A NEW CATECHISM DRAWN Out of the Breasts of the Old and New Testament, for the soul's nourishment, concerning the blessed Sacrament of the Lords Supper, and the visible Sign in Baptism.  
Wherein is set forth, The strong Bond and Seales of the Covenant betwixt God and his People. With an excellent Caution to beware of Sectaries.  
By W. COTTON, B. D. and Minister of the true Word of God.  PSAL. 32 9 
Be ye not like to Horse or Mule which have no understanding.  
LONDON: Printed by B. ALSOP, dwelling near Cripplegate, 1648.   

A New Catechism, easy to be understood of children and the meanest capacities.  
Question. WHat is Religion?  
Answ. A binding of ourselves over to serve God.  
Q. What is God?  
A. God is an infinite being Exod, 8.14.  
Q. How many Gods are there? Job. 11.7, 8, 9  
A. Only one. 1 Tim. 2.5.  
qu. How many persons are there?  
A. Three the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.  
Q. How do you know that there is a God?  
A. By his Works of Creation in making all things by his works of providence, in governing all things; by the general consent of all Nations in acknowledging a God; by the terrors of conscience in wicked men, making them to tremble at him.  
Q. Wherefore did God make you?  
A. To serve him and seek his glory, Luke 1.74. Rom. 11.36.  
Q. How will God be served?  
A. As he appointed in his Law, Deut. 13.18.  
Q. What Law do you mean?  
A. The Moral Law, a perfect rule of righteousness, containing Ten Commandments, and therefore commonly called the Ten Commandments, divided as we were written at first in two Tables.  
Q. What doth the first Table treat of?  
A. Of piety, or our duty towards God, and contains the four first Commandments.  
Q. What doth the second Table treat of?  
A. Of charity, or our duty towards our neighbour, and contains the six last Commandments.  
Q. What are the duties of the first Table?  
A. Tha● we love the Lord our God with all out heart, and all our soul, and all our might; that we may cleave wholly unto him, fearing, believing, trusting, and hoping in him; that we may call upon him, and worship him, according to his own commandment, with all reverence and obedience, serving him truly all the days of our life.  
Q. What are the duties of the second Table?  
A. That we love our Neighbours as ourselves doing as we would be done unto, studying to prefer our Neighbour's honour, life, chastity, goods, and good Name, as we would and should do our own; that, we rest content and satisfied with that portion God hath allotted us, rejoicing in our Neighbours good as in our own, which is the top and perfection of love.  
Q. What is the Law of God?  
A. The ten Commandments.  
Q. Are you able to keep these Commandments?  
A. No.  
Q. If we cannot keep the Law, wherefore then do we serve?  
A. First to humble us, in regard of that miserable estate hereby discovered unto us.  
Secondly to be a rule of good life unto us.  
Q. What belongs to those that keep not Gods Commandments?  
A. Eternal damnation Rom. 6.23.  
Q. How shall we escape eternal damnation?  
A. Only by Jesus Christ.  
Q. What is jesus Christ?  
A. The eternal Son of God made man for our sakes.  
Q. What did jesus Christ do for you?  
A. He gave himself for us when he suffered upon the Cross.  
Q. Why did he give himself for us?  
A. To free us from Hell, and to bring us to Heaven, where he himself is gone to prepare a place for us, 1 joh. 14 3.  
Q. Whether shall all persons be saved by Jesus Christ or not?  
A. No none but the godly, or such as by faith receive him joh. 1.12.  
Q. What must the Godly do to be saved by Christ?  
A. Believe and repent.  
Q. What is Faith?  
A. A resting and relying upon God for salvation joh. 3.15.  
Q. How is Faith wrought in us?  
A. By the inward operation and persuasion of the holy Spirit, as the proper and principal cause, 1 Cor. 12.3.11. and by the outward Ministry of the Word as the instrumental, Rom. 10.14.  
Q. What is repentance?  
A. A work of the holy Ghost, whereby a sinner being tru●y humbled or sin, turneth from his sin, with a steadfast purpose to serve the Lord.  
Q. Wherein stands true repentance?  
A. In three things. First in the knowledge and acknowledging of our sins past. Secondly, in godly sorrow and grief of heart for them. Thirdly, in a godly purpose to forsake all sin, and to lead a ●ew life for all time to come.  
Q. How are these graces of God increased in 〈◊〉?  
A. By the Word, Prayer, and Sacrament, Rom. 4.11.  
Q. What is that which you call the Word of God?  
A. That which the Apostles and Prophets have left unto us in writing.  
Q How do you know those Writings to be the word of God?  
A. By the antiquity, majesty, and holiness of it, and treasures of divine Wisdom contained in it; by the miracles that confirmed it, and miraculous preservation of it to this day; by the incredible effects o● it subduing the whole World to the Kingdom of Christ, and mastering our unruly affections, which shows it to be the Word of the mighty God, and not of weak Man.  
Q. What is required to the right hearing of this Word?  
A. To prepare ourselves by prayer and meditation, to attend diligently and reverently upon the prevailing of it, to empty our hearts of all worldly thoughts and corrupt affections, to make room for it and lay it up for our daily use in the well ordering of our lives.  
Q. What is prayer?  
A. A making of our requests to God, or a begging of tho●e things whereof we stand in need, and a thanksgiving for those things which we have received.  
Q. With what confidence can we sinful wretches come before God, or call upon him?  
A. We do no● call upon God in our own name, proudly presuming upon any worthiness in ourselves; but knowing and acknowledging our own unworthiness, we come in the Name of Christ our Mediator, by whose intercession we have access unto the throne of God's Majesty, and trust to obtain favour.  
Q. What is a Sacrament?  
A. A sign and seal of God's Covenant of grace, Gen. 17.1.  
Q. How many parts are there in a Sacrament?  
A. Two: the outward element or creature which is a visible sign of the inward and spiritual grace.  
Q. How many Sacraments are there?  
A Two: Baptism and the Lords Supper, Mat. 28 9  
Q. What is Baptism?  
A. A Sacrament of the New Testament ordained by Christ, wherein by sprinkling of the water, in the Name of the Father, the Son, and the holy Ghost, is sealed to all the faithful, the remission and washing a way of their sins, and regeneration to eternal life, Mat. 26.19.  
Q. What is the visible sign in Baptisms?  
A. The outward element of water, together with the action of washing, dipping, or sprinkling the party baptised, in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.  
Q. What is the inward part signified?  
A. The blood and spirit of Christ, washing away both the guilt and filthiness of sin.  
Q. How far is sin done away in Baptism?  
A. All sin both original and actual, past and to come; perfectly in respect of the guilt, though imperfectly and by degrees in respect of the pollution and power of sin.  
Q. Is there such virtue in water?  
A. No: the virtue is in Christ's blood, applied unto us by his spirit and apprehended by Faith; the visible signs of water and washing being helps ●o our weakness.  
Q. Who are to be admitted to this Sacrament?  
A. Whosoever are outwardly comprehended in the Covenant, whether they be of riper years counted to the Christian profession, or children born of believing Parents.  
Q. What is the Sacrament of the Lords Supper?  
A. A Sacrament of the New Testament ordained by Christ, wherein by eating of the bread broken, and drinking of the Wine poured out, Christ and all the benefits of his passion and righteousness, are surely sealed and conveyed unto us.  
Q. What are the outward signs in the Sacrament of the Lords Supper?  
A. Bread and Wine 1 Cor. 11.25.  
Q. What doth Bread signify?  
A. The Body of Christ, 1 Cor. 10.16.  
Q. What is meant by the breaking of the Bread▪  
A. The torments which Christ suffered for ●s in his humane nature.  
Q. What doth the wine signify?  
A. The blood of Christ, 1 Cor. 10.16.  
Queen W●at is meant by the pouring out of the wine?  
Ans. The shedding of Christ's blood for our sins.  
Qu. What is meant by the eating of the Bread and drinking of the wine?  
Ans. The receiving and enjoying of Christ by Faith, joh. 6.35.  
Qu. Is Christ's Body and Blood, together with th● outward Elements, received of all the Communicans?  
A. No: For howsoever they be offered to all, yet they be received of none, but such alone, as by the hand of Faith lay hold on Christ, they that come without Faith, they receive only the outward elements, and that unto condemnation.  
Queen Are all fit to be admitted to the receiving of the Sacrament?  
A. No: none but such as can examine themselves.  
Qu. What ought Mankind to examine themselves in?  
A. Whether they have knowledge, faith, thankfulness repentance and charity, joh. 3.36. col. 3.45. Luke 13.3.5.  
Qu. What knowledge is required of us?  
Ans. 

First, knowledge of our excellency by creation.  
Secondly, knowledge of our misery by transgression.  
Thirdly, knowledge of our recovery out of this misery.  
Fourthly, knowledge of our duty for our Redemption.  
Fifthly, knowledge of the Sacrament, of the Lords Supper, and that of the Author, Nature, Use, and fruit of it.    
Qu. How shall a man or woman know that they have Faith?  
A. By these two signs: First, by believing every part of God's Word.  
Secondly, by depending upon God for the things of this life.  
Qu. How shall a man or woman know that they have this grace of Repentance?  
A. By these two signs: First, by an hatred of all sins.  
Secondly, By an amendment of life.  
Qu. How shall a man or woman know that they have this grace of charity?  
A. By wishing well to all. by doing them all the good we can and by reconciling ourselves unto them.  
Qu. What shall he do that finds not these things in himself after due examination?  
A. He may not keep away from the Lords Supper for all that, for this were a provoking of GOD to wrath, neither can he come unto it without offending in a higher degree.  
Qu. What shall a man do in this case?  
A. He must humbly sue unto God for the pardon of his sins, to strike his hard heart that he may melt into tear for them and constantly cleave unto his Commandments, and if there be any dissension, he must go and be reconciled.  
Qu. What must he do in receiving?  
A. With reverence and thanksgiving commemorate the Lords death for the comfort and refreshing of his soul, and offer up himself soul and body a living Sacrifice of thanks; in which regard, it is called the Eucharist.  
Q. What is to be done after receiving?  
A. Mediate on the covenant of new obedience renewed by this Sacrament, that we may more carefully perform it, flying sin and vice all the days of our life.  
Qu. What shall become of us after we have finished our course in this world?  
A. Every one shall be rewarded according to the life which he hath led, the Godly receiving that joyful sentence, come ye blessed of my Father, inherit a Kingdom prepared for you: the ungodly receiving that woeful doom, Go ye cursed into everlasting fire, prepared for the Devil and his Angels, Mat. 25.34.  
Q. How do we give up ourselves and our seed to the Lord?  
A. By receiving through Faith the Lord and his covenant to themselves and to their seed: and accordingly walking themselves, and training up their children in the ways of his covenant.  
qu. How do we give up ourselves and our seed to the Elders and Brethren of the church?  
A. By confession of our sins, and profession of our faith, and of our subjection to the Gospel of Christ: and so they and their seed are received into fellowship of the church, and the seals thereof.  
qu. What are the seals of the covenant now in the days of the Gospel?  
A. Baptism and the Lords Supper.  
qu. What is done for you in Baptism?  
A. In Baptism, the washing with water is a sign and seal of my washing with the blood & spirit of Christ, and thereby of my engrafting into Christ: of the pardon and cleansing of my sins: of my rising up out of affliction, and also of my resurrection from the dead at the last day.  
qu. What is done for you in the Lord's Supper?  
A. In the Lord's Supper the receiving of the bread broken, and the wine poured out, is a sign and seal of my receiving the communion of the body of Christ broken for me, and thereby of my growth in Christ, of the pardon and healing of my sins of the fellowship of his spirit, of my strengthening and quickening in grace, and of my sitting together with Christ on his throne of glory at the last judgement  
qu. What is the resurrection of the dead?  
A. First, When Christ shall come to his last judgement, all that are in the Graves shall arise again, both the just and unjust.  
Secondly, at the last day we shall all appear before the judgement seat of Christ, to give an account of our works and to receive our reward according to them.  
qu. How d●●h Christ redeem and save us?  
A. First, by his righteous life, and bitter death & glorious resurrection to li●e again.  
Secondly, by the power of his Word and Spirit, which brings us to Christ, and keeps us in him.  
qu. What is his Word?  
A. The Holy Scriptures the Old and New Testament, Law and Gospel.  
qu. How doth the Ministry of the Law bring you towards Christ?  
A. By bringing me to know my sin, and the wrath of God against me for it.  
qu. What are you thereby the nearer to Christ?  
A. So I come to feel my cursed estate, and need of a Saviour.  
qu. How doth the Ministry of the Gospel help you in this cursed estate?  
A. 

First, By humbling me yet more, and then raising me up out of this Estate.  
Secondly, By revealing the grace of the Lord Jesus, ●n dying to save sinners: and yet convincing me of my sin, in not believing on him, and of my utter insufficiency to come to him, and so I feel myself utterly lost.  
Thirdly, By teaching me the value and the virtue of the death of Christ, and the riches of his grace to lost sinners: By revealing the promise of grace to such, and by ministering the spirit of grace to apply christ and his promise of gr●ce unto myself, and to keep me in him.  
And lastly, by begetting in me Faith to receive him: Prayer to call upon him: Repentance to mourn after him, and new obedience to serve him.    
Amen.  
FINIS.