Ques. Which be they?

Answer.

THE

THE same which God spake in the twentieth chapter of Exodus, saying, I am the Lord thy God, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

I. Thou shalt have none other Gods but me.

II. Thou shalt not make to thyself any graven image, nor the likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or in the earth beneath, or in the water under the earth. Thou shalt not bow down to them, nor worship them; for I, the Lord thy God, am a jealous God, and visit the sins of the fathers upon the children, unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me, and show mercy unto thousands in them that love me, and keep my commandments.

III. 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.

IV. Remember that thou keep holy the Sabbath-day. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all that thou hast to do; but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God. In it thou shalt do no manner of work, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, thy man-servant, and thy maidservant, thy cattle, and the 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 seventh day, and hallowed it.

V. Honour thy father and thy mother, that thy days may be long in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.

VI. Thou shalt do no murder.

VII. Thou shalt not commit adultery.

VIII. Thou shalt not steal.

IX. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.

X. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his servant, nor his maid, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is his.

Question.

What dost thou chiefly learn by these commandments?

Ans. I learn two things; my duty towards God, and my duty towards my neighbour.

Ques. What is thy duty towards God?

Ans. My duty towards God, is to believe in him, to fear him, and to love him, with all my heart, with all my mind, with all my soul, and with all my strength; to worship him, to give him thanks, to put my whole trust in him, to call upon him, to honour his holy Name and his Word, and to serve him truly all the days of my life.

Ques. What is thy duty towards thy Neighbour?

Ans. My duty towards my Neighbour, is to love him as myself, and to do to all men as I would they should do unto me; to love, honour, and succour, my father and mother; to honour and obey the King, and all that are put in authority under him; to submit myself to all my governors, teachers, spiritual pastors, and masters; to order myself lowly and reverently to all my betters; to hurt no body by word nor deed; to be true and just in all my dealing; to bear no malice nor hatred in my heart; to keep my hands from picking and stealing, and my tongue from evil-speaking, lying, and slandering; to keep my body

in temperance, soberness, and chastity; not to covet nor desire other men's goods, but to learn and labour truly to get mine own living; and to do my duty in that state of life unto which it shall please God to call me.

Catechist.

My good child, know this, that thou art not able to do these things of thyself, nor to walk in the commandments of God, and to serve him, without his special grace; which thou must learn at all times to call for by diligent prayer. Let me hear, therefore, if thou canst say the Lord's prayer.

OUR

Answer.

UR 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 trespasses as we forgive them that trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil. Amen.

Ques. What desirest thou of God in this Prayer?

Ans. I desire my Lord God our heavenly Father, who is the giver of all goodness, to send his grace unto me, and to all people; that we may worship him, serve him, and obey him, as we ought to do. And I pray unto God, that he will send us all things that be needful both for our souls and bodies; and that he will be merciful unto us, and forgive us our sins; and that it will please him to save and defend us in all dangers ghostly and bodily; and that he will keep us from all sin and wickedness, and from our ghostly enemy, and from everlasting death. And this I trust he will do of his mercy and goodness, through our Lord Jesus Christ. And therefore I say, Amen. (So be it.)

Question.

OW many Sacraments hath Christ ordained in his Church?

HOW

Ans. Two only, as generally necessary to salvation, that is to say, Baptism, and the Supper of the Lord.

Ques. What meanest thou by this word Sacrament?

Ans. I mean an outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace given unto us, ordained by Christ himself, as a means whereby we receive the same, and a pledge to assure us thereof.

Ques. How many parts are there in a Sacrament?

Ans. Two; the outward visible sign, and the inward spiritual grace. Ques. What is the outward visible sign, or form in Baptism?

Ans. Water; wherein the person is baptized In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.

And therefore I say, Amen. (So be it.)]-This statement is at once erroneous and superfluous, and for these powerful reasons, in using the Catechism, might be omitted both beneficially and harmlessly. The Catechist ought not to pronounce the word Amen, at the end of the Lord's Prayer; but if, upon this occasion, it ought to be said by any one, it should be by the Catechiser himself, or by some other person than the Catechist. The signification of the word is not "So be it," except when it is used as a word of concurrence, or of union, in the petition of another. The great poet

"Who walked in every path of human life—"

and might seem to have possessed all human knowledge, makes a proper use of the word Amen, when he puts into the mouth of the afflicted and despairing murderer, the speech, "I could not say, Amen, when they did say, God bless us ;" and adds, "But wherefore could I not, &c. ?" To which question the answer is, that, guilty as he was, he dared not venture upon the presumption, upon his part, of joining innocent men in the prayer, and asking of God to give a blessing upon him. But see a succeeding note, upon the word Amen, as it occurs in the "Commination."

Ques. What is the inward and spiritual grace?

Ans. A death unto sin, and a new birth unto righteousness: for being by nature born in sin, and the children of wrath, we are hereby made the children of grace.

Ques. What is required of persons to be baptized?

Ans. Repentance, whereby they forsake sin; and Faith, whereby they stedfastly believe the promises of God made to them in that Sacra

ment.

Ques. Why then are Infants baptized, when, by reason of their tender age, they cannot perform them?

Ans. Because they promise them both by their Sureties; which promise, when they come to age, themselves are bound to perform. Ques. Why was the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper ordained? Ans. For the continual remembrance of the sacrifice of the death of Christ, and of the benefits which we receive thereby.

Ques. What is the outward part, or sign of the Lord's Supper? Ans. Bread and Wine, which the Lord hath commanded to be received.

Ques. What is the inward part, or thing signified?

Ans. The Body and Blood of Christ, which are verily and indeed taken and received, by the faithful, in the Lord's Supper.

Ques. What are the benefits whereof we are partakers thereby? Ans. The strengthening and refreshing of our souls by the Body and Blood of Christ, as our bodies are by the Bread and Wine.

Ques. What is required of them who come to the Lord's Supper? Ans. To examine themselves, whether they repent them truly of their former sins, stedfastly purposing to lead a new life; have a lively faith in God's mercy through Christ, with a thankful remembrance of his death; and be in charity with all men.

The Curate of every Parish shall diligently, upon Sundays and Holydays, after the second Lesson at Evening Prayer, openly in the Church, instruct and examine so many Children of his Parish sent unto him, as he shall think convenient, in some part of this Catechism.

And all Fathers, Mothers, Masters, and Dames, shall cause their Children, Servants, and Apprentices, which have not learned their Catechism, to come to the Church at the time appointed, and obediently to hear, and be ordered by the Curate, until such time as they have learned all that is here appointed for them to learn. So soon as Children are come to a competent age, and can say, in their mother-tongue, the Creed, the Lord's Prayer, and the Ten Commandments, and also can answer to the other Questions of this short Catechism, they shall be brought to the Bishop. And every one shall have a Godfather, or a Godmother, as a Witness of their Confirmation.

And whensoever the Bishop shall give knowledge for Children to be brought unto him for their Confirmation, the Curate of every Parish shall either bring, or send in writing, with his hand subscribed thereunto, the names of all such persons within his Parish, as he shall think fit to be presented to the Bishop to be Confirmed. And, if the Bishop approve of them, he shall Confirm them in manner following.

CONFIRMATION,

OR LAYING ON OF HANDS UPON THOSE THAT ARE BAPTIZED
AND COME TO YEARS OF DISCRETION.

Upon the day appointed, all that are to be then Confirmed, being placed, and standing in order, before the Bishop; he (or some other Minister appointed by him) shall read this Preface following.

NO the end that Confirmation may be ministered to the more edifying To of such as shall receive it, the Church hath thought good to order, That none hereafter shall be Confirmed, but such as can say the Creed, the Lord's Prayer, and the Ten Commandments; and can also answer to such other Questions, as in the short Catechism are contained: which order is very convenient to be observed; to the end, that children, being now come to the years of discretion, and having learned what their Godfathers and Godmothers promised for them in Baptism, they may themselves, with their own mouth and consent, openly before the Church, ratify and confirm the same; and also promise, that, by the grace of God, they will evermore endeavour themselves faithfully to observe such things as they, by their own confession, have assented unto.

Doth

Then shall the Bishop say,

ye here, in the presence of God, and of this congregation, renew the solemn promise and vow that was made in your name at your Baptism; ratifying and confirming the same in your own persons, and acknowledging yourselves bound to believe, and to do, all those things which your Godfathers and Godmothers then undertook for you?

And every one shall audibly answer,

I do.

The Bishop.

OUR help is in the name of the Lord;

Who hath made heaven and earth.

Blessed be the name of the Lord;
Henceforth, world without end.
Lord, hear our prayers;

And let our cry come unto thee.

The Bishop. Let us pray.

ALMIGHTY and everliving God, who hast vouchsafed to regenerate

these thy servants by Water and the Holy Ghost, and hast given unto them forgiveness of all their sins; strengthen them, we beseech thee, O Lord, with the Holy Ghost the Comforter, and daily increase in them thy manifold gifts of grace; the spirit of wisdom and under

The Order of Confirmation.]—When children have been well instructed, by means of the Church Catechism, in the vows made for them at their Baptism, it is then required that they should take the vows upon themselves, and be confirmed in the same by the Bishop; and the rite appointed for that purpose, is called the rite of Confirmation.

standing, the spirit of counsel and ghostly strength, the spirit of knowledge and true godliness; and fill them, O Lord, with the Spirit of thy holy fear, now and for ever, Amen.

Then all of them in order kneeling before the Bishop, he shall lay his hand upon the head of every one severally, saying,

DEFEND, O Lord, this thy child [or this thy servant] with thy heavenly grace, that he may continue thine for ever; and daily increase in thy holy Spirit more and more, until he come unto thy everlasting kingdom. Amen.

Then shall the Bishop say,

The Lord be with you.

And with thy spirit.

And (all kneeling down) the Bishop shall add,
Let us pray.

OUR Father which art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name. Ty

kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive them that trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil. Amen.

And this Collect.

ALMIGHTY and everliving God, who makest us both to will and

to do those things that be good and acceptable unto thy divine Majesty; we make our humble supplications unto thee for these thy servants, upon whom (after the example of thy holy Apostles) we have now laid our hands, to certify them (by this sign) of thy favour and gracious goodness towards them. Let thy fatherly hand, we beseech thee, ever be over them; let thy holy Spirit ever be with them; and so lead them in the knowledge and obedience of thy Word, that, in the end, they may obtain everlasting life; through our Lord Jesus Christ, who, with thee and the Holy Ghost, liveth and reigneth, ever one God, world without end. Amen.

Almighty Lord, and everlasting God, vouchsafe, we beseech thee, to direct, sanctify, and govern, both our hearts and bodies, in the ways of thy laws, and in the works of thy commandments; that, through thy most mighty protection both here and ever, we may be preserved in body and soul; through our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.

TH

Then the Bishop shall bless them, saying, thus,

HE blessing of God Almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy
Ghost, be upon you, and remain with you for ever. Amen.

And there shall none be admitted to the Holy Communion, until such time as he be Confirmed, or be ready and desirous to be Confirmed.

Ghostly strength.]-" Spiritual," relating to the spirit or soul. This expression is of frequent occurrence, such as ghostly counsel, ghostly advice, ghostly dangers, that is, spiritual:-Ghostly enemy, the enemy of the ghost or soul, that is, the devil. The Holy Spirit is likewise called the Holy Ghost.