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THE 
 
 ASSEMBLY'S 
 
 SHORTER CATECHISM 
 
 OATECHETIOALLY ILLUSTRATED AND 
 PRACTICALLY APPLIED ; 
 
 ^Daptelr for ^uijlw anD ^ribate Instruttt'on ; 
 
 FROM WHICH 
 
 EVERYTHING IS CAREFULLY EXCLUDED EXCEPT WHAT IS TO FOUND IN 
 
 THE QUESTION UNDER CONSIDERATION. 
 
 BY 
 
 AN ELDEE OE THE EKEE CHURCH OE SCOTLAND. 
 
 Jeremiah vi. 16. 
 " Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way." 
 
 SECOND EDITION. 
 
 EDINBURGH : 
 
 ROBERT OGLE, AND OLIVER & BOYI>i 
 
 M. OGLE & SON, AND WILLIAM COLLINS, GLASGOW. J. DEWAR, PERTH. 
 
 WM. MIDDLETON. DUNDEE. G. & R. KING, ABERDEEN. W. M'COMB, BELFAST. 
 
 HAMILTON, ADAMS & CO., AND JAMES NISBET & CO., LONDON. 
 
 1846. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 The following Catechism was written many years ago, solely 
 for the Author's own guidance when teaching a Sabbath 
 School, and without any view to its ever being made public. 
 Since then, various individuals capable of judging, and who 
 feel a deep interest in the religious education of the young, 
 have urged its publication, as in their opinion calculated to 
 assist Sabbath School Teachers and Heads of Families in 
 imparting to those under them a knowledge of the elements 
 of divine truth, from the simple and practical way in which 
 the truth is endeavoured to be brought out; and hence it 
 appears in the same form in which it was used, with the 
 few remarks at the end of each question, winding up the 
 exercise of the evening. 
 
 As to the manner in which the questions are treated, they 
 are examined not as so many separate propositions, having 
 little or no connection with each other, but as a series of pro- 
 
IV. PKF-fACE. 
 
 positions or doctrines necessarily arising out of, and inseparably 
 connected, with each other ; and, therefore, to see the full 
 
 "V. 
 
 bearing of the -reasoning upon any doctrine or duty, it is 
 necessary that all the questions upon that head be read, keep- 
 ing in mind the truth brought out in the one question when 
 examining the succeeding ones connected with it : for ex- 
 ample, to get a clear view of wliat is called the covenant of 
 grace, as unfolded in the Shorter Catechism, it will be neces- 
 sary to read in connection every question from the twentieth 
 to the twenty-ninth, and in like manner with all the others, 
 whether they relate to doctrines to be believed, or duties to 
 be performed. 
 
 EniNBURon, May 1844. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 Pagb, 
 
 Ou the Existence of God, . . • • • -1 
 
 FIRST PART. 
 
 WHAT WE ARE TO BELIEVE CONCERNING GOD. 
 SECTION I. 
 
 THE END OP MANS CREATION, AND THE MEANS BY WHICH HE MAY ATTAIN IT. 
 
 The chief end of man is to glorify God, and enjoy him as his supreme 
 
 good, ........ 4 
 
 The rule by which alone man can glorify God and enjoy him, . 8 
 
 The two principal truths taught in the Scriptures, . . 12 
 
 SECTION M. 
 
 WHAT GOD IS. 
 
 The nature and perfections of God, .... 15 
 
 The unity of the Godhead, ..... 25 
 
 Three persons in the Godhead, ..... 28 
 
 SECTION III. 
 
 THE DECREES OR PURPOSE OF GOD, AND THE WAY IT 13 CARRIED INTO 
 EXECUTION. 
 
 The decrees of God, ...... 32 
 
 The means by which God executeth his decrees, ... 35 
 
 What the work of creation is, . . . . • 36 
 
 The manner in which God created man, ... 38 
 
 What God's works of providence are, ... 41 
 
 SECTION IV. i^^. 
 
 THE COVENANT OP WORKS, AND MANS FALL. 
 
 The nature of the special act of providence exercised towards man.. 45 
 The fall of man, ..,,.•• '^'' 
 
IV • CONTENTS. 
 
 SECTION V 
 
 THE NATURE OF SIN AND ITS CONSEQITBNCES. 
 
 What sin is, .'..... , 49 
 
 The particular sin whereby our first parents fell, . o'l 
 
 The connection of Adam's posterity with his first sin, . 54 
 
 The state into which the fall brought mankind, . .58 
 
 The sinfulness of the estate into which man fell, . 59 
 
 The misery of the estate into which man. fell, . ^ . 63 
 
 SECTION V(. •■ 
 
 THE COVENANT OF GRACE. 
 
 Election carried into effect by a Redeemer, . . .67 
 
 Who the Redeemer of God's elect is, . . . . 71 
 
 ]Iow the eternal Son of God became man, . . .75 
 
 The offices that Christ, as the Redeemer, executeth, . . 78 
 
 The prophetical office, ...... 81 
 
 The priestly office, ...... 84 
 
 The kingly office, ....... 89 
 
 What constituted the humiliation of Christ, ... 93 
 
 What constitutes the exaltation of Christ, . . . 99 
 
 SECTION VI K 
 
 THE APPLICATION OF THE WORK OF CHRIST, AND THE BENEFITS ARISING OUT 
 
 OF IT. 
 
 The Holy Spirit makes us partakers of Christ's redemption, 103' 
 
 The way in which the Holy Spirit applies the redemption of Christ, 106 
 What effectual calling is, .... . 109 
 
 The benefits they who are effectually called partake of in this life, 113 
 What justification is, ...... 116 
 
 What adoption is, ..... . 119 
 
 What sanctification is, ..... . 122 
 
 The benefits in this life which accompany or flow from justification, 
 
 adoption, and sanctification, .... 125 
 
 *J'he benefits believers receive from Christ at death, . . loO 
 
 The beiiefits believers receive from Christ at the resurrection, 133 
 
CONTENTS. V 
 
 SECOND PART. 
 
 THE DUTY WHICH GOD REQUIRES OF MAN. 
 SECTION I. 
 
 THE DUTY GOD REQUIRES OF MAN— THE LAW WHICH WAS FIRST REVEALED TO 
 
 MAN AS THE RULE OF HIS OBEDIENCE SUMMARILY COMPREHENDED 
 
 IN THE TEN COMMANDMENTS, AND THE SUM OF THE TEN 
 
 COMMANDMENTS. 
 
 The duty God requires of man, .... 137 
 
 The law which was first revealed to man as the rule of his obedience, 141 
 The moral law summarily comprehended in the ten commandments, 143 
 The sum of the ten commandments, .... 145 
 
 SECTION n. 
 
 THE TEN COMMANDMENTS. 
 
 The preface to the ten commandments, . . . 147 
 
 The duties required in the first commandment, . . 149 
 
 The sins forbidden in the first commandment, . . 151 
 
 What we are specially taught by these words (before me) in the first 
 
 commandment, ....... 153 
 
 The duties required in the second commandment, . . 155 
 
 The sins forbidden in the second commandment, . . . 157 
 
 The reasons annexed to the second commandment, . . 159 
 
 The duties required in the third commandment, . . c 161 
 
 The sins forbidden in the third commandment, . . 164 
 
 The reason annexed to the third commandment, . ► . 16S 
 
 The duties required in the fourth commandment, . . 167 
 The Sabbath-day changed, ...... 169 
 
 How the Sabbath is to be sanctified, . . . .. 171 
 
 The sins forbidden in the fourth commandment, . . . 173 
 
 The reasons annexed to the fourth commandment, . . 175 
 
 The duties required in the fifth commandment, . . , 177 
 
 The sins forbidden in the fifth commandment, . . 180 
 
 The reason annexed to the fifth commandment, . . . 182 
 
 The duties required in the sixth commandment, . . 183 
 
 The sins forbidden in the sixth commandment, . . . 185 
 
 The duties required in the seventh commandment, . . 186 
 
 The sins forbidden in the seventh commandment, . . 188 
 
 The duties required in the eighth commandment, . . 190 
 
 The sins forbidden in the eighth commandment, . . . 192 
 
 The duties required in the ninth commandment, . . 194 
 
 The sins forbidden in the ninth commandment, . . • 196 
 
 The duties required in the tenth commandment, . . 198 
 
 The sins forbidden in the tenth commaiudinent, . . . 200' 
 
VI CONTEXTS. 
 
 SECTION III. 
 
 THE INABILITY OF MAN SINCE THE FALL TO KEEP THE LAW OF GOD— THAT 
 
 THESE ARE SOME SINS MORE AGGRAVATED AND HEINOUS THAN 
 
 OTHERS— AND WHAT EVERY SIN DESERVES, 
 
 Man's inability since the fall to keep the law of God, . . 201 
 
 There are some sins more heinous in the sight of God than others, 205 
 
 AVhat every sin deserves, ..... 207 
 
 SECTION IV. 
 
 WHAT GOD REQUIRES OP US THAT WE MAY ESCAPE HIS WRATH AND CURSK 
 DUE FOE SIN— FAITH IN JESUS CHRIST, AND REPENTANCE UNTO LIFE. 
 
 What God requires that wc may escape his wrath and curse, . 209 
 
 AVhat faith in Jesus Christ is, . . . . . 211 
 
 What repentance unto life is, ..... 215 
 
 SECTION V. 
 
 THE OUTWARD MEANS BY WHICH CHRIST COMMUNICATETH THE BENEFITS OF 
 
 REDEMPTION, ARE HIS ORDINANCES, ESPECIALLY THE WORD, 
 
 SACRAMENTS, AND PRAYER. 
 
 What the outward means are by which Christ comraunicateth the be- 
 nefits of redemption, ..... 220 
 
 How the Word is made effectual to salvation, . . . 223 
 
 How the Word is to be read and heard, . . , 225 
 
 How the sacraments become effectual means of salvation, . 228 
 
 What a sacrament is, ..... . 230 
 
 The sacraments of the New Testament, .... 232 
 
 What baptism is, ...... 2a3 
 
 To whom baptism is to be administered, .... 237 
 
 What the Lord's supper is, .... . 241 
 
 What is necessary to our worthily partaking of the Lord's supper, 244 
 
 What prayer is, . . . . . . . 248 
 
 The rule for our direction in prayer, .... 252 
 
 The preface to the Lord's prayer, .... 253 
 
 The first petition in the Lord's prayer, , . . , 256 
 
 The second petition in the Lord' prayer, . . . 259 
 
 The third petition in the Lord's prayer, .... 262 
 
 The fourth petition in the Lord's prayer. . . . 265 
 
 The fifth petition in the Lord's prayer, .... 266 
 
 The sixth petition in the Lord's prayer, . . . 268 
 
 The conclusion of the Lord's prayer, .... 270 
 
CATECHISM. 
 
 OF THE EXISTENCE OF GOD. 
 
 Before entering on our future inquiries, it may be neither 
 unimportant nor uninteresting to ascertain the manner by 
 which we come to know the existence of God. 
 
 Q. 1. Do the Scriptures make known to us the exist- 
 ence of God ? 
 
 A. No : they assume, or take it for granted ; and proceed 
 to unfold his character, and make known his will. 
 
 Q. 2. Do the Scriptures tell us how we may arrive at 
 the knowledge of the existence of God ? 
 
 A. Yes : and they do so in such a way as to show, that, if 
 we are thinking beings, we cannot help arriving at this know- 
 ledo-e. 
 
 Q. 3. What is it that the Scriptures say regarding the 
 existence of God ? 
 
 A. They tell us, " That the heavens declare the glory of 
 God, and the firmament showeth forth his handy-work : that 
 the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are 
 clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, 
 even his eternal Power and Godhead : for every house is 
 builded by some man, but he that built all things is God." 
 
 Q. 4. Is it from the works of creation that we derive 
 the knowledge of the existence of God ? 
 
 A. Yes : and from these alone, apart from revelation ; for 
 the Scriptures invariably, as we have seen, refer us to the 
 works of creation as the brightest evidence of God's existence. 
 
 A 
 
2 OF THE EXISTENCE OF GOD. 
 
 Q. 5. Would the mere existence of matter jtrove the 
 existence of God f 
 
 A. No : constituted as our minds are, we could, from the 
 mere existence of matter, have come to no satisfactory con- 
 clusions as to the nature of the first cause, whether it was 
 matter or mind. 
 
 Q. 6. Had nothiuf/ always existed, luould anythin<j 
 have ever heen'^. 
 
 A. No : it would have been impossible ; there would still 
 be nothing. 
 
 Q. 7. If from the mere existence of matter, we could 
 not have inferred the existence of God, what woidd have 
 been our co7iclusion ? 
 
 A. It must have been that matter was itself eternal, or the 
 production of some other cause to us unknown, which was it- 
 self eternal. 
 
 Q. 8. How do the luorks of creation prove the exist- 
 ence of God, if the mere existence of matter docs not do 
 so ? 
 
 A. From the design and adaptation manifested through- 
 out them ail. 
 
 Q. 9. How do design and adaptation in the works 
 of creation prove the existence of God ? 
 
 A. Because design manifested in the adaptation of parts to 
 parts, and a series of these to a given end, prove to demon- 
 stration that these works are not self-existent, and must of 
 necessity therefore be the work of a designing mind. 
 
 Q. 10. How docs design in the ivorks of creation si to iv 
 that the world is not self -existent, but the product of an 
 intelligent mind ? 
 
 A. Because matter has no mind ; and, constituted as our 
 minds are, wherever w^e see design manifested we irresistibly 
 infer a designer. 
 
 Q. 11. Hoiu is it, that, from, the design and adapta- 
 tion manifested in the works of creation, we so necessa- 
 rily infer a designing cause, or the existence of God ? 
 
 A. It is from the constitution of mind that God has given 
 us, adapting and framing it, with such infinite skill, and wis- 
 dom, and heneficence, to the external world around us, as 
 that we should be irresistibly led from " nature up to nature's 
 Uod." 
 
 Q. 12. Would creation, and the design therein mani- 
 fested, apart from the constitution of our minds, p>rove 
 -the existence of God ^. 
 
 A. Yes : as the constitution of our minds cannot, in any 
 
OF THE EXISTENCE OF GOD. 3 
 
 way, affect either the works of creation, or the design therein 
 manifested ; while, at the same time, had our minds been 
 otherwise constituted than they are, we might not have 
 been able, from the works of creation, to infer the existence 
 of God : but from the beautiful harmony existing between 
 the constitution of our minds and the works of creation, it 
 is impossible for us to look abroad without being irresistibly 
 and spontaneously impressed with the feeling and conviction, 
 that one God ci'eated the heavens, and the earth, and our- 
 selves. 
 
 Q. 13. Would man, as soon as he luas created, Infer 
 the existence of God ? 
 
 A. Yes : for the constitution of our minds is such, that 
 we would as soon, and as easily, doubt our own personal iden- 
 tity, as not infer from design a designing intelligence. 
 
 Q. 14. Is the knowledge that we thus acquire of the 
 existence of God, of a solid and satisfijing nature ? 
 
 A. Yes : it is equally as solid and satisfying as that which 
 we derive from our senses, and in many respects far more so. 
 
 The knowledge we thus acquire from the constitution of 
 our mind is as solid and self-evidencing as that which we ac- 
 quire through the. medium of our senses. That two and two 
 make four, we feel to be as necessarily true as that darkness 
 vanishes before the rising sun. 
 
# 
 
 THE RULE BY WHICH ALONE 
 
 FIRST PART. 
 
 SECTION I. 
 
 THE END OF MAN'S CREATION, AND THE MEANS BY 
 WHICH HE MAY ATTAIN IT. 
 
 QUESTION I. 
 
 Quest. What is the chief end of man ? 
 
 Ans. Man's chief end is to glorify Gody and to enjoy him 
 for ever. 
 
 Q. 1. What are tue to understand hij the chief end of 
 man ? 
 
 A. That which, as a rational being, he is to make the lead- 
 ing object of his life, the end of all his actions. 1 Cor. x. 31, 
 " Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do 
 all to the glory of God." 
 
 Q. 2. What is it to glorifj God ? 
 
 A. It is to make his glory the motive or end of all our ac- 
 tions, and his revealed will our rule. John vii. 18, " He that 
 speaketh of himself seeketh his own glory * but he that seek- 
 eth his glory that sent him, the same is true, and no un- 
 righteousness is in him." Psal. cxix. 1, " Blessed are the un- 
 defiled in the way, who walk in the law of the Lord." 
 
 Q. 3. Whi/ should we make the glory of God our chief 
 end"^. 
 
 A. Because it is the end for which we were created ; be- 
 sides, God possesses in himself all possible perfection and ex- 
 cellence, — everything that is fitted to awaken and call forth the 
 esteem, love, admiration, and gratitude, of inteUigcnt and ra- 
 tional creatures. Isa. xliii. 7, " For I have created him for 
 my glory, I have formed him; yea, I have made him." Psal. 
 Ixxxix. 6, " For who in the heaven can be compared unto the 
 Lord ? who among the sons of the mighty can be likened 
 unto the Lord V Bev. xv. 4, " Who shall not fear thee, O 
 Lord, and glorify thy name ? for thou only art holy." 
 
 Q. 4. What was God's end in creation ? 
 
 A. The manifestation of his own glory; there being no 
 liigher end, ho could propose to himself, than making known 
 
MAN CAN GLORIFY GOD. 
 
 liis infinite perfections, so that his rational creatures mioht 
 know, admire, and adore him. Rev. iv. 11, " Thou art worthy, 
 O Lord, to receive glory, and honour, and power : for thou 
 hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and 
 were created." Psal. Ixxxvi. 9, " All nations whom thou hast 
 made shall come and worship before thee, Lord ; and shall 
 glorify thy name." 
 
 Q. 5. Does the material creation show forth the qloru 
 of God ^. ^ *" 
 
 A. Yes: for throughout all its departments are manifested 
 the glory of its Creator, and the operations of his power ; and 
 these may have been far more so, before sin entered into the 
 world, than now. Psal. xix. 1, " The heavens declare the 
 glory of God, and the firmament showeth his handy-work." 
 Eom. viii. 22, " For we know that the whole creation groan- 
 eth and travaileth in pain together until now." 
 Q. 6. Does man naturally seek to glorify God ? 
 A. No : but on the contrary opposes his glory, by his own 
 selfseeking ; and his will, by following his own corrupted in- 
 clination. Rom. iii. 23, " For all have sinned, and come 
 short of the glory of God." Rom. viii. 7, " Because the 
 carnal mind is enmity against God : for it is not subject to 
 the law of God, neither indeed can be." 
 
 Q. 7. Did, God qualify man for glorifying him when he 
 created, him ? 
 
 A. Yes: for he so constituted his moral nature, as to make 
 it alike his duty, and his happiness to seek God's glory as his 
 chief end, while from this constitution of his nature arises 
 that eternal and immutable obligation under which man will 
 ever^be, to glorify God in his body, and in his spirit, which are 
 God's. ^ Gen. i. 27, 31, " So God created man in his own image, 
 in the image of God created he him. And God saw every 
 thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good." 1 
 Chron. xxix. 11, " Thine, Lord, is the greatness,'" and the 
 power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty : for all 
 that is in the heaven and in the earth is thine ; thine is the 
 kingdom, Lord, and thou art exalted as head above all." 
 Q. 8. Will God ever dispense with man's glorifying him '^ 
 A. No : inasmuch as by the constitution of his nature, he 
 has brought him under such a law to make his glory his chief 
 end, that no condition, in which he ever can be placed, will 
 set him free. Prov. xvi. 4, " The Lord hath made all things 
 for himself." Lsa. xlii. 8, " I am the Lord ; that is my 
 name : and my glory will I not give to another, neither my 
 praise to graven images." 
 
 A 3 
 
b THE RULE BY WHICH ALONE 
 
 Q. 9. Holu may lue be enabled to glorify God, since he 
 neither can nor will dispense luith our seeking his glory as 
 our chief end ? 
 
 A. By believing in the Lord Jesus Christ, who, as the Sa- 
 viour of sinners, glorified God, and enables all, who receive 
 him, in some measure to glorify God also. Isa. xlix. 3, 
 " Thou art my servant, Israel, in whom I will be glorified." 
 Rom. iv. 20, " Abraham was strong in faith, giving glory to 
 God." 
 
 Q. 10. How does our believing in Christ glorify God 't 
 
 A. Because we then give full ciifijlen^e to all that God hath 
 revealed in his word, concerning Christ, and our own guilty 
 and helpless state ; acknowledging our sin, and returning again 
 to his love and service ; choosing God in Christ, as all our 
 portion, and all our desire. John iii. 33, " He that hath re- 
 ceived his testimony hath set to his seal that God is true." Gal. 
 i. 24, " And they glorified God in me." Josh. vii. 19, '• My 
 son, give, I pray thee, glory to the Lord God of Israel, and 
 make confession unto him." Psal. cxix. 57, " Thou art my 
 portion, O Lord : I have said that I would keep thy 
 word." 
 
 Q. 11. How does the believer glorify God, after he be- 
 lieves in Christ ? 
 
 A. By walking worthy of his holy vocation ; by so speaking 
 and acting, as to convince those about him, how truly blessed 
 they are whose God is the Lord ; and, by the growing sanc- 
 tification of his nature, the conformity of his heart and affec- 
 tions, to the will of God. Matt. v. 16, " Let your light so 
 shine before men, that they may see your good works, and 
 glorify your Father which is in heaven." Phil. i. 11, " Being 
 filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus 
 Christ, unto the glory and praise of God." Isa. Ix. 21, " Thy 
 people also shall be all righteous : that I may be glorified." 
 
 Q. 12. Do we enjoy God when we endeavour to make his 
 glory our chief end ? 
 
 A. Yes : inasmuch as God hath, by the very constitution of 
 our nature, so connected his glory with our happiness, that 
 every sincere effort which we are enabled to make for his 
 glory, brings with it a corresponding degree of happiness to 
 ourselves ; so that all his people have a testimony, in tiieir own 
 experience, that his favour is life, and his loving kindness 
 better than life. Psal. Ixiv. 10, " The righteous shall be glad in 
 the Lord, and shall trust in him ; and all the upright in heart 
 shall glory." Psal. xcvii. 11, " Light is sown for the righteous, 
 and gladness for the upright in heai-t." 
 
MAN CAN GLORIFY GOD. 7 
 
 Q. 13. Holu does it appear that we will enjoy God, hy 
 making his glory our chief end ? 
 
 A. Because God is in himself the supreme good, and his 
 glory the end of his works, when we make his glory our chief 
 end, then our w ill s are in some measure in accordance with 
 his, and he becomes our portion, and happiness. Tsal. Ixxiii. 
 25, 26, " Whom have I in heaven but thee ? and there is 
 none upon earth that I desire besides thee. My flesh and my 
 heart faileth : but God is the strength of my heart, and my 
 portion for ever." 
 
 Q. 14. Do lue naturally seek to enjoy God ? 
 
 A. No : for the moment we ceased to make God's glory 
 our chief end, from that moment also we ceased, either to find, 
 or desire happiness in God, having lost all true perception of 
 the moral beauty and loveliness of the divine character, as the 
 source of all excellency and happiness. Job xxi. 14, " There- 
 fore they say unto God, Depart from us ; for we desire not 
 the knowledge of thy ways." 
 
 Q. 15. Will any true happiness and enjoyment he found 
 apart from God ? 
 
 A. No : inasmuch as it is impossible, that God either can or 
 will make us happy, in any thing beside himself — having made 
 us capable of knowing, loving, and enjoying himself, as the 
 supreme good ; so that, whatever it may be apart from God 
 in which we are seeking our chief happiness, we will find it, 
 sooner or later, to be vanity and vexation of spirit. E-ev. iii. 
 17, " Because thou sayest, I am ricjh, and increased with 
 goods, and have need of nothing ; and knowest not that thou 
 art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked." 
 
 Q. 16. Do believers feel that to enjoy God is truly a sa- 
 tisfying portion ? 
 
 A. Yes : and such a portion as they would not exchange 
 for the wealth of worlds ; their desire being, that they may 
 be enabled to live habitually in the light of his counte- 
 nance, and enjoy him more and more. Psal. Ixiii. 1 — 3, 
 " O God, thou art my God ; early will I seek thee : my soul 
 thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and 
 thirsty land, where no water is ; to see thy power and thy 
 glory, so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary. Because thy 
 loving-kindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee." 
 
 Q. 17. Will God lose his glory, since all who do not be- 
 lieve in Christ do neither actively glorify nor enjoy him ? 
 
 A. No : as it is impossible that God can lose the glory of any 
 of his works ; for although unbelievers neither do, nor can, 
 actively glorify him, yet even now, he maketh their wrath to 
 
8 THE RULE BY WHICH ALO.NE 
 
 praise him, and will hereafter glorify himself in their ever- 
 lasting punishment. Exod. xiv. 4, " And I will be honom-ed 
 upon Pharaoh, and upon all his host." Lev. x. 3, " This is it 
 that the Lord spake, saying, I will be sanctified in them that 
 come nigh me, and before all the people I will be glorified." 
 " Ezek. xxviii. 22, " Behold, I am against thee, O Sidon ; 
 and I will be olorified in the midst of thee." 
 
 Let us be stirred up to inquire, if we have so believed on 
 Christ, as to be enabled, in some measure, to make God's 
 glory our chief end ; if it has truly become with us, the deep- 
 est interest of pursuit, that which, of all other ends, we long 
 to see promoted in the world, and if we are thus actively en- 
 deavouring to glorify him, according to our abilities and op- 
 portunities, then assuredly, we will also knoAv what it is to 
 enjoy him — that truly his favour his life, and his loving kind- 
 ness better than life. But if we are still living without God 
 in the world, careless alike of his glory, his favour, and his 
 friendship, how awful the consideration, that he will not lose 
 his glory, even in us ; but, if repentance prevent not, will 
 glorify himself in our eternal exclusion from the enjoyment 
 of his blessed presence. " The Lord hath made all things 
 for himself ; yea, even the wicked for the day of evil. Every 
 one that is proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord : 
 though hand join in hand he shall not be unpunished." 
 
 QUESTION IL 
 
 Having seen that God made all things for his own glory, 
 and that the chief end of man is to glorify him, and to enjoy 
 him for ever, we now come to the rule given to direct us how 
 we may glorify and enjoy him. 
 
 Quest. What rule hath God given to direct us how u>e 
 moA) glorify and enjoy him ? 
 
 Ans. The word of God, which is contained in the Sci'ip- 
 tures of the Old and New Testaments, is the only rule to 
 direct us how we may glorify and enjoy him. 
 
 Q. 1. Why are the Scriptures of the Old and New Tes- 
 taments called the Word of God ? 
 
 A. Because all that they contain is the revelation of his 
 will, dictated by the Holy Ghost. 2 Tim. ii. 16, " All scrip- 
 ture is given by inspii'ation of God." 
 
MAJSr CAIST GLORIFY GOD. 9 
 
 Q. 2. Were the Scriptures of the Old and New Testa* 
 ments written hy one or more individuals ? 
 
 A. They were written by many persons, all of whom were 
 inspired by the Holy Ghost. 2 Pet. i. 21, " For the prophecy 
 (;ame not in old time by the will of man ; but holy men of 
 God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost." Eph. 
 ii. 20, " And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and 
 prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner-stone." 
 
 Q. 3. Why luere the Scriptures of the Old and New 
 Testaments written hy a succession of persons ? 
 
 A. Because, from the very nature of the revelation, it could 
 only be given through a series of individuals at different times, 
 as the Divine mind saw meet to unfold the glorious plan which 
 it makes known. Heb. i. 1, 2, " God, who at sundry times, and 
 in divers manners, spake in time past unto the fathers by the 
 prophets, hath, in these last days, spoken unto us by his Son." 
 
 Q. 4. Are the Scriptures of the Old and Neiu Testaments 
 the only rule given to direct us how we may glorify and 
 enjoy God ? 
 
 A. Yes : inasmuch as they are the only written revelation 
 of the will of God that has ever been given. The light which 
 man enjoyed in his estate of innocence, having, after his apos- 
 tacy, become insufficient to direct him, the holy Scriptures 
 alone can point out how fallen and guilty creatures may now 
 glorify and enjoy God. Psal. cxix. 105, 104, " Thy word is a 
 lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path ;" " Through 
 thy precepts I get understanding, therefore I hate every 
 false way." 
 
 Q. 5. Do the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments 
 contain all that is necessary as a rule to direct us hoiu ive 
 may glorify and enjoy God ? 
 
 A. Yes : being a full and explicit revelation of all that is 
 necessary for us to know and believe of God and of our- 
 selves, as well as clearly pointing out the only way by which 
 we can glarify and enjoy God. John v. 39, " Search the 
 Scriptures ; for in them ye think ye have eternal life : and 
 they are they which testify of me." Psal. cxix. 9, " Where- 
 withal shall a young man cleanse his way ? By taking heed 
 thereto according to thy word." 
 
 Q. 6. Is it our duty diligently to read and ponder over 
 the Scrij)tures of the Old and New Testametits, as the only 
 rule to direct us hoiu we may glorify and enjoy God ? 
 
 A. It is our duty, diligently and prayerfully, to study the 
 Word of God, that we may know his will and do it ; for, by 
 knowing the will of God and doing it, we will both glorify 
 
10 THE RULE 1 y WHICH ALO>*E 
 
 and enjoy him. 2 Tim. iii. 15, "And that from a child thou 
 liast known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make thee 
 wise unto salvation, through faith which is in Christ Jesus." 
 1 John i. 3, " That which we have seen and heard declare we 
 unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us ; and, 
 truly, our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son 
 Jesus Christ.'' 
 
 Q. 7- Is it our duty to cherish a very high esteem and 
 love for the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, 
 as the only rule to direct us how we may glorify and enjoy 
 God ? 
 
 A. Yes : and if we know anything of ourselves, and the 
 relation in which we stand to God, as his fallen, sinhil, guilty, 
 and dependent creatures, we will esteem them far more 
 valuable than any other treasure, and so love them, as ear- 
 nestly to desire that they may be engraven upon our hearts, 
 and ever present to our minds, directing and guiding us in 
 all our ways, our song and our rejoicing in the house of our 
 pilgrimage. Psal. xix. 10, " More to be desired are they than 
 gold, yea, than much fine gold ; sweeter also than honey, and 
 the honey comb." Psal. cxix. 127, 97, " Therefore I love 
 thy commandments above gold, yea, above fine gold. how 
 love I thy law ! it is my meditation all the day." 
 
 Q. 8. Is it our duty to he entirely guided hy the Scrip- 
 tures of the Old and New Testaments, in our endeavour 
 to glorify and enjoy God ? 
 
 A. Yes : as it is only in so far as we take them for our 
 rule, that we make any endeavour to glorify God, and as they 
 are given us for this end, it is alike our duty and our privilege 
 to embody them in our life and conversation. Psal. cxix. 
 4 — 6, " Thou hast commanded us to keep thy precepts dili- 
 gently. Oh that my ways were directed to keep thy statutes ! 
 Then shall I not be ashamed, when I have respect unto all 
 thy commandments." 
 
 Q. 9. Can lue, of ourselves, so understand the Word of 
 God, as that it shall he to us a rule for glorifying and en- 
 joying him ? 
 
 A. No : for although it is a very clear and full revelation of 
 the will of God that is given us in his Word, yet such is the 
 natural blindness of our minds, and perversity of our hearts, 
 that, without the special teaching of the Holy Spirit, we will 
 remain not only ignorant of the plainest and simplest truths, 
 but even such as we do know will exercise no proper influ- 
 ence over us. 1 Cor. ii. 14, '' But the natural man receiveth 
 not the things of the Spirit of God ; for they ai'o foolishness 
 
MAN CAN GLORIFY GOD. 11 
 
 unto him ; neither can he know them, because they are spiri- 
 tually discerned." 
 
 Q. 10. What is our duty in reading the Word of God, 
 so that we may he enabled to take it as our rule to glorify 
 and enjoy God? 
 
 A. We must earnestly seek for, and depend upon the 
 teaching of the Holy Spirit ; that he who dictated the Scrip- 
 tures may lead us unto ail truth, and make us savingly ac- 
 quainted with the will of God for our salvation. Psal. cxix. 
 18, 19, " Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous 
 things out of thy law. I am a stranger in the earth ; hide 
 not thy commandments from me." 
 
 Q. 11. What luill be the consequence if we do not dili- 
 gently read the Word of God, with a believing dependance 
 on the teaching of the Holy Spirit, as the only rule to direct 
 us how we may glorify and enjoy him ? 
 
 A. We will remain not only destitute of all saving know- 
 ledge of God, and of the only way by which we can glorify 
 and enjoy him, but he will justly leave us a prey to our own 
 depraved affections and appetites, and punish us besides for 
 our disobedience. Prov. i. 25, 26, " But ye have set at 
 nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof. I 
 also will laugh at your calamity, I will mock when your fear 
 Cometh." Jer. x. 25, " Pour out thy fury upon the heathen 
 that know thee not, and upon the families that call not upon 
 thy name." 
 
 Q. 12. Will such ivilful neglect of the Word of God ag- 
 gravate our original guilt ? 
 
 A. Yes : it will greatly do so ; insomuch, that, in Scrip- 
 ture, it is said to be the ground of our condemnation : because 
 the Word not only makes known a way of escaj)e from the 
 wrath to come, but opens up a way also for our return to God, 
 and enjoyment of him. John iii. 19, 36, " And this is 
 the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and 
 men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds 
 were evil. He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting 
 life : and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life ; but 
 the Wrath of God abideth on him." 
 
 How fearfully aggravated will be our guilt, if we neglect to 
 read and ponder over the Word of God, as the only rule 
 that can direct us how to glorify and enjoy him ; to think that 
 we were lost, groping as in midnight darkness, having, by our 
 apostacy, extinguished the light we originally had, and that,, 
 after God, in infinite love and compassion, has given to us, his 
 
12 THE TWO PRINCIPAL TRUTHS 
 
 rebellious creatures, another light, to guide ourjeet into the 
 ■way of peace, and bring us to the enjoyment of himself, we 
 should still treat such a sacred treasure with indifference. O 
 may we be of those who come to the light, and who esteem 
 the Word of God as more necessary than their daily food, and 
 who, under the teaching of the Holy Spirit, are daily led to 
 Him who died, the just for the unjust, that he might brino- 
 sinners unto God, and so made to feel that they are not their 
 own, but, having been bought with a price, are bound to glorify 
 God in their bodies and in their spirits, which are God's I 
 
 QUESTION III. 
 
 Having seen that the Scriptures of the Old and New Tes- 
 taments is the only rule given to direct us how we may glo- 
 rify and enjoy God, we now come to inquire what it is that 
 the Scriptures principally teach. 
 
 Quest. What do the Scriptures principalis/ teach ? 
 
 Ans, The Scriptures principally teach what man is to be- 
 lieve concerning God, and what duty God requires of man. 
 
 Q. 1. What is the first tiling that the Scriptures princi- 
 pally teach ? 
 
 A. What we are to believe concerning God. Heb. xi. 6, 
 " But without faith it is impossible to please him : for he that 
 cometh to God nmst believe that he is, and that he is a re- 
 warder of them that diligently seek him." 
 
 Q. 2. What are some of the leading truths luhich the 
 Scriptures teach concerning God, and that lue are required 
 to believe ? 
 
 A. That there is but one only living and true God, who is 
 an infinite and eternal Spirit ; that there are three persons 
 in the Godhead, and that these three are one ; that he created 
 all things for his own glory ; that when man fell from the es- 
 tate of holy blessedness, in which he was created, he provided 
 a Saviour, in the person of his own eternal Son ; and that he 
 bestows the Holy Spirit, to apply the redemption purchased 
 by Christ, to as many as believe. All that is contained from 
 this question to the thirty-ninth principally refers to what we 
 are to beheve concerning God. 2 Tim. i. 13, " Hold fast the 
 form of sound words, which thou has heard of me, in faith and 
 love which is in Christ Jesus," 
 
TAUGHT IN THE SCRIPTURES. 13 
 
 Q. 3. W.hat is the second thing that the Scriptures 'prin- 
 cipally teach ? 
 
 A. Tlie duty that God requires of man. Mic. vi. 8, " He 
 hath showed thee, O man, what is good ; and what doth the 
 Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and 
 to walk humbly with thy God." 
 
 Q, 4. What are some of the leading duties that the Scrip- 
 tures teach us we owe to God ? 
 
 A. That we believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, as the 
 Saviour of sinners ; repent of our sins ; observe his ordi- 
 nances, and keep his law. All that is contained from the 
 thirty-ninth question to the end principally includes our 
 duty to God. John vi. 29, " Jesus answered and said unto 
 them. This is the work of God, that ye beheve on him whom 
 he hath sent." Matt, xxviii. 20, " Teaching them to observe 
 all things whatsoever I have commanded you." 
 
 Q. 5. Why are the truths that we are to believe concern- 
 ing Godf put before the duty which he requires ? 
 
 A. Because without a knowledge of these truths, and a be- 
 lieving reception of them, we would neither know what was 
 our duty, nor be able to perform it. Tit. ii. 11, 12, '' For 
 the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all 
 men, teaching us, that denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, 
 we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present 
 world." 
 
 Q. 6. Was it necessary that a divine revelation should 
 be given, to make known ivhat we are to believe concerning 
 God, and the duty which he requires of us ? 
 
 A. Yes : for although God has manifested, or made known, 
 his eternal power and Godhead by creation, and, consequently, 
 laid every creature under a corresponding obligation to love 
 and serve him ; yet nowhere, throughout all creation, are we 
 informed how a sinful and guilty creature may have his sin 
 forgiven and be reconciled to God ; besides, in consequence 
 of sin, it is little that we can now discover, either of God or 
 of our duty as his rebellious creatures, by his works apart from 
 his word ; and any knowledge of God, which we may attain 
 in this way, is altogether unworthy of the majesty and glory 
 of the incomprehensible Jehovah. John i. 18, 4, " No man 
 hath seen God at any time ; the only begotten Son, which is 
 in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him. In him 
 was life, and the life was the light of men." 
 
 Q. 7. Does the Word of God reveal his character and 
 what we are to believe concerning him more fully than his 
 works ever did ? 
 
14 THE NATURE AND PERFECTIONS OF GOD. 
 
 A. Yes: inasmuch as it not only unfolds the perfections 
 of his character, and the principles of his moral government, 
 in a manner that creation never could have done, but also 
 points out most distinctly how God is just in justifying the 
 ungodly; how he can punish sin, and yet save the sinner. 
 Rom. i. 16, 17, " For I am not ashamed of the gospel of 
 Christ ; for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one 
 that believeth ; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek ; for 
 therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to 
 faith ; as it is written, The just shall live by faith." 
 
 Q. 8. Does the Word of God reveal the duty which we 
 owe to hwi more f idly than we could understand it hy his 
 works ? 
 
 A. Yes: inasmuch as it not only makes known to us the 
 duty which, by the law of our being, we owe to God, but also 
 reveals a Saviour, through whom we may obtain the pardon 
 of our sin, and by whose intercession we may receive the Holy 
 Spirit to regenerate and sanctify our nature ; but without 
 whose divine agency we can neither perform any service that 
 will be acceptable to God, nor profitable to our own souls. 
 Acts X. 43, " To him gave all the prophets witness, that 
 through his name, whosoever believeth in him, shall receive 
 remission of sins." John xvi. 23, 24, " AVhatsoever ye shall 
 ask the Father in my name he will give it you : Ask, and ye 
 shall receive, that your joy may be full." 
 
 How inestimably precious ought the Word of God to be to 
 us, since it not only makes known what God is, and the duty 
 which, as his rational creatures, we owe to him, but also 
 makes known to us how we, sinful and guilty creatures, may 
 be reconciled to him, and brought into such a state as to be 
 enabled, in some measure, to make his glory our chief end, 
 and the enjoyment of his favour the source of all our happi- 
 ness ! 
 
 SECTION II. 
 
 WHAT GOD IS. 
 QUEST. IV. 
 
 Having seen that the chief end of man is to glorify God 
 and to enjoy him lor ever, and that, in consequence of man's 
 
THE NATURE AND PERFECTIONS OF GOD. 15 
 
 Tipostacy, whereby the light which he had to guide him in glo- 
 rifying and enjoying God, became darkness, God did graci- 
 ously vouchsafe to us a written revelation of his will, in the 
 holy Scriptures, teaching us, both what we are to believe con- 
 cerning God, and the duty which he requires of us, we now 
 come to the first of the series of truths which we are to be- 
 lieve concerning God. 
 
 Quest. What is Grod ? 
 
 Ans. God is a Spirit, infinite, eternal, and unchangeable, in 
 his being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth. 
 
 Q. 1. Is it assumed or taken for granted that there is 
 a God ? 
 
 A. Yes : it being alike conformable to the common sense 
 of mankind, and the testimony of Scripture, that there is a 
 Supreme Being, the Creator and upholder of all things. Heb. 
 iii. 4, " For every house is builded by some man ; but he that 
 built all things is God." 
 
 Q. 2. What is the Jirst thing stated respecting God? 
 
 A. That he is a Spirit. John iv. 24, " God is a Spirit ; 
 and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in 
 truth." 
 
 Q. 3. What are we to understand by saying that God 
 is a Spirit ? 
 
 A. That he is an immaterial substance, without flesh, or 
 bones, or bodily parts, a pure spiritual essence. 1 John iv. 12, 
 *' No man hath seen God at any time." John v. 37, " Ye 
 have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his shape." 
 Luke xxiv. 39, " Handle me and see, for a spirit hath not 
 flesh and bones, as ye see me have." 
 
 Q. 4. What is the second thing stated respecting God ? 
 
 A. That he is an infinite Spirit. Job xxxvii. 23, " Touch- 
 ing the Almighty, we cannot find him out." 
 
 Q. 5. What are lue to understand by saying that God 
 is an infinite Spirit ? 
 
 A. That he is without bounds or limits : being everywhere 
 present, not only by his influence, but in his essence. Job 
 xi. 7, " Canst thou by searching find out God ? Canst thou 
 find out the Almighty unto perfection ?" Jer. xxiii. 24, " Can 
 any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him ? 
 saith the Lord : do not I fill heaven and earth ? saith the 
 Lord." 
 
 Q. 6. What are we to understand when it is said that 
 God dwelleth in particular places, such as heaven, and 
 the humble heart ? 
 
16 THE NATURE AND PERFECTIONS OF GOD. 
 
 A. By such statements we are not to underetand tliat God 
 is not everywhere present, but that he maketh hiniseh' more 
 especially known in particular places, in his cfracious influ- 
 ences, diffusing light, and life, and joy, and gladness. Psal. 
 cxxxix. 7 — 10, '• Whither shall I go from thy Spirit ? or whi- 
 ther shall I flee from thy presence ? If I ascend up into hea- 
 ven, thou art there ; if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou 
 art there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in 
 the uttermost parts of the sea ; even there shall thy hand lead 
 me, and thy right hand shall hold me." Psal. li. 11, 12, 
 " Cast me not away from thy presence ; and take not thy 
 Holy Spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of thy salva- 
 tion ; and uphold me with thy free Spirit." 
 
 Q. 7. Is it any comfort to those who have believed in 
 Jesus, to know that God is an infinite Spirit, or everi/- 
 where present ? 
 
 A. Yes : it is a ground of comfort and consolation to them 
 amid all their troubles and perplexities ; for although a sense 
 of God's presence can never fail to humble them deeply on 
 account of their remaining sinfulness, and make them feel how 
 unable they are in themselves to stand in the presence of 
 so holy and just a God, yet they know that it is the pur- 
 pose of God to deliver them from all sin, and to make them 
 holy, and that there is no consideration so well fitted, as the 
 thought of God's presence is, to animate them to a vigorous 
 resistance to all sin, assuring them, as it does, that God know- 
 eth all the circumstance of their condition, and will sooner or 
 later make them more than conquerors through him that loved 
 them. Job xlii. 5, 6, " I have heard of thee by the hearing 
 of the ear ; but now mine eye seeth thee : Wherefore I abhor 
 myself, and repent in dust and ashes." Psal. xvi. 8, 9, " I 
 have set the Lord always before me : because he is at my right 
 hand, I shall not be moved. Therefore my heart is glad, and 
 my glory rejoiceth." 
 
 Q. 8. Is it ant/ comfort to those who do not believe in 
 JesuSy to know that God is an infinite Spirit, or every- 
 where present ? 
 
 A. No : inasmuch as their not believing in Christ implies an 
 unwillingness to be delivered from sin ; and so long as they 
 continue in such a state of mind, the thought of God's pre- 
 sence must, of all considerations, be the most appalling to 
 them ; since they know he cannot but hate sin, and, hating it, 
 will assuredly punish it. Psal. xxi. 8, 9, " Thine hand shall 
 find out all thine enemies, thy right hand shall find out those 
 that hate thee. Thou shalt make them as a fiery oven in th© 
 
THE NATURE AND PERFECTIONS OF GOD. 17 
 
 time of thine anger : the Lord shall swallow them up in his 
 wrath, and the fire shall devour them." 
 
 Q. 9. What is the third thing stated respecting God ? 
 
 A. That he is an eternal Spirit. Psal. xc. 2, " From ever- 
 lasting to everlasting thou art God." 
 
 Q. 10. What are lue to understand by saying that God 
 is an eternal Spirit ? 
 
 A. That he is without beg-inninsf and without end — a 
 pure and mdependent Being, subsisting in and of himself, the 
 Creator of all things, and on whom all things depend. Rev. 
 i. 8, " I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, 
 saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, 
 the Almighty." 
 
 Q. 11. Is it any comfort to those luho believe in Jesus, 
 to know that God is an eternal Spirit ? 
 
 A. Yes : for it assures them that their happiness shall be 
 without end, inasmuch as God himself is their never failing 
 portion. Psal. xvi. 11, " In thy presence is fulness of joy ; 
 at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore." Psal. 
 xvii. 15, " As for me, I will behold thy face in righteous- 
 ness : I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness." 
 Psal. cxix. 57, " Thou art my portion, O Lord." 
 
 Q. 12. Is it any comfort to those who have not believed 
 tn Jesus, to know that God is an eternal Spirit ? 
 
 A. No : but on the contrary it is a source of unspeakable 
 misery, inasmuch as they are not only guilty, but destitute al- 
 so of every principle and holy afi'ection that can fit them for 
 the enjoyment of the divine presence ; and so long as their 
 natures remain contrary to God's, his presence must be a 
 source of inconceivable anguish, more especially in that state 
 of being where there will be nothing on which their faculties 
 will be exercised, and to which their minds can turn apart 
 from God. Rev. vi. 16, " And said to the mountains and 
 rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of Him that sitteth 
 on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb." Heb. xii. 
 26, " For our God is a consuming fire." 
 
 Q. 13. What is the fourth thing stated respecting God, ? 
 
 A. That he is an unchangeable Spirit. James i. 17, " The 
 Father of lights, with whom is no variableness neither shadow 
 of turning." 
 
 Q. 14. What are we to understand by saying that God 
 is an unchangeable Spirit ? 
 
 A. That he is the same he ever was, is, or shall be, 
 without the possibility of any change whatever. Mai. iii. 6, 
 
 b3 
 
18 THE NATURE AND PERFECTIONS OF GOD. 
 
 " For I am the Lord, I chanore not." Heb. xiii. 8, *' Jesus 
 Christ the same yesterday, and to-day, and for ever." 
 
 Q. 15. Is it any comfort to those who have believed in 
 Jesus, to know that God is an unchangeable Spirit ? 
 
 A. Yes : for it assures them, that whatsoever God has pro- 
 mised, he will in his own good time and way make good to 
 them. Num. xxiii. 19, " God is not a man that he should 
 lie ; neither the Son of man that he should repent : hath he 
 said, and shall he not do it ? or hath he spoken, and shall he 
 not make it good?" Jer. xxxi. 3, " The Lord hath appear- 
 ed of old unto me, saying, yea, I have loved thee with an 
 everlastinop love ; therefore with lovinor-kindness have I drawn 
 thee." 
 
 Q. 16. Is it any comfort to those who have not believed 
 in Jesus to know that God is an unchangeable Spirit ? 
 
 A. No : for it assures them that all his threatenings 
 against sin will infallibly be executed. Prov. xvi. 5, " Every 
 one that is proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord ; 
 tliough hand join in hand he shall not be unpunished." 
 
 Q. 17. Is there any other being besides God who pos- 
 sesses the attributes of infinitude, eternity, and unchange- 
 ableness ? 
 
 A. No : inasmuch as all others derive their being or exis- 
 tence from God, and have a beginning and local existence ; 
 and, being creatures, are mutable and given to change — infin- 
 itude, eternity, and unchangeableness, being God's incommu- 
 nicable attributes, which he can communicate to no created 
 being. Heb. i. 10 — 12, " And thou, Lord, in the beginning, 
 hast laid the foundation of the earth ; and the heavens are 
 the works of thine hands : they shall perish, but thou remain- 
 est ; and they all shall wax old as doth a garment ; and as a 
 vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed ; 
 but thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail." 
 
 Q. 18. Are the other attributes of God, such as being, 
 wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness and truth, com- 
 municable to creatures? 
 
 A. Yes : but only in a finite degree ; inasmuch as they de- 
 rive their being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness 
 and truth from God, while he is in and of himself the self- 
 existent and independent Jehovah, possessing all the attri- 
 butes of wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness and truth, 
 in an infinite, eternal, and unchangeable degree of perfection. 
 Exod. iii. 14, " And God said unto Moses, I am that I am." 
 
 Q. 19. What are ive to understand by saying that God 
 is infinite^ eternal^ and unchangeable in his wisdom ? 
 
THE NATURE AND PERFECTIONS OF GOD. 19 
 
 A. That it is that perfection in his nature, being, or es- 
 sence, whereby he knows all things concerning himself and 
 every other creature which he hath made, and that from all 
 eternity. Acts xv. 18, " Known unto God are all his works 
 from the beginning of the world." 
 
 Q. 20. Wherein doth the infinite, eternal, and unchange- 
 able wisdom of God appear ? 
 
 A. It appears resplendently in all that he has done, or is 
 doing, both in creation and redemption : in creation, by the 
 design that is manifested in the adaptation of one part to an- 
 other, and of means to the end ; and in redemption, by pun- 
 ishing sin, and yet saving the sinner ; vindicating the recti- 
 tude of his moral government, and magnifying his law, and 
 yet receiving the rebellious into favour. Psal. civ. 24, " O 
 Lord, how manifold are thy works ! in wisdom hast thou 
 made them all." Eph. iii. 10, " To the intent that now, unto 
 the principalities and powers in heavenly places, might be 
 known by the church the manifold wisdom of God." 
 
 Q. 21. Is it any comfort to those who have believed in 
 Jesus to know that God is infinite, eternal, and unchange- 
 able in wisdom ? 
 
 A. The perfect wisdom of God is a source of great comfort 
 and encouragement to all such under a sense of their igno- 
 rance and weakness, because on it they can rest with compla- 
 cency and delight, amid all the difficulties which so often be- 
 set their path, in the assured confidence, that God will guide 
 them through them all. Isa. xlii. 16, " And I will bring the 
 blind by a way that they know not ; I will lead them in paths 
 that they have not known ; I will make darkness light before 
 them, and crooked things straight. These things will I do 
 unto them, and not forsake them." Prov. iii. 6, " In all thy 
 ways acknowledge him, and he will direct thy paths." 
 
 Q. 22. Is it any comfort to those who have not believed 
 in Jesus to know that God is infinite, eternal, and un- 
 changeable in luisdom, ? 
 
 A. No : because it assures them of God's perfect know- 
 ledge of all their actions, and how easy it is for him to frus- 
 trate all their feeble efforts to oppose his will, or defeat his 
 counsels, taking the wise in their own craftiness, and making 
 their very wrath to praise him. Heb. iv. 13, "Neither is 
 there any creature that is not manifest in his sight : but all 
 things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom 
 we have to do." 
 
 Q. 23. What are we to understand by saying that God 
 is infinite, etertial, and unchangeable in power ? 
 
20 THE NATURE AND PERFECTIONS OF GOD. 
 
 A. That it is that perfection in his nature or essence 
 whereby he can do all things, and being the source of all 
 
 }30wer, it is his pleasure alone that anything exists besides 
 limself. Gen. xvii. 1, " I am the Almighty God." 1 Chron. 
 xxix. 12, " Both riches and honour come of thee, and thou 
 reignest over all ; and in thine hand is power and might ; and 
 in thine hand it is to make great, and to give strength unto 
 all." 
 
 Q. 24. Wherein doth the injlnite, eternal, and un- 
 changeable power of God appear ? 
 
 A. In creating, upholding, and governing all things, and 
 in overruling and directing them to the accomplishment 
 of his own gracious purposes. Rev. iv. 11, " Thou hast 
 created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were 
 created." Heb. i. 3, " Upholding all things by the word of 
 his power." Dan. iv. 35, " He doeth according to his will in 
 the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the eai-th." 
 Psal. Ixvi. 37, "How terrible art thou in thy works ! through 
 the greatness of thy power shall thine enemies submit them- 
 selves unto thee. He ruleth by his power for ever." 
 
 Q. 25. Is it any comfort to those ivho have believed in 
 Jesus, to know that God is infinite, eternal, and un- 
 changeable in power ? 
 
 A. Yes : for it assures them that they will not only be 
 defended against all the machinations of their spiritual and 
 temporal enemies, and the corruption of their own nature, 
 but that all things will be made to work too;ether for God's 
 glory and their good. Eccl. ix. 1, "The righteous, and the 
 wise, and their works, are in the hand of God." Rom. viii. 
 28, " And we know that all things work together for good to 
 them that love God." 
 
 Q. 26. Is it any comfort to those who have not believed 
 in Jesus, to knoiv that God is infinite, eternal, and un- 
 changeable in power? 
 
 A. No : for it assures them that there is none that can de- 
 liver himself out of his hand, and how easy it would be for 
 him to crush them, and all their efforts against him, in 
 a moment ; and that whosoever hardeneth himself against 
 him will not prosper. Jer. v. 22, "Fear ye not me ?%aith 
 the Lord : will ye not tremble at my presence." Nah. 
 i. 3, 6, " The Lord is slow to anger, and great in power, and 
 will not at all acquit the wicked. Who can stand before his 
 indignation ? and who can abide in the fierceness of his anger ? 
 His fury is poured out like fire, and the rocks are thrown 
 down by him." 
 
THE NATURE AND PERFECTIONS OF GOD. 21 
 
 Q. 27. What are we to understand by saying that God 
 is infinite, eternal, and unchangeable in holiness ? 
 
 A, That it is that perfection in his nature or essence which 
 necessarily leads him to take complacency and dehght in his 
 own infinite purity, and in everything that is agreeable to his 
 will ; and to hate, with a perfect hatred, everything that is 
 impure and contrary to it. Rev. iv. 8, " Holy, holy, holy, 
 Lord God Almighty." Jer. xhv. 4, " Oh, do not this abomi- 
 nable thing that I hate." Psal. v. 5, " Thou hatest all work- 
 ers of iniquity." 
 
 Q. 28. Wherein consists the holiness of the creature ? 
 
 A. In a perfect conformity to the image or will of God. 
 Eph. iv. 24, " And that ye put on the new man, which, after 
 God, is created in righteousness and true holiness. 
 
 Q. 29. Wherein doth the infinite^ eternal, and un- 
 changeable holiness of God appear ? 
 
 A. In all his dealings with inteUigent creatures ; in the 
 connection he has established between sin and suffering ; in 
 the infliction of wrath on the transgressor of his law ; but es- 
 pecially in the sufferings, and agony, and death of the Son of 
 God, as the substitute of guilty sinners. Prov. viii. 36, " But 
 he that sinneth against me wrongeth his own soul." Lev. x. 
 2, " And there went out fire from the Lord, and devoured 
 them ; and they died before the Lord." Psal. xxii. 14, "I 
 am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint ; 
 my heart is like wax ; it is melted in the midst of ray bow- 
 els." 2 Cor. V. 21, " For he hath made him to be sin for us, 
 who knew no sin ; that we might be made the righteousness 
 of God in him." 
 
 Q. 30. Is it any comfort to those who have believed in 
 Jesus, to know that God is infinite, eternal, and un- 
 changeable in holiness ? 
 
 A. Yes : inasmuch as it assures them, that, sinful though 
 they now are, they shall one day be made hke him, and be 
 enabled to see him as he is. John xvii. 11, 17, " Holy Fa- 
 ther, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast 
 given me, that they may be one, as we are. Sanctify them 
 through thy truth : thy word is truth." 
 
 Q. 31. Is it any comfort to those who have not believ- 
 ed in Jesus, to know that God is infinite, eternal, and 
 unchangeable in holiness ? 
 
 A. No : for it assures them, that, while they continue sin- 
 ful and unreconciled to God in Jesus Christ, they are the ob- 
 jects of his abhorrence ; and as such will be banished from his 
 gracious presence for ever. Psal. v. 4, 5, " For thou art not 
 
22 THE NATURE AND PERFECTIONS OF GOD. 
 
 a God that hath pleasure in wickedness ; neither shall evil 
 dwell with thee. The foolish shall not stand in thy sight." 
 Heb. xii. 14, " Follow peace with all men, and holiness, with- 
 out which no man shall see the Lord." 
 
 Q, 32. What are we to understand by saying that 
 God is infinite^ eternal, and unchangeable in justice ? 
 
 A, That it is that perfection in his nature or essence, 
 whereby he is infinitely righteous and equal in himself, and 
 in his dealings with his creatures. Psal. viii. 9, 14, " Jus- 
 tice and judgment are the habitation of thy throne." 
 
 Q. 33. Wherein doth the injinite, eternal, and un- 
 chayig cable justice of God appear ? 
 
 A. In the rectitude of his own nature, whereby, for his 
 own glory, he hath decreed all things that come to pass ; and 
 in his government of all created beings to the accomplish- 
 ment of this end. Psal. cxlv. 17, " The Lord is righteous 
 in all his ways, and holy in all his works." 
 
 Q. 34. Is it any comfort to those who have believed in 
 Jesus, to know that God is infinite, eternal, and un- 
 changeable in justice ? 
 
 A. Yes : for although his justice awards to them everlast- 
 ing punishment, as rebels against him, and as the violators of 
 a most reasonable and righteous law ; yet as believers in Jesus, 
 who satisfied the justice of God, and magnified the law, the 
 attribute of justice is the sure pledge that, in due time, they 
 shall be put in possession of all the blessings which he died to 
 purchase, and now Hves to bestow. 2 Tim. iv. 8, " Hence- 
 forth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which 
 the Lord, the righteous Judge, shall give me at that day ; and 
 not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appear- 
 infj." 
 
 in 
 
 Q. 35. Is it any comfort to those who have not believ- 
 ed in Jesus, to know that God is infinite, eternal, and 
 unchangeable in justice ? 
 
 A. No : for it assures them that God will not pass by sin 
 unexpiated or unpunished, but will vindicate his justice in 
 the infliction of punishment upon the impenitent, as their 
 iniquities deserve ; which determination he has even now in- 
 timated in the course of his providence, by the inseparable 
 connection established between sin and suffering. Gen. xviii. 
 25, " Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right." 2 Thes.s. 
 i. 7 — 9, " When the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from hea- 
 ven with his mighty angels. In flaming fire, taking ven- 
 geance on thein that know not God, and that obey not the 
 gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ : Who shall be punished 
 
THE NATURE AND PERFECTIONS OF GOD. 23 
 
 with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, 
 and from the glory of his power." 
 
 Q. 36. What are we to understand by saying that G.od 
 is infinite, eternal, and unchangeable in goodness ? 
 
 A. That it is that perfection in his nature or essence, where- 
 by he is infinitely good in himself, and the fountain of all 
 goodness to every living thing. Psal. cxix. 68, " Thou art 
 good, and doest good." 
 
 Q. 37. Wherein doth the infinite , eternal, and unchange- 
 able goodness of God appear ? 
 
 A. Throughout all his works in creation, by giving being 
 to his creatures when he stood in no need of them, being 
 essentially happy in the enjoyment of himself; in providence 
 by preserving his creatures, and in supplying all their wants ; 
 and in redemption by finding out, and sending his own eternal 
 Son, as the Saviour of sinners, when they had ruined them- 
 selves by their apostacy from God. Gen. i. 31, " And God 
 saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very 
 good." Psal. xvi. 2, " Thou art my Lord : my goodness ex- 
 tendeth not to thee." Psal. cxlv. 9, 15, 16, " The Lord is 
 good to all ; and his tender mercies are over all his works. 
 The eyes of all wait upon thee ; and thou givest them their 
 meat in due season. Thou openest thine hand and satisfiest 
 the desire of every living thing." John iii. 19, " For God so 
 loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that 
 whosoever belie veth in him should not, perish, but have ever- 
 lastinoj life." 
 
 Q. 38. Is it any comfort to those who have believed in 
 Jesus, to know that God is infinite, eternal, and unchange- 
 able in goodness ? 
 
 A. Yes : it is the fountain or source of all their comfort ; for 
 as it is by his goodness that they exist at all, and are pro- 
 vided with everything necessary to their comfort and happi- 
 ness ; so it was the same infinite, eternal, and unchangeable 
 goodness, that provided for them a Saviour when lost, and 
 called them to the knowledge of his Son. Jer. xxxi. 14, 
 " And my people shall be satisfied with my goodness, saith 
 the Lord." Kom. viii. 31, 32, " If God be for us who can 
 be against us ? He that spared not his own Son, but delivered 
 him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give 
 us all things." James i. 18, " Of his own will begat he us with 
 the word of truth." 
 
 Q. 39. Is it any comfort to those who have not believed 
 in Jesus, to know that God is infinite^ eternal, and un- 
 changeable in goodness ? 
 
24 THE NATURE AND PERFECTIONS OF GOD. 
 
 A. Yes : it must even be to them a source of comfort, — in- 
 asmuch as he is not only providing for them, out of his infinite 
 goodness, the necessaries of this Hfe, and all the comforts they 
 now enjoy, but is also affording them time and space for 
 repentance ; but should his goodness fail in leading them to 
 repentance, it will heighten and aggravate their guilt and 
 punishment, llom. ii. 4 — 6, " Or despisest thou the riches 
 of his goodness, and forbearance, and long-suffering ; not 
 knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance. 
 But, after thy hardness and impenitent heart, treasurest up 
 unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath, and revelation 
 of the righteous judgment of God ; who will render to every 
 man according to his deeds." 
 
 Q. 40. What are we to understand by saying that God 
 is injl^iite, eternal, and unchangeable ni truth ? 
 
 A. That it is that perfection in his nature or essence which 
 infallibly leads him to carry into effect whatsoever he hath 
 spoken. Num. xxiii. 19, " God is not a man that he should 
 lie ; neither the son of man, that he should repent : hath he 
 said, and shall he not do it ? or hath he spoken, and shall he 
 not make it good." 
 
 Q. 41. Wherein doth the infinite, eternal, and unchange- 
 able truth of God appear ? 
 
 A. Both in the accomplishment of his promises, and in the 
 execution of his threatenings, and in the sufferings and death 
 of his own Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, we have 
 an awful and striking illustration of it. Matt. v. 18, *' For 
 verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or 
 one tittle shall in nowise pass from the law till all be ful- 
 filled." John xviii. 37, " To this end was I born, and for 
 this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness 
 unto the truth." 
 
 Q. 42. Is it any comfort to those who have believed in 
 Jesus, to know that God is infinite, eternal, and un- 
 changeable in truth ? 
 
 A, Yes : it affords them much comfort, as it assures them 
 that whatsoever he hath promised he will assuredly fulfil. 
 Heb. X. 23, " He is faithful that hath promised." 1 John v. 
 11, *' And this is the record that God hath given to us eter- 
 nal life ; and this life is in his Son." 
 
 Q. 43. Is it any comfort to those luho have not believed 
 in Jesus, to know that God is infinite, eternal, and un- 
 changeable in truth ? 
 
 A. No : for it assures them that God will infallibly carry 
 into execution every threatening he has put on record against 
 
. THE UNITY OF THE GODHEAD. 25 
 
 the workers of iniquity. Psal. ix. 17, " The wicked shall be 
 turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God." Psal. 
 xi. 6, " Upon the wicked he shall rain snares, fire, and brim- 
 stone, and an horrible tempest : this shall be the portion of 
 their cup." 
 
 The being and attributes of God are all against the im- 
 penitent and unbelieving, while, to as many as believe in 
 Jesus, and are in the way of being conformed unto the image 
 of the Son of God, they are the sure pledges and bulwarks of 
 their happiness. 
 
 QUESTION V. 
 
 Having seen what God is, we come to inquire if there are 
 more gods than one. 
 
 Quest. Are there more gods than one ? 
 
 Ans. There is but one only, the living and true God. 
 
 Q. J. TFAy is it said that God is but one only ? 
 
 A. Because God is but one, not only in opposition to many 
 that are called gods, but as denoting the oneness of his 
 essence, the simple perfection of his nature. 1 Cor. viii. 
 4 — 6, " That there is none other God but one. For thouorh 
 there be that are called gods, whither in heaven or in earth 
 (as there be gods many, and lords many), but to us there is 
 but one God." 
 
 Q. 2. How does it appear that there can he hut one 
 God? 
 
 A. Because, in the nature of things, it is impossible there 
 can be more than one infinite, eternal, and unchangeable 
 being, as it would be making more first causes than one, and 
 more ends than one to be attained in the government of the 
 world. Isa. xlv. 5, " I am the Lord, and there is none else, 
 there is no God besides me." Job ix. 12, " Behold, he taketh 
 away, who can hinder him ? Who will say unto him, What 
 doest thou ?" 
 
 Q. 3. Why is God called the only living God ? 
 
 A. He is so called, not only in opposition to dead idols, 
 but because he has life essentially in himself, and is the author 
 and giver of life to every living thing. 1 Thess. i. 9, " And 
 how ye turned to God from idols, to serve the living and true 
 God." Acts xvii. 28, " For in him we live, and move, and 
 have our being." 
 
26 THREE PERSONS IN THE GODHEAD. 
 
 Q. 4. Will/ is God called the only true God ? 
 
 A. He is so called, not only in opposition to all false and 
 imaginary gods, but because he alone hath a real subsistence 
 in and of himself ; and is himself the author of every existing 
 thing. Jer. x. 10, 11, '' But the Lord is the true God, he is 
 the living God, and an everlasting King : the gods that have 
 not made the heavens and the earth, even they shall perish 
 from the earth, and from under these heavens." 
 
 Q. 5. What is our duty in regard to the one only liv- 
 ing and true God ? 
 
 A. That vre beware of conceiving of him otherwise than he 
 has revealed himself in his holy Word, or of setting up any 
 rival to him in our heart and affections ; and that we love 
 him supremely, and serve and honour him. Isa. xlii. 8, " I 
 am the Lord ; that is my name : and my glory will I not give 
 to another, neither my praise to graven images." Luke iv. 8, 
 " Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt 
 thou serve." 
 
 He is the only living and true God, who created the hea- 
 vens and the earth, and all things that are therein ; and 
 is infinitely worthy of the love, and confidence, and sub- 
 mission of aU his intelligent creatures ; and let us, at all 
 times, be upon our guard, lest we conceive at any time of 
 God otherwise than he has revealed himself in his Word, 
 and more especially in Jesus Christ ; and so become charge- 
 able with idolatry — with making and worshipping a God of 
 our own creation ; for who by searching can find out God, 
 who can find out the Almighty unto perfection. 
 
 QUESTION VL 
 
 Having seen what God is, as it respects his essential attri- 
 butes, and that there is and can be but one only living and 
 tnie God, we come to inquire how many pei'sons there are in 
 the Godhead. 
 
 Quest. How many persons are there in the Godhead ? 
 
 Ans. There are three persons in the Godhead ; the Father, 
 the Son, and the Holy Ghost ; and these three are one God, 
 the same in substance, equal in power and glory. 
 
 Q. 1. What are we to understand by the Godhead ? 
 
 A. The divine nature, essence, or substance. Acts xvii. 
 
THREE PERSONS IN THE GODHEAD. 27 
 
 29, " We ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto 
 gold, or silver, or stone, graven hy art or man's device." 
 
 Q. 2. If there are three persons in the Godhead^ will 
 there not he three Gods ? 
 
 A. There are indeed three persons in the Godhead, each 
 having distinct personal properties belonging exclusively to 
 himself, but it does not follow from this that there are three 
 Gods ; inasmuch as the same divine nature or essence is com- 
 mon alike to all the three divine persons. 2 Cor. xiii. 14, 
 " The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, 
 and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all." 
 1 John V. 7, " For there are three that bear record in hea- 
 ven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost ; and these 
 three are one." 
 
 Q. 3. If the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, are 
 but one God, ivill it not follow, that whatsoever is true 
 of the Father, is equally true of the Son, and of the Holy 
 Ghost ? 
 
 A. Yes : in so far as it respects their nature or essence ; 
 for although there are three persons in the Godhead, these 
 three are one God, the same in substance, equal in power and 
 glory. John v. 19, " The Son can do nothing of himself, but 
 what he seeth the Father do : for what things soever he doeth, 
 these also doeth the Son likewise." Matt, xxviii. 19, " Go 
 ye, therefore, and teach all nations, baptising them in the 
 name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." 
 John X. 30, " I and my Father are one." 
 
 Q. 4. If what is true of the Father, be also true of the 
 Son, and of the Holy Ghost, ivill it not follow, that the 
 names of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, are given to one 
 and the same person. 
 
 A. No : for while whatsoever is true of the one, as it 
 respects their nature or essence, is also true of the other 
 persons, we, at the same time, find in the Scriptures per- 
 sonal properties belonging to one of the persons that do not 
 belong to the others, and peculiar operations ascribed to 
 each. Heb. i. 5, " For unto which of the angels said he at 
 any time. Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee." 
 John i. 18, " No man hath seen God at any time ; the 
 only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he 
 hath declared him." John v. 20, " For the Father loveth 
 the Son, and showeth him all things that himself doeth." 
 
 Q. 5. If the Father is unhegotten, and the Son he- 
 gotten, will it not follow, that the Son and the Holy 
 Ghost are inferior to the Father ? 
 
28 THREE PERSONS IN THE GODHEAD. 
 
 A. No : for while the Scriptures abundantly testify to the 
 existence of three persons in the Godhead, and that these 
 three are one God, they nowhere give us an account of 
 their nature, or of the manner of their subsistence in the 
 adorable Godhead, and for this simple reason, that had they 
 done so, we neither could have understood nor comprehend- 
 ed it. The expression begotten, therefore, does not imply 
 any inferiority when properly considered, more than that of 
 many other things ascribed to God in the Scriptures, such 
 as eyes, hands, feet, &c. ; and human passions, such as re- 
 pentance, anger, &c. : none of which, as they are generally 
 understood by us, can be literally true of the pure, incom- 
 prehensible, and unchangeable Jehovah ; of Him who fiU- 
 eth all space ; so, in like manner, the term begotten, while 
 it nnplies no inferiority, does convey the idea of a real dis- 
 tinction of persons in the Godhead, since it is the personal 
 property of the Father to beget, and of the Son to be begot- 
 ten. Prov. viii. 22, 23, 30, " The Lord possessed me in the 
 beginning of his way, before his works of old. I was set 
 up from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth 
 was. Then I was by him, as one brought up with him ; and 
 I was daily his delight, rejoicing always before him." 2 Pet. 
 i. 17, " This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." 
 Q. 6. How does it appear more particularly that the 
 Father^ the So7i, and the Holy Ghost, are the same in 
 substance, equal in power and glory ? 
 
 A. In that the names of God, attributes, works, and wor- 
 ship, are ascribed to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost, in the 
 same manner as they are ascribed to the Father. John i. , 
 1, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with 
 God, and the Word was God." Acts v. 3, 4, " Why hath 
 Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost. Thou hast 
 not lied unto men, but unto God." 
 
 Q. 7- In the ScrijHures God is called the eternal God. 
 Is eternity ascribed to the Son and to the Holy Ghost ? 
 
 A. Yes : for of the Son it is said, that he was before all 
 things, the same yesterday, to-day, and forever. And the 
 Holy Ghost is called the eternal Spirit. Rev. i. 8, *' I am 
 Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the 
 Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the 
 Almighty." Heb. ix. 14, " How much more shall the blood 
 of Christ, who, through the eternal Spirit, offered himself 
 without spot to God," «S:c. 
 
 Q. 8. In the Scriptures it is said that God is every- 
 where present, and that he only knoweth the hearts of 
 
THREE PERSONS IN THE GODHEAD. 29 
 
 men ; are such attributes ascribed to the Son and to the 
 Holy Ghost ? 
 
 A, Yes : for of the Son it was said, when he tabernacled 
 on the earth, " The Son of man which is in heaven," and that 
 " He" not only " knew all men, and needed not that any 
 should testify of man : for he knew what was in man ;" but 
 that he knew God — which none but God could know. And 
 of the Holy Ghost it is not only expressly stated that he is 
 everywhere present, and " searcheth all things, yea, the 
 deep things of God ;" but that he also knoweth God. Eph. 
 i. 23, " Which is his body, the fulness of him that fill- 
 eth all in all." Matt. xi. 27, " And no man knoweth the 
 Son, but the Father ; neither knoweth any man the Father, 
 save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him." 
 Psal. cxxxix. 7, " Whither shall I go from thy Spirit." 
 1 Cor. ii. 11, " Even so the things of God knoweth no man, 
 but the Spirit of God." 
 
 Q. 9. In the Scriptures, God is said to create and up- 
 hold all things, and to raise the dead, 8^c. ; are such 
 works ascribed to the Son and to the Holy Ghost ? 
 
 A. Yes : for of the Son it is said, that " all things were 
 made by him," and that he " upholdeth all things by the 
 word of his power ;" and not only is it testified concerning 
 him, that the hour is coming, " in the which all that are in 
 the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth ;" but 
 while he sojourned on earth he raised the dead by his own 
 power. And the same works are ascribed to the Holy 
 Ghost. Col. i. 16, 17, " For by him were all things cre- 
 ated that are in heaven, and that are in earth, &c. And he 
 is before all things, and by him all things consist." John 
 xi. 43, 44, " He cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth. 
 And he that was dead came forth." Job xxxiii. 4, " The Spi- 
 rit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty 
 hath given me life." Psal. xxxiii. 6, " And all the host of 
 them by the breath of his mouth." 1 Pet. iii. 18, " Being put 
 to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit. 
 
 Q. 10. In the Scriptures God is said to be the only 
 object of religious worship ; is religious worship ascribed 
 to the Son and to the Holy Ghost ? 
 
 A. Yes : the commission given to the apostles, when sent 
 to preach the gospel to every creature, abundantly proves it, 
 as well as many express injunctions of scripture. Matt, xxviii. 
 19, " Go ye, therefore, and teach all nations, baptising them 
 in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy 
 Ghost." John v. 23, " That all men should honour the Son, 
 
 c3 
 
30 THREE PERSONS IN" THE GODHEAD. 
 
 even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the 
 Son, honoureth not the Father which hath sent him." 
 
 Q. 11. Since the three persons in the Godhead are the 
 same in substance, equal in poiuer and glory, why did 
 the Son, luhile on earth, so often say that his Father was 
 greater than he, and that he was the Father"* s ser- 
 vant ? 
 
 A\ He did so, not as the eternal Son of God, in which 
 capacity he often, and in every possible manner, expressed his 
 perfect equality with the Father, but as the Son of man, the 
 substitute and representative of sinners, in which capacity he 
 was the Father's servant, inasmuch as, of his own free will and 
 choice, he had voluntarily undertaken to obey and suffer for 
 them : so then it was, as Mediator, God manifest in the flesh, 
 giving his life a ransom for many, that he was inferior to the 
 Father. John x. 17, 18, " Therefore doth my Father love 
 me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. 
 No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself : I 
 have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. 
 This commandment have I received of my Father." 
 
 Q. 12. Since the Holy Ghost is the same in substance, 
 equal in poiuer and glory luith the Father and the Son, 
 how is he said to be sent by the Father, and sometimes by 
 the Son ? 
 
 A. Consequent upon the apostacy of man, all divine influ- 
 ence and communications were withdrawn from his soul, and 
 could not be again restored, until the law which he had broken 
 was fulfilled, and God's justice satisfied ; both of which being 
 done by the incarnation, life, and death, of our Lord and 
 Saviour Jesus Christ ; the law being magnified, and the jus- 
 tice of God satisfied, a way has been opened for the return of 
 the divine presence to the soul of man ; and it being the ofiice 
 of the Holy Ghost to regenerate and sanctify the soul, he is, 
 in respect of his office, sometimes said to he sent by the 
 Father, and sometimes by the Son. John xvi. 7, " Never- 
 theless I tell you the truth : it is expedient for you that I go 
 away, for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto 
 you ; but if I depart, I will send him unto you." 
 
 Q. 13. Is it necessary to salvation, that weknoiu and be- 
 lieve that there are three persons in the Godhead, and that 
 these three are one God, the same in substance, equal in 
 power and glory ? 
 
 A. Yes : it is necessary that we both know and firmly be- 
 lieve this doctrine, inasmuch as it is the very essence of all 
 that is most important for us, as sinful and guilty creatures, 
 
THREE PERSONS IN THE GODHEAD. 31 
 
 to know and believe concerning God. John xvii. 3, '' And 
 this is hfe eternal, that they might know thee, the onlytrue 
 God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent." 
 
 Q. 14. How does it appear to be so important for us to 
 know and believe that Jesus Christ is a divine person, and 
 therefore God? 
 
 A. Because had he been merely man, he would have been 
 bound by the law of his being to do and to suffer whatso- 
 ever God required of him on his own account, and, conse- 
 quently, could not have been a Saviour for us; but, as a 
 divine person, he was above all law and requirements, and 
 took the human into union with his divine nature, that he 
 might become capable of obeying and suffering ; and it be- 
 ing a voluntary act on his part to become man, and to be 
 made under law, all that he did and suffered was of infinite 
 value, and therefore available for the salvation of as many as 
 by faith lay hold on him. 1 Tim. iii. 16, " Great is the mys- 
 tery of godliness : God was manifest in the flesh, justified in 
 the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, beheved 
 on in the world, received up into glory." 
 
 Q. 15. How does it appear to be so important for us to 
 know and believe that the Holy Ghost is a divine person, 
 and therefore God ? 
 
 A. It does so, when we bear in mind the very important 
 part assigned to him in the salvation of sinners, the applica- 
 tion of redemption to the souls of Christ's people, the regene- 
 rating and preparing of such sinful and degraded creatures for 
 the love, and service, and glorifying of God, — a work which 
 any power inferior to that of God's could not accomplish, in- 
 asmuch as it is often spoken of in Scripture as a new crea- 
 tion. 2 Cor. V. 17, " Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he 
 is a new creature : old things are passed away ; behold, all 
 things are become new." 
 
 There are three persons in the Godhead, and these three 
 are one God. This doctrine is not at all contrary to reason, al- 
 though removed far above it ; for what is it about the nature 
 of God that is not infinitely removed beyond our feeble un- 
 derstandings? and what is it that ever we would have known 
 of him, had he not revealed himself to us by his works, and 
 especially in his word ? and, having made known to us three 
 persons in the Godhead, and that these three are one God, 
 it is not only consistent with reason to believe it, but it would 
 betray the greatest folly and infatuation not to do so, because 
 we cannot comprehend and explain the manner of their sub- 
 
32 THE DECREES OF GOD. 
 
 sistence in the adorable Godhead ; just as if we knew all 
 about God, and the manner of his subsistence. 
 
 SECTION III. 
 
 THE DECREES OR PURPOSE OF GOD, AND THE WAY IT 
 IS CARRIED INTO EXECUTION. 
 
 QUESTION VII. 
 
 As we have seen, that while there is, and can be, but one 
 God, there are three persons in the Godhead, the same in 
 substance, equal in power and glory, we come now to the 
 decrees of God. 
 
 Quest. What are the decrees of God ? 
 
 Ans. The decrees of God are his eternal purpose, accord- 
 ing to the counsel of his will, whereby, for his own glory, he 
 hath foreordained whatsoever comes to pass. 
 
 Q. 1. What are we to understand by the decrees of Godf 
 
 A. The eternal purpose of the divine mind, whereby he 
 willed or determined the existence of all that has been, is, or 
 ever shall be. Eph. iii. 11, " According to the eternal pur- 
 pose." Isa. xl. 14, " With whom took he counsel, and who 
 instructed him ?" Isa. xlvi. 10, " My counsel shall stand, and 
 I will do all my pleasure." 
 
 Q. 2. Why is it called the eternal purpose ? 
 
 A. Because God is an all -perfect being, who hath an infi- 
 nite, eternal, and immutable comprehension of all things, and 
 with whom there can be nothing like succession, everything 
 being at all times alike present to his mind ; eternity being, 
 as it were, the existence of God, while time is nothing else 
 than the existence of a succession of created beings. Mai. iii. 
 6, " For I am the Lord, I change not." Isa. Ivii. 15, '' For 
 thus saith the high and lofty one that inhabiteth eternity." 
 Job vii. 9, " For we are but of yesterday, and know nothing, 
 because our days upon earth are a shadow." 
 
 Q. 3. Did God foreknow, as well as decree, luhatsoever 
 was to come to pass ? 
 
 A. Yes : for when he decreed all things, he must at the 
 same time have foreknown what he had so decreed ; and his 
 decree being inseparable from himself, his foreknowledge is as 
 
THE DECREES OF GOD. 33 
 
 inseparable from his decree, so that it is impossible to conceive 
 of anything like contingent events faUing out under the go- 
 vernment of an infinitely perfect and absolute being. Acts 
 XV. 18, " Known unto God are all his works from the begin- 
 ning of the world." Job xxxvii. 16, " Dost thou know the 
 balancings of the clouds, the wondrous works of him which is 
 perfect in knowledge." 
 
 Q. 4. If everything comes to pass, according to the eter- 
 nal purpose and foreknoiuledge of God, will it not make 
 God to he the author of sin ? 
 
 A. No : inasmuch as God created man an intelligent and 
 reasonable creature, and therefore a responsible being, per- 
 fect in holiness, and capable of remaining in the state of holy 
 blessedness in which he was created, but at the same time ca- 
 pable of falling; and acting as he did, from choice, he him- 
 self, and not God, was the author of sin. Rom. v. 12, "Where- 
 fore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by 
 sin ; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sin- 
 ned." Eccl. vii. 29, " God made man upright." 
 
 Q. 5. Could not God have prevented man from falling 
 had not his fall been in accordance with his eternal pur- 
 pose ? 
 
 A, Yes : but his permitting man to fall is a very differ- 
 ent thing from causing him to fall, so as to make him- 
 self the author of sin : besides, the permission of man's fall 
 did not enter into the divine purpose, as the end, but as 
 a mean, consequent upon that event, to the full manifes- 
 tation of his own glorious perfections in the person of 
 Christ, it being impossible to conceive that such an abso- 
 lutely pure and holy being as God is, could, in any way, 
 or in any sense, take part in rebellion against himself; 
 while it is equally true, that he could have upheld man in 
 a state of perfect purity against all temptation. Acts ii. 23, 
 " Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and 
 foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands 
 have crucified and slain." James i. 13, 14, " Let no man 
 say, when he is tempted, I am tempted of God ; for God 
 cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man : 
 but every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his 
 own lust, and enticed." 
 
 Q. 6. Wherein consists the difference between God^s per- 
 mission of a sinful action, and his being the efficient cause 
 ofit? 
 
 A. In this, — that, in permitting an action to take place, 
 it is only necessary that he withhold his active agency or 
 
34 THE MEANS BY WHICH GOD EXECUTETH HIS DECREES. 
 
 influence from the agent, while, to be the author of it, it 
 is as necessary that his active agency or influence be put 
 forth on the agent ; so that the sinful action, following 
 upon the withholding of God's active agency, proves, that 
 so far from being the author of sin, he is the fountain of 
 all holiness ; and that all his works and operations are holy, 
 just, and good. Psal. cxlv. 17, " The Lord is righteous 
 in all his ways, and holy in all his works." 
 
 Q. 7. For what end did God decree all things, and 
 foreordain ivhatsoever comes to pass ? 
 
 A. For his own glory : being in his own nature or essence 
 altogether incomprehensible, it was his great design in all 
 his works and ways to unfold, or make known, the glorious 
 attributes and perfections of his nature, so that his intelli- 
 gent creatures might know, and admire, and love, and serve 
 him. Prov. xvi. 4, " The Lord hath made all things for 
 himself. Rev. xv. 3, 4, " And they sing the song of Moses, 
 the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying. 
 Great and marvellous are thy works. Lord God Almighty ; 
 just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints. Who shall 
 not fear thee, Lord, and glorify thy name ? for thou only 
 art holy." 
 
 Q. 8. Was God^s glory the highest end he could pro- 
 pose in his eternal purpose, luhen he decreed all things, 
 and foreordained whatsoever comes to pass ? 
 
 A. Yes: inasmuch as there was nothing existing besides 
 himself, until he decreed or determined to bring it into be- 
 ing ; so that his glory must ever be the highest end, as his 
 will is the sole cause why anything exists. Psal. viii. 1, " O . 
 Lord, our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth ! 
 who hast set thy glory above the heavens." 
 
 The glory of God is the great end of all his works, and 
 his glory will he not give to another, nor his praise to gra- 
 ven images ; none can rob him of his glory, non6 can frus- 
 trate his purposes ; his counsel will stand for ever, and the 
 thoughts of his lieart unto all generations : may it be given 
 us, then, so to believe in Christ as to be enabled actively 
 to glorify him in our bodies and in our spirits, which are 
 his! 
 
WHAT THE WORK OF CREATION IS. 35 
 
 QUESTION VIII. 
 
 As we have seen that God decreed or foreordained, ac- 
 cording to the counsel of his own will, and for his own glory, 
 whatsoever comes to pass, we come to inquire how God exe- 
 cuteth his decrees. 
 
 Quest. How doth God execute his decrees ? 
 
 Ans. God executeth his decrees in the works of creation and 
 providence. 
 
 Q. 1. What are we to understand hy the execution of 
 God's decrees ? 
 
 A. His bringing to pass in time what he had decreed or 
 purposed from eternity. Isa. xlvi. 10, " Declaring the end 
 from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that 
 are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will 
 do all my pleasure." 
 
 Q. 2. What was the first thing which God did in the. 
 way of executing his decrees ? 
 
 A. He created all things, both animate and inanimate ; 
 and thus set forth the glory of his own infinite perfections in 
 all their beauty and excellency. Rev. iv. 11, " Thou hast 
 created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were 
 created." Isa. vi. 3, " The whole earth is full of his glory." 
 
 Q. 3. What is the second thing that God does in the exe- 
 cution of his decrees ? 
 
 A. His works of providence, whereby he preserveth and go- 
 verneth all things that he created, and by which especially he 
 so directs and controls the actions of his intelligent and rational 
 creatures, as to carry into execution his eternal purposes, with- 
 out at all infringing upon their liberty of action. Dan. iv.' 35, 
 " He doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and 
 among the inhabitants of the earth." 
 
 God executeth his decrees in the works of creation and 
 providence, and having created all things according to the 
 counsel of his own will, and for the manifestation of his own 
 glory, he is continuing to direct and overrule all things for 
 the accomplishment of the same glorious purpose, making 
 even the wrath of man to praise him, and restraining the 
 remainder of his wrath : none can stay his hand from work- 
 ing, none may say unto him, " What doest thou ?" 
 
36 WHAT THE WORK OF CREATION IS. 
 
 QUESTION IX. 
 
 Having seen that God executeth his decrees in the works of 
 creation and providence, we come to inquire what is the work 
 of creation. 
 
 Quest. What is the work of creation ? 
 
 Ans. The work of creation is God's making all things of 
 nothing, by the word of his power, in the space of six days, 
 and all very good. 
 
 Q. 1. What are we to understand hy the work of crea- 
 tion ? 
 
 A. God's making all things of nothing. Gen. i. 1, " In 
 the beginning God created the heaven and the earth." Heb. 
 xi. 3, " Through faith we understand that the worlds were 
 framed by the word of God ; so that things which are seen 
 were not made of things which do appear." 
 
 Q. 2. Was there any pre-existing matter from which 
 God made all things ? 
 
 A. No : for it is said, that by faith in the testimony of 
 God, we understand that the worlds were framed out of no- 
 thing ; and had there been any existing matter, God's work 
 could not have been called a creation, inasmuch as it would 
 only have been a forming of things into their present order 
 and arrangement from existing matter. Gen. i. 1,2, " In 
 the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And 
 the earth was without form, and void." 
 
 Q. 3. Is it the peculiar prerogative of God to create ? 
 
 A. Yes : inasmuch as he alone possesses in himself self-ex- 
 istence, had he not willed to bring other things into being, 
 there never could have existed matter or any other thing be- 
 sides himself. Isa. xliv. 24, " I am the Lord that maketh all 
 things ; that stretcheth forth the heavens alone, that spreadeth 
 abroad the earth by myself." Heb. iii. 4, " He that built all 
 things is God." 
 
 Q. 4. Flotu did God create all things ? 
 
 A. By the word of his power. He spake and it was done, 
 he commanded and all things stood fast. Psal. xxxiii. 6, " By 
 the word of the Lord were the heavens made ; and all the 
 host of them by the breath of his mouth." 
 
 Q. 6. In what time did God create all things ? 
 
 A. In six days, the same Almighty power which spake 
 matter into being could have formed and disposed of all 
 
WHAT THE WORK OF CREATION IS. 3? 
 
 things at the same instant, had he so willed it ; but his 
 not doing so is the best possible reason why it occupied six 
 days. Gen. i. 31, " And God saw every thing that he had 
 made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and 
 the morning were the sixth day." Psal. civ. 24, " Lord, how 
 manifold are thy works ! in wisdom hast thou made them all." 
 
 Q. 6. What was the great end of God in creating all 
 things ? 
 
 A. The manifestation of his own glory, the development of 
 his infinitely glorious perfections. Psal. xix. 1,2," The hea- 
 vens declare the glory of God ; and the firmament showeth 
 his handy-work. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night 
 unto nio-ht showeth knowledg-e." 
 
 Q. 7. Does creation answer the end luhich God purposed 
 or decreed ? 
 
 A. Yes : for not only did God pronounce it to be very 
 good, but he took ineffable pleasure and delight from the 
 manifestation of his attributes in creation ; and every pure 
 and holy being, whose moral nature is not tainted by the 
 blighting influence of sin, beholds and admires his divine per- 
 fections as therein exhibited. Exod. xxxi. 17, " For in six 
 days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh 
 day he rested, and was refreshed." Job xxxviii. 7, " When 
 the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God 
 shouted for joy." 
 
 Q. 8. Does creation make known to as three persons in 
 the Godhead? 
 
 A. Of itself it neither does, nor can do so, without the aid 
 of divine revelation ; but, by the light which the Scriptures 
 afford, three persons in the Godhead are clearly seen to 
 have been at the creation of all things. 1 Cor. viii. 6, " But 
 to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, 
 and we in him ; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all 
 things, and we by him." 
 
 Q. 9. How does it so clearly appear, from divine reve- 
 lation, that the three persons in the Godhead were each of 
 them concerned in creating all things ? 
 
 A. From the whole tenor of the Word of God, which shows 
 that the work of creation, as well as the work of redemption, 
 originated in the will of the Father, was carried into effect by 
 the Son, and perfected by the Holy Ghost. John i. 1, 3, 
 " In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, 
 and the Word was God. All things were made by him ; and 
 without him was not anything made that was made." Gen. 
 i. 2, " And the earth was without form and void ; and dark- 
 
 D 
 
38 THE MANNER IN WHICH GOD CREATED MAN. 
 
 ness was upon the face of the deep ; and the Spirit of God 
 moved upon the face of the waters." 
 
 Q. 10. Does creation, when taken in connection with thr 
 Word of God, prove the divinity of each of the persons in 
 the Godhead, and the perfect oneness of their nature ? 
 
 A. Yes : inasmuch as the creating of all things is repeat- 
 edly ascribed to each of them in the Scriptures ; while the 
 adaptation, design, and harmony manifested throughout all 
 these, prove the perfect oneness of their nature. Jer. x. 10, 
 11, " But the Lord is the true God, he is the living God, and 
 an everlasting King. The gods that have not made the hea- 
 vens and the earth, even they shall perish from the earth, and 
 from under these heavens." 
 
 Creation, in connection with divine revelation, is an argu- 
 ment for the divinity of each of the glorious persons in the 
 adorable Godhead, that no subtilty can ever set aside. He 
 who created all things is God; and how great, how powerful 
 is that God who spake all things into being ; and how beauti- 
 ful and fair must creation have been, when pronounced by the 
 same glorious Being to be very good ! May we have grace 
 given us to contemplate, admire, and adore his glorious per- 
 fections as therein manifested ; for they are sought out of all 
 them that have pleasure therein ! 
 
 QUESTION X. 
 
 As we have seen in general what the work of creation is, 
 we come to inquire more particularly into the creation of 
 man. 
 
 Quest. How did God create man ? 
 
 Ans. God created man male and female, after his own 
 image, in knowledge, righteousness, and hohness, with do- 
 minion over the creatures, 
 
 Q. 1. What is it that constitutes man ? 
 
 A. A true body and a reasonable soul. Eccl. xii. 7, " Then 
 shall the dust return to the earth as it was ; and the spirit 
 shall return unto God who gave it." 
 
 Q. 2. From what luas the body of man formed ^^ 
 
 A. From the dust of the ground. Gen. iii. 19, " In the 
 sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto 
 
THE MANNER IN WHICH GOD CREATED MAN. 39 
 
 the ground ; for out of it wast thou taken : for dust thou art, 
 and unto dust shalt thou return." 
 
 Q. 3. From what was the hody of woman formed? 
 
 A. From a rib taken out of the man's side. Gen. ii. 21, 
 22, " And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon 
 Adam, and he slept : and he took one of his ribs, and closed 
 up the flesh instead thereof. And the rib, which the Lord 
 God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her 
 unto the man." 
 
 Q. 4. How was the soul of man created ? 
 
 A. God breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and 
 he became a living soul. Job xxxiii. 4, " The Spirit of God 
 hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given 
 me life." 
 
 Q. 5. Is the soul of man subject to death like the body ? 
 
 A. No : death may and will separate between the soul and 
 body, but the separation will in no way affect the life of 
 the soul. Phil. i. 23, " For I am in a strait betwixt two, 
 having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ, which is far 
 better." 
 
 Q,. 6. After whose likeness or image did God create man? 
 
 A. After his own image. Gen. i. 27, " So God created 
 man in his own image, in the image of God created he him ; 
 male and female created he them. Gen. v. 1, 2, " In the day 
 that God created man, in the likeness of God made he him ; 
 male and female created he them." 
 
 Q. 7. I'i^ ivhat did the likeness or image of God in man 
 chiefly consist ? 
 
 A. In knowledge, righteousness, and holiness. Col. iii. 10, 
 " And have put on the new man, which is renewed in know- 
 ledge after the image of him that created him." Eph. iv. 24, 
 " And that ye put on the new man, which after God is creat- 
 ed in righteousness and true holiness." 
 
 Q. 8. What are we to understand by saying that man 
 was created after the image of God in knowledge ? 
 
 A. That of all the creatures God had made in this world, 
 man alone was capable of perceiving his glorious attributes as 
 manifested in creation, and of knowing his will so as to do it, 
 Heb. ii. 7, " Thou madest man a little lower than the angels ; 
 thou crownedst him with glory and honour, and didst set him 
 over the works of thy hands." 
 
 Q. 9. How does it appear that man luas created after 
 the image of God in knoiuledge ? 
 
 A. From what is recorded of him before the fall, and from 
 many other express declarations of the Word of God, as well 
 
40 THE MANNER IN WHICH GOD CREATED MAN. 
 
 as from the whole scope and design of it, which is to restore 
 again to the soul of man the divine image, effaced by the fall. 
 Gen. ii. 20, " And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the 
 fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field," John xvii. 3, 
 " And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only 
 true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent." 
 
 Q. 10. What are we to understand by saying that man 
 was created after the image of God m righteousness ? 
 
 A. That perfection of nature, and rectitude of will, which 
 necessarily led him to the performance of his duty both to God 
 and man. Eccl. vii. 29, " God made man upright." 
 
 Q. 11. How does it appear that man was created after 
 the image of God in righteousness ? 
 
 A. Fi'om his conduct subsequent to the fall, after having 
 failed in his duty to God, he put the blame upon Eve ; and it 
 also appears from many express declarations in the Word of 
 God, that he not only was originally possessed of righteous- 
 ness, and has by his apostacy lost it, but that it is the purpose 
 of God, by the gospel, to bring him back to this state of holy 
 blessedness, in which he will be again capable of performing 
 his duty both to God and man. Gen. iii. 12, " The woman 
 Avhom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and 
 I did eat." Rom iii. 10, " There is none righteous, no not one." 
 1 Pet. iii. 18, " For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, 
 the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God." 
 
 Q. 12. What are we to understand by saying that man 
 ivas created after the image of God in holiness ? 
 
 A. All that perfection and purity of nature, in soul and 
 body, which consisted in a perfect suitableness of his nature 
 to the nature of God. 1 Pet. i. 16, " Be ye holy, for I am 
 holy. 
 
 Q. 13. How does it appear that man ivas created after 
 the image of God in holiness ? 
 
 A. From the effects produced upon him by the fall, where- 
 by he has not only lost all power to love and serve God, but 
 the very will and disposition to do so ; as well as from the ef- 
 fects which the gospel is designed to produce, and really does 
 produce, upon as many as receive it. Gen. iii. 10, "I heard 
 thy voice in the garden, and I M'as afraid, because I was 
 naked ; and I hid myself." John v. 40, " Ye will not come 
 to me, that ye might have hfe." John vi. 37, " AH that the 
 Father giveth me shall come to me." Psal. ex. 3, " Thy peo- 
 ple shall be willing in the day of thy power." 2 Peter i. 4, 
 " Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious 
 promises, that by these ye might be partakers of the divine 
 
WHAT god's works OF PROVIDENCE ARE. 41 
 
 nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world 
 through lust." 
 
 How pure, and holy, and blessed was man, as he originally 
 came from his Creator's hands, and when pronounced by him 
 to be very good ; how delighted would he feel himself in the 
 contemplation of the divine character as made known in crea- 
 tion ; and how large his capacity for the enjoyment of fellow- 
 ship and communion with God ! But, alas ! how is the gold 
 become dim ! How is the most fine gold changed ! Man is 
 no longer that pure and holy being, with light in the under- 
 standing, rectitude in the will, and a disposition to delight 
 himself in God. Ignorance, enmity, and hatred, have taken 
 the place thereof. 
 
 QUESTION XI. 
 
 Having seen how God executeth his decrees in the work of 
 creation, we come to inquire how he executes them in the 
 works of providence. 
 
 Quest. What are God's works of 'providence ? 
 
 Ans. God's works of providence are his most holy, wise, 
 and powerful preserving and governing all his creatures, and 
 all their actions. 
 
 Q. 1. Does the providence of God embrace all things ? 
 
 A. Yes : it extends to all things, and embraces every ac- 
 tion ; there is nothing comes to pass which his providence doth 
 not direct, control, and overrule, for the accomplishment of 
 his eternal purposes ; for were it otherwise, his purpose might 
 be defeated through the intervention of secondary causes. 
 Luke xii. 6, 7, " Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings, 
 and not one of them is forgotten before God ? But even the 
 very hairs of your head are all numbered." 
 
 Q. 2. Wliat is the first thing stated 7'egarding the 
 providence of God ? 
 
 A. That it is most holy. Psal. cxlv. 17, " The Lord is 
 righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works." 
 
 Q. 3. What are we to understand by saying that the 
 providence of God is most holy ? 
 
 A. That by his providence he produces no sinful actions, 
 but only permits them to take place. While it is true that 
 he does, by his providence, uphold the agent, and preserve 
 
 d3 
 
42 WHAT god's works of providence are. 
 
 entire his faculties, and may so arrange the circumstances oF 
 his condition that the temptation shall take effect, yet, in no 
 way whatever does he concur in the sinfulness of the action ; 
 it being impossible, from the very perfection of his nature, 
 that he can do so. James i. 13, " God cannot be tempted 
 with evil, neither tompteth he any man." Habak. i. 12, 
 " Art thou not from everlasting, O Lord my God, mine 
 Holy One ?" 
 
 Q. 4. Wherein does the holiness of God's providence 
 appear ? 
 
 A. From the tendency of his moral government : the con- 
 science of every man bearing witness to the inseparable con- 
 nection established between sin and suffering, as well as from 
 the express testimony of God's Word, and the innumerable 
 examples there recorded. Psal. v. 4, 5, " For thou art not 
 a God that hath pleasure in wickedness ; neither shall evil 
 dwell with thee. The foolish shall not stand in thy sight : 
 thou hatest all workers of iniquity." Lev. x. 2, " And there 
 went out fire from the Lord, and devoured them ; and they 
 died before the Lord." 
 
 Q. 5. What is the second thing stated regarding the 
 providence of God ? 
 
 A. That it is most wise. Isa. xxviii. 29, " This also Com- 
 eth forth from the Lord of hosts, who is wonderful in counsel, 
 and excellent in working." 
 
 Q. 6. What are we to understand by saying that the 
 providence of God is inost ivise ? 
 
 A. That being infinite in wisdom, he not only chooses the 
 fittest means for the accomplishment of his purpose, but that 
 none can defeat his counsel, or render inefficient the means 
 he makes use of. Prov. xxi. 30, " There is no wisdom, nor 
 understanding, nor counsel, against the Lord." Job ix. 4, 
 " He is wise in heart, and mighty in strengih: who hath 
 hardened himself against him, and hath prospered ?" 
 
 Q. 7. Wherein does the luisdom of God\s providence 
 appear ? 
 
 A. In the harmony of all the means he employs, for bring- 
 ing to pass the end which he has determined ; for however 
 unsuitable these may appear to us, Avhile in detached portions, 
 yet every careful observer has, in his own experience, a testi- 
 mony of this harmony. Rom. viii. 28, " And we know that 
 all things work together for good to them that love God, to 
 them who are the called according to his purpose." Psal. 
 cvii. 43, " Whoso is wise, and will observe these things, even 
 they shall understand the loving kindness of the Lord." 
 
WHAT god's works OF PROVIDENCE ARE. 43 
 
 Q. 8. What is the third thing stated regarding the 
 'providence of God ? 
 
 A. That it is most powerful. Prov. xix. 21, " There are 
 many devices in a man's heart ; nevertheless the counsel of 
 the Lord that shall stand." 
 
 Q. 9. What are we to understand hy saying that the 
 ■providence of God is most powerful ? 
 
 A. That it cannot be resisted, but that whatever he has 
 before purposed to do will assuredly be carried into effect. 
 Dan. iv. 35, " He doeth according to his will in the army of 
 heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth : none can 
 stay his hand, or say unto him. What doest thou?" 
 
 Q. 10. Wherein does the poiver of God's providence 
 appear ? 
 
 A. In upholding and preserving all things, and in bring- 
 ing about great events by means, in themselves, altogether 
 inadequate. Heb. i. 3, " Upholding all things by the word 
 of his power." 1 Cor. i. 21, " It pleased God, by the fool- 
 ishness of preaching, to save them that believe." 
 
 Q. 11. What is it that the providence of God more 
 particidarly relates to ? 
 
 A. To the governing of all his creatures, and all their 
 actions ; upholding and preserving them in being ; appointing 
 the time and circumstances of their birth, and death — the 
 bounds of their habitations — and every other thing with which 
 they are to be concerned in this world ; and in so disposing 
 and ordering all their actions as to make them subservient 
 for bringing about his own gracious purposes. Psal. xxxvi. 
 6, " O Lord, thou preservest man and beast." Acts xvii. 
 28, " For in him we live, and move, and have our being." 
 Psal. ciii. 19, " His kingdom ruleth over all." Acts xvii. 26, 
 " And hath determined the times before appointed, and the 
 bounds of their habitation." Prov. xvi. 9, " A man's heart 
 deviseth his way, but the Lord directeth his steps." 
 
 Q. 12. Is there any difference in the dispensations of 
 providence, as these respect the believer and the unbeliever ? 
 
 A. Outwardly there is none ; for he maketh the sun to rise 
 upon the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain upon the just 
 and on the unjust, one event happening alike to all ; yet there 
 is an essential difference ; for, to the one, the dispensations of 
 providence co-operate with the word, in bringing him to Christ, 
 and in preparing him for heaven, while, to the other, the 
 very same dispensations only tend to harden him in sin, and, 
 consequently, to aggravate his guilt and misery. Job xii. 9, 
 10, " Who knoweth not in all these that the hand of the 
 
44 WHAT god's works of providence are. 
 
 Lord hath wrought this ? in whose hand is the soul of every 
 living thing, and the breath of all mankind." Psal. exix. 71? 
 It is good for me that I have been afflicted, that I might learn 
 thy statutes." Hosea vii. 15, 16, " Though I have bound 
 and strengthend their arms, yet do they imagine mischief 
 against me. They return, but not to the Most High ; they 
 are like a deceitful bow." 
 
 Q. 13. Will the overruling 'providence of God, whereby 
 sinful actions are made subservient to the bringing about 
 of his eternal purpose, make the agent less guilty .«' 
 
 A, No : inasmuch as in all such cases the agent, in what he 
 does, has no reference either to God or the accomplishment of 
 his purpose, but is merely following out the bent of his own 
 inclination, gratifying the desires of an ungodly heart. Matt, 
 xxvi. 15, " And he said mito them. What will ye give me, and 
 I deliver him unto you ?" John xix. 11, " Thou couldest have 
 no power at all against me, except it were given thee from 
 above, therefore he that delivered me unto thee hath the 
 greater sin." Acts ii. 23, " Him, being delivered by the de- 
 terminate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, 
 and by wicked hands have crucified and slain." 
 
 Q. 14. Jf the motive in doing a sinful action is to bring 
 about God's purposes in providence, ivill not that take away 
 the guilt of it ? 
 
 A. No : inasmuch as the revealed will of God is the only 
 rule of our duty, and not the purposes of his adorable provi- 
 dence : it being impossible he can ever approve of sinful means 
 for the attainment of any end however good. Deut. xxix. 29, 
 " The secret things belong unto the Lord our God ; but those 
 things which are revealed belonor unto us and to our children 
 for ever, that we may do all the words of this law." 
 
 No motive will ever justify us in doing anything contrary 
 to the revealed will of God ; and while it is our duty, care- 
 fully to observe and submit ourselves to the dispensations of 
 providence, it is no less our duty to take the Word of God as 
 the rule of our conduct, as it is only then that we have any 
 warrant to expect the fulfilment of the promise, " That all 
 things will worK together for God's glory and our good." 
 
THE NATURE OF THE SPECIAL ACT OF PROVIDENCE, &c. 45 
 
 SECTION IV. 
 THE COVENANT OF WORKS, AND MAN'S FALL. 
 
 QUESTION XII. 
 
 As we have seen, in general, what are God's works of 
 providen(;e, we come to that special act of providence which 
 was exercised towards man when he was created. 
 
 Quest. What special act of providence did God exercise 
 toward man in the estate wherein he luas created ? 
 
 Ans. When God had created man he entered into a cove- 
 nant of Hfe with him, upon condition of perfect obedience ; 
 forbidding him to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good 
 and evil upon the pain of death. 
 
 Q. 1. What was the nature of the providence exercised 
 towards man luhen he was created ? 
 
 A. God entered into a covenant of hfe with him. Gen. ii. 
 16, 17, " And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, 
 Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat ; but of 
 the tree of the knowledge of good and evil thou shalt not eat 
 of it." 
 
 Q. 2. Why is this prohibition called a covenant of life ? 
 
 A. Because of the promise and threatening which was an- 
 nexed to the keeping or the violation of it. Gal. iii. 12, " And 
 the law is not of faith ; but the man that doeth them shall 
 live in them." 
 
 Q. 3. What luas the condition of the covenant ? 
 
 A. Man's not eating of the tree of the knowledge of good 
 and evil. Gen. ii. 17, " For in the day that thou eatest 
 thereof thou shalt surely die." 
 
 Q. 4. Was the prohibition that constituted the condition 
 of the covenant a moral or a positive precept ? 
 
 A. It was a positive precept, and therefore not necessarily 
 connected with the moral law ; but when made known as the 
 will of God, the moral law, as that eternal rule of right, bound 
 him over to keep it ; and, consequently, in breaking it, he 
 necessarily broke also the moral law. Rom. iii. 31, " Do we 
 then make void the law through faith ? God forbid : yea, we 
 establish the law." 
 
 Q. 5. What is the difference between a moral and a po- 
 sitive precept ? 
 
46 THE NATURE OF THE SPECIAL ACT OF PROVIDENCE 
 
 A. A moral precept, or the moral law, is that order or 
 constitution of things that arises out of the relation in which 
 man stands to God, and can neither be altered nor set aside ; 
 while a positive precept, being founded in the sovereign will 
 of God, may at any time be altered and set aside by the same 
 divine authority. Matt. v. 17, 18, " Think not that I am 
 come to destroy the law or the prophets : I am not come to 
 destroy but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven 
 and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from 
 the law, till all be fulfilled." Ezek. xviii. 3, " As I live, saith 
 the Lord God, ye shall not have occasion any more to use this 
 proverb in Israel." 
 
 Q. 6. Had there been no positive precept or enactment 
 superadded to the moral laiUy in the special act of provi- 
 dence which God exercised towards man luhen he was crea- 
 ted^ could it have been called a covenant f 
 
 A. No : inasmuch as there could be neither promise nor 
 threatening annexed to the moral law, it being the very law 
 of man's existence, and to the observance of which he was un- 
 alterably bound over, and the violation of which necessarily 
 involved him in guilt and misery ; but when God conde- 
 scended to superinduce a positive precept upon the moral law, 
 with a promise and threatening annexed to it, it may well be 
 denominated a covenant. Gal. iii. 15, "Brethren, I speak af- 
 ter the manner of men ; though it be but a man's covenant, yet 
 if it be confirmed, no man disannulleth, or addeth thereto." 
 
 Q. 7. What was the kind of life p>romised as the reward 
 of obedience, and the death threatened as the penalty of 
 disobedience in the covenant ? 
 
 A. The continuance of the life which man then possessed, 
 and, in due time, he would have been admitted into a state 
 of still nearer intercourse and communion with God ; while 
 the penalty of disobedience was death temporal, spiritual, 
 and eternal. Matt. xix. 17, " If thou wilt enter into Hfe, 
 keep the commandments." Gen. ii. 17, " In the day that 
 thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die." 
 
 Q. 8. Is there any rnention made in the positive precept 
 either of eternal life or eternal death? 
 
 A. No : there is not, in so many words, a promise of 
 eternal life as the reward of man's obedience ; nor was it ne- 
 cessary, inasmuch as man was, at the time, in possession of 
 the very kind of life he would for ever have enjoyed, had he. 
 continued stedfast in his obedience ; and although the word 
 eternal is not in the threatening annexed to the prohibition, 
 it is equally clear that it must be understood ; for so long as 
 
EXERCISED TOWARDS MAN, 47 
 
 God continues a pure and a holy Being, and man a sinful 
 and guilty creature, so long must the separation, that took 
 place in consequence of sin, exist. Rom. vi. 23, " For the 
 wages of sin is death ; but the gift of God is eternal life, 
 through Jesus Christ our Lord." 
 
 Q. 9. Was it an act of great condescension in God thus 
 to enter into covenant with man ? 
 
 A. Yes : it was so, for Jehovah, the possessor of all things, 
 to enter into covenant with the creature of his own power ; he 
 stood in no need of his services, nor could man profit him any 
 thing. And, as regarded man, it was an act of infinite good- 
 ness and mercy, inasmuch as it was a double tie to keep him 
 in the way of duty, and a standing memorial of his absolute 
 dependance upon God, reminding him at every instant of the 
 holy and blessed state he possessed, and the fearful misery 
 involved in the loss of it. Job xxii. 2, " Can a man be pro- 
 fitable unto God, as he that is wise may be profitable unto 
 himself." Psal. xxxi. 19, " Oh how great is thy goodness, which 
 thou hast laid up for them that fear thee ; which thou hast 
 wrought for them that trust in thee before the sons of men !" 
 
 Such was the tendency of the providence God exercised to- 
 ward man in the estate in which he created him ; not only 
 qualifying him for the enjoyment of eternal communion with 
 himself, but in doing everything to preserve and keep him in 
 his estate of holy blessedness ; for it was an amazing act of 
 condescension on the part of God, to enter into covenant 
 with man, setting up, as it were, a barrrier to preserve him 
 in this condition in which the perfection and blessedness of his 
 nature alike consisted. 
 
 QUESTION XIII. 
 
 Having seen the nature of that special act of providence 
 which God exercised towards man when he created him, we 
 come to inquire if man continued in his estate of holy blessed- 
 ness. 
 
 Quest. Did our first 'parents continue in the estate 
 wherein they were created? 
 
 Ans. Our first parents, being left to the freedom of their 
 own will, fell from the estate wherein they were created by 
 sirming against God. 
 
48 THE FALL OF MAN. 
 
 Q. 1. What was the state in which God created 
 man ? 
 
 A. God created man in a holy and happy state, after his 
 own image, in knowledge, righteousness, and true holiness. 
 Gen. V. 1, " In the day that God created man, in the like- 
 ness of God made he him." 
 
 Q. 2. What are ive to U7iderstand hy our first 'parents 
 being left to the freedom of their own wills? 
 
 A. That God made them intelligent and rational creatures, 
 with free liberty of choice, but, at the same time, accountable 
 for the choice they made ; set before them, in a covenant 
 form, life and death, and left them to their own free and un- 
 fettered will to choose for themselves. Deut. xxx. 15, 16, 
 *' See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and 
 death and evil ; in that I command thee this day to love 
 the Lord thy God, to walk in his ways," &c. 
 
 Q. 3. Had ou7^ first parents power, when left to the free- 
 dom of their own wills, to continue in the state wherein 
 they luere created ? 
 
 A. Yes : inasmuch as their wills were uncorrupted, and 
 their affections undepraved ; so that, from the holiness and 
 purity of their whole nature, their every tendency and incli- 
 nation was to love and serve God. Gen. i. 27, " So God 
 created man in his own image : in the image of God created 
 he him." 
 
 Q. 4. Did our first parents, when left to the freedom 
 of their own wills, continue in the state wherein they 
 were created ? 
 
 A. No : they, by a deliberate act of their own wills, chose 
 to follow the suggestions of the tempter, rather than the re- 
 vealed will of God, and renounced all the inconceivable bless- 
 edness which they were capable of receiving in the favour 
 and friendship of God, for the untried and unknown pleasure 
 they expected to find in complying with the temptation. 
 Eccl. 7; 29, " God made man upright ; but they have sought 
 out many inventions." Josh. xxiv. 15, " And if it seem evil 
 unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will 
 serve." Gen. iii. 4, " And the serpent said unto the wo- 
 man. Ye shall not surely die." 
 
 Q. 5. What is the deliberate act or choice called which 
 our first parents made when they fell from the state in 
 ivhich they luere created ? 
 
 A. A sinning against God ; because, in following their own 
 wills, in opposition to the will of God, they deliberately re- 
 nounced all depend ancc upon, and allegiance to him. Mai. iii. 
 
WHAT SIN IS. 49 
 
 8) 9, " Will a man rob God ? Yet ye have robbed me. Ye 
 are cursed with a curse : for ye have robbed me." 
 
 Q. 8. Has man the same power to love and serve God, 
 since the fall, ivhich he had in the state wherein he was 
 created ? 
 
 A. No : because he has not the will to do so, inasmuch as, 
 by the fall, he defaced the divine image in which he was cre- 
 ated, lost all true knowledge of God, all rectitude of will, all 
 purity of affection, all that holiness in heart and life, which 
 necessarily arose out of his conformity to the image of God, 
 and became dead in trespasses and sins, without one feeling 
 of love to God, or one honest desire to serve him. John v. 
 40, 42, " And ye will not come to me, that ye might have 
 life. JBut I know you, that ye have not the love of God in 
 you." Eph. ii. 1, " And you hath he quickened, who were 
 dead in trespasses and sins." 
 
 It was of man's own free will and choice that he fell from 
 the state of holy blessedness in which he was created. He 
 might have stood had he so willed it ; for every principle 
 and tendency of his nature were all on the side of holiness, and 
 rectitude, and truth ; but now it is far otherwise. Satan 
 having triumphed over man in his state of innocency, has ever 
 since held him his obedient and willing captive, and will do 
 so, until a stronger than he rescue him from his power. " Thy 
 people shall be willing in the day of thy power." 
 
 SECTION V. 
 THE NATURE OF SIN, AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 
 
 QUESTION XIV. 
 
 Having seen that man, notwithstanding the special care ex- 
 ercised towards him in the estate wherein he was created, 
 being left to the freedom of his own will, fell from this state 
 by sinning against God, we come to inquire what sin is. 
 
 Quest. What is sin ? 
 
 Ans. Sin is any want of conformity unto, or transgression 
 of the law of God. 
 
 Q. 1. What are we to understand hy the law of God? 
 A, The moral law : as that eternal and unalterable rule of 
 
50 WHAT SIN IS. 
 
 right and wrong, that arises out of the relation in which we 
 stand to God, and binds us over to obey whatsoever pre- 
 cepts or commandments he may at any time enjoin. Matt, 
 xxviii. 20, " Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever 
 I have commanded you." 
 
 Q. 2. What is the first thing stated respecting sin ? 
 
 A. That sin is any want of conformity unto the law of 
 God. Gal. iii. 10, " Cursed is every one that continueth not 
 in all things which are written in the book of the law to do 
 them." 
 
 Q. 3. What is the second thing stated respecting sin ? 
 
 A, That sin is any transgression of the law of God. 1 John 
 iii. 4, " Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law; 
 for sin is the transgression of the law." 
 
 Q. 4. How does it appear that any want of conformity 
 to the laiu of God is sin ? 
 
 A. In that we withhold from God the obedience he re- 
 quires of us ; and, consequently, are guilty of setting aside, 
 and of despising his authority. Matt. xix. 20 — 22, " All 
 these things have I kept from my youth up : what lack I yet ? 
 Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell 
 that thou hast and give to the poor, and thou shalt have trea- 
 sure in heaven ; and come and follow me. But when the 
 young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful : for 
 he had great possessions." 
 
 Q. 5. How does it appear that any transgression of the 
 law of God is sin ? 
 
 A. In that we not only withhold from God the obedience 
 he requires of us, but do what he absolutely forbids ; and 
 are guilty of setting at nought the letter of the law as well 
 as its spirit. Eom. vii. 8, 9, " But sin, taking occasion by 
 the commandment, wrought in me all manner of concupis- 
 cence. For without the law sin was dead. For I was alive 
 without the law once ; but when the commandment came, sin 
 revived, and I died." 
 
 Q. 6. Does the law of God take cognisance of the pur- 
 poses and desires of the heart as well as of the outward 
 action ? 
 
 A. Yes : inasmuch as the will or the dispositions of the 
 heart are the source from which all acceptable obedience flows : 
 the outward action being only a manifestation of the inward 
 state of the heart and affections. Matt. xxii. — 37, 39, 
 '* Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and 
 with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and 
 great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt 
 
WHAT SIN IS. 61 
 
 love thy neighbour as thyself." Rom. vii. 7, " For I had not 
 known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet." 
 
 Q. 7. A.re all ynen under the law, whether they have or 
 have not the written word of God ? 
 
 A. Yes : inasmuch as it is the law of their being, which 
 comes into existence with them. Rom. ii. 14, 15, " For 
 when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature 
 the things contained in the law, these, having not the law,' 
 are a law unto themselves ; which show the work of the laW 
 written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, 
 and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing 
 one another." 
 
 Q. 8. Have all men, both those ivho have, and have not 
 the written word of God, transgressed the law ? 
 
 A. Yes : for all have withheld from God, the love, the 
 submission, and the confidence, due to him, as their Cre- 
 ator and benefactor. Rom. iii. 9, "For we have before 
 proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin." 
 Rom. iii. 20, " Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall 
 no flesh be justified in his sight : for by the law is the know- 
 ledge of sin." 
 
 Q. 9. Can ive, as transgressors of the law of God, ever 
 be truly happy, while under its penalty and iinconformed 
 to it requiremetits ? 
 
 A. No : for its demands are unalterable ; the penalty, 
 ' therefore, must be satisfied, and we conformed to it again, 
 before we can be truly happy. Rom. vii. 24, " O wretched 
 man that I am ! who shall deliver me from the body of this 
 death ?" Psal. cxix. 5, " O that my ways were directed to 
 keep thy statutes !" 
 
 Q. 10. Is there any way by which we may be delivered 
 from the penalty of the laiu of God, and become again con- 
 formed to its precepts ? 
 
 A. Yes: by beheving in the Lord Jesus Christ, who 
 satisfied all its demands, and purchased, for all who be- 
 lieve in him, the Holy Spirit ; by whose influence, his 
 people are enabled to delight themselves in the law of God, 
 and in due time will be entirely conformed to it. Rom. vii. 
 25, " I thank God, through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then 
 with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with- the 
 flesh the law of sin." Psal. cxix. 97, " how love I thy 
 law ! it is my meditation all the day." 
 
 Q. 11. Wherein do we see the great demerit of sin, as a 
 transgression of the law of God, most clearly manifested ? 
 
 A. In the sufterings and death of the Son of God, as 
 
52- THE PARTICULAR SIX 
 
 the substitute of the guihy, bearing the punishment due to 
 them for sin. Matt. xxvi. 38, " My soul is exceeding sorrow- 
 ful, even unto death." Luke xxii. 44, " And being in an 
 aorony, he prayed more earnestly : and his sweat was as it 
 were great drops of blood falling down to the ground." 
 
 In the sufferings and death of Christ, we see the exceeding 
 sinfulness of sin strikingly manifested ; but who can estimate 
 the sufferings and agony of such a glorious being ? Yet, in 
 them, we may see the awful desert of sin ; and O let us re- 
 member, that if such things were done in the green tree, 
 what shall be done in the dry ; for sin is the source and foun- 
 tain of all evils, striking, as it does, at the sovereignty of God. 
 May we long and labour for nothing more earnestly than to 
 have it rooted out from our souls ! 
 
 QUESTION XV. 
 
 Having seen what sin is, we come to the particular sin 
 whereby our first parents fell from the state wherein they 
 were created. 
 
 Quest. What was the sin whereby our first lyarents fell 
 from the estate wherein they were created ? 
 
 Ans. The sin whereby our first parents fell from the estate 
 wherein they were created, was their eating the forbidden 
 fruit. 
 
 Q. 1. How does it appear that our first parents fell 
 from the estate wherein they were created^ by eating the 
 forbidden fruit ? 
 
 A. From the effects that immediately followed their eat- 
 ing of it, when they lost all true knowledo-e of God, and 
 delight in him, and brought themselves into an estate ot mi- 
 sery and helplessness. Gen. iii. 7, 8, " And the eyes of 
 them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. 
 And Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of 
 the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden." 
 
 Q. 2. Was there anything i^^culiar about the forbidden 
 fruit luJiich made the eating of it to be sin ? 
 
 A. No : there was nothing in the fruit of this tree more 
 than in that of any other, to make the eating of it to bo sin, 
 until it was set apart by God, as the test of man's obedience, 
 in the covenant into which he condescended to enter with 
 
WHEREBY OUR FIRST PARENTS FELL. 53 
 
 him ; but after it was set apart, his eating of it was a despis- 
 ing of the covenant, and a contemning of the authority of 
 God. Gen. ii. 16, 17, " And the Lord God commanded the 
 man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou may est freely 
 eat ; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou 
 shalt not eat of it : for in the day that thou eatest thereof 
 thou shalt surely die." 
 
 Q. 3. Were our first parents sensible of the effects 
 which would necessarily follow upon their eating of the 
 forbidden fruit '^. 
 
 A. They had the infallible word of God, assuring them 
 what would be the effect of their eating of it ; and their not 
 eating of it being made the condition of the covenant, the 
 consequences of obedience and of disobedience were constantly 
 kept before their minds. Gen. iii. 2, 3, " And the woman 
 said unto the serpent. We may eat of the fruit of the trees 
 of the garden : but of the fruit of the tree which is in the 
 midst of the garden, God hath said. Ye shall not eat of it, 
 neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die." 
 
 Q. 4. What appears to have been the ^notive ivhich in- 
 duced our first parents to eat of the forbidden fruit ? 
 
 A. Pride : not contented with the ineffable blessedness they 
 possessed, nor the high place they held among the works of God, 
 they would be still higher, and, therefore, listened to the voice 
 of the tempter. Gen. iii. 4, 5, " Ye shall not surely die. 
 For God doth know, that in the day ye eat thereof, then your 
 eyes shall be opened ; and ye shall be as gods, knowing good 
 and evil." 
 
 Q. 5. Was the eating of the forbidden fruit by our 
 first parents a very heinous sin i 
 
 A. Yes : inasmuch as they not only violated the covenant 
 into which God had entered with them, but also the law of 
 their being, which bound them over to keep the revealed will 
 of God in whatever form it was made known to them. Josh, 
 xxii. 5, " But take diligent heed to do the commandment 
 and the law, which Moses, the servant of the Lord, charged 
 you, to love the Lord your God, and to walk in all his ways, 
 and to keep his commandments, and to cleave unto him, and 
 to serve him with all your heart, and with all your soul." 
 
 Q. 6. How does it appear that the sin of our first pa- 
 rents in eating the forbidden fruit was so heinous ? 
 
 A, From the circumstances in which they were placed, the 
 noble and excellent endowments conferred on them, the 
 knowledge they possessed, and the purity and holiness with 
 which they were adorned. Eccl. vii. 29, " God made man 
 
 e3 
 
54 THE CONNECTION OF 
 
 upright." Jew ii. 11, 12, "My people have changed their 
 glory for that which doth not profit. Be astonished, y(^ 
 heavens, at this, and be horribly afraid, be ye very desolate, 
 saith the Lord." 
 
 Q. 7- Were our Jirst parents guilty of sin before they 
 actually ate of the forbidden fruit ? 
 
 A. Yes : for the eating of the fruit was only an outward 
 manifestation of the inward guilt, they having voluntarily de- 
 parted from God, as soon as they entertained the temptation. 
 James i. 14, 15, " But every man is tempted, when he is 
 drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then, when lust 
 hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin ; and sin, when it is 
 finished, bringeth forth death." 
 
 It was a sin replete with aggravating circumstances. It 
 called in question the veracity of God ; it was full of the 
 blackest ingratitude, placed as they were in a paradise of de- 
 light, having free access to their Maker, and a capacity for 
 enjoying intimate communion and fellowship with him. It 
 was full of pride, also, in that their object was to be like gods, 
 and of disobedience to an express revelation on the subject, 
 promising life, and threatening death as the consequence of 
 obeying or disobeying it. 
 
 QUESTION XVI. 
 
 As we have seen what was the particular sin whereby our 
 first parents fell from the estate wherein they were created, 
 we come to inquire if all mankind fell in Adam's first trans- 
 gression. 
 
 Quest. Did all mankind fall in Adani's first trans- 
 gression ? 
 
 Ans. The covenant being made with Adam, not only for 
 himself, but for his posterity ; all mankind, descending from 
 him by ordinary generation, sinned in him, and fell with him 
 in his first transgression. 
 
 Q. 1. With whom did God enter into covenant? 
 
 A. With Adam, as the constituted head and representative 
 of all his natural posterity. Gen. ii. 16, 17, " And the Lord 
 God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the gar- 
 den thou may est freely eat ; but of the tree of the knowledge 
 
Adam's posterity with his fall. 55 
 
 ot' good and evil thou shalt not eat of it ; for in the day tliat 
 thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die." 
 
 Q. 2. Is there any mention of Adatn's posterity iti the 
 covenant into which God entered with hirn ? 
 
 A. No : the command and threatening are both in the sin- 
 gular, which is just what might have been expected when God 
 condescended to treat with Adam as the head and represen- 
 tative of his natural posterity, inasmuch as it is analogous to 
 other transactions of a similar nature recorded in the Scrip- 
 tures ; but it is obvious that his posterity were included, from 
 the command given to him when he was created, " Multiply 
 and replenish the earth." Gen. i. 27, 28, " So God created 
 man in his own image ; in the image of God created he him ; 
 male and female created he them. And God blessed them, 
 and God said unto them. Be fruitful, and multiply, and re- 
 plenish the earth." 
 
 Q. 3. What are some of the cases mentioned in Scrip- 
 ture tvhere the posteiity are included^ and the promise or 
 threatening is in the singular ? 
 
 A. The curse pronounced on Canaan, and the blessing 
 on Shem and Japhet are in the singular, although their 
 posterity were included, and to Abraham individually was the 
 land of Canaan promised, and in him were all the families of 
 the earth to be blessed, both of which promises included his 
 posterity as well as himself, lleb. xi. 9, "By faith Abra- 
 ham sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, 
 dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with 
 him of the same promise." Gal. iii. 16, " He saith not, And 
 to seeds, as of many ; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is 
 Christ." 
 
 Q. 4. If there had been no covenant entered into ivith 
 Adam, ivould he have been the head and representative of 
 all his natural posterity ? 
 
 A. No : not in the way of having either his merit or de- 
 merit imputed to them ; he would have been their head as the 
 common parent or root from whence they sprung, and from 
 whom therefore they would have derived a vitiated nature ; 
 inasmuch as the moral law bound him and them to obey 
 all its requirements, irrespective either of promise or threat- 
 ening; but not as their representative, whereby the guilt 
 he incurred in breaking the covenant is imputed to them. 
 Matt. V. 18, " Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle 
 shall in no wise pass from the law till all be fulfilled." Rom^ 
 V. 16, " For the judgment was by one to condemnation." 
 
 Q. 5. Was it an act of grace on the part of God, to en-- 
 
56 THE CONNECTION OF 
 
 ter into covenant with Adam, as the head and representa- 
 tive of his posterity ? 
 
 A. Yes : inasmuch as Adam was well qualified for transac- 
 ting on their hehalf. He had everything necessary to enable 
 him to keep the covenant, and every motive, fitted to induce 
 him to persevere, was presented before him : the present and 
 future well-being of his posterity being suspended upon his 
 trial. Gen. ii. 17, " For in the day that thou eatest thereof 
 thou shalt surely die." 
 
 Q. Q. Did all Adam'' s posterity fall in his first trans- 
 gression ? 
 
 A. Yes : Adam being the constituted head and representa- 
 tive, "all descending from him by ordinary generation, sinned 
 in him and fell with him in his first transgression." llom. v. 
 12, " Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, 
 and death by sin ; and so death passed upon all men, for that 
 all have sinned." 
 
 Q. 7. How could the posterity of Adam, sin in him and 
 fall with him in his first transgression, since none of them 
 then existed ? 
 
 A. Although none of them were then in actual being, 
 yet all of them virtually existed in the loins of Adam, as 
 their common head and first parent, and from the nature of 
 the covenant into which he entered as their representative, 
 whatever he did in that capacity, they were held as doing in 
 their own proper persons ; so that, when he fell, they sinned 
 and fell in him. 1 Cor. xv. 22, " For as in Adam all die." 
 Rom. V. 19, " By one man's disobedience many were made 
 sinners." 
 
 Q. 8. Is there any other of Adam^s sins imputed to his 
 posterity h\(t the first ? 
 
 A. No : inasmuch as there was no other covenant into 
 which God entered with him, as the representative of his 
 posterity ; so that whatever he did apart from this transac- 
 tion, he did as a private individual only. Ezek. xviii. 30, 
 " Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one 
 according to his ways, saith the Lord God." 
 
 Q. 9. Does the sentence pronounced on Adam subse- 
 quent to the fall, take effect on his posterity ? 
 
 A. Yes : and therefore is a corroborative proof, that both 
 in the threatening and execution of the sentence, all liis pos- 
 terity were included ; inasmuch as both are stated in the sin- 
 gular number. Rom. v. 14, "Nevertheless death reigned 
 from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned 
 after the similitude of Adam's transgression." 
 
Adam's posterity with his fall'. '' 57 
 
 Q. 10. Is there any other evidence, besides natural 
 death, that allAdam^s posterity were included in the cove- 
 nant, and fell ivith him in his first transgression ? 
 
 A. Yes : the inherent depravity of man's nature, his es- 
 trangement from God and hohness, his want of moral power 
 in himself to keep the law of God ; besides, the whole of 
 divine revelation proceeds upon the principle, that man is now 
 guilty and depraved. Job xv. 14, 16, " What is man, that 
 he should be clean ? and he wl^ich is born of a woman, that he 
 should be righteous ? How much more abominable and filthy 
 is man, which drinketh iniquity like water." 
 
 Q. 11. Are all men alike guilty and depraved, in con- 
 sequence of their fall im Adam'' s first transgression ? 
 
 A. Yes : as it respects their state and condition by nature, 
 in the sight of God ; but as it respects their practice, some are 
 more guilty than others, Rom. v. 18, "By the offence of one 
 judgment came upon all men to condemnation." John xix. 
 11, " He that delivered me unto thee hath the greater sin." 
 
 Q. 12. Was there ever any descending from Adam by 
 ordinary generation, who escaped the guilt and defilement 
 of his first transgression ? 
 
 A. No : a sentence of condemnation having passed upon 
 all men, in consequence of their connection with Adam in the 
 first covenant, from whom also they inherit a polluted nature. 
 Rom. V. 18, " By the offence of one judgment came upon all 
 men to condemnation." Psal. li. 3, " Behold I was shapen 
 in iniquity ; and in sin did my mother conceive me." 
 
 Q. 13. Was there ever any, descended from Adam, who 
 partook neither in the guilt nor defilement of his first 
 transgression ? 
 
 ■ A. The Lord Jesus Christ, in his human nature, was de- 
 scended from Adam, but not by ordinary generation ; and 
 partook neither in the guilt nor defilement of his sin, being 
 conceived by supernatural influence, in an extraordinary way. 
 Heb. ii. 14, " Forasmuch then as the children are partakers 
 of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the 
 same." Luke i. 35, " The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, 
 and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee ; there- 
 fore, also, that holy thing which shall be born of thee, shall 
 be called the Son of God." 
 
 Our Lord Jesus Christ descended from Adam in his hu- 
 man nature, being of the seed of Abraham, but not by ordi- 
 nary generation, and was alike free from both the guilt and 
 pollution of Adam's first transgression ; but he was the only 
 
58 THE STATE INTO WHICH THE FALL 
 
 one who ever did, or ever will, escape the fatal effects of the 
 fall ; for all men, as soon as they come into the world, in con- 
 sequence of their connection with Adam, are under a sen- 
 tence of condemnation, and shorn of their original strength 
 and heauty, are alike guilty, helpless, and depraved, until, by a 
 cordial reception of and believing in the second Adam, the 
 Lord from heaven, they are brought into a new state and re- 
 lationship to God. Let us, then, earnestly seek and pi*ay, 
 that as we have borne the image of the earthy, so may we 
 also bear the image of the heavenly. 
 
 QUESTION XVIL 
 
 Having seen that all mankind, descending from Adam by 
 ordinary generation, sinned in him, and fell with him in his 
 first transgression, we come to inquire what that estate is 
 into which the fall brought mankind. 
 
 Quest. Into ivhat estate did the fall bring mankind? 
 
 Ans. The fall brought mankind into an estate of sin and 
 misery. 
 
 Q. 1. What are we to understand by an estate of sin ? 
 
 A, A state or condition in which men do not occasionally 
 sin, but in which their every thought, word, and action, are 
 sin, being the very reverse of an estate of holiness. Col. 
 ii. L3, " And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircum- 
 cision of your flesh, hath he quickened together wdth him, 
 having forgiven you all trespasses." 
 
 Q. 2. Is an estate of sin the state or condition of all 
 men by nature ? 
 
 A. Yes : and the practice of all men, as soon as they are 
 capable of exercising their faeulties, affords melancholy proof 
 of the alienation of the heart and affections from God. llom. 
 iii. 10 — 12, " There is none righteous, no, not one : there is 
 none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. 
 They are all gone out of the way, they are together become 
 unprofitable ; there is none that doeth good, no, not one." 
 
 Q. 3. What was it that brought mankind into an estate 
 of sin ? 
 
 A, Their fall in Adam, whereby they became liable not 
 only to the guilt of sin, but inherit also a depraved nature. 
 Rom. V. 19, " For by one man's disobedience many were made 
 
BROUGHT MANKIND. 59 
 
 Q. 4. What are we to understand hy an estate of misery I 
 
 A. The loss of fellowship and communion with God ; ex- 
 posedness to his wrath and curse, with all the miseries of this 
 life, and that which is to come. Isa. xxxiii. 14, " The sin- 
 ners in Zion are afraid ; feaifulness hath surprised the hypo- 
 crites : who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire ? 
 who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings." 
 
 Q. 5. Is an estate of sin and misery inseparably con- 
 nected ? 
 
 A. Yes : the one being a necessary consequence of the 
 other ; to be sinful, therefore, is, sooner or later, to be mise- 
 rable. Isa. xlviii. 22, " There is no peace, saith the Lord, 
 unto the wicked." 
 
 Q. 6. Is there any way hy which we may he delivered 
 from the estate of sin and misery into which the fall has 
 brought us ? 
 
 A. Yes : by receiving and resting on the Lord Jesus Christ 
 as the substitute and Saviour of sinners. 2 Cor. v. 21, " For 
 he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin ; that 
 we might be made the righteousness of God in him." 
 
 It is a fearful thought, that, in consequence of our fall in 
 Adam, we are all by nature in an estate of sin and misery ; 
 but, at the same time, it is a cheering thought, that God, of 
 his infinite grace and mercy, hath provided for us a Saviour, 
 Let us not, then, aggravate our guilt and sinfulness, by reject- 
 ing the offer of a free salvation through him ; but may we be 
 enabled so to believe in him, as to obtain redemption through 
 his blood, even the forgiveness of sins. 
 
 QUESTION XVIII. 
 
 As we have seen that the fall brought mankind into an 
 estate of sin and misery, we come to inquire wherein the sin- 
 fulness of that estate consists. 
 
 Quest. Wherein consists the sinfxdness of that estate 
 whereinto man fell ? 
 
 Ans. The sinfulness of that estate whereinto man fell, con- 
 sists in the guilt of Adam's first sin, the want of original 
 righteousness, and the corruption of his whole nature, which 
 is commonly called original sin ; together with all actual 
 transgressions which proceed from it. 
 
60 THE SINFULNESS OF THAT ESTATE. 
 
 Q. 1. What is the first clement which constitutes the 
 sinfulness of that estate luhereinto man fell? 
 
 A. The guilt of Adam's first sin. Rom. v. 19, *' By one 
 man's disobedience many were made sinners." 
 
 Q. 2. What are lue to understand by the guilt of 
 Adam^s first sin ? 
 
 A. The imputation of his guilt to us : because he, being the 
 constituted head and representative of all his natural poste- 
 rity, in the covenant into vehich God entered with him ; and 
 having incurred the penalty of breaking it, all his posterity 
 are, in the eye of divine justice, held, or looked upon, as if 
 they had done it in their own proper persons. Rom. v. 18, 
 " By the offence of one judgment came upon all men to con- 
 demnation." 
 
 Q. 3. How is the guilt of Adam^s first sin imputed to 
 us, since we did not then exist ? 
 
 A. In consequence of the relation in which we stand to 
 him : God, in that transaction, having dealt with him, not 
 as a single person, but as the covenanted head and represen- 
 tative of all his posterity, descending from him by ordinary 
 generation to the end of the world. 1 Cor. xv. 21, 22, " For 
 since by man came death, in Adam all die." 
 
 Q. 4. What is the second element which constitutes the 
 sinfidness of that estate luhereinto man fell ? 
 
 A. The want of original righteousness. Rom. iii. 10, 
 " There is none righteous, no, not one," 
 
 Q. 5. What are we to understand by the want of ori- 
 ginal righteousness ? 
 
 A. The want of that knowledge, rectitude, and true ho- 
 liness, or conformity to God's image, which enabled Adam 
 to love God supremely, and to find his delight in him, and 
 in which his dignity and true happiness consisted. Lam. iv. 
 1, " How is the gold become dim ! how is the most fine gold 
 changed !" 
 
 Q. 6. Hoiv did the fall of Adam cause all his posterity 
 after him to luant original righteousness ? 
 
 A. Because, immediately upon the fall of Adam, the di- 
 vine presence withdrew from his soul ; by that act he cast ofl^ 
 God, and God also cast off him, in so far, at least, as the with- 
 holding of all gracious influences from the soul was concerned. 
 A complete barrier was set up between him and his Creator, 
 and Adam, being the head and representative of all his natu- 
 ral posterity, they come into the world in the very same state 
 as he then was, destitute of all true holiness and spiritual life. 
 Isa. lix. 2, " Your iniquities have separated between you and 
 
INTO WHICH MAN FELL. 61 
 
 your God, and your sins have hid his face from you." Rom. 
 V. 17, " For by one man's offence death reigned by one." 
 
 Q. 7. Does the want of original righteousness make us 
 offensive in the sight of God ? 
 
 A. Yes : inasmuch as there is nothing, in or about us, 
 on which God can look with complacency and approbation ; 
 as we have defaced his image in our souls, and rendered our- 
 selves unable either to love or serve him. Rom. viii. 8, " So 
 then they that are in the flesh cannot please God." 
 
 Q. 8. What is the third element which constitutes the 
 sinfuhiess of that estate whereinto man fell ? 
 
 A. The corruption of his whole nature. Psal. li. 5, " Be- 
 hold I was shapen in iniquity, and in sin did my mother con- 
 ceive me." 
 
 Q. 9. What are we to understand hy the corruption of 
 our whole nature ? 
 
 A, That we are not only destitute of the knowledge, righ- 
 teousness, and time holiness, in which man was created ; but 
 that there is also, throughout our whole nature, a positive dis- 
 like and aversion to God and holiness. Col. i. 21, " And 
 you, that were sometime alienated, and enemies in your mind 
 by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled." 
 
 Q. 10. How does the corruption of our whole nature 
 manifest itself? 
 
 A. By our thoughts, words, and actions. From the want of 
 original righteousness we have no inclination or disposition to 
 keep the law of God, and through the corruption of our whole 
 nature we daily break it, in thought, word, and deed. Gen. 
 viii. 21, " The imagination of man's heart is evil from his 
 youth." Psal. Iviii. 3, " The wicked are estranged from the 
 womb ; they go astray as soon as they be born, speaking lies." 
 
 Q. 11. Are all men alike sinful? 
 
 A. Yes : in so far as the guilt of Adam's first sin, the want 
 of original righteousness, and the corruption of their whole na- 
 ture is concerned, all are in the same state of sinfulness; and 
 it is called original sin, because all men inherit it from their 
 connection with Adam as their head and representative. 
 1 Cor. ii. 14, " The natural man receiveth not the things of 
 the Spirit of God ; for they are foolishness unto him ; neither 
 can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned." 
 Rom. vii. 18, " For I know that in me, that is, in my flesh, 
 dwelleth no good thing." 
 
 Q. 12. Does original sin manifest itself in all the na- 
 tural posterity of Adam ? 
 
 t 
 
(32 THE SINFULNESS OF THE ESTATE, &C. 
 
 j1. Yes : by actual transgressions of the law of God, in 
 withholding from him the love to which he is supremely en- 
 titled, in their ignorance of his character, in the contrariety 
 of their wills to his, and in the vain affections and unholy de- 
 sires which they cherish ; so that man's natural state in Scrip- 
 ture is compared to an estate of darkness, as well as an estate 
 ui'sin. John i. 5, " The light shineth in darkness ; and the 
 darkness comprehendetli it not." Job xv. 16, *' How much 
 more abominable and filthy is man, which drinketh iniquity 
 like water." 
 
 Q. 13. Hoiv does the corruption of our moral nature 
 manifest itself? 
 
 A. By our natural bhndness, impotency, and inaptitude 
 to spiritual things ; and by our enmity and dislike to God, 
 and his law. Eph. ii. 1, " And you hath he quickened, 
 who were dead in trespasses and sins." Kom. viii. 7, " The 
 carnal mind is enmity against God ; for it is not subject to the 
 law of God, neither indeed can be." 
 
 Q. 14. Hoiu does the corruption of our bodies manifest 
 itself f 
 
 A. In their being the willing and obedient instruments of 
 sin, and in affording Satan and the world ready access to 
 the soul, with every temptation. Rom. vi. 12, " Let not sin 
 reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts 
 thereof." Rom. vii. 24, " wretched man that I am I who 
 shall deliver me from the body of this death V 
 
 Let us here see our wretched condition by nature, as being 
 not only blind, and unable, because unwiUing, to do anything 
 which is good ; but as having also, in our nature, a malignant 
 opposition to everything spiritual and holy, hating the light, 
 and not coming to it, lest our deeds should be reproved ; and, 
 being deeply sensible of this, may we seek to have the enmity 
 of our carnal minds slain, and that God would shine into our 
 hearts, giving us the light of the knowledge of his glory in 
 the face of Jesus Christ; that of us it may be said, " Once 
 ye were darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord." 
 
THE MISERY OF THE ESTATE, &c. 63 
 
 QUESTON XIX. 
 
 Having seen wherein consists the sinfuhiess of that estate 
 whereinto man fell, we come to inquire into the misery of his 
 fallen state. 
 
 Quest. What is the misery of that estate whereinto man 
 fell ? 
 
 Ans. All mankind by their fall lost communion with God, 
 are under his wrath and curse, and so made liable to all the 
 miseries in this life, to death itself, and to the pains of liell for 
 fver. 
 
 Q. 1. What is the first element ivhich constitutes the 
 misery of that estate whereinto man fell? 
 
 A. The loss of communion with God. Gen. iii, 24, •' So 
 he drove out the man." 
 
 Q. 2. What are we to understand by communion luith 
 God ? 
 
 A. That near and friendly intercourse which man was per- 
 mitted to hold with God, in his estate of innocency ; consist- 
 ing in a sense of his being at peace with him, liberty of access 
 unto him at all times, security and joy, in the conscious sense 
 of God's nearness to him, and care of him, &c. Rom. v. 1, 
 2, " Being justified by faith, we have peace with God, through 
 our Lord Jesus Cbrist : by whom also we have access by 
 faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of 
 the glory of God." Psal. xvi. 8, " I have set the Lord al- 
 ways before me." 
 
 Q,. 3. How does it appear that mankind by the fall have 
 lost communion with God ? 
 
 A. From the conduct of Adam subsequent to the fall, when 
 he endeavoured to hide himself from God; and in that of his 
 posterity, who follow his example : wishing that there were no 
 God, and studiously excluding all thoughts of his being and 
 presence from their minds. Gen. iii. 8, " Adam and his wife 
 hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst 
 the trees of the garden." Psal. xiv. 1, '• The fool hath said in 
 his heart. There is no God." 
 
 Q. 4. Is the loss of communion luith God a great miser g ? 
 
 A. Yes : it is the source of all our misery and wretchedness, 
 inasmuch as God being in himself the source of all excellence, 
 and true happiness, no created thing can be a compensation 
 for his favour and friendship to creatures, who were made 
 
64 THE MISERY OF THE ESTATE 
 
 capable of knowing, loving, and enjoying him. Psal. xxx. 5, 
 " In his favour is life." Psal. cxix. 165, " Great peace have 
 they who love thy law ; and nothing shall offend them." 
 
 Q. 5. A^'e mankind naturally sensible of their misery 
 in having lost communion with God by the fall ? 
 
 A. No : for although eager in their pursuit after happiness 
 they never think of seeking it in the favour and fellowship of 
 God. Psal. iv. 6, " There be many that say, Who will show 
 us any good ?" Job xv. 4, " Yea, thou castest off fear, and 
 restrainest prayer before God." 
 
 Q. 6. Is the natural inseyisibility of mankind, to the 
 loss of communion with God, an aggravation of their mi- 
 sery ? 
 
 A. Yes : inasmuch as their insensibility not only prompts 
 them to seek for happiness where it never will be fouud, but 
 forms the very strength of that dislike, and enmity, which is 
 in the heart of every unrenewed man, to God and holiness ; as 
 if to admit the thought of his presence were to rob them of 
 their peace, delusive though it be. John iii. 19, " And this 
 is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and 
 men loved darkness rather' than light, because their deeds 
 were evil." 
 
 Q,. 7. What is the second element which constitutes the 
 misery of that estate whereinto man fell ? 
 
 A. Their being under the wrath and curse of God. Eph. 
 ii. 3, " And were by nature the children of wrath, even as 
 others." Gal. iii. 10. " Cursed is every one that continueth 
 not in all thinos which are written in the book of the law to 
 do them." 
 
 Q. 8. What are ive to understand by the ivrath of God ? 
 
 A. That punishment or expression of holy displeasure 
 against sin, which is befitting a God of infinite justice and 
 holiness to award to the violator of his law. Psal. xi. 6, 
 "Upon the wicked he shall rain snares, fire and brimstone, and 
 an horrible tempest : this shall be the portion of their cup." 
 
 Q. 9. What are we to understand by the ctirse of God ? 
 
 A. The condemning sentence of his law, whereby the 
 transgressors of it are bound over to endure the expression of 
 his wrath against sin. Jer. x. 25, " Pour out thy fury upon 
 the heathen that know thee not, and upon the families that 
 call not on thy name." John iii. 36, " He that believeth not 
 the Son shall not see life ; but the wrath of God abideth on 
 
 him." 
 
 Q. 10. How does it appear that mankind are under 
 the wrath and curse of God ? 
 
INTO WHICH MAN FELL. 65 
 
 A. In that they are liable to all the miseries in this life, to 
 death itself, and to the pains of hell for ever. Kom. i. 18, 
 " For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all 
 ungodliness and unrighteousness of men." 
 
 Q. 11. How does it appear that the fall is the source 
 of all the niise7'ies to luhich mankind are liable '^ 
 
 A. Because, had there been no sin, there would have been 
 no suffering ; but sin, having entered, misery followed as a ne- 
 cessary consequence, from the inseparable connection estabhsh- 
 ed between sin and suffering, to which the conscience of every 
 man bears witness. Job v. 7, " Man is born unto trouble, as 
 the sparks fly upwards." 
 
 Q. 12. Is it great misery to he under the wrath and 
 curse of God ? 
 
 A. Yes : it is greater than it is possible for the human 
 mind to conceive, for God's favour being life, and his loving 
 kindness better than hfe, his displeasure is death, and the en- 
 durance of his wrath will be worse than death. Rev. vi. 16, 
 17, " And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and 
 hide us from the face of Him that sitteth on the throne, and 
 from the wrath of the Lamb. For the great day of his wrath 
 is come ; and who shall be able to stand?" Psal. xc. 11, " Who 
 knoweth the power of thine anger?" 
 
 Q. 13. What are some of the miseries to luhich we are 
 liable in this life by the fall ? 
 
 A. They are either external, such as famine, diseases, dis- 
 appointments, &c., or internal, such as spiritual blindness, 
 hardness of heart, searedness of conscience, &c : all that 
 goes to fill up the cup of human suffering in this hfe is the 
 consequence of our fall. Job xv. 20, 21, 24, " The wicked 
 man travaileth with pain all his days. A dreadful sound is 
 in his ears. Trouble and anguish shall make him afraid." 
 
 Q. 14. What are the miseries to luhich ive are liable at 
 the close of life ? 
 
 A. The separation of the soul from the body. Heb. ix. 27, 
 " It is appointed unto men once to die." 
 
 Q. 15. Is the fall the cause of the separation between 
 the soul and body, and of the misery consequent on that 
 event ? 
 
 A. Yes : for had sin not entered into this world, there 
 would have been no death, no separation would have taken 
 place between the soul and body ; but death, forming as it 
 did part of the righteous punishment of sin, followed as 
 as soon as sin entered. Rom. vi. 23, " For the wacres of sin 
 IS death." Rom. v. 12, " By one man sin entered into the 
 
 p3 
 
66 THE MISERY OF THE ESTATE, &c. 
 
 world, and death by sin ; and so death passed upon all men, 
 for that all have sinned." 
 
 Q. 16. What are the miseries to which we are liable 
 after death by the fall? 
 
 A. The pains of hell for ever. Psal. ix. 17, " The wicked 
 shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God." 
 
 Q. 17. What are we to understand by hell ? 
 
 A. The place of torment prepared for the devil and his an- 
 gels, and for all who, like them, have rebelled and sinned 
 against God, and who have not been reconciled to him by the 
 death of his Son. Matt. xxv. 41, " Then shall he also say 
 unto them on the left hand. Depart from me, ye cursed, into 
 everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels." 
 
 Q. 18. Is hell a place of great misery ? 
 
 A. Yes : it is a place of inconceivable misery and torment ; 
 where, besides the loss of all that constitutes the happiness of 
 intelligent and rational beings, they will be delivered over to 
 the torment of Satan, and their own unrestrained passions ; 
 while the wrath of God will unceasingly be poured forth on 
 them for ever and ever. Job xxi. 30, " That the wicked is 
 reserved to the day of destruction ; they shall be brought forth 
 to the day of wrath." Mark ix. 44, " Where their worm 
 dietli not, and the lire is not quenched." 
 
 Let us here ponder over the fearful disorders sin has made 
 in our moral nature, and the awful misery to which it has 
 made us liable, both in the life that now is and in that 
 which is to come. Who can estimate the amount of misery in- 
 volved in being cut off from God as the chief good, banish- 
 ed all friendly intercourse with him, whose favour is life, 
 and whose loving-kindness is better than life ; and, at the 
 same time, lying under his wrath and curse. If the Psalmist 
 trembled at the thought of being rebuked in God's anorer, and 
 chastened in his hot displeasure, after his sins had been blotted 
 out through the great atonement, O how awful will it be to 
 those who must bear the punishment of their own sins ! Who 
 can dwell with devouring fire, who can dwell in everlasting 
 burnings ? 
 
ELECTION CARRIED INTO EFFECT BY A REDEEMER. 67 
 
 SECTION VI. 
 THE COVENANT OF GRACE. 
 
 QUESTION XX. 
 
 Having seen wherein consisteth the sinfulness and misery 
 of that estate whereinto man fell, we come to inquire if God 
 left all mankind to perish in it. 
 
 Quest. Did God leave all mankind to perish in the es- 
 tate of sin and misery ? 
 
 Ans. God having out of his mere good pleasure, from all 
 eternity, elected some to everlasting life, did enter into a co- 
 venant of grace, to deliver them out of the estate of sin and 
 misery, and to bring them into an estate of salvation by a 
 Kedeemer. 
 
 Q. 1. Are all mankind left to perish in the estate of 
 sin and misery ? 
 
 A. No : God having from all eternity elected some to 
 everlasting life. Eph. i. 4, " According as he hath chosen us 
 in him before the foundation of the world." 
 
 Q. 2. Wliat are we to understand by saying that God 
 from all eternity elected some to everlasting life ? 
 
 A. That God purposed or decreed in himself, before he 
 gave being to anything, that he would not leave all mankind 
 to perish in their estate of sin and misery. Isa. xl. 14, 
 " With whom took he counsel, and who instructed him ?" 
 
 Q. 3. Did God foreknoiu that man would fall, when 
 from all eternity he elected some to everlasting life ? 
 
 A. Yes : he assuredly did, otherwise there could have been 
 no eternal purpose of grace, to deliver them out of the estate 
 of sin and misery into which the fall brought them : all things 
 being at all times alike present to the divine mind. Acts 
 XV. 18, " Known unto God are all his w^orks from the begin- 
 ning of the world." 
 
 Q. 4. Were those whom God elected to everlasting life 
 less guilty, or more deserving of his favour than the rest 
 of mankind ? 
 
 A. No : in themselves they were not, being in the same 
 estate of sin and misery, enemies to his person, and rebels 
 against his government ; being filled with all unrighteousness. 
 Rom. viii. 7, " The carnal mind is enmity agauist God : for it 
 
68 ELECTION CARRIED INTO EFFECT BY A REDEEMER. 
 
 is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be."' Luke 
 xix. 14, " We will not have this man to reign over us." 
 
 Q. 5. What was the cause of GocVs electing some of the 
 fallen children of men to everlasting life ? 
 
 A. His own mere good pleasure, originating in and of 
 himself. Eph. i. 11, " Being predestinated according to the 
 purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his 
 own will." 
 
 Q. 6. Were there any obstacles to he overcome^ before 
 God could carri/ into effect the eternal purpose of his elect- 
 ing love towards some of the fallen children of men ? 
 
 A. Yes : there were, both on the part of God and man, in- 
 jisnmch as man, having broken God's law, which awarded death 
 to every transgression, and the law, being like its great autlior, 
 immutable, it could neither he reversed nor set aside. Full 
 satisfaction, therefore, to the law became necessary, before God 
 could extend mercy to man ; and man, besides being guilty, 
 having become disaffected and full of enmity and dishke to 
 God, it also became necessary, in the method of extending 
 mercy to man, that this enmity and disaffection to God be 
 removed. Rom. vi. 23, " For the waoes of sin is death." 
 Matt. V. 18, " Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle 
 shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled." Psal. 
 ex. 3, " Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power." 
 
 Q. 7. What lucre the means adopted by God so that 
 mercy might he extended to man ? 
 
 A. He entered into a covenant of grace, to deliver them 
 out of the estate of sin and misery, and bring them into an 
 estate of salvation by a Kedeemer. Psal. Ixxxix. 3, 19, " I 
 have made a covenant with my chosen. I have laid help upon 
 one that is mighty." 
 
 Q. 8. When was it that God entered into covenant tuith 
 his chosen one or Redeemer ? 
 
 A. From eternity, before the world began. 2 Tim. i. 9, 
 " Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not 
 according to our works, but according to his own purpose and 
 Srace, which was o-iven us in Christ Jesus before the world 
 began," 
 
 Q. 9. What induced God to seek out this chosen one or 
 Itedeemer, and to enter into covenant with him ? 
 
 A. His own free grace, good will, and pleasure. Isa. xlii. 
 6, " I will give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light 
 of the Gentiles." 
 
 Q. 10. What was the nature of the covenant into which 
 God entered with his chosen one or Redeemer i 
 
ELECTION CARRIED INTO EFFECT BY A REDEEMER. 69 
 
 A. That he should place himself in the room and stead of 
 those whom he came to save, fulfilling all righteousness for 
 them, and bearing the penalty of their offences. 2 Cor. v. 21, 
 *' For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin ; 
 that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." 
 
 Q. 11. I)id the covenant y into which God entered with 
 his choseyi one or Redeemer, remove the obstacle that 
 stood in the way of his merci/ being extended to man ? 
 
 A. Yes : it effectually did so, inasmuch as he fulfilled all 
 righteousness, magnified the law and made it honourable, and 
 exhausted the full penalty which the justice of God required for 
 sin ; so that God is now well pleased for his righteousness' sake ; 
 and is just in justifying the ungodly that believe in Jesus. 
 2 Cor. V. 18, 19, " And all things are of God, who hath re- 
 conciled us to himself by Jesus Christ. To wit, that God was 
 in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing 
 their trespasses unto them." 
 
 Q. 12. Does the covenant into which God entered vjith 
 his chosen one or Hedeemer, remove the obstacle that stood 
 in the waif of man's return to God ? 
 
 A. Yes : it effectually does so ; for not only did the Re- 
 deemer fulfil all righteousness for his people, and satisfy the 
 claims which divine justice had against them, but he also pur- 
 chased for them all gracious influences, even the gift of the 
 Holy Ghost, whose office it is to bring them to Christ, and to 
 slay the enmity of their carnal minds. 1 Pet. iii. 18, " For 
 Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, 
 that he might bring us to God." John vi. 63, " It is the 
 Spirit that quickeneth, the flesh profiteth nothing ; the words 
 that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life." 
 
 Q. 13. Woidd any sintier ever believe in Christ were it 
 not for the electing love of God ? 
 
 A. No : inasmuch as until the quickening energy of the 
 Holy Spirit operates upon him, he is dead in trespasses and 
 sins, insensible alike to his great sinfulness and misery, and the 
 suitableness and desirableness of Jesus Christ as his Redeemer. 
 John vi. 44, " No man can come to me except the Father, 
 which hath sent me, draw him." Eph. ii. 1, " And you hath 
 he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins." 
 
 Q. 14. Does the electing love of God form any barrier 
 in the way of sinners coming to Christ ? 
 
 A. No : but ought to be, and really is, an additional mo- 
 tive for their comino- to Christ, inasmuch as beinff unable in 
 themselves to come, God hath graciously, and in great mercy, 
 promised the influences of the Holy Spirit to all, without ex- 
 
70 WHO THE REDEEMER OF GOd's ELECT IS. 
 
 ception, who will ask for him, to enable them to come and 
 believe in Jesus. Luke xi. 9, 13, " Ask, and it shall be given 
 you ; seek, and ye shall find ; knock, and it shall be opened 
 unto you. If ye tlien, being evil, know how to give good gifts 
 unto your children, how much more shall your heavenly Fa- 
 ther give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him." 
 
 Q. 15. Will it greatly aggravate oar original guilt if 
 we do not come to Christ and believe in him ? 
 
 A. Yes : inasmuch as God is willing to receive us in Jesus 
 Christ, hath invited us, and promised us the Holy Spirit to 
 enable us to come, and be reconciled to him ; so that, if we do 
 not come, it will rest entirely with our own depraved heart, 
 and perverse will. John vi. 37, " Him that cometh to me 
 I will in no wise cast out." John v. 40, " And ye will not 
 come to me that ye might have life." 
 
 Q.. 16. Will all the elect come to Christ and believe in 
 him as their Redeemer ? 
 
 A. Yes : every one of them will believe in and rest upon 
 Christ for salvation, as he is freely offered to them in the 
 gospel. John vi. 37, " All that the Father giveth me shall 
 come to me." 
 
 Let us learn from this question how little reason any one 
 has to find fault with God's electing love ; but for his sove- 
 reign grace and mercy that pitied us in our low and lost es- 
 tate, no sinful man would ever have been saved ; for let us 
 never forget, that it was he himself who provided a Redeemer 
 for us ; he might have left us to perish in our sins, as he did 
 the angels who kept not their first estate ; and, seeing he hath 
 not done so, let us join with the Apostle, in humility and ad- 
 miration of his grace and mercy towards us, and say, " O the 
 depth of the riches, both of the wisdom and knowledge of 
 God, how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past 
 finding out !" 
 
 QUESTION XXI. 
 
 Having seen that God did not leave all mankind to perish 
 in their estate of sin and misery ; but that, having from all 
 eternity elected some to everlasting life, he entered into a co- 
 venant of grace with a Redeemer, to deliver them from their 
 guilty state of sin and misery, we come to take a more par- 
 ticular view of the covenant, and to inquire who the person 
 
WHO THE REDEEMER OF GOD's ELECT IS. 71 
 
 is with whom God entered into covenant, — what he had to 
 become, that he might be in a capacity to perform the con- 
 ditions of it, — what these conditions were, — and how he 
 wrought out the redemption thus covenanted ibr, and makes 
 his people partakers of it. 
 
 Quest. Who is the Redeemer of God's elect ? 
 
 Ans. The only Redeemer of God's elect is the Lord Jesus 
 Christ, who, being the eternal Son of God, became man, and 
 so was, and continueth to be, God and man, in two distinct 
 natures, and one person, for ever. 
 
 Q. What are we to understand by a Redeemer ? 
 
 A. One who, being nearly related to us, has a right, and 
 undertakes to redeem a forfeited inheritance ; and, as applied 
 to the Redeemer of God's elect, it signifies his delivering us 
 from the tyranny and bondage of Satan, sin, death, and hell, 
 by being himself the price of our redemption. Tit. ii. 14, 
 " Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from 
 all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zea- 
 lous of good works." 
 
 Q. 2. Who is the Redeemer of God''s elect ? 
 
 A. The Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Tim. ii. 5, " For there is 
 one God, and one Mediator between God and man, the man 
 Christ Jesus." 
 
 Q. 3. Why is the Redeemer of God's elect called the 
 Lord Jesus Christ ? 
 
 A. To point out the offices which, as the Redeemer of 
 God's elect, it was necessary he should execute; and which, 
 like the positive commandment given to Adam, in his estate 
 of innocency, constituted the immediate conditions of the co- 
 venant into which God entered with him as the Redeemer of 
 his elect people, John xviii. 37, " Thou say est that I am a 
 king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into 
 the world." John x. 17, 18, " Therefore doth my Father 
 love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it 
 again. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of my- 
 self : I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take 
 it again. This commandment have I received of my Father." 
 John xii. 49, " For I have not spoken of myself; but the 
 Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I 
 should say, and what I should speak." 1 Cor. xv. 22, " For 
 as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive." 
 
 Q. 4. What are we to understand by the Redeemer of 
 God's elect being called Lord ? 
 
 A. That all power in heaven, and on earth, has been given 
 
72 WHO THE REDEEMER OF GOD's ELECT IS. 
 
 to him as Mediator. Psal. ii. 6, *' Yet have I set my kinjr 
 upon my holy hill of Zion." Heb. i. 2, " Whom he hath 
 appointed heir of all things." 
 
 Q. 5. What are we to understand by the Redeemer of 
 Crod\s' elect being called Jesus ? 
 
 A. That he would save his people from their sin?, in beinoj 
 made a sin-offering for them. Matt. i. 21, " And she shall 
 bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus ; for he 
 shall save his people from their sins." 
 
 Q. 6. What are we to understand by the Redeemer of 
 God's elect being called Christ ? 
 
 A. That he M^ould, by his word and Spirit, make known 
 the will of God for our salvation : Christ, in the New Testa- 
 ment, being equivalent to Messiah or Anointed in the Old 
 Testament. Isa. Ixi. 1, " The Spirit of the Lord God is 
 upon me ; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach 
 good tidings unto the meek," &:c. John iii. 34, " For he 
 whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God : for God 
 giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him." 
 
 Q. 7. Who is the Lord Jesus Christ ? 
 
 A. The eternal Son of God. John i. 18, " No man hath 
 seen God at any time ; the only begotten Son, which is in the 
 bosom of the Father, he hath declared him." 
 
 Q. 8. Does the title, eternal Son of God, imply any 
 inferiority to the Father ? 
 
 A. No : but it gives us most distinctly to understand, that 
 while the Father and the Son are but one God, they are two 
 distinct persons, equal in power and glory. Phil. ii. 6, " Who, 
 beinor in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal 
 witli God." 
 
 Q. 9. What had the eternal Son of God to become be- 
 fore he could be the Lord Jesus Christ, or the Redeemer 
 of God's elect ? 
 
 A. He had to become man. John i. 14, " And the Word 
 was made flesh, and dwelt among us." 
 
 Q. 10. Was it necessary that the eternal Son of God 
 should become man, to be the Redeemer of God^s elect ? 
 
 A. Yes : inasmuch as it behoved that the same nature 
 which sinned should also suffer ; besides, as God, it was im- 
 possible that he could either obey or suffer. Heb. ii. 14, 15, 
 " Forasmuch, then, as the children are partakers of flesh and 
 blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same ; that 
 through death he might destroy him that had the power of 
 death, that is, the devil. And deliver them who, through 
 fear of death, were all their hfetime subject to bondage." 
 
WHO THE REDEEMER OF GOD's ELECT IS. 73 
 
 Q. 11. Was the eternal Son of God a human person 
 when he became man ? 
 
 A. No : inasmuch as he only took human nature into union 
 with his divine person. 1 Tim. iii. 16, " Great is the mystery 
 of opodhness : God was manifest in the flesh." 
 
 Q. 12. Did the Lord Jesus Christ continue to he the 
 eternal Son of God when he became man ? 
 
 A. Yes : and so continueth to be God and man, in two dis- 
 tinct natures, and one person ; and hence we often find in the 
 Scriptures, that which essentially belonged to the one nature 
 ascribed to the other, both natures subsisting in one divine 
 person, yet distinct from each other. John iii. 13, " And no 
 man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from 
 heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven." 
 
 Q. 13. Was the union of the two natures, in the person 
 of the eternal Son of God, necessary to qualify him for 
 being the Redeemer of God^s elect ? 
 
 A. Yes : it was necessary that the Mediator of the new 
 covenant should be one with God in his divine nature, and 
 one with man in his human nature, so that he might be qua- 
 lified for treating with both parties, and of being a day's man 
 between God and sinners. Job ix. 33, " Neither is there 
 any day's man betwixt us, that might lay his hand upon us 
 both." 
 
 Q. 14. Why was the union of the two natures, in the 
 person of the eternal Son of God, necessary to his being 
 the Redeemer of God^s elect ? 
 
 A, Because, as the eternal Son of God, he was capa- 
 ble neither of obeying nor of suffering ; but, by his taking 
 the human into union with his divine nature, he was there- 
 by put in a capacity for doing both : while, from the union 
 that subsisted between the human and the divine nature, 
 in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ, there was an ef- 
 ficacy and a value resulting from all that he did or endured, 
 which could not have resulted from the obedience and suffer- 
 ings of any created being, however highly exalted; and hence 
 the obedience and sufferinsjs of Christ are often set forth 
 as the obedience and sufferings of God, he being in his 
 own proper nature a divine person. Acts xx. 28, " To feed 
 the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own 
 blood." 
 
 Q. 15. Was the Redeemer of God's elect man, as ivell 
 as God, from eternity. 
 
 A. No : he was not man until born of the Virgin Mary, 
 in the fulness of time — the time appointed in the counsels 
 
74 WHO THE REDEEMER OF GOD'S ELECT IS. 
 
 ot' eternity, when a body would be prepared for him. Gal. 
 iv. 4, " But when the fulness of the time was come, God 
 sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law." 
 Ileb. X. 5, " Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a 
 body hast thou prepared me." 
 
 Q. 16. Will the Lord Jesus Christ continue to be man, 
 as luell as God^ for ever ? 
 
 A. Yes; he will continue to be both God and man, 
 throughout eternity, in two distinct natures, and one person. 
 Heb. vii. 24, " But this man, because he continueth ever, 
 hath an unchangeable priesthood." 
 
 Q. 17. What evidence have we that Christ continued to 
 he man, as well as God, after his resurrection and ascen- 
 sion to heaven ? 
 
 A. It is very abundant ; for he not only appeared repeat- 
 edly to his disciples after his resurrection, and conversed with 
 them, but he showed them his hands and his feet : and, in 
 heaven, he appears as the Lamb that was slain ; the advocate 
 and intercessor of his people. John xx. 20, " And when he 
 had so said, he showed unto them his hands and his side." 
 1 John ii. 1, " We have an advocate with the Father, Jesus 
 Christ the righteous." 
 
 Q. 18. Hath the union of the human with the divine 
 nature, in the 'person of the Lord Jesus Christ, exalted 
 it? 
 
 A. Yes : in taking the human into union with his di- 
 vine nature, he hath raised it far above the nature of an- 
 gels ; he has exalted it as high as it is possible for created 
 nature to be. Heb. ii. 8, 9, " For in that he put all in 
 subjection under him, he left nothing that is not put under 
 him. But now we see not yet all things put under him. But 
 we sec Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, for 
 the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour. 
 
 Q. 19. Will the Lord Jesus Christ he the Redeemer of 
 those luho continue in the love and practice of sin? 
 
 A. No : inasmuch as the redemption he came to work out 
 for us, is a redemption from the power, the love, and the 
 practice of all sin, and to make us holy in heart and life. 
 Tit. ii. 14, " Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem 
 us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar peo- 
 ple, zealous of good works." 
 
 Sooner shall light and darkness be joined together, than 
 that any one be saved who has not been renewed and sanc- 
 tified in the spirit of their minds ; as the redemption pur- 
 
HOW THE ETERNAL SON OF GOD BECAME MAN. 75 
 
 chased by Christ consists as much in delivering us from the 
 power and the pollution of sin as from its punishment. What 
 love, then ! that God, who had but one Son, a Son in whom 
 were all his delights, should constitute him the Redeemer, 
 subjecting him to suffering, to ignominy, and to death ; and 
 how amazing the love of Christ, that he should have taken our 
 miserable humanity into union with his divine nature, so that 
 he might be capable of suffering, and of redeeming us from 
 the captivity of our spiritual enemies, and the corruption ol' 
 our own depraved hearts. 
 
 QUESTION XXII. 
 
 Having seen who is the Redeemer of God's elect : that he 
 is no other than the eternal Son of God, the brightness of 
 the Father's glory, and the express image of his person ; but 
 that, to qualify himself for this work, it was necessary he 
 should become man, bone of our bone, and flesh of our flesh, 
 we come to inquire how Christ, being the Son of God, be- 
 came man. 
 
 Quest. How did Christ, being the Son of God, become 
 man ? 
 
 Ans. Christ, the Son of God, became man, by taking to 
 himself a true body and a reasonable soul, being conceived by 
 the power of the Holy Ghost in the womb of the Virgin 
 Mary, and born of her, yet without sin. 
 
 Q. 1. JVas it of Christ's own free luill and choice that 
 he became man ? 
 
 A. Yes : for, as the eternal Son of God, his own will was 
 supreme, and subject to no other ; and herein consisted the 
 glory of his work, the first amazing step in the history of our 
 redemption. Ileb. x. 5 — 7, " Sacrifice and offering thou 
 wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me : In burnt- 
 offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure : 
 Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is writ- 
 ten of me) to do thy will, God." 
 
 Q. 2. Did Christ take unto himself a true body? 
 
 A, Yes : a body composed of bones, and flesh, and blood : 
 he became bone of our bone, and flesh of our flesh. Heb. ii. 
 14, *' Forasmuch, then, as the children are partakers of flesh 
 and blood, he also himself Hkewise took part of the same." 
 
76 HOW THE ETERNAL SOX OF GOD BECAME MAN. 
 
 Q. 3. What are some of the evidences we have that it 
 was a true body Christ took to himself? 
 
 A. He grew in stature like other men, and was subject to 
 all the sinless infirmities of our nature, such as hunger, thirst, 
 weariness, and sleep. Luke xxiv. 39, " Behold my hands 
 and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a 
 spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have." 
 
 Q. 4. Did Christ, as our Redeemer, take to himself a 
 true body only ? 
 
 A. ^0 : he took also to himself a reasonable soul. Matt, 
 xxvi. 38, " Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding 
 sorrowful, even unto death." 
 
 Q. 5. What are some of the evidences we have that 
 Christ took to himself a reasonable soul? 
 
 A. He grew in wisdom, and exercised that trust in, and 
 dependance on God, which are the proper exercises of the 
 soul ; seeking his enjoyment and happiness in God's favour 
 and friendship : besides, he was also susceptible of receiving 
 comfort and encouragement from the sympathies of others, as 
 well as of imparting it ; for we read of women who minis- 
 tered unto him, and of his taking Peter, James, and John, 
 to watch with him, when about to enter on the scene of his 
 last suffering and agony ; and not only is it testified of him, 
 that he went continually about doing good, and of his being 
 grieved, because of the hardness of men's hearts, but we find 
 him weeping at the grave of his friend Lazarus. Heb. v. 7, 
 " Who, in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up pray- 
 ers and supplications, with strong crying and tears, unto him 
 that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that 
 he feared." John xi. 35, " Jesus wept." Mark xiv. 33, 
 " And he taketh with him Peter, and James, and John, and 
 began to be sore amazed, and to be very lieavy\" 
 
 Q. 6. Did Christ become a human person by taking to 
 himself a true body and a reasonable soul ? 
 
 A. No : he became man, but not a human person ; inas- 
 much as his human was so united to his divine nature, as 
 to constitute but one person. John i. 14, " And the Word 
 was made flesh, and dwelt among us (and we beheld his 
 glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father), full 
 of grace and truth." 
 
 Q. 7. Of whom was Christ born? 
 
 A. Of the Virgin Mary. Isa. vii. 14, " Behold, a virgin 
 shall conceive, and bare a son, and shall call his name Imma- 
 nuel." Luke i. 30, 31, '* Fear not, Mary; for thou hast 
 found favour with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in 
 
HOW THE ETERNAL SON OF GOD BECAME MAN. 77 
 
 thy womb, and bring forth a Son, and shalt call his name 
 Jesus." 
 
 Q. 8. Was Christ born^ hy natural generation^ as other 
 men are ? 
 
 A. No : for not only was he born of a virgin, but was also 
 miraculously conceived in her womb by the power of the Holy 
 Ghost, and so escaped both the guilt and pollution of sin, be- 
 ing, in his human nature, holy, harmless, undefiled, and sepa- 
 rate from sinners. Luke i. 35, " The Holy Ghost shall come 
 upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow 
 thee ; therefore, also, that holy thing which shall be born of 
 thee, shall be called the Son of God." Heb. x. 5, " A body 
 hast thou prepared me." 
 
 Q. 9. Was Christ the seed of Abraham, and the Son of 
 David ? 
 
 A. Yes : he was of the seed of Abraham, and the Son of 
 David, according to the flesh ; his mother i)eing not only a 
 Jewess, but descended also from the family of David : al- 
 though he was neither the seed of the one, nor the son of the 
 other, by natural generation. Luke ii. 4, 5, " And Josepli 
 also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into 
 Judea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem (be- 
 cause he was of the house and lineage of David) to be taxed, 
 with Mary, his espoused wife, being great with child." 
 
 Q. 10. Had Christ been the seed of Abraham, and the 
 Son of David, by natural generation, could he have been 
 the Redeemer of God's elect ? 
 
 A. No : as he would then have partaken of original sin, both 
 in its guilt and pollution, and, therefore, could neither have 
 made an atonement for sin, nor wrought out a righteousness 
 for the justification of sinners ; but Christ knew no sin, nei- 
 ther was guile found in his mouth. Heb. vii. 26, " For such 
 an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, se- 
 parate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens." 
 
 Since the eternal Son of God took unto himself a true 
 body, and a reasonable soul, that he might make an atone- 
 ment for, and reconcile sinners to God, how fearfully will it 
 aggravate our guilt if we refuse to be reconciled to him ! In 
 the days of his flesh, he wept over impenitent Jerusalem, and 
 he still pities poor infatuated sinners. Jacob saw him, in 
 type, as a ladder reaching between heaven and earth ; and, 
 assuredly, none ever went to God but by him : he being the 
 way, the truth, and the life, none cometh unto the Father 
 but by him. And what an assurance of his willingness to 
 
 G 3 
 
78 THE OFFICES THAT CHRIST, AS 
 
 save, in that he condescended to be born of a woman, that we 
 might he born of the Spirit, made heirs of God, and joint 
 heirs with Christ Jesus. 
 
 QUESTION XXIII. 
 
 As we have seen who is the Redeemer of God's elect, and 
 that, to qualify himself for his undertaking, he took to him- 
 self a true body, and a reasonable soul, we come to inquire 
 into what the conditions of the covenant are, or the offices 
 which Christ, as our Redeemer, executeth. 
 
 Quest. What ojices doth Christ execute as our Re- 
 deemer ? 
 
 Ans. Christ, as our Redeemer, executeth the offices of a 
 prophet, of a pries*, and of a king, both in his estate of hu- 
 miliation and exaltation. 
 
 Q. 1. Was it necessary that Christ, as the Redeemer of 
 God^s elect, should execute the ojices of a prophet, of a 
 priest, and of a king ? 
 
 A. Yes : it was necessary, inasmuch as these were the con- 
 ditions of the covenant into which God entered with him, as 
 the second Adam, or as the head and representative of as 
 many as should believe in him ; and to qualify himself for the 
 execution of which offices he became man, by taking to him- 
 self a true body, and a reasonable soul ; and it is in the exe- 
 cution of these that he effectually repairs the ruins of the fall. 
 1 Tim. ii. 5, " There is one God, and one Mediator between 
 God and men, the man Christ Jesus." 1 Cor. xv. 22, " For 
 as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive." 
 
 Q. 2. How does it appear that the executing of these 
 ojices formed the conditions of the covenant into which 
 Grod entered with Christ, as the Redeemer of his elect ? 
 
 A. From the nature of the work which he undertook ; for, 
 in the execution of these offices, he effectually removes every 
 obstacle or barrier that stands in the way of either party be- 
 ing reconciled ; and it appears also from many declarations of 
 Scripture. John xiv. 6, " Jesus saith unto him, I am the 
 way, and the truth, and the life : no man cometh unto the 
 Father but by me." 
 
 Q. 3. /.9 it only as the Redeemer of God's elect, that 
 Christ executeth the offices of a prophet, of a priest, and 
 of a king ? 
 
 A. Yes : for as God he could be subject to no law or con- 
 
THE REDEEMER, EXECUTETH. 79 
 
 ditions whatever ; while, as man, as soon as he was born, he 
 became subject to the moral law, but, considered merely as 
 man, or a created being, however highly exalted, he would 
 have been altogether unable to execute the offices of a pro- 
 phet, of a priest, and of a king ; so then, it is neither in his 
 divine nature as God, considered by itself, nor in his human 
 nature, as man, considered by itself, that he executeth the 
 office of a prophet, of a priest, and of a king ; but as in 
 both natures united, and subsisting in the person of the 
 eternal Son of God. Heb. x, 5, 9, " Sacrifice and offering 
 thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me. Then 
 said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, God." 
 
 Q. 4. How does it appear more particularly, that the 
 p)rophetiGal office belonged exclusively to Christ, as the Re- 
 deemer of Grod^s elect, and was one of the conditions of the 
 covenant into which God entered with him ? 
 
 A. From its being one of the positive commandments 
 given to him, in that capacity, by the Father. John vii. 
 
 16, " My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me." John 
 xii. 49, " For I have not spoken of myself, but the Father 
 which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should 
 say, and what I should speak." 
 
 Q. 5. How does it appear more particularly, that the 
 p>riestly offce belonged exclusively to Christ, as the Re- 
 deemer of G-od^s elect, and was one of the conditions of 
 the covenant into which God entered with him ? 
 
 A. From its being one of the positive commandments 
 given to him, in that capacity, by the Father. John x. 
 
 17, 18, " Therefore doth my Father love me, because I 
 lay down my life, that I might take it again. No man 
 taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself; I have 
 power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. 
 This commandment have I received of my Father. 
 
 Q. 6. How does it appear more particularly, that the 
 kingly office belonged exclusively to Christ, as the Re- 
 deemer of God^s elect, and was one of the conditions of 
 the covenant into luhich God entered with him ? 
 
 A. From its being one of the positive commandments 
 given to him, in that capacity, by the Father. John xviii. 
 37, " Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I 
 born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should 
 bear witness unto the truth." 
 
 Q. 7. Was Christ, as the Redeemer of God^s elect, called 
 of God to the execution of the offices of a prophet, of a 
 priest, and of a king ? 
 
80 THE OFFICES THAT CHRIST, &c. 
 
 A, Yes : having of his own free will, and voluntary con- 
 sent, entered into covenant with God, as the Redeemer of 
 his elect, he hecame bound to fulfil the conditions of it. 
 Acts iii. 22, " Moses truly said unto the fathers, A prophet 
 shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, 
 like unto me ; him shall ye hear in all thinjrs whatsoever he 
 shall say unto you. Heb. v. 6, " Thou art a priest for ever, 
 after the order of Melchisedic." Psal. ii. 6, " Yet have I set 
 my king upon my holy hill of Sion." 
 
 Q. 8. In what estate or condition is it that Christy as 
 our Redeemer^ executeth the ojice of a prophet, of a priest, 
 and of a king ? 
 
 A. He executeth them, both in his estate of humiliation 
 and exaltation ; inasmuch as from the time of man's apostacy, 
 until the time when he shall present his redeemed church be- 
 fore the presence of his glory, without spot or wrinkle, or 
 any such thing, he did, and will continue to execute these of- 
 fices. Matt. xi. 27, " Neither knoweth any man the Fa- 
 ther, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal 
 him." Heb. vii. 3, " But made hke unto the Son of God, 
 abideth a priest continually." Dan. iv. 3, " His kingdom is 
 an everlasting: kinordom, and his dominion is from oreneration 
 to generation." 
 
 Q. 9. Was Christ, as the Redeemer of God's elect, sub- 
 ject to the moral law ? 
 
 A. Yes : for not only was it the great purpose of his com- 
 ing, to vindicate its authority, and the unalterable nature of 
 its requirements ; but as soon as he became man, it required 
 him as such, to keep its every precept ; and although it did not 
 more immediately form the conditions of the covenant, which, 
 from its very nature, as we have already seen in the case of 
 Adam, it could not ; yet these conditions being entered into, the 
 moral law required that they be perfectly fulfilled ; and hence 
 the obedience which Christ yielded to it as our Redeemer, 
 was of a higher and more exalted kind than that which any 
 merely created being could have yielded. He magnified the 
 law and made it honourable, so that God is well pleased for 
 his righteousness' sake. Gal. iv. 4, " But when the lulness of 
 the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, 
 made under the law." Matt. iii. 15, " And Jesus answering, 
 said unto him, Suffer it to be so now ; for thus it becometli 
 us to fulfil all riiihteousness." 
 
 Let us here admire and adore the riches of redeeming 
 Lve, in that Christ, as our Redeemer, not only submitted 
 
THE PROPHETICAL OFFICE. 81 
 
 voluntarily to become man, but subjected himself to a law 
 which required him to execute the offices of a prophet, of a 
 priest, and of a king ; to make known truths which no other 
 could reveal ; to lay down his life a ransom for sinners, and 
 to have the government of all things laid upon his shoulders ; 
 and, let us diligently inquire, if we have received Christ in 
 these offices ; if we are seeking, in a humble and prayerful 
 study of his Word, for the wisdom that is needful to direct 
 us, making it the man of our counsel and the guide of our 
 life ; and if all our hopes of acceptance with God are resting 
 upon that death, which, as the High Priest of his people, he 
 offered up, while we are anxious, at the same time, that our 
 every thought, and word, and action, were brought into a 
 strict conformity with his holy laws. 
 
 QUESTION XXIV. 
 
 As we have seen that Christ, as our Redeemer, executeth 
 the offices of a prophet, of a priest, and of a king, both in 
 his estate of humiliation and exaltation, we come to inquire 
 how he executeth the office of a prophet. 
 
 Quest. How doth Christ execute the office of a 'prophet ? 
 
 Ans. Christ executeth the office of a prophet in revealing 
 to us, by his Word and Spirit, the will of God for our salva- 
 tion. 
 
 Q. 1. Was it necessary that Christy as our Redeemer, 
 should execute the offce of a prophet ? 
 
 A. Yes : inasmuch as mankind, by the fall, had lost all 
 true knowledge of God, as was manifested by the conduct of 
 Adam subsequent to that event ; and by his posterity, in the 
 unworthy and dishonourable thoughts they naturally entertain 
 of the character of God, and the natural disposition they have 
 to seek their happiness and enjoyment in anything but his 
 favour and friendship. Gen. iii. 8, " Adam and his wife hid 
 themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the 
 trees of the garden," Rom. iii. 11, " There is none that un- 
 derstandeth, there is none that seeketh after God." 
 
 Q. 2. Had not Christ, as our Redeemer, executed the 
 offce of a prophet, could we ever have attained to a true 
 knowledge of the character of God ? 
 
 A. No : inasmuch as we had not only cast off God, but 
 God had also cast off us, and could no longer hold any inter- 
 
82 THE PROraETICAL OFFICE. 
 
 course with us but in and through a Mediator, whose office it 
 would be to make known to us the will of God. Matt. xi. 
 27, " Neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, 
 and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him." 
 
 Q. 3. What is it that Christ, in the execution of his 
 prophetical office^ reveals to us ? 
 
 A. The will of God for our salvation. John i. 18, " No 
 man hath seen God at any time ; the only begotten Son, 
 which is in the bosom of the Fathei*, he hath declared him." 
 
 Q. 4. What is the luill of God that Christ reveals to us ? 
 
 A. All that is necessary for us to know and believe, in 
 order to our salvation. John xx. 31, " These are written, 
 that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of 
 God ; and that believing ye might have life through liis 
 name." 
 
 Q. 5. How does Christ reveal to us the luill of God ? 
 
 A. By his Word and Spirit. John v. 39, " Search the 
 scriptures ; for in them ye think ye have eternal life : and 
 they are they which testify of me." John xiv. 26, " The 
 Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will 
 send in my name, he shall teach you all things." 
 
 Q. 6. How are the Scriptures said to be the word of 
 Christ, since he did not speak them all personally ? 
 
 A, Because the prophets, apostles, and other penmen of 
 the holy Scriptures, put on record only what was given 
 them by Christ, and dictated by his Spirit, as is abundantly 
 evident from the manner in which they wrote, and the dili- 
 gent inquiry they themselves made to understand what they 
 liad been commissioned to record. Jer. xix. 1, " Thus saith 
 the Lord." Ezek. xxvii. 1, " The word of the Lord came 
 again unto me, saying." 2 Pet i. 21, " For the prophecy 
 came not in old time by the will of man ; but holy men of 
 God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost." 1 Pet. i. 
 10, 11, " Of which salvation the prophets have inquired and 
 searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should 
 come unto you. Searching what or what manner of time 
 the Spirit of Christ, which was in them, did signify, when it 
 testified before hand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory 
 that should follow." 2 Tim. iii. 16, *' All scripture is given 
 by inspiration of God." 
 
 Q. 7. Is the word of Christ, revealed in the Scriptures, 
 sujicient of itself to make us savingly acquainted with the 
 will of God ? 
 
 A. No : for such is the ignorance and darkness of our 
 minds by nature, in consequence of sin, that although his will 
 
THE PROPHETICAL OFFICE. 83 
 
 is very clearly revealed in the Scriptures, we will never sav- 
 ingly understand it, until we be enlightened by the illumi- 
 nating influences of the Holy Spirit. 1 Cor. ii. 14, " But 
 the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God ; 
 for they are foolishness unto him ; neither can he know them, 
 because they are spiritually discerned." 
 
 Q. 8. How does Christy as our prophet, teach by his 
 Spirit ? 
 
 A. Through the instrumentality of his written word, in 
 so illuminating the mind, as to enable us, in a saving- 
 manner, to understand and receive the truth as revealed 
 in the holy Scriptures. John xvi. 14, " He shall glorify 
 me ; for he shall receive of mine, and shall show it unto 
 you." 
 
 Q. 9. Is every one, who is savingly acquainted ivith the 
 will of God as revealed in his Word, taught by the Holy 
 Spirit ? 
 
 A. Yes : agreeably to the tenor of the new covenant, that 
 they should be all taught of God, 1 Cor. xii. 3, " No man 
 can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost." 
 Rom. viii. 9, " Now, if any man have not tho Spirit of Christ, 
 he is none of his." John xvi. 13, " Howbeit, when he, the 
 Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth." 
 
 Q. 10. What is the sum of the truths that Christ, by his 
 word and Spirit, makes known to us for our salvation ? 
 
 A. That, as guilty and polluted creatures, we should believe 
 in the Lord Jesus Christ, and rest on him alone as the Sa- 
 viour of sinners. John xvii. 3, *' And this is life eternal, 
 that they might know thee, the only true God, and Jesus 
 Christ whom thou hast sent." John vi. 29, " This is the 
 work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent." 
 
 Q. 11. May we study and understand the will of God 
 as made knoiun in his Word, without the teaching of the 
 Holy Spirit ? 
 
 A. Yes : we may in the same way as we do any other sys- 
 tem of truths ; but it is a very different kind of knowledge 
 from what is imparted by the teaching of the Holy Spirit, 
 being in the head only, without affecting the heart : while the 
 other is salutary and saving, carrying along with it an inward 
 satisfaction and delight in the truths that he teaches. Psal. 
 cxix. 103, " How sweet are thy words unto my taste ! yea, 
 sweeter than honey to my mouth." 
 
 Here let us learn our natural blindness and ignorance, and 
 the need we have of Christ's teaching us by his word and 
 
84 
 
 THE PRIESTLY OFFICE. 
 
 Spirit. He only can teach savingly and to profit, and we niav 
 be assured, that if, in simplicity and sincerity, we depend on 
 his teaching, he will guide us into all the truth ; that what 
 we know not now, we shall know hereafter ; and that, in 
 the mean time, he will infallibly lead us through all the in- 
 tricacies of our present darkness, and guide us safely unto 
 the land of perfect vision, where we shall know even as w(,' 
 are known. 
 
 QUESTION XXV. 
 
 Having seen how Christ executeth the office of a prophet, 
 we come to enquire how he executeth the office of a priest. 
 
 Quest. How doth Christ execute the offi.ce of a priest ? 
 
 Ans. Christ executeth the office of a priest, in his once offer- 
 ing up of himself a sacrifice to satisfy divine justice, and re- 
 concile us to God ; and in making continual intercession for 
 us. 
 
 Q. 1. Into hoxu many parts is the priestly office of Christ 
 divided ? 
 
 A. Into two : satisfaction and intercession. Heb. viii. 3, 
 " Every high priest is ordained to offer gifts and sacrifices ; 
 wherefore it is of necessity that this man have somewhat to 
 offer." Isa. fiii. 2, " He bare the sins of many, and made in- 
 tercession for the transgressors." 
 
 Q. 2. What are we to understand by the first part of 
 Christ priestly office ? 
 
 A. All that Christ did as Mediator, either in the way of 
 doing or suffering in obedience to the Father's will, and 
 which is generally called his active and passive obedience. 
 Matt. iii. 15, " Suffer it to be so now; for thus it becometh us 
 to fulfil all riditeousness." 
 
 Q. 3. What are we to understand by the active obedience 
 of Christ as our Redeemer ? 
 
 A. His obeying the moral law, considered as man ; and his 
 obedience to the Jewish law, considered as a Jew ; and his 
 obedience to the law that belonged to him as Mediator, and tu 
 no other. Jolin vi. 38, " For I came down from heaven, not 
 to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me." Isa. 
 xlii. 21, " He will magnify the law, and make it honourable." 
 Q. 4. Wherein did the ment of Christ's active obedience 
 consist ? 
 
THE PRIESTLY OFFICE. 85 
 
 A. In its perfection to the law of works or moral law, which 
 bound him over to the performance of all that he had engaged 
 to do, and on the ground of which obedience, God is just in 
 justifying the ungodly who believe in Jesus. James ii. 10, 
 *' For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in 
 one point, he is guilty of all." Rom. iii. 22, " Even the right- 
 eousness of God, which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and 
 upon all that believe." 
 
 Q. 5. Was the obedience of Christ more exalted and 
 meritorious than that of any merely created being, or of 
 the highest afigel ? 
 
 A. Yes : it was infinitely more so, inasmuch as, although 
 the angels do perform a perfect obedience, it is but the obe- 
 dience of finite creatures to the law of their being; while 
 Christ's was the obedience of God manifest in the flesh, of 
 human nature united to the person of the Son of God ; and 
 besides, as Mediator, he became subject to a law, the condi- 
 tions of which no merely created being or angel could ever 
 have performed. Isa. xlii. 21, " The Lord is well pleased for 
 his righteousness' sake." 
 
 Q. 6. What are we to understand by the passive obc' 
 dience of Christ as our Redeemer ? 
 
 A. All the sufferings he endured in his soul and body, and 
 by which he made an atonement for his people. But while 
 the obedience of Christ is thus said to be active and passive, 
 strictly speaking, there can be no separation of them, inas- 
 much as all that Christ suffered as our Redeemer was per- 
 fectly foreknown to him, and voluntarily undertaken on his 
 part ; while the circumstances in which he was placed render- 
 ed his whole life a scene of suffering and expiation. Isa. Hii. 
 3, 5, " He is despised and rejected of men ; a man of sor- 
 rows, and acquainted with grief. He was wounded for our 
 transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities, the chastise- 
 ment of our peace was upon him ; and with his stripes we are 
 healed." 
 
 Q. 7. Did Christ suffer the full penalty due to sin ? 
 
 A. Yes : in offering up himself a sacrifice for sin, he satis- 
 fied divine justice, and procured for his people all spiritual 
 blessings, in time, and throughout eternity. Heb. ix. 22, 
 " Without shedding of blood is no remission." 2 Cor. v. 21, 
 " For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin ; 
 that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." 
 Q. 8. Did Christ offer more than one sacrifice for sin ? 
 
 A. No : inasmuch as there was no occasion for him doing 
 so. Having appeared once, to put away sin by the sacrifice 
 
 H 
 
86 THE PRIESTLY OFFICE. 
 
 of himself, he hath, by the one sacrifice, perfected forever 
 them that are sanctified. Heb. ix. 28, " So Christ was once 
 oftered to bear the sins of many : and urito them that look for 
 him shall he appear the second time, without sin, unto salva- 
 tion." 
 
 Q. 9. How could Christ be a sacrifice for sin, heinn 
 God? 
 
 A. He suffered in his human nature only ; but then, it was 
 human nature mysteriously united to the person of the Son 
 of God, and therefore available as an atonement for sin. Acts 
 xxii, 28, " Feed the church of God, which he hath purchas- 
 ed with his own blood." 
 
 Q. 10. How does it appear that the death of Christ 
 was a su^cient atonement for sin ? 
 
 A. From God's open approval and acceptance of it ; for, 
 once and again, did he, by an audible voice from heaven, 
 declare him to be his beloved Son, in whom he was well 
 pleased ; and by his resurrection from the dead, and ascen- 
 sion to universal power and authority, it was openly proclaim- 
 ed to all, that, by the sacrifice of himself, he had finished 
 transgression, made an end of sin, and brought in an ever- 
 lasting righteousness. Rom. i. 4, " And declared to be the 
 Son of God with power, according to the Spirit of holiness, 
 by the resurrection from the dead." 
 
 Q. 11. For what end ivas the death of Christ, as it re- 
 spects sinners ? 
 
 A. That their sins might be forgiven, and they themselves 
 reconciled to God, and brought again to love, serve, and en- 
 joy him. Eph. ii. 16, " And that he might reconcile both 
 unto God, in one body, by the cross, having slain the enmity 
 thereby." Isa. xii. 1, " And in that day thou shalt say, 6 
 Lord, I will praise thee : though thou wast angry with' me, 
 thine anger is turned away, and thou comfortedst me." 
 
 Q. 12. Was it necessary that Christ shoidd become a 
 sacrifice for sin, before mercy could be extended to sin- 
 ners ? 
 
 A. Yes : inasmuch as man having incurred the penalty of 
 sin, it became necessary that it should be punished, either in 
 his own person, or in that of a substitute, before God could, 
 consistently with his justice, extend mercy to the guilty. 
 1 Pet. iii. 18, " For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, 
 the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God." 
 
 Q. 13. Is reconciliation to God the effect jjroduced upon 
 sinners by the death of Christ ? 
 
 A, Yes : upon as many as believe in him, and rest upon 
 
THE PRIESTLY OFFICE. 87 
 
 his finished work for their acceptance with God. 1 Pet. i. 
 21, " Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from 
 the dead, and gave him glory : that your faith and hope 
 might be in God." Rom. v. 1, " Therefore, being justified 
 by faith, we have peace with God, through our Lord Jesus 
 Christ." 
 
 Q. 14. Was the death of Christ, as a sacrijice for sl7i, 
 necessary/ to the completion of his prophetical ojice ? 
 
 A. Yes: inasmuch as, in the execution of his prophetical 
 office, he had made many promises to his church and people, 
 and bequeathed to them many rich and precious blessings, 
 such as the pardon of sin, the gift of the Holy Spirit, eternal 
 life, and glorious mansions in heaven ; and in the faith of 
 which his people, from the beginning, lived in comfort, and 
 died in peace ; but all of which blessings derived their efficacy 
 from the certainty of Christ's death ; and he is therefore said 
 to be the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. Heb, 
 ix. 16, " For where a testament is, there must also of neces- 
 sity be the death of the testator." Acts x. 43, " To him 
 give all the prophets witness, that, through his name, whoso- 
 ever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins." 
 
 Q. 5. Does the death of Christ, as a sacrijice for sin, 
 exhibit the fearful consequences of breaking the laiu of 
 God? 
 
 A. Yes : in a manner more awful and striking than if 
 every sinner had been left under its curse throughout eter- 
 nity ; and it also manifests God's hatred to it, and his 
 fixed determination to carry the sentence of the law into ef- 
 fect, Rom. xi. 22, " Behold, therefore, the goodness and 
 severity of God." Luke xxiii. 31, *' For if they do these 
 things in a green tree, what shall be done in the dry ?" 
 
 Q. 16. What is the second part of Christ s priestly 
 q^ce ? 
 
 A. His making continual intercession for us. Heb. vii. 25, 
 " He is also able to save them to the uttermost, that come 
 unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession 
 for them." 
 
 Q. 17. Where is it that Christ executeth this part of his 
 priestly office ? 
 
 A. In heaven : having finished the work that was given 
 him to do on earth, he is now in heaven, as the Lamb that 
 was slain, procuring, by his intercession, all needful bless- 
 ings for his people. Heb. ix. 24, " For Christ is not entered 
 into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures 
 of the true ; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the pre- 
 
88 THE PRIESTLY OFFICE. 
 
 sence of God for us." Zech. vi. 13, " And he shall be a 
 priest upon his throne." 
 
 Q. 18. Did Christ execute this part of his priestly ojice 
 when he was upon earth ? 
 
 A. Yes : he executed it from the beginning, inasmuch as 
 all the blessings of which his people have, at any time, been 
 made partakers, are the fruits of Christ's all-prevalent inter- 
 cession. John xvii. 15, "I pray not that thou shouldest 
 take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep 
 them from the evil." 
 
 Q. 19. What are some of the fruits of Chris fs interces- 
 sion ? 
 
 A. Every blessing that the believer enjoys, such as the 
 pardon of sin, the gift of the Holy Spirit, acceptance with 
 God, access unto him by prayer, the sanctification of his 
 nature in time, and his glorification throughout eternity. 
 1 John ii. 1, " And if any man sin, we have an advocate with 
 the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous." Rom. viii. 33, 34, 
 " Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's 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 maketh intercession for 
 us." 
 
 Q. 20. How, then, was it said to he necessary that Christ 
 should go to heaven, there to appear in the presence of God 
 for us ? 
 
 A. It does not imply that Christ did not execute or in- 
 tercede for his people till then ; for, while he sojourned on 
 earth, he assured Peter that Satan would not triumph over 
 him, because he had interceded for him ; and, while he hung 
 upon the cross, he interceded for his enemies, — the fruits of 
 which appeared on the day of pentecost ; — but it implies sim- 
 ply, that, since his death, the way of access to God has been 
 more clearly laid open, and the nature of his work more fully 
 revealed, and a larger outpouring of the Holy Spirit bestow- 
 ed, consequent upon his ascension to heaven ; so that, in com- 
 parison with what was before, the Spirit may be said to have 
 been then given. John vii. 39, " For the Holy Ghost was 
 not yet given ; because that Jesus was not yet glorified." 
 John xvi. 7, " If I go not away, the Comforter will not come 
 unto you : but if I depart, I will send him unto you." 
 
 Q. 21. Is it for those only who believe in him, that 
 Christ intercedes ? 
 
 A. He intercedes for all who, either now or hereafter, 
 will believe on him. John xvii. 9, 20, " I pray for them : I 
 
THE KINGLY OFFICE. 39 
 
 pray not for the world. Neither pray I for them alone, but 
 for them also which shall believe on me through their word." 
 
 Let us here see the deadly nature of sin, in that no less a 
 sacrifice than the death of the Son of God, could expiate its 
 guilt ; and let us beware of placing our hope of acceptance 
 with God upon any other ground than that which satisfied 
 his justice ; and while we rely upon the death of Christ for 
 the pardon of our sins, let us, at the same time, be daily look- 
 ing to him as our Intercessor and Advocate with the Father, 
 for the renewed supplies of grace and strength that we daily 
 need : and if we are thus living upon Christ, his Spirit will 
 be living in us, and leading us daily to cry, Abba, Father : and 
 since Christ is not ashamed of our cause in heaven, let us be- 
 ware of being ashamed of his on earth, keeping constantly 
 before our minds, that " whosoever is ashamed of him, or of 
 his words, in this adulterous generation, of him also shall the 
 Son of man be ashamed when he cometh in the glory of his 
 Father, with the holy angels." 
 
 QUESTION XXVI. 
 
 Having seen how Christ executeth the offices of a prophet, 
 and of a priest, we come to inquire how he executes the 
 office of a kinor. 
 
 o 
 
 Quest. How doth Christ execute the office of a king ? 
 
 Ans. Christ executeth the office of a king in subduing us 
 to himself, in ruling and defending us, and in restraining and 
 conquering all his and our enemies. 
 
 Q. 1. Was it necessary that Christy as Mediator, should 
 he a king ? 
 
 A. Yes : for having, as the prophet of his church, made 
 known to his people the will of God for their salvation, and 
 having, in the execution of his priestly office, purchased 
 salvation for them, it was necessary he should be a king, to 
 carry into execution the salvation he had thus revealed and 
 purchased. Rom. xiv. 9. " For to this end Christ both 
 died, and rose, and revived, that he might be Lord both of 
 the dead and the living." 
 
 Q. 2. How was it necessary that Christ, as Mediator, 
 should he a king ? 
 
 A. Because God the Father had not only committed the 
 
 H 3 
 
90 THE KINGLY OFFICE. 
 
 whole work of redemption into his hands, and could hold no 
 communication with his apostate creatures, except through a 
 Mediator ; but man himself, besides being ignorant and guilty, 
 was most disaffected and full of enmity to God ; so that it be- 
 hoved Christ, as Mediator, to be a king, to remove the dis- 
 affection, and slay the enmity of the carnal mind. Heb. i. 2, 
 " Whom he hath appointed heir of all things." 1 Cor. xv. 
 24, " Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up 
 the kingdom to God, even the Father ; when he shall have 
 put down all rule, and all authority and power." Rom. viii. 
 7, "Because the canial mind is enmity against God : for it is 
 not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be." 
 
 Q. 3. Is Christ, as Mediator, a king only in his churchy 
 reigning over his own redeemed people ? 
 
 A. No : as Mediator, he is not only king and head of 
 his redeemed church and people, but king also over all the 
 earth, having been appointed, in that capacity, heir of all 
 things, all power and authority having been put under him ; 
 and he is the prince of the kings of the earth, inasmuch as 
 it is by him that kings reign, and princes decree justice ; 
 and, in virtue of this power, he putteth down one and setteth 
 up another, having the inscription upon his vesture, and on 
 his thigh. King of kings, and Lord of lords." Matt, xxviii. 
 18, " And Jesus came, and spake unto them, saying, All 
 power is given unto me in heaven and in earth." 
 
 Q. 4. How does Christy as Mediator, reign king over 
 all the earth ? 
 
 A. In upholding and protecting his church in the world 
 against all her enemies, and in making all events, of whatever 
 nature they be, subservient to the advancement of God's 
 glory, in the final redemption of his people, and establishment 
 of his kingdom. Isa. xhii. 14, "Thus saith the Lord, your 
 Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, For your sakes I have 
 sent to Babylon, and have brought down all their nobles, and 
 the Chaldeans, whose cry is in the ships." Psal. Ixxvi. 10, 
 " Surely the wrath of man shall praise thee : the remainder 
 of wrath shalt thou restrain." 
 
 Q. 6. How does Christ reign king in his church ? 
 
 A. By the laws he hath given her, and the ordinances he 
 liath appointed her to observe. Matt, xxviii. 20, " Teaching 
 them to observe all things, whatsoever I have commanded 
 you : and, lo ! I am with you alway, even unto the end of the 
 world." 
 
 Q. 6. WJiat is the first thing that Christ does, in the 
 exercise of his kingly power j in his church ? 
 
THE KINGLY OFFICE. 91 
 
 A. He subdues his people unto himself, by removing their 
 disaffection, and slaying the enmity of their carnal minds. 
 Psal. ex. 2, " The Lord shall send the rod of thy strength out 
 of Zion : rule thou in the midst of thine enemies." 
 
 Q. 7. How does Christ remove the disaffection, and 
 slay the enmity of those he makes his people ? 
 
 A. By his word and Spirit, effectually convincing them of 
 their guilt, and misery, and utter helplessness ; and by lead- 
 ing them to himself, as a Saviour every way suited to their 
 wants and necessities. Psal. ex. 3, " Thy people shall be 
 willing in the day of thy power." 
 
 Q. 8. What is the second thing that Christ does, in the 
 exercise of his kingly office, in the church ? 
 
 A. He reigns or rules over his people agreeably to the laws 
 of his kingdom. Before he subdued them unto himself, they 
 were his subjects, and bound, by the law of their being, to 
 yield obedience to his laws though they had revolted, and be- 
 come the subjects of the prince of darkness ; but now they are 
 his again, not only by creation, but also by purchase. Isa. 
 xxvi. 13, '* Lord our God, other lords besides thee have 
 had dominion over us : but by thee only will we make men- 
 tion of thy name." 1 Cor. vi. 20, " For ye are bought with a 
 price : therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, 
 which are God's." 
 
 Q. 9. Hoiv does Christ reign or rule over those whom 
 he hath subdued unto himself? 
 
 A. By a principle of love and gratitude ; they feel that the 
 salvation, of which they have been made partakers, consists in 
 their being completely delivered from the power and love of 
 sin, and in being perfectly conformed to the divine law ; and, 
 therefore, out of love to Christ, and a desire to be like him, 
 they long to be enabled to obey his will in all things. 2 Cor. 
 V. 14, 15, " For the love of Christ constraineth us, because we 
 thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead. And 
 that he died for all, that they which live, should not hence- 
 forth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them 
 and rose again." John xiv. 15, "If ye love me, keep my 
 commandments." Psal. cxix. 97, " how love I thy law ! 
 it is my meditation all the day." 
 
 Q. 10. Wliat is the third thing that Christ does in his 
 church, in the exercise of his kingly office ? 
 
 A. He defends her, by restraining and conquering all the 
 enemies of his people, they being also his enemies, disputing 
 with Christ that place in their heart and affections, which 
 belongs exclusively to him. Isa. xxxiii. 22, " The Lord is 
 
92 THE KINGLY OFFICE. 
 
 our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king, he 
 will save us." 1 Cor. xv. 25, " For he must reign, till he 
 hath put all enemies under his feet." 
 
 Q. 11. Who are the enemies of Chris fs people, from 
 which he defends them, by restraining and conquering 
 them ? 
 
 A. The world, with its manifold allurements and threats ; 
 the devil, with his insinuating wiles and evil suggestions, and 
 the flesh, with its unholy propensities and polluting desires. 
 1 John ii. 15, "Love not the world, neither the things that 
 are in the world." John xv. 18, " If the world hate you, ye 
 know that it hated me before it hated you." Eph. vi. 11, 
 " Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to 
 stand against the wiles of the devil." Gal. v. 17, " For the 
 flesh lusteth against the spirit, and the spirit against the 
 flesh, and these are contrary the one to the other ; so that ye 
 cannot do the things that ye would." 
 
 Q. 12. How does Christ defend his people from the 
 world by restraining and conquering it ? 
 
 A. He does so, by the assurance he hath given them, that, 
 as he hath overcome the world for them, so he will also over- 
 come it in them ; and so ordering and disposing all things 
 that happen to them in the world, that by the influence of his 
 Spirit, they become the very means of weaning their heart and 
 affections from it, and of preparing them for heaven. Horn. 
 viii. 28, " And we know that all things work togrether for 
 
 7 OCT 
 
 (Tood to them that love God, to them who are the called ac- 
 cording to his purpose." 
 
 Q. 13. How does Christ defend his people from the devil 
 by restraining and conquering him ? 
 
 A. In that he does not permit him to tempt them above 
 what they are able to bear, and, with the temptation, al- 
 ways making a way for their escape, that they may bear it ; 
 and as he hath, in his own person on the cross, spoiled prin- 
 cipahties and powers, making a show of them openly, leading 
 captivity captive, so hath he also assured his people, that he 
 will bruise Satan under their feet shortly. Lukexxii. 31, 32, 
 " And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath de- 
 sired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat : but I have 
 prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not." 
 
 Q. 14. How does Christ defend his people from the 
 fiesh by restraining and conquering it ? 
 
 A. He does so outwardly, by the restraints of his provi- 
 dence on their unsanctified passions and desires ; and also 
 inwardly, by his Word and Spirit, cleansing them from all 
 
THE HUMILIATION OF CHRIST. 93 
 
 sin and daily transforming them more and more unto his own 
 blessed image. Eph. v. 25—27, " Christ loved the church, 
 and gave himself for it ; that he might sanctify and cleanse it 
 with the washing of water by the word ; that he might pre- 
 sent it to himself, a glorious church, not having spot, or 
 wrinkle, or any such thing ; but that it should be holy, and 
 without blemish." 
 
 There are many who would take Christ for their priest, 
 who will not have him for their king ; yet how greatly does 
 the believer rejoice in him as his king, knowing, from bit- 
 ter experience, that but for Christ's kingly power exercised 
 over him and in him, he would travel in the broad path that 
 leads to everlasting ruin : for on what other ground could the 
 preservation of the" church, as a body, among so many enemies, 
 or of the life of God in the souls of believers, amid so much 
 inherent depravity, be accounted for, but that her divine 
 Lord is both king in Zion and over all the earth, all things 
 being put under his superintendence and control, whereby he 
 is enabled to defend and protect her on every side. " Sing 
 ye unto her, A vineyard of red wine. I, the Lord, do keep it ; 
 I will water it every moment : lest any hurt it, I will keep it 
 night and day." And fighting under this Prince, the Cap- 
 tam of our salvation, let us not be afraid, either of the subtlety 
 or power of our enemies ; for though they may come against 
 us in one way, yet, abiding under his protection, they will flee 
 before us seven ways. 
 
 QUESTION XXVII. 
 
 Having seen who is the Redeemer of God's elect, and 
 that, to put himself in a capacity to sustain this character, 
 he had to become, and executed the offices of, a prophet, of a 
 priest, and of a king, both in his estate of humiliation and ex- 
 altation, we come to inquire wherein his humiliation con- 
 sisted. 
 
 Quest. Wherein did Christ's humiliation consist ? 
 
 Ans. Christ's humiliation consisted in his being born, and 
 that in a low condition, made under the law, undergoing the 
 miseries of this life, the wrath of God, and the cursed death 
 of the cross ; in being buried, and continuing under the power 
 of death for a time. 
 
94 THE HUMILIATION OF CHRIST. 
 
 Q. 1. What is the first element luhich C07istitutes the 
 humiliation of Christ ? 
 
 A. His being born. Luke ii. 7, " And she brought forth 
 her first-born son." 
 
 Q. 2. How does it appear that the birth of Christ con- 
 stituted a part of his humiliation ? 
 
 A. Because, as the eternal Son of God, he was under no 
 obligation to become man, until, by a voluntary act of his own, 
 he entered into covenant with the Father, as the Redeemer 
 of God's elect ; and also, as he was, in and of himself, the 
 fountain of all life. Psal. xl. 8, " I delight to do thy will, 
 my God : yea, thy law is within my heart." John i. 4, " In 
 him was life ; and the life was the light of men." 
 
 Q. 3. How does its being a voluntary act on the part 
 of Christ to be born, make it humiliation ? 
 
 A. Because had he been under any obHgation to be born, 
 apart from his own voluntary consent, it would neither have 
 been humiliation nor meritorious ; but being under no such 
 obligation, it was an act of humiliation, and of meritoriousness, 
 such as could be performed by no other than the eternal Son 
 of God. Phil. ii. 6, 7, " Who, being in the form of God, 
 thought it not robbery to be equal with God. But made him- 
 self of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, 
 and was made in the likeness of men." 
 
 Q. 4. What is the second element which constitutes the 
 humiliation of Christ ? 
 
 A. His being born in a low condition. Matt. xiii. 55, " Is 
 not this the carpenter's son ? Is not his mother called 
 Mary ?" 
 
 Q. 5. What was the low condition in which Christ was 
 born ? 
 
 A. He was born of a poor virgin, although a pious person, 
 in a stable, and laid in a manger. Luke ii. 7, " And she 
 brought forth her first-born son, and wrapped him in swad- 
 dhng clothes, and laid him in a manger." 
 
 Q. 6. Did the condition or circumstances in wliich 
 Christ was born, add to his humiliatiori ? 
 
 A. Yes : in our apprehension and estimate of things, the 
 circumstances of his birth certainly did point him out, as if 
 he had been the meanest and vilest of men, and on a level 
 with the beasts that perish ; while at the sametime, if we 
 bear in mind how immeasurably he stooped to become man, 
 whatever other outward circumstance he could be placed in, 
 would in reality add very little to the depth of his humi- 
 liation and abasement. Luke ix. 58, " And Jesus said unto 
 
THE HUMILIATION OF CHRIST. 95 
 
 him, Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests ; but 
 the Son of man hath not where to lay his head." 
 
 Q. 7. Was it not said of Christ that he vjould descend 
 from David, and he the heir of his throne ? 
 
 A. Yes : and so he did, inasmuch as his mother was of the 
 seed of David, and Joseph, to whom she was espoused, was the 
 rightful heir of his throne ; but it was as necessary to the ful- 
 filment of Scripture prophecy, that they should be in the low 
 condition in which we find them at the birth of Christ, as that 
 they should be descended from David, and the heirs of his 
 throne. Amos ix. 11, "In that day will I raise up the ta- 
 bernacle of David that is fallen, and close up the breaches 
 thereof; and I will raise up his ruins, and I will build it as in 
 the days of old." 
 
 Q. 8. Was it any proof of Joseph and Mary^s poverty 
 that Christ vjas horn in a stahle, and laid in a manger ? 
 
 A. No : of itself it was no proof of their poverty, inasmuch 
 as it is said, that there was no room for them in the inn ; but 
 that they really were poor, although of royal descent, is abun- 
 dantly evident from the offering at her purification, when she 
 presented before the Lord a pair of turtle doves. Lev. xii. 8, 
 " And if she be not able to bring a lamb, then she shall bring 
 two turtles, or two young pigeons." 
 
 Q. 9. Was it great humiliation in Christ to he horuy 
 and that in a low condition ? 
 
 A. Yes : it was unparalleled humiliation and abasement, 
 that he, who in his own proper nature, was the Creator of all 
 things, should condescend to become a creature, and be born 
 of a woman ; that the Lord of the universe, and the heir of 
 all things, before whose glorious majesty the angels vail their 
 faces, as unable to bear the effulgence of his glory, should 
 have no other birth-place than a stable, and a manger for a 
 cradle. John i. 3, " All things were made by him ; and with- 
 out him was not anything made that was made." Heb. i. 2, 
 " Whom he hath appointed heir of all things." 
 
 Q. 10. What is the third element which constitutes the 
 humiliation of Christ ? 
 
 A. His being made under the law. Gal. iv. 4, " God sent 
 forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law," 
 
 Q. 11. How does it appear to he an act of humiliation 
 on the part of Christ, to he made under the law ? 
 
 A. Because as God he was himself th'e lawgiver and judge, 
 whereas, when he was made under the law, his circumstances 
 for a time were altered, inasmuch as had to obey all its pre- 
 cepts, and satisfy all its demands. Heb. v. 8, " Though he 
 
96 THB HUMILIATION OF CHRIST. 
 
 were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he 
 suffered." 
 
 Q. 12. What is the fourth element which constitutes the 
 humiliation of Christ ? 
 
 A. His undergoing the miseries of this hfe. Isa. liii. 3, 
 " He is despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows, and 
 acquainted with grief." 
 
 Q. 13. What were some of the miseries that Christ suf- 
 fered at his birth ? 
 
 A. His being born in a stable and laid in a manger, and 
 from the poverty of his parents, and the circumstances in 
 which he was placed, he must have been deprived of many 
 comforts that fall to the lot of the most destitute. Luke ii. 
 16, " And they came with haste, and found Mary and Joseph, 
 and the babe lying in a manger." 
 
 Q. 14. What were some of the miseries that Christ suf- 
 fered in his infancy ? 
 
 A. He had to leave his own country and flee into Egypt, 
 his life being sought after by Herod the king ; and when we 
 take the poverty of his parents into account, so young a child 
 must have suffered much, during so long a journey. Matt. ii. 
 13, " Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and 
 flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word ; 
 for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him." 
 
 Q. 15. What were some of miseries that Christ suffered 
 between his return from, Egypt, and entering on his pub- 
 lic ministry ? 
 
 A. What he suffered during this part of his life, we have 
 little or no account ; but when we bear in mind the zeal which 
 he always had for his Father's honour and glory, and that 
 ho himself was the brightness of his Father's glory, and the 
 express image of his person, it will at once appear to have 
 been not the least painful act of humiliation, nor the small- 
 est portion of the misery he endured, that he dwelt so long 
 in a private and obscure situation, vailing the glories of his 
 divine person and heavenly origin, while his Father's name 
 was constantly dishonoured, and his laws contemned. Psal. 
 Ixix. 9, " For the zeal of thine house hath eaten me up, and 
 the reproaches of them that reproached thee are fallen upon 
 me." 
 
 Q. 16. What were some of the miseries that Christ suf- 
 fered during his public ininistry ? 
 
 A. They were manifold, as we find, that when every man 
 went to his own home, Jesus went to the Mount of OHves. 
 He hungered, but got nothing to eat ; he was thirsty, but was 
 
THE HUMILIATION OF CHRIST. 97 
 
 refused a cup of cold water ; so poor was he, that women 
 ministered unto him, and at last he had to be buried in an- 
 other's grave, while at the same time, he was reviled and 
 persecuted, slighted on account of his mean parentage, and as 
 being a NazarenOj'^called a wine-bibber, and a gluttonous man, 
 a friend of publicans and sinners, and his life sought after 
 with persevering and malignant hatred. Isa. liii. 4, 7, '' Sure- 
 ly he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows. He 
 was oppressed, and he was afflicted." 
 
 Q. 17. D^d Satan add anything to the miseries that 
 Christ suffered during this 'part of his life.'''' 
 
 A. Yes : not only by stirring up wicked and ungodly men 
 against him, as he had been doing from the time he was born, 
 but he set upon him personally, with his horrid suggestions ; 
 as we learn, that after his baptism he was led by the Spirit 
 into the wilderness, to be tempted of the devil ; and again did 
 Satan return towards the close of his life. John xiv. 30, 
 " For the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in 
 me." 
 
 Q 18. Wherein does the humiliation of Christ afpear in 
 the m,iseries that he suffered during his life ? 
 
 A. It appears, when we bear in mind the glorious dignity 
 of his person, and the holy, patient, and humble manner, in 
 which he bore them all. Isa. xlii. 23, " He shall not cry, nor 
 lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the street. A bruised 
 reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall be not 
 quench : he shall bring forth judgment unto truth." 
 
 Q. 19. What is the fifth element luhich constituted the 
 hwiniliation of Christ ? 
 
 A. His enduring the wrath of God. Matt, xxvii. 46, 
 ^* And, about the ninth hour, Jesus cried with a loud voice, 
 saying, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me ?" 
 
 Q. 20. How does Chrisfs enduring the wrath of God 
 constitute an act of humiliation ? 
 
 A. Because in himself he was holy, harmless, undefiled, 
 and separate from sinners, and yet, as the substitute of sin- 
 ners, he submitted to be dealt with as if he had been the 
 greatest of sinners. Isa. xliii. 5, " But he was wounded for 
 our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities : the chas- 
 tisement of our peace was upon him." 
 
 Q. 21. How does it appear that Christ endured the 
 wrath of God ? 
 
 A. By the dreadful inward suffering he endured, when he 
 became sore amazed and very heavy, by his sweating great 
 drops of blood in the garden, and by his agony on the cross, 
 
98 THE HUMILIATION OF CHRIST. 
 
 when under the pressure of divine wrath he exclaimed, My 
 God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me ? Psal. xxii. 14, 
 15, *' I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of 
 joint : my heart is like Avax, it is melted in the midst of my 
 bowels. My strength is dried up like a potsherd ; and my 
 tongue cleaveth to my jaws ; and thou hast brought me into 
 the dust of death." 
 
 Q. 22. What is the sixth element which constitutes the 
 humiliation of Christ ? 
 
 A. His underooinof the cursed death of the cross, in beino- 
 buried, and continuing under the power of death for a time. 
 Phil. ii. 8, " He humbled himself, and became obedient unto 
 death, even the death of the cross." Matt. xii. 40, " As 
 Jonas 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." 
 
 Q. 23. Hoiu does Chrisfs undergoing the cursed death 
 of the cross, constitute an act of humiliation ? 
 
 A. Because, as the eternal Son of God, he had life essen- 
 tially in and of himself, and no man could take his life from 
 him ; and his submitting to death, therefore, as the substitute 
 of the guilty, was the most amazing act of humiliation the 
 universe ever beheld. John xix. 30, " It is finished : and he 
 bowed his head, and gave up the ghost." 
 
 Q. 24. Were there any circumstances connected with the 
 death of Christ, which outwardly added to his humilia- 
 tion ? 
 
 A. Yes : there were many ; for he was betrayed by one of 
 his disciples, denied by another, and forsaken by them all ;. 
 while his enemies smote him, and mocked him, and wagging 
 their heads at him, said, " He saved others, himself he cannot 
 save." Psal. Ixix. 8, " I am become a stranger unto my 
 brethren, and an alien unto my mother's children." Psal. 
 xxii. 6, " But I am a worm, and no man ; a reproach of men 
 and despised of the people." 
 
 Q. 25. Did Christ continue under the power of death? 
 
 A. For a time he was buried, and continued under its 
 power ; so that he might fully accomplish the great work for 
 which he had become incarnate ; it was his enemies' hour, and 
 the power of darkness, as they no doubt greatly rejoiced in the 
 very event which was to prove their irremediable overthrow. 
 Heb. ii. 14, 15, "That through death he might destroy him 
 that had the power of death, that is, the devil ; and deliver 
 them who though fear of death were all their lifetime sub- 
 ject to bondage." 
 
THE EXALTATION OF CHRIST. 99 
 
 Let US here see if there ever was love hke unto Christ's 
 love, that he who was exceedingly rich, in whom dwelt all 
 riches, should, for our sakes, become so exceedinoiy poor, 
 that we, through his poverty, might be made rich ; and let us 
 diligently inquire, if ever we have seen, in the humihation, 
 and sufferings, and death of Christ, such an expression of 
 God's hatred against sin, as to make us hate it with a perfect 
 hatred ; and such a sight of the holiness and rectitude of his 
 administration, as to make us tremble at the thought of ap- 
 pearing before him, in our own persons, and, at the same time, 
 such a manifestation of his love, as powerfully to encourage us 
 to flee for refuge to the hope set before us in the gospel. 
 
 QUESTION XXVIII. 
 
 Having seen wherein Christ's humiliation consisted, we 
 come to inquire wherein consisteth his exaltation. 
 
 Quest. Wherein consisteth Chris fs exaltation ? 
 
 Ans. Christ's exaltation consisteth in his risino- ao-ain from 
 the dead on the third day, in ascending up into heaven, in 
 sittinof at the riojht hand of God the Father, and in coming: 
 to judge the world at the last day. 
 
 Q. 1. What is the first element that constituted the ex- 
 altation of Christ ? 
 
 A. His rising again from the dead on the third day. 1 Cor. 
 XV. 4, " And that he was buried, and that he rose again the 
 third day, according to the Scriptures." 
 
 Q. 2. What of Chynst luas exalted by his resurrection ? 
 
 A. His holy human nature, inasmuch as he could neither 
 be humbled nor exalted as God. Luke xxiv. 26, " Ought not 
 Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his 
 glory." 
 
 Q. 3. Was Christ exalted by his resurrection from the 
 dead ? 
 
 A. Yes : inasmuch as it was an open testimony of the Fa- 
 ther's acceptance of the work which he came to perform, a 
 proof that the law had been vindicated, and his justice sa- 
 tisfied, by him, as the substitute of sinners. Phil. ii. 9, 
 '■'■ Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given 
 him a name which is above every name." 
 
 Q. 4. Was it the same body which was crucified that 
 was raised again ? 
 
100 THE EXALTATION OF CHRIST. 
 
 A. Yes : it was the same body, but subject no longer to 
 any of the infirmities belonging to this life. John xx. 27, 
 " Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands ; and reach 
 hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side." Rom. vi. 9, 
 " Christ being raised from the dead, dieth no more ; death 
 hath no more dominion over him." 
 
 Q. 5. JBi/ luhose power was Christ raised from the 
 dead ? 
 
 A. By the power of God the Father. Acts v. 30, " The 
 God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew and hanged 
 on a tree." 
 
 Q. 6. Had Christ, as the eternal Son of God, power to 
 raise himself? 
 
 A. Yes : for not only had he said, destroy this temple (re- 
 ferring to his body), and in three days I will raise it again ; 
 but he had also said, that it was one of the grounds on which, 
 as Mediator, his Father's love flowed out to him, namely, his 
 laying down his life, and taking it again. John x. 17, 18, 
 " Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my 
 life, that I might take it again." John xi. 25, " Jesus saith 
 unto her, I am the resurrection and the life." 
 
 Q. 7. Whi/ did the Father raise Christ from the dead 
 when he was able to raise himself? 
 
 A. As an open testimony that divine justice was fully sa- 
 tisfied, and his finished work accepted. Before his death, 
 Christ had said, in reference to that event, " Now is the judg- 
 ment of this world ; now shall the prince of this world be cast 
 out ;" and by the Father's raising him from the dead, it was 
 made known that he had conquered Satan, and death, de-. 
 spoiling Satan of his power, and death of its sting. Rom. i. 
 4, " And declared to be the Son of God, with power, accord- 
 ing to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the 
 dead." 
 
 Q. 8. Was it as a public or private person that Christ 
 was raised from the dead hy the Father ? 
 
 A. It was as a public person. Having undertaken the re- 
 demption of God's elect, it was necessary he should be rais- 
 ed from the dead by the power of the Father, to show that 
 he had ransomed them from the power of the grave. 1 Cor. 
 XV. 21, " For since by man came death, by man came also the 
 resurrection of the dead." Rom. iv. 25, " Who was delivered 
 for our offences, and was raised again for our justification." 
 
 Q. 9. Does the resurrection of Christ afford a solid 
 ground of hope to all that believe in him, that they will 
 be accepted of God ? 
 
THE EXALTATION OF CHRIST. IQl 
 
 A. Yes : inasmuch as the Father, by his resurrection, hath 
 declared himself well pleased for his righteousness' sake, in 
 that he hath magnijSed the law, and made it honourable. 
 1 Pet. i. 21, "Who by him do beheve in God, that raised 
 him up from the dead, and gave him glory : that your faith 
 and hope might be in God." 
 
 Q. 10. What is the second element that constitutes the 
 exaltation of Christ ? 
 
 A. His ascendingf into heaven, and sittinor at Uie ri^ht 
 hand of God the Father. Mark xvi. 19, *' So then, after the 
 Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, 
 and set on the right hand of God." 
 
 Q. 11. Was it the same person who was buried and 
 rose again, that ascended into heaven ? 
 
 A. Yes : it was the same person who became incarnate, 
 and suffered, and died, that ascended into heaven. Eph. iv. 
 10, " He that descended is the same also that ascended up 
 far above all heavens, that he might fill all things." 
 
 Q. 12. How could it he said of Christ, as the eternal 
 Son of God, that he either desce^ided or ascended ? 
 
 A. As the eternal Son of God, or in his proper divine na- 
 ture, he could neither descend nor ascend ; but when he 
 assumed our nature, he did not become a human person, 
 inasmuch as the two natures were united in one person ; so 
 that the act of descending and ascending, are properly as- 
 cribed to his person, since they strictly belong to a nature 
 united to, and subsisting in, his divine person. He then truly 
 descended, when he assumed our nature, died, and was 
 buried ; and was truly exalted, when he rose from the grave, 
 and ascended to heaven. John xvi. 28, "I came forth from 
 the Father, and am come into the world : again I leave the 
 world, and go to the Father." 
 
 Q. 13. How long did Christ remain on the earth after 
 his resurrection ? 
 
 A, Forty days, during which period he frequently con- 
 versed with his disciples of things pertaining to the kingdom 
 of God ; and having commissioned them to preach the gospel 
 unto all nations, he led them out to Bethany, and ascended 
 to heaven in the presence of them all. Luke xxiv. 51, " And 
 it came to pass, while he blessed them, he was parted from 
 them, and carried up into heaven." 
 
 Q. 14. What are we to understand by Christ^s sitting 
 at the right hand of God the Father ? 
 
 A. The highest dignity and honour which it was possible 
 to confer on Christ as Mediator. Eph. i. 20—23, " Wlucli 
 
 i3 
 
102 THE EXALTATION OF CHRIST. 
 
 he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and 
 set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places. Far 
 above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, 
 and every name that is named, not only in this world but also 
 in that which is to come ; and hath put all things under his 
 feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, 
 which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all." 
 
 Q. 15. What is the third element that constitutes the 
 exaltation of Christ ? 
 
 A. His coming to judge the world at the last day. Acts 
 xvii. 31, " He hath appointed a day in the which he will judge 
 the world in righteousness, by that man whom he hath ordain- 
 ed ; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he 
 hath raised him from the dead." 
 
 Q. 16. In what capacity will Christ judge the world at 
 the last day ? 
 
 A. In the capacity of Mediator, it being part of the hon- 
 our conferred on him as the Redeemer of God's elect. John 
 V. 22, " For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed 
 all judgment unto the Son." 
 
 Q. 17. Will Christ, as Mediator, he the judge of all? 
 
 A. Yes : inasmuch as all must appear before the judgment 
 seat of Christ. Rev. i. 7, "Behold he cometh with clouds, 
 and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him ; 
 and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even 
 so. Amen. 
 
 Q. 18. What will he the circumstances in which Christ 
 will then appear ? 
 
 A. He will come in power and great glory; When upon 
 earth, he was arrayed with robes of mock dignity, and at- 
 tended by a guard of soldiers, but now he appears m his own 
 and his Father's glory, and all the holy angels with him. 
 Luke ix. 26, " He shall come in his own glory, and in his 
 Father's, and of the holy angels." 
 
 How different will that day be, as contrasted with that on 
 which he was led as a lamb to the slaughter, and when as a 
 sheep before her shearers he opened not his mouth ; while his 
 enemies shouted in triumph, Crucifiy him, crucify him. Now 
 he comes in power and great glory. Pilate who unrighteously 
 condemned him, the Jews who crucified him, and all impeni- 
 tent sinners who refused to believe, and submit themselves to 
 him, all must appear before him ; and in vain will they then 
 call upon the rocks and the mountains to fall upon them, and 
 •hide them from the face of Him that sitteth upon the throne, 
 
THE HOLY SPIRIT MAKES US PARTAKERS, &c. 103 
 
 and from the wrath of the Lamb. But in proportion as it will 
 be a day of terror and dismay to his enemies, it will be a 
 day of gladness and rejoicing to his friends ; then it is that he 
 appears the second time, without sin unto salvation, to be 
 o-lorified in his saints, and admired of all them that believe. 
 
 SECTION VII. 
 
 THE APPLICATION OF THE WORK OF CHRIST, AND THE 
 BENEFITS ARISING OUT OF IT. 
 
 QUESTION XXIX. 
 
 Having gone over the successive steps of the amazing plan 
 of redeeming love, as originating in the mind of the eternal 
 Father from eternity, and as having been actually executed 
 in time, by the incarnation, the obedience, the sufferings, and 
 the death of the eternal Son, we come to inquire more parti- 
 cularly how we, individually, become partakers of Christ's re- 
 demption. 
 
 Quest. How are we made -partakers of the redemption 
 purchased hy Christ ? 
 
 Ans. We are made partakers of the redemption purchased 
 by Christ, by the effectual application of it to us by his Holy 
 Spirit. 
 
 Q. 1. Was it necessary that Christ should die, and rise 
 again, before we could he made partakers of redemp- 
 tion ? 
 
 A. Yes : inasmuch as his death, and the shedding of his 
 precious blood, was the price of our redemption ; his resur- 
 rection and ascension to heaven the opening up of the com- 
 munication between heaven and earth, for the outpouring of 
 the Holy Spirit, which had been shut up by the apostacy of 
 man. 1 Pet. i. 18, 19, " Forasmuch as ye know that ye 
 were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, 
 but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without 
 blemish and without spot." John vii. 39, " For the Holy 
 Ghost was not yet given : because that Jesus was not yet glo- 
 rified." 
 
 Q. 2. What is the nature of the redemption purchased 
 
 hy Christ ? . 
 
 A. It is a deliverance from the curse of the law, or the 
 
104: THE HOLY SPIRIT MAKES US PARTAKERS 
 
 punishment due to sin, and also from the power, the love, 
 and practice of all sin. Gal. iii. 13, " Christ hath redeemed 
 us from the curse of the law, beinjr made a curse for us." 
 Tit. ii. 14, " Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem 
 us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar peo- 
 ple, zealous of good works." 
 
 Q. 3. Can lue make ourselves ^partakers of the redemp- 
 tion 'purchased hy Christ, freely offered to us in the gos^ 
 pel? 
 
 A. No : but the hinderance arises, not from any unwilling- 
 ness on the part of God to bestow it, but solely from our own 
 inherent depravity and unwillingness to receive it. John v. 
 40, " And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life." 
 
 1 Cor. xii. 3, " No man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but 
 by the Holy Ghost." 
 
 Q. 4. Hoiv do we become partakers of the redemption 
 purchased by Christ ? 
 
 A. By the effectual application of it to us by his Holy 
 Spirit, convincing us of sin, and leading us to Christ, as an 
 Almighty, and an all-sufficient Saviour. Tit. iii. 3, 5, " Not 
 by works of righteousness which we have done, but according 
 to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and 
 renewing of the Holy Ghost ; which he shed on us abun- 
 dantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour." 
 
 Q. 5. In xuhat relation do we stand to the law of God 
 when, by the Holy Spirit, we are made partakers of the 
 redemption purchased by Christ ? 
 
 A. Our relation to it is then changed, inasmuch as we are 
 brought from under its condemning power, all its claims upon 
 us having been satisfied, in the person of our surety ; but, at 
 the same time, we are made to feel that the salvation of which 
 we have been made partakers, as well as the blessedness of 
 our nature, requires that we be conformed, in heart and 
 life, to the law of God. Rom. vii. 6, " But now we are 
 delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were 
 held ; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in 
 the old n ess of the letter." 
 
 Q. 6. When lue are made partakers of the redemption 
 purchased by Christ, is there a new nature imparted to 
 us ? 
 
 A. Yes : inasmuch as we are created in Christ Jesus unto 
 good works, with a capacity for serving and enjoying God. 
 
 2 Cor. v. 17, " Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a 
 new creature : old things are passed away ; behold all things 
 are become new." 
 
OF Christ's redemption. 105 
 
 Q. 7. What are some of the privileges consequent on 
 being made partakers of the redemption purchased by 
 Christ ? 
 
 A. Adoption into God's family, liberty of access to him 
 at all times, with holiness in this life, and eternal glory 
 and blessedness in the life to come. 1 John iii. 1, 2, " Be- 
 hold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, 
 that we should be called the sons of God ! Beloved, now are 
 we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall 
 be : but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like 
 him ; for we shall see him as he is." 
 
 Q. 8. Did the Holy Spirit apply the redemption pur- 
 chased by Christ, to sinners, before his actual appearance 
 in our nature ? 
 
 A. Yes : inasmuch as Christ was, in the divine purpose, 
 the Lamb slain from the beginning, and was therefore set 
 forth by types and institutions, to the faith and hope of the 
 guilty, and made available to as many as were enabled by 
 the Holy Spirit to beheve in him. Heb. xi. 13, " These all 
 died in faith, not having received the promises, but having 
 seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and em- 
 braced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pil- 
 grims on the earth." 
 
 Q. 9. Is the luay of salvation more fully known, since 
 Chrisfs resurrection and ascension to heaven, than it was 
 before ? 
 
 A. Yes : for not only have we seen the fulfilment of all 
 that was typified and foretold of the work of Christ, but the 
 Spirit is now given in richer abundance to believers, leading 
 them into all truth. John xvi. 13, " Howbeit when he, the 
 Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth : for 
 he shall not speak of himself ; but whatsoever he shall hear, 
 that shall he speak ; and he will show you things to come," 
 
 Let us search and try whether or not we have been made 
 partakers of the redemption purchased by Christ ; for if so, 
 the enmity of our carnal minds will be slain, and our aversion 
 to divine things removed, so that we will be esteeming it our 
 highest honour to glorify and enjoy God, longing to be de- 
 livered from sin in all its various forms, and to be perfectly 
 conformed to the law of God. 
 
106 THE WAY IN WHICH THE HOLY SPIRIT 
 
 QUESTION XXX. 
 
 Having seen that we can only become partakers of the re- 
 demption purchased by Christ, by its being effectually ap- 
 plied to us by his Holy Spirit, we come to inquire how it is 
 applied. 
 
 Quest. How doth the Spirit apply to us the redemption 
 purchased hy Christ ? 
 
 Ans. The Spirit applieth to us the redemption purchased 
 by Christ, by working faith in us, and thereby uniting us to 
 Christ in our effectual callino'. 
 
 Q. 1. What are we to understand hy being united to 
 Christ ? 
 
 A. A oneness with Christ, in the eye of the divine law, 
 Avhereby we have an interest in all the benefits of his re- 
 demption, and are looked on, and dealt with, as if we had 
 personally done all that he did and suffered on our account ; 
 and a oneness with him as our living head, and source of all 
 gracious influences, in consequence of which his Spirit dwell- 
 eth in us, transforming us every day more and more into 
 his own divine likeness. 2 Cor. v. 21, " For he hath made 
 him to be sin for us, who knew no sin ; that we might be 
 made the righteousness of God in him." Gal. ii. 20, " I 
 am crucified with Christ : nevertheless I live ; yet not I, 
 but Christ hveth in me." 1 Cor. vi. 17, " But he that is 
 joined unto the Lord is one Spirit." 2 Cor. iii. 18, " But. 
 we all, with open face, beholding as in a glass the glory of the 
 Lord, are changed into the same image, from glory to glory, 
 even as by the Spirit of the Lord." 
 
 Q. 2. Is it a very close and vital union that is formed 
 between Christ and his people^ luhen, by the Holy Spirit, 
 they are made partakers of his redemption ? 
 
 A. Yes : it is a very close and vital union, and is set forth 
 in the Scriptures as such : Christ representing himself as the 
 vine, and his people as the branches; as the bridegroom, and 
 they his bride ; as the head, and they the members of his 
 body ; and as if these representations, with many others of a 
 similar import, did not fully set forth the reality and closeness 
 of this union, he says of it, that it is similar to that whicli sub- 
 sists between the Father and himself. Eph. i. 22, 23, " And 
 gave him to be head over all things to the church, which is 
 his bodv, the fulness of him that filleth all in all." Eph. v. 
 
APPLIES THE REDEMPTION OF CHRIST. 107 
 
 30, " For we are members of his body, of liis flesh, and of his 
 bones." John xvii. 21, " That they all may be one, as thou, 
 Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one 
 in us." 
 
 Q. 3. How is this union between Christ and his people 
 formed on his part ? 
 
 A. By his Spirit being given to them, and abiding or 
 dweUing in them. Ezek. xxxvi. 27, " And I will put my 
 Spirit within you." Rom. viii. 9, " Now, if any man have 
 not the Spirit of Christ he is none of his." 1 John iii. 24, 
 " And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit 
 which he hath given us." 1 Cor. vi. 19, " What ! know ye 
 not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost, which is 
 in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own." 
 
 Q. 4. How is this union between Christ and his people 
 formed on their part ? 
 
 A. By faith, whereby we come to Christ, and lay hold 
 on him, as he is offered in the gospel. John xv. 7, " If ye 
 abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what 
 ye will, and it shall be done unto you." Eph. iii. 17, " That 
 Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith." Gal. ii. 20, " And 
 the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of 
 the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me." 
 
 Q. 5. Can lue of ourselves believe in Christ, so as to be- 
 come united to him ? 
 
 A. No : we cannot any more than we could have wrought 
 out a salvation for ourselves, as no less a power than that of 
 the Holy Ghost can enable us so to believe in Christ as to be- 
 come united to him. Bom. iv. 16, " Therefore it is of faith, 
 that it might be by grace ; to the end that the promise might 
 be sure to all the seed." 
 
 Q. 6. How does the Holy Spirit work in us the faith 
 that unites us to Christ ? 
 
 A. Through the instrumentality of the word, the revela- 
 tion of the will of God given us in the Holy Scriptures. 
 Rom. X. 17, " So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing 
 by the word of God." 
 
 Q. 7. Will merely reading the Word of God produce in 
 us the faith that unites us to Christ? 
 
 A. No : and that not because of any want of evidence 
 in it, as being the word of the living and true God, but on ac- 
 count of our own inward depravity ; for the devils believe 
 and tremble ; and our Lord repeatedly assured the Jews of his 
 day, that his teaching, and the works which he did, would 
 greatly aggravate their guilt, because they believed not in 
 
108 THE WAY IN WHICH THE HOLY SPIRIT 
 
 him. John iii. 19, " And this is the condemnation, that Hght 
 is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than 
 light, because their deeds were evil." John viii. 43, " Why 
 do ye not understand my speech ? even because ye cannot 
 hear my word." 
 
 Q. 8. Is the faith that unites us to Christ ever wrought 
 in the soul apai^t from the word of God ? 
 
 A. No : inasmuch as it is necessary to the very existence 
 of faith, that there be a revelation made of some truths to ba 
 believed ; and the Scriptures being such a revelation, it is the 
 means that the Holy Spirit makes instrumental in the pro- 
 duction of saving faith. 1 Pet. i. 23, " Being born again, not 
 of corruptible seed, but of incoruptible, by the word of God, 
 which liveth and abideth for ever." 
 
 Q. 9. How is the union between Christ and his people, 
 maintained and perpetuated ? 
 
 A. By the continuance of the same means whereby it was 
 effected ; namely, the continued indwelling of the Holy 
 Spirit, as the source of all spiritual life, on the part of Christ, 
 and the continued exercise of faith on the part of his people. 
 John xiv. 13, " If a man love me, he will keep my words : 
 and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and 
 make our abode with him." 
 
 Q. 10. Will the union between Christ and his people ever 
 be dissolved ? 
 
 A. No : inasmuch as they are kept by the power of God, 
 through faith, unto salvation. Many, it is true, do fall away 
 from a profession of religion, but they had never been really 
 and truly united to Christ ; otherwise they would have con- 
 tinued to abide in him. John xvii. 24, " Father, I will that 
 they also whom thou hast given me be with me where I am." 
 2 Tim. ii. 19, " The Lord knowetli them that are his." 1 
 John XV. 4, " Abide in me, and I in you ; as the branch can- 
 not bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine ; no more 
 can ye, except ye abide in me." John ii. 19, "^ They went 
 out from us, but they were not of us ; for if they had been of 
 us, they w^ould no doubt have continued with us : but they 
 went out, that they might be made manifest, that they were 
 not all of us." 
 
 Q. 11. When is it that the Holy Spirit worketh faith in 
 us, whereby we become united to Christ ? 
 
 A. At our effectual calling, when he carries home the 
 invitations of the gospel with power to the heart and con- 
 science ; causing us cordially to receive and cheerfully ac- 
 quiesce in the proposals of his grace. 1 Cor. i. 9, " God is 
 
WHAT EFFECTUAL CALLING IS. 109 
 
 faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his 
 Son Jesus Christ our Lord." 
 
 Q. 12. Since the word is the means by which the Holy 
 Spirit tvorketh in us that faith whereby we are united 
 to Christ, luhat ought to be our sentiments in regard to 
 it? 
 
 A. We ought to esteem it as the man of our counsel and 
 the guide of our life ; carefully studying and pondering over 
 it, with a humble and believing dependence on the teaching 
 of the Holy Spirit, as the source from which we must draw 
 our nourishment for the maintenance of spiritual life in the 
 soul. Psal. cxix. 97, 33, " how love I thy law ! it is my 
 meditation all the day. Teach me, Lord, the way of thy 
 statutes, and I shall keep it unto the end." 1 Pet. ii. 2, 3, 
 " As new-born babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, 
 that ye may grow thereby ; if so be ye have tasted that the 
 Lord is gracious." 
 
 It is in the Scriptures, and in them alone, that Christ is set 
 forth to the faith and hope of the guilty ; and it is for this 
 reason that they have been so highly valued by the saints in 
 every age. " How sw^eet," said David, " are thy words unto 
 my taste, yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth. O God, thou 
 art my God, early will I seek thee." Job esteemed them more 
 necessary than his daily food, while, to Jeremiah, they were 
 the joy and rejoicing of his heart : and of Timothy it was said, 
 that from a child he had known the holy Scriptures, which 
 were able to make him wise unto salvation, by faith in Christ 
 Jesus. May we, then, follow the example of the saints in all 
 ages, bearing in mind, that, while it is the Holy Spirit only 
 that can work in us saving faith, and unite us to Christ, he 
 never does so but by means of the written word. 
 
 QUESTION XXXI. 
 
 Having seen how the Holy Spirit applies to us the re- 
 demption purchased by Christ, namely, by working faith in 
 us, and thereby uniting us to Christ, in our effectual calling, 
 we come to inquire into what is effectual calling. 
 
 Quest. What is effectual calling ? 
 
 Ans. Effectual calling is the work of God's Spirit, where- 
 
110 WHAT EFFECTUAL CALLING IS. 
 
 by, convincing us of our sin and misery, enlightening our 
 minds in the knowledge of Christ, and renewing our wills, 
 he doth persuade and enable us to embrace Jesus Christ, 
 freely offered to us in the gospel. 
 
 Q. 1. What are we to understand hy effectual call- 
 in q ? 
 
 A. The powerful operation of the Holy Spirit, accompany- 
 ing the call or invitations of the word, whereby the mind is 
 aiTested, and attentively fixed on our lost and perishing con- 
 dition as sinners, and powerMly inclined and enabled to lay 
 hold on these invitations, and obey them. John vi. 63, " It 
 is the Spirit that quickeneth ; the flesh profiteth nothing : 
 the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they 
 are life." 2 Tim. i. 9, " Who hath saved us, and called us 
 with an holy calling." 
 
 Q. 2. Are there more calls than one ? 
 
 A. Yes : there is the outward call in the Word of God, 
 in which all and every sinner is freely invited to come and 
 lay hold on Christ ; and there is the inward call, when the 
 Holy Spirit, in and by the word, enables the sinner to lay 
 hold on Clii'ist, and rest on him for eternal life, as he is 
 freely offered m the gospel. Matt. xx. 16, " For many be 
 called, but few chosen." Rom. viii. 30, " W^hom he did pre- 
 destinate, them he also called." 
 
 Q. 3. What is the first thing the Holy Spirit does in 
 effectual calling ? 
 
 A. He convinceth us of our sin and misery. Acts ii. 37, 
 " Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their 
 heart, and said unto Peter, and to the rest of the apostles. 
 Men and brethren, what shall we do." 
 
 Q. 4. Hoiu does the Holy Spirit convince us of sin ? 
 
 A. He opens the eye of the mind, in and by the Word, to 
 see its own inherent pollution and depravity, as set before u? 
 in the Word of God, and our consequent guiltiness, as sin- 
 ners, and violators of his law. Rom. vii. 9, " For I was 
 alive without the law once ; but when the commandment 
 came, sin revived, and I died." 
 
 Q. 5. Is it necessary to our being effectually called, 
 tliat ive he convinced^ by the Holy Spirit, of our sin and 
 •misery ? 
 
 A. Yes : inasmuch as we are, by nature, moi-ally dead, 
 insensible alike to our guilty, and polluted, and perilous con- 
 dition as sinners, and to the majesty and purity of God's cha- 
 racter, and the requirements of his law. Eph. ii. 1, " And 
 you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and 
 
WHAT EFFECTUAL CALLING IS. Ill 
 
 sins." John xvi. 8, 9, " He will reprove the world of sin, 
 because they believe not on me." 
 
 Q. 6. What is the second thing the Holy Spi^'it does in 
 effectual calling ? 
 
 A. He enlightens the mind in the knowledge of Christ. 
 Acts xxvi. 18, " To open their eyes, and to turn them from 
 darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God." 
 Eph. i. 18, " That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the 
 Father of glory, may give unto you the Spirit of wisdom and 
 revelation in the knowledge of him." 
 
 Q. 7. How does the Holy Spirit enlighten the mind in 
 the knowledge of Christ ? 
 
 A. He enlightens the mind, in and by the Word, so to 
 understand the Scriptures, as to see the glory of Christ's 
 person, the perfection of his work, and his all-suitableness 
 as a Saviour to guilty and polluted creatures. John xvi. 14, 
 " He shall glorify me, for he shall receive of mine, and 
 shall show it unto you." 1 Tim. i. 15, " This is a faithful 
 saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came 
 into the world to save sinners ; of whom I am chief." 
 
 Q. 8. Is it necessary to our being effectually called, 
 that our minds he enlightened hy the Holy Spirit in the 
 knowledge of Christ ? 
 
 A. Yes : inasmuch as our minds are naturally full of 
 darkness respecting the glory of Christ's person, and the per- 
 fection of his work, and his perfect suitableness, as a Saviour, 
 to us individually, until they are enlightened by the Holy 
 Spirit. Eph. v. 8, " For ye were sometimes darkness, but 
 now are ye light in the Lord." 
 
 Q. 9. What is the third thing the Holy Spirit does in 
 effectual calling ? 
 
 A. He renews our wills, and persuades and enables us 
 to embrace Jesus Christ, freely offered to us in the gospel. 
 John vi. 44, 45, " No man can come to me, except the 
 Father, which hath sent me, draw him. Every man, there- 
 fore, that hath heard and hath learned of the Father, cometh 
 unto me." 
 
 Q. 10. Hoic does the Holy Spirit renew our ivills, so as 
 to persuade and enable us to embrace Jesus Christ ? 
 
 A. He works in us, in and by the Word, a powerful incli- 
 nation to hohness, and a strong aversion to sin, by enabling 
 us to see the beauty and perfection of the one, and the de- 
 formity and vileness of the other. Ezek. xxxvi. 26, 27, " A 
 new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put 
 within you ; and I will take away the stony heart out of your 
 
112 WHAT EFFECTUAL CALLING IS. 
 
 flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh. And I will put 
 my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, 
 and ye shall keep my judgments and do them." 
 
 Q. 11. Is it necessary to our being effectually called^ 
 that our wills he renewed by the Holy Spirit ? 
 
 A. Yes : inasmuch as, until our wills be renewed, however 
 deep may be our convictions of sin, and however enlarged our 
 knowledge of Christ, there will still remain in the heart a 
 positive dislike to holiness, and enmity to God. John xv. 24, 
 "But now have they both seen and hated both me and my 
 Father." 
 
 Q. 12. When our wills are renewed by the Holy Spirit, 
 do we cheer/idly embrace Christ, as offered to us in the 
 gospel ? 
 
 A. Yes: being convinced of our guilt and miseiy, and in- 
 structed in the knowledge of Christ, the offer of him, as our 
 Saviour, is truly glad tidings of great joy : he is then all our 
 salvation and all our desire ; the chiefest among ten thousand, 
 and altogether lovely. Psal. ex. 3, " Thy people shall be 
 willing in the day of thy power, in the beauties of holiness 
 from the womb of the morning : thou hast the dew of thy 
 youth." 
 
 Q. 13. Will none embrace Christ, as offered in the 
 gospel, but those ivhose luills are renewed by the Holy 
 Spirit ? 
 
 A. No : for although the gospel is freely offered to all, such 
 is the inveteracy of sin, and the natural infatuation of men, 
 that so far from gladly receiving Christ, as their Saviour, 
 in their heart and by their works they say. Depart from 
 us, for we desire not the knowledge of thy ways. Jolm vi. 
 44, " No man can come to me, except the Father, which 
 hath sent me, draw him." John v. 40, " And ye will not 
 come to me, that ye might have life." 
 
 Q. 14. Does God keep any one from embracing Christ? 
 A. No : let their condition and circumstances be what they 
 may ; but, on the contrary, he hath freely invited all to come 
 to Christ, without money and without price, assuring them, 
 that whosoever will may take of the waters of life freely, 
 and that there is salvation in no other ; so that all who do 
 not come and embrace Jesus Christ as their Saviour, are 
 without excuse, inasmuch as their not coming lies entirely 
 with themselves, in the depravity of their own hearts, and 
 perverseness of their wills, both of which they fondly cherish. 
 Isa. xlv. 22, " Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of 
 the earth ; for I am God, and there is none else." John viii. 
 
BENEFITS OF EFFECTUAL CALLING. 113 
 
 24, " I said, therefore, unto you, that ye shall die in your sins ; 
 for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins." 
 
 It will greatly aggravate our guilt, if we do not embrace 
 Christ as our Saviour, inasmuch as he came to seek and 
 to save the lost. We have had the call of the gospel ad- 
 dressed to us, " Ho ! every one that thirsteth, come ye to the 
 waters." Have we obeyed this call, and left all, and followed 
 Christ, taking his word as our guide, his Spirit as our teacher, 
 and the way of holiness as our path ? How endearing the lan- 
 guage in which he invites sinners to come to him : " Hearken, 
 O daughter, and consider, and inchne thine ear. Come with 
 me from Lebanon, my spouse, with me from Lebanon. Look 
 from the top of Amana, from the top of Shenar and Hermon, 
 from the lions' dens, from the mountains of the leopards." 
 May we be enabled to comply with these invitations, and say, 
 *' Draw us, and we will run after thee ; turn us, and we shall 
 be turned, for thou art the Lord our God." 
 
 QUESTION XXXII. 
 
 Having seen what is effectual calling, we come to the bene- 
 fits which they who are effectually called partake of in this 
 life. 
 
 Quest. What benefits do they that are effectually call- 
 ed partake of in this life ? 
 
 Ans. They that are effectually called do in this life par- 
 take of justification, adoption, and sanctification, and the se- 
 veral benefits which, in this life, do either accompany or flow 
 from them. 
 
 Q. 1. What is the first benefit that they who are effec- 
 tually called partake of in this life ? 
 
 A, Justification, wherein their guilt is pardoned and them- 
 selves accepted as righteous in the sight of God. Rom. viii, 
 30, " And whom he called, them he also justified." Isa. 
 xii. 1, " And in that day thou shalt say, Lord, I will 
 praise thee : though thou wast angry with me, thine anger is 
 turned away, and thou comfortedst me." 
 
 Q. 2. Is justification a great benefit ? 
 
 A. Yes : inasmuch as, before being justified, we are un- 
 der a sentence of condemnation, and enemies to God in our 
 heart, and by wicked works ; but, when made partakers of 
 
 k3 
 
114 THE BENEFITS THEY WHO ARE EFFECTUALLY CALLED 
 
 justification, we are at peace with God, with ourselves, and 
 with one another. Rom. v. 18, " By the offence of one 
 judgment came upon all men to condemnation." Rom. vi. 
 23, "For the wages of sin is death." Rom. v. 1, " Therefore, 
 being justified by faith, we have peace with God, through our 
 Lord Jesus Christ." 
 
 Q. 3. Hoio does it apjyear that justification is so great 
 a benefit ? 
 
 A. Because being, by nature, under a sentence of condem- 
 nation, we are exposed to the wrath and curse of God, and 
 every moment in danger of being summoned from this 
 world, and eternally shut out from his presence, to suffer the 
 full infliction of his wrath ; but being justified and accepted 
 in Jesus Christ, there is no longer any condemnation. Rom. 
 viii. 33, 34, " Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's 
 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 maketh intercession 
 for us." 
 
 Q. 4. Are all those who are justified exempted from the 
 miseries arising out of sin in this life ? 
 
 A. No : but, on the contrary, they have very often a larger 
 share of them than other men, yet not as the penal consequences 
 of their sin, although arising out of it ; but as the chastise- 
 ment of a gracious Father, purging them by such discipline from 
 all sin, and preparing them for his own immediate presence. 
 Psal. xxxiv. 19, " Many are the afflictions of the righteous." 
 Gal. iii. 13, " Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the 
 law." Heb. xii. 6, " For whom the Lord loveth he chasten- 
 eth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth." 
 
 Q. 5. Wherein consists the privilege or benefit of those 
 that are justified in regard to the afiiictions and miseries 
 of this life ? 
 
 A. In having been made partakers of Christ's redemp- 
 tion, in terms of the new covenant, they have the promise of 
 the Holy Spirit to sanctify unto them all the afflictions and 
 miseries of this life, and thus make them the means of greater 
 spiritual good, both here and hereafter, than mere exemption 
 from them would have done. Rom. viii. 28, " And we know 
 that all things work together for good to them that love God, 
 to them who are the called according to his purpose." 
 
 Q. 6. What is the second benefit that the^f luho are 
 effectually called partake of in this life ? 
 
 A. Adoption : by nature we are the children of wrath and 
 heirs of hell, but when we are effectually called and justified, 
 
PARTAKE OF IN THIS LIFE. 115 
 
 God adopts us into his family, so that we become the children 
 of God. and heirs of a heavenly inheritance. Eph. i. 5, " Hav- 
 ing predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus 
 Christ to himself." 
 
 Q. 7. J^s adoption a great benefit ? 
 
 A. Yes : inasmuch as by it we are taken out of the family 
 of the devil and put among the children of God, and invested 
 with all the privileges of his people, being heirs of God, and 
 joint heirs with Christ Jesus. John i. 12, " But as many as 
 received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of 
 God, even to them that believe on his name." Rom. viii. 17, 
 " And if children, then heirs, heirs of God, and joint heirs 
 with Christ." 
 
 Q. 8. How does it appear that adoption is so great a 
 benefit ? 
 
 A. In that we are not only set free from the spirit of bon- 
 dage, but there is implanted in the heart childlike dispositions 
 and sentiments towards God, by which we no longer regard 
 him only as a lawgiver and judge, but as our reconciled God 
 and Father in Jesus Christ, and cherish towards him all those 
 filial affections and desires which is natural for a child to che- 
 rish towards a beloved and revered parent. Rom. viii. 14, 15, 
 " For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the 
 sons of God. For ye have not received the spirit of bondage 
 again to fear, but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, 
 whereby we cry, Abba, Father." 
 
 Q. 9. What is the third benefit that they who are ef- 
 fectually called partake of in this life ? 
 
 A. Sanctification. As justification and adoption is a 
 change of state, or condition, sanctification is a change of na- 
 ture, and is always sure to accompany the two former. Rom. 
 viii. 30, " Moreover, whom he did predestinate them he also 
 called ; and whom he called, them he also justified ; and 
 whom he justified, them he also glorified." 
 
 Q. 10. Is sanctification a great benefit ? 
 
 A, Yes : inasmuch as it is that benefit in which all others 
 terminate, and for which they were given. 2 Thess. ii. 13, 
 *' God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation 
 through sanctification of the Spirit, and belief of the truth." 
 
 Q. 11. How does it appear that sanctification is so 
 great a benefit ? 
 
 A. Because it is by sanctification that our nature is re- 
 newed, and we become enabled and qualified, m some mea- 
 sure, to perform the functions of the spiritual life, and to en- 
 joy fellowship and communion with God. 1 Thess. v, 23, 
 
116 WHAT JUSTIFICATION IS. 
 
 " And the very God of peace sanctify you wliolly ; and 1 
 pray God your whole spirit, and soul, and body, be preserved 
 blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Chi'ist." 
 
 Let us seriously inquire whether or not we are in posses- 
 sion of these unspeakable benefits ; for if not, God is still say- 
 ing to us in the gospel, " Behold I set before you life and 
 death, a blessing and a curse :" an eternal blessing if we ac- 
 cept, and an eternal curse if we reject ; for God is still will- 
 ing to give us all that he hath promised, provided only that 
 we are willing to receive. " Open thy mouth wide and I will 
 fill it. Whosoever cometh unto me I will in no wise cast 
 out." 
 
 QUESTION XXXIII. 
 
 Having seen what are the benefits that they who are effec- 
 tually called partake of in this life, we come to inquire what 
 is justification. 
 
 Quest. What is justification ? 
 
 Ans. Justification is an act of God's free grace, wherein 
 he pardoneth all our sins, and accepteth us as righteous in his 
 sight, only for the righteousness of Christ imputed to us, and 
 received by faith alone. 
 
 Q. 1. What is it that God does in justification ? 
 
 A. He pardoneth all our sins, and accepteth us as righteous 
 in his sight. Rom. viii. 33, " Who shall lay anything to the 
 charge of God's elect ? It is God that justifieth." 
 
 Q. 2. Wliat is the moving cause of our justification ? 
 
 A. The free unmerited grace of God : there being nothing 
 in us that could in any way prompt him to forgive our sins, 
 and accept of us as righteous in his sight. Rom. iii. 24, 10, 
 •' Being justified freely by his grace. There is none righteous, 
 no, not one." 
 
 Q. 3. When ive are justified does it imply that in our- 
 selves ive are innocent ? 
 
 A. No : inasmuch as God, in the act of justification, par- 
 dons our sins, and in the same act, accepts of us as righteous, 
 implying, that in ourselves we are both guilty and polluted. 
 Psal. xxxii. 1,2," Blessed is he whose transgression is for- 
 given, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man unto whom 
 ine Lord imputeth not iniquity." 
 
WHAT JUSTIFICATION IS. 117 
 
 Q. 4. What is the ground of our justification ? 
 
 A. The imputed righteousness of Jesus Christ. Rom. iii. 
 25, 26, " Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation 
 through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the 
 remission of sins that are past. That he might be just, and 
 the justifier of him which beheveth in Jesus." 
 
 Q. 5. Is there any other ground upon luhich God justi- 
 fies, or forgives sins, than the imputed righteousness of 
 
 Christ ? 
 
 A. No : inasmuch as Christ being the only way, and the 
 truth, and the life, no man can come unto the Father but by 
 him ; neither is there salvation in any other, for there is no 
 other name given under heaven among men, whereby we can 
 be saved, but the name of Jesus. Acts v. 31, " Him hath 
 God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, 
 for to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins." 
 
 Q. 6. How is justification an act of God's free grace, 
 when the imputed righteousness of Christ is the ground of 
 
 it? ^ . 
 
 A. Because he himself sought out a Saviour for smners, 
 
 and accepted of his substitution in their stead ; and it is ia 
 thus seeking out and accepting of Christ, in the room of such 
 ST-iilty and "debased creatures, that the free and unmerited 
 grace of God shines most resplendently forth. Psal. Ixxxix. 
 19, " Then thou spakest in vision to thy Holy One, and 
 saidst, I have laid help upon one that is mighty." John iii. 
 16, " For God so loved the world, that he gave his only be- 
 gotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, 
 but have everlasting life." 
 
 Q. 7. What are we to understand hy the righteousness 
 of Christ being imputed to us ? 
 
 A. All tjiat Christ did, either in the way of suffering, 
 whereby he made an atonement for sin ; or in the way of obe- 
 dience, whereby he fulfilled all righteousness, and merited 
 eternal life and glory ; which are placed to our account, as if 
 we had both suffered and obeyed in our own person. 2 Cor. 
 V. 21, " For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew 
 no sin ; that we might be made the righteousness of God in 
 him." 
 
 Q. 8. Coidd God have justified sinners, without the 
 righteousness and satisfaction of Jesus Christ ? 
 
 A. No : inasmuch as the wages of sin was death, it became 
 necessary that the law should be fulfilled, and an atonement 
 made for sin, before God could forgive the sinner, consistent- 
 ly with his attributes of justice, truth, and hoHness. Heb. 
 
118 WHAT JUSTIFICATION IS. 
 
 ix. 22, 28, " And without shedding of blood is no remission. 
 So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many." 
 
 Q. 9. In what way, or hy what means ^ does God im- 
 pute the righteousness of Christ to us ? 
 
 A. By faith, or behoving what God hath testified concern- 
 ing Christ. Rom. iii. 22, " Even the righteousness of God, 
 which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them 
 that believe." Acts xiii. 39, " And by him all that believe 
 are justified from all things." 
 
 Q. 10. Is the faith hy which God justifies us, or im- 
 putes to us the righteousness of Christy a ivork ? 
 
 A. No : being a mere act of the mind, whereby we receive 
 and acquiesce in the truth revealed in the Scriptures concern- 
 ing Christ, as the Saviour of the guilty; and is therefore 
 the mere instrument or vehicle by which the blessing is con- 
 veyed. Rom. iv. 18, " Therefore it is of faith, that it might 
 be by grace." 
 
 Q. 11. Is faith on our part necessary to God^s imput- 
 ing the righteousness of Christ to us for our justification ? 
 
 A. Yes : because if we do not believe the record that God 
 hath given concerning Christ, how is it possible, in the nature 
 of things, that his righteousness can be imputed to us ? Eph. 
 ii. 8, 9, " For by grace are ye saved through faith ; and that 
 not of yourselves : it is the gift of God : not of works, lest 
 any man should boast." 
 
 Q. 12. Are all men in the same state of condemnation^ 
 before the righteousness of Christ is imputed to them ? 
 
 A. Yes : for all mankind, having fallen in Adam, arc 
 in a state of condemnation, and liable to the wrath of God, 
 when the proclamation of pardon, through the blood of Christ 
 is first addressed to them. Eph. ii. 3 — 5, " And were by na- 
 ture the children of wrath, even as others. But .God, who is 
 rich in mercy, for the great love wherewith he loved us, even 
 when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with 
 Christ ; by grace ye are saved." 
 
 Q. 13. Will any who are justified through the imputed 
 righteousness of Christ ever come again into condemna- 
 tion ? 
 
 A. No : because the law and justice of God has been fully 
 satisfied by their surety and representative, Christ Jesus. 2 
 Tim. ii. 19, " The foundation of God standeth sure, having 
 this seal. The Lord knoweth them that are his." 
 
 Q. 4. Will any who have been justified through the im- 
 puted righteousness of Christ ever cease to rest \ipon Jesu^ 
 Christ by faith ? 
 
WHAT ADOPTION IS. 119 
 
 A. No : they will never cease to confide in him, and in him 
 alone, for the pardon of their sins, the acceptance of their 
 persons, and of all their services in the sight of God. They 
 hear his voice, and they follow him ; and, having loved his own 
 which are in the world, he loves them unto the end. 1 Pet. i. 
 5, " Who are kept by the power of God, through faith, unto 
 salvation." 
 
 Being justified freely by his blood they shall be saved from 
 wrath through him, and in his having been made head over 
 all things to the church, they have a sure pledge, that none 
 is able to pluck them out of his hand. Let us inqure if 
 we have believed in Christ so as to be justified from all 
 things, being accepted in the beloved, having obtained redemp- 
 tion through his blood, even the forgiveness of our sins ; for 
 if so, we will in some measure at least, be enabled to walk 
 before him, in holiness and in righteousness, all the days of 
 our life. 
 
 QUESTION XXXIV. 
 
 Having seen what is justification, we come to adoption, or 
 the second benefit that they who are effectually called par- 
 t;ake of in this Ife. 
 
 Quest. What is adoption ? 
 
 Ans. Adoption is an act of God's free grace, whereby we 
 are received into the number, and have a right to all the pri- 
 vileges of the sons of God. 
 
 Q. 1. What are we to understand by adoption ? 
 
 A. The taking of one to be our child and heir that is not 
 so by birth ; and as applied to God, it signifies his taking sin- 
 ners into his family, who, by their apostacy, had become the 
 children of wrath. 1 John iii. 1, " Behold what manner 
 of love the Father hath bestowed upon us that we should be 
 called the sons of God." Eph. ii. 3, '' And were by nature 
 the children of wrath even as others." 
 
 Q. 2. What is the moving cause of our adoption ? 
 
 A. The free unmerited grace of God, originating in love 
 and undeserved mercy. Eph. i. 5, " Having predestinated 
 us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, 
 according to the good pleasure of his will." 
 
 Q. 3. What is the ground of our adoption f 
 
120 WHAT ADOPTION IS. 
 
 A. The union of the two natures in the person of the 
 Lord Jesus Christ, and the satisfaction which he made to the 
 law and justice of God. Gal. iv. 4, " But when the fulness 
 of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a wo- 
 man, made under the law, to redeem them that were under 
 the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.'' 
 
 Q. 4. Was it necessary/ that Christ should take our na- 
 ture into union with his divine nature before God could 
 adopt us ? 
 
 A. Yes : because of the great distance and disparity of na- 
 ture that subsisted between God and us ; and because of the 
 still greater distance that took place at the apostacy of man, 
 and the debasement of his nature consequent upon that event. 
 Heb. ii. 14, 16, " Forasmuch, then, as the children are par- 
 takers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of 
 the same. For verily he took not on him the nature of an- 
 gels, but he took on him the seed of Abraham." 
 
 Q. 5. Does the union of the two natures, in the person 
 of the Lord Jesus Christ, render it consistent ivith the 
 character of God to adopt sinners ? 
 
 A. Yes : inasmuch as by this union, in the person of our 
 Lord Jesus Christ, our nature has been ennobled, and such a 
 dignity and glory conferred upon it, as to exalt it far above 
 all other created beings, and makes us, guilty and debased as 
 we are in ourselves, fit objects for God to adopt into his family, 
 Heb. ii. 11, " For both he that sanctifieth and they who are 
 sanctified are all of one ; for which cause he is not ashamed to 
 call them brethren." 
 
 Q. 6. How do we become partakers of adoption ? 
 
 A. By faith in Jesus Christ. Gal. iii. 26, " For ye are all 
 the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus." 
 
 Q. 7. What is the privilege of adoption ? 
 
 A, It is beyond our power to conceive the blessedness of 
 being adopted : it implies efi'ectual calling and justification ; 
 but of the high dignity and blessedness which is involved in 
 being God's children, by adoption in Christ Jesus, we know 
 comparatively little. 1 Cor ii. 9, " Eye hath not seen, nor 
 ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the 
 things which God hath prepared for them that love him." 
 
 Q. 8. What is the first blessing of luhich we are made 
 partakers by adoption ? 
 
 A. The return of the divine presence to the soul, the gift 
 of the Holy Spirit, implanting and invigorating the divine 
 life within us. Rom. viii. 9, 14, " But ye are not in the flesh, 
 but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. 
 
WHAT ADOPTION IS. 121 
 
 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the 
 sons of God." 
 
 Q. 9. How does the return of the divine presence to the 
 soul manifest itself ? 
 
 A. By setting us in some measure free from the spirit of 
 bondage and the slavery of sin, and by invigorating within 
 us a free, generous spirit of love, and power, and of a sound 
 mind ; whereby we are enabled to cry, Abba, Father. Eora. 
 viii. 15, " For ye have not received the spirit of bondage 
 again to fear, but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, 
 whereby we cry, Abba, Father." 
 
 Q. 10. Has God^s children always free access to him by 
 prayer ? 
 
 A. Yes : if they avail themselves of it. The time was 
 when there was no being of whom they were so much afraid 
 as God ; but now it is their privilege, and what constitutes 
 their supreme fehcity, habitually to realise a sense of his pre- 
 sence and nearness to them, with a conscious sense of their 
 absolute dependence on him, as helpless children. Jer. iii. 
 19, " But I said. How shall I put thee among the children, 
 and give thee a pleasant land, a goodly heritage of the hosts 
 of nations ? and I said. Thou shalt call me, My father ; and 
 shalt not turn away from me." 
 
 Q. 11. What is the second blessing of which we are 
 made partakers by adoption ? 
 
 A. We are called by a new name. lie v. iii. 12, " And I 
 will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of 
 the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh 
 down out of heaven from ray God ; and I will write upon him 
 my new name." 
 
 Q. 12. Wherein consists the blessedness of having the 
 name of God written upon us ? 
 
 A. In that it comprehends every thing which constitutes 
 our true dignity and happiness. By nature we were the chil- 
 dren of wrath and exposed to everlasting misery, but havino- 
 obeyed the gospel call, and being justified and adopted, we 
 have become the children of God. 2 Cor. vi. 17, 18, " Where- 
 fore, come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith 
 the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing ; and I will receive 
 you, and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons 
 and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty." 
 
 Q. 13. How does it appear to be so great a blessing to 
 have the name of God written upon us ? 
 
 A. In that we become heirs of God, and joint heirs with 
 Christ Jesus, and have thereby a title to an inheritance, in- 
 
122 WHAT SANCTIFICATION IS. 
 
 corruptil)le, and uiidefiled, and that fadeth not away. Rom. 
 viii. 17, " And if children, then heirs, heirs of" God, and 
 joint heirs with Christ." 1 Cor. iii. 21—23, " For all thingrs 
 are yours : whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the 
 world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come ; 
 all are yours ; and ye are Christ's ; and Christ is God's." 
 
 It is impossible to enumerate all the privileges and blessings 
 of God's children, but it is an important question for us to put 
 to ourselves, whether or not we belong to them : the Spirit of 
 adoption is one evidence of their sonship ; they can all speak 
 to their heavenly Father, although it may be in broken ac- 
 cents : they delight to converse with him, and to call him bv 
 the endearing name of Father : it is to him they go in all 
 their distresses and perplexities, making known to him all 
 their wants, in the full assurance that he both sympathises 
 with, and will deliver them. 
 
 QUESTION XXXV. 
 
 Having seen what is adoption, we come to saiictification, or 
 the third benefit that they who are effectually called partakt^ 
 of in this Ufe. 
 
 Quest. What is sanctification ? 
 
 Ans. Sanctification is the work of God's free grace, where- 
 by we are renewed in the whole man after the image of God, 
 and are enabled more and more to die unto sin, and live unto 
 righteousness. 
 
 Q. 1. What are we to understand h>i sanctijication f 
 
 A. The setting apart and consecrating of any thing to the 
 service of God : and as applied to man, it signifies his being 
 made holy, or fitted for serving and enjoying God ; a sancti- 
 fied person behig one who is entirely devoted to God, and 
 completely conformed unto his will. 1 Cor. vi. 19, 20, " And 
 ye are not your own : for ye are bought with a price ; there- 
 lore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are 
 God's." 
 
 Q. 2. Can we sanctifi/ ourselves ? 
 
 A. No : we are as unable to sanctify ourselves as to create 
 ourselves, inasmuch as sanctification is repeatedly set forth 
 in the Scriptures as a new creation. Eph. ii. 10, " For 
 
WHAT SANCTIFICATIOX IS. 123 
 
 we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good 
 works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk 
 in them." 
 
 Q, 3. Whose luork is sanctification ? 
 
 A. God's : inasmuch as he only, who commanded the light 
 to shine out of darkness, can shine into our hearts, giving us 
 the light of the knowledge of his glory in the face of Jesus 
 Christ. Ezek. xxxvi. 25 — 27, " Then will I sprinkle clean 
 water upon you, and ye shall be clean : from all your lilthi- 
 ness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you. A new 
 heart will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you ; 
 and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I 
 will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit 
 within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall 
 keep my judgments, and do them." 
 
 Q. 4. What is the moving cause of our sanctijication ? 
 
 A. The free grace of God. 2 Thess. ii. 13, " God hath 
 from the beginning chosen you to salvation, through sanctifi- 
 cation of the Spirit, and behef of the truth." 
 
 Q. 5. What is the ground of our sanctification ? 
 
 A. The finished work of Christ. Eph. v. 25—27, " Christ 
 loved the church, and gave himself for it ; that he might 
 sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the 
 word ; that he might present it to himself a glorious church, 
 not having spot or wrinkle, or any such thing ; but that, it 
 should be holy, and without blemish." 
 
 Q. 6. Why is sanctification called a work? 
 
 A. Because it is carried on by degrees, and differs from 
 justification and adoption, which are judicial acts, completed or 
 done at once. Phil. ii. 12, 13, " Work out your own sal- 
 vation with fear and trembling ; for it is God which worketh 
 m you both to will and to do of his good pleasure." 
 
 Q. 7. Wherein does sanctification consist? 
 
 A. In the renewino; of the whole man after the imao-e of 
 God. Eph. iv. 24, " And that ye put on the new man, which 
 after God is created in righteousness and true holiness." 
 
 Q. 8. Are any entirely sanctified in this life ? 
 
 A. No : there being the remains of sin in all, even in those 
 who have made the greatest advances in the divine life ; but it 
 has lost its reigning power in all believers, and all of them are 
 enabled by the influences of the Holy Spirit, to die more and 
 more unto sin, and to live unto righteousness. 1 John i. 8. 
 " If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the 
 truth is not in us." Phil. iii. 12, " Not as though I had 
 already attained, either were already perfect ; but I follow 
 
124 
 
 WHAT SANCTIFICATION IS. 
 
 after, if tliat I may apprehend that for which also I am ap- 
 prehended of Christ Jesus." 
 
 Q. 9. Are all believers alike sanctified'^. 
 
 A. No : all are alike justified and adopted, these being 
 acts of divine grace, which are completed at once; but all 
 are not ahke sanctified, it being a work of divine grace car- 
 ried on by degrees, and completed only at death. 1 Cor. iii. 
 1, " And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiri- 
 tual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ." 
 
 Q. 10. What are the outward means that God em- 
 ploys in our sanctification ? 
 
 A. His word, and providential dealings. John xvii. 17, 
 " Sanctify them through thy truth : thy word is truth." 
 Isa. Ivii. 17, 18, " For the iniquity of his covetousness was 
 I wroth, and smote him : I hid me, and was wroth, and 
 he went on frowardly in the way of his heart. I have seen 
 his ways, and will heal him : I will lead him also, and re- 
 store comforts unto him, and to his mourners." 
 
 Q. 11. How does God sanctify us by his luord ? 
 
 A. By his Spirit, through the word, in so enlightening our 
 understanding, and renewing our wills, that we see the way 
 of salvation by Jesus Christ to be a way infinitely worthy of 
 God to propose, and infinitely worthy of our most cordial ac- 
 ceptation ; so as that the desires go out after God in Christ 
 Jesus, and a conformity unto his image, in a manner such as 
 they never did after any other object whatever. 1 Tim. i. 
 15, " This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, 
 that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners ; of 
 whom I am chief." Psal. xhi. 1,2, " As the hart pant- 
 eth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O 
 God. My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God : when 
 shall I come and appear before God ?" 
 
 Q. 12. Hoiu does God sanctify us by his proindence ? 
 
 A. By his Spirit, through his providential dealings, making 
 us to feel the bitter effects of sin, and the blessedness of being 
 holy ; and so weaning our affections from every earthly and 
 vain pursuit, until they become entirely centred on himself. 
 Psal. Ixxiii. 25, 26, " Whom have I in heaven but thee, and 
 there is none upon the earth that I desire besides thee. My 
 flesh and my heart faileth ; but God is the strength of my 
 heart, and my portion for ever." 
 
 Q. 13. Are the outward members of our bodies sancti- 
 fied ? 
 
 A. Yes : in some measure, and they are daily becoming 
 more and more so. Before the work of sanctification was be- 
 
BENEFITS WHICH FLOW FROM JUSTIFICATION, &c. 125 
 
 gun, they were the wiUing and obedient instruments of sin, 
 but now they are engaged on the side of God and hoHness. 
 Rom. vi. 19, " For as ye have yielded your members servants 
 to uncleanness, and to iniquity unto iniquity, even so now yield 
 your members servants to righteousness unto hoHness." 
 
 Q. 14. Is our whole man sanctified ? 
 
 A. Yes : in some measure it is. It is no partial work, 
 but pervades the whole man, in soul, in body, and in spirit : 
 and although sin may not be entirely rooted out of any part 
 of us, yet are we in the way of being completely conformed 
 to the image of God, and made perfectly holy. 2 Cor. v. 17- 
 " Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature : 
 old things are passed away ; behold, all things are become 
 
 Before the great work of sanctifi cation began, the believer 
 lived in an estate of sin, estranged from God and holiness : 
 but he now groans under the body of sin as an intolerable 
 burden, and longs to be entirely delivered from it. Humbly 
 and prayerfully he waits upon God, in the use of all the means 
 he has appointed for his purification ; and knowing, as he 
 does, that n,o unsanctified person can either serve God ac- 
 ceptably here, or be admitted into his glorious presence here- 
 after, his prayer alway is, that the God of peace may sanctify 
 him wholly, in soul, in body, and in spirit, and preserve hint 
 blameless unto the coming of his Lord and Saviour Jesus 
 Christ. 
 
 QUESTION XXXVI. 
 
 Having seen what is the import of the benefits that they 
 who are effectually called partake of in this life, we come to 
 the benefits which, in this life, necessarily accompany or flow 
 from justification, adoption, and sanctification. 
 
 Quest. What are the benefits which, in this life, do ac- 
 company or fiow from justification, adoption, and sancti" 
 fication ? 
 
 Ans. The benefits which, in this life, do accompany or 
 flow from justification, adoption, and sanctification, are as- 
 surance of God's love, peace of conscience, joy in the Holy 
 Ghost, increase of grace, and perseverance therein to the 
 end. 
 
 l3 
 
126 THE BENEFITS WHICH FLOW FROM 
 
 Q. 1, What is the first benefit that accompanies or fiows 
 from justification, adoption, and sanctification ? 
 
 A. An assurance of God's love. Rom. v. 5, " And hope 
 maketh not ashamed : because the love of God is shed abroad 
 in our hearts, by the Holy Ghost, which is given unto us." 
 
 Q. 2. Can an assurance of God's love only he obtain- 
 ed through or by justification, adoption, and sanctifica- 
 tion ? 
 
 A. Yes : it can only accompany or flow from them ; for 
 although it be true that God so loved the world as to give 
 his only begotten Son to die for it, it is equally true that, un- 
 til we personally receive and rest upon Christ, as offered in 
 the gospel, we neither can participate in, nor experience this 
 love. John iii. 36, " He that believeth on the Son hath 
 everlasting life : and he that believeth not the Son shall not 
 see life ; but the wrath of God abideth on him." 
 
 Q. 3. How does an assurance of God^s love accompany 
 or flow from justification, adoption, and sanctification ? 
 
 A. When we read that God so loved the world, as to give 
 his only begotten Son to die for it, and that whosoever be- 
 lieveth in him shall not perish but have everlasting life, we 
 feel conscious that we believe this truth, and from the effect 
 which the belief of it produces on us, we have, in our own ex- 
 perience, an assurance of God's love. 1 John iv. 10, " Here- 
 in is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and 
 sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins." 
 
 Q. 4. How is an assurance of God^s love to be attained ? 
 
 -4. By a careful examination of our character, as set forth 
 in the Word of God, comparing the state of our heart and 
 affections with what the Scriptures affirm to be the experi- 
 ence of true believers, humbly depending upon the Holy Spi- 
 rit's teaching, without whose enlightening influences all our 
 efforts will be in vain. John xiv. 23, " If a man love me, he 
 will keep my words : and my Father will love him, and we 
 will come unto him, and make our abode with him." Rom. 
 viii. 16, " The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, 
 that we are the children of God." 
 
 Q. 5. Are all luho have been made partakers of justifi- 
 cation, adoption, and sanctification, assured of God^s 
 love ? 
 
 A. In some measure they are ; for if they be only careful 
 in the examination of their character, as set forth in the Word 
 of God, they will have the witness in themselves, that they 
 have passed from death unto life. 1 John iv. 19, " We love 
 God, because he first loved us." 
 
JUSTIFICATION, ADOPTION, AND SANCTIFICATION. 127 
 
 Q. 6. Have all who are justijied, adopted^ and sancti- 
 fied, the same assurance of God's love ? 
 
 A. They all have the same kind of assurance, although 
 varying much in degree, from its being almost, if not alto- 
 gether imperceptible, up to the full assurance of faith. 2 Pet. 
 i. 10, " Give diligence to make your calling and election 
 sure." 2 Tim. i. 12, " For I know whom I have believed, 
 and am persuaded tha the is able to keep that which I have 
 committed unto him against that day." 
 
 Q. 7. May an assurance of God's love he where there 
 is much remaining sinfulness ? 
 
 A. Yes : it may and is, otherwise none of the sinful chil- 
 dren of men would ever enjoy the precious benefit ; but then 
 their sinfulness is not cherished and delighted in, but resisted 
 and striven against, as the very hope of a complete and final 
 deliverance from sin itself forms no small element in the be- 
 liever's assurance of God's love. Rom. vii. 24, 25, " wretched 
 man that I am : who shall deliver me from the body of this 
 death? I thank God, through Jesus Christ our Lord." 
 
 Q. 8. What is the second benefit that accompanies or 
 fiows from justification, adoption, and sanctification ? 
 
 A. Peace of conscience. Rom. v. 1, " Being justified by 
 faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus 
 Christ." 
 
 Q. 9. Cati peace of conscience only be obtained through 
 or by justification, adoption, and sanctification'^. 
 
 A. Yes : it can only accompany or flow from them. There 
 be many who say. Peace, peace, when there is no peace ; but 
 no true peace can be had without an interest in Christ and 
 his salvation ; for, until then, we are under the wrath and 
 curse of God, and in danger of being cast into everlasting 
 punishment. Isa. xlviii. 22, " There is no peace, saith the 
 Lord, unto the wicked." Job xxi. 30, " That the wicked is 
 reserved to the day of destruction." 
 
 Q. 10, Is it a solid and true peace that fiows from jus- 
 tification, adoption, and sanctification ? 
 
 A. Yes : it is a most solid, and rational, and true peace, 
 resting upon the righteousness and satisfaction of Christ, and 
 bequeathed by him to his people ; it is a peace which the world 
 can neither give nor take away. Isa. xxiv. 3, " Thou wilt 
 keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee, be- 
 cause he trusteth in thee." 
 
 Q. 11. What is the nature of the peace of conscience 
 that fioius from justification, adoption, and sanctifica- 
 tion ? 
 
128 THE BENEFITS WHICH FLOW FROM 
 
 A. It is a heavenly peace, a calm tranquillity, coming from 
 the throne of God throu^^h Jesus Clirist, and diffusing itself 
 throughout the whole man, producing joy and gladness. 
 Isa. xii. 1, " And in that day thou shalt say, Lord, I will 
 praise thee ; though thou wast angry with mo, thine anger is 
 turned away, and thou comfortedst me." 
 
 Q. 12. What is the tldrd henejit that accompanies or 
 /ioius from justijlcation, adoption, and sanctification ? 
 
 A. Joy in the Holy Ghost. Luke i. 46, 47, " My soul 
 doth magnify the Lord, and my Spirit hath rejoiced in God, 
 my Saviour." 
 
 Q. 13. Can joy in the Holy Ghost only he obtained 
 through or by justiJlcation, adoption, and sanctijlcation ? 
 
 A. Yes, for until we believe in Jesus Christ, we are ut- 
 terly destitute of the indwelling of the Holy Ghost, but when 
 justified and adopted into the family of God, the Holy Ghost 
 then returns to the soul, as his proper temple or residence, 
 and it is then we begin to experience joy and peace in believ- 
 ing, or joy in the Holy Ghost. Rom. v. 2, " By whom also 
 we have access, by faith, into this grace wherein we stand, 
 and rejoice in the hope of the glory of God." 
 
 Q. 14. Do believers always experience joy in the Holy 
 Ghost? 
 
 A. It is the privilege of all true believers, and all must, in 
 some measure, at times experience it ; but, through the re- 
 maining strength of indwelling sin, and their own un watch- 
 fulness, they often fail to realise their interest in Christ, and, 
 consequently, lose their joy in the Holy Ghost. 1 Pet. i. 8, 
 " Whom having not seen ye love ; in whom, though now ye 
 see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable 
 and full of glory." Psal. li. 11, 12, " Cast me not away 
 from thy presence ; and take not thy Holy Spirit from me. 
 Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation ; and uphold me by 
 thy free Spirit." 
 
 Q. 15. Hoiv may joy in the Holy Ghost be promoted 'f 
 
 A. In being careful to maintain a walk and conversation 
 becoming the gospel, avoiding every thing that would vex or 
 grieve the Holy Spirit, as it is only when thus watchful that 
 we have any ground to expect that the Spirit will breath up- 
 on our souls, so as to enable us greatly to rejoice in the God 
 of our salvation. Psal. xxxiv. 1 — 3, " I will bless the Lord 
 at all times : his praise shall continually be in my mouth. 
 My soul shall make her boast in the Lord : the humble shall 
 hear thereof, and be glad. O magnify the Lord with me, and 
 let us exalt his name together." 
 
JUSTIFICATION, ADOPTION, AND SANCTIFICATION. 129 
 
 Q. 16. WTiat is the fourth henejlt that accompanies or 
 jiows from justification, adoption, and sanctiflcation ? 
 
 A. Increase of grace, and perseverance therein to the end. 
 Psal. iv. 18, " The path of the just is as the shining Hght, 
 that shineth more and more unto the perfect day." 
 
 Q. 17. Can increase of grace only he obtained through, 
 or by, justification, adoption, and sanctiflcation ? 
 
 A. Yes : for as it was by beheving that we became par- 
 takers of grace, so it is only by continued faith in Christ, 
 that we will be enabled to grow in grace, and in the knowledge 
 of him. John i. 17, " For the law was given by Moses, but 
 grace and truth came by Jesus Christ." John xv. 4, "Abide 
 in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of it- 
 self, except it abide in the vine ; no more can ye, except ye 
 abide in me." 
 
 Q. 18. By abiding in Christ, or living by faith upon 
 him, will we be enabled to persevere unto the end ? 
 
 A. Yes : inasmuch as we will daily be receiving out of his 
 fulness even grace for grace, so as that we will grow up as 
 willows by the water courses, being kept by his Almighty 
 power, through faith, unto salvation. Isa. xl. 30, 31, " Even 
 the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall 
 utterly fail : but they that wait upon the Lord shall renew 
 their strength ; they shall mount up with wings as eagles ; 
 they shall run and not be weary ; and they shall walk, and 
 not faint." 
 
 Christ, the Captain of his people's salvation, hath pledged 
 his word, that they will grow in grace, and persevere unto 
 the end : for having loved his own that were in the world, he 
 loved them unto the end. how precious, then, to have an 
 interest in Christ, to be assured of God's love, and to know 
 that he is pacified toward us, notwithstanding all that we 
 have done, and is now making us to rejoice greatly in the 
 hope of his salvation. 
 
 QUESTION XXXVII. 
 
 Having seen what are the benefits that accompany or flow 
 from justification, adoption, and sanctiflcation, in this life, we 
 come to the beneflts that the believer receives from Christ at 
 death. 
 
130 THE BENEFITS BELIEVERS RECEIVE 
 
 Quest. What benefits do believers receive from Christ 
 at death ? 
 
 Ans. The souls of believers are at their death made per- 
 fect ill holiness, and do immediately pass into glory ; and their 
 bodies being still united to Christ, do rest in their graves till 
 the resurrection. 
 
 Q. 1. What is the first benefit that believers receive 
 from Christ at death ? 
 
 A. Their souls are made perfect in holiness, and do imme- 
 diately pass into glory. Psal. xvii. 15, " As for me, I will 
 behold thy face in righteousness : I shall be satisfied, when I 
 awake, with thy likeness." 
 
 Q. 2. Is it a great benefit to be made perfect in holi- 
 ness ? 
 
 A. Yes : inasmuch as it is not until then that the great 
 design of Christ's death, in so far as we are personally con- 
 cerned, is accomplished. Eph. v. 26 — 28, " Christ loved the 
 church, and gave himself for it ; that he might sanctify and 
 cleanse it with the washing of water by the Word, that he 
 might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, 
 or wrinkle, or any such thing ; but that it should be holy, and 
 without blemish." 
 
 Q. 3. Hoiu does our being made perfect in holiness ap- 
 pear to be so great a benefit ? 
 
 A. Because, in being made perfectly holy, we are not only 
 delivered from all sin and suffering, but also fitted for unin- 
 terrupted fellowship and communion with God. 2 Cor. v. 
 4, 5, " For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being 
 burdened : not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed 
 upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life. Now, he 
 that hath wrought us for the self-same thing is God, who also 
 hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit." 
 
 Q. 4. Is the believer, when effectually called, set free 
 from the condemning and reigning power of sin ? 
 
 A. Yes : he is set free from its condemninor and reisjnins: 
 power, but not entirely from its indwelling presence ; and sin, 
 in every form, being contrary to the will of God, he feels it 
 to be most destructive to his peace, and debasing to him, as an 
 intelliorent and rational creature, and therefore lonjrs to be 
 delivered from it. Rom. viii. 1, " There is therefore now 
 no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who 
 walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. Rom. vii. 23, 
 " But I see another law in my members warring against the 
 law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of 
 sin which is in my members." 
 
FROM CHRIST AT DEATH. 131 
 
 Q. 5. Will the believer ever be freed from indwelling 
 sin till death ? 
 
 A. No : for although the great work of sanctification is 
 daily going forward, and sin every day becoming weaker and 
 weaker, yet it will, in one form or another, be still present 
 with him. Phil. iii. 13, 14, " Forgetting those things which 
 are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are 
 before, I press toward the mark, for the prize of the high 
 callino' of God in Christ Jesus." 
 
 Q. 6. TVill believers be entirely freed from indwelling 
 sin at death ? 
 
 A. Yes : inasmuch as their sanctification will then be per- 
 fected, and they themselves made perfectly holy, having come 
 not only in faith, but in vision, to the general assembly and 
 church of the first-born, which are written in heaven, and to 
 God the judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made per- 
 fect, and to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant. 1 John 
 iii. 2, " Beloved, now are we the sons of God ; and it doth 
 not yet appear what we shall be : but we know that, when 
 he shall appear, we shall be like him ; for we shall see him 
 as he is." 
 
 Q. 7. Do believers long to he delivered from indwelling 
 sin ? 
 
 A. Yes : they earnestly long for it, insomuch that it is 
 their daily prayer, that the very God of peace may sanctify 
 them wholly ; and when in a healthful state of mind they 
 even desire to depart, and to be with Christ, which is far bet- 
 ter, and where they will be made perfect in holiness. 2 Cor. 
 V. 8, " We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be ab- 
 sent from the body, and to be present with the Lord." 
 
 Q. 8. Will believers, after death, or when made perfect 
 in holiness, enjoy a greater amount of happiness than they 
 ever did before ? 
 
 A. Yes : inasmuch as they will then be present with the 
 Lord, and be for ever engaged in his service and in the 
 enjoyment of himself. Phil. i. 23, " For I am in a strait 
 betwixt two, having a desire to depart and to be with Christ, 
 which is far better." 
 
 Q. 9. What is the second benefit that believers receive 
 from Christ at death ? 
 
 A. Their bodies still remain united to Christ, although by 
 that event they have become separated from their souls. 
 1 Thess. iv. 14, " Them also which sleep in Jesus will God 
 bring with him." 
 
 Q. 10. How is the bodies of believers united to Christ? 
 
132 THE BENEFITS BELIEVERS RECEIVE 
 
 A. Because their bodies, as well as their souls, are the pur- 
 chase of Christ's precious blood, that which he bought with 
 sore travail of soul. 1 Cor. vi. 19, 20, " And ye are not your 
 own ; for ye are bought with a price ; therefore glorify God 
 in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's." 
 
 Q. 11. What becomes of the bodies of believers at death ? 
 
 A. They return to the dust from which they were taken, 
 there to be purified and made meet for a state of incorrupti- 
 bility, and the soul returns to God who gave it ; so that be- 
 lievers are said at death to enter into a state of perfect pu- 
 rity and peace, and also to rest in their beds ; the one asser- 
 tion having reference to the soul, and the other to the body. 
 1 Cor. XV. 44, " It is sown a natural body ; it is raised a spi- 
 ritual body." Isa. Ivii. 2, " He shall enter into peace ; they 
 shall rest in their beds, each one walking in his uprightness." 
 
 Q. 12. Will the bodies of believers, in consequence of 
 their union to Christ, be raised again from the dead ? 
 
 A. Yes : and so long as they continue in that state they 
 will be carefully watched over by God ; for precious in his 
 sight is the death of his saints, and in the morning of the re- 
 surrection they will be again raised up and united to the soul, 
 to participate in the same glory and blessedness throughout 
 the endless ages of eternity. 1 Cor. vi. 14, " And God hath 
 both raised up the Lord, and will also raise up us by his own 
 power." Job xix. 25, 26, " For I know that my Redeemer 
 liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the 
 earth. And though after my skin worms destroy this body, 
 yet in my flesh shall I see God." 
 
 The believer has precious blessings in time ; and death, 
 which to all is the necessary consequence of sin, is to him, 
 through faith in Jesus, who triumphed over death and the 
 grave, a blessing, inasmuch as he is then set free from sin, and 
 made perfect in holiness, and completely conformed into the 
 image of his Lord and Saviour, and can therefore meet this 
 last enemy in humble faith and confidence, saying, *' Yea, 
 though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I 
 will fear no evil, for thou art with me, thy rod and thy staff 
 they comfort me." 
 
CHRIST AT THE RESURRECTION. 133 
 
 QUESTION XXXVIII. 
 
 Having seen what are the benefits that the beUever receives 
 from Christ at death, we come to those he receives at the re- 
 surrection. 
 
 Quest. What benefits do believers receive from Christ 
 at the resurrection ? 
 
 Ans, At the resurrection, behevers being raised up in 
 glory, shall be openly acknowledged and acquitted in the day 
 of judgment, and made perfectly blessed in the full enjoying 
 of God to all eternity. 
 
 Q. 1. What is the first benefit that believers receive 
 from Christ at the resurrection ? 
 
 A. Their bodies will be raised up in glory. 1 Cor. xv. 43, 
 *' It is sown in dishonour : it is raised in glory." 
 
 Q. 2. Is the raising of the body at the resurrection a 
 great benefit ? 
 
 A. Yes : for until the body is raised and again united to 
 the soul, the redemption of the believer is not completed ; 
 the body having been redeemed by Christ, as well as the soul. 
 1 Cor. XV. 21, 26, " For since by man came death, by man 
 came also the resurrection of the dead. The last enemy that 
 shall be destroyed is death." 
 
 Q. 3. Is it only the bodies of believers that will be raised 
 at the resurrection ? 
 
 A. No : for all will then be raised, believers and unbelivers : 
 Christ will summon every one before him, both the righteous 
 and the wicked. Acts xxiv. 15, " That there shall be a 
 resurrection of the dead both of the just and unjust." John 
 v. 28, 29, " The hour is coming in the which all that are in 
 the graves shall hear his voice ; and shall come forth." 
 
 Q. 4. Is it the same body that will be raised at the re- 
 surrection ? 
 
 A. Yes ; although greatly changed from what it formerly 
 was ; inasmuch as it will be no more subject to weakness, and 
 disease, and pain, and death. 1 Cor. xv. 38, 42, 43, " But God 
 giveth it a body, as it hath pleased him ; and to every seed 
 his own body. It is sown in corruption, it is raised in incor- 
 ruption. It is sown in weakness ; it is raised in power." 
 
 Q. 5. In what will the glory of the believer'' s body at the 
 resurrection consist ? 
 
 A. It is impossible to say : but that it will be a glorious 
 
 M 
 
1134 THE BENEFITS BELIEVERS RECEIVE FROM 
 
 body, there can be no doubt, from many passai^es of Scrip- 
 ture, as well as from those already adduced. 1 Cor. xv. 43, 
 " It is sown a natural body ; it is raised a spiritual body." 
 Q. G. What are ive to understand by a spiritual body ? 
 A. That as the body is now, by reason of sin, a great 
 hinderance to the soul in its spiritual exercises, it will then 
 be a great help to it, and will enable it both to serve 
 and enjoy God more fully than it was possible for it to do 
 in a state of separation. Rom. vii. 24, " O wretched man 
 that I am ! who shall deliver me from the body of this 
 death." Rom. viii. 23, " But ourselves also, which have the 
 first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within our- 
 selves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of 
 our body." 
 
 Q. 7. In what state or condition luill the ivicked be 
 raised at the resurrection ? 
 
 A. They will be raised to a state of endless misery, and 
 shame, and everlasting contempt. The reunion of their bo- 
 dies to their souls will greatly increase their misery and suf- 
 fering. Dan. xii. 2, " And many of them that sleep in the 
 dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life ; and 
 some to shame and everlasting contempt." John v. 29, 
 " They that have done good, unto the resurrection of life ; and 
 they that have done evil unto the resurrection of damnation." 
 Q. 8. What is the second benefit that believers receive 
 from Christ at the resurrection ? 
 
 A, They shall be openly acknowledged and acquitted in 
 the day of judgment. Matt. xxv. 34, " Come ye blessed of 
 my Father, inlierit the kingdom prepared for you from the 
 foundation of the world." 
 
 Q. 9. What are lue to understand by Christ's openly 
 acknowledying believers at the day of judgment ! 
 
 A. His owning them to be his redeemed people. Here 
 they may have been lightly set by, despised and slighted 
 by an ungodly world ; but Christ will then openly acknow- 
 ledge them as his brethren, as the excellent of the earth, 
 of whom the world was not worthy, and who, amid all 
 the wickedness and degeneracy that prevailed around them, 
 were not ashamed to avow^ their attachment to him, as their 
 divine Lord and Saviour, as their all in all. Matt. x. 32, 
 " Whosoever shall confess me before men, him will I confess 
 before my Father which is in heaven." Heb. ii. 11, " For 
 both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are 
 all of one ; ft;r which cause he is not ashamed to call them 
 brethren." 
 
CHRIST AT THE RESURRECTION. 135 
 
 Q. 10. Is it a great benefit to he openly acknowledged 
 and acquitted hy Christ at the day of judgment ? 
 
 A. Yes : it is an unspeakable benefit. At any time, the 
 approbation of Christ is more valuable than the approbatioii 
 of all the world, and how infinitely more so, when it deter- 
 mines our eternal weal. Kev. iii. 5, " He that overcometh, 
 the same shall be clothed in white raiment : and I will not 
 blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess 
 liis name before my Father, and before his ani^els." 
 
 Q. 11. What is the ground upon luhich believers ivill be 
 acquitted: at the d.ay of judgment ? 
 
 A. The same as that on account of which they were in this 
 life justified, adopted, and sanctified ; namely, the obedience 
 and death of Christ ; and having, in some measure, been ena- 
 bled to do his will, by his Spirit dwelling in them, he will in- 
 stance the acts of kindness done by them unto his people, as 
 undoubted proofs of their love to himself. Rom. viii. 34, 
 *' Who is he that condemneth ? It is Christ that died, yea, 
 rather, that is risen again." Matt. xxv. 35, 36, 40, " For I 
 was an hungered, and ye gave me meat : I was thirsty, and 
 ye gave me drink : I was a stranger, and ye took me in : 
 naked, and ye clothed me : I was sick, and ye visited me : I 
 was in prison, and ye came unto me. Verily I say unto you. 
 Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my 
 brethren, ye have done it unto me." 
 
 Q. 12. What is the third benefit that believers receive 
 from Christ at the day of judgment ? 
 
 A. They shall be made perfectly blessed, in the full enjoy- 
 ing of God to all eternity. 1 Thess. iv. 17, " And so shall 
 we ever be with the Lord." 
 
 Q. 13. Wherein consists the blessedness of ivhich be- 
 lievers ivill be made partakers at the day of judgment ? 
 
 A, In being entirely freed from sin, and completely con- 
 formed to the will of God. Rev. xxi. 7, " He that over- 
 cometh shall inherit all things ; and I will be his God, and 
 lie shall be my son." 
 
 Q. 14. Wherein consists the enjoyment of luhich be- 
 lievers will be made partakers at the day of judg- 
 ment ? 
 
 A. In having God as their portion, being now completely 
 conformed to his will, they will find their supreme delight 
 and enjoyment in him. And they sing the son of Mo- 
 ses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb. Psal. 
 Ixxiii. 25, " Whom have I in heaven but thee : and there is 
 none upon earth that I desire besides thee." 
 
136 THE BENEFITS BELIEVERS RECEIVE, (kc. 
 
 Q, 15. Will the believer^s happiness in heaven come to 
 him more immediatehj from Christ? 
 
 A. Yes : inasmuch as it will be in and by him, that they 
 will more especially enjoy God. There he will be seen in all 
 his gloiy ; they will behold his face in righteousness, and be 
 satisfied with his likeness. Rev. vii. 17, " For the Lamb, 
 which is in the midst of the throne, shall feed them, and shall 
 lead them unto livini:i fountains of waters ; and God shall 
 wipe away all tears from their eyes." 
 
 Q. 16. Will the happiness of which the believer is made 
 partaker at the day of judgment ever come to an end ? 
 
 A. No : but, on the contrary, it will )>e continually in- 
 creasing in proportion as his capacity expands and enlarges. 
 1 Thess. i7. 17, '' Then we which are alive and remain shall 
 be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the 
 Lord in the air ; and so shall we ever be with the Lord." 
 
 Q. 17. What will become of unbelievers at the day of 
 judgment ? 
 
 A. They will be turned into hell : having slighted the 
 offers of his mercy, and neglected their day of grace, Christ 
 will now take vengeance on them as his enemies, punishing 
 them with everlasting destruction from the presence of the 
 Lord, and the glory of his power. Matt. xxv. 41, 46, " Then 
 shall he say unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye 
 cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his 
 angels. And these shall go away into everlasting punishment : 
 but the righteous into life eternal." 
 
 The reunion of the soul and body at the resurrection will 
 be no benefit to the wicked, as it will greatly increase their 
 misery : but how different the prospect to believers ; for Christ 
 will then own them as his redeemed people, and make them 
 pillars in the temple of God, where they shall go no more out : 
 there they shall see Christ and be like him, and be filled with 
 holy blessedness up to the full measure of their capacity to 
 enjoy it ; sickness, and sorrow, and death shall never enter 
 there; it will, be one continued series of uninterrupted enjoy- 
 ment and blissful communion with the Saviour who bought 
 them. " They are for ever with the Lord." 
 
THE DUTY GOD REQUIRES OF MAN. 137 
 
 SECOND PART. 
 
 SECTION I. 
 THE DUTY GOD REQUIRES OF MAN; 
 
 THE LAW WHICH WAS FIR.ST REVEALED TO MAN AS THE RULE OP HIS OBEDIENCE 
 
 SUMMARILY COMPREHENDED IN THE TEN COMMANDMENTS, AND 
 
 THE SUM OK THE TEN COMMANDMENTS. 
 
 In our inquiries on the first part of the Catechism, we have 
 seen what we are to believe concerning God and ourselves. 
 In prosecuting these inquiries, we found that God created all 
 thinors for his own '^lorv, constitutingr man the intellifjent 
 organ of this lower world, to render to himself the homage 
 and praise due unto his great name; we have seen that man 
 abode not in the state of holy blessedness in which he was 
 created, but fell from it by sinning against God, and became 
 obnoxious to his holy displeasure, and incapable either of lov- 
 ing or serving him ; and that God did not, however, leave 
 him to perish in his estate of sin, Ijut provided for him a Sa- 
 viour, in the person of his own eternal Son, who, to accom- 
 phsh this work, became incarnate, and suffered, and died. We 
 have also seen how we become partakers of this salvation, with 
 the effects produced by a cordial reception thereof. We now 
 come to the second division of the Catechism, wliiclj treats of 
 the duty which God requires of man. 
 
 QUESTION XXXIX. 
 
 Quest. What is the duty which God requireth of man .^ 
 
 Axs. The duty which God requireth of man, is obedience 
 to his revealed will. 
 
 Q. 1. What are lue to understand by the revealed, ivill, 
 o/ God ? 
 
 A. The revelation of his glorious character and our duty, 
 which he hath given us in his works, but more clearly and 
 fully in his written word, the holy Scriptures. Psal. xix. 1, 
 ^- The heavens declare the glory of God ; and the firmament 
 
138 THE DUTY GOD REQUIRES OF MAN. 
 
 showeth his handy-work." John xvii. 3, " And this is life 
 eternal, that they might know thee the only tnie God, and 
 Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent." Heb. i. 1,2, " God, 
 who at sundry times, and in divers manners, spake in time 
 past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days 
 spoken unto us by his Son." 
 
 Q. 2. What is our duty in regard to the revealed will 
 of God ? 
 
 A. It is cordially to receive and cheerfully to obey it, in 
 whatever way he hath been pleased to make it known ; and 
 to us who have the holy Scriptures, it is our imperative duty 
 diligently to study, and carefully to ponder over them, that 
 we may know the will of God and do it. Job xxii. 21, 
 " Acquaint thyself with God, and be at peace : thereby good 
 shall come unto thee." John v. 39, " Search the Scriptures ; 
 for in them ye think ye have eternal life : and they are they 
 which testify of me." 
 
 Q. 3. May we neglect the revealed will of God if we 
 choose ? 
 
 A. No : for the law of our being brings us under an im- 
 mutable obligation to know and obey the will of God in so far 
 as he hath made it known, and the neglect of which will 
 bring upon us guilt and misery. Rom. i. 19, 20, " Because 
 that which may be known of God is manifest in them, for 
 God hath showed it unto them. For the invisible thinors of 
 him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being 
 understood by the things that are made, even his eternal 
 power and godhead, so that they are without excuse." John 
 iii. 19, " And this is the condemnation, that light is come into 
 the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because 
 their deeds were evil." 
 
 Q. 4. What are some of the truths revealed iti the 
 Scriptures luhich it is our duty to receive and obey ? 
 
 A. That God made, and preserves, and governs all things ; 
 that man is now a fallen, guilty, and polluted creature, lying 
 under the wrath and curse of God ; and that it is his duty to 
 receive, and rest upon Jesus Christ, as the Saviour of sinners, 
 whom God hath set forth as a propitiation, through faith in 
 his blood. 1 Cliron. xxix. 11, " Thine, Lord, is the great- 
 ness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the 
 majesty : for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is 
 thine ; thine is the kingdom, O Lord, and thou art exalted 
 as head above all." Rom. v. 12, " By one man sin entered 
 into the world, and death by sin, and so death passed upon 
 all men, for that all have sinned." John vi. 29, " This is 
 
THE DUTY GOD REQUIRES OF MAN. 139 
 
 the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath 
 sent." 
 
 Q. 5. Are these duties, to know God, and ourselves, 
 and Jesus Chinst, inculcated in the question ? 
 
 A. Yes : for they not only form part of God's revealed 
 will, but are the very basis of all that is made known to us 
 in the holy Scriptures, and a scriptural knowledge and belief 
 of which are necessary to the acceptable performance of every 
 duty. John xv. 5, " I am the vine, ye are the branches : 
 he that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth 
 much fruit ; for without me ye can do nothing." 
 
 Q. 6. Why is a knowledge and reception of these truths 
 necessary to the right 'performance of our duty ? 
 
 A. Because, in ourselves, by nature, we are guilty, and 
 blind, and helpless, and it is by the knowledge and belief of 
 these truths that we are made spiritually alive. Eph. ii. 1, 
 " And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses 
 and sins." 1 Pet. i. 23, " Being born again, not of corrup- 
 tible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which 
 liveth and abideth for ever." 
 
 Q. 7. Since lue are, hy nature, so blind and helpless, 
 does that exempt us from obeying God^s revealed will? 
 
 A , No : inasmuch as our inability to obey the revealed 
 will of God, is not of a natural, but moral kind, arising from 
 the perversity of our own will, and the depravity of our own 
 hearts. John v. 40, 42, " And ye will not come to me, that 
 ye might have life. But I know you, that ye have not the 
 love of God in you." 
 
 Q. 8. Has God promised to remove our moral inabi- 
 lity ? 
 
 A. Yes : for he hath promised to give the Holy Spirit to 
 all who seek him, to work in them all the good pleasure of his 
 own goodness, and a work of faith with power. Matt. vii. 7, 
 " Ask, and it shall be given you ; seek, and ye shall find ; 
 knock, and it shall be opened unto you." 
 
 Q. 9. When lue are enabled, by the Holy Spirit, in any 
 measure to obey the will of God, is there any merit in 
 doing so ? 
 
 A. No : for although we were able to obey it perfectly, 
 apart from the assistance of the Holy Spirit, we would only 
 be doing our duty ; and it is what constitutes our very guilti- 
 ness and sin, that we have not always obeyed the whole will 
 of God perfectly. Luke xvii. 10, " When ye shall have done 
 all these things which are commanded you, say. We are un- 
 profitable servants : we have done that which was our duty 
 
140 THE DUTY GOD REQUIRES OF M.iN. 
 
 to do." Gal. iii. 10, " Cursed is every one that continueth 
 not in all thinofs which are written in the book of the law to 
 do thorn." 
 
 Q. 10. Wherein consists the perfection and happiness 
 of our nature ? 
 
 A. In being completely conformed to the law of God, or 
 enabled perfectly to obey his revealed Avill. Psal. cxix. 5, 6, 
 165, " O that my ways were directed to keep thy statutes : 
 Then shall I not be ashamed, when I have respect unto all 
 thy commandments. Great peace have they which love thy 
 law ; and nothing shall offend them." 
 
 Q. 11. Is it in order to be thus made perfectly happy 
 that God enjoins obedience to his revealed will ? 
 
 A. Yes : inasmuch as the end of all that he has com- 
 manded, and promised, and threatened, if fallen in and com- 
 plied with by us, terminate in the perfection of our nature, 
 and the supreme blessedness of our being. Mic. vi. 8, " He 
 hath showed thee, man, what is good ; and what doth the 
 Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and 
 to walk humbly with thy God." 
 
 Q. 12. Can God make us happy in anything apart from 
 himself, or otherwise than in the way of our obedience to 
 his revealed luill ? 
 
 A. No : he neither will nor can make us happy in anything 
 besides himself, as that would be oivino; his oflory to another ; 
 for whatever we are happy in, apart from God as our chief 
 good, is a god to us ; and the revelation of God's will being 
 all that we know of him, it follows, that if we are not happy 
 therein, and in the way of being entirely conformed to it, we 
 can never be made truly happy in anything else. Isa. xliv. 
 6, " I am the first, and I am the last, and besides me there 
 is no God." Isa. xliii. 11, " I, even I, am the Lord; and 
 besides me there is no Saviour." 
 
 Q. 13. Since it is only by obedience to the revealed will 
 of God that lue can become truly blessed, ivhat feelings 
 ought we to cherish towai'ds his Word ? 
 
 A. We ought to esteem it a great privilege that God hath 
 made known his will in the holy Scriptures, and made it our 
 duty earnestly to seek after a perfect conformity to it. Psal. 
 cxix. 97, 59, '• how love I thy law ! it is my meditation all 
 the day. Thou art my portion, O Lord : I have said that I 
 would keep thy words." 
 
 It is not only our duty, then, but our privilege, to yield obe- 
 dience to God's revealed will. It was the withholding of this 
 
 j 
 
THE LAW WHICH WAS FIRST REVEALED TO MAN, &c. 141 
 
 obedience that brought man into his present guilty and help- 
 less condition ; it was to atone for our guilt, and enable us 
 again to yield obedience that Christ died ; if we have no de- 
 sire, then, to know and to do the will of God, and to be en- 
 tirely conformed to it, there is every reason to fear that we 
 are still enemies to God in our hearts and by wicked works ; 
 but if it is otherwise with us, God will perfect that which 
 concerneth us : he will bring us into a complete conformity 
 to his holy will, and make us eternally happy in the enjoy- 
 ment of himself. 
 
 QUESTION XL. 
 
 Having seen that it is not only the duty of man to yield 
 obedience to God's revealed will, but that he cannot withhold 
 this obedience without making himself miserable for ever, in- 
 asmuch as the happiness of intelligent and rational beings 
 consist in the entire conformity of their wills to the will of 
 their Creator, we now come to the law which God at first re- 
 vealed to man for the rule of his obedience. 
 
 Quest. What did God at first reveal to man for the 
 rule of his obedience ? 
 
 Ans. The rule which God at first revealed to man for his 
 obedience, was the moral law. 
 
 Q. 1. What are we to understand hy the moral law ? 
 
 A. That rule of righteousness which necessarily arises out 
 of the relations of man to God and to each other, and which 
 is eternally binding. Kom. ii. 14, 15, " For when the Gen- 
 tiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things con- 
 tained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto 
 themselves ; which show the work of the law written in their 
 hearts." 
 
 Q. 2. Was the command, prohibiting Adam to eat of 
 the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, 
 fart of the moral law ? 
 
 A. Of itself it formed no part of the moral law, being an 
 arbitrary enactment, but when made known as the will of 
 God, the moral law necessarily required that it should be 
 obeyed. Gen. ii. 16, 17, " Of every tree of the garden thou 
 mayest freely eat ; but of the tree of the knowdedge of good 
 and evil, thou shall not not eat of it ; for in the day that thou 
 eatest thereof thou shalt surely die." 
 
142 THE LAW WHICH WAS FIRST REVEALED TO MAN 
 
 Q. 3. JVas this prohibition the first law that was given 
 to man ? 
 
 A. No : it was the first positive enactment given to man, 
 but not the first law that was jjiven him, the moral law beinor 
 the natural obligation, arising out of his relation to God, 
 which came into existence with him. Luke iv. 8, " Tliou 
 shalt worship the Lord tliy God, and him only shalt thou 
 serve." 
 
 Q. 4. Is the moral laiv binding upon us as a rule of 
 obedience ? 
 
 A. Yes : it is of perpetual obligation on us as a rule of life. 
 Deut. vi. 5, " And thou shalt love the Lord thv God with all 
 thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might." 
 Matt. V. 18, " Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle 
 shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled." 
 
 Q. 5. Are we able to keep the moral law perfectly ? 
 
 A. No : inasmuch as our apostacy from God has brought 
 us into such a state of guilt and sinfulness that our every 
 thought, word, and action, are contrary to its spirit. Rom. 
 viii. 7, 8, " Because the carnal mind is enmity against God ; 
 for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. 
 So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God." 
 
 Q. 6. What is the use of the moral law to us now since 
 we are unable to keep it as a rule of duty ? 
 
 A. It is of great importance, as it is by the knowledge of 
 the moral law that we are made sensible of our guilty, and 
 lost, and ruined condition by the fall, and brought to see that 
 in ourselves we neither can satisfy the justice of God on account 
 of our sin, nor yield a perfect obedience to its precepts ; and 
 are thereby excited to believe in Jesus Christ, and to rest 
 on him alone for salvation as he is offered in the gospel. 
 Gal. iii. 24, " Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to 
 bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by fiiith." 
 
 Q. 7. What is the use of the moral laiu to those luho are 
 in Christ and have become neiu creatures ? 
 
 A. It is invaluable to such as a rule of duty, and as setting 
 before them what they are to become in being made partak- 
 ers of Christ's redemption ; as that redemption consists not 
 merely in their deliverance from the punishment of sin, but 
 also in the conformity of their heart and affections to the law 
 of God. Gal. iv. 5, " To redeem them that were under the 
 law, that we might receive the adoption of sons." Tit. ii. 14, 
 " Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all 
 iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of 
 good works," 
 
AS THE RULE OF HIS OBEDIENCE. 143 
 
 Q. 8. Is it in this light that believers 7^egard the moral 
 law ? 
 
 A. Yes : for although they are assured, that from the mo- 
 ment they believed in Christ the law ceased to have any claim 
 upon them, either as to their satisfying the justice of God for 
 their sins, or in working out a righteousness of their own, 
 they are also made to feel that the salvation of which they are 
 partakers is designed to bring them into perfect conformity 
 with the moral law, and that they never can be made perfectly 
 happy until they are conformed to it ; and hence the high es- 
 teem which believers have for the law of God, and delight in 
 it. Psal. cxix. 97, 140, " how love I thy law ! it is my 
 meditation all the day. Thy word is very pure ; therefore 
 thy servant loveth it." 
 
 Believers have a great love for the law of God ; they de- 
 light in it after the inward man ; it is their daily grief that 
 they so often break it, in thought, word, and deed ; and it 
 is the earnest and longing desire of their heart to be enabled 
 in all things to keep it ; which is just to be made perfectly 
 lioly and completely happy. 
 
 QUESTION XLI. 
 
 Having seen that the moral law was the rule which God at 
 first gave to man for his obedience, we come to inquire where- 
 in the moral law is comprehended. 
 
 Quest. Where is the moral law summarily compre- 
 hended ? 
 
 Ans. The moral law is summarily comprehended in the 
 ten commandments. 
 
 Q. 1. What are we to understand hy the moral law 
 being summarily comprehended ? 
 
 A. That it is there briefly stated, and set before us in the 
 shortest form. Deut. x. 4, " And he wrote on the tables, 
 according to the first writing, the ten commandments." 
 
 Q. 2. When were the ten commandments given as a 
 suminary of the moral law ? 
 
 A. They were given by God himself to the children of 
 Israel at Sinai, about three months after their departure 
 from the land of Egypt. Exod. xix. 1, "In the third month, 
 when the children of Israel were s^one forth out of the land 
 
144 THE MORAL LAW, &C. 
 
 of Egypt, the same day came they into the wilderness of Si- 
 nai." Exod. XX. 1, " And God spake all these words, say- 
 ing," &c. 
 
 Q. 3. Was the moral law in force before the giving of 
 the ten commandments at Sinai f 
 
 A. Yes : inasmuch as it arises out of the relation in which 
 man stands to God ; but it was not given in writing until he 
 grave it to the children of Israel in the ten commandments. 
 Rom. V. 13, " For until the law sin was in the world : but 
 sin is not imputed where there is no law." 
 
 Q. 4. Why was the moral laiv given in writing in the 
 ten commandments ? 
 
 A. That it might be constantly before our minds, convinc- 
 ing us of our guilt and misery, and showing us what we ought 
 to be ; there being a tendency in our sinful nature to ibrget 
 the obligation of the law, and the relation in which we stand 
 to God. Rom. vii. 9, " For I was alive without the law once ; 
 but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died." 
 
 Q. 5. How ought we to regard the ten commandments ? 
 
 .4. As a most perfect rule of life, requiring the utmost per- 
 fection of obedience, and every violation of which as bringing 
 us under its penalty. Psal. xix. 7) " The law of the Lord is 
 perfect." Gal. iii. 10, " Cursed is every one that continueth 
 not in all things which are written in the book of the law to 
 do them." 
 
 Q. 6. Are they our actions only that are to he regulat- 
 ed by the moral law ? 
 
 A. No : for it takes cognisance also of the thoughts, pur- 
 poses, affections, and desires of the heart ; it being the inner- 
 man, as the seat or fountain from which all our actions proceed, 
 that the law is more particularly conversant with, the outward 
 action being only a manifestation and aggravation of the in- 
 ward principle. Rom. vii. 14, " For we &iow that the law is 
 spiritual; but I am carnal, sold under sin." 
 
 Q. 7. Is it only in the ten commandments that the moral 
 law is to be found'\ 
 
 A. No : it is there summarily comprehended, but is to 
 be found throughout the whole Scriptures ; they being just 
 an illustration of the moral law in one form or another. 
 Psal. cxix. 5, 34, " that my ways were directed to keep 
 thy statutes ! Give me understanding, and I shall keep thy 
 law ; yea, I shall observe it with my whole heart." 
 
 It is summarily comprehended in the ten commandments, 
 and is to be found throughout all the Bible ; but the best ex- 
 
THE SUM OF THE TEN COMMANDMENTS. 145 
 
 position of the moral law is the life and character of our Lord 
 and Saviour Jesus Christ, who magnified it and made it hon- 
 ourable ; so that if we are honestly desirous of being conformed 
 to it, let us study his life, and ponder over it, that beholding 
 as in a glass the glory of the Lord, we may be changed into 
 the same image, from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of 
 the Lord. 
 
 QUESTION XLIL 
 
 Having seen that the moral law is summarily comprehended 
 in the ten connnandments, we come to the sum of the ten 
 commandments. 
 
 Quest. What is the sum of the ten commandments ? 
 
 Ans. The sum of the ten commandments is, To love the 
 Lord our God with all our heart, with all our soul, with all 
 our strength, and with all our mind ; and our neio-hbour as 
 ourselves. 
 
 Q. 1. Into how many parts are the ten commandments 
 divided ? 
 
 A. Two : our duty to God, and our duty to man. Deut. x. 
 1, 4, " At that time the Lord said unto me, Hew thee two 
 tables of stone like unto the first, and come up unto me into 
 the mount. And he wrote on the tables, according to the first 
 writing, the ten commandments." 
 
 Q. 2. How many respect our duty to God ? 
 
 A. Four. Deut. xi. 1, " Therefore thou shalt love the 
 Lord thy God, and keep his charge, and his statutes, and his 
 judgments, and his commandments, alway." 
 
 Q. 3. Hoiv many respect our duty to man ? 
 
 A. Six. Matt. vii. 12, " Therefore all things whatsoever 
 ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them : 
 for this is the law and the prophets." 
 
 Q. 4. Is it our duty to love God ? 
 
 A. Yes : it is both our duty and our privilege, inasmuch as 
 supreme love to God is what constitutes the very sum or essence 
 of all real obedience and of all true happiness. Matt. xxii. 
 37, 38, "Jesus said unto him. Thou shalt love the Lord thy 
 God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy 
 mind. This is the first and great commandment. 1 John 
 iv. 16, " He that dwelleih in love dwelleth in God, and Gcd 
 in him." 
 
 N- 
 
146 THE PREFACE TO 
 
 Q. 5. How does love to God manifest itself ? 
 
 A. In leading us to have respect unto all his command- 
 ments and delight in his holy law, with an earnest and long- 
 ing desire to be conformed unto it. 1 John v. 3, " For this 
 is the love of God, that we keep his commandment." Psal. 
 cxix. 97, " O how love I thy law ! it is my meditation all the 
 day." 
 
 Q. 6. Since it is alike our duty and our privilege to 
 love God, are we naturally disposed to do so ? 
 
 A. No : for although, as originally created by God, with 
 pure and holy dispositions, it was alike our privilege as it was 
 our duty to love him supremely, but having fallen from this 
 state of holy blessedness, enmity and aversion have taken 
 the place of love and delight. Eccl. vii. 29, " God made 
 man upright ; but they have sought out many inventions." 
 Rom. viii. 7, " The carnal mind is enmity against God ; for it 
 is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be." 
 
 Q. 7. Is it our duty to love our neighbour ? 
 
 A. Yes : it is what constitutes the very sum or essence of 
 all the duties we owe to one another ; and wherever true love 
 to God exists, there will also be, as a necessary consequence, 
 love to our neighbour. Matt. xxii. 39, " And the second is 
 like unto it. Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself." 1 John 
 iv. 20, " If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he 
 is a liar ; for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath 
 seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen ?" 
 
 Q. 8. How does love to our neighbour manifest itself? 
 
 A. In leading us to the faithful and conscientious discharge 
 of every duty we owe to each other, in the several relations of 
 life in which God in his providence may have placed us. 
 Rom. xiii. 7, 8, 10, " Render therefore to all their dues; tri- 
 bute to whom tribute is due ; custom to whom custom ; fear 
 to whom fear ; honour to whom honour. Owe no man any- 
 thing, but to love one another ; for he that loveth another 
 hath fulfilled the law. Love worketh no ill to his neighbour ; 
 therefore love is the fulfilling of the law." 
 
 Q. 9. Are we naturally disposed to love our neighbour ? 
 
 A. No : for when enmity took the place of love in our 
 hearts to God, hatred and envy were the feelings we naturally 
 cherished towards our neighbour. Tit. iii. 3, " Hateful and 
 hating one another." 
 
 Love to God is no longer the natural disposition of fallen 
 man, but enmity to his person, and rebellion against his laws, 
 are man's characteristic features ; and from such a soil love 
 
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS. 14? 
 
 to his neighbour springs not ; but hatred, and envy, and 
 every evil work, which make up the constituent elements of 
 man's fallen, guilty, and lost condition. 
 
 SECTION II. 
 THE TEN COMMANDMENTS. 
 
 QUESTIONS XLIII. & XLIV. 
 
 Having seen what is the duty which God requires of man, 
 and the law that he at first revealed to him as the rule of his 
 obedience, and that it is summarily comprehended in the ten 
 commandments, we come to the preface to the ten command- 
 ments. 
 
 Quest. What is the preface to the ten commandments ? 
 
 Ans. The preface to the ten commandments is in these 
 words, I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out 
 of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. 
 
 Quest. What doth the preface to the ten commandments 
 teach us ? 
 
 Ans. The preface to the ten commandments teacheth us, 
 That because God is the Lord, and our God and Redeemer, 
 therefore we are bound to keep all his commandments. 
 
 Q. 1. What is the first thing that the preface to the ten 
 commandments teacheth us ? 
 
 A. That because God is the Lord, therefore we are bound 
 to keep all his commandments. Psal. c. 3, 2, " Know ye 
 that the Lord he is God. Serve the Lord with gladness." 
 
 Q. 2. Wherein consists the strength of this motive ? 
 
 A. In that as God created all things for his own glory, 
 his rational and intelligent creatures can alone serve the end 
 of their being, and act agreeably to the constitution of their na- 
 ture, when they perfectly keep his commandments. Isa. xliii. 
 15, "I am the Lord, your Holy One, the Creator of Israel, 
 your King. Isa. xlviii. 17, " Oh that thou hadst hearkened 
 to my commandments ! then had thy peace been as a river, 
 and thy righteousness as the waves of the sea." 
 
 Q. 3. What is the second thing that the preface to the 
 ten commandments teacheth us ? 
 
148 THE PREFACE TO 
 
 A. That because God is our God, therefore we are bound 
 to keep all his commandments. Isa. xlviii. 17, " I am the 
 Lord thy God, which teacheth thee to profit, which leadetli 
 thee by the way that thou shouldest go." 
 
 Q. 4. Wherein consists the strength of this motive ? 
 A. In having chosen God as our God, we are bound not 
 only by the law of our being to serve him, but also by a 
 deliberate and voluntary act of our own, and therefore God 
 has a peculiar claim on our obedience. Deut. xi. 1, " Thou 
 shalt love the Lord thy God, and keep his charge, and his 
 statutes, and his judgments, and his commandments, always." 
 Deut. xxxii. 9, " For the Lord's portion is his people ; Jacob 
 is the lot of his inheritance." 
 
 Q. 5. What is the third thing that the preface to the ten 
 commandments teacheth us ? 
 
 A. That because God is our Redeemer, therefore we are 
 bound to keep all his commandments. Isa. xliii. 14, " Thus 
 saith the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel." 
 1 Cor. vi. 19, 20, '" Ye are not your own, for ye are bought 
 with a price ; therefore glorify God in your body, and in your 
 spirit, which are God's." 
 
 Q. 9. Wherein consists the strength of this motive ? 
 A. In that while the law of our being necessarily requires us 
 to love the Lord our God with all our heart, and with all our 
 strength, and with all our mind, and passes a righteous sentence 
 of condemnation upon us, as sinful creatures, for not doing 
 so, we are bound by the strongest principle of love to God, as 
 our Redeemer, who by his own death hath redeemed us from 
 the curse of the law, that we might be brought again into a 
 holy conformity with its requirements. Luke i. 74, 75, 
 " That we, being delivered out of the hands of our enemies, 
 micrht serve him without fear, in holiness and rio-hteousness 
 before him, all the days of our life." 
 
 Q. 7. What is the practical lesson taught us hy this 
 'preface ? 
 
 A. The absolute necessity of our believing in Jesus Christ 
 as our Redeemer, before we can yield any obedience that will 
 be acceptable to God, or profitable to our own souls. John vi. 
 29, " This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom 
 lie hath sent." John xv. 5, " For without me ye can do no- 
 thing." 
 
 Before we can either love or serve God, it is necessary that 
 we be reconciled to him, as it is only then that we can cherish 
 towards him the feelings of children, and yield that filial obe- 
 
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS. 149 
 
 dience through faith in Christ, which alone is well-pleasing 
 in his sight. 
 
 QUESTIONS XLV. & XLVI. 
 
 Having seen what are the motives that are set before us in 
 the preface to the ten commandments, we come to the first 
 commandment, and what is required in it. 
 
 Quest. Which is the Jirst commandment ? 
 
 Ans. The first commandment is, Thou shalt have no other 
 gods before me. 
 
 Quest. What is required in the first commandment ? 
 
 Ans. The first commandment requireth us to know and 
 acknowledge God to be the only true God, and our God ; and 
 to worship and glorify him accordingly. 
 
 Q. 1. What is the first duty required in the first com- 
 mandment ? 
 
 A. That we know God, to be the only true God, and our 
 God. 1 Chron. xxviii. 9, " And thou Solomon, my son, 
 know thou the God of thy father." Psal. ix. 10, " And they 
 that know thy name wiU put their trust in thee." 
 
 Q. 2. How may we come to know God to be the only 
 true God, and our God ? 
 
 A. By carefully studying and pondering over the manifes- 
 tations he hath made of himself in his works, and in his Word, 
 but especially as revealed to us in the person and work of our 
 Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. John xiv. 9, " Jesus saith 
 unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast 
 thou not known me, Philip ? He that hath seen me hath seen 
 the Father ; and how sayest thou then. Show us the Father." 
 Heb. i. 3, " Who being the brightness of his glory, and the 
 express image of his person." 
 
 Q. 3. Is it necessary that ive know God as revealed in 
 Jesus Christ ? 
 
 A. Yes: it is absolutely necessary; inasmuch as he has 
 not only made a fuller revelation of himself in and by Jesus 
 Christ than by all his other works, but it is only as revealed 
 and made known in Jesus Christ, that we, guilty creatures, 
 can lay any claim to him as our God. John xvii. 3, '* And 
 this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true 
 God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent." 
 
 n3 
 
150 THE DUTIES REQUIRED IN 
 
 Q. 4. What is the second duty required in the Jlrst com- 
 mandment ? 
 
 A. That we acknowledge God to be the only true God, 
 and our God, in opposition to all false gods, and appropriate 
 him unto ourselves as revealed in Jesus Christ. Deut. xxvi. 
 17, " Thou hast avouched the Lord this day to be thy God, 
 and to walk in his ways, and to keep his statutes, and his 
 commandments, and his judgments, and to hearken unto his 
 voice." Psal, xvi. 2, 5, " my soul, thou hast said unto the 
 Lord, Thou art my Lord. The Lord is the portion of mine 
 inheritance and of my cup." 
 
 Q. 5. Docs our acknoiul edging God as our God, neces- 
 sarily follow upon our knowing him as the only true 
 God? 
 
 A. Yes: inasmuch as he is not only in himself infinitely 
 oloi'ious and excellent, and the source of all true happiness to 
 his holy intelligent creatures, but is revealed, in Jesus Christ, 
 as the Lord God that saveth us ; and to sinful and guilty 
 creatures, there can be no object of desire like their Saviour. 
 Psal. Ixxix. 9, " Help us, O God of our salvation, for the 
 glory of thy name." Isa. xliv. 5, " One shall say, I am the 
 Lord's ; and another shall call himself by the name of Ja- 
 cob ; and another shall subscribe with his hand unto the 
 Lord, and surname himself by the name of Israel." 
 
 Q. 6. Is it a great blessing to kiioiu and acknowledge 
 God to he the only true God and our God ? 
 
 A. Yes: for we then know him, who is in himself the 
 source of all knowledge ; and in appropriating him as oui- 
 God, we have that for our portion which is the only satisfy- 
 ing good of an immortal soul, and in whose favour we enjoy 
 all things. 1 Cor. iii. 21 — 23, " For all things are yours ; 
 whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, 
 or death, or things present, or things to come ; all are yours ; 
 and ye are Christ's ; and Christ is God's." 
 
 Q. 7. What is the third duty required in the first com- 
 mandment? 
 
 A. That we worship and glorify God as the only true 
 God and our God. Matt. iv. lo, " Thou shalt worship the 
 Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve." 
 
 Q. 8. When do we worship atid glorify God as the 
 only true God, and our God ? 
 
 A. We worship God, when we engage in the instituted 
 ordinances of his grace, in obedience to his command, and 
 with a sincere desire to hold fellowship and communion with 
 himseli' in them ; and we glorify God when we, taking his 
 
THE FIRST COMMANDMENT. 151 
 
 word as our guide, propose to ourselves his glory as the mo- 
 tive and end of all our actions. Psal. xcvi. 9, " O worship 
 the Lord in the beauty of hoHness." Psal. Ixxxiv. 2, " My 
 soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of the Lord ; 
 my heart and my flesh crieth out for the hving God." 1 Cor. 
 X. 31, " Whether, therefore, ye eat or drink, or whatsoever 
 ye do, do all to the glory of God." 
 
 Q. 9. Can lue know and acknowledge God to he the 
 only true God, and our God, and not endeavour to ivor- 
 ship and glorify him accordingly ? 
 
 A. No : for as soon may light be separated from the sun, 
 as obedience from a true scriptural knowledge of God. 1 John 
 ii. 3, 4, " And hereby we do know that we know him, if we 
 keep his commandments. He that saith, I know him, and 
 keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not 
 in him." 
 
 It is impossible to know and acknowledge God as the only 
 true God and our God, without an earnest desire and endea- 
 vour to be transformed into his glorious and blessed image ; 
 or in other words, to keep all his commandments. " He that 
 saith he abideth in him, ought himself also so to walk even as 
 he walked. If a man love me he will keep my words : and 
 my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and 
 make our abode with him." 
 
 QUESTION XLVIL 
 
 Having seen what is required in the first commandment, 
 we come to what is forbidden. 
 
 Quest. What is forbidden in the first commatidment ? 
 
 Ans. The first commandment forbiddeth the denying, or 
 not worshipping and glorifying the true God as God, and our 
 God ; and the giving of that worship and glory to any other, 
 which is due to him alone. 
 
 Q. 1. What is the first sin forbidden in the first co^n- 
 mandment ? 
 
 A. The denying or not worshipping and glorifying the true 
 God as God, and our God. Psal. xiv, 1, " The fool hath said 
 in his heart, There is no God." Isa. xhii. 22, " But thou hast 
 not called upon me, Jacob." 
 
152 THE SINS FORBIDDEN IN 
 
 Q. 2. Wherein consists the sin of denying^ or not wor- 
 shipping and glorifying f the true God as God, and our 
 God? 
 
 A. In that we not only withhold from God the homage 
 and worship that is due to him from every creature, and of 
 which he cannot divest himself ; but also, in so far at least as 
 it is in our power, we blot him, as it were, out of existence, as 
 unworthy of being had in remembrance. Psal. Ixxxi. 11, 
 " But my people would not hearken to my voice, and Israel 
 would none of me." Jer. iv. 22, " My people is foolish, they 
 have not known me." 
 
 Q. 3. Do all men, while in a state of nature, deny God ? 
 
 A. Yes : for in consequence of our fall in Adam, and the 
 depravity of our nature consequent upon that event, we have 
 lost all true knowledge of God, and sense of his presence with 
 us. Rom. iii. 11, 18, " There is none that understandeth, 
 there is none that seeketh after God. There is no fear of 
 God before their eyes." 
 
 Q. 4. Since we all, while in a state of nature, deny 
 God, will that he an excuse for our sin ? 
 
 A. No : it will only aggravate it, inasmuch as it arises out 
 of our original guilt in forsaking God ; and, even now, there is 
 nothing to prevent us from both knowing and loving him, but 
 the perversity of our own wills, and the depravity of our own 
 hearts. Rom. i. 20, 21, " So that they are without excuse. 
 Because that when they knew God, they glorified him not as 
 God." 
 
 Q. 5. While we continue practically to deny God, can 
 we worship and glorify him as the true God, and our 
 God ? 
 
 A. No : for as a scriptural knowledge of God in Jesus 
 Christ is necessary to enable us acceptably to worship him, 
 so, in like manner, where there is no such knowledge, it is im- 
 possible that we can, in an acceptable manner, make his glory 
 the end of all our actions. Acts xvii. 23, " For as I passed 
 by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this in- 
 scription, To the unknown God. Whom therefore ye igno- 
 rantly worship, him declare I unto you." 
 
 Q. 6. Can we he in any other state than that of guilt 
 and onisery so long as we practically deny God, or do not 
 worship and glorify him as the tr\ie God, and our God ? 
 
 A. No: for God being the only satisfying portion of the 
 soul, it is impossible that true happiness can be found apart 
 from him ; and however, therefore, in our present condition, 
 we may contrive to ward off a sense of our guilt and misery 
 
THE FIRST COMMANDMENT. 153 
 
 in the vain pursuit of happiness in other objects ; yet, sooner 
 or later, we shall feel the fearful guilt incurred in violating 
 his laws, and the anguish and misery of being separated from 
 God. Jer. x. 25, " Pour out thy fury upon the heathen that 
 know thee not, and upon the families that call not on thy 
 name." Isa. i. 4, " Ah sinful nation, a people laden with 
 iniquity, a seed of evil-doers, children that are corrupters ! 
 They have forsaken the Lord." 
 
 Q. 7. What is the second sin forbidden in the jirst com- 
 mandment ? 
 
 A, The giving of that worship and glory to any other 
 which is due to God alone. Isa. xlii. 8, " I am the Lord ; 
 that is my name : and my glory will I not give to another, 
 neither my praise to graven images." 
 
 Q. 8. Does the giving of that worship and glory to 
 another^ which is due only to God, follow upon our prac- 
 tically denying God? 
 
 A. Yes : inasmuch as the human mind is so constituted, 
 that whenever the true God is not known and enjoyed, it will 
 seek after one object or another, in the enjoyment of which it 
 expects to find true happiness. Rom. i. 25, " Who changed 
 the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the 
 creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. 
 Amen." 
 
 Let us here see our miserable state by nature, as destitute 
 of the knowledge of the one only living and true God, and 
 the terrible consequences involved in our remaining in this 
 state, it being impossible for God to make us happy but in the 
 knowledge, and love, and service of himself. 
 
 QUESTION XLVIIL 
 
 Having seen what is required and forbidden in the first 
 commandment, we come to the practical lesson which it 
 teacheth. 
 
 Quest. What are we especially taught hy these luords 
 (before me) in the first commandment ? 
 
 Ans. These words {before me) in the first commandment, 
 teach us, that God, who seeth all things, taketh notice of, 
 and is much displeased with, the sin of having any other God. 
 
154 WHAT WE ARE SPECIALLY TAUGHT BY THESE WORDS 
 
 Q. 1. What is the jirst thing taught us hy these luords 
 (before me) in the Jirst commandment? 
 
 A. The omnipresence and omniscience of God, as being 
 everywhere present, and seeing all things. Psal. cxxxix. 7, 
 " Whither shall I go from thy Spirit ? or whither shall I flee 
 from thy presence ?" Jer. xxiii. 24, " Can any hide himself 
 in secret places that I shall not see him ? saith the Lord : 
 do not I fill heaven and earth ? saith the Lord." 
 
 Q. 2. Is God present luith the hearty and cognisant of 
 all that passes there ? 
 
 A. Yes : it being what he claims as his own prerogative, 
 to search the heart : for, when it is said of the heart, that it 
 is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked, and that 
 none can know it, it is added, that God searcheth the heart. 
 1 Kings viii. 39, " For thou, even thou only, knoweth the 
 hearts of all the children of men." Prov. xv. 11, "Hell 
 and destruction are before the Lord ; how much more then 
 the hearts of the children of men." 
 
 Q. 3. What is the second thing taught us hy these words 
 (before me) in the Jirst commandment ? 
 
 A. That God, who seeth all things, who searcheth the 
 heart, and knows our thoughts, and affections, and desires, 
 and actions, taketh notice of them, and is much displeased with 
 the sin of having any other God. Psal. xliv. 20, 21, " If we 
 have forgotten the name of our God, or stretched out our 
 hands to a strange god, shall not God search this out ?" 
 
 Q. 24. Wherein consists the guilt of having other gods, 
 or luasting our affections and desires on other objects 
 apart from God ? 
 
 A. In that God having created us for his own glory, and 
 so constituted our minds as to find supreme happiness in the 
 love and service of himself, when, therefore, we seek our en- 
 joyment, and expend the strength of our affections and desires 
 on other objects apart from God, we do virtually make a god 
 unto ourselves, and vainly endeavour to make ourselves happy 
 independent of his favour, and in despite of his displeasure. 
 Isa. xliv. 6, " I am the first, and I am the last, and besides 
 me there is no God." Prov. xi. 21, " Though hand join in 
 hand, the wicked shall not be unpunished." 
 
 While we here learn the fearful condition of all who are 
 seeking their supreme happiness in other pui-suits than in the 
 love and service of the only living and true God, as treasur- 
 ing up for themselves wrath against the day of wrath, we 
 may also learn the happy and blessed state of all who are 
 
(before me) in the first commandment. 155 
 
 seeking their happiness in God. " Then they that feared the 
 Lord spake often one to another, and the Lord hearkened 
 and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before 
 him for them that feared the Lord, and that thought upon 
 his name. And they shall be mine, saith the Lord of hosts, 
 in that day when I make up my jewels, and I will spare 
 them as a man spareth his own son that serveth him." 
 
 QUESTIONS XLIX. & L. 
 
 Having seen that God is the only object of religious wor- 
 ship, we come to the means by which he requires us to wor- 
 ship him. 
 
 Quest. Which is the second commandment ? 
 
 Ans. The second commandment is, Thou shalt not make 
 unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing 
 that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or 
 that is in the water under the earth. Thou shalt not bow 
 down thyself to them, nor serve them : for I the Lord thy 
 God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers 
 upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of 
 them that hate me ; and showing mercy unto thousands of 
 them that love me, and keep my commandments. 
 
 Q. What is required in the second commandment ? 
 
 A. The second commandment requireth the receiving, 
 observing, and keeping pure and entire, all such religious 
 worship and ordinances as God hath appointed in his Word. 
 
 Q. 1. What are some of the ordinances that God hath 
 appointed in his Word ? 
 
 A. Prayer, praise, preaching, and hearing the Word, with 
 the celebration of the sacraments, &c. &c. Phil. iv. 6, " In 
 every thing by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, 
 let your requests be made known unto God." Psal. xxii. 3, 
 " But thou art holy, thou that inhabitest the praises of 
 Israel." Mark xvi. 13, " And he said unto them. Go ye 
 into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature." 
 Isa. Iv. 3, " Hear, and your soul shall live." Matt, xxviii. 
 19, " Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptising them 
 in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy 
 Ghost." Luke xxii. 19, " And he took bread, and gave 
 thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying. This is my 
 body, which is given for you ; this do in remembrance of me. 
 
156 THE DUTIES REQUIRED IN 
 
 Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the 
 new testament in my blood, which is shed for you." 
 
 Q. 2. What is the first duty required in the second 
 comtnandment ? 
 
 A. That we cordially receive and diligently observe all 
 such religious worship and ordinances as God hath appointed 
 in his Word. Prov. ii. 1, " My son, if thou wilt receive my 
 words, and hide my commandments with thee," &c. Deut. 
 xxvi. 16, " This day the Lord thy God hath commanded thee 
 to do these statutes and judgments : thou shalt therefore keep 
 and do them with all thine heart, and with all thy soul." 
 
 Q. 3. What are the obligations we are under to receive 
 and observe God^s worship and ordinances ? 
 
 A. The law of our being necessarily requires us to receive 
 and obey whatsoever God commandeth ; and, besides, they 
 are the instituted channels through which he more especially 
 manifests himself to his people, and by means of which he 
 prepares them for his own immediate presence ; and the ne- 
 cjlect, or careless observance of which, is a settinof at nou2;ht 
 God's authority over us, and a despising of the riches of his 
 grace. Matt, xxviii. 20, " Teaching them to observe all 
 things whatsoever I have commanded you." John xiv. 23, 
 " If a man love me, he will keep my words : and my Father 
 will love him, and w^e will come unto him, and make our 
 abode with him." John iii. 19, " And this is the condem- 
 nation, that light is come into the world, and men loved 
 darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil." 
 
 Q. 4. Wliat is the second duti^ required in the second 
 commandment ? 
 
 A. That we keep pure and entire all such religious wor- 
 ship and ordinances as God hath appointed in his Word. 
 Deut. xii. 32, '• What things soever I command you, ob- 
 serve to do it : thou shalt not add thereto, nor diminish from 
 it." 
 
 Q. 5. Wherein consists the guilt of taking from, or 
 adding to, the worship and ordi^iances of God ? 
 
 A. In that, as God is the only object of religious worship, 
 he has a supreme right to prescribe the w^ay and manner in 
 which his creatures are to worship him ; so that, by either tak- 
 ing from, or adding to them, we set up our own wills and 
 judgments in opposition to God's. Rev. xxii. 18, 19, " If any 
 man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the 
 plagues that are written in this book : and if any man shall 
 take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God 
 shall take away his part out of the book of life." Matt. xv. 
 
THE SECOND COMMANDMENT. 157 
 
 9, " But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines 
 the commandments of men." 
 
 How careful, then, ought we to be, lest at any time, either 
 in imagination or otherwise, we add to, or take from, the wor- 
 ship and ordinances of God, for, besides incurring the guilt of 
 doing so, all such acts of will-worship on our part will be met, 
 on the part of God, with, " Who hath required this at your 
 hand, to tread my courts ?" 
 
 QUESTION LI. 
 
 . Having seen what is required in the second commandment, 
 we come to what is forbidden. 
 
 Quest. What is forbidden in the second command- 
 ment ? 
 
 Ans. The second commandment forbiddeth the worship- 
 ping of God by images, or any other way not appointed in his 
 Word. 
 
 Q. 1. What is the first sin forbidden in the second com- 
 mandment ? 
 
 A. The worshipping of God by images. Deut. iv. 16, 
 " Lest ye corrupt yourselves, and make you a graven image.'' 
 
 Q. 2. What are we to understand by images ? 
 
 A. Any outward visible representation, or similitude, or 
 fancied likeness of God. Rom. i. 23, " And changed the 
 glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like to 
 corruptible man, and to birds, and four-footed beasts, and 
 creeping things." 
 
 Q. 3. Are they only external or visible images and re- 
 presentations of God that are forbidden ? 
 
 A. No : inasmuch as it is as impossible, and as impious 
 and sinful, to form any imaginary ideas of God in our minds, 
 whose essence is immense, and who is purely a spiritual be- 
 ing, as it is to make an external or outward representation of 
 him. Deut. iv. 15, " Take ye therefore good heed unto 
 yourselves, for ye saw no manner of similitude on the day 
 that the Lord spake unto you in Horeb." Luke xxiv. 39, 
 " Handle me and see ; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, 
 as ye see me have." 
 
 Q. 4. May we not make an image to remind us of God., 
 
 o 
 
158 THE SINS FORBIDDEN IN 
 
 although wc are forbidden to make one hy which to wor- 
 
 iin 
 
 ship h 
 
 A. No : for as God is a spiritual being, any representa- 
 tion that is made of him, for whatever purpose, is very sinful, 
 and highly dishonouring to one who fiUeth heaven and earth 
 with his presence. Isa. xl. 18, " To whom then will ye liken 
 God ? or what likeness will ye compare unto him ?" 
 
 Q. 5. Are ive forbidden, then, to cherish any concep- 
 tions of God ? 
 
 A. No : for it is our imperative duty to entertain, and to 
 cherish, worthy and becoming thoughts of him, in accordance 
 with the revelation he hath made of himself, by his works, 
 and m his Word, as a purely spiritual being. Kom. i. 20, 
 " For the invisible things of him from the creation of the 
 world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that 
 ?4re made, even his eternal power and Godhead." John v. 
 39, " Search the Scriptures ; for in them ye think ye have 
 eternal life : and they are they w^hich testify of me." 
 
 Q. 6. What is the second sin forbidden in the second 
 commandment ? 
 
 A. The worshipping of God in any other way not appoint- 
 ed in his Word. Col. ii. 18, " Let no man beguile you of 
 your reward, in a voluntary humility, and worshipping of an- 
 gels, intruding into those things which he hath not seen ; 
 vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind." 
 
 Q. 7. Will no other worship be accepted of but what is 
 offered according to the prescribed manner in the Word 
 of God ? 
 
 A. No : as all other modes are will-worship, and conse- 
 quently idolatrous ; and, so far from being acceptable to God, 
 or profitable to ourselves, will assuredly bring upon us his 
 righteous displeasure. Isa. i. 12, " When ye come to appear 
 before me, who hath required this at your hand, to tread my 
 courts." Prov. xiv. 12, " There is a way which seemeth 
 light unto a man ; but the end thereof are the ways of 
 delth." 
 
 We may not conceive otherwise of God than as he has re- 
 vealed himself in his works and written Word, nor woi-ship 
 him by any other means than those required in his Word ; 
 receiving and observing all such religious worship and ordi- 
 nances as he hath therein appointed, and these only with 
 inward devotion and outward reverence, knowing assured- 
 ly that it is the heart he requireth ; and that even when we 
 strictly adhere to the very letter of God's Word, they are 
 
THE SECOND COMMANDMENT. 159 
 
 the dispositions and sentiments of the heart or mind alone, 
 through Jesus Christ, that will constitute us acceptable wor- 
 shippers. 
 
 QUESTION LII. 
 
 Having seen what is required and forbidden in the second 
 commandment, we come to the reasons annexed to it. 
 
 Quest. What are the reasons annexed to the second 
 commandment ? 
 
 Ans. The reasons annexed to the second commandment 
 are, God's sovereignty over us, his propriety in us, and the 
 zeal he hath to his own worship. 
 
 Q. 1. What is the first reason annexed to the second 
 commandment ? 
 
 A. God's sovereignty over us. Psal. c. 3, " Know ye that 
 the Lord he is God ; it is he that hath made us, and not we 
 ourselves ; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture." 
 
 Q. 2. Wherein consists the strength of this reason F 
 
 A. That as our Creator his will is unalterably binding on 
 all his creatures ; and he alone possesses the right of prescrib- 
 ing the means by which his creatures are to worship him. 
 Psal. xcv. 3, " Let us come before his presence with thanks- 
 giving, and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms. For 
 the Lord is a o-reat God, and a great King above all gods." 
 
 Q. 3. What use ought we to make of the sovereignty of 
 God as a reason annexed to the second commandment '^ 
 
 ^. As a solemn warning to us, if in any way we are cor- 
 rupting the worship and ordinances of God ; and as a ground 
 of encouragement and consolation if we have believed in 
 Christ, and are seeking to worship God in the way and by 
 the ordinances of his own appointing. Deut. xxxii. 39, " See 
 now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god with me ; I 
 kill, and I make alive ; I wound, and I heal ; neither is there 
 any that can deliver out of my hand." 
 
 Q. 4. What is the second reason annexed to the second 
 commandment ? 
 
 A. God's propriety in us. Psal. xlv, 11, " He is thy Lord, 
 and worship thou him." 
 
 Q. 5. What are we to understand hy God^s propriety 
 in us ? 
 
 A, Not merely that we are his property in virtue of our 
 
160 THE REASONS ANNEXED TO 
 
 relation to him as his creatures, but that as his rational and 
 intelhgent creatures, he claims from us a revenue of praise 
 and glory in the way of obedience to his revealed will. Deut. 
 xxxii. 9, " For the Lord's portion is his people ; Jacob is the 
 lot of his inheritance." 
 
 Q. 6. JVherein consists the strength of this reason ? 
 A. That as God's property, he has not only an absolute 
 right to require of us whatsoever he pleaseth, but that in con- 
 forming ourselves to his revealed will, we in some measure 
 serve the end of our being, and enjoy God as our portion. 
 Jer. X. 16, " The portion of Jacob is not like them ; for he 
 is the former of all things, and Israel is the rod of his inheri- 
 tance, the Lord of hosts is his name." 
 
 Q. 7. Wliat use ought we to make of God^s propriety 
 in us as a reason annexed to the second commandment ? 
 
 A. That, if we continue in our natural state of estrange- 
 ment from him, he will at last disown us, and leave us to reap 
 the bitter fruits of our own doings ; while, by acknowledging 
 it, and acting agreeably thereto, we will enjoy God as our 
 portion here, and still more fully hereafter. Matt. vii. 22, 
 " And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you ; de- 
 part from me, ye that work iniquity." Matt. xxv. 34, " Then 
 shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye 
 blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you 
 from the foundation of the world." 
 
 Q. 8. What is the third reason annexed to the second 
 commandm^ent ? 
 
 A. The zeal God hath to his own worship. Exod. xxxiv. 
 14, " Thou shalt worship no other God ; for the Lord, whose 
 name is jealous, is a jealous God." 
 
 Q. 9. Wherein consists the strength of this reason ? 
 A. That God neither can nor will permit his creatures, 
 with impunity, to corrupt his worship and ordinances, or to 
 give the strength of their heart and affections to any other 
 object. Matt. iv. 10, " Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee 
 hence Satan ; for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord 
 thy God, and him only shalt thou serve." 
 
 Q. 10. What use ought we to make of the zeal God hath 
 to his own worship, as a reason annexed to the second, 
 commandment ? 
 
 A. To be exceedingly careful and jealous of oui-selves, lest 
 at any time we be led to entertain ideas of God that are incon- 
 sistent with the revelation he hath made of himself by his 
 works, and in his word ; and at no time to think of approaching 
 him but in and through Jesus Christ, adhering strictly in all 
 
THE SECOND COMMANDMENT. 161 
 
 things to what is made known to us in the holy Scriptures. 
 Deut. xxxii. 46, 47, " Set your hearts unto all the words 
 which I testify among you this day, which ye shall command 
 your children to observe to do, all the words of this law. For 
 it is not a vain thing for you ; because it is your life." 
 
 Let us then flee to Jesus, who alone can save us from spiri- 
 tual idolatry, and will-worship ; and beholding in him as in a 
 ^lass the glory of the Lord, we shall be changed into the same 
 image, from glory to glory, as by the Spirit of the Lord. 
 
 QUESTION LIIL & LIV. 
 
 Having seen that God requires us to worship him by the 
 ordinances or means which he himself hath appointed in his 
 Word, we come to the manner in which he will be worshipped. 
 
 Quest. What is the third commandment '^ 
 
 Ans. The third commandment is, 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. 
 
 Quest. What is 7'equired in the third commandment 'f 
 
 Ans. The third commandment requireth the holy and 
 reverend use of God's names, titles, attributes, ordinances, 
 word, and works. 
 
 Q. 1. What is the first duty required in the third com- 
 mandment ? 
 
 A. The holy and reverend use of God's names. Psal. xxix. 
 2, " Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name." 
 
 Q. 2. What are we to understand hu the names of 
 God? -^ 
 
 A. The designations that are applied to him in the holy 
 Scriptures ; such as God, Lord, Jehovah, the Almighty, &c. 
 &c. Exod. iii. 14, " I am that I Am." 
 
 Q. 3. What are we to understand hy the holy and re- 
 verend use of God^s names ? 
 
 A. That we use his name only in such cases and on such 
 occasions as are in accordance with his revealed will ; and al- 
 ways under a reverential feeling of his presence, and majesty, 
 and glory. Rev. xv. 4, " Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, 
 and glorify thy name ? for thou only art holy." 
 
 Q. 4. Is it our duty to make a holy and reverend use 
 of God's names? 
 
 o 3 
 
162 THE DUTIES REQUIRED IN 
 
 A. Yes : and also our privilege, as it brings before our 
 minds a sense of the relation in which we stand to God, and 
 in which he stands to us in Jesus Christ. Psal. xliv. 8, " In 
 God we boast all the day long, and praise thy name for ever." 
 Psal. xvi. 2, " O my soul, thou hast said unto the Lord, 
 Thou art ray Lord." Psal. v. 11, " Let them also that love 
 thy name be joyful in thee." 
 
 Q. 5. What is the second duty required in the third com." 
 mandment ? 
 
 A. The holy and reverend use of the titles and attributes 
 of God. Rev. XV. iii. " Great and marvellous are thy works, 
 Lord God Almighty, just and true are thy ways, thou King 
 of saints." 
 
 Q. 6. What are we to understand by the titles and at- 
 tributes of God ? 
 
 A. By titles, those appellations that are given to God in 
 the Scriptures, such as King of saints, &c. ; and by attributes, 
 an inherent quality of his nature, such as eternity, &c. Psal. 
 XX. 1, " The Lord hear thee in the day of trouble ; the 
 name of the God of Jacob defend thee." Deut. xxxiii. 27, 
 " The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the 
 everlasting arms." 
 
 Q. 7. Is it our duty to make a holy and reverend use 
 of the titles and attributes of God ? 
 
 A. Yes : and also our privilege, as they bring more pro- 
 minently before our minds a sense of God's presence under 
 a particular aspect suitable to our diversified troubles and 
 condition. Psal. xlvi, 1, " God is our refuge and strength." 
 Heb. xiii. 6, " The Lord is my helper." Psal. Ixv. 2, " 
 thou that hearest prayer, unto thee shall all flesh come." 
 
 Q. 8. What is the third duty required in the third 
 commandment ? 
 
 A. The holy and reverend use of God's ordinances. Eccl. 
 V. 1, " Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God, 
 and be more ready to hear than to give the sacrifice of fools." 
 
 Q. 9. What are we to understand by the holy and 
 reverend use of God's ordinances ? 
 
 A. That we scrupulously observe them, after the manner 
 prescribed in the Word of God, with outward decorum and 
 inward devotion ; neither takinor from, nor addinor to them. 
 Lev. x. 3, " This is it that the Lord spake, saying, I will be 
 sanctified in them that come nigh me, and before all the 
 people I will be glorified." 
 
 Q. 10. Is it our duty to make a holy and reverend use 
 of God's ordinances ? 
 
THE THIRD COMMANDMENT. 163 
 
 A. Yes: and also our privilege, as it is through or bj 
 means of these that God holds fellowship and communion 
 with his people, imparting to them a sense of the blessedness 
 of his chosen. Psal. Ixv. 4, " Blessed is the man whom thou 
 choosest, and causest to approach unto thee, that he may 
 dwell in thy courts : we shall be satisfied with the goodness 
 of thy house, even of thy holy temple." Isa. xii. 3, " There- 
 fore with joy shall we draw water out of the wells of salva- 
 tion." 
 
 Q. 11. What is the fourth duty required in the third 
 commandment ? 
 
 A. The holy and reverend use of the Word of God. Psal. 
 cxxxviii. 2, " I will worship toward thy holy temple, and 
 praise thy name for thy loving kindness, and for thy truth : 
 tor thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name." 
 
 Q. 12. Is it our duty to make a holy and reverend use 
 of the Word of God ? 
 
 A, Yes : and also our inestimable privilege, as it is in the 
 Word that God is made known as the just God and the Sa- 
 viour ; and it is in it that we learn what are the ordinances 
 God hath instituted, and how they are to be observed ; and 
 it is by its instrumentahty that we are brought to Christ, 
 and made meet for heaven. Psal. cxix. 129, 130, " Thy 
 testimonies are wonderful : therefore doth my soul keep them. 
 The entrance of thy word giveth light." Psal. xix. 7, " The 
 law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul." 
 
 Q. 13. WJiat is the fifth duty required in the third 
 commandment ? 
 
 A. The holy and reverend use of the works of God. Job 
 xxxvi. 24, " Remember that thou magnify his work, which 
 men behold." 
 
 Q. 14. Is it our duty to make a holy and reverend use 
 of the works of God ? 
 
 A. Yes : and also our privilege, as God hath made himself 
 known by creation, and continues still to manifest himself in 
 the dispensations of his providence, fulfiUing his promises, 
 and bringing to pass his purposes. Psal. xix. 1, " The 
 heavens declare the glory of God ; and the firmament show- 
 eth his handy-work." Psal. cvii. 43, " Whoso is wise, and 
 will observe these things, even they shall understand the lov- 
 ing kindness of the Lord." 
 
 All God's people are strict observers of providence. They 
 know and feel that they are here under a system of discipline, 
 and that the events of providence, in connection with the 
 
lt>4 THE SINS FORBIDDEN IN 
 
 Word of God, are the instrument or means whereby they are 
 made meet for heaven. 
 
 QUESTION LV. 
 
 Having seen what is required in the third commandment, 
 we come to what is forbidden. 
 
 Quest. Wliat is forbidden in the third commandment ? 
 
 Ans. The third commandment forbiddeth all profaning or 
 abusing of anything whereby God maketh himself known. 
 
 Q. 1. What are some of the things whereby God maketh 
 himself known ? 
 
 A. His names, titles, attributes, ordinances, word, and 
 works. Gen. xvii. 1, " I am the Almighty God." Rev. 
 XV. 3, " King of saints." 1 Tim. i. 17, " The only wise 
 God." Psal. cxxxviii. 2, " Thou hast magnified thy word 
 above all thy name." Rev. xv. 3, " Great and marvellous 
 are thy works." 
 
 Q. 2. How are God's names, titles and attributes, pro- 
 faned ? 
 
 A. When used irreverently in ordinary conversation, or at 
 any time, without that outward reverence for God, and that 
 inward sense of his being and presence upon the mind, which 
 they ought to awaken. Lev. xix. 12, " And ye shall not 
 swear by my name falsely, neither shalt thou profane the 
 name of thy God : I am the Lord." 
 
 Q. 3. Wherein consists the sin of profaning the name, 
 titles and attributes of God ? 
 
 A. Li that it is a direct violation of God's revealed will, a 
 contempt of his glorious majesty, and an evident manifesta- 
 tion of hatred towards him, who is in himself so infinitely ex- 
 cellent. Matt. V. 3, " But I say unto you. Swear not at all," 
 &c. Psal. cxxxix. 20, " For they speak against thee wicked- 
 ly, and thine enemies take thy name in vain." 
 
 Q. 4. How are the ordinances of God profaned f 
 
 A. When not observed in obedience to God's revealed 
 will, desiring to glorify him by them, and not seeking to 
 have fellowship and comnmnion with God in them. 2 Tim. 
 iii. 5, " HavinfT a form of aodliness, but denvinfr the power 
 thereof." ^ ' . = r 
 
 Q. 5. Wherein consists the sin of profaning the ordi- 
 nances of God ? 
 
THE THIRD COMMANDMENT. 165 
 
 A. That, by observing them outwardly, while our liearts 
 are not engaged in them, we not only deceive our fellow- 
 worshippers, but presume also to deceive the heart-searching 
 God, inasmuch as we engage in his service in a manner alto- 
 gether unbecoming the majesty of him whom we profess to 
 worship. John iv. 24, " God is a Spirit : and they that wor- 
 ship him must worship him in spirit and in truth." Psal. 1. 
 16, 17, " But unto the wicked God saith. What hast thou to 
 do to declare my statutes, or that thou shouldest take my 
 covenant in thy mouth ? seeing thou hatest instruction, and 
 castest my words behind thee." 
 
 Q. 6. Hoiv is the Word of God profaned ? 
 
 A. When it is not carefully studied, believed in, and em- 
 braced, as the word of the living God ; or when perverted to 
 other ends than those for which it is given us. Jer. xxiii. 
 36, " And the burden of the Lord shall ye mention no more ; 
 for every man's word shall be his burden : for ye have per- 
 verted the words of the living God, of the Lord of hosts our 
 God." 
 
 Q. 7. Wherein consists the sin of profaning the Word 
 of God ? 
 
 A. That, by not receiving and believing it, we virtually 
 say that God is not worthy of credit ; and thereby turn the 
 very means by which he would reclaim us unto himself into 
 a ground of condemnation. 1 John v. 10, " He that believ- 
 eth not God hath made him a liar ; because he believeth not 
 the record that God gave of his Son." John v. 45, " Do not 
 think that I will accuse you to the Father : there is one that 
 accuseth you, even Moses, in whom ye trust." 
 
 Q. 8. How are the works of God profaned ? 
 
 A. When, instead of awakening in the mind a sense of 
 God's presence and goodness, they have the effect of shutting 
 him out of it ; or when turned into instruments of rebellion 
 against God. Hosea xiii. 6, " According to their pasture, 
 so were they filled ; they were filled, and their heart was 
 exalted ; therefore have they forgotten me." Deut. xxxii. 
 15, " But Jeshurun waxed fat, and kicked ; thou art waxen 
 fat, thou art grown thick, thou art covered with fatness ; then 
 he forsook God which made him, and lightly esteemed the 
 Rock of his salvation." 
 
 Q. 9. Wherein consists the sin of profaning the works 
 of God ? 
 
 A. In that it is not only a shutting of God, in so far as we 
 are able, out of the very world he created and governs ; but, 
 because he is long-suffering towards us, and unwilling that we 
 
166 THE REASONS ANNEXED TO 
 
 should perish, we take Hcence to sin, and become more and 
 more confirmed in our alienation from God. Eccl. viii. 11, 
 " Because sentence against an evil work is not executed 
 speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set 
 in them to do evil." 
 
 In these, and in a variety of other ways, are those things 
 whereby God maketh himself known, daily profaned and 
 abused, and that most holy and blessed name degraded, be- 
 fore which angels veil their faces and adore, and which is un- 
 to every holy and intelligent creature a strong tower and rock 
 of defence. 
 
 QUESTION LVI. 
 
 As we have seen what is required and forbidden in the 
 third commandment, we now come to the reason annexed 
 to it. 
 
 Quest. What is the reason annexed to the third com- 
 mandment ? 
 
 Ans. The reason annexed to the third commandment is, 
 That however the breakers of this commandment may escape 
 punishment from men, yet the Lord our God will not suffer 
 them to escape his righteous judgment. 
 
 Q. 1. What is the reason annexed to the third com- 
 mandment ? 
 
 A. That however the breakers of it may escape punish- 
 ment from men, they will not escape the righteous judgment 
 of God. Deut. xxviii. 58, 59, " If thou wilt not observe to 
 do all the words of this law that are written in this book, that 
 thou mayest fear this glorious and fearful name. The Lord 
 thy God ; then the Lord will make thy plagues wonderful." 
 
 Q. 2. When luill God punish the breakers of this com- 
 mandment ? 
 
 A. Sometimes in this life, as in the case of Uzzah and 
 Uzziah ; and there is no reason to doubt but that there are 
 many thousands in our own day, as there have been in former 
 days, who are pining away in their iniquities, for the breaking 
 of this commandment. Yet this being a dispensation of mercy 
 under which we now live, one event generally happens alike 
 to all — " To him that sweareth, and to him that feareth an 
 
THE THIRD COIVLMANDMENT. 167 
 
 oath." But very different it will be at the judgment day, 
 when God will vindicate his truth ; and when it will be made 
 manifest to all, that however the breakers of this command- 
 ment may have escaped punishment from men, the Lord 
 shall not suffer them to escape his righteous judgment. Lev. 
 X. 2, " And there went out fire from the Lord, and de- 
 voured them ; and they died before the Lord." Psal. 1. 22, 
 " Now consider this, ye that forget God, lest I tear you in 
 pieces, and there be none to deliver." 
 
 Since God will not hold them guiltless that take his name 
 in vain, but will visit, with indignation and wrath, all who 
 profane or abuse anything whereby he maketh himself known, 
 may we be led seriously to consider this, and to flee for refuge 
 to the Lord Jesus Christ, who hath magnified God's great 
 name ; so that, when he visiteth for this sin, we may be found 
 in Christ, not having our own righteousness, which is of the 
 law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, even the 
 righteousness which is of God by faith. 
 
 QUESTIONS LVII. & LVIII. 
 
 As we have seen the manner in which we are to worship 
 God, we now come to the time he hath set apart for doinor 
 so. 
 
 Quest. Which is the fourth commandment ? 
 
 Ans. The fourth commandment is, Remember the Sab- 
 bath-day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and 
 do all thy work ; but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the 
 Lord thy God, in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor 
 thy son, nor thy daughter, thy man-servant, nor thy maid- 
 servant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy 
 gates. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, 
 the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day : 
 wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed 
 it. 
 
 Quest. What is required in the fourth commandment? 
 
 Ans. The fourth commandment requireth the keeping holy 
 to God such set times as he hath appointed in his Word, 
 expressly one whole day in seven to be a holy Sabbath to 
 himself. 
 
168 THE DUTIES REQUIRED IN 
 
 Q. 1. Wliat is the first duty required in the fourth 
 commatidment ? 
 
 A. The keeping holy to God such set times as he hath ap- 
 pointed in his Word. Luke i. 6, " And they were both 
 righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and 
 ordinances of the Lord blameless." 
 
 Q. 2. Has God set apart any special portion of time 
 for his worship ? 
 
 A. Yes : he hath expressly appointed one whole day in 
 seven to be a holy Sabbath to himself. Exod. xxxi. 15, 
 " Six days may work be done ; but, in the seventh, is the 
 Sabbath of rest, holy to the Lord." 
 
 Q. 3. Is it morally binding to keep holy the Sabbath for 
 the worship of God ? 
 
 A. Yes : as moral beings, we are bound to devote a por- 
 tion of time entirely to the worship of God ; but the precise 
 amount of time is not of moral obligation otherwise than by 
 the positive enactment of God ; inasmuch as he might have 
 required a larger or smaller portion of time as it pleased him. 
 Luke iv. 8, " Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and 
 him only shalt thou serve." Exod. xvi. 26, " Six days ye 
 shall gather it ; but on the seventh day, which is the Sab- 
 bath, in it there shall be none." Mark ii. 27, " The Sabbath 
 was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. 
 
 Q. 4. Will any seventh portion of time do for the wor- 
 ship of God ? 
 
 A. No : we must keep the precise portion of time which 
 God hath appointed in his Word, and commanded us to ob- 
 serve. Deut. V. 12, " Keep the Sabbath-day to sanctify it, 
 as the Lord thy God hath commanded thee." 
 
 Q. 5. Is the tuhole day to be kept holy to God ? 
 
 A. Yes : the whole day is to be set apart, with scrupulous 
 care, for the public and private worship of God. Lev. xix. 
 30, " Ye shall keep my Sabbaths, and reverence my sanctu- 
 ary ; I am the Lord." 
 
 It is the whole day, and nothing less, that God hath set 
 apart for his service, and requires us to observe, and they who 
 practically know what a privilege it is to draw near to God 
 by means of his ordinances, will be ready to acknowledge that 
 the Sabbath is to them one of the most precious of these or- 
 dinances, esteeming it the holy of the Lord and honourable. 
 
THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT. 169 
 
 QUESTION LIX. 
 
 Having seen that God hath expressly appointed one day 
 in seven to be a holy Sabbath to himself, we now come to 
 which day of the seven he hath appointed to be the weekly 
 Sabbath. 
 
 Quest. Which day of the seven hath God appointed to 
 he the weekly Sabbath ? 
 
 Ans. From the beginning of the world to the resurrection 
 of Christ God appointed the seventh day of the week to be 
 the weekly Sabbath, and the first day of the week ever since, 
 to continue to the end of the world, which is the Christian 
 Sabbath. 
 
 Q. 1. Which day of the week hath God appointed to 
 be the uieekly Sabbath? 
 
 A. The first day of the week. Acts xx. 7, " And upon 
 the first day of the week, when the disciples were come toge- 
 ther to break bread, Paul preached unto them." 
 
 Q. 2. Which day of the week did God at first appoint 
 to be the weekly Sabbath ? 
 
 A. The seventh day, being the day immediately after 
 creation was finished, and while man was yet in a state of 
 innocence, so that there never was a week without a Sabbath. 
 Exod. xxxi. 15, " Six days may work be done, but in the 
 seventh is the Sabbath of rest, holy to the Lord." Gen. ii. 3, 
 " And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it ; be- 
 cause that in it he had rested from all his work which God 
 created and made." 
 
 Q. 3. Why did God appoint the seventh day to be a 
 holy Sabbath to himself? 
 
 A. Because on it he rested from the work of creation. 
 He might have chosen any other day had he so pleased, but 
 most appropriately did he choose that day on which, after 
 having made known his perfections by creation, he rested 
 and was refreshed. Exod. xxxi. 17, " For in six days the 
 Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he 
 rested and was refreshed." 
 
 Q. 4. Hoiu does it appear that the seventh day was the 
 most appropriate as a Sabbath of rest to be kept holy to 
 the Lord ? 
 
 A. From this : that by the work of creation God so un- 
 folded or made known his attributes and perfections to his 
 
170 THE SABBATH-DAY CHANGED. 
 
 intelligent creatures, as that they might know him, and so 
 love and serve him. Job xxxviii. 4, 7, " Where wast thou 
 when I laid the foundations of the earth. When the morn- 
 inor stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for 
 joy?" 
 
 Q. 5. WhT/ was the Sabbath changed from the seventh 
 to the first day of the week ? 
 
 A. To celebrate the resurrection of Christ, and the re- 
 demption of a lost world through him : his resurrection from 
 the dead being an open testimony of God's acceptance of his 
 finished and perfected work ; by Vhich he spoiled principali- 
 ties and powers, making a show of them openly. Rom. i. 4, 
 " And declared to be the Son of God with power, according 
 to tlie Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead." 
 Mark xvi. 9, " Now, when Jesus was risen early, the first 
 day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene." 
 
 Q. 6. Why should the Sabbath be changed^ on account 
 of Chrisfs resurrection, from the seventh to the first day 
 of the week ? 
 
 A. Because the work of Christ, considered merely in its 
 effects, is not only greater than the work of creation, but 
 also by the manifestation of Christ in our nature, there has 
 been made such a revelation of the Godhead, such a mani- 
 festation of the moral attributes and perfections of Jehovah, 
 as could never have been made by any mere act of creative 
 power. John i. 14, " And the Word was made flesh, and 
 dwelt among us (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of th{> 
 only begotten of the Father), full of grace and truth." John 
 xiv. 19, " He that hath seen me hath seen the Father." 
 
 Q. 7- Is there any express j^receft for the change of 
 the Sabbath from the seventh to the first day of the week ? 
 A. No : but we have what is equally satisfactory — the ex- 
 ample of our Lord himself, and the apostles, subsequent to his 
 resurrection, and the uniform practice of the Christian church 
 ever since ; and as the seventh day was selected to celebrate 
 the work of creation, so, in like manner, was the first day set 
 apart to keep in remembrance and celebrate the still more 
 glorious and stupendous work of redeeming grace and mercy ; 
 and as God did begin, on the seventh day after creation was 
 finished, to manifest himself more fully than he had done be- 
 fore, so did Jesus, on the first day of the week, being the day 
 on which he rose from the dead, begin to make such disco- 
 veries of himself to his disciples, as they had not hithei*to 
 known and understood ; and he has continued to do so to his 
 people on the first day of the week ever since, so as to set to 
 
THE SABBATH-DAY CHANGED. 171 
 
 it the seal of his own approbation. Matt. ii. 28, " Therefore 
 the Son of man is Lord of the Sabbath." Rev. i. 10, " I 
 was in the Spirit on the Lord's day. 
 
 All Christ's people have, in their own experience, a testi- 
 mony that the first day of the week is the Sabbath of holy 
 rest to the Lord, from the manifestations of divine love vouch- 
 safed to their souls on his holy day, and which causeth them 
 to say, " This is the day which the Lord hath made ; we will 
 rejoice and be glad in it. My soul shall be satisfied as with 
 marrow and fatness, and my mouth shall praise thee with ioy- 
 ful lips." 
 
 QUESTION LX. 
 
 Having seen which day of the seven God hath appointed to 
 be the weekly Sabbath, we now come to how the Sabbath is 
 to be sanctified. 
 
 Quest. How is the Sabbath to be sanctified ? 
 
 Ans. The Sabbath is to be sanctified by a holy resting all 
 that day, even from such worldly employments and recrea- 
 tions as are lawful on other days, and spending the whole 
 time in the public and private exercises of God's worship, ex- 
 cept so much as is to be taken up in the works of necessity 
 and mercy. 
 
 Q. 1. What are lue to understand by sanctifying the 
 Sabbath ? 
 
 A. That we keep the Sabbath-day in obedience to God's 
 commandment, cheerfully performing whatever duties he re- 
 quires, and carefully abstaining from whatever he has forbid- 
 den to be done on that holy day. Isa. Iviii. 13, 14, " If thou 
 turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing thy plea- 
 sure on my holy day ; and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy 
 of the Lord, honourable, and shalt honour him, not doing 
 thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking 
 thine own words : then shalt thou delight thyself in the 
 Lord," &c. 
 
 Q. 2. What are some of the things lue are to abstaiii 
 from doing on the Sabbath-day ? 
 
 A. All worldly employments and recreations, not only from 
 such as it is not lawful, but from such as it is our duty to en- 
 gage in on other days. Lev. xxiii. 3, " Six days shall work 
 
172 HOW THE SABBATH IS 
 
 be done, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of rest, an holy 
 convocation ; ye shall do work therein." 
 
 Q. 3. Whi/ are we to abstain from all worldly employ- 
 ments and recreations on the Sabbath day ? 
 
 A. Because God hath forbidden us ; and because these are 
 directly opposed to the duties and exercises of the holy Sab- 
 bath. Jer. xvii. 21, 22, " Thus saith the Lord, Take heed to 
 yourselves, and bear no burden on the Sabbath-day, nor bring 
 it in by the gates of Jerusalem : neither carry forth a bur- 
 den out of your houses on the Sabbath-day, neither do ye any 
 work ; but hallow ye the Sabbath-day, as I commanded your 
 fathers." 
 
 Q. 4. What are some of the duties we are to engage in 
 on the Sabbath day ? 
 
 A. The pubhc and private worship of God. Psal. xcix. 1,2, 
 " A psalm or song for the Sabbath-day. It is a good thing 
 to give thanks unto the Lord, and to sing praises unto thy 
 name, most High ; to shew forth thy loving kindness in the 
 morning and thy faithfulness every night." 
 
 Q. 5. Is it our duty to worship God 'publicly on the 
 Sabbath-day ? 
 
 A. Yes : inasmuch as having set apart the Sabbath for his 
 special worship, and instituted the preaching of the gospel and 
 celebration of the sacraments, it becomes our imperative duty 
 to observe them on that day. Heb. x. 25, " Not forsaking 
 the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some 
 is ; but exhorting one another," Acts xx. 7, " And upon the 
 first day of the week, when the disciples came together to 
 break bread, Paul preached unto them." 
 
 Q. 6. Is it a privilege to be permitted to worship God 
 in public on the Sabbath-day ? 
 
 A. Yes : inasmuch as God hath promised especially to meet 
 with his people in the sanctuary, and to bless them ; and the 
 experience of the saints in every age has been, that they ac- 
 counted it to be one of their richest blessings to worship God 
 in the assembly of his saints, and one of their heaviest trials to 
 be at any time deprived or prevented from doing so. Psal. 
 cxxxii. 13, 14, " For the Lord hath chosen Zion ; he hath 
 desired it for his habitation. This is my rest for ever : here 
 will I dwell, for I have desired it." 
 
 Q. 7. What are some of the private exercises in which it 
 is our duty to engage on the Sabbath-day ? 
 
 A. The reading of the Scriptures, meditation, and prayer, 
 and all other duties that may arise out of our several relations 
 in life, such as the instruction of children and servants, &c. 
 
TO BE SANCTIFIED. 173 
 
 Psal. cxix. 105, 15, " Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and 
 a light unto my path. I will meditate in thy precepts." Psal. 
 Ixii" 8, " Trust in him at all times, ye people ; pour out your 
 heart before him : God is a refuge for us." Gen. xviii. 19, 
 *' For I know him, that he will command his children and his 
 household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord." 
 
 Q. 8. Are not these duties incumbent upon us every 
 day ? 
 
 A. Yes : assuredly they are ; and just because they are so, 
 are they the more binding on the Sabbath-day — a day which, 
 in the riches of his grace and mercy, God hath given us to 
 prepare for eternity. Psal. cxix. 97, " how love I thy law ! 
 it is my meditation all the day." Ezek. xxxvi. 37, " Thus 
 saith the Lord God, I will yet for this be inquired of by the 
 house of Israel, to do it for them." 
 
 Q. 9. Is the whole of the Sabbath-day to be devoted to 
 the public and private worship of God ? 
 
 A. Yes : except so much as is taken up in the works of ne- 
 cessity and mercy, and such works are also our duty on the 
 Sabbath-day. Matt. xii. 11, 12, " And he said unto them, 
 What man shall there be among you that shall have one sheep, 
 and if it fall into a pit on the Sabbath day, will he not lay 
 hold on it, and lift it out ? Wherefore it is lawful to do well 
 on the Sabbath-day." 
 
 Let us here admire and adore the riches of God's grace, in 
 not only giving us a Sabbath-day, but also in commanding us 
 scrupulously to observe those means of worship by which he 
 manifests himself graciously to his people, and which, if cheer- 
 fully fallen in with, and rightly improved, will prepare us to 
 enjoy an eternal Sabbath of holy rest hereafter. 
 
 QUESTION LXL 
 
 Having seen how the Sabbath is to be sanctified, we now 
 come to what is forbidden in the fourth commandment. 
 
 Quest. What is forbidden in the fourth commandment? 
 
 Ans. The fourth commandment forbiddeth the omission, 
 or careless performance of the duties required, and the pro- 
 faning the day by idleness, or doing that which is in itself 
 sinful, or by unnecessary thoughts, words or works, about our 
 worldly employments or recreations, 
 
 p3 
 
174 THE SINS FORBIDDEN IN 
 
 Q. 1. What is the Jirst sin forbidden in the fourth com- 
 mandment ? 
 
 A. The omission or careless performance of the duties re- 
 quired. MaL i. 13, "Ye said also, Behold what a weariness 
 is it ; and ye have snufifed at it, saith the Lord of hosts ; and 
 ye brought that which was torn, and the lame, and the sick : 
 thus ye brought an offering, should I accept this of your 
 hand, saith the Lord ?" 
 
 Q. 2. Wherein consists the sin of our omitting, or care- 
 lessly performing^ the duties required in the fourth com- 
 mandment ? 
 
 A. In that it is a direct violation of a divine precept, and 
 a manifestation of enmity and dislike towards God ; inasmuch 
 as the duties required are peculiarly fitted and designed, ii* 
 observed in a proper frame of mind, to bring us near to God. 
 Isa. Ivi. 2, " Blessed is the man that doeth this, and the son 
 of man that layeth hold on it : that keepeth the Sabbath from 
 polluting it, and keepeth his hand from doing any evil." 
 Bom. viii. 7, " The carnal mind is enmity against God ; for 
 it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be." 
 
 Q. 3. What is the second sin forbidden in the fourth 
 commandment ? 
 
 A. The profaning the day by idleness, or doing that which 
 is in itself sinful. Ezek. xxiii. 38, " They have defiled my 
 sanctuary in the same day, and have profaned my Sabbaths." 
 
 Q. 4. Wherein consists the sin of idling away the Sab- 
 bath, or doing that tuhich is in itself sinful on it ? 
 
 A. In that we not only break a divine precept, but waste 
 the most precious of all time, that which has been given us to 
 prepare for eternity ; and consequently, to do also what is in 
 itself sinful on the Sabbath, is a comphcation of sin of the 
 deepest malignity. Jer. v. 9, " Shall I not visit for these 
 things ? saith the Lord, and shall not my soul be avenged on 
 such a nation as this ?" 
 
 Q. 5. What is the third sin forbidden in the fourth 
 commandment ? 
 
 A. Unnecessary thoughts, words or works, about our 
 worldly employments or recreations. Isa. Iviii. 13, " Not do- 
 ing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor 
 speaking thine own words." 
 
 Q. 6. Wherein consists the sin of unnecessary thoughts, 
 words, or luorks, about our worldly employments or recre- 
 ations on the Sabbath-day ? 
 
 A. In themselves they are not only a violation of a divine 
 precept, but they also tend to unfit us for engaging, in an ac- 
 
THE FOURTH COMMANDJVIENT. 175 
 
 ceptable manner, in either the pubhc or private exercises of 
 God's worship. Matt. vi. 24, " No man can serve two mas- 
 ters ; for either he will hate the one, and love the other ; or 
 else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye can- 
 not serve God and mammon." 
 
 Q. 7. Ts there any 'promise ^nade to such as refrain 
 from doing what is forbidden in the fourth command- 
 ment, and find pleasure in doing what it requires ? 
 
 A. Yes : there are many promises made to such, the rea- 
 sonableness of which is obvious, as a delight in the Sabbath, 
 and in the duties required on that blessed day, implies a state of 
 mind that is in the way of being prepared for the enjoyment 
 of an eternal Sabbath. Isa. Iviii. 14, " Then shalt thou de- 
 light thyself in the Lord ; and I will cause thee to ride upon 
 the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of 
 Jacob thy father ; for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it." 
 
 We need be at no loss to ascertain our state Godward ; for 
 if we but honestly analyse our views and feelings regarding 
 the Sabbath, and its sacred duties and privileges, we may ar- 
 rive at a very satisfactory conclusion. " He that hath my 
 commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me ; 
 and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I 
 will love him, and will manifest myself unto him." 
 
 QUESTION LXIL 
 
 Having seen what is forbidden in the fourth commandment, 
 we come to the reasons annexed to it. 
 
 Quest. What are the reasons annexed to the fourth 
 commandment ? 
 
 Ans. The reasons annexed to the fourth commandment are 
 God's allowing us six days of the week for our own employ- 
 ments, his challenging a special propriety in the seventh, his 
 own example, and his blessing the Sabbath-day. 
 
 Q. 1. What is the first reason annexed to the fourth 
 commandment ? 
 
 A. God's allowing us six days of the week for our own em- 
 ployments. Exod. xxxi. 15, " Six days may work be done, 
 but in the seventh is the Sabbath of rest. Wherefore the 
 children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath." 
 
 Q. 2. Wherein consists the strength of this reason ? 
 
176 THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT. 
 
 A. In that God, who hcos a supreme right to require what- 
 ever portion of time he pleaseth for his own worship, hath al- 
 lowed us six days for our own employments, and appointed 
 only one for himself. Deut. v. 13, 14, " Six days thou shalt 
 labour, and do all thy work ; but the seventh day is the Sab- 
 bath of the Lord, in it thou shalt not do any work." 
 
 Q. 3. What is the second reason annexed to the fourth 
 commandment ? 
 
 A. God's challenging a special propriety in the seventh. 
 Lev. xxiii. 3, " Ye shall do no work therein ; it is the Sab- 
 bath of the Lord in all your dwellings." 
 
 Q. 4. Wherein consists the strength of this reason ? 
 
 A. In that God, having set apart the Sabbath-day to be 
 kept holy to himself, and appointed ordinances, in the obser- 
 vance of which he manifests himself to his people, it becomes 
 robbery and sacrilege to alienate any part of it for our own 
 purposes. Psal. cxviii. 24, " This is the day which the Lord 
 hath made ; we will rejoice and be glad in it." 
 
 Q. 5. What is the third reason annexed to the fourth 
 commandment ? 
 
 A. The example of God. Exod. xxxi. 17, " For in six 
 days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh 
 day he rested, and was refreshed." 
 
 Q. 6. Wherein consists the strength of this reason ? 
 
 A. In that God, who is in himself essentially blessed, de- 
 rived from the development of his perfections and attributes 
 in creation such ineffable pleasure and delight, as that it could 
 be said he rested on the seventh day and was refreshed, be- 
 cause, by that development of himself, his intelligent crea- 
 tures might thereby know, and love, and enjoy him, as their 
 supreme good; and as there is in the person and work of 
 Christ a far more glorious and fuller manifestation of the 
 moral character and perfections ot God than any mere act 
 of creative power could unfold, if, after the example of God, 
 we do not find our supreme happiness in it, there is and 
 can be no other happiness or rest for us ; and that we 
 may enjoy or participate in this happiness in some mea- 
 sure even now, is one reason why the Lord our God hath 
 commanded us to keep holy the Sabbath-day. Heb. iv. 
 4, 5, 10, " For he spake in a certain place of the seventh day 
 in this wise, And God did rest the seventh day from all his 
 works. And in this place again. If they shall enter into my 
 rest. For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased 
 from his own works, as God did from his." Matt. xvii. 5, 
 " This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." Psal. 
 
THE FIFTH COMMANDMENT. 177 
 
 cxxxii. 14, " This is my rest for ever : here will I dwell ; for 
 I have desired it." 
 
 Q. 7. What is the fourth reason annexed to the fourth 
 commandment ? 
 
 A. God's blessing the Sabbath-day. Gen.ii. 3, " And God 
 blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it." 
 
 Q. 8. Wherein consists the strength of this reason ? 
 
 A. In that God hath not only sanctified, and set apart the 
 Sabbath to be kept holy to himself, but by his blessing ac- 
 companying the right observance of it, it becomes the means 
 of conveying to us the inestimable blessings of his grace, a 
 day on which God makes himself peculiarly known to his peo- 
 ple. Isa. Ixiv. 5, " Thou meetest him that rejoiceth and 
 worketh righteousness ; those that remember thee in thy 
 ways." 
 
 God hath in every age blessed the conscientious observers 
 of the Sabbath-day, by meeting with them in his house of 
 prayer, and making them joyful and glad by the light of his 
 countenance ; while in private their hearts have been made to 
 burn within them as they meditated on his holy Word, and 
 drew near to him in Jesus Christ as their reconciled God 
 and Father ; so that they have alway esteemed it their privi- 
 lege, their honour, and their true happiness, to keep the Sab- 
 bath-day holy, as the Lord their God hath commanded them. 
 
 QUESTIONS LXIII. h LXIV. 
 
 As we have now gone over the first table of the law, which 
 more immediately respects our duty to God, we come to the 
 second table, which more immediately respects our duty to 
 man, although it is still our duty to God, as he hath com- 
 manded it. 
 
 Quest. Which is the fifth commandment ? 
 
 Ans. The fifth commandment is, Honour thy father and 
 thy mother, that thy days may be long upon the land which 
 the Lord thy God giveth thee. 
 
 Quest. What is required in the fifth commandment ? 
 
 Ans. The fifth commandment requireth the preserving the 
 honour, and performing the duties, belonging to every one in 
 their several places and relations, as superiors, inferiors, or 
 equals. 
 
178 THE DUTIES REQUIRED IN 
 
 Q. 1. Who are the superiors referred to in what is re- 
 quired in the fifth commandment ? 
 
 A. Parents, masters, and magistrates. Eph. vi. 1, 5, 
 " Children, obey your parents in the Lord ; for this is right. 
 Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters accord- 
 ing to the flesh." Rom. xiii. 1, " Let every soul be subject 
 unto the higher powers." 
 
 Q. 2. Who are the inferiors referred to in what is re- 
 quired in the fifth command.ment ? 
 
 A. Children, servants, and subjects. Luke ii. 51, " And 
 he went down with them, and was subject unto them." Eph. 
 vi. 9, " And ye masters, do the same things unto them, for- 
 bearing threatening, knowing that your Master also is in 
 heaven." 1 Pet. ii. 14, Governors are " for the punishment 
 of evil-doers, and for the praise of them that do well." 
 
 Q. 3. Who are the equals referred to in what is re- 
 quired in the fifth commandment ? 
 
 A. Children of the same family, and all our acquaintances 
 who are on a level with ourselves. Rom. xii. 10, "Be kindlv 
 affectioned one to another, with brotherly love, in honour pre- 
 ferring one another." 
 
 Q. 4. Wliat are some of the duties of children to their 
 parents^ required in the fifth commandment ? 
 
 A. To honour them with outward reverence, and inward 
 esteem, to receive their instructions, and cheerfully to obey 
 all their commands. Lev. xix. 3, " Ye shall fear every man 
 his mother and his father : I am the Lord your God." Prov. 
 i. 8, 9, " My son, hear the instruction of thy father, and for- 
 sake not the law of thy mother : for they shall be an orna- 
 ment of grace unto thy head, and chains about thy neck." 
 
 Q. 5. Can a child he pZctcecZ in any circumstances that 
 would free him from his obligation to honour and obey 
 his parents ? 
 
 A. No : for whatever be the character or condition of his 
 parents, it is the revealed will of God that he honour and 
 obey them ; unless their commands are inconsistent with the 
 law of God or contrary to it. Col. iii. 20, " Children obey your 
 parents in all things ; for this is well-pleasing to the Lord." 
 
 Q. 6. What are some of the duties of parents to their 
 children, required in the fifth commandment ? 
 
 A. To provide things necessary for them, to protect and 
 instruct them, and exercise their authority over them in love 
 and in the fear of God. Eph. vi. 4, " And, ye fathers, pro- 
 voke not your children to wrath ; but bring them up in the 
 nurture and admonition of the Lord." 
 
THE FIFTH COMMANDMENT. 179 
 
 Q. 7. Can anything set a parent free from his obliga- 
 tion to discharge the duties he owes to his childrevi ? 
 
 A. 'No : unless it be the want of power on his part ; inas- 
 much as God hath placed them under his charge, to the end 
 that he might train them up for him, and will one day call 
 him to an account as to how he has performed his duties to- 
 wards them. Prov. xxii. 6, " Train up a child in the way he 
 should go ; and when he is old, he will not depart from it." 
 
 Q. 8. What are some of the duties of servants to their 
 masters, required in the fifth commandment ? 
 
 A. Respect for their persons, submission to their authority, 
 and diligence and honesty in the discharge of their duties. 
 Col. iii. 22, " Servants, obey in all things your masters accord- 
 ing to the flesh, not with eye-service, as men-pleasers ; but in 
 singleness of heart, fearing God." 
 
 Q. 9. What are some of the duties of masters to their 
 servants, required in the fifth commandment ? 
 
 A. That their commands be just, and their authority ex- 
 ercised in a mild and becoming manner ; instructing them in 
 their duty to God, and using their influence over them to 
 keep his law. Col. iv. 1, " Masters, give unto your servants 
 that which is just and equal ; knowing that ye also have a 
 Master in heaven." 
 
 Q. 10. What are some of the duties of subjects to the 
 magistrate required in the fifth commandment? 
 
 A. To honour their persons in virtue of their office, to be 
 obedient to their laws, if they are not inconsistent with the 
 law of God, and to pray for them. 1 Pet. ii. 17, " Honour 
 the king." Rom. xiii. 1, " Let every soul be subject unto 
 the higher powers." 1 Tim. ii. 1,2, "I exhort, therefore, 
 that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and 
 giving of thanks, be make for all men ; for kings, and for all 
 that are in authority." 
 
 Q. 11. What are some of the duties of magistrates to 
 their subjects, required in the fifth commandment ? 
 
 A. That they make just and equal laws, based on the word 
 of God, and be impartial in the administration of justice, rul- 
 ing in the fear of God. 2 Sam. xxiii. 3, " He that ruleth 
 over men must be just, ruling in the fear of God." 
 
 Q. 12. What are some of the duties of equals to one 
 another, required in the fifth commandment ? 
 
 A, That they be kindly affectioned to one another, in 
 honour preferring one another, and always do to others as 
 they would that others should do to them. Matt. xxii. 39, 
 " Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself." 
 
180 THE SINS FORBIDDEN IN 
 
 If we make this principle our guide in our intercourse with 
 one another, we will at no time be at any loss to know how 
 to act, whatever may be our relation in life, or however com- 
 plicated may be the duties arising out of it, as it will be to u.s 
 a light unto our feet, and a lamp unto our path. 
 
 QUESTION LXV. 
 
 Having seen what is required in the fifth commandment, 
 we now come to what is forbidden. 
 
 Quest. What is forbidden in the fifth commandment? 
 
 Ans. The fifth commandment fori3iddeth the neglecting 
 of, or doinor any thinor against the honour and duty which 
 belongeth to every one in their several places and relations. 
 
 Q. 1. In how many tuays tnay we he guilty of doing 
 luhat is forbidden in the fifth commandment ? 
 
 A. Two : either by neglecting to do what is required, or 
 by doing what is forbidden. Rom. xiii. 7, 8, " Render, 
 therefore, to all their due ; tribute to whom tribute is due, 
 custcm to whom custom, fear to whom fear, honour to whom 
 honour. Owe no man any thing, but to love one another." 
 
 Q. 2. What are some of the sins of children to their 
 jyarents, forbidden in the fifth commandment ? 
 
 A. Despising or neglecting them in any way, and not 
 cheerfully complying with their commands, and receiving 
 their instruction ; and such conduct being contrary to the 
 law of God and natural feeling, if unrepented of, seldom fails 
 to draw down upon them the curse of God. Prov. xxx. 17, 
 *' The eye that mocketh at his father, and despiseth to obey 
 his mother, the ravens of the valley shall pick it out, and the 
 young eagles shall eat it." 
 
 Q. 3. What are some of the sins of parents to their 
 children, forbidden in the fifth commandment ? 
 
 A. Encouraging them either by precept or example in 
 what is contrary to the law of God, or in not teaching them 
 their duty, and using their influence over them so as to bring 
 them to fear, and love, and serve God. Prov. xxix. 15, 17, 
 " The rod and reproof give wisdom : but a child left to him- 
 self bringeth his mother to shame. Correct thy son, and he 
 shall give thee rest ; yea, he shall give delight unto thy soul." 
 
 Q.'4. What are some of the sins of servants to their 
 masters, forbidden in the fifth commandment ? 
 
THE FIFTH COMMANDMENT. 181 
 
 A. Slighting and despising their persons, disobeying their 
 commands, contemning their instructions, and being unfaith- 
 ful in the discharge of their duty. 1 Tim. vi. 1, " Let as 
 many servants as are under the yoke count their own masters 
 worthy of all honour, that the name of God and his doctrine 
 be not blasphemed." 
 
 Q. 5. What are some of the sins of masters to their ser- 
 vants, forbidden in the fifth commandment ? 
 
 A. Kequiring them to do what is sinful, or, by example, 
 encouraging them in what is evil, and in withholding from 
 them their just and lawful rights. James v. 4, " Behold, the 
 hire of the labourers, which have reaped down your fields, 
 which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth : and the cries of 
 them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the 
 Lord of sabaoth." 
 
 Q. 6. What are some of the sins of subjects to their 
 magistrates, forbidden in the fifth commandment ? 
 
 A. Rebelling against their authority, treasonably seeking 
 their overthrow, disobeying their laws, and withholding the 
 respect that is due to their persons and governments, &c. 
 Prov. xvii. 11, " An evil man seeketh only rebellion; there- 
 fore a cruel messenger shall be sent against him." 
 
 Q. 7. What are some of the sins of magistrates to their 
 subjects, forbidden in the fifth commandment ? 
 
 A, Oppression and cruelty in their government, having 
 laws at variance with the law of God, and by their example 
 encouraging vice and wickedness, and depressing righteous- 
 ness and virtue. Psal. xii. 8, " The wicked walk on every 
 side, when the vilest men are exalted." 
 
 Q. 8. What are some of the sitis of equals to one an- 
 other, forbidden in the fifth commandinent ? 
 
 A, Hating, envying, and speaking evil of one another, or 
 in any way injuring the character or outward estate of each 
 other. Eph. iv. 31, 32, "Let all bitterness, and wrath, and 
 anger, and clamour, and evil-speaking, be put away from 
 you, with all malice ; and be ye kind, one to another, tender- 
 hearted, forgiving one another." 
 
 We must not neglect any of the duties we owe to our fel- 
 low-men, whether as superiors, inferiors, or equals, or in any 
 way encroach on the rights of others, but are commanded to 
 " Owe no man any thing, but to love one another." 
 
182 THE REASON ANNEXED TO 
 
 QUESTION LXVI. 
 
 Having seen what is forbidden in the fifth commandment, 
 we now come to the reason annexed to it. 
 
 Quest. What is the reason annexed to the fifth com- 
 mandment ? 
 
 Ans. The reason annexed to the fifth commandment is, a 
 promise of long Hfe and prosperity (as far as it shall serve for 
 God's glory and their own good) to all such as keep this com- 
 mandment. 
 
 Q. 1. What is the nature of the reason annexed to the 
 fifth commandment ? 
 
 A. A promise of long life and prosperity. Eph. vi. 2, 3, 
 " Honom- thy father and mother (which is the first command- 
 mandment with promise), that it may be well with thee, and 
 thou mayest live long on the earth." 
 
 Q. 2. Is the 'promise unqualified or conditional ? 
 
 A. Conditional : being only in so far as it shall serve for 
 God's glory and their good ; and upon any other terms no 
 child of God's would desire it. Psal. xci. 16, " With long 
 life will I satisfy him, and show him my salvation." 
 
 Q. 3. Was the promise unqualified as originally given 
 to the children of Israel? 
 
 A. Yes : inasmuch as the ten commandments given to the 
 children of Israel at Sinai, formed also the conditions of a co- 
 venant, on their observance of which they were to hold in 
 peaceable possession the land of Canaan, and in which cove- 
 nant, in connection with this promise, it was provided that he 
 who violated it should be put to death. Deut. xxxi. 9, " And 
 Moses wrote this law, and delivered it unto the priests, the 
 sons of Levi, which bare the ark of the covenant of the Lord, 
 and unto all the elders of Israel." Exod. xxi. 17, " And he 
 that curseth his father or his mother shall surely be put to 
 death." 
 
 Q. 4. Are the duties required^ and the sins forbidden 
 in the fifth commandment, as binding upon us as they 
 were on the Jews ? 
 
 A. Yes : although, from our being under a diflPerent dis- 
 pensation from what the Jews were, tempoml mercies and 
 judgments do not so infallibly accompany our obedience or 
 disobedience in this life ; yet assuredly the time will come 
 when God will fulfil every promise, and execute every threat- 
 
THE FIFTH COMMANDMENT. 183 
 
 ening annexed to his law ; which law, being of perpetual ob- 
 ligation, is binding under every dispensation. Matt. v. 18, 
 " Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no 
 wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled." 
 
 The reason annexed to the fifth commandment is as power- 
 ful now as it ever was ; for although it may not be caiTied 
 into effect after the same manner as in the case of the Jews, 
 yet assuredly, both they who keep and they who break this 
 commandment, will sooner or later find in their experience, 
 that God is faithful to all his promises. 
 
 QUESTIONS LXVII. & LXVIII. 
 
 As we have seen what is required and forbidden in the 
 fifth commandment, we now come to the sixth commandment. 
 
 Quest. Which is the sixth commandment ? 
 
 Ans. The sixth commandment is, Thou shalt not kill. 
 
 Quest. What is required in the sixth commandment '^ 
 
 Ans. The sixth commandment requireth all lawful endea- 
 vours to preserve our own life, and the life of others. 
 
 Q. 1. What is the first duty required in the sixth com" 
 mandment ? 
 
 A. All lawful endeavours to preserve our own life. Eph. 
 V. 29, " For no man hateth his own flesh, but nourisheth it 
 and cherisheth it." 
 
 Q. 2. Are they only lawful endeavours ive are to use to 
 preserve our own life ? 
 
 A. Yes : they are only such endeavours as are sanctioned 
 by the Word of God, inasmuch as, were we to use any other, 
 we might indeed preserve our natural life, but would thereby 
 bring upon ourselves a far heavier calamity than the loss of it, 
 even exclusion from the divine presence. Matt. x. 33, " Who- 
 soever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before 
 my Father which is in heaven." Matt. xvi. 25, 26, " Who- 
 soever will save his life shall lose it. What is a man profited, 
 if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul ?" 
 
 Q. 3. How does it appear to he our duty to use all law- 
 ful endeavours to preserve our own life ? 
 
 A. God hath commanded us, and given us life that we 
 might dedicate it to his service and glory in the world, and 
 to provide for those who are more immediately dependent on 
 
184 THE DUTIES REQUIRED IN 
 
 US ; and neither of which ends can be served after our natu- 
 ral life is taken from us. Isa. xliii, 7, " i or I have created 
 him for my glory, I have formed him ; yea, I have made 
 him." 1 Tim. v. 8, " But if any provide not for his own, 
 and especially for those of his own house, he hath denied the 
 faith, and is worse than an infidel." 
 
 Q. 4. Is it only our natural life that we are required to 
 use all lawful endeavours to ^preserve ? 
 
 A. No : we are also to use every lawful endeavour to pre- 
 serve the life of the soul, inasmuch as it is infinitely more pre- 
 cious than the life of the body; our most watchful endeavours 
 are to be directed to it, attending diligently, and waiting upon 
 every means of grace God hath given us. Matt. xvi. 26, 
 " For what is a man profited, if he should gain the whole 
 world, and lose his own soul ? or what shall a man give in 
 exchange for his soul ?" 
 
 Q. 5. What is the second duty required in the sixth 
 commandme7it ? 
 
 A. That we use all lawful endeavours to preserve the life 
 of others, comforting them in soitow, sympathising with them 
 in distress, and if in want, supplying, them according to our 
 ability. Heb. xiii. 16, " But to do good, and to communi- 
 cate, forget not ; for with such sacrifices God is well pleased." 
 
 Q. 6. Is it only the natural life of others that lue are 
 required to make all lawful endeavours to presci^ve ? 
 
 A. No : we are also to use every lawful endeavour to pre- 
 serve the life of their souls, leading them to the use of all the 
 means of grace that God hath appointed in his Word, and by 
 a consistent walk and conversation, to show them the holy and 
 happy tendency of the gospel. James v. 20, " Let him know 
 that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way 
 shall save a soul from death ; and shall hide a multitude of 
 sins." Matt. v. 14, " Ye are the light of the world. A city 
 that is set on an hill cannot be hid." 
 
 We are bound to use all lawful endeavours to preserve our 
 own life, and the life of others ; to avoid everything that 
 would injure our health, or put our life in peril, unless law- 
 iully called thereto. But we are especially required to pre- 
 serve the life of our souls, although it should be at the expense 
 of the life of the body : in such cases we are not to hesitate 
 for a moment ; for '' whosoever will save his life shall lose it." 
 
THE SIXTH COMMANDMENT. 185 
 
 QUESTION LXIX. 
 
 Having seen what is required in the sixth commandment, 
 we now come to what is forbidden. 
 
 Quest. What is forbidden in the sixth commandment ? 
 
 Ans. The sixth commandment forbiddeth the taking away 
 of our own hfe, or the hfe of our neighbour unjustly, or wliat- 
 soever tendeth thereunto. 
 
 Q. 1. Wliat is the Jirst sin forbidden in the sixth corn^ 
 mandment ? 
 
 A, The taking away of our own Hfe. Acts xvi. 28, " Paul 
 cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm." 
 
 Q. 2. Wherein consists the sin of taking away our own 
 life? 
 
 A. In that it is a direct violation of a divine precept, and 
 in taking it away ourselves we usurp his authority, and call in 
 question the wisdom and goodness of his deahngs toward us, 
 and as life is a grant from him, he only has the right to de- 
 termine when to take it away. Job xiv. 14, " All the days 
 of my appointed time will I wait, till my change come." Job 
 vii. 1, "Is there not an appointed time to man upon earth ?" 
 
 Q, 3. WJierein consists the sin of killing the soul ? 
 
 A. In that it is so much more precious than the life of the 
 body, as being that in which the image of God consists, and 
 for the life of which he has made such wondrous provision in 
 his Word, by sending his own Son to die for us, and, through 
 him, offering the gift of the Holy, Spirit, to enable us to turn 
 unto him and live, and continuing to address us by the most 
 solemn warnings and expostulations, saying, " O do not that 
 abominable thing which I hate. Turn ye, turn ye, why will 
 ye die ?" Prov. viii. 37, " But he that sinneth against me 
 wrongeth his own soul : all they that hate me love death." 
 
 Q. 4. What is the second sin forbidden in the sixth com- 
 mandment ? 
 
 A, The taking away the life of our neighbour unjustly. 
 Gen. ix. 6, " Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his 
 blood be shed." 
 
 Q. 5. Wherein consists the sin of taking away the life 
 of our neighbour unjustly ? 
 
 A. That, besides being a violation of a divine precept, 
 " Thou shalt not kill," it is a defacing of the image of God, 
 in which man was created, and a usurping of his authority , 
 
 q3 
 
186 THE SINS FORBIDDEN, &c. 
 
 unless called to it in self-defence. Gen. ix. 6, " For in the 
 image of God made ho man." Rom. xii. 19, " Vengeance 
 is mine ; I will repay, saith the Lord." 
 
 Q. 6. Wherein consists the sin of injuring the soul of 
 our neighbour ? 
 
 A. In that, if it be a sin to injure their bodies, it is cer- 
 tainly a more aggravated sin to injure their souls ; inasmuch 
 as we are required carefully to avoid everything that would 
 harden them in their sin, or prejudice them against the tmth 
 as it is in Jesus. Matt, xviii. 7, " Woe unto the world be- 
 cause of offences." 1 Cor. viii. 13, " Wherefore, if meat 
 make my brother to offend, I will eat no flesh while the world 
 standeth, lest I make my brother to offend." 
 
 Q. 7. What is the third sin forbidden in the sixth com- 
 mandment ? 
 
 A. Our doing anything that tends indirectly to take away 
 either our own or our neighbour's life, or having the means 
 of preserving either in our power, and not using them. Prov. 
 xxiv. 11, 12, " If thou forbear to deliver them that are 
 drawn unto death, and those that are ready to be slain ; if 
 thou say est. Behold, we knew it not ; doth not he that pon- 
 dereth the heart consider it ? and he that keepeth thy soul, 
 doth not he know it ? and shall not he render to every man 
 according to his works ?" 
 
 We are not only forbidden to imbrue our hands in a bro- 
 ther's blood, but are commanded carefully to avoid everything 
 which has a tendency thereunto, — all angry and revengeful 
 feelings, all manner of repining, and distrustful thoughts. " Ye 
 have heard that it was said by them of old time. Thou shalt not 
 kill ; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judg- 
 ment. But I say unto you, that whosoever is angry with his 
 brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment ; 
 and whosoever shall say to his brother, Baca, shall be in dan- 
 ger of the council : but whosoever shall say. Thou fool, shall 
 be in danger of hell-fire." 
 
 QUESTIONS LXX. & LXXI. 
 
 Having seen what is required and forbidden in the sixth 
 commandment, we now come to the seventh. 
 
 Quest. WhicJi is the seventh commandment ? 
 
THE DUTIES REQUIRED, &c. 18? 
 
 Ans. The seventh commandment is, Thou shalt not com- 
 mit adultery. 
 
 Quest. What is required in the seventh commandment ? 
 
 Ans. The seventh commandment requireth the preserva- 
 tion of our own, and our neighbour's chastity, in heart, speech, 
 and behaviour. 
 
 Q. 1. What is the first duty required in the seventh 
 commandment ? 
 
 A. The preservation of our own chastity. 1 Thess. iv. 
 3, 4, " For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, 
 that ye should abstain from fornication : that every one of 
 you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and 
 honour." 
 
 Q. 2. Wherein does the seventh commandment require 
 us to 'preserve our chastity ? 
 
 A. In our heart, by carefully guarding the mind against 
 the first motion of a temptation ; in our speech, by studi- 
 ously avoiding all improper and indelicate conversation ; in 
 our behaviour, by shunning the first appearance of evil. Prov. 
 iv. 23, " Keep thy heart with all diligence." Col. iv. 6, 
 " Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt." 
 1 Pet. iii. 2, " While they behold your chaste conversation 
 coupled with fear." 
 
 Q. 3. What are the most effectual means for preserving 
 our chastity ? 
 
 A. The diligent and daily study of the Word of God, ac- 
 companied with fervent prayer for the enlightening and 
 sanctifying influences of the Holy Spirit, to subdue every fri- 
 volous and vain thought. Psal. cxix. 9, " Wherewithall shall 
 a young man cleanse his way ? By taking heed thereto ac- 
 cording to thy word." 1 Pet. iv. 7, *' Be ye therefore sober, 
 and watch unto prayer." Psal. cxix. 133, " I hate vain 
 thoughts : but thy law do I love." 
 
 Q. 4. Will the diligent reading and studying of the 
 Woi'd of God of itself be sujicient to preserve our chas- 
 tity ? 
 
 A. No : unless accompanied by the influences of the Holy 
 Spirit ; but when so accompanied, and taking it as our guide, 
 and confiding in its many promises of divine aid, it will be 
 all-powerful in pulling down every stronghold of Satan, and 
 captivating every feeling of our nature into the obedience of 
 Christ. 2 Tim. ii. 1, " Thou therefore, my son, be strong in 
 the grace that is in Christ Jesus." 
 
 Q. 5. What is the most powerful motive to the preser- 
 vation of our chastity ? 
 
188 THE SINS FORBIDDEN IN 
 
 A. A habitual sense of the Divine presence, a vivid rea- 
 hsing conception of the majesty, purity, and hoHness of God, 
 which will render powerless the most insinuating tempta- 
 tion, and effectually uphold every one that lives under an 
 abiding sense of it. Psal. xvi. 8, " I have set the Lord al- 
 ways before me : because he is at my right hand, I shall not 
 be moved." 
 
 Q. 6. JVhcit is the second duty required in the seventh 
 commandment ? 
 
 A. That we be careful to preserve the chastity of our neigh- 
 bour, in heart, speech, and behaviour. Prov. iii. 29, " Devise 
 not evil against thy neighbour, seeing he dwelleth securely l)y 
 thee." 
 
 Q. 7. How ought we to conduct ourselves so as to pre- 
 serve the chastity of our neighbour ? 
 
 A, By carefully avoiding everything in look, word, and 
 manner, that would have a tendency to awaken m our neigh- 
 bour impure feelings ; and if, at any time, such feelings should 
 be manifested in our presence, by reproving, and showing our 
 abhorrence of them. Eph. v. 11, " And have no fellowship 
 with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove 
 them." 
 
 It is alike our duty and privilege to preserve our own, and 
 our neighbour's chastity ; for it is only the pure in heart that 
 can see God. Assuredly they who cherish impure and un- 
 clean desires and affections can neither enjoy him now, nor in 
 the life to come. 
 
 QUESTION LXXII. 
 
 Having seen what is required in the seventh command- 
 ment, we now come to what is forbidden. 
 
 Quest. What is forbidden in the seventh command- 
 ment ? 
 
 Ans. The seventh commandment forbiddeth all unclean 
 thoughts, words, and actions. 
 
 Q. 1. What is the first sin forbidden in the seventh 
 commandment ? 
 
 A. All unchaste thoughts. Matt. v. 28, " Whosoever 
 looketh on a woman to lust after her, hath committed adul- 
 tery with her already in his heart." 
 
THE SEVENTH COMMANDMENT. 189 
 
 Q. 2. Wherein consists the guilt of unchaste thoughts ? 
 
 A. In that it is a violation of the law of God : inasmuch as 
 in his sight who sees every movement of the inner man, the 
 action, in so far as we are concerned, and have the power of 
 carrying into effect, is already done ; and, besides, it is a 
 defiling of that temple which ought to be the dwelling-place 
 of the Holy Ghost. Psal. cxxxix. 2, " Thou understandest 
 my thoughts afar off." 1 Cor. vi. 19, " What, know ye not 
 that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost, which is in 
 you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own." 
 
 Q. 3. Wliat is the second sin forbidden in the seventh 
 commandmeiit ? 
 
 A. All unchaste words. Eph. v. 4, " Neither filthiness, 
 nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient." 
 
 Q. 4. Wherein consists the guilt of unchaste words ? 
 
 A. In that it is not only a sure testimony that he who ut- 
 ters them has broken the law of God, and is himself impure, 
 but also endeavours to draw his neio;hbour into the same state 
 of impurity and condemnation. Matt. xv. 18, 19, " But 
 those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from 
 the heart : and they defile the man. For out of the heart 
 proceed adulteries." Prov. xxii. 14. " The mouth of strange 
 women is a deep pit : he that is abhorred of the Lord shall 
 fall therein." 
 
 Q. 5. Wliat is the third sin forbidden in the seventh 
 commandment ? 
 
 A. All unchaste actions. Eph. v. 3, " Fornication, and 
 all uncleanness, let it not once be named among you." 
 
 Q. 6. Wherein consists the guilt of unchaste actions ? 
 
 A. In that it is a setting at defiance the law and omni- 
 presence of God, and an actual defiling both of our own and 
 our neighbour's soul, and is sure of being visited with eternal 
 punishment, if speedy repentance and faith in Christ Jesus 
 prevent not. Eph. v. 6, " Let no man deceive you with 
 vain words ; for because of these things cometh the wrath of 
 God upon the children of disobedience." 
 
 Q. 7. Are adultery and fornication heinous sins in the 
 sight of God ? 
 
 A. Yes : inasmuch as they are alike defiling to the soul 
 and body, and involving, as they do, so many parties in guilt, 
 never fail, sooner or later, to draw down the righteous judg- 
 ment of heaven. 1 Cor. vi. 18, " Flee fornication. Every 
 sin that a man doeth is without the body ; but he that com- 
 mitteth fornication sinneth against his own body." 
 
190 THE DUTIES REQUIRED IN 
 
 Adultery and fornication are heinous and aoraravated sins, 
 concerning which it is the recorded declaration or Him who 
 cannot lie, that " neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adul- 
 terers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with man- 
 kind, shall inherit the kingdom of God." Yet, in this life, 
 even for these heaven-daring sins there is a remedy, — the 
 blood of Christ cleanseth from all sin. " And such were 
 some of you, but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye 
 are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit 
 of our God." 
 
 QUESTIONS LXXIII & LXXIV. 
 
 Having seen what is required and forbidden in the seventh 
 commandment, we now come to the eighth commandment. 
 
 Quest. Which is the eighth commandment ? 
 
 Ans. The eighth commandment is, Thou shalt not steal. 
 
 Quest. What is required in the eighth commandment ? 
 
 Ans. The eighth commandment requireth the lawful pro- 
 curino; and furthering the wealth and outward estate of our- 
 selves and others. 
 
 Q. 1. What is the first duty required in the eight Jc 
 commandment ? 
 
 A. The lawful procuring and furthering the wealth and 
 outward estate of ourselves. Rom. xii. 17, " Provide things 
 honest in the sight of all men." 
 
 Q. 2. Is it the duty of every man to engage in a lawful 
 calling ? 
 
 A. Yes : it being the ordination of God, that by the sweat 
 of his brow shall he eat bread until he return to the ground. 
 2 Thess. iii. 10, " This we commanded you, that if any would 
 not work, neither should he eat." 
 
 Q. 3. Is it our duty to endeavour to get luealth ? 
 
 A. Yes : in a lawful and scriptural way, guided by proper 
 motives, so that our outward estate and influence for doing 
 good may be increased. Prov. xii. 11, " He that tilleth his 
 land shall be satisfied with bread." Prov. xii. 24, *' The 
 hand of the dilio-ent shall bear rule." 
 
 Q. 4. What are the motives that shoidd govern us in 
 our daily calling ? 
 
 A. A supreme regard for the command of God, who hath 
 enjoined us to labour for our daily bread, a desire that we 
 
THE EIGHTH COMMANDMENT. 191 
 
 may not be a burden to any one, but may have to give to 
 them that need ; and, especially, that we may lay it out for 
 the advancement of God's glory. Eph. iv. 28, " Let him 
 labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that 
 he may have to give to him that needeth." 1 Cor. x. 31, 
 " Whether, therefore, ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, 
 do all to the glory of God." 
 
 Q. 5. Has God promised that his blessing shall accom- 
 pany/ diligence in business ? 
 
 A. Yes : he assures us that the hand of the diligent mak- 
 eth rich. Prov. xxii. 29, " Seest thou a man diligent in 
 his business ? he shall stand before kings ; he shall not stand 
 before mean men." 
 
 Q. 6. Does success in business invariably attend dili- 
 gence and attention ? 
 
 A. No : the same measure of success does not always at- 
 tend diligence and attention, yet it always does so, in so far 
 as success is for God's glory and our good ; and even, in such 
 cases, when it fails, it carries with it its own reward in the 
 conscious feeling of having done our duty. Prov. xvi. 33, 
 " The lot is cast into the lap ; but the whole disposing thereof 
 is of the Lord." 
 
 Q, 7. Is it our duty to be satisfied with whatever mea- 
 sure of success God sees meet to give us ? 
 
 A. Yes : inasmuch as it is our duty to be diligent and at- 
 tentive to business whatever may be our measure of success, 
 leaving that entirely in the hand of God, and simply confid- 
 ing in his gracious promise, that what is good he will not 
 withhold from us. Heb. xiii. 5, " Let your conversation be 
 without covetousness ; and be content with such things as ye 
 have : for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake 
 thee." 
 
 Q. 8. What is the second duty required in the eighth 
 commandment ? 
 
 A. The lawful furthering of the wealth and outward estate 
 of others. Lev. xxv. 35, " If thy brother be waxen poor, 
 and fallen in decay with thee, then thou shalt relieve him." 
 
 Q. 9. What are some of the ivays in which we are re- 
 quired to assist others ? 
 
 A. By our means, if in our power ; by our counsel and ad- 
 vice ; and especially by our prayers. Phil. ii. 4, " Look not 
 every man on his own things, but every man also on the things 
 of others." 
 
 It is our duty to be diligent in business, and fervent in 
 
192 THE SINS FORBIDDEN IN 
 
 spirit, serving the Lord, leaving the measure of success in his 
 hand, and, having food and raiment, to be therewith content ; 
 and if blessed with this world's goods, to be ready to commu- 
 nicate as God hath prospered us. 
 
 QUESTION LXXV. 
 
 Having seen what is required in the eighth commandment, 
 we now come to what is forbidden. 
 
 Quest. What is forhidden in the eighth commandment? 
 
 Ans. The eighth commandment forbiddeth whatsoever 
 doth or may unjustly hinder our own or x>ur neighbour's 
 wealth or outward estate. 
 
 Q. 1. What is the first sin forhidden in the eighth com- 
 mandment ? 
 
 A. Whatsoever doth or may unjustly hinder our own 
 wealth or outward estate. 1 Tim. v. 8, " If any man pro- 
 vide not for his own, and especially for those of his own 
 house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel." 
 Prov. xxi. 6, " The getting of treasures by a lying tongue is 
 a vanity tossed to and fro of them that seek death." 
 
 Q. 2. What is the first great hinderance to the procur- 
 ing of lawful wealth forbidden in the eighth command- 
 ment ? 
 
 A. Idleness and bad company : the one necessarily, in al- 
 most every case, following upon the other. Prov. xix. 15,, 
 " Sloth fulness casteth into a deep sleep ; and an idle soul 
 shall suffer hunger." Prov. xxviii. 19, " He that folio weth 
 after vain persons shall have poverty enough." 
 
 Q. 3. What is the second great hinderance to the pro- 
 curing of lawful wealth forhidden in the eighth command- 
 ment ? 
 
 A, Pleasure and dissipation, wasting the time that should 
 be devoted to our lawful calling, and squandering away the 
 means that providence hath given us. Prov. xxi. 17, " He 
 that loveth pleasure shall be a poor man ; he that loveth wine 
 and oil shall not be rich." 
 
 Q. 4. What are some of the ways hy which ivcalth may 
 he got unjustly J forhidden in the eighth commandment ? 
 
 A. By stealing, by false w^eights and measures, by borrow- 
 ing without intention to repay, or not seeing a reasonable 
 ground how we shall be able to do so. Eph. iv. 28, " Let 
 
THE EIGHTH COMMANDMENT. 193 
 
 him that stole steal no more." Prov. xx. 10, " Divers weights, 
 and divers measures, both of them are alike abomination to 
 the Lord." Psal. xxxvii. 21, " The wicked borroweth, and 
 payeth not again." 
 
 Q. 5. Wherein consists the sin of idleness, bad company, 
 dissipation and unlawful pleasure ? 
 
 A. In that they are a direct violation of the law of God, 
 which requires us diligently to labour in a lawful calling ; be- 
 sides they are the direct path to eternal ruin. Prov. xxi. 25, 
 *' The desire of the slothful killeth him, for his hands refuse 
 to labour." Prov. xiii. 20, " But a companion of fools shall 
 be destroyed." 
 
 Q. 6. Wherein consists the sin of procuring wealth un- 
 justly ? 
 
 A. In many things : being a violation of an express injunc- 
 tion, " Thou shalt not steal," a setting at defiance the threat- 
 enings of God, unbelief in his omnipresence, and a want of 
 confidence in his providence, who hath promised to provide 
 things necessary for us. Lev. xix. 11, " Ye shall not steal, 
 neither deal falsely, neither lie one to another." Zech. v. 3, 4, 
 " This is the curse that goeth forth over the face of the whole 
 earth : for every one that stealeth shall be cut off ; and it shall 
 enter into the house of the thief; and it shall remain in the 
 midst of his house, and shall consume it, with the timber there- 
 of, and the stones thereof." 
 
 Q. 7. Wliat is the second sin forbidden in the eighth 
 commandment ? 
 
 A. Whatsoever doth or may unjustly hinder our neighbour's 
 wealth or outward estate. Job xx. 19, 20, " Because he 
 hath oppressed, and hath forsaken the poor ; because he hath 
 violently taken away an house which he builded not : surely 
 he shall not feel quietness in his belly." 
 
 Q. 8. Wherein consists the sin of doing anything un- 
 justly to hinder the wealth and outward estate of our 
 neighbour ? 
 
 A. In that it being our duty to do everything to further 
 and assist others, we not only neglect it, but do the oppo- 
 site ; thus giving practical evidence of our inherent corruption 
 and estrangement from God, and from one another. Tit. iii. 
 3, " Hateful and hating one another." Job xxxi. 13, 14, " If 
 I did despise the cause of my man-servant, or of my maid- 
 servant, when they contended with me ; what then shall I do 
 when God riseth up ? and when he visiteth, what shall I answer 
 him ?" 
 
 R 
 
194 THE DUTIES REQUIRED IX 
 
 We are forbidden to do anything either to hinder unjustly 
 the increase of our own wealth and outward estate, or of our 
 neighbour's, but by a humble dependence on divine providence, 
 and a cheerful acquiescence in the divine will, to provide things 
 lionest in the sight of all men, and, as opportunity offers, to do 
 good unto all men, but especially to those who are of the house- 
 hold of faith. 
 
 QUESTIONS LXXVI. & LXXVII. 
 
 Having seen what is required and forbidden in the eighth 
 commandment, we now come to the ninth. 
 
 Quest. Which is the ninth commandment ? 
 
 Ans. The ninth commandment is, Thou shalt not bear 
 false witness against thy neighbour. 
 
 Quest. What is required in the ninth commandment ? 
 
 Ans. The ninth commandment requireth the maintaining 
 .'ind promoting of truth between man and man, and of our 
 own and our neighbour's good name, especially in witness bear- 
 ing. 
 
 Q. 1. What is the Jirst duty required in the ninth com- 
 mandment ? 
 
 A. The maintaining and promoting of truth between man 
 and man, Zech. viii. 16, " Speak ye every man the truth to 
 his neighbour." 
 
 Q. 2. What are we to understand hy speaking the truth ? 
 
 A. That our words be in strict conformity with the senti- 
 ments of our mind, and what we know to be the truth ; and 
 if at any time we should convey to the minds of others a 
 wrong impression of the truth, it is our duty instantly to re- 
 move the delusion. Psal. xv. 2, " He that walketh uprightly, 
 and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his 
 lieart." 
 
 Q. 3. Are there any circumstances more 'particularly 
 on which we are required to speak the truth, required in 
 the .ninth commandment ? 
 
 A. Yes : in witness bearing, when the sin of speaking 
 falsely is greatly aggravated ; although, from the very purity 
 and perfection of God, he can at no time look on falsehood 
 but with the greatest abhorrence. Prov. xiv. 5, 25, " A faith- 
 ful witness will not lie. A true witness delivereth souls." 
 Num. xxii. 19, " God is not a man, that he should lie.'' 
 
THE NINTH COMMANDMENT. 195 
 
 Psal. Ixiii. 11, " The mouth of them that speak lies shall be 
 stopped." 
 
 Q. 4. Wh^ is there a speciality mentioned regardiny 
 witness hearing? 
 
 A, Because it is a divine institution, for the settlement of 
 disputed questions between man and man, and in which God 
 is himself appealed to as a witness to the truth of what is said : 
 any misrepresentation or prevarication is on this account fear- 
 fully aggravated ; for, besides being a falsehood, it is a profan- 
 ation of a divine ordinance, an insult to God's omnipresence, 
 and injustice to our neighbour. Pleb. vi. 16, " An oath for 
 confirmation is to them an end of all strife." Lev. xix. 12, 
 " And ye shall not swear by my name falsely, neither shalr 
 thou profane the name of thy God." 
 
 Q. 5. What is the secondj duty required, in the ninth 
 commandment ? 
 
 A. The maintaining and promoting of our own good name 
 Phil. ii. 15, " That ye may be blameless and harmless, the 
 sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and 
 perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world." 
 
 Q. 6. Are we required to vindicate our own name ivhen 
 falsely accused ? 
 
 A. Yes ; and that not merely on account of our own good 
 name or reputation, but for the vindication of truth and righ- 
 teousness. Prov. xxii. 1, " A good name is rather to be 
 chosen than great riches." Acts xxv, 10, " Then said Paul, 
 I stand at Csssar's judgment-seat ; where I ought to be judg- 
 ed : to the Jews have I done no wrong, as thou very well 
 knowest." 
 
 Q. 7. Is it our duty on every occasion, when falsely a<- 
 cusedj to vindicate our own name ? 
 
 A. No : as occasions may occur in which it will be more 
 conducive for the interest of truth that no notice be taken 
 of it ; but in all such cases, if we leave it with God, he will, 
 in his own good time and way, vindicate our character and 
 good name. Psal. xxxvii. 6, " And he shall bring forth thy 
 righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noon- 
 day." 1 Pet. iii. 16, '• Having a good conscience ; that 
 whereas they speak evil of you, as of evil-doers, they may 
 be ashamed that falsely accuse your good conversation in 
 Christ." 
 
 Q. 8. What is the third duty required in the ninth com- 
 mandment ? 
 
 A. The maintaining and promoting of the good name of 
 our neighbour. 3 John 12, " Demetrius hath a good report 
 
196 THE SINS FORBIDDEN IN 
 
 of all men, and of the truth itself : yea, and we also bear re- 
 cord ; and ye know that our record is true." 
 
 Q. 9. Wliat are some of the ways in which we may 
 maintain and promote the good name of our neighbour ? 
 
 A. By stating what we know to be good about them, with- 
 out sacrificing the interests of truth ; vindicating them when 
 unjustly accused, and at no time taking up an evil report 
 against them. Psal. xv. 3, " He that backbite th not with 
 ms tongue, nor doeth evil to his neighbour, nor taketh up a 
 reproach against his neighbour," Prov. xvii. 15, " He that 
 justifieth the wicked, and he that condemneth the just, even 
 they both are abomination to the Lord." 
 
 If we can say nothing that is good of our neighbour, we 
 need say no evil, unless when lawfully called upon to do so 
 for the interests of truth ; and always bear in remembrance 
 that the eyes of the Lord are upon us, and knows all the 
 secret motions of our words and actions. 
 
 QUESTIONS LXXVIII. 
 
 Having seen what is required in the ninth commandment, 
 we now come to what is forbidden. 
 
 Quest. What is forbidden in the ninth commandment ?* 
 
 Ans. The ninth commandment forbiddeth whatsoever is 
 prejudicial to truth, or injurious to our own, or our neigh- 
 bour's good name. 
 
 Q. 1. What is the first sin forbidden in the 7i'inth com- 
 mandment ? 
 
 A. Whatsoever is prejudicial to truth. Zech. viii. 16, 
 " Speak ye every man the truth to his neighbour, execute the 
 judgment of truth and peace in your gates." 
 
 Q. 2. What are some of the ways by which truth is pre- 
 judiced ? 
 
 A. When a thing known to be false, is affirmed as true, 
 or when truth is stated in such a way as is calculated to mis- 
 lead the mind, so as to believe what is not true. Rom. iii. 
 13, *' With their tongues they have used deceit." 
 
 Q. 3. Is it a great sin to say what is prejudicial to 
 truth ? 
 
 A. Yes : it is a most heinous often ce, and one against 
 which God hath denounced the severest judgments of his 
 
THE NINTH COMMANDMENT. 197 
 
 wrath. Rev. xxii. 15, *' For without are dogs, and sorcerers, 
 whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever 
 loveth and maketh a He." 
 
 Q.. 4. Has the sin of lying ever been ijunished in this- 
 life ? 
 
 A. Yes : in the case of Ananias and Sapphira ; and nume- 
 rous are the ills that man daily brings upon himself by his 
 folly and falsehood. Acts v. 3, " Why hath Satan filled 
 thine heart to he to the Holy Ghost?" 
 
 Q. 5. What is the second siyi forbidden in the ninth. 
 commandment ? 
 
 A. Whatsoever is injurious to our own good name. Prov, 
 xii. 15, " The way of a fool is right in his own eyes ; but lu- 
 that hearken eth unto counsel is wise." 
 
 Q. 6. What are some of the luays by luhich we may in- 
 jure our good name ? 
 
 A. By doing anything contrary to the law of God, and is 
 of evil report, or by remaining silent when false and injurious 
 reports are made concerning us, when we have it in our power 
 to dissipate the falsehood. Job xxvii. 5, " God forbid that I 
 should justify you : till I die I will not remove my integrity 
 from me." Eccl. vii. 1, " A good name is better than pre- 
 cious ointment." 
 
 Q. 7. What is the third sin forbidden in the ninth com- 
 mandment ? 
 
 A, Whatsoever is injurious to our neighbour's good name.. 
 Psal. XXXV. 11, " False witnesses did rise up : they laid to my 
 charge things that I knew not." 
 
 Q. 8. Wherein consists the guilt of injuring the good 
 name of our neighbour ? 
 
 A. In that it is a violation of the law of God, which re- 
 quires us to love our neighbour as ourselves, and by injuring 
 the persons to whom we defame our neighbour, by causing 
 groundless suspicions to arise in their minds. Prov. xxv. 18, 
 " A man that beareth false witness asjainst his neiorhbour is a. 
 maul, and a sword, and a sharp arrow." ,Ter. xxii. 10, *' Re- 
 port, say they, and we will report it." 
 
 Lying or bearing false witness is a hateful sin in the sight 
 of God. Truth makes us resemble Him who is truth itself, 
 while falsehood and lying makes us to resemble him who is a 
 liar and the father of lies ; and we are assured by the Word of 
 God, that " all liars shall have their portion in the lake which 
 burneth with fire and brimstone." 
 
 R 3 
 
198 THE DUTIES REQUIRED IN 
 
 QUESTIONS LXXIX & LXXX. 
 
 In our exercises hitherto on the second table of the law, it 
 may have appeared as if they took cognisance of the outward 
 action only, and overlooked the state of the heart and affec- 
 tions. Such, however, is not the case, and the tenth, to which 
 we are now come, refers exclusively to the inner man, and is 
 moreover so framed as to embody within itself all the others, 
 as if for the very purpose of dispelling such a delusion. 
 
 Quest. Which is the tenth commandment ? 
 
 Ans. The tenth commandment is, 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 anything that is thy neighbour's. 
 
 Quest. What is required in the tenth commandment ? 
 
 Ans. The tenth commandment requireth full contentment 
 with our own condition, with a right and charitable frame of 
 spirit toward our neighbour and all that is his. 
 
 Q. 1. What is the first duty required in the tenth com- 
 mandment ? 
 
 A. Full contentment with our own condition, a cheerful 
 and childlike acquiescence in the Divine will, in the dispos- 
 ing and ordering all things concerning us, as the very best 
 adapted for us. Heb. xiii. 5, " Let your conversation be 
 without covetousness ; and be content with such things as ye 
 have." Luke xii. 15, " Take heed, and beware of covetous- 
 ness ; for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the 
 things which he possesseth." 
 
 Q. 2. Is fidl contentment with our own condition in 
 this life attainable ? 
 
 A. No : as that would imply a state of mind entirely free 
 from all remaining sinfulness, and perfectly conformed to the 
 will of God ; but a large, a very large measure of content- 
 ment may be attained to in the present life. Phil. iv. 11, 
 " I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be 
 content." 
 
 Q. 3. How 7nay we attain any measure of real content- 
 ment with our own condition in this life ? 
 
 A. By the Word of God, and the teaching of the Holy 
 Spirit, opening our eyes to see the insufficiency of any creat- 
 ed thing, as a satisfying good, and in enabling us to choose 
 God in Christ as the portion of the soul, and so making us to 
 
THE TENTH COMMANDMENT. 199 
 
 feel that perfect resignation to his holy will is the very hap- 
 piness and perfection of our nature. 1 Tim. vi. 6, " But 
 godliness with contentment is great gain." 
 
 Q. 4. Is every one that is taught by the Holy Spirit, 
 fully contented with their condition ? 
 
 A. Yes : in so far as they are sanctified ; having chosen 
 God as their portion, they enjoy all things in him ; and they 
 also have his promise that they shall want nothing that is for 
 their good and his glory. 1 Tim. vi. 8, " And having food 
 and raiment, let us be therewith content." Heb. xiii. 5, 
 " For he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee." 
 
 Q. 5. What is the second duty required in the tenth 
 commandinent ? 
 
 A. A right and charitable frame of spirit toward our 
 neighbour, and all that is his. Acts xxii. 33, " I have 
 coveted no man's silver, or gold, or apparel." 
 
 Q. 6. How does a charitable frame of spirit toward 
 our neighbour manifest itself ? 
 
 A. By rejoicing in his prosperity, sympathising with him 
 in adversity, and by always putting a charitable construction 
 on his actions. Rom. xii. 15, " Rejoice with them that do 
 rejoice, and weep with them that weep." Phil. ii. 4, " Look 
 not every man on his own things, but every man also on the 
 things of others." 
 
 Q. 7. How is a charitable frame of spirit towards our 
 neighbour attained ? 
 
 A. Through faith in the Word of God, whereby we be- 
 come reconciled to him, and to one another. 1 John iv. 20, 
 21, " If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is 
 a liar : for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, 
 how can he love God whom he hath not seen. And this 
 commandment have we from him, that he who loveth God, 
 love his brother also." 
 
 The requirements of this question show us our guilty and 
 helpless condition, it treats not of the outward action, but 
 leads us to the inner man, and exhibits the working of oar 
 depraved hearts, and so brings us in guilty before God. 
 
 QUESTION LXXXI. 
 
 Having seen what is required in the tenth commandment, 
 we now come to what is forbidden. 
 
200 THE SINS FORBIDDEN IN 
 
 Quest. What is forbidden in the tenth commandment'^ 
 
 Ans. The tenth commandment forbiddeth all discontent- 
 ment with our own estate, envying or grieving at the good of 
 our neighbour, and all inordinate motions and affections to 
 anything that is his. 
 
 Q. 1. What is the first sin forbidden in the tenth com- 
 mandment ? 
 
 A. All discontentment with our own estate. 1 Cor. x. 10, 
 " Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and 
 were destroyed of the destroyer." 
 
 Q. 2. Wherein consists the guilt of discontentment luith 
 our own estate ? 
 
 A. In that it is direct rebellion against God, who ordereth 
 all things concerning us according to the counsel of his own 
 blessed will, and for which he will call us to an awful reckon- 
 ing, if we do not repent. Psal. x. 3, " The wicked bless- 
 eth the covetous, whom the Lord abhorreth." Luke xix. 
 27, " But those mine enemies, which would not that I 
 should reign over them, bring hither, and slay them before 
 me." 
 
 Q. 3. Is it sinfxd in us to seek to better our outward 
 estate ? 
 
 A. No : it is our duty to seek to do so, in due subordina- 
 tion to the will of God, by every just and lawful mean, which 
 is perfectly consistent with a spirit of entire resignation to the 
 disposal of God. Rom. xii. 11, " Not slothful in business ; 
 fervent in spirit ; serving the Lord." 
 
 Q. 4. Is discontentment with our own estate as fruit- 
 less as it is sinful ? 
 
 A. Yes : inasmuch as it is entirely beyond our power to 
 change our estate by any effort of our own, unless the blessing 
 of God accompanies it. Luke xii. 25, " And which of you, 
 with taking thoufyht, can add to his stature one cubit." Job 
 ix. 4, " He is wise in heart, and mighty in strength ; who 
 hath hardened himself against him, and hath prospered V 
 
 Q. 5. What is the second sin forbidden in the tenth 
 commandment ? 
 
 A. All envying or grieving at the good of our neighbour. 
 Gal. V. 26, " Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking 
 one another, envying one another." 
 
 Q. 6. Wherein consists the guilt of envi/ing or grieving 
 at the good of our neighbour ? 
 
 A. In that it is contrary to the law of God, and alienates 
 the soul entirely from him, and is an indubitable evidence of 
 the deep-rooted corruption of the heart. Tit. iii. 3, " Living 
 
THE TENTH COaiMANDMENT. 201 
 
 in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another." Prov, 
 xiv. 30, " But envy is the rottenness of the bones." 
 
 Q. 7. What is the third sin forbidden in the tenth com- 
 mandment ? 
 
 A. All inordinate motions and affections to anything that 
 is his. Col. iii. 5, " Mortify, therefore, your members which 
 are upon the earth ; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate af- 
 fection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idola- 
 try." 
 
 Q. 8. Wherein consists the guilt of inordinate motions 
 and affections ? 
 
 A. In their being a violation of the law of God : for al- 
 though they may not have been manifested either by word or 
 action, yet in his sight, who searchest the inmost recesses of 
 the soul, they are not the less hateful. Rom. vii. 7, 8, " For 
 I had not known lust, except the law had said. Thou shalt not 
 covet. For without the law sin was dead." 
 
 It is the law of God that makes known to us the true na- 
 ture of sin ; and when we try ourselves honestly by it, we 
 discover our own guilt and inherent depravity, until, by the 
 teaching of the Holy Spirit, we are led to cry out unclean, 
 unclean, and brought to Him who came not to call the righ- 
 teous, but sinners to repentance. 
 
 SECTION III. 
 
 THE INABILITY OF MAN SINCE THE FALL TO KEEP THE LAW OF GOD— THAT 
 
 THERE ARE SOME SINS MORE AGGRAVATED AND HEINOUS THAN 
 
 OTHERS— AND WHAT EVERY SIN DESERVES. 
 
 QUESTION LXXXII. 
 
 Having, in our exercises on the law of God as set forth in 
 the ten commandments, seen, that it takes cognisance not 
 only of our words and actions, but also of our thoughts and 
 desires, we now come to inquire if any mere man in this life 
 is able perfectly to keep the commandments of God. 
 
 Quest. Is any man able perfectly to keep the com- 
 mandments of God ? 
 
 Ans. No mere man since the fall is able in this life per- 
 fectly to keep the commandments of God, but doth daily 
 break them in thought, word, and deed. 
 
202 man's inability, since the fall, 
 
 Q. 1. What is the first thing stated in the question ? 
 
 A. 'i'liat since the fall, there is no mere man able perfectly 
 in this life to keep the commandments of God. Eccl. vii. 
 20, " For there is not a just man upon earth, thatdoeth good 
 and sinneth not." 
 
 Q. 2. Was man able perfectly to keep the command" 
 ments of God before the fall .^ 
 
 A. Yes: inasmuch as he had no bias to sin, no sinl'ul incli- 
 nation, being a pure, holy, and upright creature ; and us the 
 law of God was the very law of his being, his whole moral 
 nature harmonised with it, and prompted him to the keeping of 
 its requirements. Keel. vii. 29, " God made man upright." 
 Gen. ix. 6, " For in the imago of God made he man." 
 
 Q. 3. Hoiu has the fall rendered man utterly unable 
 perfectly to keep the eom^mandments of God ? 
 
 A. Because, in consequence of that ev(?nt, man, instead of 
 beinfr holy and upright, is altogether sinful and perverse, and 
 has lost the will, and with it the moral power to keep God's 
 commandments, and become spiritually dead to what is spi- 
 ritual and holy. llom. iii. 12, " They are all gone out of the 
 way, they are together become unprofitable ; there is none 
 that doeth good, no, not one." Kom, v. 12, " By one man 
 sin entered mto the world, and death by sin ; and so death 
 passed upon all men, for that all have sinned." 
 
 Q. 4. Wherein consists the guilt of man, since, by the 
 fall, he is unable to keep the commandments of God ? 
 
 A. In that his fall, or apostacy from God, was a wilful 
 and deliberate act of rebellion on his part, and in his con- 
 tinued inability, being not of a natural but moral kind, lying 
 in the dispositions of the heart and will. Bom. v. 19, " By 
 one man's disobedience many were made sinners." John v. 
 40, " And ye will not come to me that ye might have life." 
 
 Q. 5. Are such as have been made willing by the Holy 
 Spirit renewing their minds, able perfectly to keep God^s 
 commandments? 
 
 A. No : although, in so far as they arc sanctified, they do 
 keep them ; but it is their most ardent desire and endeavour 
 to be enabled to keep them perfectly, while it is the source of 
 their bitterest grief that they come so very far short of them. 
 1 John i. 8, " If we say that we have no sin, we deceive our- 
 selves, and the truth is not in us." Psal. cxix. 5, 6, " Oh 
 that my ways were directed to keep thy statutes ! Then 
 shall I not be ashamed, when I have respect unto all thy 
 commandments." 
 
 Q. 6. What is the second thing stated in the question ? 
 
TO KEEP THE LAW OF GOD. 203 
 
 A. That we daily break the commandments of God in 
 thought, word, and deed. Gen. viii. 21, " The imagination 
 of man's heart is evil from his youth." James iii. 8, " The 
 tongue can no man tame ; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly 
 poison." James iii. 2, " In many things we offend all." 
 
 Q. 7. How is the lavj of God broken in our tho'iMjhts '1 
 
 A. In consequence of our original apostacy from God, we 
 are naturally born in an estate of sin, and so long as we re- 
 main in this state of estrangement from Go<l, every feelinrr 
 and thought which arises in our mind is .sinful, being contrary 
 to the law, inasmuch as in none of them have we any refer- 
 ence to God or his law. Psal. h. 5, " Behold, I was shapen 
 in iniquity ; and in sin did my mother conceive me." Job 
 XV. 14, " WTiat is man that he should be clean \ and he which 
 is bom of a woman, that he should be ri':{hteous ?" 
 
 Q. 8. Wherein consists the guilt of breaking the lavj of 
 God in our thoughts ? 
 
 A. In tliat the law requires truth, uprightnei^, or rectitude 
 in the inward parts, while our every thought is a violation of 
 it, and contrary to the nature of God. Prov. xv. 26, " The 
 thoughts of the wicked are an abomination to the Lord." 
 
 Q. 9. Are sueh o.s have heeri. reneujejl by the Spirit of 
 God guilty of breaking his law in their thoughts .^ 
 
 A. Yes : from the power of remaining corruption, they 
 daily break it in their thoughts ; but they daily strive against 
 these thoughts, and long and pray to be entirely delivered 
 from them, and made holy as their Father in heaven is holy. 
 Psal, cxix. 113, *' I hate vain thoughts : but thy law do I 
 love." 
 
 Q. 10. How are the cornrnan/lrnents of God broken by 
 our words 1 
 
 A. When we either say what they forbid us to do, or do 
 not say what they require us to speak. Psal. xxxvi. 3, " The 
 words of his mouth are iniquity and deceit." 
 
 Q. 11. Are sw:h as have been born agmn. by the Sj/irlt 
 of God. guilty of breaking his cornrnandraents by their 
 vjords i 
 
 A. Yes: being in part still sinful, unholy thoughts do at 
 times arise in their minds, and frequently manifest themselves 
 in word. Psal. xxxix. 1, '" I said, I will take heed to my 
 ways, that I sin not with my tongue ; I will keep my rnoutFi 
 with a bridle." 
 
 Q. 12. How are the eoinrrt/j.ndineats of God broken by 
 our deeds i 
 
 A. "While we are unrenewed, or in our natural ^tate of sin, 
 
204 man's inability, since the fall, Ac. 
 
 wc bi'oak tliom by our every thought, won! and deed, inas- 
 mucli as we Hve in an estate of" sin, estranged from God and 
 his commandments. Eph. ii. 3, " Among whom also wo all 
 had our conversation in times past in the lust of our flesh, 
 fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind ; and were 
 by nature the children of wrath, even as others." Job xiv. 4, 
 " Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean ? not one." 
 
 Q. 13. Are .such as Itave been renewed by tlie Spirit of 
 God (juilty of hrcakinfj his law by their deeds ? 
 
 A. Yes : they often bi-eak it, throiigh the power of remain- 
 ing sinfulness; but such deeds are opposed to their new nature 
 and the prevailing bent of their minds. Rom. vii. 19, " For 
 the good that I would I do not : but the evil which I would 
 not, that I do." 
 
 Q. 14. lias there been any man since the fall that per- 
 fectly kept the eornrnandments of God ? 
 
 A. Yes : the man Jesus Christ not only kept them per- 
 fectly, his every thought, word, and deed, coming up to their 
 utmost requirement, but so magnified the law by his obe- 
 dience unto death, that it is on account of it alone that any 
 sinner is justified in the sight of God. John viii. 46, " Which 
 of you convinceth me of sin V John xii. 50, " Whatsoever I 
 speak therefore, even as the Father said unto me, so I speak." 
 John xvi. 30, " The prince of this world cometh, and hath 
 nothing in me." 
 
 Q. 16. Was Jesus Christ a mere man ? 
 
 A. No : he was God and man in two distinct natures, mys- 
 teriously united together in one person. John i. 14, "And 
 the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us ; and we be- 
 held his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, 
 full of grace and truth." 
 
 A very limited acquaintance with the law of God must 
 <;onvince any man, if he deals honestly with his own heart, 
 that so far is he from being able perfectly to keep the com- 
 mandments of God, that ho daily breaks them m thought, 
 word and deed. Jlow checrinfr the thoufrht, then, that there 
 has been one since the fall, although not a mere man, who did 
 perfectly keep the commandments of God, and for the per- 
 fection of whose obedience, the Lord is well pleased with as 
 many as believe in him ! 
 
SOME SINS MORE HEINOUS THAN OTHERS. 205 
 
 QUESTION LXXXIII. 
 
 Having seen that no mere man is able, in tlii.s life, per- 
 fectly to keep the commandmentH of God, but daily broakK 
 them in thou;/ht, word, and deed, we now come to inquire if 
 all transgressions of the law are equally heinous. 
 
 Quest. Arc all transgressions of the. iavj cfjually hei- 
 nous ? 
 
 Ans, Some sins in themselves, and by reason of several ag- 
 gravations, are more heinous in the sight of God than others. 
 
 Q. 1. What is the first thing sto,ted in the question ? 
 
 A. ITiat some sins in themselves are more heinous in the 
 sight of God than others. John xix. 11, "He that delivered 
 me unto thee hath the greater sin." 
 
 Q. 2. What are some of the sins that in themselves are 
 more heinous in the sight of (}<)d than others .^ 
 
 A. llie deliberate rejection of Christ, as the Son of God, 
 and the only Saviour of sinners ; the open and avowed con- 
 tempt of God's authority ; the wilful violation of his law, and 
 the despising of the means of gra/;e. Psal. xix. I'j, " Keep 
 back thy servant also from presumptuous sin." Matt. xii. 
 32, " Whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall 
 not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the 
 world to come." John xv. 23, 24, " He that hateth me, 
 hateth my Father also. But now liave they botli seen and 
 hated both me and my i'ather." 
 
 Q. 3. What in the second thing stated, in the (juestion, '^ 
 
 A. That, by reason of s^;veral aggravations, some sins are 
 more heinous in the bifjht of God than others. John xv. 22, 
 " If I had not come and spoken unto them, they ha^l not ha^l 
 sin : but now they liave no cloak for their sin." 
 
 Q. 4. Is a sinful word, a more heinous and, aggravated 
 sin in the sight o/" (xod, thoM a sinful tju/agfu 'I 
 
 A. Yes ; inasmuch as a sinful thou({ht defiles our own soul 
 only ; but a sinful word has the tendency of defiling the soul 
 of our neighbour als^^, and, it may be, may wound the cha- 
 ra^rter and reputation of a third paily. Psal. 1. 10, 20, 
 " Thou givest thy mouth to evil, and thy tongue frameth de- 
 ceit. Thou sitt/;'st and sjjeakest against thy brother ; thou 
 slanderest thine own mother's son." 
 
 Q. 5. Will the revelation of the gospel aggravate our 
 sin if vje do 'not read and study it o,h the Word of God ? 
 
206 THERE ARE SOME SINS MORE HEINOUS 
 
 A. Yes : inasmuch as it is only by the gospel that the true 
 character and state of man in the sight of God is made fully 
 known, and the ground upon which alone he can treat with 
 guilty creatures : to reject, therefore, the light that God, in 
 the riches of his grace, hath given to lead us to himself, must 
 be, in his sight, a fearful aggravation of our original guilt and 
 sinfulness. John iii. 19, " And this is the condemnation, 
 that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness 
 rather than light, because their deeds were evil." 
 
 Q. 6. Will the rejection of Christ, as the only Saviour, 
 aggravate our sin, after having read the Bible ? 
 
 A. Yes : so heinous an aggravation of sin is it not to be- 
 lieve on and cordially to receive Jesus Christ as the only Sa- 
 viour, that it is spoken of in Scripture as if it were the only 
 ground of men's condemnation. John iii. 18, " He that be- 
 lieveth on him is not condemned ; but he that believeth not 
 is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the 
 name of the only begotten Son of God." 
 
 Q. 7. Will it aggravate our sin to know our duty, and 
 not do it ? 
 
 A. Yes : insomuch that we find it stated in the Scrip- 
 tures in such a way as to imply that, but for our knowledge of 
 the duty, our not doing it had not been sin ; that is to say, 
 our knowledge of duty so aggravates the sin of neglecting it, 
 as to become the leading feature of our guilt. John ix. 41, 
 " Jesus said unto them. If ye were blind, ye should have no 
 sin : but now ye say. We see ; therefore your sin remaineth." 
 
 Q. 8. Will it aggravate our sin when, under the 'pre- 
 tence of religion, we commit it ? 
 
 A. Yes : it is_^a terrible aggravation of sin to commit it 
 under the cloak of rehgion, as it is making the gospel, the 
 desi(yn and tendency of which is to deliver us from the power, 
 and love, and practice of all sin, to be, as it were, the minis- 
 ter of sin, turning the grace of God into licentiousness. Matt, 
 xxiii. 14, "Woe unto you. Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites ! 
 for ye devour widows' houses, and for a pretence make long 
 prayers; therefore ye shall receive the gi-eater condemna- 
 tion." 
 
 From these examples, and many others which might bo 
 enumerated, we see that there are some sins in themselves, 
 and by reason of several aggravations, more heinous in the 
 sight of God than others. May our prayer, then, ever be 
 that of the Psalmist, " Who can understand his errors ? 
 cleanse thou me from secret faults, keep back thy servant also 
 
IN THE SIGHT OF GOD THAN OTHERS. 20? 
 
 from presumptuous sins ; let them not have dominion over 
 me : then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent from the 
 great transgression." 
 
 QUESTION LXXXIV. 
 
 Having seen that there are degrees in sin, and that, by 
 reason of several aggravations, some sins are more heinous in 
 the sight of God than others, we now come to inquire what 
 every sin deserves. 
 
 Quest. What doth every sin deserve ? 
 
 Ans. Every sin deserveth God's wrath and curse, both in 
 this life and that which is to come. 
 
 Q. 1. What is it that every sin deserves ? 
 
 A. The wrath and curse of God, both in this life and that 
 which is to come. Rom. vi. 23, " For the wages of sin is 
 death." Heb. ii. 2, " Every transgression and disobedience 
 received a just recompense of reward." 
 
 Q. 2. What are we to understand hy the wrath and 
 curse of God ? 
 
 A. By the wrath of God, we are to understand the punish- 
 ment that will be inflicted upon the violators of his law ; and 
 by the curse, God's will and determination to carry this pun- 
 ishment into full execution ; but without any of the perturba- 
 tion or vindictiveness of feeling that accompanies the wrath 
 or anger of fallen man. Rev. xiv. 10, " The same shall drink 
 of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without 
 mixture into the cup of his indignation : and he shall be tor- 
 mented with fire and brimstone, in the presence of the holy 
 angels, and in the presence of the Lamb." Gal. iii. 10, 
 * ' Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which 
 are written in the book of the law to do them." Rom. xii. 
 19, " Vengeance is mine ; I will repay, saith the Lord." 
 
 Q. 3. Wherein consists the demerit of sin^ that it should 
 be visited with such awful consequences ? 
 
 A. In that, by the apostacy of man, the law of his being 
 was broken, the divine image in his soul effaced, and commu- 
 nion and fellowship with God, as his chief portion, rejected. 
 Eccl. vii. 29, " God made man upright, but they have sought 
 out many inventions." 
 
 Q. 4. Did God execute his wrath on man as soon as he 
 apostatised or sinned against him ? 
 
208 WHAT EVERY SIN DESERVES. 
 
 A. No : for although man, from that instant, became liable 
 to the wrath and curse of God, yet having appointed the pre- 
 sent life as a state of trial and probation, he has, for a time, 
 suspended the execution of his wrath, during which he exer- 
 cises forbearance towards all. Psal. xi. 6, " Upon the wicked 
 he shall rain snares, fire, and brimstone, and an horrible tem- 
 pest : this shall be the portion of their cup." Rom. ii. 4, 
 " Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness, and forbear- 
 ance, and long-suffering ? not knowing that the goodness of 
 God leadeth thee to repentance." 
 
 Q. 5. Why has God appointed the present life as a state 
 of probation and trial ? 
 
 A. Because of the appointment of a Mediator between 
 God and sinners, the Lord Jesus Christ, who stood in the 
 place of the guilty, and suffered the full penalty due for sin ; 
 so that there is now a free pardon offered unto all. 2 Cor. v. 
 21, *' For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no 
 sin ; that we might be made the righteousness of God in 
 him." Rom. v. 1, " Therefore, being justified by faith, we 
 have peace with God, through our Lord Jesus Christ." 
 
 Q. 6. Will God fully execute his wrath and curse due 
 to sin upon such as remain impenitent, in the life to 
 come ? 
 
 A. Yes : up to the full measure of their capacity of endur- 
 ance ; and then it is, that they will for ever be excluded from 
 the gracious presence of God, and that in such a way as to 
 make them fully sensible of their loss. Matt. xxv. 41, 
 " Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand. Depart 
 from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the 
 devil and his angels." 
 
 Q. 7. Where is it that the infinite desert of sin in its 
 effects is most clearly m,anifested ? 
 
 A. In the sufferings and death of the Lord Jesus Christ, 
 who only had sin by imputation, and yet, under the pressure 
 of God's wrath and curse due to it, began to be sore amazed 
 and very heavy, and exclaimed in agony, " My God, my 
 God, why hast thou forsaken me." Psal. xxii. 14, 15, "I 
 am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint : 
 my heart is like wax ; it is melted in the midst of my bowels. 
 My strength is dried up like a potsherd ; and my tongue cleav- 
 eth to my jaws ; and thou hast brought me into the dust of 
 death." 
 
 It is in the sufferings and death of God's own Son, as the 
 substitute of sinners, that the evil and demerit of sin, and 
 
WHAT GOD REQUIRES, &c. 209 
 
 God's holy determination not to pass over one sin unexpiated 
 or unpunished, are most awfully illustrated. Behold, then, in 
 his death, the goodness and severity of God ; and if such things 
 were done in the green tree, what shall be done in the 
 dry ? " Who knoweth the power of thine anger, even accor- 
 ding to thy fear so is thy wrath." 
 
 SECTION IV. 
 
 WHAT GOD EEQUIEES THAT WE MAY ESCAPE HIS WRATH AND CURSE, DUE TO US 
 FOR SIN: FAITH IN CHRIST, AND REPENTANCE UNTO LIFE. 
 
 QUESTION LXXXV. 
 
 Having seen that every sin deserves God's wrath and curse, 
 both in tliis life and that which is to come, but in consequence 
 of the interposition of Christ as Mediator, God hath appoint- 
 ed the present life a state of probation and trial, during which 
 the full execution of his wrath due to sin is suspended, we 
 now come to how we may escape the wrath and curse of God 
 due to us for sin. 
 
 Quest. What doth God require of us, that we may 
 escape his wrath and curse due to us for sin ? 
 
 Ans. To escape the wrath and curse of God due to us for 
 sin, God requireth of us faith in Jesus Christ, repentance 
 unto life, with the diligent use of all the outward means 
 whereby Christ communicateth to us the benefits of redemp- 
 tion. 
 
 Q. 1. What is the frst thing required that we may 
 escape the wrath and curse of God due to us for sin ? 
 
 A. Faith in Jesus Christ. Rom. iv. 16, " Therefore it is 
 of faith that it might be by grace : to the end the promise 
 might be sure to all the seed." 
 
 Q. 2. Is faith in Jesus Christ necessary to our escaping 
 the wrath and curse of God due to us for sin ? 
 
 A. Yes : both from the nature of things, and the appoint- 
 ment of God ; inasmuch as he could not pass by sin unpunish- 
 ed, either in the person of the sinner, or that of a substitute ; 
 and having appointed Jesus Christ as Mediator, and accepted 
 his sacrifice, it is most reasonable that we believe his testi- 
 mony concerning Christ. Rom. iii. 25, 26, " Whom God 
 hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood. 
 
 s3 
 
210 WHAT GOD REQUIRES THAT WE 
 
 That he might be just, and the justifier of him which believ- 
 eth in Jesus." 
 
 Q. 3. Will any who do not believe in Jesus Christ escape 
 the wrath and curse of God due to us for sin? 
 
 A. No : for as sin cannot be passed by unexpiated or un- 
 punished, all who have not a personal interest in Christ by 
 faith, must endure the wrath and curse of God in their own 
 persons. Acts iv. 12, " Neither is there salvation in any 
 other : for there is none other name under heaven given 
 among men whereby we must be saved." 
 
 Q. 4. Will such as are united to Christ hy faith, escape 
 the wrath and curse of God due to us for sin? 
 
 A. Yes : inasmuch as Christ, their substitute, endured to 
 the very uttermost, and exhausted the full penalty due to 
 them for sin ; so that now they are looked upon as righteous 
 in the eye of the divine law, and treated as such for his righ- 
 teousness' sake. Rom. iii. 28, " Therefore we conclude, that 
 a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law." 
 Rom. viii. 1, " There is therefore now no condemnation to 
 them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, 
 but after the Spirit." 
 
 Q. 5. What is the second thing required that lue may 
 escape the wrath and curse of God due to us for sin? 
 
 A. Repentance unto life. Acts iii. 19, " Repent ye there- 
 fore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out." 
 
 Q. 6. Is repentance as necessary as faith to our escap- 
 ing the wrath and curse of God due to us for sin ? 
 
 A. Yes : as they are inseparably connected ; for whenever 
 there is true faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, there is also re- 
 pentance toward God ; a complete change takes place ; there 
 is a turninor from all sin to God and holiness. Acts xx. 21, 
 " Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repen- 
 tance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ." 
 
 Q. 7. Will any who do not repent escape the wrath and 
 curse of God due to us for sin ? 
 
 A. No : as that would defeat the very end for which Christ 
 died, inasmuch as he died not only to save us from the pun- 
 ishment of sin, but also from the power and love of it. Acts 
 ii. 38, " Repent, and be baptised every one of you in the name 
 of Jesus Christ, for the remission of sins." Luke xiii. 5, 
 " Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish." 
 
 Q. 8. Will such as repent escape the wrath and curse of 
 God due to us for sin ? 
 
 A. Yes : inasmuch as by faith they have become, united to 
 Christ, and by repentance have left the service of sin, and 
 
MAY ESCAPE HIS WRATH AND CURSE. 211 
 
 become servants to God, and are in the way of being made 
 meet for his immediate presence. Rev. iii. 19, " As many as 
 I love, I rebuke and chasten : be zealous therefore, and re- 
 pent." 
 
 Q. 9. What is the thii'd thing required that lue may es- 
 cape the wrath and curse of God due to us for sin ? 
 
 A. The diligent use of all the outward means whereby 
 Christ communicateth to us the benefits of redemption. Rom. 
 X. 17, " So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the 
 word of God." 
 
 Q. 10. Is a diligent use of all the outward means of 
 grace necessary to our escaping the wrath and curse of 
 God due to us for sin ? 
 
 A. Yes : because it is only through, or by means of their 
 instrumentality, that the Spirit of God worketh in the soul, 
 faith, and repentance, and every other grace. 1 Pet. ii. 
 2, "As new born babes desire the sincere milk of the word, 
 that ye may grow thereby." 
 
 Let us dihgently improve all those means of grace whereby 
 Christ communicates to his people the benefits of redemption, 
 in a humble and believing dependence on the Holy Spirit's 
 teaching, without whose influence no mean will be effectual, 
 but always bearing in mind Christ's solemn declaration, " For 
 that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the 
 Lord ; they would none of my counsel ; they despised all my 
 reproof; therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, 
 and be filled with their own devices." 
 
 QUESTION LXXXVI. 
 
 Having seen that faith in Jesus Christ, repentance unto 
 life, and a diligent use of all the outward means of grace, are 
 necessary to our escaping the wrath and curse of God due to 
 us for sin, we now come to inquire what is faith in Jesus Christ, 
 
 Quest. What is faith in Jesus Christ ? 
 
 Ans. Faith in Jesus Christ is a saving grace whereby we 
 receive and rest upon him alone for salvation, as he is offered 
 to us in the gospel. 
 
 Q. 1. What is the first thing stated respectifig faith in 
 Jesus Christ ? 
 
 A. That it is a saving grace. Heb. x. 39, " We are not 
 
212 WHAT FAITH IN JESUS CHRIST IS. 
 
 of them who draw back unto perdition ; but of them that be- 
 lieve, to the saving of the soul." 
 
 Q. 2. Whi/ is faith in Jesus Christ called a saving 
 grace ? 
 
 A. Because it is a grace of the Holy Spirit's planting in 
 the soul, whereby a sinner apprehends and lays hold upon 
 Jesus Christ as his Saviour. Gal. v. 22, " But the fruit of 
 the Spirit is faith." Gal. iii. 22, " The Scripture hath con- 
 cluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ 
 might be given to them that believe." 
 
 Q. 3. Can we exercise faith, or believe in Jesus Christ, 
 of ourselves ? 
 
 A. No : it is morally impossible, from the state into 
 which sin has brought us, it being a state of spiritual death, 
 in which we are alike insensible of our danger and misery, 
 and of our great need of a Saviour, until quickened by the 
 Spirit of God. Eph. ii. 1, 5, 8, " And you hath he quick- 
 ened, who were dead in trespasses and sins. Even when 
 we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ 
 (by grace ye are saved). By grace are ye saved through 
 laith ; and that not of yourselves : it is the gift of God." 
 
 Q. 4. Is faith in Jesus Christ necessary to our serving 
 God acceptably or enjoying him ? 
 
 A. Yes : for naturally we are enemies to God in our heart, 
 and by wicked works, and as such are justly lying under a 
 sentence of condemnation ; and it is not until the Holy Spirit 
 opens our eyes to see, and enables us to believe the precious 
 truth, that God is in Christ reconciling sinners unto himself, 
 not imputing unto men their trespasses, that we ever can think 
 of returning to God with the feelings and affections of peni- 
 tent children. Heb. xi. 6, " But without faith it is impos- 
 sible to please him : for he that cometh to God must believe 
 that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently 
 seek him." 
 
 Q. 5. Is there an inseparable connection between faith 
 in Jesus Christ, and our being put in possession of eter- 
 nal life ? 
 
 A. Yes : so indispensably necessary is the exercise of faith 
 in Jesus Christ on our part, to the bestowal of eternal life on 
 the part of God, that our salvation is frequently in Scripture 
 ascribed to faith. Eph. ii. 8, " For by grace are ye saved 
 through faith ; and that not of yourselves : it is the gift of 
 God." 
 
 Q. 6. Is there any merit in faith as wrought in the sold 
 by the operation of the Holy Spirit ? 
 
WHAT FAITH IN JESUS CHRIST IS. 213 
 
 A. No : inasmuch as it is the mere instrument through 
 or by which we become united to Christ ; and being the pro- 
 duction of his own Spirit in the soul, is itself a gift. Rom. 
 iv. 16, " Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace : 
 to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed." 
 
 Q. 7. What is the second thing stated respecting faith 
 in Jesus Christ ? 
 
 A. That by it we receive Jesus Christ as he is offered to 
 us in the gospel. John i. 12, " But as many as received him, 
 to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to 
 them that beheve on his name." 
 
 Q. 8. What is it to receive Jesus Christ by faith ? 
 
 A. It is to believe the testimony of God concerning Christ 
 in the holy Scriptures, cordially and cheerfully acquiescing in 
 the method of saving sinners by him, appropriating him unto 
 ourselves in all his offices, and in all the relations in which he 
 is set before us as the Saviour of sinners. Luke xix. 6, " And 
 he made haste, and came down, and received him joyfully," 
 Acts ii. 41, " Then they that gladly received his word were 
 baptised." 
 
 Q. 9. Is faith necessary to our receiving of Jesus 
 Christ as our Saviour ? 
 
 A. Yes : being the instrument or hand of the soul, whereby 
 we receive and appropriate unto ourselves his righteousness 
 for our justification and acceptance with God, his atonement 
 for the pardon of our sins, and his Spirit for the sanctification 
 of our nature. Kom. v. 1, " Therefore, being justified by 
 faith, we have peace with God, through our Lord Jesus 
 Christ." Rom. iii. 25, " Whom God hath set forth to be a 
 propitiation through faith in his blood." Gal. iii. 14, " That 
 we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith." 
 
 Q. 10. What are some of the fruits, or blessings, that 
 arise out of our receiving Jesus Christ by faith ? 
 
 A. They are, 1. Union to Christ as our living head. We 
 become one with him in the eye of the divine law, and are 
 treated as such, inasmuch as all that he did and suffered is 
 placed to our account, as if we had done it in our own proper 
 persons. 2. Peace with God. 3. Adoption into his family, 
 being invested with the privileges of his children, and in some 
 measure with their character. 2 Cor. v. 21, " For he hath 
 made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin ; that we might 
 be made the righteousness of God in him." Rom. viii. 15 — 
 17, " For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to 
 fear ; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we 
 
214 WHAT FAITH IX JESUS CHRIST IS. 
 
 cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself beareth witness with 
 our spirit, that we are the children of* God : and if children, 
 then heirs ; heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ." 
 
 Q. 11. What is the third thing stated respecting faith 
 in Jesus Christ ? 
 
 A. That by it we rest upon Jesus Christ alone for salvation 
 as he is offered to us in the gospel. Phil. iii. 9, " And be 
 found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of 
 the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the 
 righteousness which is of God by faith." 
 
 Q. 12. What is it to rest upon Jesus Christ hy faith ? 
 
 A. It is when, after being convinced of our guilty and 
 helpless state, and having received Jesus Christ as our Sa- 
 viour, and found him every way suited to our exigencies and 
 wants, we rest with complacency and satisfaction on him, de- 
 pending entirely on Christ, and on him alone, for salvation, 
 to the exclusion of every other thing. Gal. ii. 20, " I am 
 crucified with Christ : nevertheless I live ; yet not I, but 
 Christ liveth in me : and the life which I now live in the 
 flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, 
 and gave himself for me." 
 
 Q. 13. Is faith necessary to our continued restifig upon 
 Jesus Christ as our Saviour ? 
 
 A. Yes : for as it is by faith that we become united unto 
 Christ, so is it by the daily exercise of the same faith that we 
 continue to abide in him, and draw out of his fulness the re- 
 newed supplies of grace and strength that we constantly need. 
 Col. ii. 7, " Hooted and built up in him, and stablished in the 
 faith." 
 
 Q. 14. Will any who have been enabled to receive Christ 
 by faith cease to rest on him^ so as to come short of eter- 
 nal life ? 
 
 A. No : inasmuch as the same Almighty Spirit that en- 
 abled them to receive Christ, will enable them also to rest 
 and abide in him, making them to feel daily more and more 
 their own weakness and inherent sinfulness, so that Christ will 
 every day become in their estimation more precious. 1 Pet. 
 i. 6, " Who are kept by the power of God through faith 
 unto salvation." 
 
 Q. 15. What are the peculiar features of Chris fs cha- 
 racter upon which faith daily rests? 
 
 A. It rests upon his whole person and work, but more es- 
 pecially upon him as our Prophet, to teach and instruct us ; 
 as our Priest, who atoned for our guilt, and now intercedes 
 
WHAT REPENTANCE UNTO LIFE IS. 215 
 
 for US ; and as our King, to rule in and over us. Isa. xxxiii. 
 22, " The Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the 
 Lord is our king ; he will save us." 
 
 Q. 16. What are the means hy which the Holy Spirit 
 ivorketh in the soul saving faith ? 
 
 A. The word of God, the revelation of his will in the holy 
 Scriptures. Rom. x. 17, " So then, faith cometh by hearincr 
 and hearing by the word of God." *' 
 
 Q. 17. Ought the Word of God to he very precious 
 
 A Yes : for although nothing short of a Divine power can 
 quicken us from spiritual death, and enable us savino-ly to 
 believe on Jesus Christ, yet as these effects are produced in 
 the soul only through its instrumentahty, such as neglect to 
 read and ponder the holy Scriptures do virtually reject the 
 assistance of the Holy Spirit. James i. 18, " Of his own will 
 begat he us with the word of truth." John xvi. 13 14 
 " Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth is come, he will OTiide 
 you into all truth. He shall glorify me : for he shall receive 
 of mine, and show it unto you." 
 
 Saving faith is the gift of God, produced in the soul by the 
 power of the Holy Ghost; but while it is so, in producing it 
 he deals with us agreeably to the constitution of our nature 
 bringing it into operation by the word of truth. " Beinff 
 born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible by 
 the Word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever " ' 
 
 QUESTION LXXXVIL 
 
 Haying seen what is faith in Jesus Christ, we now come to 
 what is repentance unto life. 
 
 Quest. What is repentance unto life ? 
 
 Ans. Repentance unto life is a saving grace, whereby a 
 sinner, out of a true sense of his sin, and apprehension of the 
 mercy of God in Christ, doth with grief and hatred of his sin 
 turn from it unto God, with fuU purpose of, and endeavour 
 alter, new obedience. 
 
 Q. 1. Wliat is the first thing stated respectina rer)ent- 
 ance unto life ? ^ tr -f ^^'"^ 
 
 A. That it is a saving grace. Acts xi. 18, « Then hath 
 uoa also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto hfe." 
 
216 WHAT REPENTANCE UNTO LIFE IS. 
 
 Q. 2. TF/iy is repentance unto life called a saving grace ? 
 A. Because it is a grace of God's bestowing; the first 
 movement of spiritual life in the soul when it returns to God 
 by Jesus Christ. 2 Tim. ii. 25, " If God peradventure will 
 o-ive them repentence to the acknowledging of the truth." 
 Q. 3. Can we repent of ourselves ? 
 A. Not after a saving manner ; inasmuch as repentance 
 unto life is the purchase of Christ's precious bloo.d, he there- 
 fore can only bestow it on us ; for as soon may we forgive the 
 sins we have committed against God, as of ourselves sincerely 
 repent and turn to him from them. Acts v. 31, " Him hath 
 God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Sa- 
 viour ; for to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins." 
 Q.4. Are we not called upon in the Scriptures tore- 
 pent and turn unto God ? 
 
 A. Yes : but such commands do not imply that ol our- 
 selves we are able to do so ; they tell us what is our duty, and 
 in complying with which, we shall find happiness : nay more, 
 they assure us, that while of ourselves we cannot savingly re- 
 pent, yet if we but cheerfully set about it, God will assist us. 
 2 Pet. iii. 9, " Not wilhng that any should perish, but that 
 all should come to repentance." 
 
 Q. 5. Is repentance unto life necessary to salvation ? 
 A. Yes : being itself the beginning of salvation, the turn- 
 ing point in the history of every man, when he leaves the 
 service of sin and Satan, and turns to God. Acts in. 19, 
 " Repent ye, therefore, and be converted, that your sms may 
 be blotted out." 
 
 Q. 6. Wliat is the first element of repentance unto Life 
 
 that we are conscious of? 
 
 A. A true sense of our sinfulness. Acts u. 37, ' VVnen 
 they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said 
 unto Peter, and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, 
 what shall we do ?" 
 
 Q. 7. Are IV e naturally conscious of sin ? 
 
 A. Not in a true and saving manner : we may say that we 
 are sinners, but we have no true sense of it in our hearts, no 
 real feeling of our inherent depravity and actual transgres- 
 sions, or ot^the terrible evils to which it exposes us, until con- 
 vinced by the Spirit of God. John xvi. 8, " And when he 
 is come," the Spirit of truth, " he will reprove the world ot 
 
 sin." 
 
 Q. 8. Is such a true sense of sin necessary to repentance 
 
 unto life ? ^ . i -x • • 
 
 A. Yes : for until we are sensible of being lost, it is im- 
 
WHAT REPENTANCE UNTO LIFE IS. 217 
 
 possible that we should seek after a Saviour ; or of having 
 gone astray, that we will think of returning. Psal. xxxviii. 
 4, 18, " For mine iniquities are gone over mine head : as an 
 heavy burden they are too heavy for me. For I will declare 
 mine iniquity ; I will be sorry for my sin." 
 
 Q. 9. What is the second element of repentance unto life 
 that we are conscious of? 
 
 A. An apprehension of the mercy of God in Christ. Joel 
 ii. 13, " Rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn 
 unto the Lord your God ; for he is gracious and merciful, 
 slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of 
 the evil." 
 
 Q. 10. Is an apprehension of the mercy of God in Christ 
 necessary to produce in us repentance unto life ? 
 
 A. Yes : inasmuch as it is not until we have a distinct ap- 
 prehension of the mercy of God in Christ, and his love to sin- 
 ners, that there will be awakened within us a true sense of our 
 sinfulness, and a desire to return again to God. Luke xxii. 
 61, 62, " And the Lord turned, and looked upon Peter; and 
 Peter remembered the word of the Lord. And Peter went 
 out, and wept bitterly." 
 
 Q. 11. Why is an apprehension of the mercy of God in 
 Christ necessary to produce in us repentance unto life ? 
 
 A. Because, as transgressors of God's law, we a^e under his 
 wrath and curse due to sin, and when made sensible of our 
 guilt and misery, and inability to deliver ourselves from it, 
 the latent enmity of our carnal mind is then called into vigo- 
 rous operation, and while in this state of mind and feeling 
 we can only see God as a righteous lawgiver and judge, ready 
 to execute upon us his righteous indignation ; but when 
 along with such a conviction of our lost estate we are also en- 
 abled to apprehend the mercy of God in Christ, willing and 
 ready to forgive our sins, and to cleanse us from all iniquity, 
 it is then, and only then, that our hearts become melted 
 into godly sorrow. 2 Cor. vii. 10, " The sorrow of the 
 world worketh death." Zech. xii. 10, " And they shall look 
 upon me (Christ) whom they have pierced, and they shall 
 mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be 
 in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his first- 
 born." 
 
 Q. 12. May there he a deep sense of sin luithout an ap- 
 prehension of the mercy of God in Christ ? 
 
 A. Yes : there may be, and often is, awakened in the soul 
 a deep agonising sense of sin, without any perception of God's 
 great love and mercy to sinners in Christ ; yet such a sense 
 
 T 
 
218 WHAT REPENTANCE UNTO LIFE IS. 
 
 of sin in itself will not produce repentance unto life, a turning 
 from all sin to God ; but on the contrary, will issue in absolute 
 despair of God's mercy, if divine grace prevent not. Matt, 
 xxvii. 3, 5, " Then Judas, which had betrayed him, when he 
 saw that he Avas condemned, repented himself, and brought 
 again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders. 
 And he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, and de- 
 parted, and went and hanged himself." 
 
 Q. 13. What are the effects 2>roduced in the mind hy a 
 true senile of sin, and an apprehension of the merer/ of God 
 in Clirist ? 
 
 A. Grief and hatred of sin. Psal. cxix. 143, 113, " Trou- 
 ble and anofuish have taken hold on me. I hate vain thoujrhts." 
 
 Q. 14. Hoiu docs a true sense of sin , and an apprehen- 
 sion of the mercy of God in Christ awaken grief ? 
 
 A. Because of the consequences to which we are exposed, 
 on account of sin, and the dishonour we have thereby put 
 upon God, — sin being the fruitful source of all the misery and 
 suffering to which we are liable, and the greatest indignity 
 that it is possible for a creature to offer unto God. Psal. 
 xxxi. 10, " For my life is spent with grief, and my years 
 with sighing ; my strength faileth because of mine iniquity, 
 and my bones are consumed." Psal. li. 4, "•' Against thee, 
 thee only, l\^ve I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight." 
 
 Q. 15. Can there be any real grief for siri without an 
 apprehension of the mercy of God in Christ? 
 
 A. No : there may be, and there often is, great grief and 
 sorrow for the consequences to which sin exposes us ; but 
 there can be no real heartfelt grief for sin, as sin, and for the 
 dishonour thereby done to God, apart from apprehension of 
 The mercy of God in Christ. 1 Sam. xv. 30, " Then he said, 
 I have sinned ; yet honour me now, I pray thee, before the 
 elders of my people, and before Israel, and turn again with 
 me, that I may worship the Lord thy God." 
 
 Q. 16. How does a true sense of sin, and an apprehen- 
 sion of the mercy of God in Christ, awaken hatred to sin ? 
 
 A. Because of its own inherent vileness and deformity : 
 the true penitent hates sin itself, apart from its consequences, 
 and abhors and loathes himself on account of it ; there being 
 such a contrariety between his pollution and God's holiness. 
 Job xlii. 5, 6, " I have heard of thee by the hearing of the 
 ear ; but now mine eye seeth thee : wherefore I abhor myself, 
 and repent in dust and ashes." Job xl. 4, " Behold, I am 
 vile ; what shall I answer thee ? I will lay mine hand upon 
 my mouth." 
 
WHAT REPENTANCE UNTO LIFE IS. 219 
 
 Q. 17. Can there he any real hatred of sin without an 
 apprehension of the mercy of God in Christ ? 
 
 A. No : for whatever sorrow may be felt as to the conse- 
 quences of sm, there can be nothing hke hatred of sin, 
 as sin, until we are led to see that God is pacified towards us 
 in Christ, notwithstanding of all that we have done. Ezek. 
 xvi. 63, " That thou mayest remember, and be confounded, 
 and never open thy mouth any more because of thy shame, 
 when I am pacified toward thee for. all that thou hast done, 
 saith the Lord God." 
 
 Q. 18. What are the effects of grief and hatred of sin, 
 arising from an apprehension of the tnercy of God in 
 Christ, upon the life? 
 
 A. A turning from sin unto God, with full purpose of, and 
 endeavour after, new obedience. Psal. cxix. 59, " I thought 
 on my ways, and turned my feet unto thy testimonies." 
 
 Q. 19. TFhat is it that we turn from in true repent- 
 ance ? 
 
 A, From sin, as sin ; for, having got a true sense of sin, 
 and an apprehension of the mercy of God in Christ, there is 
 awakened in the mind, by the Spirit of God, a real heartfelt 
 grief and hatred of it, so as that it becomes the believer's 
 heaviest burden, and from which he longs to be delivered. 
 Kom. vii. 24, " wretched man that I am ! w1t,o shall de- 
 liver me from the body of this death V 
 
 Q. 20. What is it that we turn to in true repentance ? 
 
 A. To God : before repentance, God was not in all the 
 thoughts ; or if, at any time, the thought of his presence en- 
 tered the mind, it only disturbed and distressed him, while he 
 had no reference to his glory in anything he did : but now, 
 nothing is so painful as a sense of his absence ; and his glory, 
 in the main, is the chief end of all his actions, as the love of 
 Christ is the moving cause. Psal. xvi. 8, " I have set the 
 Lord always before me." 2 Cor. v. 14, 15, " For the love 
 of Christ constraineth us ; because we thus judge, that if one 
 died for all, then were all dead : and that he died for all, 
 that they which live should not henceforth live unto them- 
 selves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again." 
 
 Q. 21. Why is the course of life subsequent to repent- 
 ance called neiu obedience ? 
 
 A. Because, being brought near to God in true repent- 
 ance, and reconciled to him by the blood of Jesus, all his 
 former motives of action, and sources of enjoyment, have pass- 
 ed away, and others come in their place ; so as that it may be 
 truly said of him, all things have become new. 2 Cor. v. 17, 
 
220 WHAT THE OUTWARD MEANS ARE BY WHICH 
 
 " Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature : 
 old things are passed away ; behold, all things are become 
 new." Rom. vi. 12, " Let not sin therefore reign in yom* 
 mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof." 
 
 True repentance unto life is a turning from all sin, as sin, 
 unto God, accompanied with a sincere and longing desire to 
 be entirely conformed to his blessed image. " For, behold, 
 this self -same thing that ye sorrowed after a godly sort, what 
 carefulness it wrought in you, yea, what clearing of your- 
 selves, yea, what indignation, yea, what fear, yea, what vehe- 
 ment desire, yea, what zeal, yea, what revenge : in all things 
 ye have approved yourselves to be clear in this matter." 
 
 SECTION V. 
 
 THE OUTWARD MEANS BY WHICH CHRIST C'OMMUNICATETH THE BENEFITS OF 
 
 REDEMPTION, ARE HIS ORDINANCES, ESPECIALLY THE WORD, 
 
 SACRAMENTS, AND PRAYER. 
 
 QUESTION LXXXVIII. 
 
 Having seen what is repentance unto life, we now come to 
 the outward means whereby Christ communicateth to us the 
 benefits of redemption. 
 
 Quest. What are the outward means luherehy Christ 
 communicateth to us the benefits of redemption ? 
 
 Ans. The outward and ordinary means whereby Christ 
 communicateth to us the benefits of redemption, are his ordi- 
 nances, especially the Word, sacraments, and prayer ; all of 
 which are made effectual to the elect for salvation. 
 
 Q. 1. What are lue to undcrstayid hy the outward means 
 whereby Christ cotnmunicateth to us the benefits of re- 
 demption ? 
 
 A. The ordinances he hath appointed. Lev. xviii. 4, " Ye 
 shall do my judgments, and keep mine ordinances, to walk 
 therein : I am the Lord your God." 
 
 Q. 2. W/iat are some of the ordinances by means of 
 which he more especially communicateth to us the benefts 
 of redemption ? 
 
 A, The Word, sacraments, and prayer. Psal. cxix. 93, 
 
CHRIST COMMUNICATETH THE BENEFITS OF REDEMPTIOX. 221 
 
 " I will never forget thy precepts ; for with them thou hast 
 quickened me." Luke xxii. 19, " And he took bread, and 
 gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying. This 
 is my body which is given for you : this do in remembrance 
 of me," &c. Acts iii. 1, " Now Peter and John went up to- 
 gether into the temple at the hour of prayer." 
 
 Q. 3. Whi/ are the ordinances called the ordinary 
 means whereby/ Christ communicateth to us the henejits 
 of redemption ? 
 
 A. Because in certain cases, such as infants, so far as hu- 
 man agency is concerned, these means cannot be used, and 
 yet we know that, being born in sin, their natures require 
 to be regenerated as well as old people, although by what 
 means, or^ in what way, we cannot tell. Luke xviii. 16, 
 " Suffer Httle children to come unto me, and forbid them 
 not : for of such is the kingdom of God." 
 
 Q. 4. Has Christ aliuays communicated the henejits of 
 redemption hy his ordinances, as the outward means? 
 
 A. Yes : for no sooner had man fallen than he vouchsafed 
 to him a revelation of the work of redemption, in the curse 
 pronounced upon the serpent, and by the institution of the 
 ordinance of sacrifice, — that in the faith, and by the observ- 
 ance of which, he might escape from the wrath to come. Gen. 
 iii. 15, 21, " And I will put enmity between thee and the 
 woman, and between thy seed and her seed : it shall bruise 
 thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. Unto Adam also, 
 and to his wife, did the Lord God make coats of skin, and 
 clothed them." 
 
 Q. 5. 3Iay we observe any other ordinances, as outward 
 means, but such as Christ hath appointed ? 
 
 ^. No : inasmuch as it would be will- worship and ido- 
 latry, and very hateful and sinful in the sight of God ; substi- 
 tuting for doctrines the commandments of men, and there- 
 by corrupting the ordinances of God. Col. ii. 20, " WTiere- 
 fore, if ye be dead with Christ from the rudiments of the 
 world, why, as though living in the world, are ye subject to 
 ordinances." Psal. xcix. 7, " They kept his testimonies and 
 the ordinances that he gave them." 
 
 Q. 6. Have we any ground to expect or believe that 
 Christ will communicate the benefits of redemption to any 
 whose mind is matured, apart from his ordinances ? 
 
 ^. No : inasmuch as the office of the Holy Spirit is not to 
 make any new revelation of the will of God, but to render 
 effectual the revelation already given in the hearts and con- 
 sciences of men ; and consequently we find that he invariably 
 
 t3 
 
222 WHAT THE OUTWARD MEANS ARE, &C. 
 
 operates in and by the Word. Rom. x. 14, 17, " How- 
 then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed ? 
 and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not 
 heard ? and how shall they hear without a preacher ? So 
 then faith cometh bv hearing, and hearing by the Word of 
 God." 
 
 Q. 7. Was Paul 7iot converted apart from the ordi- 
 nances as outward tneans ? 
 
 A. No : for althouo;h he was arrested in his course of sin 
 by a miraculous interposition, yet, he was sent to a humble 
 disciple for instruction, who was to tell him what he was 
 to do ; but whatever may have been done in particular cases 
 in former times, we have now no warrant to expect that God 
 will do so again, — the revelation of his will being now com- 
 pleted, and it tells us where there is no vision there the peo- 
 ple perish. Acts ix. 6, 17, " And the Lord said unto him, 
 Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what 
 thou must do. And Ananias went his way, and entered into 
 the house, and putting his hands on him, said, Brother Saul, 
 the Lord, even Jesus, that appeared unto thee in the way as 
 thou earnest, hath sent me that thou mightest receive thy 
 sight, and be filled with the Holy Ghost." 
 
 Q. 8. To whom are the ordinances, as outward means 
 of salvation, made effectual ? 
 
 A. To the elect : in themselves the ordinances have no 
 efficacy, yet in the hand of the Holy Spirit they are adapted 
 with a divine skill, and admirably fitted for bringing sinners 
 to God. Acts ii. 41, 42, " Then they that gladly received 
 his word were baptised. And they continued stedfastly in the 
 apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, 
 and in prayers." 
 
 Nothing can be conceived better fitted to draw sinners unto 
 God than the revelation of his grace and mercy in Jesus 
 Christ ; and although in themselves utterly powerless for the 
 conversion of sinners, yet we may venture to say, that none 
 ever did in honesty and simplicity use these ordinances accor- 
 ding to Christ's appointment, and depending on the Holy 
 Spirit's teaching and influence, in whose experience they 
 were not made effectual to salvation. " If any man will do 
 his will he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God. 
 or whether I speak of myself." 
 
HOW THE WORD IS MADE EFFECTUAL. &c. 223 
 
 QUESTION LXXXIX. 
 
 Having seen what are the outward means whereby Christ 
 communicateth to us the benefits of redemption, we now come 
 to inquire how the Word is made effectual to salvation. 
 
 Quest. How is the Word made effectucd to salvation '^ 
 
 Ans. The Spirit of God maketh the reading, but especially 
 the preaching of the Word, an effectual means of convincing 
 and converting sinners, and of building them up in hoHness 
 and comfort, through faith, unto salvation. 
 
 Q. 1. How does the Spirit of God make the Word effec- 
 tual to salvation ? 
 
 A. When we read it for ourselves, or by hearing it preached. 
 Deut xvii. 19, " He shall read therein all the days of his lite'; 
 that he may learn to fear the Lord his God, to keep all the 
 words of this law, and these statutes, to do them." Mark xvi. 
 15, 16, " And he said unto them. Go ye into all the world, 
 and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth, 
 and is baptised, shall be saved ; but he that believeth not shall 
 be damned." 
 
 Q. 2. Will the reading or hearing of the Word in it- 
 self he effectual to salvation ? 
 
 A. No: being in itself utterly powerless, but as wielded by 
 the Spirit of God, it is mighty to the pulling down of strong- 
 holds, and an effectual means of bringing; sinners to Christ, 
 and is therefore called the sword of the Spirit. 1 Cor. ii. 14, 
 " The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of 
 God ; for they are foolishness unto him ; neither can he know 
 them, because they are spiritually discerned." John xiv. 26, 
 " But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Fa- 
 ther will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and 
 bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said 
 unto you." 
 
 Q. 3. Is it our duty diligently to read, and wait upon 
 the preaching of the Word ? 
 
 A. Yes : it is not only our imperative duty to read and 
 attend on the preaching of the Word, but our most exalted 
 privilege; because it is the divinely adapted means, un- 
 der the teaching of the Holy Ghost, for bringing us to Christ, 
 and putting us in possession of the benefits of redemption. 
 Psal. cxix. 130, " The entrance of thy words giveth light ; it 
 
224 now THE WORD IS MADE 
 
 givetli understanding unto the simple." Acts xvi. 14, " Whose 
 heart the Lord opened, that she attended unto the tilings 
 which were spoken of Paul." 
 
 Q. 4. What is the first thing that the Spirit of God 
 does in' making the Word effectual to salvation'^ 
 
 A. He makes it effectual for convincin^r and converting 
 sinners. Psal. xix. 7, " The law of the Lord is perfect, con- 
 verting the soul : the testimony of the Lord is sure, making 
 wise the simple." 
 
 Q. 5. Hoiu does the Spirit of God make the Word ef- 
 fectual for convincing the sinner ? 
 
 A. When he reads or hears, that cursed is every one that 
 continueth not in all things which are written in the book of 
 the law to do them, and that every imagination and thought 
 of man's heart is evil, and that continually ; that he lives in an 
 estate of sin and estrangement from God, the Holy Spirit, by 
 his influence upon the mind, convinceth the sinner that he is 
 in this state of guilt and misery. Rom. iii. 20, " Therefore 
 by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his 
 sight : for by the law is the knowledge of sin." 
 
 Q. 6. Hoiu does the Spirit of God make the Word ef- 
 fectual for converting the sinner? 
 
 A. When he reads or hears that God so loved the world, 
 that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever beheveth 
 in him should not perish, but have everlasting life ; and be- 
 ing already convinced of his guilt and misery, the Holy Spi- 
 rit, by his influence, enables him by faith to close with the 
 offer, and appropriate unto himself Christ and all the benefits 
 of his redemption. 2 Cor. v. 17, 21, " Therefore if any man 
 be in Christ, he is a new creature : old things are passed 
 away ; behold, all things are become new. For he hath made 
 him to be sin for us, who knew no sin ; that we might be 
 made the righteousness of God in him." 
 
 Q. 7. What is the second thing that the Spirit of God 
 does in making the Woi^d efcctual to salvation? 
 
 A. He makes it effectual for building them up in holiness 
 and comfort unto salvation. 1 Thess. i. 6, " And ye became 
 followers of us, and of the Lord, having received the word in 
 much affliction, with joy of the Holy Ghost." 
 
 Q. 8. How docs the Spirit of God make the Word ef- 
 fectual for building up believers in holiness? 
 
 A. By making them to feel that the peace and joy they 
 have already experienced in believing, can only be maintained 
 by a constant conflict with sin, and in a growing conformity 
 to the divine image, arising from the daily contemplation of 
 
EFFECTUAL TO SALVATION. 225 
 
 Christ's spotless excellence as set forth in the Word. John 
 xvii. 17, " Sanctify" them through thy truth : thy word is 
 truth." 2 Cor. iii. 18, " But we all, with open face behold- 
 ing as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the 
 same image, from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the 
 Lord." 
 
 Q. 9. How does the Spirit of God make the Word ef- 
 fectual for huilding up believers in comfort ? 
 
 A. By enabhng them to rest in the assurance that all 
 God's dealings with them are in love and faithfulness, and 
 with the design of preparing them for an exceeding, even an 
 eternal weight of glory. 2 Cor. vi. 10, " For our light afflic- 
 tion, which is but for a moment, worketh out for us a far more 
 exceeding and eternal weight of glory." 
 
 Q. 10. By what means is it that the Spirit of God makes 
 the Word effectual to salvation ? 
 
 A. By faith : enabling us simply, but confidently, to receive 
 and rest upon the truth of God's Word. Rom. i. 16, "I am 
 not ashamed of the gospel of Christ ; for it is the power of 
 God unto salvation to every one that believeth." Acts xv. 
 8, 9, " Giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us. 
 And put no difference between us and them, purifying their 
 hearts by faith." 
 
 It is by faith the Holy Spirit makes the Word effectual 
 to salvation ; it is when the Word is behoved as the Word of 
 God, that the sinner is brought to Christ, or " born again, 
 not of corruptible seed but of incorruptible, by the Word of 
 God which liveth and abideth for ever." And it is when 
 " as new born babes they desire the sincere milk of the word," 
 that they grow up in holiness and comfort unto salvation. 
 
 QUESTION XC. 
 
 Having seen how the Spirit of God maketh the reading 
 and hearing of the Word an effectual means of salvation, we 
 now come to consider our duty in reading and hearing the 
 Word of God, so as that it may become to us an effectual 
 means of salvation. 
 
 Quest. How is the Word to be read and heard, that it 
 may become effectual to salvation ? 
 
 Ans. That the Word may become effectual to salvation, 
 
226 HOW THE WORD IS 
 
 we must attend thereunto with dihgonce, preparation, and 
 prayer ; receive it with faith and love, lay it up in our hearts, 
 and practise it in our lives. 
 
 Q. 1. What is our duty in reading or hearing the 
 Word of Godj that it may become ej^ectual to salvation ? 
 
 A. We must attend thereunto with diligence. Prov. viii. 
 34, " Blessed is the man that heareth me, watching daily at 
 my gates, waiting at the posts of my door." Prov. ii. 4, 6, 
 " If thou scekcst her as silver, and searchest for her as for 
 hid treasures ; then shalt thou understand the fear of the 
 Lord, and find the knowledge of God." 
 
 Q. 2. Hoiu luill diligent attention in reading or hear- 
 ing the Word of God manifest itself? 
 
 A. By leading us to solemn preparation and prayer, before 
 entering upon so sacred a duty. Amos iv. 12, " Prepare to 
 meet thy God, O Israel." Psal. xxvi. 6, " I will wash mine 
 hands in innocency, so will I compass thine altar, Lord." 
 Psal. cxix. 18, " Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold 
 wondrous things out of thy law." 
 
 Q. 3. Is it our duty solemnly to prepare ourselves^ he- 
 fore reading or hearing the Word of God ? 
 
 A. Yes : as it is most becoming that we seriously consider 
 whose word it is we are about to read or hear, and the being 
 with whom we are going to hold converse ; so as to lay aside 
 everything that would have a tendency to obstruct the en- 
 trance of his word into our heart. Acts x. 33, " Now there- 
 fore are we all here present before God, to hear all things 
 that are commanded thee of God." 1 Pet. ii. 1,2, " Where- 
 fore, laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and - 
 envies, and all evil speakings. As new-born babes, desire 
 the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby." 
 
 Q. 4. Is prayer a duty before reading or hearing the 
 Word of God ? 
 
 A. Yes : as we are not only guilty creatures, but also very 
 ignorant ; and although it be' true that God hath made a full 
 revelation of himself in the holy Scriptures, he has only pro- 
 mised to make himself known in that revelation to those who 
 ask him. Matt. vii. 7, 8, " Ask, and it shall be given you ; 
 seek, and ye shall find ; knock, and it shall be opened unto 
 you. For every one that asketh, receiveth ; and he that seek- 
 eth, findeth ; and to him that knocketh, it shall be opened." 
 
 Q. 5. What ivill be the first effect that such preparation 
 and prayer will have upon us in reading or hearing the 
 Word of God? 
 
 A. It will dispose us to receive it in faith, not as the word 
 
TO BE READ AND HEARD. 227 
 
 of man, but as it is indeed and in truth, the word of the 
 living God ; and having supphcated the teaching of the 
 Holy Spirit, we may, according to his own promise, confi- 
 dently believe that he will be given us, to lead and guide 
 us into all truth. 1 Thess. ii. 13, " When ye received the 
 word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the 
 word of man, but (as it is in truth) the word of God, which 
 effectually worketh also in you that believe." John xvi. 24, 
 " Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name : ask, and ye 
 shall receive, that your joy may be full." 
 
 Q. 6. What will be the second effect of such 'preparation 
 and prayer before reading or hearing the Word of God ? 
 
 A. It will dispose us to receive it in love : having received 
 it in faith we will rejoice in it as the word of God, the charter 
 of our heavenly inheritance ; for although it makes known to 
 us our guilty and miserable condition by nature, it sets before 
 us also the amazing love of God in Christ Jesus, and tells us 
 how our sins may be forgiven, and our natures sanctified and 
 made meet for the inheritance of the saints in light. Jer. xv, 
 16, " Thy words were found, and I did eat them ; and thy 
 word was unto me the joy and. rejoicing of mine heart." Psal. 
 cxix. 97, " how love I thy law ! it is my meditation all the 
 day." 
 
 Q. 7. What ivill be the third eff'ect of such preparation 
 and prayer before reading or hearing the Word of God? 
 
 A. It will dispose us to lay it up in our heart, and cherish 
 it as the only light which can guide us through this dark and 
 dreary pilgrimage, and habitually to dwell on and remember 
 it, as the truth by means of which we become partakers of the 
 divine nature, and escape the pollution that is in the world 
 through lust. Psal. cxix. 11, 129, " Thy word have I hid in 
 mine heart, that I might not sin against thee. Thy testimo- 
 nies are wonderful : therefore doth my soul keep them." 2 
 Pet. i. 4, " Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and 
 precious promises : that by these ye might be partakers of the 
 divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the 
 world through lust." 
 
 Q. 8. What yjill be the effect upon our life of laying up 
 the Word of God in our heart ? 
 
 A. A corresponding practice ; because the design and ten- 
 dency of the Word, when received in faith and love, is to 
 transform us into the divine image, to make us holy, and in 
 some measure capable of keeping God's commandments. Tit. 
 ii. 11, 12, " For the grace of God thatbringeth salvation hath 
 appeared to all men, teaching us, that, denying ungodliness 
 
228 HOW THE SACRAMENTS BECOME 
 
 and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and 
 godly, in this present world." 
 
 Q. 9. Is it necessary to the Word becoming effectual to 
 salvation that ive receive it in faith and love, laying it up 
 in our hearts, and reducing it to jjractice in our lives ? 
 
 A. Yes : for although the Word can only become effectual by 
 the teaching of the Iloly Spirit, his teaching can only be ex- 
 pected when we are in the diligent use of all the outward 
 means which he has appointed : to neglect or reject these 
 means is virtually to set at nought and reject his divine teach- 
 ing. Heb. iv. 2, " But the word preached did not profit them, 
 not being mixed with faith in them that heard it." 2 Thess. 
 ii. 10, " They received not the love of the truth, that they 
 might be saved." 
 
 The Word of God is the grand instrument that the Holy 
 Spirit makes effectual for bringing sinners to Christ, and for 
 preparing them for heaven ; but to this end it must be believ- 
 ed in and cherished. A more fearful symptom, therefore, 
 of spiritual death cannot well be conceived, than a want of 
 desire for and delight in the Word of God ; for it has been 
 highly esteemed, and loved, and pondered over, by the saints 
 in every age, as a lamp unto their feet, and a light unto 
 their path ; as their song and rejoicing in the house of their 
 pilgrimage. 
 
 QUESTION XCI. 
 
 Having seen how the Word of God becomes effectual to 
 salvation, we now come to inquire how the sacraments become 
 effectual means of salvation. 
 
 Quest. How do the sacraments become effectual means of 
 salvation ? 
 
 Ans. The sacraments become effectual means of salvation, 
 not from any virtue in them, or in him that doth administer 
 them ; but only by the blessing of Christ, and the working of 
 his Spirit in them that by faith receive them. 
 
 Q. 1. Do the sacraments in themselves possess any effi- 
 cacy or virtue^ so as to become eff'ectual means of salva- 
 tion ? 
 
 A. No : in themselves they possess no virtue nor efficacy, 
 and may, and often are, observed without any benefit being 
 
EFFECTUAL TO SALVATION. 229 
 
 derived from them, but injury ; nevertheless they are the di- 
 vinely appointed ordinances of Christ, by means of which 
 he communicates substantial benefits to his people. Acts 
 viii. 13, 20, 21, " And Simon was baptised. But Peter said 
 unto him. Thy money perish with thee : thou hast neither 
 part nor lot in this matter ; for thy heart is not right in the 
 sight of God." 1 Cor. xi. 32, " For this cause many are 
 weak and sickly among you, and many sleep." Acts viii. 39, 
 " The eunuch saw him no more : and he went on his way re- 
 joicing." 
 
 Q. 2. Do the sacraments derive any efficacy or virtue 
 from him who adm^i^iisters them, so as to become effectual 
 means of salvation ? 
 
 A. No : he may, as it is his duty, administer them accord- 
 ing to Christ's appointment, but he can impart to them no 
 efficacy or virtue : it is the Spirit of God alone who can 
 render them effectual means of salvation. 1 Cor. iii. 7, " So 
 then, neither is he that planteth anything, neither he that 
 watereth ; but God that giveth the increase." 
 
 Q. 3. What is it that makes the sacraments become ef- 
 fectual means of salvation ? 
 
 A. The blessing of Christ, and the working of his Spirit 
 in them that by faith receive them. Matt, xxviii. 20, 
 " Teachinof them to observe all thinfjs whatsoever I have com- 
 manded you : and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the 
 end of the world. John vi. 63, " It is the Spirit that quick- 
 eneth, the flesh profiteth nothing : the words that I speak 
 unto you, they are spirit, and they are life." 
 
 Q. 4. Is faith on our fart necessary to the sacraments 
 becoming effectual means of salvation ? 
 
 A. Yes : it is necessary that we have faith in God's pro- 
 mise as to their being the instituted means, under the teaching 
 of the Holy Spirit, for our growth in grace and advancement 
 in holiness. Heb. xi. 6, " But without faith it is impossible to 
 please him; for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, 
 and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him." 
 
 Q, 5. Is it our duty carefully to observe or celebrate 
 the sacraments as means of salvation ? 
 
 A. Yes, it is both our duty and our privilege : our duty, 
 for God hath commanded us ; and our privilege, as they are 
 eminently fitted, when observed in a proper frame of mind, 
 under the blessing of God's Spirit, to become effectual means 
 of salvation. Matt, xviii. 20, " Where two or three are ga- 
 thered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them, 
 to bless them and do them good." 
 
 u 
 
230 WHAT A SACRAMENT IS. 
 
 The sacraments, like every other outward means of grace, 
 are in themselves powerless, but when observed in faith, and 
 accompanied by the influence of the Holy Spirit, they are 
 eminently fitted for building up the believer in holiness, and 
 comfort, unto eternal life. 
 
 QUESTION XCII. 
 
 Having seen that the sacraments, as means of grace, de- 
 rive all their virtue from the blessing of Christ, and the work- 
 ing of his Spirit in them that by faith receive them, we now 
 come to inquire what is a sacrament. 
 
 Quest. What is a sacrament ? 
 
 Ans. a sacrament is an holy ordinance, instituted by 
 Christ, wherein, by sensible signs, Christ, and the benefits 
 of the new covenant, are represented, sealed, and applied to 
 believers. 
 
 Q. 1. What are ive to understand hy a sacrament? 
 
 A. An outward sign, and visible representation of some 
 truth revealed, and which we are required to believe ; and 
 is therefore given as a confirmation and support of our faith. 
 Gen. xvii. 10, " This is my covenant, which ye shall keep 
 between me and you, and thy seed after thee ; every man- 
 child among you shall be circumcised." Rom. vi. 3, *' Know 
 ye not, that so many of us as were baptised into Jesus Christ 
 were baptised into his death ?" 
 
 Q. 2. Is there any natural connection between the sign 
 and the things signified^ in a sacrament ? 
 
 A. No : except what the institution of Christ gives it ; 
 although it has always been, and still is, very significant of 
 the blessings promised, as may be seen by comparing the out- 
 ward sign with the thing signified ; as, for example, the tree 
 of life, the rainbow, circumcision, the passover, and the sacra- 
 ments of the New Testament, baptism, and the Lord's sup- 
 per. Gen. ix. 13, " I do set my bow in the cloud, and it 
 shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the 
 earth." 
 
 Q. 3. For what purpose were sacraments instituted in 
 the church ? 
 
 A. That, by sensible signs, Christ, and the benefits of the 
 new covenant, might be represented, sealed, and applied for 
 strengthening the faith, and animating the hope of his people, 
 
WHAT A SACRAMENT IS. 231 
 
 in the blessings promised. Heb. vi. 17, 18, " Wherein God, 
 wilHng more abundantly to show unto the heirs of promise the 
 immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath ; that by 
 two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to 
 lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for re- 
 fuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us." 
 
 Q. 4. Are sacraments merely sensible signs of Christ, 
 and the benefits of the new covenant ? 
 
 A. No : they are also seals of all the benefits they repre- 
 sent, to as many as by faith believe in the truths signified. 
 Rom. iv. 11, " And he received the sign of circumcision, a 
 seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had, yet being 
 uncircumcised." 
 
 Q. 5. Is faith in the truth signified necessary to a 
 ivorthy or acceptable observance of the sacrament, as an 
 outward sign ? 
 
 A. Yes : because, without faith in the truth signified, it 
 could have no meaning as an outward sign, in so far as we 
 are concerned, it being the sensible token, pledge, and seal of 
 something before promised and believed in. Gen. xv. 6, 
 " And he believed in the Lord ; and he counted it to him for 
 righteousness." 
 
 Q. 6. Is it OUT duty to confide in the Word of God, 
 without any such outward pledge or token as a sacra- 
 ment ? 
 
 A. Yes : as no outward token or pledge can make his 
 Word more sure than it is ; yet, in consideration of our weak- 
 ness, sacraments are designed, and eminently fitted, under 
 the blessing of Christ, and the working of his Spirit, to con- 
 firm the faith, and strengthen the hope, of his believing peo- 
 ple. Num. xxiii. 19, " God is not a man, that he should 
 lie ; neither the son of man, that he should repent." 
 
 Sacraments cannot make the truth, or Word of God, more 
 sure than it is ; but, as means of grace, they are eminently 
 fitted to carry forward his people in the divine life, affording 
 to their very senses palpable pledges of God's faithfulness 
 and truth. 
 
 QUESTION XCIII. 
 
 Having seen what is a sacrament, that it is " a visible form 
 of invisible grace," a material representation of invisible bless- 
 
232 THE SACRAMENTS OF 
 
 ings, a sensible confirmation of God's promises, wc now come 
 to inquire, what are the sacraments of the New Testament ? 
 
 Quest. Which are the sacraments of the New Testa- 
 ment ? 
 
 Ans. The sacraments of the New Testament are baptism 
 and the Lord's supper. 
 
 Q. 1. Wlien luere sacraments first instituted? 
 
 A. In the garden of Eden, while man was yet in a state of 
 innocency, and they have continued in the church ever since, 
 in different forms, suitable to the existing dispensation. The 
 tree of life was a sacrament to Adam ; the bow in the cloud 
 to Noah ; circumcision and the passover to the church under 
 the Old Testament dispensation. Gen. xvii. 10, " This is 
 my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you, and 
 thy seed after thee ; Every man-child among you shall be 
 circumcised." Exod. xii. 43, " And the Lord said unto 
 Moses and Aaron, This is the ordinance of the passover; 
 there shall no stranger eat thereof." 
 
 Q. 2. What were the blessings ivhich circumcision and 
 the passover signified and sealed to true believers ? 
 
 A. By circumcision was signified or represented the new 
 birth, or regeneration, and to true believers it was a seal of 
 all the blessings of the covenant of grace, in which was con- 
 tained the promise of the Holy Ghost to circumcise their 
 hearts to love God. The passover again represented the 
 source from which these blessings flowed, while its yearly re- 
 petition was eminently calculated to strengthen their faith, 
 and establish them on the one foundation. Rom. ii. 29, " But 
 he is a Jew which is one inwardly ; and circumcision is that 
 of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter : whose praise 
 is not of men, but of God." 1 Cor. v. 7, " For even Christ 
 our passover is sacrificed for us." 
 
 Q. 3. What were the obligations that the observance of 
 these sacraments brouglit them under ? 
 
 A. To live agreeably to the laws of the covenant, seeking 
 after purity in heart and life. For having been separated 
 from the rest of the world by the outward sign, it was also 
 meet that they should become separated from them by the 
 purity and hoHness of their hves. Col. ii. 11, " In whom 
 also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without 
 hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the 
 circumcision of Christ." 
 
 Q. 4. Which are the sacraments of the New Testament ? 
 
 A, Baptism and the Lord's supper. Mark xvi. 6, " He 
 
THE NEW TESTAMENT. 233 
 
 that believeth, and is baptised, shall be saved." 1 Cor. xi. 
 23, " For I have received of the Lord that which also I de- 
 livered unto you, That the Lord Jesus, the same night in 
 which he was betrayed, took bread," &c. 
 
 Q. 5. Has baptism and the Lord's supper come in the 
 place of circumcision and the passover ? 
 
 A, Whether they have, or have not come in the room of 
 circumcision and the passover, one thing is certain, that they 
 occupy the same place in the Christian church, under the new 
 dispensation, that these did in the Jewish church, under the 
 old dispensation. Baptism being the initiatory ordinance, or 
 door of entrance into the Christian church, while the Lord's 
 supper is for strengthening the faith, and keeping alive the 
 hope of his people. Acts ii. 38, " Repent and be baptised 
 every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remis- 
 sion of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost." 
 1 Cor. xi. 28, " But let a man examine himself, and so let 
 him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup." 
 
 Q. 6. Are baptism and the Lord's supper the only sa- 
 craments of the New Testament luhich are to be observed 
 in the Christian church ? 
 
 A. Yes : they are the only sacraments instituted by Jesus 
 Christ, and which he requires us to observe ; either to insti- 
 tute or observe others, therefore, would be impiety and will- 
 worship. Lev. xviii. 4, 3, " Ye shall do my judgments, and 
 keep mine ordinances, to walk therein : I am the Lord your 
 God. Neither shall ye walk in their ordinances." 
 
 We are bound to observe and celebrate the ordinances 
 which Christ, as the Head and King of his church, hath in- 
 stituted, believing that a divine blessing, according to his gra- 
 cious promise, will accompany our observance of them ; and 
 for the same reason we are bound to reject and repudiate 
 as spurious every other sacrament pretending to be a divine 
 ordinance. 
 
 QUESTION XCIV. 
 
 Having seen that baptism and the Lord's supper are the 
 only two sacraments instituted by Christ in the New Testa- 
 ment, we now come to inquire what is baptism. 
 
 Quest. What is baptism ? 
 
 Ans. Baptism is a sacrament, wherein the washing with 
 
 u3 
 
234 WHAT BAPTISM IS. 
 
 water in the name of the Father, and of the Son. and of the 
 Holy Ghost, doth signify and seal our ingrafting into Christ, 
 and partaking of the benefits of the covenant of grace, and our 
 engagement to be the Lord's. 
 
 Q. 1. WJtat is the outivard sign in baptism ? 
 
 A. The outward sign in baptism is water. Acts viii. 36, 
 37, " See here is water, what doth hinder me to be baptised. 
 And Philip said, if thou believest with all thine heart, thou 
 may est." 
 
 Q. 2. In iL'hose name is baptism to be administered? 
 
 A. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the 
 Holy Ghost. Matt, xxviii. 19, " Go ye therefore, and teach 
 all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father, and of 
 the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." 
 
 Q. 3. What does our being baptised into the name of the 
 Father^ and of the Son, and of the HoJg Ghost imply ? 
 
 A. Our decided and firm belief in the doctrine of Three 
 Persons in the Godhead, the same in substance, equal in power 
 and glory ; and in the relation in which each of them stand to 
 us in the economy of redemption. 2 Cor. xiii. 14, " The grace 
 of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the com- 
 munion ol'the Holy Ghost, be with you all Amen." 
 
 Q. 4. Wliat is signified by the ordinance of baptism ? 
 
 A, The original pollution and depravity of our nature, and 
 the transformation, which it is necessary to undergo, before 
 we can again either serve or enjoy God, compared in Scripture 
 to a beinor born aoain. Ezek. xxxvi. 25 — 27, " Then will I 
 sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean : from all 
 your filthiness, and from all your idols will I cleanse you. A 
 new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put 
 within you ; and I w^ll take away the stony heart out of your 
 Hesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put 
 my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, 
 and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them." . 
 
 Q. 5. What is signified by the water being poured or 
 sprinkled upon us in baptism ? 
 
 A. The necessity of our being washed in the blood of Je- 
 sus Christ, that our guilt and pollution may be cleansed, our 
 hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies wash- 
 ed as with pure water, before we can serve God acceptably 
 with reverence and godly fear. Rev. i. 5, " Unto him that 
 loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood." 
 
 Q. 6. WJio is the agent of this spiritual regeneration in 
 applying the blood of Christ to the sotd, sign! fed by the 
 emblem of ivater ? 
 
WHAT BAPTISM IS. 235 
 
 A. The Holy Ghost that, as water, when applied to our 
 bodies, clean setli them ; so in like manner does the blood of 
 Christ, when applied to our souls by the Holy Ghost, cleanse and 
 purify them from their natural guilt and defilement. John 
 iii. 5, " Exept a man be born of water, and of the Spirit, he 
 cannot enter into the kingdom of God." 1 Cor. vi. 11, "But 
 such were some of you : but ye are washed, but ye are sanc- 
 tified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and 
 by the Spirit of our God." 
 
 Q. 7. Are the hlessmgs of the new covenant^ and the in- 
 Jiuences of the Holy Spirit, represented in Scripture hy 
 the emblem of water ? 
 
 A. Yes : in more places than it would be easy to reckon 
 up : " Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters. 
 The water that I shall give him, shall be in him a well of 
 water springing up into everlasting life. He that believeth 
 on me, as the Scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow 
 rivers of living water. But this he spake of the Spirit." 
 Isa. xliv. 3, " For I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, 
 and floods upon the dry ground : I will pour my Spirit upon 
 thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring." 
 
 Q. 8. What is sealed, as well as signified, to believers, 
 in the ordinance of baptism ? 
 
 A. Their ingrafting into Christ. Bom. vi. 3, "Know ye 
 not, that so many of us as were baptised into Jesus Christ 
 were baptised into his death .«'" 
 
 Q. 9. WJiat are we to understand by our ingrafting 
 into Christ ? 
 
 A. Union or oneness with Clirist, in the eye of the divine 
 law, so as that all he did and suffered for sinners is placed to 
 our account, as if we had done it in our own proper persons, 
 and we are treated as righteous, for his righteousness' sake, 
 and from whom, as our living Head, we derive all gracious 
 influences. Bom. vi. 4, 5, " Therefore we are buried with 
 him by baptism into death ; that like as Christ was raised up 
 from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also 
 should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted 
 together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the 
 likeness of his resurrection." 
 
 Q. 10. What more, besides ingrafting into Christ, is 
 sealed, as well as signified, to believers, in the ordinance 
 of baptism ? 
 
 A. All the benefits of the covenant of grace which neces- 
 sarily arise out of, and flow from their ingrafting into Christ. 
 1 Pet. iii. 21, " The like figure whereunto, even baptism, doth 
 
236 WHAT BAPTISM IS. 
 
 also now save us (not the putting away of the fihh of the flesh, 
 but the answer of a good conscience toward God), by the re- 
 surrection of Jesus Christ." 
 
 Q. 11. What is the first benefit of the covenant of grace 
 that is sealed, as luell as signified, to believers, in the ordi- 
 nance of baptism ? 
 
 A. Regeneration, or the new birth, in which they are en- 
 abled, by the power of the Holy Ghost, to believe in Christ. 
 Tit. iii. 5, " Not by works of righteousness, which we have 
 done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing 
 of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost." 
 
 Q. 12. What is the second benefit of the covenant of gract 
 that is sealed, as well as signified, to believers, in the ordi- 
 nance of baptism ? 
 
 ' A. Remission of sins : Christ having, as their surety and 
 substitute, satisfied the justice of God, and magnified his law, 
 he is now just in justifying the ungodly that believe in Jesus. 
 Acts ii. 38, " Repent and be baptised every one of you, in the 
 name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of sins." 
 
 Q. 13. What is the third benefit of the covenant of 
 grace that is sealed, as well as signified, to believers, in 
 the ordinance of baptism ? 
 
 A. Adoption into the family of God : being regenerated 
 in their natures, and their sins being blotted out, they are 
 now admitted into his family, and have fellowship with the 
 saints, and the household of faith. 1 Cor. xii. 13, " For 
 by one Spirit are we all baptised into one body, whether we 
 be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free ; and have 
 been all made to drink into one Spirit." Rom. viii. 16, 
 •' The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we 
 are the children of God." 
 
 Q. 14. What is the fourth benefit of the covenant of 
 grace that is sealed, as luell as signified, to believers, in the 
 ordinance of baptism ? 
 
 A. Resurrection to eternal life, and to share with Christ in 
 the glory to which he has been exalted, as the reward of his 
 sore travail of soul. Col. ii. 12, " Buried with him in bap- 
 tism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of 
 the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead." 
 John xvii. 24, " Father, I will that they also whom thou hast 
 given me be with me where I am ; that they may behold my 
 glory." 
 
 Q. 15. What is implied on our part, in observing the 
 ordinance of baptism ? 
 
 A. Our engagement to be the Lord's, and to live according 
 
TO WHOM BAPTISM, &c. 23? 
 
 to the law of the covenant. Matt, xxviii. 20, " Teaching them 
 to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you." 
 
 Q. 16. What does the laiu of the covenant require ns 
 to do ? 
 
 A. To believe all the truths that Christ has revealed ; to 
 observe his ordinances, and obey his laws ; to renounce the 
 devil, the world, and the flesh ; to be Christ's only, Christ's 
 wholly, and Christ's for ever. Rom. vi. 11, 12, " Likewise 
 reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive 
 unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Let not sin, 
 therefore, reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it 
 in the lusts thereof." 
 
 In baptism we professedly make a full and unreserved sur- 
 render of ourselves to God through Jesus Christ, as living 
 sacrifices, to live to his glory, and as willing to be dealt with 
 as seems best unto Lifinite Wisdom. " Ye are not your own. 
 For ye are bought with a price, therefore glorify God in your 
 body ; and in your spirit, which are God's." 
 
 QUESTION XCV. 
 
 Having seen what is baptism, we now come to inquire to 
 whom is baptism to be administered. 
 
 Quest. To whom is baptism to he administered ? 
 
 Ans. Baptism is not to be administered to any that are 
 out of the visible church, till they profess their faith in Christ, 
 and obedience to him ; but the infants of such as are members 
 of the visible church are to be baptised. 
 
 Q. 1. To whom is baptism not to be administered f 
 
 A. Baptism is not to be administered to any that are out 
 of the visible church. Eph. ii. 12, " At that time ye were 
 without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Is- 
 rael, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no 
 hope, and without God in the world." 
 
 Q. 2. Wh^ is baptism not to be administered to any 
 that are out of the visible church ? 
 
 A. Because to all such it could have no meaning, either as 
 a sign, or as a seal ; inasmuch as they neither believe in the 
 truth signified, nor honestly desire to possess the blessings of 
 which it is the seal ; besides, it would be profaning a most 
 holy ordinance, prostituting it to a purpose for which it was 
 
238 TO WHOM BAPTISM IS 
 
 not designed, as believing in the Lord Jesus Christ is requir- 
 ed by the Word of God as necessary to baptism. jMark xvi. 
 16, " He that beHeveth, and is baptised, shall be saved ; but 
 lie that believeth not shall be damned." 
 
 Q. 3. How does it appear more clearly that sacraments 
 can only he observed scripturally and profitably by such 
 as have believed in Christ ? 
 
 A. From the express testimony of Scripture, as we have 
 seen, and also from the uniform history of God's dealings 
 with the church : for example, wlien Adam sinned, he was 
 driven out of the garden, lest he should eat of the tree of hfe, 
 which was to him the sacrament in his unfallen state, but to 
 which he had now no title whatever ; nor was the rainbow 
 given to Noah, as a token and seal of the covenant, until 
 God had promised and Noah believed ; and Abraham receiv- 
 ed circumcision as a seal of the righteousness of the faith 
 which he had, being yet uncircumcised ; and the apostles in 
 no instance baptised until the individual believed. Acts x. 
 46 — 48, " While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy 
 Ghost fell on all them which heard the word. Then answer- 
 ed Peter, Can any man forbid water, that these should not 
 be baptised, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as 
 we. And he commanded them to be baptised in the name 
 of the Lord." 
 
 Q. 4. What are the necessary qualifications before bap- 
 tism can be administered ? 
 
 A. Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and a firm purpose 
 of, and endeavour after, new obedience. Acts ii. 41, " Then 
 they that gladly received his word were baptised." 
 
 Q. 5. Why is faith in Christ necessary before baptism 
 can be administered ? 
 
 A. Because it is not only a sign, but also a seal of the be- 
 liever's union to Christ, and to constitute such a union it is 
 necessary that the testimony concerning Christ be received 
 and confided in. Acts xviii. 8, " And many of the Corin- 
 thians hearing believed, and were baptised." 
 
 Q. 6. Is Hie administration of baptism necessary to sal- 
 vation ? 
 
 A. We have no such authority or warrant for saying, re- 
 garding it, that it is necessary, as we have regarding the 
 Word, because we can easily perceive that a person may believe 
 in Christ, and be sanctified by the Holy Spirit, apart from the 
 sacraments ; but as it is an eminent means of grace, instituted 
 by Christ, it will not be lightly thought of by any believer, 
 and it is the express command of Christ, that it be observed. 
 
TO BE ADMINISTERED. 239 
 
 Acts xxii. 16, " And now, why tarriest thou ? arise, and 
 be baptised, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of 
 the Lord." 
 
 Q. 7« ^s baptism to be administered to such only as 
 have believed in Jesus Christ ? 
 
 A. Yes : it can be administered to none who are come of 
 age but such as beheve in Christ, but the infants of such as 
 are members of the visible church are to be baptised. Acts 
 ii. 38, 39, " Then Peter said unto them. Repent and be bap- 
 tised every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ, for the 
 remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy 
 Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, 
 and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our 
 God shall call." 
 
 Q. 8. Hoiu ought children to be baptised if faith is ne- 
 cessary ? 
 
 A. It is only the children of believing parents that are to 
 baptised ; for the covenant, of which baptism is the sign and 
 seal, is in the first instance made with the parent, and then 
 with his seed in him. Gen. xvii. 7, 10, " And I will esta- 
 blish my covenant between me and thee, and thy seed after 
 thee, in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be 
 a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee. This is my co- 
 venant which ye shall keep between me and you, and thy seed 
 after thee ; every man child among you shall be circumcised." 
 
 Q. 9. But can infants exercise faith in Christ ? 
 
 A, No : it may be true that infants cannot beheve, but 
 they can become, and are actually made the subjects of re- 
 deeming grace ; and if so, what right have we to withhold from 
 them that ordinance, which is but the outward sign and seal 
 of that grace of which they may become partakers ; besides it 
 is not the faith of the child, but of the parent that is recog- 
 nised in administering baptism. Acts ii. 39, " For the pro- 
 mise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are 
 afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call." 
 Luke xyiii. 16, " But Jesus called them unto him, and said, 
 Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not ; 
 for of such is the kingdom of God." 
 
 Q. 10. Since infants are made the subjects of redeeming 
 grace, ought not all infants to be baptised ? 
 
 A. No : inasmuch as by the constitution of the everlasting 
 covenant, the faith of the parent is distinctly recognised in the 
 baptism of the child ; for the promise is only made to the 
 seed of believing parents ; whatever God may do with the 
 children of unbelievers, in the exercise of his sovereign grace 
 
240 TO WHOM BAPTISM IS 
 
 and mercy, they ought not to be baptised. Psal. 1. 16, 17, 
 " But unto the wicked God saith, What hast thou to do to 
 declare my statutes, or that thou shouldest take my covenant 
 in thy mouth ? Seeing thou hatest instruction, and castest my 
 words behind thee." 
 
 Q. 11. Have we any examples in the Neiv Testament of 
 baptism, being administered to infants ? 
 
 A. Yes : for although infants are not mentioned, as such, 
 we read of households being baptised on the recognised faith 
 of the parent ; and as faith is necessary in all grown-up per- 
 sons before baptism can be administered, these households 
 must have been composed of children ; and the promise being 
 made to the seed of believers, it cannot be doubted that, when 
 they themselves were baptised, so also were their children. 
 Acts xvi. 15, 33, " And when she was baptised, and her 
 household. And was baptised, he and all his, straightway." 
 1 Cor. i. 16, " And I baptised also the household of Ste- 
 phanas." 
 
 Q. 12. Is it necessary that both the parents should be 
 believers before baptism is administered to their child- 
 ren ? 
 
 A. No : as the believing parent may, and ought, accord- 
 ing to the covenant, to claim the privilege of devoting their 
 child to God in baptism. 1 Cor. vii. 14, " For the unbe- 
 lieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving 
 wife is sanctified by the husband : else were your children 
 unclean ; but now are they holy." 
 
 Q. 13. Since infants cannot volmitarily enter into co- 
 venant luith God, tuhat are the obligations under which 
 parents come in dedicating their children to God in bap- 
 tism ? 
 
 A. By such a dedication they virtually surrender their 
 children to God, — henceforward to be looked upon as a sa- 
 cred trust committed to their charge, to be watched over, and 
 trained up in his fear, and for his service and glory. Eph. 
 vi. 4, " And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath ; 
 but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the 
 Lord." ' 2 Tim. iii. 15, " And that from a child thou hast 
 known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make thee wise 
 unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus." 
 
 Q. 14. Is the child bound, by his parcnfs dedication of 
 him to God in baptism ? 
 
 A. Yes : he is equally bound as if he had voluntarily en- 
 tered into covenant with God himself, and therefore has an 
 unalienable claim upon his parents and the church for in- 
 
TO BE ADMINISTERED. 241 
 
 struction, and a divine warrant to plead for, and expect all 
 the blessings of the covenant of grace, that the Holy Spirit 
 may make him experimentally acquainted with the truths 
 signified in baptism. John xxi. 15, " Jesus saith unto him, 
 Teed my lambs." John xvi. 23, 13, " Whatsoever ye shall 
 ask the Father in my name, he will give it you. Howbeit, 
 when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into 
 all truth." 
 
 It is an inexpressible privilege to be, in infancy, devoted to 
 God in baptism, as, by that holy ordinance, we have been ad- 
 mitted into the visible church, to whom the Holy Ghost is 
 more immediately promised, and so brought within the pale 
 of those influences which alone can make us wise unto salva- 
 tion through faith in Christ Jesus. 
 
 QUESTION XCVI. 
 
 Having seen what is baptism, and to whom it is to be ad- 
 ministered, we now come to inquire what is the Lord's sup- 
 per. 
 
 Quest. What is the Lord's supper ? 
 
 A. The Lord's supper is a sacrament, wherein, by giving 
 and receiving bread and wine, according to Christ's appoint- 
 ment, his death is showed forth ; and the worthy receivers 
 are, not after a corporal and carnal manner, but by faith, 
 made partakers of his body and blood, with all his benefits, to 
 their spiritual nourishment aud growth in grace. 
 
 Q. 1. What are the outward signs or symbols used in 
 the sacrament of the Lord's supper ? 
 
 A. Bread and wine. Luke xxii. 19, 20, " And he took 
 bread, and give thanks, and brake it. Likewise also the cup 
 after supper." 
 
 Q. 2. What are the truths signified by the elements of 
 bread and wine in the Lord^s supper ? 
 
 A. The body and blood of Jesus Christ. Luke xxii. 19, 20, 
 ** This is my body, which is given for you. This cup is the 
 New Testament in my blood, which is shed for you." 
 
 Q. 3. For what end did Christ institute the ordinance 
 of the supper ? 
 
 A. As a memorial of his sufferings and death, by which his 
 
 X 
 
242 WHAT THE lord's SUPPER IS. 
 
 people are delivered from the wrath to come, and again rein- 
 stated in the favour, and friendship of God ; and in due time 
 made meet for the inheritance of the saints in liorht. Luke 
 xxii. 19, " This do in remembrance of me." 1 Cor, xi. 26, 
 " For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do 
 show the Lord's death till he come." 1 Pet. iii. 18, " For 
 Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, 
 that he might bring us to God." 
 
 Q. 4. When was it that Christ instituted the ordinance 
 of the Lord's supper ? 
 
 A. The evening before his death, when about to enter upon 
 the fearful agony and suffering, which, as the substitute of sin- 
 ners, he had to endure ; and of which the sacrament of the 
 supper is an affecting memorial. 1 Cor. xi. 23, " The Lord 
 Jesus, the same night in which he was betrayed, took bread," 
 &c. 
 
 Q. 5. What is signified hy breaking the bread and 
 pouinng out the luine in the ordinance of the supper ? 
 
 A. That Christ's body was broken, and his blood shed for 
 sinners ; bringing before our very senses, by significant em- 
 blems, the dreadful sufferings he underwent, both in soul and 
 body. 1 Cor. xi. 24, 25, " And when he had given thanks, 
 he brake it, and said, Take, eat : this is my body, which is 
 broken for you. After the same manner also he took the 
 cup, when he had supped, saying. This cup is the New Tes- 
 tament in my blood." &c. Psal. xxii. 14, " I am poured out 
 like water, and all my bones are out of joint : my heart is like- 
 wax ; it is melted in the midst of my bowels." 
 
 Q. 6. What is signified 6y the bread and luine being 
 given to the disciples? 
 
 A. The free offer of Christ, with all the benefits of redemp- 
 tion, to all who receive him by faith. Isa. Iv. 1, " Ho, every 
 one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no 
 money : come ye, buy and eat ; yea, come, buy wine and milk 
 without money, and without price." 
 
 Q. 7. What is signified by the communicants receiving 
 the bread and luine ? 
 
 A. That the offer made of Christ to them in the gospel, as 
 their Lord and Saviour, has been accepted ; and that they now 
 receive the bread and wine, not only as representing, and 
 commemorative of, the death of Christ, but as seals also of 
 God's faithfulness and truth, pledges, that he will in due time 
 put them in possession of all the spiritual benefits of which they 
 are the signs. John vi. 54, 55, " Whoso eateth ray flesh, and 
 drinketh my blood, hath eternal life ; and I will raise him up 
 
WHAT THE lord's SUPPER IS. 243 
 
 at the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood 
 is drink indeed." 
 
 Q. 8. Of what is the Lord's supper a seal to true be- 
 lievers ? 
 
 A. Of their oneness with Christ in the eye of the divine 
 law, and of their union to him as their living and life-giving 
 head ; in consequence of which oneness and union all the bene- 
 fits of his life, death, and resurrection, become theirs, and they 
 themselves are made meet for the inheritance of the saints in 
 light. John vi. 56, 57, " He that eateth my flesh, and drink- 
 eth my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him. As the living 
 Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father ; so he tliat 
 eateth me, even he shall live by me." 
 
 Q. 9. How are we made partakers of Chrisfs body and 
 blood in the ordinance of the Lord's supper ? 
 
 A. By faith, and not after a corporal and carnal manner. 
 John vi. 63, "It is the Spirit that quickeneth ; the flesh 
 profiteth nothing : the words that I speak unto you, they are 
 spirit, and they are life." 
 
 Q. 10. How does faith make us partakers of Chrisfs 
 body and blood in the ordinance of the Lord's supper 'i 
 
 A. Because by faith we are enabled to believe and lay 
 hold upon the substance, of which the elements of bread and 
 wine are but the signs or symbols. Heb. xi. 1, " Faith is 
 the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not 
 seen." 
 
 Q. 11. Can any but such as have believed in Christ 
 partake of the sacrament of the Lord^s supper in a scrip" 
 tural manner ? 
 
 A. No : for to such as do not believe, it can have no 
 meaning as a commemorative rite, as they see nothing in the 
 death of Christ that is worthy of being had in everlasting re- 
 membrance ; and it can have just as little meaning to them as 
 a sealing ordinance, inasmuch as they never honestly and 
 truly desii'ed the benefits therein signified ; and all such, 
 therefore, as do observe it, are guilty of profaning holy 
 things, and of drawing down on themselves the displeasure 
 of God. 1 Cor. xi. 29, " For he that eateth and drinketh 
 unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not 
 discerning the Lord's body." 
 
 Q. 12. What are the benefits which they who worthily 
 partake of the Lord^s supper ^ receive in this life ? 
 
 A, Spiritual nourishment, and growth in grace. 2 Cor. 
 iii. 18, " But we all with open face, beholding as in a glass 
 
244 WHAT IS NECESSARY TO OUR WORTHILY 
 
 tlie glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image, from 
 glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord." 
 
 Q. 13. Is the ordinance of the Lord's supper an emi- 
 nent means of grace ? 
 
 A. Yes : as by means of it believers are permitted to 
 make the nearest approach to God that any creature can 
 do in this world ; and, through the symbols of Christ's broken 
 l)ody and shed blood, to hold close and intimate fellowship 
 with him, and with each other. 1 Cor. x. 16, 17, " The 
 cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the 
 blood of Christ ? the bread which we break, is it not the com- 
 munion of the body of Christ ? For we, being many, are one 
 bread, and one body : for we are all partakers of that one 
 bread." 
 
 In observing the Lord's supper, believers have sweet and 
 endearino" communion with the Saviour who bought them. It 
 is while at his table more especially that they sit under his 
 shadow with great delight ; and his fruit is sweet unto their 
 taste : there he feeds them with the children's bread, and his 
 banner of love is over them. 
 
 QUESTION XCVII. 
 
 Having seen what is the Lord's supper, and that, from the 
 nature of it, believers alone can scripturally observe it, we 
 now come to inquire what is necessary to the worthy receiving 
 of the Lord's supper. 
 
 Quest. What is required to the worthy receiving of the 
 Lord^s supper ? 
 
 Ans. It is required of them that would worthily partake 
 of the Lord's supper, that they examine themselves of their 
 knowledge to discern the Lord's body, of their faith to feed 
 upon him, of their repentance, love, and new obedience ; lest, 
 coming unworthily, they eat and drink judgment to them- 
 selves. 
 
 Q. 1. What is necessary to our worthily partaking of 
 the Lord^s supp>er? 
 
 A. That we examine ourselves. 1 Cor. xi. 28, " But let 
 a mall examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and 
 drink of that cup." 
 
PARTAKING OF THE LORB's SUPPER. 246 
 
 Q, 2. Whi/ is self-examination necessary to the worthi/ 
 partaking of the Lord's supper ? 
 
 A. Because it is an ordinance which true believers alone 
 can observe in the spirit and to the end for which Chi-ist in- 
 stituted it. 1 Cor. xi. 27, " Whosoever shall eat this bread, 
 and drink this cup of the Lord unworthily, shall be guilty of 
 the body and blood of the Lord." 
 
 ^ Q. 3. How is self-examination to be gone into, and car- 
 ried on, before receiving the Lord^s supper ? 
 
 A. It is to be entered upon by fervent, earnest, and 
 believing prayer to God for the enhghtening influences of 
 the Holy Spirit, because of the inherent corruption and 
 deceitfulness of the heart ; and it is to be carried on in a 
 humble dependence on his teaching, since none else can truly 
 search and know the heart but God. Psal. cxxxix. 23, 
 " Search me, God, and know my heart ; try me, and 
 know my thoughts." Jer. xvii. 9, 10, " The heart is deceit- 
 ful above all things, and desperately wicked : who can know 
 it? I the Lord search the heart, I try the reins." 
 
 Q. 4. What is the first thing on which lue ought to ex- 
 amine ourselves before receiving the Lord^s supper? 
 
 A. Of our knowledge to discern the Lord's body. 1 Cor. 
 xi. 29, " For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth 
 and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerningf the Lord's 
 body." 
 
 Q. 5. Is a knoiuledge of Christ necessary to our wor- 
 thily partaking of the Lords supper ? 
 
 A. Yes : for unless we know Jesus Christ, and the rela- 
 tion in which he stands to sinners, how is it possible for us 
 intelligently to observe an ordinance instituted to commemo- 
 rate his death, and a seal of the benefits he purchased. John 
 iv. 10, " Jesus said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of 
 God, and who it is that saith to thee. Give me to drink ; thou 
 wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee 
 living ^yater." John xvii. 3, *' And this is life eternal, that 
 they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, 
 whom thou hast sent." 
 
 Q. 6. What is the second thing on which we ought to 
 examine ourselves before receiving the Lord's supper ? 
 
 A. Of our faith to feed upon him. 2 Cor. xiii. 5, " Exa- 
 mine yourselves whether ye be in the faith." 
 
 Q. 7. Is faith ^n Jesus Christ necessary to our worthily 
 partaking of the Lord's supper ? 
 
 A. Yes : for unless by faith we are enabled to reahse a 
 personal interest in the death of Christ, appropriating to 
 
 x3 
 
246 WHAT IS NECESSARY TO OUR WORTHILY 
 
 ourselves all the benefits of his death, it would be to us an 
 unmeaninsc sendee, althouoh we miffht understand the mean- 
 ing of it, botli as a commemorating and sealing ordinance. 
 Kom. ill. 25, " WHiom God hath set forth to be a propitia- 
 tion through faith in his blood." Heb. xi. 6, " But without 
 faith it is impossible to please God." 
 
 Q. 8. What is the third thing on xuhich lue ought to ex- 
 amine ourselves before receiving the Lord's sujyper ? 
 
 A. Of our repentance : to ascei'tain if we are heartily 
 sorry for sin, so as to loathe ourselves on account of it. 
 1 Cor. xi. 31, *' If we would judge ourselves, we should not 
 be judged." 
 
 Q. 9. Is repentance toward God necessary to our wor- 
 thily partaking of the Lord's supper ? 
 
 A. Yes: inasmuch as no impenitent sinner has any war- 
 rant in the AVord of God to come to that ordinance, it being 
 provided only for those whose hearts are humbled on account 
 of their sins, and humbled all the more as they look on Him 
 in this ordinance whom they pierced by them. 1 Pet. v. 
 5, 6, " For God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the 
 humble. Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty 
 hand of God, that he may exalt you in due season." 
 
 Q. 10. What is the fourth thing on which ive ought 
 to examine ourselves before receiving the Lord's sup- 
 per ? 
 
 A. Of our love to Jesus Christ, who so loved us ; and of 
 our love to each other for his sake. 1 John iv. 19, 21, " We 
 love him, because he first loved us. And this command- 
 ment have we from him, That he who loveth God, love his 
 brother also." 
 
 Q. 11. Is love to Christ necessary to our worthily par- 
 taking of the Lord^s supper ? 
 
 A. Yes : for the very ordinance of the supper was insti- 
 tuted to keep in remembrance the dying love of Christ ; none 
 therefore, in an acceptable manner, can partake of it, in gi'ate- 
 ful and affectionate remembrance of him, whose love has never 
 been called into lively and vigorous exercise for what he did 
 and suffered for them, and without which we will only incur 
 additional guilt, in professing a love which we never felt. 
 1 John iv. 8, " He that loveth not, knoweth not God ; lor 
 God is love." 
 
 Q. 12. What is the fifth thing on luhich we ought to ex- 
 amine ourselves before receiving the Lord's supper? 
 
 A. Of our new obedience : whether or not we have so seen 
 sin as to hate it with a perfect hatred, and to long for deliver- 
 
PARTAKING OF THE LORD'S SUPPER. 247 
 
 ance from it ; and have firmly resolved, in the strength of di- 
 vine grace, to vs^alk henceforward in newness of life. 1 Cor. 
 v. 8, " Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, 
 neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but the un- 
 leavened bread of sincerity and truth." 
 
 Q. 13. Is a firm purpose of new obedience necessary to 
 our worthily partaking of the Lord's supper ? 
 
 A. Yes: because, in so far as we are more immediately 
 concerned, it was one great end of Christ's death to deliver us 
 from the power and love of sin, and therefore if our minds do 
 not harmonise with this end, we are directly opposed to the 
 design and tendency of the Lord's supper, which is to deepen, 
 and confirm, and strengthen, every such holy purpose and re- 
 sohition. Tit. ii. 14, " Who gave himself for us, that he might 
 redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar 
 people, zealous of good works." 
 
 Q. 14. What is the guilt lue incur by unworthily pa/r- 
 taking of the Lord's supper ? 
 
 A. We eat and drink judgment to ourselves, and, in con- 
 sequence of which, we are, in this life, exposed to spiritual and 
 temporal evils, and, in the life to come, of eternal perdition, 
 if speedy repentance prevent not, and a new application to 
 the very death we have profaned and slighted. 1 Cor. xi. 
 29, 30, " For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eat- 
 eth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the 
 Lord's body. For this cause many are weak and sickly among 
 you, and many sleep." 
 
 Q. 15. May any who, after such self-examination, are 
 still in doubt whether or not they have these graces in 
 lively exercise, partake of the Lords supper, without in- 
 curring the guilt ofprofaning that holy ordinance ? 
 
 A. Yes : it is their duty to come, however conscious they 
 may be of their unworthiness and imperfections, if they but 
 honestly desire to love Christ and hold communion with him, 
 it being provided for such ; and it is especially when at his 
 table, and dwelling upon his dying love, that they may ex- 
 pect their graces to be strengthened and their love inflamed. 
 Rev. xxii. 17, " And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. 
 And let him that heareth say. Come. And let him that is 
 athirst come. And whosoever will, let hun take the water of 
 hfe freely." 
 
 It is a very heinous and aggravated sin to come into God's 
 presence, and over the symbols of Christ's broken body and 
 ehed blood, to profess a love which was never felt, and to 
 
248 WHAT PRAYER IS. 
 
 VOW obedience, which was never intended to be yielded ; but 
 how great the condescension of God in this ordinance to every 
 sincere and simple-minded believer, dealing with him in the 
 matter of his eternal salvation as one man deals with another, 
 putting into his hands sensible signs and tokens of his eternal 
 love and faithfulness. " I have loved thee with an everlast- 
 ing love, therefore with loving kindness have I drawn thee." 
 
 QUESTION XCVIII. 
 
 Having seen what is a sacrament, and how they become 
 eifectual as means of grace unto salvation, we now come to 
 what is prayer. 
 
 Quest. What is prayer ? 
 
 Ans. Prayer is an oft'ering up of our desires unto God for 
 things agreeable to his will, in the name of Christ, with con- 
 fession of our sins, and thankful acknowledgment of his 
 mercies. 
 
 Q. 1. What are lue to understand hy prayer ? 
 
 A, That it is an offering up of our desires unto God. 
 Psal. Ixii. 8, " Trust in him at all times, ye people ; pour out 
 your hearts before him ; God is a refuge for us." 
 
 Q. 2. Is it prayer when the desires of the heart are not 
 expressed ? 
 
 A. No : to constitute prayer, the language of the mouth 
 must be in accordance with the desires of the heart, proceeding 
 from a felt sense of want, an earnest desire to be helped, and 
 a firm persuasion that God can and will help us ; and any- 
 thing short of this is not prayer, with whatever propriety it 
 may be expressed. Isa. xxix. 13, " This people draw near 
 to me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, 
 but have removed their heart far from me." Psal. xxvii. 7, 
 8, " Hear, Lord, when I cry with my voice ; have mercy 
 also upon me, and answer me. When thou saidst. Seek ye 
 my face ; my heart said unto thee, Thy face, Lord, will I 
 seek." 
 
 Q. 3, To ivhom are ive to pray ? 
 
 A. To God : for he alone is the object of religious worship, 
 and will not give it to another. Matt. iv. 10," Thou shaft 
 worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve." 
 Isa. xlii. 8, " I am the Lord ; that is my name ; and my 
 
WHAT PII.A.YER IS. 249 
 
 glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven 
 images." 
 
 Q. 4. Whi/ ought ive to pray to God alone ? 
 'A. Because he alone is the hearer of prayer, as it is he 
 alone who can search the heart, and know the desires which 
 arise there, and can grant our requests, and supply all our 
 wants. Psal. Ixv. 2, " O thou that hearest prayer, unto thee 
 shall all flesh come." Psal. cxxxix. 2, " Thou understandest 
 my thoughts afar off." Phil. iv. 19, "But my God shall 
 supply all your need, according to his riches in glory hy 
 Christ Jesus." 
 
 Q. 5. What are the things for which we are to pray 
 to God? 
 
 A. For things agreeable to his will; such as the gift of the 
 Holy Spirit, faith, repentance, the pardon of sin, and every 
 temporal blessing, in so far as it is for God's glory, and our 
 spiritual good. 1 Thess iv. 3, " For this is the will of God, 
 even your sanctification." 1 John v. 14, " And this is the 
 confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask anything ac- 
 cording to his will, he heareth us.'* 
 
 Q. 6. Will God in answer to prayer grant us whatever 
 we ask agreeably to his luill ? 
 
 A. Yes : if we sincerely and believingly ask for it ; while, 
 at the same time, he will grant us nothing, however sincerely 
 and believingly asked for, that is not in accordance with his 
 will ; for as a conformity of our desires to his will, is the 
 source of all true happiness, were he to hear our prayers, and 
 grant us our desires in such cases, it would be a curse rather 
 than a blessing. Psal. cxlv. 18, 19, " The Lord is nigh unto 
 all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth. 
 He will fulfil the desire of them that fear him ; he also will 
 hear their cry, and will save them." James iv. 3, " Ye ask, 
 and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it 
 upon your lusts." 
 
 Q. 7. In whose narae are we to pray to God ? 
 
 A. In the name of Jesus Christ ; for as guilty and sinful 
 creatures God can hold no intercourse with us but in and 
 through a Mediator. John xvi. 23, " Whatsoever ye shall 
 ask the Father in my name, he will give it you." John xiv. 
 6, " Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, and the truth, and 
 the life : no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." 
 ■ Q. 8. How are we to pray to God in the name of Christ f 
 
 A. We are to pray to him as the God and Father of our 
 Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, and in him, as the God and 
 Father of every one that believeth : resting all our hopes of 
 
250 WHAT PRAYER IS. 
 
 acceptance with God on his mediation, and on notliing in or 
 about ourselves. Phil. iii. 3, " For we are the circumcision, 
 which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, 
 and have no confidence in the flesh." 
 
 Q. 9. What is the Jirst thing that will accompany our 
 desires when we thus prat/ to God in the name of Christy 
 for things agreeable to his ivill ? 
 
 A. Confession of our sins : acknowledo^nor with heartfelt 
 penitence and sorrow, our original guilt, and actual transgres- 
 sions, and our consequent unworthiness to appear in God's 
 presence, or to receive any blessing from him ; and that it 
 is only in and on account of Christ, as our Saviour, that we 
 expect to find mercy. Dan. ix. 4, " And I prayed unto the 
 Lord my God, and made my confession. Psal. li. 5, 1, 3, 
 " Behold, I was shapen in iniquity ; and in sin did my mother 
 conceive me. Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy 
 loving kindness ; according unto the multitude of thy tender 
 mercies blot out my transgressions. For I acknowledge my 
 transgressions : and my sin is ever before me." 
 
 Q. 10. Why ought we to confess our sins in prayer to 
 God? 
 
 A. Because it is against God especially that we have sin- 
 ned, and it is he only who can forgive sin ; and as he hath 
 established an inseparable connection between confessing and 
 forsaking our sins and his pardoning them, it is necessary that 
 we acknowledge, in penitence and sorrow, our sins against him. 
 Psal. h. 4, " Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done 
 this evil in thy sight." Psal. xxxii. 5, " I acknowledged my 
 sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will 
 confess my transgressions unto the Lord : and thou forgavest 
 the iniquity of my sin." 
 
 Q. iL What is the second thing that will accompany our 
 desires when we thus pray to God in the name of Christ, 
 for things agreeable to his will ? 
 
 A. A thankful acknowledgment of his mercies, expressing 
 our gratitude for the many undeserved favours we have already 
 received ; and for the infinitely more precious blessings he has 
 still promised to bestow on us in Jesus Christ. Phil. vi. 6, 
 " By prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your re- 
 quests be made known unto God." Psal. ciii. 12, " Bless the 
 Lord, O my soul ; and all that is within me, bless his holy 
 name. Bless the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his bene- 
 fits," &c. 
 
 Q. 12. Why ought we in our prayers to thank God'? 
 
 A, Because as creatures we are not only dependent upon 
 
WHAT PRAYER IS. 251 
 
 his bounty, but when, by our apostacy, we had forfeited every 
 blessing, yea, Hfe itself, he not only spared us, but sent his 
 own Son to redeem us, and is daily loading us with his bene- 
 fits. John iii. 16, " For God so loved the world that he 
 gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him 
 should not perish, but have everlasting life." Job xxii. 2, 
 " Can a man be profitable unto God, as he that is wise may 
 be profitable unto himself." 
 
 Q. 13. While hi our natural state can we thus pray to 
 God ? 
 
 A. No : until we be reconciled to him through Jesus Christ, 
 because, in our natural state, we have nothing like a just sense 
 of the demerit of sin, nor any proper apprehension of the in- 
 finite mercy of God in Jesus Christ, and are more disposed 
 to regard him with aversion, as ready to punish us for our re- 
 bellion, than to approach him with the confidence of children, 
 Prov. XV. 8, " The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination 
 unto the Lord." Eph. ii. 18, " For through him we both 
 have access by one Spirit unto the Father." 
 
 Q. 14. When reconciled to God through Jesus Christ, 
 can xve of ourselves thus pray to God ? 
 
 A. No : because of ourselves we neither know how to pray, 
 nor what to pray for, and must therefore, at all times, have 
 our dependence on the Holy Spirit, whose office it is to teach 
 us how to pray, and what to pray for, to awaken such desires 
 as God will satisfy. Gal. iv. 6, " And because ye are sons, 
 God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, 
 crying, Abba, Father." 
 
 Q. 15. Is it the duty of all men, luhatever be their con^ 
 dition, thus to pray to God ? 
 
 A. Yes : as our incapacity for a duty never can do away 
 with our obligation to perform it, especially when that inca- 
 pacity arises out of the state of our own heart and affections ; 
 and although, while in a state of nature, we may not be able 
 to pray as we ought, yet surely we can ask for the Holy 
 Spirit to bnng us to Christ, and teach us how to pray ; and 
 there can be little doubt but that He who hears the young 
 ravens when they cry, will not shut his ear to the cry of his 
 rational and intelligent creatures. Matt. vii. 7, 8, " Ask, 
 and it shall be given you : seek, and ye shall find ; knock, 
 and it shall be opened unto you : for every one that asketh 
 receiveth ; and he that seeketh findeth ; and to him that 
 knocketh, it shall be opened." 
 
 Prayer is the most powerful of all the means of grace, as 
 
252 THE RULE FOR OUR 
 
 it is ill answer to believing, persevering prayer, that an 
 efficacy is imparted to tlicm all, and to which every good 
 and perfect gift is promised ; and although it be true that of 
 ourselves we cannot pray, it is equally true that God hath 
 promised the Holy Spirit to them that ask him, to lead them 
 into all truth, to convince them of sin, of righteousness, and 
 of judgment. 
 
 QUESTION XCIX. 
 
 Having seen what is prayer, we now come to inquire what 
 rule God hath given for our direction in prayer. 
 
 Quest. What rule hath God given for our direction in 
 prayer ? 
 
 Ans. The whole Word of God is of use to direct us in 
 prayer ; but the special rule of direction is that form of 
 prayer which Christ taught his disciples, commonly called 
 the Lord's Prayer. 
 
 Q. 1. From what ride is it that we are to draw direc- 
 tion in prayer to God ? 
 
 A. From his Word, in which his character as the hearer 
 and answerer of prayer is made known to us, and the way and 
 manner in which alone we can approach him as such. 1 John 
 V. 14, " And this is the confidence that we have in him, that 
 if we ask anything according to his will, he heareth us." 
 
 Q. 2. How does the Word of God afford us direction 
 in prayer ? 
 
 A. By explaining to us how we, guilty and sinful creatures, 
 may approach him in Jesus Christ, and what are the desires 
 we ought to cherish and express in prayer ; in its doctrines, 
 setting before us the privileges of believers ; in its precepts, 
 pointing out what we are to become ; in its promises, direct- 
 ing us to the source from whence cometh our streng-th ; and, 
 by the recorded examples and experiences of the saints, ani- 
 mating and encouraging us to pour out our hearts before God. 
 Horn. V. 1, 2, " Therefore, being justified by faith, we have 
 peace with God, through our Lord Jesus Christ ; by whom 
 also Ave have access," &c. 2 Sam. vii. 25, " And now, O 
 Lord God, the word that thou hast spoken concerning thy 
 servant, concerning his house, establish it for ever, and do as 
 thou hast said." Psal. xhv. 1, " We have heard with our 
 
DIRECTION IN PRAYER. 253 
 
 ears, God, our fathers have told us, what work thou didst 
 in their days, in the times of old." 
 
 Q. 3. Is it necessary that we strictly attend to the di- 
 rections given us in the Word of God, both as to the mat- 
 ter and manner of our prayers ? 
 
 A. Yes : for unless our petitions are warranted by the 
 Word of God, and offered up after the manner which it pre- 
 scribes, we have no ground to expect that we will either be 
 heard or answered. Rom. viii. 27, " And he that searcheth 
 the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because 
 he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of 
 God." 
 
 Q. 4. Are there some 'parts of the Word of God more 
 specific than others for our direction in prayer ? 
 
 A. Yes: and among many other parts, that form of prayer 
 which our Lord gave to his disciples is especially so. Matt, 
 vi. 9, " After this manner therefore pray ye : Our Father 
 which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name," &c. 
 
 The whole Word of God is of great use to direct us in 
 prayer, and affords abundant matter in which we may pour 
 out our hearts before God ; but there are special portions of it 
 adapted to every circumstance and condition in which the be- 
 liever can be placed, such as the devout breathings of the 
 saints, and that form which is recorded in Scripture, and 
 commonly called the Lord's prayer. 
 
 QUESTION C. 
 
 Having seen that, while the whole Word of God is of use 
 to direct us in prayer, we have a special guide in that com- 
 prehensive form that Christ gave his disciples, we now come 
 to inquire into its several parts, namely, the preface, the pe- 
 titions, and the conclusion. 
 
 Quest. What doth the preface of the Lord's prayer 
 teach us ? 
 
 Ans. The preface of the Lord's prayer (which is. Our Fa- 
 ther which art in heaven) teacheth us to draw near to God 
 with all holy reverence and confidence, as children to a father, 
 able and ready to help us ; and that we should pray with and 
 for others. 
 
 Q. 1. What is the preface to the Lord's prayer ^ 
 
 Y 
 
254 PREFACE TO 
 
 A. Our Father which art in heaven. Isa. Ixiii. 16, 
 " Doubtless thou art our Father, thousjh Abraham be ioTio- 
 rant of us," &c. 
 
 Q. 2. In what sense is it that ive address God as our 
 Father in this preface ? 
 
 A. As his adopted children in Christ Jesus ; for although 
 in one sense, God is the Father of all, inasmuch as he created, 
 sustains, and provides for all, yet having, by our apostacy, 
 cast off our allegiance to God, and become the servants and 
 children of the devil, it is not until we believe in Christ, and 
 are again reconciled to God, that we can address him as our 
 Father. Gal. iii. 36, " For ye are all the children of God by 
 faith in Christ Jesus." Mai. ii. 10, "Have we not all one 
 Father ? hath not one God created us." 1 John iii. 10, 
 " In this the children of God are manifest, and the children 
 of the devil." 
 
 Q. 3. Is it in Christ only that lue can address God as 
 our Father in prayer ? 
 
 A. Yes : as it is only in Jesus Christ that we, guilty and 
 sintiil creatures, can approach him at all, and hold intercourse 
 with him : for out of Christ, he is a consuming fire, ready to 
 take vengeance on us on account of our sin ; but in Christ, he 
 is the Father of mercies, and the God of all grace and consola- 
 tion. Heb. xii. 29, " For our God is a consuming fire." Matt, 
 xi. 27, " Neither knoweth any man the Father, save thc:- 
 Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him." 
 
 Q. 4. When we address God as our Father in prayer, 
 do we exclude the Son and the Holy Ghost ? 
 
 A. No ; we neither exclude the Son nor the Holy Ghost, 
 inasmuch as religious w^orship is offered to each of them by 
 name, as well as unto the Father ; and even when, as in this 
 preface, we more immediately address the Father, we also ad- 
 dress the Son, and the Holy Ghost ; as every perfection that 
 is in the Father is also in the Son and in the Holy Ghost, they 
 being undivided in their essence. John v. 23, " That all men 
 should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He 
 that honoureth not the Son, honoureth not the Father, which 
 hath sent him." 2 Cor. xiii. 14, " The grace of the Lord 
 Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the 
 Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen," 
 
 Q. 5. What is it that the preface to the Lord's prayer 
 teacheth us ? 
 
 A. To draw near to God with all holy reverence and con- 
 fidence : with reverence, as he is our Creator, and spotless in 
 holiness, and we his creatures, and defiled with sin ; and yet 
 
THE lord's prayer. 255 
 
 with all confidence, as our reconciled God and Father in Jesus 
 Christ. Psal. Ixxxix. 7, " God is greatly to be feared in the 
 assembly of the saints, and to be had in reverence of all them 
 that are about him." Heb. iv, 16, " Let us therefore come 
 boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, 
 and find grace to help in time of need." 
 
 Q. 6. What is the kind of spirit luhich sicch a reverence 
 for God as our Father in Christ inspires ? 
 
 A. The spirit and feelings of an affectionate child towards 
 a father, whom he loves, reveres, and delights in. Rom. viii. 
 15, " For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to 
 fear ; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we 
 cry, Abba, Father." 
 
 Q. 7. How does such a child-like spirit toiuards God 
 manifest itself? 
 
 A. By an earnest desire for fellowship and communion 
 with him, a delight in doing his will, and in submitting in all 
 things to his disposal, and by heartily grieving, when in any- 
 thing we offend him, or bring dishonour on his name. Psal. 
 Ixxiii. 25, " Whom have I in heaven but thee ? and there is 
 none upon earth that I desire besides thee." Psal. cxix. 113, 
 " I hate vain thoughts : but thy law do I love." 
 
 Q. 8. What is the kind of hope that such a conjideace 
 in God as our Father in Christ inspires ? 
 
 A. That being our Father, he is both able and ready to 
 help us. Luke xi. 13, " If ye then, being evil, know how to 
 give good gifts unto your children ; how much more shall your 
 lieavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him." 
 
 Q. 9. How does such a hope in God as our Father in 
 Christ manifest itself? 
 
 yi. By coming to hhn for the supply of all our wants, and 
 making known to him all our perplexities and distresses, in 
 the full assurance that he both sympathises with, and will 
 guide and bless us. Phil. iv. 19, " But my God shall supply 
 all your need, according to his riches in glory by Christ 
 Jesus." Psal. Ixi. 2, " When my heart is overwhelmed, 
 lead me to the rock that is higher than I." 
 
 Q. 10. What are the feelings luhich such reverence and 
 confidence in God as our Father in Clirist inspire to- 
 ivards others ? 
 
 A. To pray with and for them : for his people, because 
 they are children of the same family, and heirs of the same 
 blessed inheritance ; and for such as are not his people, that 
 they also may become partakers of like precious faith. Eph. 
 vi. 18, " Praying always with all prayer and supphcation in 
 
256 THE FIRST PETITION IN 
 
 the spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and 
 supplication for all saints." 1 Tim. ii. 3, 4, " For this is 
 <TOod and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour, who 
 will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the know- 
 ledge of the truth." 
 
 Q. 11. Is it our duty to pray for all men ? 
 
 A. Yes : for if we are enabled to come to God as our 
 Father in Christ, with reverence and confidence, it is that we 
 may show forth his glory ; and there is no way in which we 
 can do so more effectually than by pleading at his throne of 
 grace that he would glorify himself in the conversion of sin- 
 ners. 1 Tim. ii. 1, " I exhort therefore, that, first of all, 
 supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be 
 made for all men," &c. 
 
 If God is indeed our Father, then assuredly we will pray 
 and labour that all men may be brought to reverence, and 
 love, and confide in him also as their Father ; for as there 
 will be nothing so painful to us as the daily neglect and dis- 
 honour that is shown to our Father's name, so there will be 
 nothing that can impart to us more exalted happiness than 
 that other guilty sinners like ourselves should take refuge in 
 liis grace and mercy. 
 
 QUESTION CI. 
 
 Having seen what the preface to the Lord's prayer teach- 
 eth us, we now come to inquire into what we pray for in the 
 first petition. 
 
 Quest. What do ive pray for in the first petition ? 
 
 Ans. In the first petition, (which is. Hallowed be thy 
 name,) we pray that God would enable us and others to glo- 
 rify him in all that whereby he maketh himself known ; and 
 tliat he would dispose all things to his own glory. 
 
 Q. 1. Wliat is the first petition in the Lord^s prayer f 
 
 A. Hallowed be thy name. Lev. xxii. 32, " Neither sliall 
 ye profane my holy name ; but I will be hallowed among the 
 children of Israel." 
 
 Q. 2. What are we to understand by hallowing the 
 name of God ? 
 
 A. That we have at all times upon our spirits a holy rever- 
 ence for his great and glorious name, and that we cherish a 
 
THE lord's prayer. 25? 
 
 holy fear of offending and displeasing him in the use of his 
 ordinances, word, and works, by which he makes himself known 
 to us. Deut. xxviii. 58, " If thou wilt not observe to do all 
 the words of this law that are written in this book, that ihou 
 may est fear this glorious and fearful name, The Lord thy 
 God." Rom. xi. 36, " For of him, and through him, and 
 to him are all things : to whom be glory for ever. Amen." 
 
 Q. 3. What is the first thing implied in the petition, 
 Hallowed be thy name ? 
 
 A. That God would enable us to glorify him in all that 
 whereby he maketh himself known ; that he would teach us 
 again to love and serve him ; to seek and to find our chief 
 delight and enjoyment in him as our chief good and only 
 satisfying portion. Rev. iv. 11, " Thou art worthy, O Lord, 
 to receive glory, and honour, and power : for thou hast creat- 
 ed all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were creat- 
 ed." Rev. XV. 4, " Who shall not fear thee, Lord, and 
 glorify thy name ? for thou only art holy." 
 
 Q. 4. Are we of ourselves able to hallow the name of 
 God ? 
 
 A. No : and hence it is, that from a conscious sense of our 
 own inability to do so, we pray that God himself would hal- 
 low his own glorious name, in enabling us by his Spirit, to 
 believe in Christ, to forsake our sins, to obey his word, lo 
 observe his ordinances, and in all things to have such a special 
 eye to his glory, as that, by the whole tenor of our life and 
 conversation, we may show forth his praise. Psal. xxix. 2, 
 " Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name ; worsliip 
 the Lord in the beauty of holiness." Isa. viii. 13, " Sanctify 
 the Lord of hosts himself; and let him be your fear and your 
 dread." John xv. 8, " Herein is my Father glorified, that 
 ye bear much fruit ; so shall ye be my disciples." 
 
 Q. 5. Are %ue by nature, or in our natural state, dis- 
 posed to hallow the name of God ? 
 
 A. No : for naturally, or as apostate and rebellious crea- 
 tures, we have no fear of God before our eyes, no reverence 
 for his great and glorious name, and no desire to obey his 
 laws, nor any delight or enjoyment in his favour and friend- 
 ship. Psal. xxxvi. 1, " The transgression of the wicked saith 
 within my heart, that there is no fear of God before his 
 eyes." 
 
 Q. 6. What is the second thing implied in the petition. 
 Hallowed be thy name '? 
 
 A. That God would enable all men, every one of his intel- 
 ligent creatures, to glorify him in all that whereby he maketh 
 
 y3 
 
258 THE FIRST PETITION IN 
 
 himself known. Pscal. Ixxxvi. 9, "All nations whom thou hast 
 made shall come and worship before thee, Lord ; and shall 
 glorify thy name." 
 
 Q. 7. What is implied in praying that all men may be 
 enabled to halloiv the name of God ? 
 
 A. That God himself would hallow his own great name, by 
 convincing them, through his Word and Spirit, of their sins, 
 by enabling them to believe in Christ, to forsake their sins, and 
 to have such an eye to his glory in all things, that they may 
 be to him for a name, and for a praise, and for a glory, 
 throughout all the earth. Psal. Ixvii. 1 — 3, " God be merci- 
 ful unto us, and bless us, and cause his face to shine upon us : 
 that thy way may be known upon the earth, thy saving 
 health among all nations. Let the people praise thee, O 
 God : let all the people praise thee." 
 
 Q. 8. What is the third thing implied in the petition, 
 Hallowed be thy name ? 
 
 A. That he would dispose all thmgs to his ow^n glory. 2 
 Sam. vii. 26, " Let thy name be magnified for ever." 
 
 Q. 9. How does God in disposing of all things hallow 
 his name ? 
 
 A. He hath already done so in creation, it being a tran- 
 script of his glorious perfections, and he is still continuing to 
 do so in his works of providence, in bringing to pass events 
 that arrest the attention, and compel men to acknowledge his 
 power and presence in them, and in executing vengeance on 
 the profaners of his name and ordinances. Psal. xix. 1, " The 
 heavens declare the glory of God ; and the firmament sliow- 
 eth his handy-work." Isa. xxviii. 29, " This also cometli 
 forth from the Lord of hosts, who is wonderful in counsel, 
 and excellent in working." Lev. x. 2, "And there went out 
 fire from the Lord, and devoured them ; and they died be- 
 fore ihid Lord." 
 
 Q. 10. Will God''s name be hallowed in all his works f 
 
 A. Yes : having created all things for his own glory, he 
 will not give it to another : men may be blind, so as not to 
 perceive his glory as it is manifested in his works and in his 
 ways, and therefore have no desire to hallow his great name, 
 by admiring his infinite excellence, and walking conformably 
 to his laws, but even in such, ho will be glorified, though it 
 should be by their everlasting ruin. Prov. xvi. 4, " The Lord 
 liath made all things for himself; yea, even the wicked for 
 the day of evil." 
 
 God's name will be hallowed, whether we desire it or not, 
 
THE lord's prayer. 259 
 
 he will be glorified in all his works ; but what we are more im- 
 mediately to understand, in putting up the petition, " Hal- 
 lowed be thy name," is, that God would so dispose of all 
 things, in the arrangements of his providence, that we, and all 
 men, may be brought to a saving acquaintance with divine 
 truth, and, by the operation of his Spirit, may be enabled ac- 
 tively to hallow his great and glorious name. 
 
 QUESTION CII. 
 
 Having seen what we are to understand by the first peti- 
 tion in the Lord's prayer, we now come to inquire into the 
 second petition. 
 
 Quest. What do xue pray for in the second petition ? 
 
 Ans. In the second petition (which is. Thy kingdom come) 
 we pray, That Satan's kingdom may be destroyed ; and that 
 the kingdom of grace may be advanced, ourselves and others 
 brought into it, and kept in it ; and that the kingdom of glory 
 may be hastened. 
 
 Q. 1. What are xve to understand hy the petition, Thy 
 kingdom come? 
 
 A. The universal spread of truth and righteousness : that 
 all men may be led to beheve in Jesus Christ, and acknow- 
 ledo'e and submit themselves to him as their rio;litful and law- 
 I'ul Lord and Sovereign. Rom. xiv. 17, " For the kingdom 
 of Grod is not meat and drink ; but righteousness and peace, 
 and joy in the Holy Ghost." Heb. i. 2, " Hath in these last 
 days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir 
 of all things." 
 
 Q. 2. What is the first thing implied in the petition, 
 Thy kifigdom come ? 
 
 A. That Satan's kingdom may be destroyed. Psal. Ixviii. 
 1, " Let God arise, let his enemies be scattered ; let them 
 also that hate him flee before him." 
 
 Q. 3. What are xve to understand hy the kingdom of 
 Satan ? 
 
 A. Sin, in all its various forms, either as existing in the 
 hearts of men, whereby the light of the gospel is shut out, or 
 as it manifests itself in the actions of men, whereby the 
 diffusion of divine truth throughout the world is hindered, 
 and in every other form that is at variance with the Word of 
 God ; and hence called the kingdom of Satan, as he was, and 
 
260 THE SECOND PETITION IN 
 
 still is, the chief mover and seducer of men in their unnatu- 
 ral rebellion against their Lord and Sovereign. Eph. ii. 2, 
 " Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of 
 this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, 
 the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience." 
 
 Q. 4. What is the second thing implied in the petition, 
 Thy kingdom come ? 
 
 A. That the kingdom of grace may be advanced. Psal. 
 li. 18, " Do good in thy good pleasure unto Zion ; build thou 
 the walls of Jerusalem." 
 
 Q. 5. What are ive to understand by the kingdom of 
 grace ? 
 
 A. Christ's subduing sinners unto himself, by his Word 
 and Spirit, bringing them out of Satan's kingdom into his 
 own visible kingdom of grace. Isa. xlix. 24, 25, " Shall the 
 prey be taken from the mighty, or the lawful captive deliver- 
 ed ? But thus saith the Lord, Even the captives of the mighty 
 shall be taken away, and the prey of the terrible shall be de- 
 livered : for I will contend with him that contendeth with 
 thee, and I will save thy children." 
 
 Q. 6. Does the advancement of the kingdom of grace 
 necessarily destroy the kingdom of Satan ? 
 
 A. Yes : it was for this purpose that the Son of God was 
 manifested, to destroy the works of the devil, to wrest the 
 kingdom from Satan, and to reclaim his rebeUious subjects 
 to the love and service of himself. 1 John iii. 8, " He that 
 committeth sin is of the devil ; for the devil sinned from the 
 beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested 
 that he might destroy the works of the devil." Rom. xiv. 9, 
 " For to this end Christ both died, and rose, and revived, 
 that he might be Lord both of the dead and living." 
 
 Q. 7- What is the first thing implied in praying for 
 Satan's kingdom being destroyed, and the kingdom of 
 grace advanced ? 
 
 A. That ourselves and others may be brought into it : 
 that by his Word and Spirit God would deliver us from the 
 Ijondage of sin and the slavery of Satan, making us heartily 
 willing to return to Christ as our only Lord and Saviour. 
 Psal. ex. 3, " Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy 
 power." Acts xxvi. 18, " To open their eyes, and to turn 
 them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan 
 unto God." 2 Thess. iii. 1, " Finally brethren, pray for us, 
 tbat the word of the Lord may have tree course, and be glo- 
 rified, even as it is with you." 
 
 Q. 8. What is the second thing implied in praying for 
 
THE lord's prayer. 261 
 
 Satan's kingdom being destroyed^ and the kingdom of 
 grace advanced ? 
 
 A. That having been brought into the kingdom of grace 
 we may be kept in it ; preserved from again faUing away, or 
 returning to the kingdom of Satan and service of sin. 1 Pet. 
 V. 10, " But the God of all grace, who hath called us into 
 his eternal glory by Chi'ist Jesus, after that he had suffered 
 a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you." 
 
 Q. 9. What is the third thing implied in the petition, 
 Thy kingdom come ? 
 
 A, That the kingdom of glory may be hastened. Rev. 
 xxii. 20, " He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I 
 come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus." 
 
 Q. 10. How does the petitio7i, Thy kingdom come, im- 
 ply a prayer for the hastening of the kingdom of glortf ? 
 
 A. Because, in offering it up, we pray that Satan's king- 
 dom may be destroyed : that Christ would take unto himself 
 his great power and reign, subduing us and all others unto 
 himself, putting down all rule, and authority, and power, 
 bringing all things into subjection to himself, whether in the 
 world or in the hearts of men, until he shall have delivered 
 up the kingdom to God, even the Father, that he may be all 
 in all. 1 John iii. 2, " But we know that, when he shaW 
 appear, we shall be like him ; for we shall see him as he is." 
 1 Cor. XV. 24, 25, " Then cometh the end, when he shall 
 have delivered up the kingdom to God even the Father ; 
 when he shall have put down all rule, and all authority and 
 pow'er. For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies un- 
 der his feet." 
 
 In offering up the petition, Thy kingdom come, we pray 
 for the coming of the kingdom of glory, inasmuch as we pray 
 for the complete sanctifi cation of ourselves and others, and 
 the final destruction of Satan's kingdom throughout all the 
 earth, and the hastening of the manifestation of the sons of 
 God, when creation itself shall be delivered from the bondage 
 of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. 
 
262 THE THIRD PETITION IN 
 
 QUESTION cm. 
 
 Having seen what we are to understand by the second pe- 
 tition in the Lord's prayer, we now come to inquire into the 
 third petition. 
 
 Quest. What do rue pray for in the third petition ? 
 
 Ans. In the third petition (which is, Thy will be done in 
 earth, as it is in heaven), we pray, That God, by his gi^ace, 
 would make us able and willing to know, obey, and submit to 
 his will in all things, as the angels do in heaven. 
 
 Q. 1. What are we to under stayid hy the petition, Thy 
 will he done in earth, as it is in heaven ? 
 
 A. That the will of God, as made known to us in the holy 
 Scriptures, and by the dispensations of providence, may be 
 known, obeyed, and cheerfully acquiesced in. Matt. vii. 21, 
 " Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter 
 into the kingdom of heaven ; but he that doth the will of my 
 Father which is in heaven." 1 Pet. iii. 17, " It is better, if 
 tj^e will of God be so, that ye suffer for well-doing, than for 
 evil-doinor." 
 
 Q. 2. What is the first thing implied in the petition, 
 Thy luill he done in ear^th, as it is in heaven ? 
 
 A. That God, by his grace, would make us willing to know 
 his will. Psal. cxix. 26, 27, " Teach me thy statutes. Make 
 me to understand the way of thy precepts." 
 
 Q. 3. Are lue naturally ignorant of the ivill of God, 
 and unwilling to know it ? 
 
 A. Yes : for although God hath given a clear revelation of 
 liis will in the holy Scriptures, yet such is the natural perver- 
 sity and darkness of our mind in consequence of sin, that of 
 ourselves we neither know the will of God aright, nor have 
 we any desire to know it. Eph. iv. 11, " Having the un- 
 derstanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God 
 through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blind- 
 ness of their heart." Job xxi. 14, " Depart from us; for 
 we desire not the knowledge of thy ways." 
 
 Q. 4. How does God make us to knoiu his will ? 
 
 A. By the teaching of the Holy Ghost accompanying the 
 revelation of his will in the holy Scriptures, taking of the 
 things of Christ and showmg them to our souls. Psal. cxix. 
 18, " Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous 
 
263 
 
 things out of thy law." Psal. ex. 3, " Thy people shall be 
 willmg in the day of thy power." 
 
 Q. 5. What is the second thing implied in the petition, 
 Thy will he done in earth, as it is in heaven ? 
 
 A. That God, by his grace, would make us able and will- 
 ing to obey his will. Psal. cxix. 35, 36, " Make me to go 
 in the path of thy commandments ; for therein do I delight. 
 Incline my heart unto thy testimonies." 
 
 Q. 6. Are we naturally unable and unwilling to obey 
 the will of God ? 
 
 A. Yes : we are both unable and unwillinor of ourselves 
 to obey God's wdll even when we know it, but our inability 
 and unwilHngness are an aggravation of our sin, arising, as 
 they do, from the depravity and perverseness of the heart, 
 and its utter aversion and dislike to God and holiness. Rom. 
 viii. 7, " The carnal mind is enmity against God : for it is 
 not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be." 
 Psal. cxix. 5, " that my ways were directed to keep thy 
 statutes." 
 
 Q. 7. Hoiu does God make us able and luilling to obey 
 his will ? 
 
 A. By his Spirit he convinces us of our unwillingness 
 and inability, and by enabling us to believe in Christ, so as 
 to become united to him as our life-giving Head, leading us 
 daily and hourly to draw from his inexhaustible fulness the 
 grace and the strenorth that we need. John xv. 5, " For 
 without me (that is Christ), ye can do nothing." Phil. iv. 13, 
 " I can do all thingrs through Christ which strenotheneth 
 me." 
 
 Q. 8. What is the third thing implied in the petition, 
 Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven ? 
 
 A. That he would make us able and willinor to submit to 
 his will in all things. Acts xxi. 14, " And when he would 
 not be persuaded, we ceased, saying, The will of the Lord be 
 done." 
 
 Q. 9. Are we naturally unable and unwilling to submit 
 to the luill of God ? 
 
 A. Yes : being by nature prone to discontentment, fret- 
 fulness and murmuring, as if God dealt hardly with us ; be- 
 ing disposed to say, if not in words, yet in feeling. My punish- 
 ment is greater than I can bear. Num. xxi. 5, " And the 
 people spake against God, and against Moses, Wherefore have 
 ye brought us up out of Eg}^t to die in the wilderness ?" 
 
 Q. 10. How does God make us able and willing to sv.b- 
 mit to his will in all things f 
 
264 THE THIRD PETITION IN 
 
 A. By the teaching of his Holy Spirit, enabling us to be- 
 lieve in Christ, and in some measure to experience, as well as 
 believe, that all his deahngs with us are in love and faith- 
 fulness, and for our profit, that we may become partakers of 
 his holiness ; in not having withheld from us his greatest and 
 best gift, even the gift of his own Son, he will withhold no- 
 thing that is truly good from us, but as a father pitieth his 
 children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him. Phil. iv. 
 11, " For I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, there- 
 with to be content." Psal. cxix. 165, " Great peace have 
 they which love thy law ; and nothing shall offend them." 
 
 Q. 11. To what extent do we pray, in the petition, that 
 we may be enabled to know, obey, and submit to the will 
 of God in all things ? 
 
 A. Up to the full measure of our capacity, and perfectly, 
 with all our heart, with all our soul, and with all our mind, 
 as the angels do in heaven. Psal. ciii. 20, " Bless the Lord, 
 ye his angels, that excel in strength, that do his command- 
 ments, hearkening unto the voice of his word." 1 John iv. 
 16, " He that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in 
 him." 
 
 Q. 12. Will we, in this life, ever be able perfectly to 
 know, obey, and submit in all things to the luill of God? 
 
 A. No : but in so far as we come short of it, it is alike our 
 sin and misery ; while, in so far as we are conformed to it, 
 our happiness is increased ; and therefore it is both our duty 
 and our privilege to be frequent, and earnest in offering up 
 the petition. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. 
 Psal. cxix. 1, 2, " Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who 
 walk in the law of the Lord. Blessed are they that keep his 
 testimonies, and that seek him with the whole heart." 
 
 In praying that God's will may be done in earth as it is 
 in heaven, we pray that God would cleanse ourselves and 
 others from all sin, and that he would again restore his own 
 glorious image in our souls, conforming us entirely into the 
 likeness of his own Son, and our Saviour, Jesus Christ. 
 
THE FOURTH PETITION. 265 
 
 QUESTION CIV. 
 
 Having soen what we are to understand by the third peti- 
 tion in the Lord's prayer, we now come to inquire into the 
 fourth petition. 
 
 Quest. What do we fray for in the fourth petition ? 
 
 Ans. In the fourth petition (which is, Give us this day our 
 'daily bread) we pray. That of God's free gift we may receive 
 a competent portion of the good things of "this life, and enjoy 
 his blessinof with them. 
 
 Q. 1. What are we to understand hy the petition^ Giv^ 
 us this day our daily bread ? 
 
 A. Our absolute and necessary dependence upon God for 
 'every blessing : for the food that nourishes our body and pre- 
 serves us in natural life; and the still richer supphes of grace, 
 whereby the divine life is maintained in the soul. Prov. xxx. 
 8, " Give me neither poverty nor riches ; feed me with food 
 convenient for me." Deut viii. 3, " That he might make 
 thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every 
 word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord doth man 
 live." 
 
 Q. 2. How does it appear that lue ask for reviewed sup- 
 plies of grace in oferi/i9jjup the petition, Give us this day 
 our daily bread ? 
 
 A. Because not only do we daily and hourly stand in need 
 of such supplies of grace, but it is also the very language that 
 is repeatedly made use of in Scripture to set forth Christ and 
 all the blessino-s of his salvation to the hungry and thirsting 
 soul. John vl 35, ^' I am the bread of life : he that cometfi 
 to me shall never hunger ; and he that believeth on me shall 
 never thirst." Psal cxxxii. 15, " I will abundantly bless her 
 provision : I will satisfy her poor with bread." Ezek. xxxvi. 
 37, " Thus saith the Lord God, I will yet for this be inquired 
 of by the house of Israel, to do it for them." 
 
 Q. 3. What is the first thing in respect to our temporal 
 wants implied in the petition^ Give us this day our daily 
 bread ? 
 
 A. That of God's free gift we may receive a competent 
 portion of the good things of this hfe, everything necessary 
 for our present comfort and happiness, that is not inconsistent 
 with God's glory and our own spiritual good. Gen. xxviii. 
 20, " If God will be witli «ie, and will keep me in this way 
 
 z 
 
266 THE FIFTH PETITION IN 
 
 that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put 
 on." Psal xxxiv. 10, " The young lions do lack, and suffer 
 hunger : but they that seek the Lord shall not want any good 
 thing.'' 
 
 Q. 4. What is the second thine/ in respect to our tein- 
 jjoral luants implied in the petition. Give us this day our 
 daily bread ? 
 
 A. That we may enjoy the blessing of God with them, 
 that if he is pleased to give us a larger portion of the good 
 things of this life, we may be enabled by his grace to lay it out 
 for the advancement of his glory, and that it may never be 
 permitted to occupy that place in our heart and aff'ections, 
 that is due only unto himself ; and that if a smaller portion 
 be assigned us, we may be kept from fretfulness and mur- 
 muring, submissively resigning ourselves to the disposal of 
 God, rejoicing in the will of our heavenly Father, w^ho knows 
 best w^hat is good for us. Prov. x. 22, " The blessing of the 
 Lord, it maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow with it." 
 
 Q. 5. Does God supply the wants of those luho neither 
 ask them from him, nor care for his blessing with them ? 
 
 A. Yes : and often gives them a larger portion of the good 
 things of this life than to his own cliildren ; but they have 
 no warrant to expect them, and so long as they remain in 
 their present state, they do not enjoy his blessing with them. 
 Matt. V. 45, " For he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and 
 on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the un- 
 just." ^ 
 
 In this world God is good even to the evil and unthankful ; 
 but his goodness produces very opposite eff'ects : in the one 
 they are blessed for bringing his own people still nearer to 
 himself; in the other, they tend, through the perversity of 
 their own hearts, to strengthen and confirm them in their 
 alienation from God. 
 
 QUESTION OV. 
 
 Having seen what we are to understand by the fourth pe- 
 tition in the Lord's prayer, we now come to inquire into the 
 fifth petition. 
 
 Quest. What do we pray for in the fifth petition f 
 
THE lord's prayer. 267 
 
 Ans. In the fifth petition (which is, And forgive us our 
 debts, as we forgive our debtors) we pray that God, for Cin^ist's 
 sake, would freely pardon all our sins, which we are the rather 
 encouraged to ask, because, by his grace, we are enabled from 
 the heart to forgive others. 
 
 Q. 1. What are we to understand hy the 'petition^ And 
 forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors? 
 
 A. That unless we are conscious that, from the heart, we 
 do forgive those who trespass against us, we have no warrant 
 to expect that God will forgive our trespasses. Matt. vi. 15, 
 "But if we forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your 
 Father forgive your trespasses." 
 
 Q. 2. What is the ground on which God pardons sin, 
 or forgives us our debts ? 
 
 A. The finished work of Christ is the only ground on 
 which God either does or can pardon sin : it is in him and in 
 him only that he is a just God and a Saviour. Eph. i. 7, 
 " In whom we have redemption through his blood, the for- 
 giveness of sins." 1 John ii. 1, "And if any man sin, we 
 have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the right- 
 eous." 
 
 Q. 3. In what sense is it that ive offer up the petition, 
 And forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors ? 
 
 A. God having estabhshed a connection between our for- 
 giving such as trespass against us, and our experiencing a 
 sense of his forgiving mercy, it is only when we cultivate and 
 cherish such a state of mind and feehng towards others, that 
 he has taught us to expect, that he will make us to feel a 
 sense of his pardoning love, and lift upon our souls the light of 
 his gracious and reconciled countenance. Matt. v. 7, " Blessed 
 are the merciful : for they shall obtain mercy." 
 
 Q. 4. Who are the persons that can present the petition, 
 And forgive us our debts as ive forgive our debtors ? 
 
 A. The children of God : such as have already been jus- 
 tified, adopted, and sanctified in the name of the Lord Jesus 
 and by the Spirit of our God ; for although all men are sin- 
 ners, and stand in need of God's pardoning mercy in Jesus 
 Christ, yet as no unpardoned sinner can adopt the former 
 petitions as the real heartfelt expression of his soul, calhng 
 upon God as his Father in heaven, &c., so neither can he 
 plead the condition upon which a continued sense of pardon 
 is vouchsafed in this petition. Matt. vi. 14, *' For if we for- 
 give men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also for- 
 give you." 
 
 Q. 5. Does an unforgiving spirit in the children of 
 
2^68 THE SIXTH PETITION IN 
 
 God shut out from themselves a saise of GocVs forgive- 
 ness ? 
 
 A. Yes : inasmuch as such a spirit and temper of mind is 
 at utter variance with the law of God, and therefore very 
 sinful, and can never fail to intercept the light of the Divhie 
 countenance, and a comfortino- sense of his forgiving mercy. 
 Psal. Ixvi. 18, " If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord 
 will not hear me." 
 
 Q. 6. What is the natwal disposition which men cherish 
 towcirds each other ? 
 
 A. It is the very opposite to that of heartily forgiving one 
 another, for until renewed by the Spirit of God, and made 
 to experience a sense of God's forgiving mercy, the Scrip- 
 tures represent us as being hateful and hating one another. 
 Tit. iii. 3, " For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, 
 disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, liv- 
 ing in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another." 
 
 Such is the character of unrenewed man in the sight of 
 God, of Him who searcheth the heart and trieth the reins 
 of the children of men ; and so long as he continueth in this 
 condition, it is impossible that he can in sincerity say. For- 
 give us our debts as we forgive our debtors ; but when, by the 
 Spirit of God, he is enabled to believe in Christ so as to ex- 
 perience his forgiving mercy, then, and not till then, will he 
 be in a state and frame of mind to offer up with acceptance 
 the petition, " And forgive us our debts as we forgive our 
 debtors." 
 
 QUESTION CVI. 
 
 Having seen what we are to understand by the fidh peti- 
 tion in the Lord's prayer, we now come to inquire into the 
 sixth petition. 
 
 Quest. What do lue fray for in the sixth petition ? 
 
 Ans. In the sixth petition (which is. And lead us not into 
 temptation, but deliver us from evil), we pray. That God 
 would either keep us from being tempted to sin, or support 
 and deliver us when we are tempted. 
 
 Q. 1. What are we to understand by the j^etition, And 
 lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil? 
 
 A, That God would either keep us from being tempted to 
 
THE lord's prayer. 269 
 
 sin, or support and deliver us when we are tempted. 1 Cor. 
 X. 12, " Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth, take 
 heed lest he fall." 
 
 Q. 2, What is implied in the Jirst part of the 'petition, 
 And lead us not into temptation ? 
 
 A. That in the course of providence God would so order 
 our condition in life, that neither our own unsanctified hearts, 
 nor wicked men, nor the devil, may be permitted so to tempt 
 us as that we shall break God's holy Uw, and thus commit sin. 
 Psal. xix. 13, " Keep back thy servant also from presumptu- 
 ous sins : let them not have dominion over me." 
 
 Q. 3. Does God ever tempt men to sin ? 
 
 A. No : God tempteth no man to sin ; at the same time, 
 for holy and wise purposes, he may permit the devil and 
 wicked men so to tempt us, as that we shall fall before it ; or 
 he may, in the course of his providence, so place us, as that 
 our own corruption, being called into vigorous exercise, will 
 prove a fatal snare unto us. James i. 13, " Let no man say, 
 when he is tempted, I am tempted of God : for God cannot 
 be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man." Amos 
 iii. 6, " Shall there be evil in a city, and the Lord hath not 
 done it ?" 
 
 Q. 4. Is it enough that we offer up the petition, And 
 lead us not into temptation ? 
 
 A. No : it is also necessary that we be vigilant and watch- 
 ful against every occasion to sin, it being in the way of our 
 own circumspection that God answers our prayers, and keeps 
 us from falling into temptation. Matt. xxvi. 41, " Watch 
 and pray, that ye enter not into temptation." 
 
 Q. 5. What is implied in the second part of the peti- 
 tion, Deliver us from evil? 
 
 A. That if God should, at any time, for wise and holy pur- 
 poses, permit ns to be tempted, or in the course of his provi- 
 dence see meet to lead us into difficult and trying circum- 
 stances, he would either deliver us from them, or support, 
 uphold, and strengthen us under them, so as not to fail be- 
 fore them. Psal. Ixix. 14, " Deliver me out of the mire, and 
 let me not sink : let me be delivered from them that hate 
 me, and out of the deep waters." 2 Cor. xii. 7 — 9, " There 
 was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan 
 to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. For 
 this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart 
 from me. And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for 
 thee ; for my strength is made perfect in weakness." 
 
 Q. 6. Have we any reason to believe, that by watchful- 
 
270 THE CONCLUSION OF 
 
 ness and prayer^ God will either not lead us into tempta- 
 tion, or that he will support and uphold us under it ? 
 
 A. Yes : we have the strongest assurance that he will do 
 so, both from his recorded promise, and the experience of 
 the saints when placed in similar circumstances, such as that 
 of Abraham, Joseph, &c. ; so that, if at any time we do fall, 
 it must arise either from our own unwatchfulness, or want 
 of confidence and trust in God. Prov. iii. 6, " In all thy 
 ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths." 
 James iv. 7, " Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." 
 1 Cor. X. 13, " God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be 
 tempted above that you are able." 
 
 God may for our growth in grace and establishment in ho- 
 liness, see meet to try us, by permitting the devil to assault 
 us with his suggestions, and wicked men to persecute us, and 
 our own evil passions to assail us, while our outward condition 
 may be such as to give point to the temptation ; yet in all 
 such cases, if in simplicity we commit our way to God, by 
 watchfulness and prayer, he will make us more than conque- 
 rors over all our enemies ; for greater is he that is for us, 
 than all that can be against us. 
 
 QUESTION CVII. 
 
 Having seen what we are to understand by the preface and 
 petitions in the Lord's prayer, we now come to inquire into 
 the conclusion. 
 
 Quest. What doth the conclusion of the Lord's prayer 
 teach us ? 
 
 Ans. The conclusion of the Lord's prayer (which is. For 
 thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. 
 Amen) teacheth us to take our encouragement in prayer from 
 God only, and in our prayers to praise him, ascribing king- 
 dom, power, and glory to him. And in testimony of our de- 
 sire, and assurance to be heard, we say, Amen. 
 
 Q. 1. What is the first thing that the conclusion of the 
 Lord^s prayer teacheth us ? 
 
 A. To take our encouragement in prayer from God only. 
 Psal. Ixv. 2, " thou that hearest prayer, unto thee shall all 
 flesh come." 
 
THE lord's prayer. 271 
 
 Q. 2. Is it from. God alone that we can take encourage- 
 ment in prayer ? 
 
 A. Yes : for in ourselves we can have no encouragement 
 to approach God, as we have no merit that can entitle us to 
 any blessing from him ; but on the contrary are most unwor- 
 thy and unfit to come into the divine presence and majesty ; 
 and prayer itself is the very language of indigence and want, 
 an expression of our guilty and helpless condition. Isa. Ixiv. 
 6, " But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteous- 
 nesses are as filthy rags." Psal. xxxiv. 6, " This poor man 
 cried, and the Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his 
 troubles." 
 
 Q. 3. Hotu do we take our encouragement from God in 
 prayer ? 
 
 A. Because all things belong to God, and are at his dispo- 
 sal, and having promised blessings in answer to believing 
 prayer, and being all powerful and faithful, he will give them 
 to the praise of his own glory in Christ Jesus. Dan. ix. 
 18, 19, " We do not present our supplications before thee for 
 our righteousnesses, but for thy great mercies. Lord hear ; 
 
 Lord forgive ; O Lord hearken and do ; defer not, for 
 thine own sake, my God." Psal. v. 2, " Hearken unto the 
 voice of my cry, my King and my God ; for unto thee will 
 
 1 pray." 
 
 Q. 4. How does the perfections of God afford such en- 
 couragement in prayer to sinful and guilty creatures ? 
 
 A. Through Jesus Christ, who by his own death hath re- 
 conciled sinners unto God, so that the perfections of God 
 which are the most terrible to the unbeliever, and which to 
 him in that condition are sure pledges of coming judgment, 
 are to the behever in Christ the source of all his comfort and 
 sure pledges of future blessedness. Eph. iii. 20, 21, " Now 
 unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly, above all 
 that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in 
 us, unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus, through- 
 out all ages, world without end. Amen." 
 
 Q. 5. What is the second thing that the conclusion of 
 the Lord's prayer teacheth us? 
 
 A, In our prayers to praise him, ascribing kingdom, povrer 
 and glory to him. Psal. cxlv. 1, 4, "I will extol thee my 
 God, O King ; and I will bless thy name for ever and ever. 
 One generation shall praise thy works to another, and shall 
 declare thy mighty acts." 
 
 Q. 6. On what grounds are we to ascribe praise unto 
 God in our prayers ? 
 
272 THE CONCLUSION. 
 
 A. His own infinite and glorious excellence, as the foun- 
 tain of all glory and blessedness, and for those manifestations 
 of his character which he hath made in his works, but espe- 
 cially in the person and work of our Lord and Saviouv 
 Jesus Christ. 1 Chron. xxix. 11, 13, " Thine, Lord, is 
 the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, 
 and the majesty ; for all that is in the heaven and in the earth 
 is thine. Now, therefore, our God, we thank thee, and praise 
 thy glorious name." 1 Tim. i. 17, " Now unto the King 
 eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and 
 glory for ever and ever. Amen." 
 
 Q. 7. TFJiat is implied in closing our prai/ers to God 
 with Amen ? 
 
 A. We say Amen, in testimony of the sincerity of our de- 
 sires, and of our fall assurance that we shall be heard ; not in 
 our own name, nor on account of our own merits, but in the 
 name, and for the sake of him whom the Father heareth al- 
 ways, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Rev. xxii. 20, 
 " Amen. Even so, come. Lord Jesus." 
 
 In ourselves, assuredly, we have no ground for expecting 
 to be heard and answered ; but while we are thus worthless, 
 guilty, and sinful, yet worthy, infinitely worthy, is the Lamb 
 that was slain, and has redeemed us to God out of every 
 nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people. Blessing, 
 therefore, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him 
 tliat sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and 
 ever. Amen. 
 
 ANDUEVr MUBUAT, I'RI.MER, MILNE SQUABK, KDIXBURG U. 
 

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