Ans. We are instructed by his doctrine, and encouraged by his excellent example; we are reconciled to God by his death; he hath given us an excellent law, and glorious promises; and himself hath received power to make good all those promises to his servants, and fearfully to destroy them that will not have him to reign over them P.

Quest. What promises hath Jesus Christ made us in the Gospel?

Ans. He hath promised to give us all that we need in this life; that every thing shall work together for our good; that he will be with us in tribulation and persecution. He hath promised his graces and his Holy Spirit to enable us to do our duty; and if we make use of these graces, he hath promised to give us more: he hath promised to forgive us our sins; to hear our prayers; to take the sting of death. from us; to keep our souls in safe custody after death; and in his due time to raise our bodies from the grave, and to join them to our souls, and to give us eternal life, and joys that shall never cease.

Quest. How is Jesus Christ able to do all this for us?

Ans. When he had suffered death, and was buried three days, God raised him up again, and gave him all power in heaven and earth, made him Head of the church, Lord of men and angels, and the Judge of the quick and dead'.

Quest. By what means doth Jesus Christ our Lord convey all these blessings to us?

Ans. Jesus Christ had three offices, and in all he was Mediator between God and man; he is our prophet, our priest, and our king'.

Quest. What was his office as he was a prophet?

Ans. This office he finished on earth; beginning when

P Read the Sd, and 4th, and the 5th chapters to the Hebr. Eph. ii. 13, 14, 15. Luke, xix. 27. and xxiv. 46, 47.

John, xiii. 33. Acts, xiv. 22.

4 Matth. vi. 25, &c. Rom. viii. 28. 2 Cor. i. 4. Matth. iv. 11, 12. and xi. 20, 21. John, vi. 44, 45. 2 Pet. i. 3, 4. Matth. xv. 59. Acts, ii. 38. and iii. 19. Luke, xviii. 7. Matth. vii. 7. Coloss. ii. 13. 1 Cor. xv. 54, 55, 57. Rev. xiv. 13. 1 Cor. xv. 22. 1 Cor. vi. 14. Cor. iv. 14. John, vi. 40.

ii. 9. and v. 9. and i. 8. Ephes. v. 23. Coloss.

Matth. xxviii. 6. and 18. Phil. ii. 9, &c. Heb. Tit. ii. 13, 14. Eph. iii. 14, 15. 20. 1 Cor. xi. 3. ii. 10. Acts, x. 42. 2 Tim. iv. 1. and viii. 17. 31. 1 Pet. iv. 5.

1 Tim. ii. 5. Heb. viii. 6. and ix. 15, and xii. 24.

he was thirty years old to preach the Gospel of the kingdom, faith, and repentance'.

Quest. When began his priestly office, and wherein does it consist?

Ans. It began at his death; for he was himself the priest and the sacrifice, offering himself upon the altar of the cross for the sins of all the world".

Quest. Did his priestly office then cease?

Ans. No, he is a priest for ever; that is, unto the end of the world, and represents the same sacrifice to God in heaven, interceding and praying continually for us, in the virtue of that sacrifice, by which he obtains relief of all our necessities*.

Quest. What doth Christ in heaven pray for on our behalf?

Ans. That our sins may be pardoned, our infirmities pitied, our necessities relieved, our persons defended, our temptations overcome, that we may be reconciled to God, and be saved".

Quest. How is Jesus Christ also our King?

Ans. When he arose from his grave, and had for forty days together conversed with his disciples, showing himself alive by many infallible tokens, he ascended into heaven, and there sits at the right hand of God; all things being made subject to him, angels, and men, and devils, heaven and earth, the elements, and all the creatures; and over all he reigns, comforting and defending his elect, subduing the power of the devil, taking out the sting of death, and making all to serve the glory of God, and to turn to the good of his elect2.

Quest. How long must his kingdom last?

Answ. Till Christ hath brought all his enemies under his feet; that is, till the day of judgment: in which day shall be performed the greatest acts of his kingly power; for then he shall quite conquer death, triumph over the devils,

John, i. 18. Luke, iii. 23. John, v. 43. Luke, xxiv. 19. Acts, iii. 23, &c.

* Heb. v. 5, 7, 8, &c. Heb. vii, per totum.

Rom. viii. 33, 34.

* Heb. vii. 24, 25.

1 John, ii. 1. Heb. iv. 14, 15, 16.

z Heb. i. 3. 8. Psal. cx. 1. 1 Thess. i. 10. Acts, i. 3. Luke, xxiv. 51. and i. 33. 1 Pet. iii. 23.

throw his enemies into hell fire, and carry all his elect to never-ceasing glories; and then he shall deliver up the kingdom to his Father, that God may be all in all.

Quest. How is Christ a Mediator in all these offices?

Ans. A mediator signifies one that stands between God and us. As Christ is a Prophet, so he taught us his Father's will, and ties us to obedience: as he is a Priest, he is our Redeemer, having paid a price for us, even his most precious blood, and our Advocate pleading for us, and mediating our pardon and salvation as he is a King, so he is our Lord, our Patron, and our Judge; yet it is the kingdom of á Mediator, that is, in order to the world to come, but then to determine and end. And in all these, he hath made a covenant between God and us of an everlasting interest.

Quest. What is the covenant which Jesus Christ, our Mediator, hath made between God and us?

Ans. That God will write his laws in our hearts, and will pardon us, and defend us, and raise us up again at the last day, and give us an inheritance in his kingdom.

Quest. To what conditions hath he bound us on our part?
Ans. Faith and Repentance".

Quest. When do we enter into this covenant?

Ans. In our baptism, and at our ripe years, when we understand the secrets of the kingdom of Christ, and undertake willingly what in our names was undertaken for us in our infancy.

Quest. What is the covenant of faith which we enter into in baptism?

Ans. We promise to believe that Jesus Christ is the Messias, or he that was to come into the world; that he is the anointed of the Lord, or the Lord's Christ; that he is the Son of God, and the son of the Virgin Mary; that he is God incarnate, or God manifested in the flesh; that he is the Mediator between God and man; that he died for us upon the cross, and rose again the third day, and ascended into heaven, and shall be there till the day of judgment; that then

a Psal. cx. 1.

b Gal. iii. 20.

1 Cor. xv. 24, 25, 28. Matt. xxv. 34, 41.

c Heb. viii. 6. and x. and xiii.

e

Heb. viii. 6. and ix. 15. and xii. 24. 1 Cor. xv. 24.
Heb. x. 16. and xii. 24. Jer. xxxi. 31.
Acts, ii. 58.

Mark, xvi. 16. Matt. iv. 17.

Acts, ii. 38, 41, and iii. 19.

he shall be our judge; in the mean time he is the King of the world, and Head of the church f.

Quest. What is the covenant of repentance?

Ans. We promise to leave all our sins, and, with a hearty and sincere endeavour, to give up our will and affections to Christ, and do what he hath commanded, according to our power and weakness %.

Quest. How if we fail of this promise through infirmity, and commit sins?

Ans. Still we are within the covenant of repentance, that is, within the promise of pardon, and possibility of returning from dead works, and mortifying our lusts; and though this be done after the manner of men, that is, in weakness, and with some failings, yet our endeavour must be hearty, and constant, and diligent, and our watchfulness and prayers for pardon must be lasting and persevering h.

Quest. What ministries hath Christ appointed to help us in this duty?

Ans. The ministry of the word and sacraments, which he will accompany with his grace and his Spirit'.

Quest. What is a sacrament?

Ans. An outward ceremony ordained by Christ, to be a sign and a means of conveying his grace unto us.

Quest. How many sacraments are ordained by Christ? Ans. Two: baptism, and the supper of our Lord *.

Quest. What is baptism?

Ans. An outward washing of the body in water, in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost: in which we are buried with Christ in his death, after a sacramental manner, and are made partakers of Christ's death, and of his resurrection, teaching us, that we should rise from the death of sin to the life of righteousness'.

Matt. xvi. 16. and i. 18. 1 Tim. iii. 16. Rom. xiv. 9. Acts, i. 9. and iii. 21. and xvii. 31. Rev. i. 5. and xvii. 14.

Luke, i. 75.

Heb. xii. 1, 2.

Tit. ii. 11, 12. 1 Pet. ii. 1, 2, 3. 2 Pet. i. 4, &c.

h 1 John, ii. 12. and v. 16, 17.

Gal. vi. 1. and v. 24, 25.

i Rom. x. 15. Eph. ii. 20. and iv. 11, 12. 1 Cor. 12, 28. 2 Cor. v. 20. Matt. xxviii. 20.

*Matt. xxviii. 19, and xxvi. 26. 1 Cor. xi. 24. 1 Gal. iii. 27. 1 Cor. xii. 13. Eph. v. 24. Col. ii. 12. Aets, ii. 38.

VOL. XV.

Rom. vi. 4. John, iii. 25. Tit. iii. 5.
Acts, xxii. 16. Heb. x. 22. 1 Pet. iii. 21.

C

Quest. What is the sacrament of the Lord's supper?

Ans. A ceremony of eating bread and drinking wine, being blessed or consecrated by God's minister in public assemblies, in remembrance of Christ's death and passion". Quest. What benefits are done unto us by this sacrament?

Ans. Our souls are nourished by the body and blood of Christ? our bodies are sealed to a blessed resurrection, and to immortality; our infirmities are strengthened, our graces increased, our pardon made more certain; and when we present ourselves to God, having received Christ's body within us, we are sure to be accepted, and all the good prayers we make to God for ourselves and others, are sure to be heard ".

Quest. Who are fit to receive this sacrament?

Ans. None but baptized Christians, and such as repent of their sins, and heartily purpose to lead a good life o.

Quest. What other ministries hath Christ ordained in his Church, to help us, and to bring so many great purposes to pass?

Ans. Jesus Christ hath appointed ministers and ambassadors of his own to preach his word to us, to pray for us, to exhort and to reprove, to comfort and instruct, to restore and reconcile us, if we be overtaken in a fault; to visit the sick, to separate the vile from the precious, to administer the sacraments, and to watch for the good of our souls P.

Quest. What are we tied to perform towards them?

Ans. To pay them honour and maintenance, to obey them in all things according to the Gospel, and to order ourselves so, that they may give account of our souls with cheerfulness and joy 9.

Quest. Which are the commandments and laws of Jesus Christ?

Ans. They are many, but easy; holy, but very pleasant to all good minds, to such as desire to live well in this world, and in the world to come: and they are set down in

1 Cor. xi. 23, 24, 25. Matt. xxvi. 26. Mark, xiv. 22. Luke, xxii. 19.
1 Cor. x. 16. Matt. xxvi. 28.
• 1 Cor. xi. 27, 28, 29.
Gal. i. 6. James, v. 14.

P 1 Cor. v. 18. Acts, xx. 28. 1 Pet. v. 2. ¶ Gal. vi. 6. 1 Tim. v. 17 Heb. xiii. 17.