42 Q. What did they do for clothes during these forty years?

A. Their garments waxed not old, nor did their shoes wear out; Deut. xxix. 5. 43 Q. What were the laws which God gave the Israelites when he chose them for his own people?

A. Some general laws that related to their behaviour as men, some special rules relating to their religion as a church, and others about their government as a nation.*

44 Q. What were the general laws which related to their behaviour as men?

A. Those laws which are commonly called moral, and which belong to all mankind: These are chiefly contained in the ten commandments; Exod. xx. 1-17.

45 Q. In what manner was this moral law or ten commandments given them?

A. God first spoke it to them from Mount Sinai with thunder and lightning, and then wrote it for them in two tables of stone; Exod. xix. 16, 18. and xx. 1, 18. and xxiv. 12. Deut. x. 1-5.

46 Q. What were the special laws which God gave them relating to their religion as a church?

A. Many rules about their worship of God, their priests and sacrifices, † about sprinkling of blood and washing with water, about holy times and holy places.

47 Q. What was the chief design of these ceremonies?

A. Partly to keep them from the idolatry and evil customs of other nations, and partly to figure out the blessings of Christ and the gospel; Lev. xviii. 3, 4, 5. Col. ii. 16, 17. Heb. ix. 1-14.

48 Q. What were their peculiar laws considered as a nation?

A. Such as related to their peace and wars, to their houses and lands, to their wives and servants, to their life and limbs.

49 Q. Why did God himself give them such particular rules about these common things?

A. To distinguish them from all other nations as God's own people, and to shew that he was their king as well as their God; Lev. xx. 22, 26. Lev. xxiv. 22. 1 Sam. xii. 12.

50 Q. Were the people of Israel obedient to God in their travels through the wilderness?

A. No, they sinned grievously against him, and they were often punished by the hand of God, but he would not utterly destroy them; Psalm cv. 43, 45.

51 Q. Who brought them into the land of Canaan after their forty years wandering in the wilderness?

A. Moses being dead, Joshua, whose name is the same with Jesus, brought them into the promised land; Joshua i. 5, 6, 11. Acts vii. 45.

52 Q. Did the Israelites behave themselves better when they came to Canaan?

* The laws of the Jews which relate to their behaviour as men, to their religion as a church, and to their government as a nation, are all intermingled in such a manner, that it is hard to say under which head some of them must be ranked; even in the ten commands, which are usually called the moral law, there is something ceremonial and peculiar to the Jews; and indeed they are all properly but one body of laws given to that people whom God chose for his own: Yet, for distinction-sake, they may be distributed into three kinds, as in this Catechism.

† The doctrine of the priesthood and sacrifices had a larger room in this Catechism, but I was constrained to cut this matter short, as well as many others, lest it should be thought tedious to children. See some few more hints about them in the Large Catalogues of Names, Sect. iii. viii, and xiii. See also the Short View of Scripture History, chap. v.

A. No, they frequently fell into idolatry, and worshipped the false gods of the nations round about them; Judges ii. 11, 12.

53 Q. In what manner did God shew his displeasure for this sin?

A. He gave them up sometimes into the hands of their enemies who plundered them and made slaves of them; Judges ii. 14.

54 Q. How did God deliver them from the hand of their enemies?

A. When they cried to the Lord he raised up judges who subdued their enemies, and delivered the people; Judges ii. 18. and iii. 9, 15.

55 Q. What were the names of some of the chief of these judges ?*

A. Gideon and Jephthah, Samson, Eli and Samuel.

56 Q. Who governed the people of Israel after the judges?

A. They desired a king like other nations, and God bid Samuel anoint Saul to be the first of their kings; 1 Sam. ix. and x.

57 Q. How did Saul behave himself?

A. He governed well for a little time, but afterwards he rebelled against God, and God removed him; Acts xiii. 20, 21.

58 Q. What became of Saul at last?

A. Being forsaken of God, and being wounded in battle by the Philistines, he fell on his own sword and died; 1 Sam. xxviii. 6. and xxxi. 3, 4.

59 Q. Who was the second king of Israel?

A. David, who was raised to the kingdom from keeping of sheep; 1 Sam. xvi. 11, 13. Psalm lxxviii. 70, 71.

60 Q. What was David's character?

A. He was a prophet, and a man after God's own heart, who delivered Israel from their enemies, and ruled them well; 1 Sam. xiii. 14. Acts. ii. 30. and xiii. 22.

61 Q. But was not David guilty of some great sins?

A. Yes, and God punished him for them in the great troubles he met with in his family; 2 Sam. xii. 10.

62 Q. Who was the third king of Israel?

A. Solomon the son of David, who was the wisest of men; 1 Kings iv. 29–31.

63 Q. What did Solomon do for God and for the people?

A. He built a very glorious temple for the worship of God at Jerusalem, and he raised the nation of Israel to their highest glory; 1 Kings iv. 20, 21, 25. and vi. 1, 2-11-38. and x. 27.

64 Q. What became of the people of Israel in following ages?

A. They were divided into two kingdoms, which were called the kingdom of Judah and the kingdom of Israel; 1 Kings xii. 15-20.

65 Q. How did they behave themselves toward God after this division?

A. Most of their kings, as well as the people, provoked God by their idols and their great wickedness; 2 Kings xvii. 7, 8.

66 Q. How did God punish them for these crimes?

A. When they would not hearken to the prophets which God sent among them, they were carried away captive by their enemies into the land of Assyria; 2 Kings xvii. 6, 13, 18, 19, 20. and xxv. 8-11. 2 Chron. xxxvi. 14—21.

* See the Catalogue of Scripture-names.

67 Q. Did they never return again to their own land?

A. Yes, after seventy years captivity, the tribe of Judah returned, with many of Benjamin and Levi, and they were all called Jews; Ezra i. 5. Nehem. i. 2.

68 Q. What did they do at their return?

A. They built the city Jerusalem, and the temple again, and they set up the worship of the true God; Ezra v. 1. and vii. 6, 25. Nehem. ii. 17.

69 Q. Did they continue afterward to obey God and dwell in their own land?

A. Though they were guilty of many sins, yet they never fell to the worship of idols again; Rom. ii. 22. Nor were they ever wholly driven out of their own land till after the coming of the Messiah the Saviour.

THE HISTORY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT.

1 QUESTION.

WHO is the Messiah, the Saviour of mankind ?*

Answer. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who was sent down from heaven to save sinners; Matt. xvi. 16. 1 John iv. 14.

2 Q. How did he come into the world?

A. God prepared a body for him, and he took flesh and blood, and was born of a woman; Heb. ii. 14. and x. 5. Gal. iv. 4.

3 Q. What notices were given of the coming of Christ the Saviour?

A. Many promises had been given of him in former ages by the prophets, and more lately by an angel; Luke i. 35, 70.

4 Q. What did the prophets foretel concerning the coming of Christ?

A. Among many other things they declared, that a Saviour should be born of the stock of Abraham, of the house of David, and in the town of Bethlehem; Gen. xii. 3. Gal. iii. 8, 16. 2 Sam. vii. 2, 3. Jer. xx. 5, 6. Acts xiii. 22, 23. Matt. ii. 5, 6. 5 Q. How did an angel give notice of his coming?

A. The angel Gabriel foretold the birth of John the Baptist to prepare the way for Christ, and he told the mother of Jesus that she should bring forth the Son of God; Luke i. 17, 19, 35, 76.

6 Q. Who was the mother of Christ?

A. Mary, a virgin of the house of David; Luke i. 27, 31, 32.

7 Q. Who was the supposed father of Christ?

A. Joseph the carpenter was supposed to be his father, because he married his mother Mary; Luke iii. 23. Matt. i. 20, 24. and xiii. 55.

8 Q. What further witness was given to Christ in his infancy?

A. By angels from heaven, by wise men from the east, and by Simeon in the temple.

9 Q. How did angels bear witness to him?

A. They sung praise to God in the air at his birth, and told the shepherds that they should find the child Jesus in a manger at Bethlehem; Luke ii. 8—16.

As the historical part of the Old Testament begins with this question, Who is the Maker of the world? so the historical part of the New Testament may properly begin, Who is the Saviour?

10 Q. What witness did the wise men of the east bear to Jesus?

A. They saw a strange star in the east, which led them to the house where the infant lay, and they came and worshipped him; Matt. ii. 1, 2, 9, 11.

11 Q. What honour did Simeon do him in the temple?

A. He was an old man, yet God assured him that he should see the Saviour before he died, and he took Jesus in his arms and acknowledged him to be the Saviour; Luke ii. 26-30.

12 Q. What is written concerning the childhood of Christ?

A. At twelve years old he was found talking with the doctors in the temple, but he went home at his mother's call, and was subject to his parents; Luke ii. 42, 46, 51.

13 Q. When did Christ begin his public ministry?

A. At thirty years of age he came forth and was baptized by John, who was sent from God to preach and to baptize with water; Luke iii. 16, 21, 23.

14 Q. What was the doctrine which John the Baptist preached?

A. He reproved sinners, he preached repentance and the forgiveness of sins; and he 'directed his disciples to Jesus as the Saviour; Mark i. 4, 7, 8. John i. 29. Acts xix. 4. 15 Q. What became of John the Baptist at last?

A. He was beheaded by Herod, at the wicked request of his niece, when she had pleased him with her fine dancing; Mark vi. 17-28.

16 Q. What honour was done to Christ at his baptism?

A. The Spirit of God like a dove descended upon him, and a voice came from heaven, saying, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." Matt. iii. 17. Luke iii. 22. 17 Q. What became of Christ immediately after his baptism?

A. He was forty days in the wilderness, where he endured the temptations of the devil, and overcame the tempter; Matt. iv. 1–11.

18 Q. What were the chief parts of the ministry of Christ in his life?

A. These five, viz.* 1. He fulfilled the whole law, and gave us a perfect example of piety toward God, and goodness to men. 2. He preached to the people his divine doctrine which he brought from heaven. 3. He wrought miracles to prove that he was sent from God. 4. He chose out his apostles, and trained them up for their public service. 5. He appointed two lasting ordinances in his church.

19 Q. Wherein did he give an example of piety toward God?

A. In his constant obedience to God his Father in all things, in his zeal for God's honour among men, and in his frequent converse with God in prayer; John viii. 28, 29, 49. and ii. 17. Mark i. 35. Luke vi. 12. John xvii.

20 Q. Wherein did he shew a pattern of goodness toward men?

A. He went about doing good to the bodies and souls of men, he was full of compassion to the miserable, he took children in his arms and blessed them; Matt. iv. 23. Acts x. 38. Mark x. 13-16.

21 Q. What were the chief subjects of Christ's preaching to the people?

A. These six things: 1. He explained the law of God to the people, and shewed them

In this as well as in the Child's Catechism of the principles of religion, there are some answers which are divided into distinct parts by figures, 1, 2, 3, 4. Now in order to make the remembrance of these answers easier to children, the teacher may repeat the question as often as there are parts in the answers. Thus, Q. Which is the first part of his ministry--Q. Which is the second, &c.

that it required holiness in their thoughts as well as in their words and actions; Matt. v. and vi. and vii. 2. He reproved and condemned many for their sinful and foolish traditions, and taught them that God did not regard ceremonies so much as the great duties of love to God and love to men; Matt. xxii. 36-40. and xxiii. 4, 16, 18, 23, 24, 25. 3. He preached the gospel of pardon of sin and eternal life in heaven to them that repent and believe in him; Matt. iv. 17. John iii. 16, 17. 4. He threatened the eternal punishment of hell to all wilful and obstinate sinners, particularly to hypocrites and unbelievers; Matt. xiii. 41, 42. and xxiii. 28, 29, 33. John iii. 18, 36. and viii. 24. 5. He sometimes declared and maintained his own commission, that he was sent from God to be the Saviour of men; John v. 19–41. 6. He foretold the destruction of the Jews, and his own second coming in glory to raise the dead, and to judge the world. Matt. xxiv. 15-28-35. xxv. 31-46. John v. 27, 28, 29.

22 Q. What were the chief miracles that he wrought to prove he was sent from God? A. Such as these: 1. He fed many thousand persons twice with a very few loaves and fishes; Matt. xiv. and xv. 2. He gave sight to the blind, and hearing to the deaf, he made the dumb to speak, the lame to walk, and healed all manner of diseases by a word; Matt. iv. 23. and xi. 5. 3. He commanded evil spirits to depart out of the bodies of many whom they had possessed; Mark i. 27. 4. He raised several persons from the dead, and one, namely Lazarus, out of the grave; Mark ix. Luke vii. John xi. 23 Q. How did he train up his apostles for their public service?

A. These four ways: 1. He explained to them in private what he taught the people by parables and similitudes in public; Mark iv. 34. 2. He told them more plainly that he was the Messiah, the Saviour of the world, and that he should die as a ransom for sinners, and rise again the third day; Matt. xvi. 16-22. and xx. 28. 3. He prayed with them often, and taught them to pray, first without his name, and then in his name. Luke xi. 1, 2. John xvi. 23. 4. He promised them to send the Spirit of God after his departure to fit them for their public service; Luke xxiv. 49. John xv. 26. and xvi. 7. 24 Q. What were the two ordinances which Christ appointed in his church?

A. He appointed baptism and the Lord's-supper to continue to the end of the world; Matt, xxviii. 19, 20. 1 Cor. xi. 23-26.

25 Q. Thus we have heard how Jesus lived, let us hear now in what manner did he die?

A. He was meek and patient and resigned to the will of God in suffering and dying; John xviii. 11. Matt. xxvi. 39.

26 Q. What were his sharpest sufferings?

A. The anguish which he endured in his soul in the garden just before his death, which made him sweat drops of blood; Mark xiv. 33, 34. Luke xxii. 44.

27 Q. What kind of death did he die?

A. He was crucified, that is, his hands and feet were nailed to a wooden cross, and there he hung till he died in extreme pain; Mark xv. 24. John xx. 25.

28 Q. When Jesus Christ had honoured God so much in his life, how came he to die so shameful and painful a death?

A. He was appointed of God to be a sacrifice, to take away the sins of men who had deserved to die; Acts ii. 23. 2 Cor. v. 21. Heb. ix. 26.

29 Q. But what reason had men to kill him?