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<DATE>2012-08-21</DATE>
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<NAME>Colm MacCrossan</NAME>
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<ITEM>Proofed and reviewed.</ITEM>
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<FRONT>
<DIV1 TYPE="title page">
<PB REF="1" MS="y">
<P>The Agreement Of divers Mini&s;ters of Chri&s;t In the County of <HI>WORCESTER,</HI> and &s;ome adjacent parts, For Catechizing or Per&s;onal In&s;tructing All in their &s;everal Pari&s;hes, that will con&s;ent thereunto. Containing
<LIST>
<ITEM>I. <HI>The Articles of our Agreement.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>II. <HI>An Exhortation to the People to &s;ubmit to this nece&s;&s;ary Work.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>III. <HI>The Profe&s;&s;ion of Faith, and Catechi&s;m, which we de&s;ire them fir&s;t to Learn.</HI></ITEM>
</LIST></P>
<P><HI>London,</HI> Printed by <HI>R.W.</HI> for <HI>Nevil Simmons</HI> Book&s;eller at <HI>Kiddermin&s;ter,</HI> and are to be &s;old there by him, and at <HI>London</HI> by <HI>William Roybould,</HI> at the <HI>&V;nicorn</HI> in <HI>Pauls</HI> Church-yard, 1656.</P>
</DIV1>
</FRONT>
<BODY>
<DIV1 TYPE="text">
<PB REF="2">
<PB N="1" REF="2">
<HEAD>Our warrant from God.</HEAD>
<P>_ACT. <HI>20.20.28.</HI> And have taught you publikely, and from hou&s;e to hou&s;e. Take heed therefore to your &s;elves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Gho&s;t hath made you Over&s;eers, to feed the Church of God, which he hath purcha&s;ed with his own blood.</P>
<P><HI>Luke 12.42.</HI> Who then is that faithful and wi&s;e Steward, whom his Lord &s;hall make Ruler over his hou&s;hold, to give them their portion of meat in due &s;ea&s;on?</P>
<P><HI>Col. 1.28.</HI> Whom we preach; warning every man, and teaching every man in all wi&s;dom, that we may pre&s;ent every man perfect in Chri&s;t Ie&s;us.</P>
<P><HI>Mal. 2.7.</HI> For the Prie&s;ts lips &s;hould keep know|ledge, and they &s;hould &s;eek the Law at his mouth; for he is the Me&s;&s;enger of the Lord of ho&s;ts.</P>
<PB N="2" REF="3">
<P><HI>Mark 4.34.</HI> And when they were alone, he ex|pounded all things to his Di&s;ciples.</P>
<P><HI>Heb. 5.12.</HI> Ye have need that one teach you again which be the fir&s;t principles of the Oracles of God, and are become &s;uch as have need of milk, and not of &s;trong meat. See <HI>1 Cor. 15.1, 2, 3. to 8.</HI></P>
<P><HI>1 Cor. 4.1.</HI> Let a man &s;o account of us as of the Mini&s;ters of Chri&s;t, and Stewards of the my&s;teries of God.</P>
<P><HI>Heb. 13.17.</HI> Obey them that have the Rule over you, and &s;ubmit your &s;elves; for they watch for your &s;ouls, as they that mu&s;t give account; that they may do it with joy, and not with grief, for that is unprofi|table for you.</P>
<P><HI>1 The&s;. 5.12, 13.</HI> We be&s;eech you brethren, to know them which labour among you, and are over you in the Lord, and admoni&s;h you; and to e&s;teem them very highly in love for their works &s;ake, and be at peac<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> among your &s;elves.</P>
<P>In the &s;ixth general Council at <HI>Trull:</HI> in <HI>Con&s;tanti|nople,</HI> it is thus decreed, <HI>Can. 78. [That they that are baptized, ought to learn the Belief, and on the fift day of the week to &s;ay it over to the Bi&s;hop or the Presbyters.]</HI></P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="text">
<PB N="3" REF="3">
<P><HI>WE Mini&s;ters of Chri&s;t, who&s;e names are under|written, having &s;ought Gods direction, and enquired of his holy Word concerning our duty, and finding our &s;elves under many obligations to &s;eek di|ligently the edification and &s;alvation of &s;ouls; and withal con&s;idering the greatne&s;s of our Work, and the &s;hortne&s;s of our own and our neighbours lives, and the &s;trict account that we and they mu&s;t &s;hortly yield to God our Judge; Do humbly bewail our too great ne|glect, that we have not more frequently, earne&s;tly and unweariedly employed our care and time, and la|bour on &s;o great a Work, according to the &s;trict and holy precepts and patterns in Gods Word; e&s;pecially that we have done no more in Catechi&s;ing, and familiar per&s;onal in&s;tructing, to acquaint men with the mo&s;t nece&s;&s;ary points of our Religion, and to work them on their hearts, for the awakening of them from &s;ecurity, and drawing them from &s;in to God, by the faith of Chri&s;t, and for the directing them in the right way to their everla&s;ting peace. And as we earne&s;tly beg of God to pardon this our great neglect, through the blood and interce&s;&s;ion of Ie&s;us Chri&s;t; &s;o do we by his grace re&s;olve to be hereafter more faithfull and diligent, and
<PB N="4" REF="4"> therefore do unanimou&s;ly agree and re&s;olve on the par|ticulars following.</HI></P>
<P N="1">I. That we will in the &s;everal united Churches of this County, &amp; the adjacent parts, where we are Tea|chers, &s;et apart <GAP DESC="blank" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 word"> the <GAP DESC="blank" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 word"> day of <GAP DESC="blank" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 word"> publikely to humble our &s;ouls before God in Fa&s;ting and Prayer for our former negligence, and to beg pardon thereof, and of all our mi&s;carriages, that the everla&s;ting mi&s;ery of mens &s;ouls may not be charged on our heads; and to &s;eek his direction and a&s;si&s;tance for the time to come, and to acquaint our Hearers with their duties, in reference to the following Work to be undertaken.</P>
<P N="2">II. That we will hereafter, by Gods a&s;si&s;tance, lay out more of our time, and labour, in the fore|&s;aid work of Catechizing, and familiar in&s;tructing people in the Doctrine of Salvation: And, that or|dinarily we will &s;et apart a convenient &s;tated time for this work, at lea&s;t on one day every week, and in greater Pari&s;hes, either two or three; or el&s;e more hours on that one day, as our &s;trength, and other ne|ce&s;&s;ary imployments &s;hall permit. And whereas we have only hitherto Catechized the younger people in publike; we &s;hall now de&s;ire either the whole Families to come together by their turns, to a cer|tain place, on a certain &s;tated day, &amp; hour, or &s;o ma|ny of them that are not Catechized publikely. And the Clerk or &s;ome other fit per&s;on &s;hall be &s;ent to
<PB N="5" REF="4"> them &s;ome days before, to remember them of their turns, and to know whether they will come, or not.</P>
<P N="3">III. We conceive the fittte&s;t place for the aged, will be the Mini&s;ters hou&s;e, unle&s;s where &s;ome &s;pe|cial accident may make another place more Fit. Or if any rather choo&s;e to do it in the Church, or that their children and &s;ervants be chatechized in publique, and them&s;elves in private, We &s;hall grant their de&s;ire: and though it be the duty of the peo|ple to come to the Mini&s;ters for in&s;truction, in any convenient place which they &s;hall appoint, which all humble and obedient Chr<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;tians wil readily yield to, yet if any will not come to us we &s;hal go to them, if they con&s;ent to hear us, and to be in|&s;tructed: The like we &s;hall do to tho&s;e who by rea&s;on of Age or other weakne&s;s, or di&s;tance, cannot well come to us, or at lea&s;t we &s;hall procure &s;ome that are &s;it for &s;uch a work, to go to them, and in|&s;truct them, if by weakne&s;s or greater works we are hindred our &s;elves.</P>
<P N="4">IV. If any be unwilling to be chatechi|zed, or in&s;tructed before the re&s;t of the family, we &s;hall do it as privately as they plea&s;e: only we &s;hall catechize the women, e&s;pecially the younger &s;ort in the pre&s;ence of &s;ome of the re&s;t, le&s;t malicious wicked per&s;ons &s;hould make it an occa&s;ion of &s;candal and reproach: but we &s;hall
<PB N="6" REF="5"> as carefully as we can avoid the opening of the weakne&s;&s;es of parents, or ma&s;ters, in the hearing of their children, or &s;ervants, in any way that may tend to the dimini&s;hing of their authority and due re&s;pect.</P>
<P N="5">V. We &s;hall de&s;ire all our pari&s;hioners, old and young, that are able, to learn the ancient Creed, with out Expo&s;itory profe&s;sion, or Catechi&s;m con|taining it, the ten Commandments and the Lords prayer, and the A&s;&s;emblies &s;horter Catechi&s;m; and tho&s;e that cannot (at lea&s;t without longer time) learn the Catechi&s;m, we de&s;ire them fir&s;t to learn all the re&s;t; and tho&s;e that cannot &s;o &s;oon learn our profe&s;&s;ion, we &s;hal expect at lea&s;t that they learn the Creed, the Commandments, and the Lords prayer, and endeavour to learn the re&s;t in further time, as they are able; or if any pretend &s;cruples again&s;t our <HI>Profe&s;sion,</HI> or the <HI>allowed Catechi&s;m,</HI> they &s;hall u&s;e any Orthodox Catechi&s;m which them&s;elves will choo&s;e.</P>
<P N="6">VI. When we receive an account from them of what they have learned of the&s;e heads of Chate|chi&s;m, we &s;hall al&s;o faithfully endeavour to help them in the right under&s;tanding of them, and to get the truths which they learn into their hearts and lives; in all which we &s;hall endeavour as prudently as we can, to &s;uit our In&s;tructions and Q<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">e&s;tions to the capacity of the per&s;ons to whom we &s;peak. Not
<PB N="7" REF="5"> &s;eeking to di&s;grace them, or puzzle them by hard unnece&s;&s;ary que&s;tions or words, but expre&s;s the plaine&s;t nece&s;&s;ary truths in the plaine&s;t words; and if they under&s;tand not one phra&s;e, we &s;hall try whether they under&s;tand the &s;ame truth in other phra&s;es: nor &s;hall we &s;tand &s;o much on their words as their meanings; and if they be not able to deliver a fundamental truth in any tolerable words of their own, we &s;hall try by their affirmations or negations whether indeed they under&s;tand it or believe it, when they hear it expre&s;t by us: we &s;hall endeavour al&s;o to u&s;e &s;uch love and meekne&s;s as may win, and avoid &s;uch har&s;h imperious &s;peeches as may offend, and to u&s;e &s;uch &s;eriou&s;ne&s;s as may tend to awaken the &s;tupid and &s;ecure, le&s;t all our la|bour with them be lo&s;t, and yet &s;uch tenderne&s;s as that the weak may not be di&s;couraged. And, be|cau&s;e it is a work that requireth &s;uch great prudence and holy skill, together with zeal, and patience, we &s;hall the more reverently and cautelou&s;ly attempt and mannage it, avoiding all ra&s;hne&s;s, ob&s;erving and lamenting, and &s;triving again&s;t our impruden|cy, unskilfulne&s;s, and other unfitne&s;&s;es; and ear|ne&s;tly beg of God more fitne&s;s for his work.</P>
<P N="7">VII. Tho&s;e that have not learned the words of any of the afore&s;aid Principles, or Catechi&s;ms, we &s;hall yet de&s;ire to come to us with the re&s;t of their families, that we may have opportunity familiarly to di&s;cour&s;e with them, and in&s;truct them.</P>
<PB N="8" REF="6">
<P N="8">VIII. We &s;hall de&s;ire that the mo&s;t learned, or judicious and Godly people among us would &s;ubmit to this cour&s;e, as well as others, though they have not the like need, le&s;t their forbearance be a pre|tence to others to keep off; e&s;pecially &s;eeing the wi&s;e&s;t and Godlie&s;t men are bound by God to obey their teachers, and guides, as well as others; and all Chri&s;tians have need to keep the great fun|damental truths &s;till in memory, for their daily u&s;e, that they may live upon them; and the be&s;t may yet get &s;ome advantage by &s;uch conferences, which Mini&s;ters will fit to their riper &s;tate.</P>
<P N="9">IX. Having procured this our Agreement to be printed, together with an exhortation to our people to &s;ubmit to this work, we &s;hall fir&s;t read both to them in the publique a&s;&s;embly upon &s;ome Lords day, and afterward give and cau&s;e to be delivered one Copy thereof to each family in our &s;everal pari&s;hes that will accept them, de&s;iring them that they may be read to all the family.</P>
<P N="10">X. As for tho&s;e that after &s;ufficient admonition &s;hal contemptuou&s;ly and ob&s;tinately refu&s;e to be either <HI>Catechi&s;ed</HI> or <HI>In&s;tructed,</HI> thus per&s;onally, by us, giving us no valuable rea&s;on of their refu&s;al, if they are &s;uch that have profe&s;&s;ed them&s;elves members of our Charge, in the particular Churches whereof we are Pa&s;tors, we &s;hall proceed as in other ca&s;es of &s;candal, or impenitency, til we have either prevailed for their
<PB N="9" REF="6"> reformation, or el&s;e rejected and avoided them. And if they are &s;uch that are only members of the Pari&s;h, and have withdrawn them&s;elves from our charges and the particular Church, by refu&s;ing to own and profe&s;s their member&s;hip, we &s;hall yet &s;o far difference them from the re&s;t of the pari&s;h, who are Tractable and Teachable (though refu&s;ing to be of our particular Church, and charge) as that we &s;hall, in regard of Communion, and the application of &s;ealing and confirming ordinances, deal with them as the ob&s;tinate de&s;pi&s;ers of in&s;truction &s;hould be dealt with.</P>
<DIV2 TYPE="part">
<P>THE rea&s;ons which move us to this Agreement and Re&s;olution, are the&s;e following.</P>
<P N="1">1. As it is undeniable that the everla&s;ting perdi|tion of multitudes is cau&s;ed by their Ignorance, and people peri&s;h for lack of knowledge; &s;o is it mo&s;t evident that catechizing and familiar per&s;onal in&s;truction, is a great means to overcome that killing ignorance; and that much of the darkne&s;s of this Land is chargeable on the neglect of this nece&s;&s;ary work.</P>
<P N="2">2. The aged among us are too commonly more Ignorant then the younger &s;ort; and though their &s;ouls &s;hould be as much regarded by them, yet have
<PB N="10" REF="7"> we no hope of prevailing with the&s;e to come publikly on the Lords day, in the face of the congre|gation, to be catechi&s;ed; but yet we are in hope that fewer of them will refu&s;e to come to us in private; and &s;eeing we are thus nece&s;sitated to deal in pri|vate with one part of the family, if it be their de&s;ire, we &s;hall take all together in the &s;ame way; Per|haps one will encourage another. We ob&s;erve al&s;o that the younger when they are once married, will come no more to be catechized publikely, and &s;o too many forget that which before they had learn|ed, which this cour&s;e may prevent.</P>
<P N="3">3. It is the principles and fundamental truths that life or death doth mo&s;t depend upon, &amp; in which the e&s;&s;entials of Chri&s;tianity do con&s;i&s;t; which therefore no man may be utterly ignorant of, that hopeth for &s;alvation; and which the ripe&s;t Chri&s;ti|ans have the greate&s;t daily u&s;e for, and mo&s;t conti|nually live upon as their bread and drink: and tho&s;e that are well grounded in the&s;e fundamentals, are like&s;t to &s;tand in a time of trial, and to re&s;i&s;t tempta|tions, and to hold fa&s;t, and grow up in the know|ledge of the &s;uper&s;tructure; and it is the want of being well grounded in the&s;e fundamentals, that is the cau&s;e of much of the here&s;ie and apo&s;tacy of this Age. It is the improvement of the&s;e principles that is the true Chri&s;tians daily work, for the mana|ging of his duties, the quickening and ordering of his affections, and the guidance of his life; and it is
<PB N="11" REF="7"> the want of &s;ound dige&s;ting and improving of the&s;e that is the cau&s;e of much of the hypocri&s;ie, and &s;elf-deceiving opinionative and factious kind of Religi|ou&s;ne&s;s, that hath &s;o prevailed: In a word, the be|nefit of right Catechizing, and the mi&s;chiefs that follow the neglect of it, are more indeed then we can expre&s;s or conceive.</P>
<P N="4">4. We finde by &s;ad experience, that the people under&s;tand not our publike teaching, though we &s;tudy to &s;peak as plain as we can, and that after ma|ny years preaching, even of the&s;e &s;ame Fundamen|tals, too many can &s;carce tell any thing that we have &s;aid, when yet we finde that they better under|&s;tand and lay to heart a familiar Conference.</P>
<P N="5">5. The Lords day is &s;hort enough for the publike wor&s;hip of God, and preaching of the word, with tho&s;e private duties which are nece&s;&s;ary in our Fa|milies, though we re&s;erve Catechizing, at lea&s;t of the aged, to another day, e&s;pecially in the Winter, when the days are &s;hort.</P>
<P N="6">6. By this means we &s;hall better know the &s;tate of our hearers, and better know how to &s;peak publikely to their nece&s;sities, and how to pray for them; and how far either to be moan them, or rejoyce over them, and we &s;hall better under&s;tand their capacity and fitne&s;s for Communion and Sa|craments.</P>
<PB N="12" REF="8">
<P N="7">7. If we appoint not a &s;tated time and place for this work, we cannot tell how to have any fit oppor|tunity for it: becau&s;e we know not when to finde people at lei&s;ure together, and prepared thereto: nor can every weak Mini&s;ter endure the attendance and inconvenience of &s;ome of their hou&s;es, for &s;o long time, without apparent injury to their health or lives.</P>
<P N="8">8. The diligence of Papi&s;ts and Sectaries will condemn us, if we will not do half &s;o much in a right way, to &s;ave mens &s;ouls, as they will do in a wrong way, to pervert them. The Papi&s;ts will bring all the people to confe&s;s their mo&s;t &s;ecret &s;ins in &s;e|cret to their Prie&s;ts; and we have heard of &s;ome that have approved of their Church rather then ours, becau&s;e it is more &s;trict in &s;uch practi&s;es. The Secta|ries of other Sects creep into hou&s;es, and lead cap|tive the &s;illy people by their &s;mooth deceiving words and indu&s;try: If we then that have a better work to do, &s;hall betray mens &s;ouls by lazie negli|gences, all the&s;e might ri&s;e up again&s;t us and con|demn us.</P>
<P N="9">9. The work that we agree upon is of unque&s;tion|able nece&s;sity; it is not of the controverted mat|ters, where &s;ome godly men are of one minde, and &s;ome of another: we know of no party reputed &s;ober and pious among us, but are all agreed of the u&s;efulne&s;s and excellency, which is more then the
<PB N="13" REF="8"> lawfulne&s;s of this Catechizing, and familiar in&s;tru|ction; and we ob&s;erve them all as with one minde and mouth, complaining of the neglect of it, and commending the performance; we think it there|fore a &s;ad and unexcu&s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ble thing, that while we con|tend about controver&s;ies, mo&s;t &s;hould neglect that nece&s;&s;ary work, which all approve of, even while they thus neglect it.</P>
<P N="10">10. It is a work wherein we have the counte|nance of authority. Former Rulers commanded Ca|techizing, and the pre&s;ent do not di&s;countenance it, but encourage us to &s;uch works. It hath been the con&s;tan<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> pract<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ce of the Primitive Church, who had oft their Catechi&s;ts to teach the&s;e principles; and all Ages have allowed it without any con&s;iderable contradiction; And the Catechi&s;m which we agree to u&s;e was approved by the Church A&s;&s;emblies of <HI>England</HI> and <HI>Scotland,</HI> as a part of the Unifor|mity.</P>
<P N="11">11. We receive the publike maintenance to this end, that we may be enabled to lay out our endea|vour for the good of the whole Pari&s;hes from which we do receive it; and therefore we are further ob|liged in Ju&s;tice to do our be&s;t for the &s;alvation of them all.</P>
<PB N="14" REF="9">
<P>Upon the&s;e plain and pre&s;sing Rea&s;ons (among others) we finde our &s;elves called to la|ment our former negligence, and more diligently to perform this needfull work, and to exhort our Pari&s;hioners to encou|rage us by their &s;ubmi&s;sion, and willing|ne&s;s; and we do re&s;olve upon a more faithful di&s;charge of this duty to tho&s;e that &s;hall thus &s;ubmit.</P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED>Sub&s;cribed by
<LIST>
<PB N="15" REF="9">
<ITEM><HI>RIchard Baxter,</HI> Teacher of the Church at <HI>Kid|dermin&s;ter.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>John Bora&s;ton</HI> Pa&s;tor of <HI>Rib<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ford,</HI> and <HI>Bewdly.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Richard Eades</HI> Pa&s;tor of <HI>Beckford</HI> Gloce&s;ter|&s;hire.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Charles Nott</HI> Mini&s;ter of <HI>Shel&s;ly.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>James Warwick</HI> Mini&s;ter at <HI>Hanley Ca&s;tle.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Thomas Eavans</HI> Mini&s;ter at <HI>Welland.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Thomas Wright</HI> Teacher at <HI>Hartlebury.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>John Nott</HI> Teacher at <HI>Sheriff Hales</HI> Stafford&s;hire.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Henry Oa&s;land</HI> Teacher of the Church at <HI>Bewd|ly.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>John Hill</HI> Mini&s;ter at <HI>Clifton</HI> upon <HI>Teame.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Thomas Baldwin</HI> Mini&s;ter at <HI>Wolverley.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Richard Wolley</HI> Mini&s;ter at <HI>Salwarp.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>John Free&s;ton</HI> Mini&s;ter at <HI>Hampton Lovet.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Richard Sergeant</HI> Preacher at <HI>Kiddermin&s;ter.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Andrew Tri&s;tram</HI> Pa&s;tor of the Church at <HI>Clent.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Thomas Bromwich</HI> Mini&s;ter at <HI>Kem&s;ey.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Thomas Franck</HI> Teacher at <HI>Nanton Beachamp.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>John Taylor</HI> Mini&s;ter at <HI>Dudley.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>William Spicer</HI> Mini&s;ter of <HI>Stone.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Humphry Waldern</HI> Mini&s;ter of <HI>Broom.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Samuel Bowater</HI> Rector of <HI>A&s;tley</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Benjamin Baxter</HI> Mini&s;ter at <HI>&V;pton</HI> upon <HI>Se|vern.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>William Lole Mini&s;ter</HI> at <HI>Pyrton.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Thomas Francis</HI> Mini&s;ter at <HI>Doderhil.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Thomas Jackman</HI> Mini&s;ter at <HI>Burrough.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>William Durham</HI> Pa&s;tor of <HI>Tredington.</HI></ITEM>
<PB N="16" REF="10">
<ITEM><HI>Thomas Ea&s;ton</HI> Pa&s;tor of <HI>Batesford</HI> Gloce&s;ter|&s;hire.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Giles Collier</HI> Pa&s;tor of the Church <HI>at Blockly.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>George Hopkins</HI> Mini&s;ters of the Go&s;pel at <HI>Eve&s;ham.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Thomas Matthew</HI> Mini&s;ters of the Go&s;pel at <HI>Eve&s;ham.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>John Dolphin</HI> Pa&s;tor of the Church at <HI>Honniborn.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Jo&s;eph Trebel</HI> Pa&s;tor at <HI>Church Lench.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>William Willes</HI> Preacher at <HI>Littleton.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Richard Bee&s;ton</HI> Preacher of the Go&s;pel at <HI>Bree|don.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>William Kimberly</HI> Mini&s;ter at <HI>Ridmarley.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Jo&s;eph Baker</HI> Preachers of the Go&s;pel in the City of <HI>Worce&s;ter.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Richard Fincher</HI> Preachers at the Go&s;pel in the City of <HI>Worce&s;ter.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>John Willnot</HI> Preacher a<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> <HI>Par&s;hore.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Francis Hyat</HI> Mini&s;ter at <HI>Eckington.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Robert Brown</HI> Mini&s;ter at <HI>White-Lady A&s;ton.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Jarvis Bryan</HI> Pa&s;tor of the Church at <HI>Old Swin|ford</HI> and <HI>Sturbridge.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>John Dedicol</HI> Preach<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">r at <HI>Abbot&s;ley.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Richard Dowly</HI> Mini&s;ter of <HI>Stoke Pryor.</HI></ITEM>
</LIST></SIGNED></CLOSER>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="part">
<PB N="17" REF="10">
<HEAD>An Exhortation to all our Pari&s;hio|ners, to &s;ubmit to this Nece&s;&s;ary work of Catechizing and per&s;onal In&s;truction, which we have Agreed on, for the fur|thering of their own Salvation.</HEAD>
<OPENER><SALUTE>To all the Inhabitants of our &s;everal Pari&s;hes, Grace and Peace from God our Father, and from the Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t.</SALUTE></OPENER>
<P>DEarly beloved Brethren, who&s;e &s;ouls are precious both to Chri&s;t and us, and who&s;e Peace and Salvation we do earne&s;tly de&s;ire. It hath plea&s;ed the God of all the Earth to call out this poor unworthy I&s;l<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">nd in the utmo&s;t parts of the world, to make it his garden, while others remain a wilderne&s;s; and a Land of ligh<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">, while others live in horrid darkne&s;s; Here hath he Proclaimed the Go&s;pel of his dear Son, and made plain to us the way to everla&s;ting felicity: He hath not dealt &s;o with every N<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">tion, nor have they heard and &s;een what we have done. Mo&s;t of the world do lie in the darkne&s;s of Heatheni&s;h Idolatry, Infidelity and Mahometani&s;m: and too much of Chri&s;tendom in the darkne&s;s of Popery and Here&s;ie. It ha<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">h plea&s;ed the Lord of the Harve&s;t, to &s;end forth La|bourers
<PB N="18" REF="11"> into this part of his Harve&s;t; though, we confe&s;s, too weak and imperfect, yet more nume|rous, and faithful, and diligent, then mo&s;t of his Churches el&s;ewhere Proportionably can &s;hew. He hath wonderfully di&s;pelled the mi&s;ts of Popery, and many of his &s;ervants have laid down their lives in the flames in witne&s;s again&s;t it; and with a mighty hand hath he hitherto hindred its return. We have the holy Scriptures faithfully tran&s;lated into our own Lan|guage, and Bibles &s;o common, that every family may have one or more at a &s;mall price, and may make them the matter of their daily exerci&s;e. We have this Scripture weekly at lea&s;t read and preached to us publikely. we have the living examples of many that fear God, in who&s;e hearts his Law is written, though imperfectly, and in who&s;e lives it is expre&s;t. We have very great Numbers of excellent Books, ex|pounding this Scripture, and plainly directing us in the way to Salvation; &s;o that we know no Nation that in their own tongue hath the like. And among the re&s;t we have the &s;umm of Chri&s;tian Religion in Catechi&s;ms, in &s;o &s;mall a room, that the weak may learn, under&s;tand, and remember it.</P>
<P>Yet after the&s;e wonderful mercies and means, we mu&s;t needs confe&s;s it, to the grief of our &s;ouls, that many thou&s;ands in this Land of light, do wilfully live in darkne&s;s: And whereas they might all, for the time and means, have been able to teach others, they have need to be taught again the very principles of Gods Oracles, and to be fed as babes
<PB N="19" REF="11"> with milk, and not with &s;trong meat, as being un|skilful in the word of Righteou&s;ne&s;s, <HI>Heb.</HI> 5.12, 13, 14. It a&s;toni&s;heth us many times when we have occa&s;ion to talk with &s;ome of our hearers, to per|ceive that they know very little of the Doctrine which we have been preaching to them &s;o many years, as plainly as we could &s;peak: If we could &s;peak plainer to them we would; for we know it is a mat|ter that they mu&s;t under&s;tand or peri&s;h. It is &s;ad to us to hear many men, that can talk under&s;tandingly about matters of the world, that can &s;carce &s;peak a word of &s;en&s;e about the matters of their Salvation, or &s;carce give us any rea&s;onable an&s;wer, if we Q<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">e&s;tion them about the very Fundamentals of Chri&s;tianity, without the knowledge of which they cannot be &s;aved.</P>
<P>Upon this &s;ad experience of mens Ignorance, we have been brought to a deep Con&s;ideration of our own Neglects; and the Lord hath partly &s;et it home upon our hearts, and in the apprehen&s;ion thereof our &s;ouls have been brought low, to think how we have wronged Chri&s;t and you, and le&s;t God &s;hould re|quire your blood at our hands. For though we have frequently and faithfully taught you in publike, which is enough to leave you without excu&s;e, yet perceiving that it mu&s;t be a more familiar cour&s;e that mu&s;t help the extreamly ignorant to under|&s;tand, we lament that we have done no more in it then we have done. And though &s;ome of u<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> have hitherto excu&s;ed our &s;elves, by our bodi|ly
<PB N="20" REF="12"> weakne&s;s, or other pre&s;&s;ing bu&s;ine&s;s of our cal|ling, and from your neglect of coming to us accord|ing to your duty; yet da<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">e we no longer be guilty of the&s;e excu&s;es, while we di&s;cern any further means to be u&s;ed for your good. Having therefore &s;ought Gods direction, and Con&s;ulted together with his word before our eyes, we do all with one mind Agree and Re&s;olve to &s;et upon the practice of Con|&s;tant Catechizing, and per&s;onal familiar In&s;tructi|on of All that &s;hall not ob&s;tinately refu&s;e our help: and this we &s;hall do, by Gods a&s;&s;i&s;tance, according to the Rules which we have hereunto adjoyned. And becau&s;e we cannot expect that the Aged and Rich &s;hould be per&s;waded to be Catechiz<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">d in the open Congregation, and becau&s;e it is many waies in|convenient that we &s;hould go from hou&s;e to hou&s;e, if we can avoid i<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">, and it is your unque&s;tionable duty to &s;eek to your Teachers, and obey them in as great a thing as this; we do earne&s;tly intreat you, that you will &s;ubmit to this order, and willingly come to the place which the Mini&s;ter &s;hall appoint, even your whole families in their turns when they are called, both old and young; and that Parents and Ma&s;ters will lead their Children and Serva<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ts, and give them a good example, and not Condemn them&s;elves by refu&s;ing that duty which they confe&s;s their children &s;hould perform; e&s;pecially &s;eeing <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">gno<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ance in the Aged is a double &s;in and &s;hame. We intreat you al&s;o that you will be&s;tow &s;ome time and labour to learn by memory, the Common Creed, with our Ex|po&s;itory
<PB N="21" REF="12"> Profe&s;&s;ion, and the ten Command|ments, and the Lords Prayer, and this &s;mall Catechi&s;m, and the &s;horter Catechi&s;m of the A&s;&s;embly of Divines. And if you cannot read, get &s;ome to read them to you that can. We intreat you al&s;o to take &s;ome pains to &s;ee that your families do all learn the &s;ame: and e&s;pecially be&s;tow all that time on the Lords day in this exerci&s;e, which can be &s;pared from the greater parts of Gods &s;ervice: As al&s;o that you would bring all your family with you (except the children who are catechized in the Congregation) at the time, and to the place that &s;hall be appointed, there to render &s;ome account of what you learn, and to entertain &s;ome familiar conference about it, that you may be further In|&s;tructed in the way to life. If you know never &s;o much already, we &s;uppo&s;e you will not lo&s;e your labour: and the mo&s;t Judicious &s;hould be the mo&s;t humble, Obedient and exemplary to the weak. If you have learned never &s;o little, and find it hard to remember the words, yet we intreat you to come with the re&s;t, for &s;ome familiar Conference and In|&s;truction: For the le&s;s you know and remember, the more help you need.</P>
<P>Now the Lord hath awakened us his unworthy Me&s;&s;engers to the &s;en&s;e of our duty, O do not you di&s;courage us, and plea&s;e the Devil, and fru&s;trate all our work and hopes, by your wilful refu&s;al; e&s;pecially when we call you to no Controverted work, but that which all the &s;ober Chri&s;tians in the
<PB N="22" REF="13"> world will confe&s;s to be your duty: In &s;ome other matters, &s;ome are of one mi<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">d, and &s;ome of another: but, through the great merc<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> of God, it is not &s;o here. You can have no &s;uch excu&s;e to cover your refu&s;al: but if you will not Learn and Obey, you mu&s;t even &s;peak out, and &s;ay you will not, and tell God plainly &s;o to his face, and &s;o let your naked|ne&s;s appear to all. Now God hath put it into our hearts to do you good, and cau&s;ed us to thir&s;t after the welfare of your &s;ouls, we be&s;eech you take heed of Refu&s;ing your mercies. If you come to us to en|quire the way to &s;alvation, we dare not for all the world refu&s;e to teach you: for then how &s;hould we meet the Lord in Judgement, and look him in the face that made us watchmen for mens &s;afeties! How then Dare you refu&s;e to be Taught, or to be&s;tow your time and Labour for to Learn?</P>
<P>Dear Brethren, the Lord who is our Judge and yours, knows, that it is not a de&s;ire to domineer over your Con&s;ciences; nor any plea&s;ure that we take in needle&s;s troubling you; much le&s;s any ill will to you, that cau&s;ed us to take up this Re&s;olution, and to call you to this work: But it is the &s;en&s;e of our former &s;in and pre&s;ent duty, and of the great Nece&s;&s;ity hereof to your Salvation. Alas, fle&s;h and blood hath kept us from this duty too long already: and if we would hearken to it, we &s;hould not &s;o much trou<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">le our &s;elves or you, but let you alone in your &s;inful Ignorance: you m<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">y q<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ickly under&s;tand that it is far ea&s;ier to us to plea&s;e you, and let you alone!
<PB N="23" REF="13"> Indeed, we cannot but expect that this work which we have now undertaken, &s;hould bring upon us much more labour or trouble to the fle&s;h, then all our Publike preaching doth. We are frail &s;inners, and have fle&s;h and blood as well as you, that would fain draw us back from &s;uch trouble&s;ome duties, and per&s;wade us to take our ea&s;e, and not to lo&s;e the love of our Neighbours by mole&s;ting them: But woe to us and you if this &s;hould prevail you &s;hould therefore rather encourage us, and warn us to be Diligent, and to take heed to our Mini&s;tery which we have received in and of the Lord, and to fulfill it, <HI>Col.</HI> 4.17. If we were Stewards for the &s;upply of your bodily wants, you would call to us for help, and not &s;tay till we &s;eek to you; much le&s;s would you refu&s;e it. We have all need to joyn heart and hand, to help one another &s;afe to Heaven; and all little enough, when we have &s;uch enemies within us, and without us; and &s;o many difficulties before us to overcome. We know that you will have ma|ny Temptations from Satan, to keep you back from this profitable work; He that is unwilling of your Salvation, will be unwilling that you &s;hould learn the way to it. He will per&s;wade the Rich and worldly-wi&s;e, that it is a bu&s;ine&s;s unbe&s;eeming them to be Catechized or In&s;tructed; As if they were too good to obey Chri&s;t and hi<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> Officers, or to be &s;aved! He will per&s;wade the Aged that they are too old to learn, and that it is only for Children or the younger &s;ort; As if they were too old to be &s;a|ved!
<PB N="24" REF="14"> or as if it were not yet time to learn how to Live, when they have almo&s;t done Living; or how to Dye, when Death is &s;o neer! Alas, that any rea|&s;onable &s;oul &s;hould be &s;o bruti&s;h, when mo&s;t of their lives is already &s;pent in Ignorance and world|line&s;s, and living to the fl<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;h, and they &s;hould &s;peedi|ly lament their former folly, and Redeem the little time that doth remain; when one would think they &s;hould day and night be afraid, left Death &s;hould &s;natch them away in their &s;in and Ignorance; that yet they &s;hould not only delay and loyter, but wil|fully refu&s;e, and &s;ay, they are too old to learn! When you know Certainly th<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">t you mu&s;t be &s;hortly in ano|ther world, in endle&s;s Joy or Torment, is it not time to know wh<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters"> world it mu&s;t be? Or at lea&s;t to u&s;e your utmo&s;t diligence that you mi&s;carry not in a ma<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ter of &s;uch un&s;pe<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">k<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ble Con&s;equence? Should not <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">he old that are neere&s;t their Journeyes end, be mo&s;t Careful to know whither they are going, and where that end will be, and to &s;ee le&s;t they have hi|therto mi&s;t <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">he wa<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">? While there is li&s;e &amp; <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ime, there is <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">lop<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> of mercy, if you have but willing minds to u&s;e Gods m<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ans; But if you remain unwilli<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">g till time be g<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">e, <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">here will never be the lea&s;t hop<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> of R<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">m<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">dy more. Truly Brethren, if Chri&s;tianity were a fa<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">e, and there were no &s;uch things as Heaven or Hell when this &s;hort life is ended, but men dyed as D<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="3 letters"> do, we &s;hould never then trouble your minds wi<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">h the&s;e matters, but let you live in ea&s;e and plea&s;ure w<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ile you may. But we know that the
<PB N="25" REF="14"> Living God is True; and Heaven and Earth &s;hall &s;ooner fail, then one tittle of his &s;acred Word. We know that we and you are ha&s;ting to the Judgement &s;eat of Chri&s;t, where we mu&s;t be accountable for our Teaching, and you of your learning, and both of our Obeying and Love to the Truth, and of all the time and means that we did po&s;&s;e&s;s. We know that it is but a little while till we and you mu&s;t be all gone hence, and the places where we live mu&s;t know us no more. We know that then we &s;hall wi&s;h we had been more diligent in Teaching, and you will wi&s;h you had been more diligent in Learning; and all of us in Obeying! O Sirs, what &s;hould you &s;o much think on, as the God whom you &s;ay you love and ho|nour, and the heaven that you &s;ay you hope for ever to enjoy, and the Nece&s;&s;ary way that leads thereto? If you are Chri&s;tians, what &s;hould you more mind then Chri&s;t and his Benefits? <HI>Col.</HI> 4.1, 2, 3, 4, 5. <HI>Math.</HI> 16.19, 20, 21, 23. John 6.27. Will you drop out of the world, before you have well Con&s;idered what you had to do in it? will you lo&s;e the la&s;t hour or part of your Lives as you have done the re&s;t? yea and make that a rea&s;on for it? As if you would not Learn in your Age, becau&s;e you learned no &s;ooner? will you live all your youth with purpo&s;es to repent and turn to God in your Age? and then when Age comes, will you refu&s;e to Return becau&s;e you did it not &s;ooner? What is this but to abu&s;e Chri&s;t all your youth, and then abu&s;e him more in your Age, becau&s;e you abu&s;ed him in your youth!
<PB N="26" REF="15"> How will you think of this fooli&s;h wickedne&s;s when you look back upon it in Hell, if your found Repentance and Returning to God by Chri&s;t pre|vent it not? Believe it, true Repentance is a through turning from the fle&s;h and the world to God; and not only a wi&s;h that you had been wi&s;er; which is meerly forced by the &s;ight of death! woe to that man for ever, that dyeth before he hath done the bu&s;ine&s;s of his l<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">fe: and that mu&s;t go to Chri&s;ts Judgement, before Chri&s;t have had his heart! We be&s;eech you therefore rather lay by any thing then the&s;e needful works: you have nothing el&s;e to mind, that in Compari&s;on of this is worth the minding: it is for this that all things el&s;e mu&s;t be U&s;ed. In them&s;elves they are but as childrens toys; will you play with them till they and you do fall together in|to the du&s;t? and that while greater things &s;tand by? It is Chri&s;t, and Grace, and the promi&s;ed Glory, that will never deceive you, if you will but &s;eek him, and &s;et your heart upon him, and e&s;teem him above the&s;e tran&s;itory things, and make it the chief bu&s;ine&s;s of your life to Plea&s;e and Enjoy him; which cannot be without the knowledge of him. Is it not pitty that God &s;hould have any Rea&s;onable Creature that Knoweth not his Maker or his Laws, or his own hap|pine&s;s? it not pitty after all that Chri&s;t hath done and &s;uffered for the world, that any that call them|&s;elves his Di&s;ciples, &s;hould &s;o little know him, and the &s;alvation which he hath purcha&s;ed, and &s;hould &s;et &s;o light by him, as to reject his invitations? and
<PB N="27" REF="15"> &s;o neglect this great &s;alvation! <HI>Math.</HI> 22.5, 6. <HI>Heb.</HI> 2.3. O that you had but felt what it is to be under the bond of Gods Commands I e&s;pecially the great Command of the Go&s;pel; then you would <HI>&s;ee that you refu&s;e not him that &s;peaketh; For if they &s;caped not that refu&s;ed</HI> Mo&s;es <HI>that &s;pake on Earth; much more &s;hall not we e&s;cape if we turn away from him that &s;peaketh from heaven,</HI> Heb. 12.25. O that you did feel but what it is to be under the power of con&s;training Love! 2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 5.14. And to have the <HI>Love of Chri&s;t &s;hed abroad in your hearts by the Holy Gho&s;t!</HI> Rom. 5.5. And the Spirit to <HI>write Chri&s;ts Law within you! Heb.</HI> 10.16. Then would you long for more of Chri&s;t, and run after him in his Ordi|nances with thir&s;ting &s;ouls, and delight in his Law, and meditate in it day and night, and love his Teach|ing, and delight to do his will, <HI>Rom.</HI> 7.22. <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 1.2, 3. <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 10.8. <HI>&amp;</HI> 119.24.77.35. <HI>&amp;</HI> 40.1.2. The&s;e things would not only be your bu&s;ine&s;s, but your Plea&s;ure; even your meat &amp; drink, <HI>Job</HI> 23.12. <HI>O that you did know in this your day the things that belong unto your Peace, before they are hid from your eyes!</HI> Luke 19.41, 42. And that you would once &s;oberly Con&s;ider what it is to be in Everla&s;ting Joy or Torments! and that you would live as men that be|lieve the&s;e things indeed!</P>
<P>We do yet again be&s;eech you in the name of him that Made you, and Redeemed you, and for the &s;ake of your own immortal &s;ouls, that you will not be &s;o &s;tout, or &s;elf-conceited, or &s;o carele&s;s, or &s;o con|temptuous
<PB N="28" REF="16"> of the Grace of the God, as to refu&s;e to come to your Teachers to be Catechi&s;ed and In|&s;tructed, or to be&s;tow your labour in learning the&s;e Principles. You can lo&s;e but little by it, and only that which however you &s;hall &s;hortly lo&s;e. You may get that which &s;hall never be lo&s;t. O what a Glory would it be to our Pari&s;hes, and to the Land, if you would all joyn as with one mind to learn and &s;tudy the things of Chri&s;t! what a Joy would this be to the hearts of your Teachers, to &s;ee you readily with one accord to come to them for In&s;truction, and obey the word. All the wealth of the world would not &s;o glad them, or do them &s;o much good as this would do! But what a Grief is it to our hearts at pre&s;ent to think, that &s;o many of you do live in wilful Darkne&s;s, and will not u&s;e the means to get out! and to think what is like to b<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">come of you for ever, if death &s;hall find you in this &s;ad Condition! Now we are neer you, and fain would &s;ee your hearty change. But then, betwixt us and you what a gulf would there be &s;et? <HI>Luk.</HI> 16.26. The word of God will certainly be made good: And, he hath expre&s;ly &s;aid, that <HI>if the Gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lo&s;t: in whom the God of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, le&s;t the light of the glorious Go&s;pel of Chri&s;t, who is the Image of God, &s;hould &s;hine unto them.</HI> 2 Cor. 4.3, 4. <HI>And people peri&s;h where vi&s;ion faileth, and for lack of Knowledge,</HI> Prov. 1.22.29. &amp; 29.18. Ho&s;. 4.6. And <HI>when a people have no under&s;tanding,
<PB N="29" REF="16"> he that made them will not-&s;ave them, &amp; he that form|ed them, will &s;hew them no Favour,</HI> I&s;ai. 27.11. <HI>that the heart be without knowledge, it is not good.</HI> Prov. 19.2. <HI>To know God and his &s;on Chri&s;t, is Eternal life.</HI> John 17.3. How &s;adly doth God call even to <HI>the Heaven and Earth</HI> to hear his Complaint again&s;t his people! <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 1.3, 4. becau&s;e <HI>he had brought up a people and they rebelled again&s;t him: the Ox knew his Owner, and the A&s;s his Ma&s;ters Crib, but I&s;rael knew not God; his people would not Con&s;ider.</HI> Give not God cau&s;e to complain thus of you, le&s;t you prove your &s;elves the complainers in the end.</P>
<P>It grieveth us al&s;o to &s;ee &s;o many untaught chil|dren and families among you! to &s;ee the Lords day &s;o idly &s;pent when you have &s;o much of this ne|ce&s;&s;ary work to do! To &s;ee &s;o many of you either live without the Lords Supper, and the holy Com|munion of the Church, or el&s;e expect it when you know not what you do. And it much grieveth us when we come to vi&s;it the &s;ick, and would fain &s;peak Comfort to their departing &s;ouls, and find them in &s;o Ignorant and Carnal a &s;tate that we dare not do it. O what a trouble mu&s;t this needs be to our minds! You look that we &s;hould &s;peak Peace to you at the hour of Death, that will nor learn the way of Peace in your life, but rather abhor it and wilfully reject it. But that is a thing that we may not do; and if we &s;hould do it, we &s;hould but deceive you.</P>
<P>Brethren, take time and mercy, while the God of
<PB N="30" REF="17"> mercy doth offer it you! Think not a little labour too much, to learn that which mu&s;t be Learned upon pain of Damnation; and which may make you Happy for ever. It is the highe&s;t, the noble&s;t and &s;weete&s;t work that you can mind, or be imployed in! Other things are drudgery to this, and mu&s;t give place to it. Harden not therefore your hearts again&s;t the In&s;truction and help that is offered you. It is none of our purpo&s;e to que&s;tion you in matters of Scholar&s;hip, but of meer Chri&s;tianity; nor to &s;hame the Ignorant, but to teach them; nor to puzzle you with hard unnece&s;&s;ary Que&s;tions, but to &s;peak to you according to your &s;everal Capaci|ties. You can learn a trade to live by! And could you not lea<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">n the way to Heaven if you were as willing and diligent? you pray that <HI>the will of God may be done:</HI> and will you not learn to do it? you pray, that <HI>his Kingdom may come,</HI> and <HI>his Name be Hallowed:</HI> and will you not learn to Know the nature and dignity of his Kingdom, and how to hal|low his ble&s;&s;ed Name? God is willing to Teach you, and therefore hath &s;ent his Son to be your Teacher: All Chri&s;tians are his Di&s;ciples or Schol|lars: and its an ill Schollar that Refu&s;eth to Learn, or be taught. Chri&s;ts way of Teaching is, joyntly by his Mini&s;ters, Word, and Spirit: If you Refu&s;e the&s;e, you refu&s;e Chri&s;t: And though you may think it is but a man that you de&s;pi&s;e, yet God him&s;elf &s;aith, <HI>He that de&s;pi&s;eth, de&s;pi&s;eth not man but God,</HI> 1 The&s;. 4.8. <HI>And he that de&s;pi&s;eth you, de&s;pi|&s;eth
<PB N="31" REF="17"> me,</HI> Luke 10.16. And <HI>he that de&s;pi&s;eth him, &s;hall be lightly e&s;teemed,</HI> and de&s;pi&s;ed by him in the day of his Nece&s;&s;i<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">y 1 <HI>Sam.</HI> 2.30. <HI>Prov.</HI> 1.24. to the end. And <HI>he that de<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">pi&s;eth Knowledge, &s;hall be de&s;troyed,</HI> Prov. 13.13. O how much better would it &s;eem to us, if you would go along with us Cheer|fully in the way of Salvation, then to force us to be witne&s;s again&s;t you to your Condemnation! For Chri&s;t hath &s;aid, that if people receive not his M<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;&s;engers, and <HI>hear them not, they mu&s;t depart, &amp; &s;hake off the du&s;t of their feet as a te&s;timony again&s;t them;</HI> And he ha<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">h a&s;&s;ured us that <HI>it &s;hall be more tolerable for</HI> Sodom <HI>and</HI> Gomorrah <HI>in the day of Judgement, then for that City,</HI> Mark 6.11. Math. 10. 14 15.</P>
<P>Finally Brethren, we conclude with the repeti|tion of our former reque&s;t, that if God have &s;o much intere&s;t in you, if Chri&s;t and the holy Gho&s;t have &s;o much Intere&s;t in you, if your own Salvati|on be any of your Intere&s;t, or if we your Teachers and friends have any Intere&s;t in you, we earne&s;tly be&s;eech you, that not one family, nor one per&s;on, old or young, would deny us this reque&s;t, which we make, to our own Labour, but for your Good: Fir&s;t that you would take &s;ome pains, to Learn over the Creed with out Expo&s;itory Profe&s;&s;ion, the Ten Commandments, and the Lords Prayer, our &s;mall Catechi&s;m, and the A&s;&s;emblies &s;horter Catechi&s;m. Secondly that you would &s;ee that all your Children and Servants (that are capable) learn them:
<PB N="32" REF="18"> e&s;pecially on the Lords day. Thirdly, that you would not refu&s;e to come when you are called, to give your Teachers an account of your Knowledge, and (how little &s;oever you have learned, yet) to receive In&s;truction by them. And think it not too much that we de&s;ire you to come to us; for as you know it is a more regular and certain way for all to come to one place, then for us to go &s;eek after every per&s;on, not knowing where and when to find them; &s;o is it no more then you owe to your Teachers (in order to your own good;) when God hath made them <HI>Stewards of his hou&s;e|hold, to give them their meat in due &s;ea&s;on,</HI> Luke 12.42. Tit. 1.7. 1 Cor. 4.1, 2. and hath Commanded you <HI>to obey them that have the Rule over you, for they watch for your &s;ouls, as tho&s;e that mu&s;t give account, that they may do it with Joy and not with Grief, for that is unprofitable for you.</HI> And Mal. 2.7. <HI>For the Prie&s;ts lips &s;hould keep Knowledge, and they &s;hould &s;eek the Law at his mouth: for he is the Me&s;&s;enger of the Lord of Ho&s;ts.</HI></P>
<P>If the Lord bow your hearts &s;incerely to yield to this our advice, it will be the Joy of your Families, the honour of your Towns, Pari&s;h<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">s and Country, a good example for the whole Nation to imitate, and it will be the Comfort of your Teachers, and a good preparative to your own everla&s;ting Peace; &s;o great Benefits will follow a Small, a Certain, a Rea&s;onable duty. But if after all that we can &s;ay or do, you unthankfully and ob&s;tinately refu&s;e the
<PB N="33" REF="18"> help that is freely offered you, your Blood will be upon your own heads; and your Con&s;ciences &s;hall bear us witne&s;s that we made you this offer; and this our Exhortation &s;hall ri&s;e up in Judgement for a witne&s;s again&s;t you; And then Chri&s;t will have the glory of his Ju&s;tice on all that &s;et &s;o light by the Riches of his Grace.</P>
<CLOSER><DATE><HI>May</HI> 4^t^h. 1655.</DATE>
<POSTSCRIPT>
<P>The&s;e are the Te&s;timonies, Warnings and Reque&s;ts of us the &s;ervants of Chri&s;t for the &s;aving of your &s;ouls, whole names are before written.</P>
</POSTSCRIPT></CLOSER>
<PB REF="19">
</DIV2>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="text">
<PB N="35" REF="19">
<HEAD>The Ancient We&s;tern CREED.</HEAD>
<P><HI>I</HI> Believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of Heaven and earth. And in Je&s;us Chri&s;t his only Son our Lord, which was Conceived by the Holy Gho&s;t, born of the Virgin <HI>Mary;</HI> &s;uffered under <HI>Pontius Pilate;</HI> was Crucified, dead and buryed; he de&s;cended into Hell; The third day he ro&s;e again from the dead: he a&s;cended into Heaven, and &s;itteth on the Right hand of God the Father Almighty, from thence he &s;hall come to Judge the quick and the dead. I believe in the Holy Gho&s;t: the holy Catholike Church: the Communion of Saints: the forgivene&s;s of &s;ins: the Re&s;urrection of the Body, and the Life everla&s;ting.</P>
<DIV2 TYPE="part">
<HEAD>The Lords Prayer, <HI>Math.</HI> 6.</HEAD>
<P>OVR Father which art in Heaven, Hallowed be thy Name: Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done, in earth, as it is in Heaven: Give us this day our daily bread: And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors: And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from Evil: For thine is the King|dom, and the Power, and the Glory, for ever, <HI>Amen.</HI></P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="part">
<HEAD>The ten Commandments, <HI>Exod.</HI> 20.</HEAD>
<P>GOD &s;pake all the&s;e words, &s;aying, I am the Lord thy God which have brought thee out of the Land of Egypt, out of the hou&s;e of bond<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ge.</P>
<P>Thou &s;halt have no other Gods before me.</P>
<P>Tho<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> &s;halt not make unto thee any grauen Image, or any like|ne&s;s <HI>of any thing that is</HI> in Heaven above, or that <HI>is</HI> in the ea<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">h beneath, or that <HI>is</HI> in the water under <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">he ear<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">h: <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">hou &s;h<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">lt not how down thy &s;elf to them, nor <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">erve h<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">m: F<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters"> <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">he Lord <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">hy God <HI>am</HI> a jealous God, vi&s;it<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ng <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">he iniquiries of the Fa<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">hers
<PB N="36" REF="20"> upon the children, unto the third and fourth <HI>generation</HI> of them that hate me: and &s;hewing mercy unto thou&s;ands of them that love me, and keep my Commandments.</P>
<P>Thou &s;halt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain: For the Lord will not hold him guiltle&s;s that taketh his name in vain.</P>
<P>Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy: &s;ix daies &s;halt thou labour, and do all thy work: but the &s;eventh day is the Sab|bath of the Lord thy God: <HI>in it</HI> thou &s;halt not do any work, thou nor thy &s;on, nor thy daughter, thy man-&s;ervant, nor thy maid-&s;ervant, nor thy cattel, nor the &s;tranger that is within thy gates: For in &s;ix daies the Lord made heaven, and earth, the &s;ea, and all that in them is, and re&s;ted the &s;eventh day: wherefore the Lord ble&s;&s;ed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.</P>
<P>Honour thy Father and thy Mother: that thy daies may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.</P>
<P>Thou &s;halt not kill.</P>
<P>Thou &s;halt not commit adultery.</P>
<P>Thou &s;halt not &s;teal.</P>
<P>Thou &s;halt not bear fal&s;e witne&s;s again&s;t thy neighbour.</P>
<P>Thou &s;halt not covet thy neighbours hou&s;e, thou &s;halt not covet thy neighbours wife, nor his man-&s;ervant, nor his maid-&s;ervant, nor his ox, nor his a&s;s, nor any thing that is thy neigh|bours.</P>
</DIV2>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="text">
<PB N="37" REF="20">
<HEAD>The fuller profe&s;&s;ion of our Faith, taken out of Scripture; for the better under&s;tanding of the Creed.</HEAD>
<P>I Believe that there is One only God<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg"><HI>or</HI> [in three. Per&s;ons the Father, The Son, and the Holy Gho&s;t.]</NOTE> [The Father,] Infinite in Being, <HI>the Father, The Son,</HI> Wi&s;dom, Goodne&s;s and Power: the Maker, Pre&s;erver, and Di&s;po&s;er of all things; and the mo&s;t Ju&s;t and Merciful Lord of all.</P>
<P>I Believe that Mankind being fallen by &s;in from God and Happine&s;s, under the wrath of God, the cur&s;e of his Law, &amp; the Power of the Devil, God &s;o loved the world, that he gave his only &s;on to be their Redeemer, who being God, and one with the Father, did take to him our nature, and became man, being conceived of the Holy Gho&s;t in the Virgin <HI>Mary,</HI> and born of her, and named Je&s;us Chri&s;t: and having lived on earth without &s;in, and wrought many Miracles for a witne&s;s of his truth, he gave up him&s;elf a &s;acrifice for our &s;ins, and a Ran&s;ome for us, in &s;uffering death on the Cro&s;s: and being Buried, he ro&s;e again the third day, and afterward A&s;cended into Heaven, where he is Lord of All, in Glory with the Father: And having Ordained that all that truly Repent, and Believe in him, and love him above all things, and &s;incerely Obey him, and that to the death, &s;hall be &s;aved; and they that will not &s;hall be damned; and commanded his mini&s;ters to preach the Go&s;pel to the world; He will come again, and rai&s;e the bodies of all men from Death, and will Judge all men according to what they have done in the body: and the Righteous &s;hall go into life eternal, and the re&s;t into everla&s;ting Puni&s;hment.</P>
<P>I Believe that God the Holy Gho&s;t, the Spirit of the Fa|ther and the Son, was &s;ent from the Father<NOTE N="(*)" PLACE="marg"><HI>or</HI> and</NOTE> by the Son to in&s;pire and guide the Prophets, and
<PB N="38" REF="21"> Apo&s;tles, that they might fully reveal the doctrine of Chri&s;t, and by multitudes of evident miracles and wonder|ful gifts, to be the great witne&s;s of Chri&s;t and of the truth of his holy word, and al&s;o to dwell and work in all that are drawn to believe, that being fir&s;t joyned to Chri&s;t their head, and into one Church, which is his body, and &s;o par|doned and made the &s;ons of God, they may be a peculiar people &s;anctified to Chri&s;t, and may mortifie the fle&s;h, and overcome the world and the Devil, and being zealous of good works, may &s;erve God in Holine&s;s and Righteou&s;|ne&s;s, and may live in the &s;pecial Love and Communion of the Saints, and in Hope of Chri&s;ts Coming, and of Ever|la&s;ting life.</P>
<P>I do heartily take this one God<NOTE N="(*)" PLACE="marg">In the Trinity of Per&s;ons.</NOTE> for my on|ly God, and my chief good; and this Je&s;us Chri&s;t for my only Lord-Redeemer and Savi|our, and this Holy Gho&s;t for my Sanctifier; and the Doctrine by him revealed, and witne&s;|&s;ed by his Miracles, and now contained in the holy Scrip|tures, I do take for the Law of God, and the Rule of my Faith, and Life. And Repenting unfeignedly of my &s;ins, I do Re&s;olve through the grace of God, &s;incerely to obey him, both in Holyne&s;s to God, and Righteou&s;ne&s;s to men, and in &s;pecial love to the Saints, and Communion with them, again&s;t all the temptations of tht Devil, the World, and my own Fle&s;h, and this to the death.</P>
<P>Note that the fir&s;t eight Articles of the following Ca<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">echi&s;m, do con|tain <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">he foregoing Profe&s;&s;ion: and the four la&s;t do expre&s;s the parti|culars <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ontained in the two words, <HI>Holine&s;s</HI> and <HI>Righteou&s;ne&s;s,</HI> and in the ten Commandments.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="text">
<HEAD>The CATECHISM.</HEAD>
<PB REF="21">
<P>Qu. 1. <HI>What do you believe concern|ing God?</HI></P>
<P N="1">1. There is one only God in three per&s;ons, the Father,<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Cor. 8.4, 6. Mat. 2<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">.13. 1 Joh. 5.7. 1 Tim. 1.17. P&s;al. 1.<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">9.7, 8, 9. I&s;a. 40.17. Rev. 4.8. P&s;al. 147.5. Neh. 9.6. P&s;al. 135 6. Rev. 15.3. Exo. 34 6.</NOTE> the Son, and the Holy Gho&s;t: Who is infinite in Being, Power, Wi&s;dom, and Good|ne&s;s: the maker, pre&s;erver, &amp; di<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">po&s;er of all things: and the mo&s;t Iu&s;t and Merciful Lord of all.</P>
<P>Qu. 2. <HI>How did God make man, and what Law did he give him?</HI></P>
<P N="2">2.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Pro. 16.4. Gen. 1.26, 27. &amp; 2.16, 17. Rom. 6.23.</NOTE> God made man for him&s;elf, in his own image, and gave him a righteous Law, requiring perfect obedience upon pain of Death.</P>
<P>Qu. 3. <HI>Did man keep or break this Law?</HI></P>
<P N="3">3. Man being temp|ted by Satan,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Gen. 3. Rom 5.1<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">.28. &amp; 3.23. &amp; 6.23. Eph. 2.12. Ho&s;. 14.1. Eph. 2.<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">.3, 5. Gal. 3.10.<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">. Act. 26.18 Gen. 6.5. 2 Tim 3 15. Ho&s;. 11.7. &amp; 13.2. P&s;al. <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">8.17.</NOTE> did w<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">ful+ly &s;in; and &s;o fall from God and Happine&s;s, un|der the wrath of God, the Cur&s;e of the Law, and the Power of the Devil: &s;o that a e are b<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> nature dead in &s;in, and prone to do more evil continually, &amp; to grow wor&s;e, &amp; <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">o depart yet further from God.</P>
<P>Qu. 4. <HI>How was man Redeemed?</HI></P>
<P N="4">4 God &s;o loved the world,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Joh. 3.16, <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">7. 1 Joh. 2.2. Ioh. 4.22. Rom 9.5. &amp; 10.12 Joh. 10.30. &amp; 17.11. Heb. <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">.14, 16. 1 Tim. <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">.5. Lu<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">. 1.2<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">, <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">1, 35. Mat. 1.22, 25.20. Heb. 4.15. &amp; 7 26. Heb. 2, 3.4. Act 2.22. &amp; 7.36. Tit 2.14. Heb. 9.26. 1 Tim 2.6. Mat. 27.31, 35. <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">0 1 Cor. 15 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 12. Act. 1.9. Eph. 4 8, 9, 10, 11. Act. 10.56, &amp; 2.36. R<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">m 14.9. Mat. 28.18. Eph. 1.20, 21, 22</NOTE> that he gave his onl<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> &s;on to be their Re|deemer: who, being God, and one with the Father, did take to him our na|ture, and became man, being conceived by the Ho|ly Gho&s;t in the V<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">r<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> in <HI>Mary,</HI> and born of her, and called Ie&s;us Ch<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">i&s;t, and having lived on earth without &s;in, and wrought many Miracles for a witne&s;s of his truth, he gave up him&s;elf a &s;acrifice for our &s;i<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">s, and a ran&s;om for us, in &s;uffering death on the Cro&s;s, an<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> being buryed, he ro&s;e again the third day and afterward a&s;cended in<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">o <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">eaven, where he i<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> Lord of all <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">n glory with the Father.</P>
<P>Qu. 5. <HI>How and on what <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">e <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">s is <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">al<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ation offered in the Go&s;pel?</HI></P>
<P N="5">5 Our Lord Ie&s;us Chri&s;t hath ordained in his Te&s;tament that all they that receive him by a tine effectual faith,<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Cor. 9.14 Heb 9.15. Col. 2 6. Joh. 1.12. Mar. 16.15, 16. Gal. 5.4 Jam. 2 24. Act. 26.18. <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">n. 24 47. Act. 5.31. &amp; 11.18. &amp; 20.21. &amp; 3.19. &amp; 2.38 &amp; 8.2<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">. &amp; 26.10. <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 word"> 13.3. Mar. 4.12. I&s;a. 55.7. &amp; 2.16 Eze<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">. <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">8.21.<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">0.<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">2. &amp; 33 11. to 20. Mat. 19.2<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">, 29. &amp; <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">0 3<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">. L<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">k <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">4.26, 27 3<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">. T<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">t 3 <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">.7. Heb. 3 14. C<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">l. <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">.23. Joh. 15 <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">. to 12. &amp; 8 31. Ro<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">. 1.22 Heb 10.26 38. Rev. 2.1<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">.<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">. Mar. 16.15, 16. Mat. 28.19, 20, 21.</NOTE> and that by true Repentance do for&s;ake the De|vil, the world, and the Fle&s;h, and heartily turn from them unto God, &s;hall freely receive the Pardon of their &s;ins, and become the &s;ons of God, and Heirs of everla&s;ting life,<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">The conditionality of the promi&s;e deny<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">th not the certainty of faith and per&s;everance.</NOTE> and that if they &s;in|cerely love and obey him to the death, they &s;hall be glorifyed: and that they that will not do all this, &s;hall be damned. And
<PB N="40" REF="22"> this he hath commanded his Mini&s;ters to preach to all the world.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Joh. 14.26. &amp; 15.26. 1 Pet. 1.10, 11, 12. &amp; 2 Pet. 1.21. 2 Tim. 3.16. Joh. 16.13. Ep. 3.3, 5. &amp; 2.20. &amp; 4.11, 12, 13. Mat. 28.20 <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> Tim. 6.14 I&s;a. 8 20. Rev. <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">2.18, 19. Heb. 3.2,<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">. &amp; 2.3.4. Acts 2.22. &amp; 19.11.10 19. Gal. 3.1.2 3, 5. Joh. 14.12. &amp; 3.2 &amp; 10. 25, 37, 28, 1 Cor. 14.</NOTE>Qu. 6. <HI>How did Chri&s;t reveal and prove his doctrine?</HI></P>
<P N="6">6. The Holy Gho&s;t was &s;ent by the Father and the &s;on to in&s;pire and guide the Prophets, Apo&s;tles and Evange|li&s;ts, that they might truly and fully reveal the Do|ctrine of Chri&s;t, and deliver it in Scripture to the Church as the Rule of our Faith and Li&s;e: And by multitudes of evident uncontroled miracles, to be the great witne&s;s of Chri&s;t, and of the truth of his holy word.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Act. 26.18. Joh. 6.44. Rom. 8.<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">, 10, 11 Act. 16.14. Eze<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">. 36.16. Act. 15.9. 1 Cor. 6.11, 19. Col. 1.18. &amp; 2.19. Eph. 5.30. 31.32. &amp; 3.17. 1 Cor. 12. 13.27. Rom. 3.24. Gal. 4 6. Joh. 1.12. Gal. 6.26. Tit. <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">.14. 1 Pet. 2.9. 1 Cor. 6.11. Rom. 8.1.10 14. Gal. 5.17, 24. 1 Joh. 2.15. Gal. 6.14. 1 Joh. 3.8. Luk. 1.74, 75. 1 Pet. 1.22. Joh. 12.34, 35. Eph. 2.<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">9. Heb. 10 25. <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> Cor. <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">.9. <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> Pet. 3 11, 12. Tit. 1.2. &amp; 3.7.</NOTE>Qu. 7. <HI>How are men brought to partake of Chri&s;t and life?</HI></P>
<P N="7">7. The &s;ame Holy Spirit doth by the word enlighten mens un|der&s;tandings, and &s;often and open their hearts, and turn them from the power of Satan unto God, by faith in Chri&s;t: that b<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ing joyned to Chri&s;t the Head, and into one Church which is his body, and freely ju&s;tified, and made the &s;ons o<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> God, they may be a &s;anctified peculiar people unto him, and may overcome the fle&s;h, the world, and the devil; and being zealous of good works, may &s;erve God in Holyne&s;s and Righteou&s;ne&s;s, and may live in the &s;pecial love and Communion of the Saints, and in hope of Chri&s;ts coming, and Everla&s;ting Life.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Acts 1.11. 1 Cor. 15. 1 The&s;. 4.16, 17, 18. Joh. 5.22, 27.2 Cor. 5.10. Rom. 2.6, 7. Mat. 25.2 The&s;. 1.8, 9, 10. &amp; 2.12. 2 Tim. 4.8, 18. Luk. 10.11. Joh. 17.24. &amp; 19.27. Mat. 13.40.</NOTE>Qu. 8. <HI>What &s;hall be the end of the Righte|ous and of the wicked?</HI></P>
<P N="8">8. The Lord Ie&s;us Chri&s;t will come again at the end of this world, and will rai&s;e the bodies of all men from the dead, and iudge all men according to their works: And the Righteous &s;hall go into Everla&s;ting Life, and the re&s;t into everla&s;ting puni&s;hment.</P>
<PB N="41" REF="22">
<P>Qu. 9. <HI>What a<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">e the Publike means which Chri&s;t hath appointed to &s;alvation?</HI></P>
<P N="9">9.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 28.19, 20. Mat. 16 15. Rom. 10.7, 8.14.15. 2 Tim. 2.<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">. Act. 14.1<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">. Act. 2.42. &amp; 20.7, 28. Eph. 4. 11, 12, 14. Ezek. 3.17, 18, 21. Mal. 2.7. 1 Cor. 12.17, 28, 29. Col. 1.28. Act. 18.26. Jam. 5.14. N<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">h. 11 17. &amp; 9.5. &amp; 8.4, 5, 6, 8. 1 Cor. 10.16. &amp; 9.13. &amp; 11.24. Nam. 6.23, 24. Deut. 10.8.1. Chr. 23.13. Heb 7.7. 1 Cor. 4 1. 1 Tim. 4.13, 14, 15. Jo<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">. 1.10. Acts 20.7. 1 Cor. 16.2. Mar. 16.2 9. Joh. 20.1, 1<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">. Tit. 2.15. &amp; 1.9, 11. 1 Tim. 5.1, 19, 20. &amp; 3.5 Tit 3.10. 1 Cor. 5.4, 5, 11, 13. Acts 2.42. Heb. 13.7, 17, 24. 1 The&s;. 5.<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">2, 1<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">. 1 Tim 5.17. 1 Cor. 16.16. Luk. 12.42. &amp; 10.16. 1 Cor. 1.10. &amp; 3.3. R<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">m. 16, 17. Eph. 4.2, 15, 16. Col. 2.2. 2 Cor 13.11.</NOTE> Chri&s;t hath appoint|ed that fit men &s;hall be ordained his mini&s;ters to di&s;ciple the uncalled, and baptize all that are Di&s;ci|ples in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Gho&s;t, and to Congregate his Di&s;ciples, and to Ouer&s;ee and Guide the &s;eve|ral Congregations, and each member thereof. Particularly to Teach them the wo<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">d of God, to Pray and Prai&s;e God wi<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">h them and for them; to admini&s;ter the Lords &s;upper in remembrance of him; and to Ble&s;s them in the name of the Lord: E&s;pecially on the Lords day, which he hath ap|pointed for holy Communion in &s;uch works: Al&s;o to reb<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ke with Authority the &s;candalous and unruly, and to reiect tho&s;e that are ob&s;tinately im|penitent and unreformed.</P>
<P>It is therefore the Peoples duty to ioyn with &s;uch Churches in the fore&s;aid wor&s;h<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">p of God; and to know, hear, &s;ubmi<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> to, and obey the&s;e their Guides that are over them in the Lord, and to avoid di&s;cord and divi&s;ion, and to live in Vnity, Love and Peace.</P>
<P>Qu. 10. <HI>What are the &s;ecret holy Duties which every one mu&s;t u&s;e?</HI></P>
<P N="10">10.<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 104.34. &amp; 119.97, 99. &amp; 1 2. &amp; 63.6. &amp; 77.<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">2. &amp; 143.5. &amp; 119.59. Hag. 1.5. Deut. 32.29. P&s;al. 50.22. 2 Cor. 1<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">.5. P&s;al. 4.4 Pro. 4.13. Ma<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">. 5.<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">. &amp; 12.34. &amp; 15.18, 19. P&s;al. 119.113. &amp; 39.1. Mar. 13.33. Luk. 21.8, 34. 1 Cor. 10.12. Col. 3.5 Heb. 3.12, 13, 14. Mat. 2<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">.4. Luk. 1<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">.15. Rom. 13 13, 14. 1 Cor 3.18. Jer. 17.9. 1 Pet. 2.1. 2 Tim. 1 6. &amp; 4.7. Acts 24.16. Mat. 26. 4<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">. 1 Cor. 16.13. Eph. 6.11. to 19. 1 The&s;. 5.17. Act. 10.9. Luk. 6.12.</NOTE> The &s;ecret Duties of Holyne&s;s, are frequent and &s;erious meditation of God and his works and word, e&s;pecially of our own &s;in and danger, of our Redemption, of our d<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">|ty, of Death, Iudgement, and the endle&s;s Ioy and Torment after it: The diligent examination of our own hearts, and watching over our Thoughts, Affections, Words and Actions: The mortifying of our &s;in<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">, e&s;pecially V<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">belief, Error, hardne&s;s of heart, Pride, worldline&s;s, fle&s;h-plea&s;ing and Hy|p<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">cri&s;ie: The exerci&s;e of all graces: watching again&s;t Temptations, and re&s;olute re&s;i&s;ting them: And &s;ecret prayer to God.</P>
<P>Qu. 11. <HI>What Private Duties of Holine&s;s mu&s;t be performed with others?</HI></P>
<P N="11">11.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Eph 6.4, 9. Deut. 6.11, 12 Jo&s;. 24.15. P&s;al. 101.2, 3. Act<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> 10 <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">0. Gen. 18.19. Pro. 22.6, 15. &amp; 25.13. 1 Sam. 2.23.29. Col. 3.20.12. Eph. 6.1, 5, 6, 7, 8. Deut. 21.18, 20. Mal. 2.7. Jer. 6.16. &amp; 50.5. 1 Cor. 14 35. Acts 2.37. &amp; 16.30. Rom. 15.14. Col. <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> 16 <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 word"> <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">.1<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">. Eph. 4.29. 1 Pet. 3.1, 2. Jam 3.23. Jam. <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">.16. Act. 12. 5 12. Col. 1.3 &amp; 4 3. 1 The&s;. <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">.10. Joh. 20.19. Act. 20.9. Act. 12 12. &amp; 10.30. Phil. 4.6. <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> Cor. 9.12. P&s;al. 50.<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">4. 1 Cor. 7.5. Rom. 1<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">.15.</NOTE> The Priuate Du|ties of Holyne&s;s to be per|formed with others, are the&s;e; parents and Ma&s;t|ers mu&s;t teach their chil|dren and &s;ervants the word, and fear of God, &amp; pray with them, and for them, and hinder them from &s;in: children and &s;ervants mu&s;t willingly Learn and Obey: we mu&s;t &s;eek advice in the matters of our
<PB N="42" REF="23"> &s;alvation: E&s;pecially of one Teachers: we mu&s;t daily admoni&s;h and exhort one another: u&s;ing gra|cious and Edyfying Conference, and a winning conver&s;ation; Confe&s;&s;ing our faults one to ano|ther, and praying with and for one another: E&s;|pecially on the Lords Day, and on extraordinary occa&s;ions of Humiliation or Thank&s;giving.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Deut. 1 17. 2 Chron. 19.6, 7. Deut. 17.18. Jo&s;. 1 8. &s;a. 56.1. Zach. 7.9. Rom. 13.1, 2, 3. 1 pet 2.13. Eph. 6. 1, 5. Col. 3.20, 22, 23, 24. Mat 19 19. &amp; <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">2.<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">9. &amp; 7.12. Eph. 4.2. Phil. <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">.3, <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">5. Mat 10.16. Eph. 4.25. Tit. 2.12. Col. 3.25. 1 Cor. 6.7, 8. Mat. 5.21, 22, 27, 28, 39, 44, 45. Eph. 4.28. Exo. <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">3.1. &amp; 2<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">.16. P&s;al. 15.3. Ex. <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">0.17. Col 3.13. Eph. 4.2. Mat. 5.44. Gal. 6.10. Heb. 13.<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">6. Mat. 25. Phil. 2.4.20, 21. 2 Cor. 8.11.12.</NOTE>Qu. 12. <HI>What are the nece&s;&s;ary Duties of Righ|teou&s;ne&s;s and mercy to|ward<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> men?</HI></P>
<P N="12">12. The nece&s;&s;ary Du|ties of Righteou&s;ne&s;s and Mercy to men, are the&s;e; Superiors mu&s;t Rule for God, and the Common-good, with Iu&s;tice and mercy: Inferiours mu&s;t willingly O|bey them in the Lord. We mu&s;t loue our neigh|bours as our &s;elves; and do as we would be done by; behaving our &s;elves to all men in lowline&s;s and meekne&s;s, harmle&s;ne&s;s, &s;obriety and truth: not wronging any in their Bodies, Cha&s;tity, E&s;tates or Names, no not in De&s;ire, but forbearing and forgiving one another, loving our very Ene|mies; and doing good to all, according to our Power.</P>
<TRAILER>FINIS.</TRAILER>
<PB REF="23">
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