temptation. 1 . '. j Seauctionis. Of seduction, V ruin. 1. The first way God is said to tempt, that is, to try and prove His children; and this is done in mercy and love, Gen. 22. either to make trial of their faith, as in Abraham: or of their i, 2. Catechism of the Church of England. 143 patience, as in Job ; or to shew the perfection of His grace, Job 1. 11, as in St. Paul ; or to conform them unto Christ, whose steps 2 Cor. 12. they must follow. Compare their temptation to a fire which ^ 8 29 burns out dross and corruption, and makes the metal the purer, and so God may be said to tempt. " I will sit as a Mai. 3. 3. refiner, and a purifier of silver ;" because by this fiery trial the virtues of His children are made the clearer, their vicious inclinations being separated and removed. " When He hath Job 23. 10. tried me, I shall come forth as gold." Now take temptations for trials and probations of our faith, love, patience, or other virtues, then we simply and absolutely ask not of God that we may be freed. Enemies we have without and within ; without the prince of darkness, 2 Cor. 7. 5. within our own fleshly lusts ; fly then we must not, or Eph. 6. 11, decline the encounter, but hold it a favour to be drawn out against them. By their assaults God intends to try our valour, and how we will stick to Him. To this purpose St. James encourageth us ; " My brethren, count it exceed- 3aa. 1. 2. ing joy when ye fall into temptation." 2. But there is another temptation j a temptation to Lu. 22. 31. seduce, to overcome, to destroy, and undo us; and against this we here pray. " Lead us not," or as Cyprian reads it, Ne patiaris induci 1 , good Father, suffer us not to be led into that temptation by which we may be overcome. This pro- ceeds from evil, from which we beg of God to be freed in the next clause. Deliver us from evil. By evil some understand, 1. The evil one, Satan, the contriver, artificer, that great Eph. 6. 16. engineer or tempter of, and to all evil. 2 Cor. 2. ill 2. Others, the evil of sin. Rom. 7. 19, 21 23 24. 3. The temptation of our own heart and lusts. p s '. 19! 13. 4. The temptation by evil enemies or the world. Jas ' L " 14 ' 5. The evil that follows these, eternal death. f^M-ih ' . 1 Joh. 2. 16. All may be well understood ; and then the sense will be, [Gal. 1. 4.] an humble petition to God to free us from the power of the wicked one, from returning to our vomit, from the sugges- ' [De Orat, Dom.] So Tertullian interprets it, Ne patiaris induci. [De Orat. c. 8.] 144 A plain and full Exposition of the tions and corruptions of our own hearts, from the designs of worldly enemies, and from the consequent of these, damna- tion. More particularly we pray, Zecii.3.1,2. 1- That God would set limits to Satan, and restrain his Rev! 12. 18 ' fruy* ^at ne never have his will upon us. \ io. 2. That He never so far take away His Holy Spirit, or Ps. 51.' li. withdraw His grace, that we he left in the hand of our own Rom. i. 26. counsels, and delivered up to our lusts, so that we cannot extricate ourselves. 2 Thes. 2. 3. That we may be delivered from obduration or hardness Ex. 10. 27. °f heart > the nearest step to eternal pain ; from which, Epk- 4- " Good Lord deliver us." Heb. 3. 13. Which because it is an act of power, therefore our Saviour hath taught us to pray in this form, 'Pvaai rifia*}, Evehe nos a, malo g . Lu. l. 74. " Deliver us," for it is a deliverance, a forcible rescuing of 2 Cor. 3. 5. our corrupt nature, which is not able, nor willing to help us out of these dangers. Rom. n. Lest any man should be insolent, proud, and arrogate too l Cor. io. much to himself, and rely upon his own strength, we are ad- Phii 2. monished of our own weakness and disability) Christ here 12 > 13 - sets us to pray to Him that is only able to deliver us; and so Mark 14 again, " Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation ; the spirit indeed is ready, but the flesh is weak." As in the former of the petitions,, there was an eye unto God's glory, so in these three last is there a respect to our own wants. In the first of which the soul puts on the affection of a poor indigent beggar. In the second, of a delinquent, but penitent servant. In the third, of a person in affliction or danger 11 . For Thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory, for ever. Gal. 3. 1-3. To begin well in any Christian duty, be it prayer itself, or to proceed in devotion, is not sufficient, except we end well too. And therefore here we are not taught only what to S [Tertull. De Orat. c. 8.] Part 2. Disc. 12. vol. 3. p. 79. Ed. " Dr. Taylor, loc. cit. [Life of Christ, Heb.] Catechism of the Church of England. 145 ask of God, but how to part from Him also, after we have made our request in a reverent manner. To attribute much Eev. 4. 11 ; to Him who gives all to us : that majesty, that power, that ' ' glory, that eternity is His. And indeed the acknowledgment of these is a principal motive to our prayers, and gives life, and puts spirit in them. So many props they are to our faith, and so many assurances that we shall be heard. 1. The Kingdom. 1. The first reason we petition to Him is, because the Ps. 10. Kingdom is His, He is the great King of all the earth. For a good and loving king is kind to his subjects, and easy to be entreated. He is Abimelech ; a father's heart he puts on, carries the people in his bosom, and is ready to ask upon any grievance, Quid populo, ut fleat? 'What ails the people iSam.n.5, to complain, that they weep ?' It will grieve him to see 22. nf them scattered upon the mountains ; grieve him to behold \^^j -> them consumed with a plague. These are the bowels of a good king, and can we expect less freedom from God, than man can look for from man ? The strength then of the reason lies thus : Thou, O Lord, art the best King of all, and we are Thy distressed subjects, who crave at Thy hands things needful for us, and our welfare : Thou wilt not, we hope, be more hard to us than good kings are to their people : they sit in the gate, receive, hear, grant their requests, and therefore we are animated to come to Thy throne and ask, being fully persuaded that Thou 2 Sam. wilt be entreated by us, because "Thine is the kingdom." ' " ' 2. The Power. The second reason is drawn from the Power of God. It were to no purpose to come and ask of him that is not able to bestow what we seek for. For be the will never so ready, lu. 2. 14 yet where ability is wanting, the petitioner shall be never j^Wf' the better. Now of His will we are assured, in that this King is our Father; nothing then can hinder so kind a nature from doing His dearest subjects and children good, but want of power ; which because He wants not, He cannot, He will not be wanting to us. In Him is omnipotency, and NICHOLSON. T, 146 A plain and full Exposition of the Gen. 17. i. all-sufficiency, He is the fountain of grace and strength; so 20, 21. that he that cannot rely upon Him for what is necessary for this life and another, doth as good as reproach Him, when he acknowledgeth, " Thine is the Power." 3. Thine is the Glory. The third thing that animates our prayers, is God's Glory ; this is so proper unto Him, that He will not part with it : isa. 42. "My Glory I will not give to another;" and plain He makes Ex. 14. 17. i^ that by honouring those that honour Him, and bringing down those that would abase Him, He aims at no one thing isa. 5. 16. so. much as to get. a name, to be exalted, to be glorified'. Now it makes much for His glory, that when a company of unworthy wretches, that can claim nothing at His hands, i Kings 8. shall join to petition His majesty, He will hear in Heaven, do, and grant what, were it not to set forth His glory, He Josh. 10. 12. never would. It was for His glory that Joshua's prayer Ex. 32. stayed the sun ; it was for His glory that Moses's prayer Ja ~ 5 ' turned away His wrath. It was for His glory that Elias' 17, 18. players caused a drought, and after three years brought isa. 37. down showers of rain. It was for His glory that Hezekiah's prayer brought down an Angel to destroy a whole army of Assyrians. The petitions He ever performed! to any of His saints, redound to His glory, and stand in His. book to His eternal glory. When therefore we put Him in mind of His glory, we have little cause to doubt of audiencej because we do, as it were contest, and strive, and wrestle with Him in Gen. 32. 26. our prayer by that He loves, and we need not fear, if it 15-19. ' be for His glory, but that it shall be granted. The strength then of the argument lies thus : We know, O Lord, that Thou art regardful to Thy glory above all things: and Thy glory it is, that we Thy humble petitioners at Thy feet aim at above all things. What an honour will it be to Thy Majesty to feed us, that deserve it not ; to clothe us, that earn it not; to forgive us, that are worthy of noi pardon;, to give us grace, that are ungracious, and unprofitable ser- vants; to get Thyself honour upon those that dishonour Thy Name, and refuse to do Thy will, and to shew Thyself a King against rebellious subjects ? And therefore we doubt, not but Thou wilt grant what shall so much redound to Thy Catechism of the Church of England. 147 glory. These things, good Father, if Thou wilt give and grant, as it is meet and right, and our bounden duty to pray for, then for all that we are, and all that we have, we will " laud and magnify Thy holy Name, evermore praising Thee, Isa. 6. 3. and saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of hosts ; . Heaven and earth are full of Thy glory." " Glory be to Thee, O Ps. 115. l. Lord, Most High." And, indeed, he must be a proud and unworthy wretch, who, when the works of God pass through his hands, will have some part of the glory stick to his own fingers. 4. Eh alavas. In scecula. For ever. " For ever," because His mercy endures for ever, as doth Ps. 136. 3 * ' Ex. 3. 14. His essence and being: or in stscula, in ages, that is, eternity ; and thereby is put another difference between the kingdom, Dan. 2.44; power, and glory of God, which is eternal, without beginning, iTiin.1.17. without end, and that of princes, whose kingdom, power, Dan. 4. 25. and glory, fades away. And this meditation, that He is Rex in seeculum, a King [Ps. 29. 9.] for ever, doth much animate and encourage our prayers also. Were He not " the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever," we Heb. 13. 8. should have cold comfort from a precedent example in our petitions. The prayer of Elijah, proposed by St. James, [jas. 5. would put little heart into our orisons ; and the audience ' ' J given to any of the Saints, were but a weak motive to fire our hearts and lips, did we serve a mutable and a mortal God. But in that He is Tu idem, the same He was, and semper Heb. 1. 12. idem, always the same He was, is a great comfort to us poor Nu " 23- 19- suitors. Merciful He was to those that were subject to the j as . 5. n. same passions that we are ; a propitious ear He lent to those who were compassed about with the like infirmities that we are, and therefore let us boldly approach the throne of grace, Heb. 4. 16. assuring ourselves that we may speed as well as they did. By faith we are encouraged, and may be persuaded that we may be heard no less than if Phineas, Elias, Peter, or Heb. 10. 22. Paul, should present the petition. They brought no more dSl'9. 7 8. merits to speak for them than we can : zealy and faith, and repentance, and a sincere heart, they took along with them, with a memorial of God's mercies, Solius misericordiam. ' I [p s .7i.i6.] will make mention of Thy righteousness only/ Their con- Isa- 63- 7 - l2 148 A plain and full Exposition of the fidence was, that it was the same pitiful God that had heard poor sinners before they were born, and would hear poor sinners to the end of the world. And this may be ours, for Vs. 65. 2. He is that self-same God, Qui audit precem, that hearS prayers : let all flesh come to Him as they did, and they shall be heard as they were. For ever a King, and so obliged to help His subjects ; for ever a Potentate, and so able to do His good ; and the granting our petitions is for [Joh. 14. His eternal glory and praise. Whereupon we may conclude, '■' that this mighty and everlasting Father can, and for His own glory will, grant what shall be necessary and beneficial 2 Cor. 12. for us. Always He will hear and do, Licet non ad voluntatem, p's. 34. io. tamen ad salutem, though not always according to our wish, Rom. 8. 32. ^^ an( j [Comp. Homilies, p. 324. Ed. p. 412. Ed. Ben.] Examen pacifique, 1832.] Catechism of the Church of England. 151 Now these two our Saviour only instituted, that the number of the Sacraments of the Gospel might correspond to the two of the Law, Circumcision and the Passover ; or Gen. 17. rather because these two are sufficient. No man requires e x . \% 3. more in any profession, than that he may be entered into it, and be consummate in it. To which ends these two will suffice. 1. By Baptism, we have our admission and entrance into Acts 2. 38. the Church • it is the laver of regeneration, by it we are new Eph. 5. 26. born : nascimur. 2. By the Lord's Supper, we are nourished, preserved, and Joh.6.50,51. grown up in Christ after we are re-born: pascimur. I sees^ng,' no reason, then, why we should not content ourselves with 17 ^ these two. 2. Generally necessary to salvation. That is, which all men ought to receive who desire to John 3. 5. attain salvation; c which is not so to be understood, as if God could not save without them; but that they are the means instrumental, and ordinary seals, by which God hath promised to convey and assure Christ's merits unto us, and commanded us this way to receive them ; so that wilfully to neglect them, or to want them, when they may be had, is to cast aside God's ordinance. That there is a necessity for a Christian to be obedient to God's command, no man can deny; since then He hath commanded that we receive them who dares say that they are not necessary. But this is not the sole necessity ; if we shall reflect upon our own condition, there will be found other necessities in them. 1. They serve as marks to separate those of God's house- Gen. n. 11. hold from strangers. 2. They are bonds of obedience, strict obligations of Gal. 3.1. mutual charity, provocations to piety, preservatives against x Cor. 11. sin, memorials of the principal benefits of Christ. 24; 10- 17- 3. They are visible marks by which God gives notice of John 5. 4. His approach, and purposeth to impart the vital or saving am ' grace of Christ to all that are capable thereof. c Perkins. Order of the causes of Salvation and Damnation, cap. 32. 152 A plain and full Exposition of the Acts 8. 37. 4. They are conditional means, which God requires to be observed of them unto whom He imparts grace. Which grace a worthy receiver partakes of, not from any natural or supernatural quality in the Sacrament, but from God Himself which is the Author of the Sacraments ; it is re- ceived from Him, and not from them. I shall here make use of that excellent observation of judi- cious Mr. Hooker. "This is the necessity of Sacraments; " that saving grace which Christ originally is, or hath for " the general good of His whole Church, by Sacraments He " severally derives into every member thereof. Sacraments " serve as the instruments of God to that end and purpose ; " moral instruments, the use whereof is in our hands, the " effect in His ; for the use we have His express command- " ment ; for the effect His conditional promise ; so that " without our obedience to the one, there is of the other no " apparent assurance ; as contrariwise where the signs and " Sacraments of His grace are not either through contempt " unreceived, or not received with contempt, we are not to " doubt, but that they really give what they promise, and " are what they signify A ." Quest. ' What meanest thou by the word Sacrament ?' Answ. ' I mean an outward and visible sign, of an inward and spiritual grace given unto us, ordained by Christ Him- self, as a means whereby we receive the same, and a pledge to assure us thereof.' 1. Of the word Sacrament. This word Sacrament among the Romans was taken in three senses : 1. Pro litis pignore, for an engagement a man gave at law to answer the action. 2. For an oath given by the soldier to the general not to desert him. 3. For a military note, or pro tesserd militari, by which they were distinguished. Now from one of these, or all these, the word might be brought into the Church by an analogy ; for the Sacraments may be said to be, d Hooker, Eccles. Pol. b. v. ch. 57. [§ 5. ed. Keble.] Catechism of the Church of England. 153 1. Pignora, pawns and assurances on God's part to us, to perform His covenant, and bestow grace. 2. Signa juratoria, on our part ; by which we bind our- selves to keep our covenant, vow, and word with God. 3. Or else tessera, notes and marks by which we are separate from all other, who are not Christians. 2. A Sacrament is a visible sign, fyc. In this answer every word is to be well weighed, since by it we shall come to the true knowledge of a Sacrament, reflecting on the causes. We have here mention of, 1. The matter of a Sacrament, that whereof they, out- wardly consist, and the secret grace which is repre- sented. For it is a 'visible sign of an invisible grace.' 2. The essential form, consisting in that relation, which that sign hath to grace, or grace to that sign, which generally ariseth not out of the elements themselves, but from the institution; so it was 'ordained.' 3. The efficient cause, or who it was thus ordained them ; it was Christ. ' Ordained by Christ Himself.' 4. The end or final cause. 1. 'To be a means whereby we receive grace.' 2. 'To be a pledge to assure us thereof.' 1. Of the matter of the Sacrament, that which is visible and invisible. It was long since said by Irenseus, that the Eucharist did consist of two parts, the one earthly, the other heavenly e ; to which all posterity hath assented, with one voice testifying that in the Sacrament there be signs and things. A sign is that which presents itself to the sense, and some- what else to the understanding : as the rainbow is a sign in heaven presented to the eye, but another thing is thereby presented to the mind, viz. God's covenant no more to [Gen. 9. destroy the earth by water. The sign is outward and visible, 13 ' 17 '-' not a man but sees that ; the covenant is invisible, and he only knows it, and believes it, who out of the book of God is taught why it was there set. For naturally it is not such, ■ Lib. i. cap. 34. 154 A plain and full Exposition of the but given and set in the clouds to be such. To apply this to the Sacraments. Signs we have here, bread, wine, water, which are outward and visible things, no eye but sees them. But these are resemblances of higher things, to wit, of some special favour, spiritual grace and treasure, that is bestowed upon us by God. Which grace they naturally represent not, but were imposed and ordained by God to that purpose. Which grace is no way discerned by the eye of man, and therefore we call it invisible; but is represented, and by these signs sealed unto the soul, and therefore we call it spiritual. The grace itself in one word is, the whole obedience, merit, death, and passion, of our Saviour; and the benefits 1 Cor. l. 30. that flow from thence, justification, wisdom, sanctification, redemption. 1. His justice, by which we are made righteous, forgiven, absolved. 2. His wisdom, by which we are made wise to salvation. 3. His sanctification; for by the power of His Spirit we die to sin, and live to righteousness. 4. Redemption, by which we are redeemed from sin, [Rom. 8. 23. death, and hell, and shall be estated in glory, when the day p ' '- 1 of full redemption shall come. This grace is altogether inward, it is spiritual; the soul only of him that hath it sealed to him is conscious to it ; but outwardly and visibly it is conveyed unto him by these external elements, symbols, and signs, or images. 2. Of the form of the Sacrament ordained. The form of the Sacrament consists in relation, which is a mutual respect betwixt the sign and the thing signified; such as is between the father and his son, the master and his scholar, the husband and the wife ; for in these there is such a mutual union and reference of one to the other, that the one term being removed, the other is removed also ; for she is no wife that hath not a husband, nor he no husband that hath not a wife ; they stand and fall together. It is so in this case, take away the signs and there will be no Sacra- Catechism of the Church of England. 155 ment; and take away the thing signified, though the out- ward signs be there, yet they represent and seal nothing. The reason is because both want that to which they re- late. The relation then is the mystical union and conjunc- tion of these two, which is neither natural, nor local, nor yet corporal, but merely sacramental ; of which, if you shall ask a reason, no other can be given, but because Christ hath or- dained it should be so. For the Sacraments are that alto- gether, and nothing else, which God by the word of His divine institution doth testify He will have them to be. As therefore our union with Christ is wholly mystical, so also in Eph. 5. 32. the Sacrament the union of the things with the signs is altogether mystical and spiritual, and depends merely upon Christ the ordainer's will and counsel. 3. Of the efficient came of the Sacrament ordained by Christ. The author of the Sacrament is God alone, and that one Mediator betwixt God and man, Jesus Christ : the reason is [l Tim. ... 251 evident, because He hath right only to institute a Sacrament Mat. 26. 26; who can bestow those graces that are sealed to worthy \%l®'u. receivers in the Sacrament, and can withhold them, and 23 - punish unworthy receivers; which, because it appertains to God alone, He and no other must be the ordainer of it. The old rule is immoveable and true, Nihil habere ratio- nem Sacramenti extra usum a Deo institutum. ' Nothing can be accounted for a Sacrament beyond the use ordained by God. 5 1. ' As a means whereby we receive the same grace.' 2. ' As a pledge to assure us thereof. 5 4. The end of the Sacrament. rl. represent. The Sacraments < 2. exhibit. 1.3. seal. 1. They represent and set before our eyes under corporal and visible elements what Christ hath done for us. For example, the bread broken, Christ's Body crucified ; and the i Cor. n. wine poured out, His Blood shed for us. And in this respect they are called signs and monuments of His love ; signs of heavenly things. 156 A plain and full Exposition of the 2. But this is not all, for they exhibit also. In them that grace is truly given, which by the signs is represented. All indeed receive not the grace of God that receive the Sacra- ments of grace. But by them grace is oifered to all the Church, though exhibited only to the faithful; for upon the performance of this order He actually makes over and con- veys so much grace and favour unto us as at that time is Luke 22. useful for us : such is pardon of sin, reconciliation to, and 19 20 Titus 3. 5. acceptance of, our persons, strength to do what He requires ; of all which the Sacrament is a means, canalis gratia, 'the conduit-pipe of grace/ 3. They are pledges to assure us of this grace. For the Sacrament is as it were a pawn left us by God in the hand of the minister, to give us acquiescence and ground of confi- dence that the graces promised shall be surely performed. Of Rom. 4. n. which that we doubt the less, it is called a seal. For God, 12T3. ' ' not content with the general offer of His promises, out of His mere mercy hath thought fit to seal them to every par- ticular believer, having a regard thereby to their infirmity. In an indenture we have the conditions agreed upon betwixt both parties set forth and represented, after sealed and delivered. A covenant God hath made with man for salva- tion and for grace, without which salvation cannot be had ; and by the Sacrament it hath pleased Him, as in a fair deed to represent it, to convey and make it over, to seal and deliver it unto us. But this representation, and exhibition of that grace here signified, must not be referred to the eye of the body, but to the soul of the believer, since it is spiritual. And spiritual we call it for two reasons : 1. First, because of the Author, the Holy Spirit, that by a secret and wonderful operation brings to pass that the virtue of the Blood and merit of Christ, by the intervening of the flesh, sacramentally communicated to us, should pierce even to our souls. 2. Secondly, because faith, the instrument by which we receive the seal of the covenant, is a gift of the Spirit, which by apprehending and applying, unites the signs and the things signified, which in their own nature are far dis- sonant. Catechism of the Church of England. 157 Quest. 'How many parts be there of a Sacrament? Answ. Two ; the outward and visible sign, and the inward spiritual grace/ This answer may be understood partly by what hath been said, and partly by what shall be said here- after. Of Baptism. Quest. 'What is the outward visible sign or form in Bap- tism? Answ. 1. Water. 2. Wherein the person baptized is dipped, or sprinkled with it. 3. In the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost/ "1. The matter of Baptism ; water. 2. The ceremony ; dipping or sprinkling. 3. The form; 'In the Name of the Father,' &c. Three things are here to be considered in* this answer. 1. Water. Baptism is the door by which all enter into the visible l Cor.12.13. Church, and is therefore administered to beginners in Chris- tianity, who are to be initiated by water. For in that ele- Mark 16.16. ment only the baptized person is to be washed. The Scrip- Mat. r '3. - 6. tures and practice for this are so evident that it cannot be gainsayed. The end is, to wash away sin. Now in sin there be these Acts 22. 16. two, reatus et macula ; 'the guilt and the soil or spot ■' the Rom. 6. 23. guilt to which punishment is due; the spot, by which we grow loathsome in the eyes of God. Ezek. 16. The scruple then here is, how water can wash away the L "-* spots of sin ? To clear it in brief; the truth is it could not, it is no water-work, no, not if you put to it nitre, much soap, fuller's earth, or the herb borith ; all will not do, the j er . 2. 22. soil will not off so. Blood must be put to it, the Blood of the Heb. 9. Son of God, of which this water is but an outward sign ; and 12 ' 14 ' 22 ' that alone hath an efficacy to purge from sin and unclean- Mat. 20. 28. ness. This blood is Xvrpov, a ransom and price sufficient to n£™£ i^ 6 " 45.] 158 A plain and full Exposition of the Tit. 3. 5. remove the guilt and punishment, and it is \ovrpbv, a laver 'to wash away the soil and spot. 2. Wherein the person baptized is dipped, or sprinkled with it. The ceremony here used is < ' "? °' l sprinkling \ Our Church then makes the action indifferent ; whether it be immersio or aspersio, dipping or sprinkling, is left to dis- l Pet. l. 2. cretion 8 ; for neither are essential to Baptism, but belonging 'to the ceremony of it, and therefore are to be regulated by charity. Rom. 6. 3, 4. 1. Diving or dipping best represents our burial to sin and 'rising to a new life, and was at first in use in warmer countries, when the greatest part who were baptized were adulti, or grown in years. 2. But when the Gospel was spread into colder regions, Ezek. 36.25. sprinkling instead of dipping was thought sufficient; to 18™9. ' which that place of the Hebrews gives countenance, where Heb.i2.24; mention is made of the "Blood of Christ," and the "Blood of lPet. l. 2. sprinkling;" and again, "sprinkling of the Blood of Jesus Christ." And indeed I see no reason, that as in the other Sacrament a spoonful of wine is as significative as a greater quantity, so here a handful of water should not be as signi- ficative as a whole river. Farther; this custom of sprinkling is of great antiquity in the Church, as appears by the seventy-sixth Epistle of Cyprian h , the latter part of which is written in the defence of it. Tertullian also, speaking of Baptism, calls it aquce unam asperginem, 'the one sprinkling of water'.' And' Gregory the First acknowledgeth that it was in use in the Western Church k . There are who conceive probably that the Apostles themselves used sprinkling as well as dipping, Acts io. 47. since we read of some baptized by them in houses as well as fl6. 33.1 L J rivers. f Vide Cypr. Epist. 76. ad Mag- > De Poenitent. cap. 6. . num. [69. Ed. Fell.] ' [Greg. Magn. Epist. ad Lean- 's [See Rubric in Baptismal Ser- drum. Regist. Lib; 1. Indict 9. Ep: 43. vice.] See on this subject, Wall on Infant h [This Epistle was written A.D. 255. Baptism, Part ii. chap. 9. § 2.1 It is the 69th in Fell's edition.]: Catechism of the Church of England. 159 3. In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. This is the form of Baptism ; and it never was, nor never may be omitted. For, should these words be left out, the Mat. 28. 19. baptism is. null. It was the pleasure of our Saviour that these words should be retained for these reasons : 1. That we may know that what the minister doth he doth not of, or from himself, or of his own head, but by commission, command, and good authority, even by the au- thority of the whole Trinity. And therefore what he doth is of the same validity as if God the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, should baptize, since it is in their Name, their power, their authority. 2. For the comfort and assurance of those who are bap- tized, that the whole Trinity do ratify and confirm what is promised and sealed in Baptism, to wit, remission of sin, and acceptance to favour. 3. This lays an obligation upon the baptized person, and that divers ways. 1. To acknowledge these three Persons, and conse- quently his whole- Creed; to believe in God the Father that made him, God the Son that redeemed him, and God the Holy Ghost, that sanctifieth him, and all the elect, people of God. 2. As he acknowledges these three, so also to deliver himself to be taught by these three, and no other, in the mysteries of his religion. This St. Paul inti- mates, when he asks the Corinthians, " In whose l Cor. l. la name were you baptized ? W h at were you baptized in the name of Paul?" as much as to say, You ought to be his scholars in whose name you received your Baptism, and to whom then you bound your- selves; which being not the name of Paul nor Cephas, but the Trinity, you ought to receive that alone for infallible truth which is taught you by the Trinity, and not to pin your faith upon the opinions of men. 3. To be an obedient servant, to invocate, to give honour to these three Persons, and to live by their 160 A plain and full Exposition of the rules and directions, to be a hearer, and a willing doer of their commands. Upon which conditions being by Baptism admitted into the Church, he hath assured to him what grace God hath by covenant promised. Quest. ' What is the inward and spiritual grace ? Answ. A death unto sin, and a new birth unto righteous- ness. For being by nature born in sin, we are hereby made the children of grace/ 1. In the question, the word grace signifies a special favour, made over to the baptized in the Sacrament. And this is called, 2. Spiritual, as chiefly belonging to the soul of man, his immortal spirit. 3. And inward, that howsoever the symbols by which this grace is represented be the object of the sense, yet the grace itself is not seen, but inwardly conceived and received by the baptized. In the answer we are to consider, 1. What this grace is. 2. The reason why it is necessary. 3. The benefit we receive by it. 1. A death unto sin. 2. And a new birth unto righteousness. John 3. 5. " Except," saith our Saviour to Nicodemus, " a man be born again of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God," out of which the wisest Divines (in respect of God's ordinance) have collected the necessity of Baptism, Tit. a 5. which is not only a laver, but the laver of our regeneration ; as I may so say, the midwife that brings us to this new Eph. 2. l. birth. Col. 2. 13. In our first birth we were dead in sin, in our second birth 7.°i4 23. ' dead to sin ; in our first alive to our own lusts and affec- l Pet. 2. 24 tj ons . i n this second quick and lively to righteous actions. In a word, of slaves of sin and death, made freemen and servants of life and righteousness. And these two acts of our regeneration move betwixt two terms from one to Catechism of the Church of England. 161 another, from death to life. The first of which is mortifica- Col. 3. 5. tion, which is the weakening, the deading, the putting off - sin, and the slavish drudgeries, and imperious commands of sin from our mortal body ; the other is vivification, which is Eph. 2. l. the performance of those actions of living men that are om ' quickened by the Spirit, serving God all our days in righte- ousness and holiness. And the ancient manner in Baptism, the putting the per- son baptized under water, and then taking him out again, did well set forth these two acts, the first his dying, the second his rising again. 1. That which is here taught is the doctrine of St. Paul, Col. 2. 12. " Ye are buried together with Christ in baptism, in whom also ye have risen/' &c. Into the grave with Christ we went not ; for our bodies were not, could not be buried with His ; but in our Baptism, by a kind of analogy or resemblance, while our bodies are under the water, we may be said to be buried with Him ; and all that dwells in, and adheres to, our mortal bodies ; that is, the whole body of sin is then buried, when the power thereof is weakened, repressed, and as a dead carcass covered with earth, removed out of our sight, so Rom. 6. 6. bound with grave-clothes it cannot stir, and carry a man whither it pleases, to act what, as a tyrant, it commands. This is it with which St. Paul presses the Romans, " as many Rom. 6. 3. of you as were baptized into Christ, were baptized into His death." This is the first part of the grace received in Baptism. 2. The second is a new birth to righteousness, which the Apostle also in this place to the Colossians puts us in mind of, when he adds, " ye are also risen with Him /' as the bap- tized did emergere, or ' arise/ out of the water. And under this term of resurrection, he sets forth that new life, which those who are new-born begin to live. And new it may be well called, because it proceeds from a new principle, and hath new effects. As every thing is in essendo, ' being/ so it is in operando, ' operation.' As is the cause, such must the effect be ; for " do men gather grapes Mat. 7. 16. of thorns, or figs of thistles 1" The principle is here good, and therefore what flows from it must be good also. That John 1. 13. principle that moves the Christian is not the will of the 13. ° 1- 12 ' NICHOLSON. JJ 162 A plain and full Exposition of the flesh, or his corrupt heart, but the spirit of Christ, and sanc- tifying grace, that works in the heart. The author of this life is not nature, but grace, and therefore the fruits are new Gal. 5. and gracious ; not the old works of the flesh, adultery, con- tention, envy, murder, drunkenness, heresies, &c, but charity, joy, peace, goodness, faith, &c. These two are always knit and joined together. Tor as ■ Christ remained not under the power of death, but rose from thence, so by the virtue of His death and resurrection, we do not only die unto sin, but we also arise, that we may live l Pet. 2.24. to righteousness, which self-same is said by St. Paul. If being planted with Him we have grown up into the simili- tude of His death, we shall grow up also in the similitude of His resurrection. But observe that it is in Him, or with Him, that we know from what fountain this mortification Eph. 2. 5, 6. and vivification flows. From ourselves it is not, which the Catechism minds us of, in the reason following. 2. For being by nature born in sin. Ps. 51. 5. That is, conceived in sin, and born in iniquity, polluted no l, &c. l ess i n sm from the womb than an infant in his mother's blood, we can have no principle in ourselves, or from our- selves to move us, to put sin to death, or give life to righte- ous actions ; rather the clean contrary, because we are born Rom. 7. with strong inclinations and propensions, which would cer- tainly engage us in a course of sin. In our baptism it is that this strength is given us by Christ, that will enable us to get out of that servile and dangerous estate. So it follows, 3. We are hereby made the children of grace. 2 Cor. 3. 6 ; Children of grace, and therefore enabled to do the works 1. 12 13. . Eph.' 2. 22. of grace. Which work flows not immediately from the Sacrament, but from the power of Christ, and His Spirit that works by the Sacrament. The rule of the school is sound, and to be retained, that Sacramenta ex similitudine reprmsentant, ex institutione significant, sed ex virtute Christi sanctificant, ' Sacraments by resemblance represent, by insti- Catechism of the Church of England. 163 tution signify, but by the power of Christ they sanctify. 5 Solus Spiritus rem Sacramenti nobis confert. ' It is the Spirit Cypr. de alone that gives the thing/ the grace here mentioned, to j^' p "die to sin," and "live to righteousness." Where note, ?,°;,^ d - 1. That this death, and new birth, is not the resolution to Dr. Ham- forsake sin, and live a godly life ; for this is supposed before p ra ct. Cat. Baptism, and that which makes a man capable of it, as the B ' 6 ' § 2 " question evidently sheweth. 2. Neither is it an actual forsaking of sin, nor leading a new life, for that is a consequent of Baptism, and must be done all the life after, till a man become a perfect man in Eph. 4. 13. Christ Jesus. 3. But this grace given in Baptism is a supernatural abi- lity to die to sin, and live to righteousness, to empower us to make larger progresses in Christianity ; which, though it will never absolutely be perfect in this life, yet it may enable us to perform such sincere obedience that God will accept, pardoning all the faults and failings ; and bound we are to improve this grace, and to co-operate with it all our days. pm. 2. 12, 13. Quest. ' What is required of persons to be baptized ? Answ. 1. Repentance, whereby they forsake sin. And, 2. Faith, whereby they steadfastly believe the promises of God, made to them in that Sacrament/ These two are the qualifications that are requisite in those who are baptized; and so much the questions there pro- posed do evince; one whereof is about our forsaking the devil, world, and flesh, which is an act of repentance. The other about our believing the Articles of the Creed, which is an act of faith. 1. Repentance is a necessary condition in all that ask Baptism for themselves, it being the removens prohibens, that which removes what should hinder the grace we expect in Baptism ; for though it merit no favour, yet it disposeth the Acts 10. 47. man, and makes him capable of mercy. Neither can we find any man of age admitted to Baptism without the profession of it. John the Baptist's sermon was, Mat. 3. 6. to all that came to Jordan, " repent ;" and those that were Mark l. 4 baptized by him confessed their sins : and St. Mark says plainly, that he preached the baptism of repentance. And m 2 164 A plain and full Exposition of the Acts 2. 38. to this St. Peter exhorts the Jews, "Repent and be baptized every one of you," &c. And what kind of repentance is requisite the word in the Ezek.18.31. Greek text imports, for it is fieravoetre, ' change your minds;' a transmentation is necessary, not only a transmutation ; for till the mind be changed, the life will never be changed as it ought to be. But upon this change within, the change without will cer- tainly follow ; our good notions, and our good motions in- Mat. 3. 8. wardly, will bring forth fruits worthy of repentance out- wardly ; of which the chief is here reckoned, which is, 1. That we forsake sin. Joei2."i2, Not only that we be touched with the sense of it, grieve Prov. 28.13. for it, confess it, or resolve against it ; but that really, sin- 1026 cerely, actually, we shake hands with it, and forsake it; so Rom. 6. 12. thatj though weakly we fall into it, yet wilfully we will not commit it, nor obstinately continue in it; it shall never reign in our mortal bodies. 2. Faith, that they steadfastly believe the promises of God made to them in this Sacrament. The other qualification is faith, and this is necessary, Mark 16.16. because the promises of God have not the effect upon us, till Heb. 11. 1. they are accepted by us, and it is faith only that can apply Col. 2. 12. them ; and therefore it is necessary. Qui Baptismum putat carnali ratione consistere, hie non est spiritualis ; nee donum cozleste potest consequi, qui se per aquam, non per fidem, com- mutari credit 1 . 1. And the reason is firm and evident; because Christ is the substance of the Sacraments, the virtue and life of them is from Christ ; but Christ is not received nor laid hold on by [Deu. 32. an infidel. Such men, Quod corde sicci sunt et mente aridi, 13 ~\ ... lambunt quidem Mi petram, sed inde nee met sugunt, aut 2. The object of this faith is particularly the promises of 2 Cor. 7. i. God made in this Sacrament, which are, pardon for sin, and 1 August. Quaest. 59. ex N. T. [Vol. m Cyprian, [de Coma Domini. Apn. 3. p. 54.. App. Ed. Ben.] p. 42. Ed. Fell.] Catechism of the Church of England. 165 strength against sin, which being promised upon the former condition of repentance, no man can with a good conscience lay hold of those promises but he that is a true penitent. 3. They are to be believed steadfastly, and there is all the reason in the world for it, because they are the promises of God; He is immutable, "in Him there is no shadow of gas. 1.17.] change •" He is all-sufficient, omnipotent, able to make good e. 17-19. ' what He hath promised ; to stagger then in the promises is in effect to make Him a mutable God, a God that can repent, and will not keep His word ; or else an impotent God, one unable to make good what He hath spoken. No, no ; " hath Nu.23.19. He said, and will He not do it ?" Yes, certainly, if we fail not on our part, Christ will not fail on His ; if we do repent and believe the Gospel, no power of Heaven, on earth, in hell, or malice of Satan, shall ever be able to deprive us of our part of the promises made to us in this Sacrament; only remember this, that Christ that hath made a promise of grace to a penitent believer, hath made no promise at all to an impenitent infidel. 4. I add this in the close, that Baptism is of special use through a Christian's whole life. It is but once adminis- tered ; but the virtue and efficacy thereof grows not old by time. 1. In all thy fears and doubts look to thy Baptism, and the promises of God then sealed to thee. Lay hold on them by faith, and thou mayest have actual comfort. 2. In thy failings, slips, and revolts, to recover the sooner, look back to thy Baptism. New Baptism shall not need ; the covenant and seal of God stands firm, and changeth not. 3. Renew thy repentance, renew thy faith in those blessed promises of grace, sealed and secured in Bap- tism, and then expect all good from God's free mercies in Christ, although thy performances fall very v short ; though thou art an unprofitable servant. Quest. ' Why then are children baptized, when by reason of their tender age they cannot perform them ?' that is, re- pent and believe. 166 A plain and full Exposition of the Answ. ' Yes ; they do perform them by their sureties, who promise and vow them both in their names, which, when they come to age, themselves are bound to perform.' This is an excellent answer, and being well examined, will prove satisfactory. For it shews, 1. How children perform this promise for faith and re- pentance. 2. That they are bound to perform the promise when they come to age, if they mean to have a part of the grace promised by God in Baptism. 1. For the first, children perform not this promise in Bap- tism at that time actually, that is, they do not then actually repent and believe, neither is it necessary they should. For Baptism is not the covenant, but the seal of it, and the seal may be set where these are wanting. This is evident in the Gen. 17. case of circumcision. With Abraham God established the 9 " 12 - covenant, and the seal was to be set in the flesh of his child, and those children that come of his loins, at eight days old ; to whom no man can attribute faith and repentance. And why any man should tie children that enter now into the same covenant, and are to be saved upon the same grounds, to harder conditions than those infants were then bound, seems to me very unreasonable and uncharitable. If want of faith and repentance could render the children of Christians incapable of Baptism, out of question the same defects would have rendered the seed of Abraham, before they came to age, incapable of circumcision ; but this it did not them, therefore neither these. Neither ought it seem so strange to any man, that one should engage for another, a man for a child, since we see it done in civil contracts. Mortgages, bonds, espousals, are taken and made in the names of children, of which they are as utterly ignorant as what at Baptism is for them under- taken. Thus much will be confessed ; but can it be thus in Church covenants ? can the father, or any other, be engaged for the son? and will such an engagement be accepted of God ? Yes, it may be done, and will be accepted. This is Deu. 29. li. evident out of the Scripture ; Moses did engage the little 3L 10-13;] ones, as well as their fathers, to keep the words of the cove- Catechism of the Church of England. 167 nant, (for so it is called four times in that chapter,) telling them that he called them together, little ones and all, to ver. 12. enter into covenant with the Lord their God, and into His oath. And thus concludes the chapter, " the secret things ver. 29. belong to the Lord our God, but those things which are revealed belong to us, and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law." As if Moses had said, The rise and ground of this is a secret, and unsearchable ; no reason of it can be given but God's will and love. It pleased Him to have it so. But that He would so have it, it is revealed, and it belongs to us, and our children, and is a standing law to be observed by us, and our children for ever ; of which yet this reason is rendered at the eighteenth verse. " Lest there should be among you any man, woman, or family, or tribe, whose heart turneth away this day from the Lord our God, to go and serve the gods of the nations, lest there should be among you a root that beareth gall or wormwood." A root to which nothing more like than a child ; the child then, sure, was that root to be engaged by covenant, lest that bitter fruit be brought forth. At Jehoshaphat's fast there was present " all Judah, with 2 Chron. their little ones, their wives, and their children." "Why the 20 ' 13 * little ones ? The children certainly, many of them at least, knew not what belonged to the fast, nor the fear they were in from the nations. But all the promises that God had ver. 7. made belonged to them, as well as their fathers ; and of these their fathers put God in mind, and brought their children with them to join with them in the petition, and pressing the promise (though they actually knew not what it meant) that [Comp. God might be more powerfully moved. ' ' '* What should I say, that the light of nature taught the Ninevites this truth ? for in their repentance, not the great- est only, but the least were engaged to repent and fast, and cry mightily to God. Alas, those innocents, that "knew not their right hand from their left," knew not what was done, nor why it was done, and yet the injunction was laid upon them. And who can tell whether God were not moved more for their sakes than their parents ? Sure I am that God useth this as a motive of His mercy to Nineveh, " Thou Jonah 3. 5 ; hadst pity on the .gourd," &c. " and should not I spare ' ' 168 A plain and full Exposition of the Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than six score thousand persons that cannot discern their right hand from the left ?" All that hath been said hitherto tends only to this end, that it is no absurdity to affirm, that the little ones are part of the number of those that entered into covenant with God, and so may enter into this covenant made in Christ by the parity of reason. Then again, to shew that a father may undertake a religious duty for his child, though the child understands nothing of it, with which undertaking yet God is pleased ; and farther I press not these instances. But what now, if I shall make it appear that there is a command for the baptism of infants ? To my understanding there is great light given to it out of that commission our Mat. 28. 19. Saviour gave to His disciples : JJopev8evTe<; fiadrjTevaare ■jrdvra ra edvrj, fiaTrritpmes, avrov*;, &c. Before I hence make my inference, I shall propose, qutedam postulata, certain pro- positions so reasonable that I conceive they will not be denied. 1. That the Apostles by these words receive a commission for the promulgation of the Gospel, and a command to execute it. 2. That ' all nations' stand here in opposition to the Jews ; for the commission, Matt. x. 5, 6, was particular to seek the lost sheep of the house of Israel, and an express prohibition in it, that they go not into the way of the Gentiles, &c. But now their commission is enlarged, and become oecumenical. Mark 16. 15. " Go and disciple all nations; preach the Gospel to every creature." 3. That a nation is a society of men, which comprehends under it singula generum, without distinction of sex, con- dition, age. And this is evident ; for a child as soon as born is a free denizen. His birth makes him capable of all the privileges of that nation. 4. That ' all nations' here must be of the same extent as that nation to which it is opposed, viz. the Jews. But the Jews, singula generum, of what sex, condition, age soever, were within the covenant, and therefore all nations in the same manner were within the covenant. St. Paul so argues : Eom. li. the Gentile is engrafted as the Jew ; but the Jew was en- grafted with his children, and consequently the Gentile. Catechism of the Church of England. 169 5. That this word fiaOrjrevaaTe rarely occurs in any classic heathen author, if at all, and therefore must he taken in a Church sense. 6. That this word in propriety of language signifies not to teach, hut to make a disciple, or hring under Church dis- cipline, or in a capacity to he taught, making this form of Baptism their ceremony of receiving them. 7. Lastly, that it is not so apt to render it " teach" in this place, hecause that duty is enjoined in the following words: The sense, then, will run far easier thus, Go, and enter into your school all nations hy Baptism; and all that are so brought and received, instruct and institute them in the Christian faith. Which interpretation may be justified by that parallel place ; " the Pharisees heard that Jesus made John 4. l. more disciples and baptized, than John •" where, to make disciples and baptize, is all one with the phrase here fiaOrj- revcrcne fiaTrri^ovTes, and presupposeth not any precedent instruction, but rather as a subsequent. Let then this commission to the Apostles have its full ex- tent ; let irdvra e6vq, ' all nations/ take in, as it usually doth, all of every nation : and must (for otherwise the opposition will be lame and imperfect) men and children among the Gentiles, as it did men and children among the Jews. In- terpret fiadrjTevcraTe in its proper and genuine signification, which is to disciple, or enter into a school to be taught, (which also best agrees with the scope of the text,) when the scholar so admitted shall be capable of teaching, and the sense of the commission will be this : Go forth, and make not the Jews only, as by virtue of the former commission, your disciples ; but the Gentiles, and their families, your disciples also ; and upon their concession baptize them, and teach them to keep whatsoever I have commanded. And that this was the Apostles' sense of Christ's words, and opinion of His institution, will appear two manner of ways. 1. First, by one considerable remain or footstep of it in St. Paul's Epistle to the Corinthians. " Else were your l Cor. 7. 14 children unclean, but now they are holy ." which word, being not possible to be understood in that place of inherent holi- ness, must be understood of relative, that is, holy, as they 170 A plain and full Exposition of the stand in relation to their admission into the Church by Bap- Acts 10. 14. tism. 2. Then again d/cdOa-pra, ' unclean/ is in St. Peter's sense such who might not be received into the Church : and then ayia, ' holy/ which is such as are opposed to it, must necessarily signify those children who may be admitted. 3. Lastly, were not this the importance of that place, there were no privilege imaginable, no sanctity which could be at- tributed to the infants of Christians, which could not belong to the infants of heathens also ; which yet is affirmed of the one, and denied of the other, by the Apostle. 2. The perpetual and uninterrupted practice of the Primi- tive Church, even from the Apostles' time; to which the most ancient Fathers give an ample testimony, whose evidence because it is fully set down by that walking library Dr. [Vol. 2. Hammond, in his Tract of Baptizing of Infants, a sect. 39. Eifotf 2 ' °d 57, I will therefore spare the transcription. In brief only, one delivers, that infants are thought worthy of Bap- tism" : another, that they are born again to God : a third, that they are candidates of sanctity, and holy by the prero- gative of their birth p : a fourth, appointed God-fathers q : a fifth, that according to the custom of the Church, Baptism is given to infants, and affirms it to be an Apostolical tradi- tion 1 ; so doth another s : a sixth commands, Baptize your little ones': a seventh, "as to the case of infants which thou saidst were not to be baptized it was far otherwise determined by all in our council; we all judged, that the mercy and grace of God was to be denied to none that was born of men"." And he concludes with Augustine's testimony, which is full and very observable, Nemo nobis susurret, &c, ' Let no man whisper to us other doctrines.' This the Church hath always had, always retained ; this it hath received from the faith of the predecessors ; this it keeps perseveringly to the end; and upon it delivers that known rule, Quod universa n Justin Martyr [Resp. ad Orthodox Comment, in Ep. ad Rom. lib. 5. u. 9.] qusest. 56. a spurious work, attributed ■ Dionys. Areop. [Eccles. Hierarch. to Justin Martyr.] c. 7. a work composed about A.D. ° Irenes [Adv. Haer. lib. 2. c. 39.] 400.] p Tertullian [de Anima, c. 39.] l Clemens Rom. [Constit. Apostol. i Hyginus [See on this supra, p. 1. 6. c. 15. The date of this book is 10.] about A.D. 400.] r Origen [Horn. 8. in Levit. u. i. u Cyprian [Ep. 64. Ed. Fell.] Catechism of the Church of England. 171 tenet Ecclesia, nee conciliis institutum, sed semper retentum est, De Bap- wow nisi authoritate Apostolicd traditum rectissime creditur, traDon^" ' That which the universal Church maintains, and was not in- ^ '• 4- c- stituted by councils, but always continued, is most rightly believed to be delivered by the Apostles' authority/ 3. And methinks this is highly consonant to reason : for were it otherwise, the Apostles' commission would be shorter under the Gospel, than the command for circumcision under the Law. That would be for the whole nation, children and all; this to part of nations, and so all should not be all. The promise made to the Jew and his seed so soon as born ; the promise made to the Gentile and his seed after he is at age ; a Jewish child, made a covenanter whether he actually believe or no : a Christian cast aside till he can make it ap- pear that he believes and repents. It behoves them to shew some disparity in the infant Jew, and the infant Christian, lest they fasten upon the Almighty, in the reception to the same covenant, TrpocrwirdXritytav, 'respect of persons/ which I know they dare not. And this would be thought on also, what a discouragement this had been to the Jew to turn Christian, if with the father, the child should not have been admitted to the covenant, and have a right to the seal, which in his Judaism he had, and so the child be in worse case under Christ, than he was under Moses. Be it that we find no mention in Scripture of any child baptized, can any man thence rationally conclude, that none was ? How many matters of fact were done by the Apostles, of which those sacred oracles are wholly silent ? Who ever read in Scripture that any woman ever received the Eucha- rist ? And yet he would be thought a man of a short dis- course, who would thence collect, that none of the female sex were in the Apostles' days admitted to the Lord's Supper. But the answer that will fully satisfy this scruple, is this ; though an argument, drawn negatively from Scripture in credendis, in things to be believed, as articles necessary to salvation, is of great force : yet in agendis, in many things to be done by Christians (as among other this one of baptizing infants), it is very weak. This may not be believed, because not written, is true and of great strength : this may not be 172 A plain and full Exposition of the done, because it is not written that ever it was done, is very fallacious, and concludes not. To knit up all, those who are of years are bound to make a profession of their faith, and repentance ; to be taught the truth of this mystery, and not to be admitted to Baptism without it ; for being of age, and of their own choice and de- sire to be made members of a Church, good reason it is they should oblige themselves to the conditions made known unto them. But for those who desire it not, nor can desire it through an unavoidable deficiency, yet have a right to it, be- Eom.n.i6. cause they are the children of believing parents, (for "if the or- " ' root be holy, so are the branches ;" and again, " your children are holy,") charity requires that others desire it for them. These have been taught, and know on what conditions they are to be entered. These know that Christ commanded little [Mark io. children to be brought unto Him. These know that " He ' 'J laid His hands upon them, and blessed them," and therefore they earnestly believe that He will embrace them in the arms of His mercy, and give unto them everlasting life; and therefore in this faith and confidence they engage for them x - Yea, but will the faith of the surety any way benefit the infant ? Yes it may, so far as it is intended : that is, to make the infant by Baptism to be received into the con- gregation of Christ's flock, and to give him a right to the promises of the covenant. Did not the faith of the centu- Mat. 8.5-13. rion, that came to Christ for his servant, effect a cure upon the sick man ? Did not the faith of those that let down Mark 2. 5. the bedrid man through the tiles, move our Saviour to cure Mat. 15. 28. him ? Did not the faith of the woman of Canaan, that came to our Saviour for her bttle daughter, work compassion in Him, and out of compassion to heal her ? Say then no more, but the faith and charity of one may be powerful with God for another ; especially when we are encouraged to it, as in Mark 10.14. this case we are, by His own words, "Suffer little children to come unto Me, for of such is the kingdom of God." In the faith of the Church upon God's covenant, the child is pre- * 'AJioCi/toi Se tuv Sib. /ScMrWff/MtTos ' Children are allowed to enjoy the good ayafl&w/ Tcfc f3p4. 9. 26. In the flesh sin was condemned, which St. Paul calls [l John 3. aderrjcriv, St. John \vcriv, the destroying, loosing, or taking 'J away sin by the sacrifice of Himself once offered : which contains in it these particulars. l John 1.7. 1. The remove of the guilt. "The blood of Jesus Christ purgeth us." Rom. 8. l. 2. The discharge from the sting. " There is no condem- nation." Heb. 9. 14. 3. The weakening of the power. " The blood of Jesus Christ purgeth our consciences from dead works." Col. l. 21, 4. Reconciliation. " For we are by His blood reconciled 22 - to God." Eph. l. 5. Eternal Redemption. HeKio. 6. Liberty to enter Heaven. " By the blood of Jesus 19, 20. Christ, we may be bold to enter the holy place, by a new and living way, which is His flesh." But of these I have spoken at large in the Creed. Quest. 'What is the outward part or sign of the Lord's Supper ? Answ. Bread and wine which the Lord hath commanded to be received.' Bread and Wine. As in Baptism water was the outward element, so in this Sacrament is bread and wine ; the bread represents His body, Catechism of the Church of. England. 177 and the wine His Blood : and there be who think, that our Saviour made choice of these, for that these, being the chief of our corporal preservatives, are fittest to set forth our spiritual nourishment : but this I neither affirm nor deny. That which is more material to know, is the change of these, which is wholly sacramental, not in substance, but in use. For they remain bread and wine still, such as before in nature : but consecrate and set apart to represent our Saviour's pas- sion, and exhibit and seal to a worthy receiver the benefits of that passion. Great disputes there are how Christ is in the Sacrament. Some conceive, that for His presence there, it is necessary Consub- that Christ be incorporated with the sacramental elements. Others, that the bread and wine are changed into His very Transub-. Body. Others, who deny the substantial change, yet ac- knowledge His presence, express their meaning in different terms, thus : corporally and substantially say some ; sacra- mentally say others ; typically and figuratively, say a third ; spiritually, say a fourth ; really, say the last. Mr. Hooker's judgment to me in this difference of opinions seems very pious, that since that all are agreed that Christ is there, and seals His promises to a worthy receiver, and the question is only de modo, of the manner how He is there, that disputes and debates, enemies to piety, and abatements to devotion, be suffered to take their rest, &c. " "What these " elements are in themselves it skills not : it is enough that " to me, who take them, they are the Body and Blood of " Christ : His promise in witness hereof sufficeth, His word " He knoweth which way to accomplish ; Why should any " cogitation possess the mind of a faithful communicant, but " this ? O my God, Thou art true ! O my soul, thou art " happy y ." Yet will I venture to bring my pitcher, and try if that cool water may not allay the flame. My intention is to put the fairest interpretation upon different expressions, and so reconcile exasperated brethren. That the Sacrament is in the predicament of relation, will be, I doubt not, easily granted me; and under that logical notion, I would thus define the Eucharist. y Eccles. Pol. lib. v. § 67. NICHOLSON. N 178 A plain and full Exposition of the The Eucharist is a Sacrament instituted by Christ under the elements of bread and wine, to represent, exhibit, and seal the passion of Christ and the benefits thereof to a worthy communicant. In which definition we meet with all those things that are necessary to set forth the nature of a rela- tion. Which are two : the material part, is the subject, or the supposite, in which the relatum and correlatum do exist. The formal part consists in fundamento et termino. The foundation shall supply the place of the efficient cause. The terminus, the end, in absolute accidents. To apply this, 1. The material part here is the bread and wine. 2. The relatum, that respect Christ's Body hath to the bread : and the correlatum, that respect that the bread again hath to Christ's Body. 3. The foundation is the institution of Christ; for naturally these elements signify it not. Christ was the efficient cause or the Author of it. The relation is from Him. 4. The terminus or end is evident, to represent, exhibit, seal, &c. And thus all the words used by Divines in the explication of this mystery may receive a candid interpretation, except that of Borne. 1. That Christ is in the Sacrament corporally, substan- tially, and perhaps consubstantially, may have a respect to the subject or supposite, of the relatum and correlatum, their meaning being no more than that He is there under the forms of bread and wine, not changed in substance, but in use; as it is in other relations : as for example, betwixt a father and son ; who though they relate to each other, yet they remain two distinct substances, and the same they were. 2. Sacramentally, will point out the foundation or efficient cause : for therefore it is a Sacrament, be- cause Christ ordained it, and appointed the signs to have this relation. 3. Typically and figuratively, will direct us to the first end, which is to represent, but this is not finis ultimus. 4. Spiritually, will put us in mind of the second end, which is to exhibit; for to the soul and spirit the grace is exhibited, not to the body. Catechism of the Church of England. 179 5. Really, puts us in mind of the last end, to seal : and such a real presence must be admitted, or else the communicant receives nothing. Christ is said to be present four manner of ways. 1. Divinely, as God, and so He is present in all places, " Whither shall I fly from Thy presence ?" " I the Lord fill Ps. 139. 7. heaven and earth/' 2. Spiritually, and so He is present in the hearts of true believers ; " Christ dwells in our hearts by faith." Eph. 3. 17. 3. Sacramentally, and so is He present in the Sacrament, because He hath ordained the Sacrament to represent, and communicate Christ's death unto us ; " The cup of blessing l Cor. 10. which we bless, is it not the communion of the Blood of ' Christ," &c. 4. Corporally; so present in Judea in the days of His flesh. And as the word presence, so the word really, is diversely taken : for sometimes, 1. It is opposed to that which is feigned, and is but imaginary, and imports as much as truly. 2. It is opposed to that which is merely figurative, and barely representative, and imports as much as effectually. 3. It is opposed to that which is spiritual, and imports as much as corporally or bodily. We then believe Christ to be present in the Eucharist divinely after a special manner, spiritually in the hearts of the communicants, sacramentally or relatively in the ele- ments. And this presence of His is real, in the two former acceptions of real ; but not in the last, for He is truly and effectually there present, though not corporally, bodily, carnally, locally. As for the Papists' Transubstantiation, it can have no place at all, except in supposito or materiali. And it is most absurd to say, that the suppositum relati is turned into the suppositum correlati. In other relations it is not, and why then in this ? We know that the father becomes not the identical substance of the son, nor the son of the father; the husband of the wife, nor the wife of the husband. They remain distinct substances as before. Add to this, that this fiction of tran- substantiation, besides that it contradicts the confessed rules n2 180 A plain and full Exposition of the of arts and reason, clearly takes away the relation, and the essence of a Sacrament. For upon this corporal change, what becomes of the sign ? for if this were true, it were the very thing signified, and then the signum and signatum would be all one, which overthrows the definition. I am of opinion, that it was the hard hap of the Church of Rome to rise up in the defence of this error: should the Protestants have done it, they would have hissed them out of the school ; and now their learned Jesuits are obstinate in it, Cone. Tri- to maintain their Church's infallibility. And the ground of [Courayer, my conjecture is that counsel, which Cardinal Carpi gave the 2^p*iiai P°P e > inclining to have granted what was then desired by some Princes and States, as service in the vulgar tongue, the marriages of priests, and the communion in both kinds. The sum whereof was, though these things desired, were in them- selves matters of no great moment, yet upon the concession of them the heretics would infer, that the chair had erred in her injunctions and constitutions, and then all was gone. It is not religion then, but policy that upholds it, together with the child that is descended from it, the chimsera of [Th. Aqui- Thomas' brain, concomitancy : upon which fancy they muti- mffi',paia3. late this Sacrament, and deny the cup to the people. Against qu. 76. 2.] which sacrilege, our Catechism protests in the following words. 2. Which the Lord hath commanded to be received. Mat. 26. 27. His command is extant, " Drink ye all of this," and Mark 14.23. " they all drank of it." As the Lord asked the king of Tyre Ezek. 28. 3. in derision, " Art thou wiser than Daniel?" so may we ask them, Are ye wiser than Christ ? will you dare to amend His institution ? And if they reply, that all there were priests, I rejoin, 1. That it rests upon them to prove it, for it may be well doubted, whether they were so or no as yet. For the Apostles had the promise only of the Keys. Dabo tibi claves Cmli, Mat. 16. 19. " to thee will I give the Keys ;" in the future tense. Actually Joh. 20. 21, they were not given, till they had their mission and commis- 22 23 • sion, which was after the institution. It is probable then they were not the fathers of the Clergy before. Catechism of the Church of England. 181 2. That by this argument the bread may as well be taken away from all but disciples too ; and so the laity should have no right to any part of the Sacrament. 3. That the practice of the ancient Church, which is the best rule to explicate any such difficulty, is a clear proof that the cup belongs to the people. For they then received it. The testimonies are infinite for it z - But I shall content myself with that plain confession, which is extant in the Council of Constance to their eternal shame. And [we decree also] in like manner, that though in the primitive Church this Sacrament was received by the faithful under both kinds; yet this custom, to avoid some dangers and scandals, is reasonably introduced that it should be re- ceived by the priests in both kinds, and by the laics only in one kind, &c. a They confess the primitive Church received in both kinds ; yet to avoid I know not what scandals they decree otherwise, and in the same act brand with the name of heresy those who oppose their determination. And command under the pain of excommunication, that no priest presume to admi- nister the Sacrament to the people under the species of bread and wine. 4. They should do well to reconcile those two decrees, the first of their Pope Gelasius ; the other of their late Council of Trent. Gelasius the Pope saith, 'We find that some, a portion only of the sacred body being taken, do abstain from the chalice of the sacred blood. Who (without doubt, be- cause I know not by what superstition being taught they are obliged) let them either receive the entire Sacrament, or be kept from the whole, because the division of one and the same mystery cannot be without sacrilegeV 1 Vid. Chemnit. examen Concil. Trid. b Comperimus quod quidam sum pta Sess. 5. Can. 1, 2, 3. [part 2. p. 106.] tantummodo corporis sacri portione,. a * Et similiter, quod licet in primitive calice sacri cruoris abstineant : Qui Ecclesia hujusmodi Sacramentum re- proculdubio, (quoniam nescio qu4 ciperetur a fidelibus sub utraque specie, superstitione docentur adstringi) aut tamen haec consuetudo ad evitandum integra Sacramenta percipiant, aut ab aliqua pericula et scandala, est rationa- integris arceantur ; quia divisio unius biliter introducta quod a conficientibus, ejusdemque mysterii sine grandi sa- sub utraque specie, et laicis tantum- crilegio non potest provenire. So Gela- modo sub una specie suscipiatur, &c, sius, ap. Gratian. de Consecrat. Dis- Concil. Const. Sess. 13. [This coun- tinct. 2. cap. 12. cil was held A.D. 1415.] 1 82 A plain and full Exposition of the But the fathers of Trent are of another mind, and they magisterially decree : ' If any man shall say, that all and every faithful Christian, by the precept of God, or necessity of salvation, ought to re- ceive both species of the Eucharist, let him be Anathema .' In this contrariety, which way I pray, should the poor people turn ? The Pope saith plainly, that it is superstition to conceive the receipt of the bread sufficient, and sacrilege to divide the mystery ; and commands that men should abstain from both, or receive both together. The Council curse all those that say, there is a precept of God to receive in both kinds, or that it is necessary to salvation : if you follow the Council, the Pope shall condemn you; if you follow the Pope, the Council hath anathematized you. The people can rest themselves upon nothing but Christ's command, " Drink you all of this," when those that lead them are thus divided. 5. Lastly, this mutilation takes away one of the principal ends of this Sacrament : viz. the commemoration of Christ's passion; for to have the blood within the body is no sign that it was shed, the pouring forth of the wine doth it far more to the life. Whereas our Saviour ordained both ele- ments to be distributed severally ; that it might not only be preached to our ears, but represented to our eyes, how His blessed Body and Blood were separated for our sins. Quest. ' What is the inward part, or thing signified ? Answ. The Body and Blood of Christ, which are verily and indeed taken and received by the faithful in the Lord's Supper.' Of this answer there be two parts : 1. That the Body and Blood of Christ are signified by those signs. 2. That the Body and Blood of Christ are verily and in- deed taken and received by the faithful in the Lord's Supper. 1. The first is out of question, and shewed sufficiently before : yet both must be conceived with his proper attri- bute; the Body with crucifixion, the Blood with effusion; c Si quis dixerit ex Dei praacepto ciem Eucharistiae sumere debere, Ana- vel de necessitate salutis esse, omnes et thema sit. Concil. Trident. Sess. 5. singulos Christi fldeles utramque spe- Can. 1. [sub Pio IV. A.D. 1562.] Catechism of the Church of England. 183 the Body as given for us, the Blood as shed for us. With- Luke 22.19. Mat 26 28 out which reflection they will have little comfort and heart in them. Christ's flesh and blood are the true causes of eternal life, which yet they are not by the bare force of their own substance, but through the dignity and worth of His person, which offered them up by way of sacrifice, for the life of the whole world; of which sacrifice we have in this Sacrament a lively representation and memorial. 2. That the Body and Blood of Christ are verily and indeed taken and received by the Faithful. But this is not all, for what is here represented, is verily and indeed taken aud received. It is on all hands confessed that in this Sacrament there is a true and real participation of Christ, who thereby imparts Himself, even his whole en- Eph. 5. 23, tire person, as a mystical head, unto every soul that receives ' Him, and that every receiver doth thereby incorporate and unite himself to Christ as a mystical member of Him, and of them also, whom He acknowledgeth to be His own. This though mystically, yet it is truly; though invisibly, yet it is really done. Of this St. Paul assures us : " The cup of 1cor.10.i6. blessing, which we bless, is it not Koivoovla, the communion, or rather communication of the Blood of Christ ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the Body of Christ ?" It is as if the Apostle had said, Know you not this, that the breaking, taking, eating this bread, the pouring forth, taking and drinking this wine, is the real communica- tion of the Body and Blood of Christ to you ? a question figured by a negative equivalent to a quick aflirmative. ' Is it not/ is somewhat more than ' it is/ This then the Apostle intends to assert and assure a worthy communicant, that, as verily as he eats the bread with his mouth, and takes down the wine, so verily God in Heaven bestows on him, and com- municates unto him the Body and Blood of his Saviour, and the benefits of that Body and Blood, which in two words are pardon and grace. But because the Sacrament in itself being a corruptible and earthly substance must needs be thought an unlikely instrument to work so admirable effects in man, we altogether 184 A plain and full Exposition of the are to rest upon the strength of His glorious power and goodness, who is able, and will bring to pass that the bread and wine which He giveth us shall be truly the thing He promiseth. This is an act of faith, which is required in every one that really means to partake of the benefit ; and therefore the Catechism warily adds, that it must be taken and received, 3. By the Faithful. Christ's death in the Sacrament is offered to all, but it is John 1. 12. effectual only to believers. " As many as received Him, to them He gave power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe in His Name." "Were the oral or outward manducation only necessary, then no question the presenting ourselves only at His table, the taking and eating were sufficient: but when it is a spiritual banquet, and sacra- mental nourishment, that we are to receive there, if ever we intend to make it food of life, it must be digested by faith. Heb. n. 13. Through faith it was the Fathers did aaira^&yQai, salute with reverence, and embrace the promises ; and the same way we are to have comfort by them. The reason is, because what- soever Christ hath done already, or hath promised hereafter to do for us, are to us as never done, as never to be done, Heb. li. l. till we believe them : that which gives them a being, and makes them present and existent to us, is our faith : as is shewed in the beginning of this exposition, when I spoke of faith. In the midst of that sermon our Saviour preached at John 6. 47. Capernaum, our Saviour delivers this position, " Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that beheveth in Me hath ever- ver. 50. lasting life." Then it follows, " that He was the bread that ver. 51. came down from Heaven." " That this bread was His flesh." ver. 53. And then He adds with a strong asseveration, " Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink His blood, you have no life in you." With which assertion many of His disciples were offended, and murmured at it. For satisfaction then, He tells them, John 6. 63. " It is the Spirit quickeneth, the flesh profiteth nothing : the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are Catechism of the Church of England. 185 life." They had not a literal, they had a spiritual sense; and he that would make them life unto him, must so under- stand them, believe that He was that heavenly manna, and by faith eat His flesh, and drink His blood; for otherwise they would be of no effect, as appears by the close. " There John 6. 64. are some of you that believe not ;" believe not that I am the bread of life ; believe not that I am the bread that came down from Heaven, believe not that the bread I will give is My flesh ; and neither this bread, nor this My flesh can quicken such a man, because of his unbelief. Evident then it is, that the Body and Blood of Christ are taken and re- Heb. 3. ceived to effect, only by the faithful. Farther yet, our Saviour at the institution of this Sacra- ment acquaints us, " This is My Body which is given for Lute 22. you, this is My Blood which is shed for you." Not simply His body, nor simply His blood, but given and shed ; not that only, but for you, and many more. This gift and effu- sion are acts done and passed many years since; and that the Son of God clothed with the flesh of man, should be so prodigal of His blood, and free and merciful in His gift, is beyond the apprehension of man, and the reach of reason. "What is it then that may persuade us that such a thing so many years ago was done, that so merciful, so wonderful a Rom. 5. kindness was done for men in general, that were ungodly enemies, sinners ; for us in particular, that were of these un- godly enemies, and as great and obstinate as any sinners, except our faith? The Scriptures have fully expressed it, truth hath spoken it, and therefore we believe it. Which strange, unexpected, unheard of mercy, it pleased Him to represent, exhibit, and secure to us by His insti- tution of this Sacrament; and to command that it be con- tinued in His Church in perpetuam rei memoriam, ' to be an eternal memorial of His good will. 5 To all which, faith alone can give life and an interest. For this we believe too, and in confidence thereof approach and take this Body, and this Blood, being assured that by these symbols we receive all Christ. Out of which it is as clear as the sun that this Sa- crament is received by, and only by the faithful. Unbe- [T^^g. lievers may receive panem Domini, the bread of the Lord : in J ° an - believers only panem Dominum, that bread which is the Lord, p- 48i 186 A plain and full Exposition of the Quest. 'What are the benefits whereof we are partakers thereby ? Answ. The strengthening and refreshing our souls by the Body and Blood of Christ, as our bodies are by the bread and wine.' Two great benefits there are, which a worthy communi- cant receives from the Sacrament: 1. Strength. 2. Re- freshing. To express which, it was ordained in those ele- ments which have those effects in the life of man. Ps.104.15. 1. The first is bread, that serves to strengthen the body, being indeed the staff of life, which being taken out of our hand, the body fails, and falls, decays, pines away, and winders to nothing. Judg. 9. 13. 2. The other is wine, that is of great use to cheer the l Tim. 5. 23. heart and make it glad, and this is therefore willed to be ad- ministered to those that mourn, and are oppressed with grief; it is also good against thirst, it searcheth and cleanseth Luke 10. 34. wounds, and helps infirmities. Strength is from bread. Cheerfulness and refreshing from wine. In these it pleased our Saviour to institute this holy Sa- crament, to shew that the same effect is wrought in the inner man by the holy mysteries, that is in the outward by these Heb. 13. 9. elements. That here our heart is established by grace, and our souls with strength, and our conscience made light and cheerful that it faint not, but evermore rejoice in His holy comfort. To insist on these a little. 1. Strengthening. [Ps. 34. 8.] " O taste and see how gracious the Lord is :" for to say, Receive My Body, is as if He had said, Receive the Holy Ghost, that is, the graces of the Holy Ghost. And this grace to the soul, is what bread, that staff of life, is to the body, which I shall set down in the words of that pious and prudent divine, learned Dr. Hammond. "We can do " nothing that is in order to spiritual life (but fall into " sin, custom of sin, the putrefaction of the soul, and so to " eternal death,) without grace : for having forfeited that " stock that God gave us in Paradise, we have none of this " kind left, but what Christ by His death purchased for us : " by that great dear bargain there is come into the Church Catechism of the Church of England. 187 " a new stock and staple of grace, and strength for every one " that shall ask it importunately, receive it watchfully, and " make use of it diligently d ." " For to every one that hath, [Mat. 13. it shall be given •" given in that measure, which, though it will not enable any man to live without sinning, yet it will enable him to resist sin, and to serve God in so holy and righteous a way with a sincere heart, and so to persevere in it, that He will accept it. Now the conduit of this grace is the Sacrament ; for by it Christ intended it should be conveyed to us ; by it we are fortified against the assaults of Satan; in the power of Christ's death we fight and conquer. For who, having the death of Christ for sin lively presented unto him, as it is here, will yield basely to that sin that crucified his Saviour ? Rather he will often put on his armour, defy his enemy, stand up and fight till he hath destroyed him. To encourage him against the attempts and blows of his adversary he hath from hence security, Non inermes et nudi relinquimur, sed protectione Sanguinis et Corporis Christi munimur e - ' We are not left naked and unarmed, but we are walled about with the protection of the Body and Blood of Christ,' so that now, Tanquam leones ignem spirantes, ab illd mensd recedimus, facti diabolo terribiles, they are the words of Chrysostom f , ' Tri- umphing upon this strength we depart from this table as lions breathing out fire, and are become terrible to the devil himself;' for finding the power of Christ within us, he will be afraid to assault us. Every worthy receiver hath washed his soul in the Blood Rev. 7. 14. of the Lamb, and none but profane men will that day pollute it. For a few hours you shall see men holy, cautelous, devout, retired, " not doing their own ways, not i sa . 58. 13. finding their own pleasure, nor speaking their own words." Ask the reason, and the answer is ready, they have been at the Communion. Evident then it is that this strength of grace was received from thence. Did then but the like sad and pious thoughts possess men's souls for the a Pract Cat. lib. 6. § 4. 116. D. Basil. 1625. But it occurs c Cyprian. Epist. 54. [57. Ed. Fell.] also in Horn. 46. in Joan, j us \4ovres 1 Ad pop. Antioch. Horn. 61. [A roivvv nvp ttvsovtss, o&ras airb ttjs spurious work. The extract is found Tpcnre&s avaxupunev itcclvris, Qofepol in the Latin translation of Bernard T*t on Jttonuments. By the Rev. JOHN ARMSTRONG, B.A., Priest Vicar of Exeter Cathedral. 8vo. illustrated by seven Woodcuts, 2s. 6d. iEUmarfeg upon Wl&Bii'tie ©Japels, WITH OBSERVATIONS ON THE ARCHITECTURE AND PRESENT STATE OF THE CHANTRY ON WAKEFIELD BRIDGE. By JOHN CHESSELL BUCKLER, & CHARLES BUCKLER, Architects. Preparing for Publication, i^tnts on ffilagg Painting, BY AN AMATEUR. ILLUSTRATED BY COLOURED PLATES FROM ANCIENT EXAMPLES. 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