Of love to God and man,
An Expofition of the Affembly's Catechism. tranfient, yet their conſequences and effects are permanent; an act is ſoon done, a word ſoon ſpoken, athought foon thought; butwhen done, ſpoken or thought they are placed, to account; Gal. vi. 7, 8. Be not deceived, God is not mocked; for whatsoever a man ſoweth, that ſhall he alſo reap'; for hethat foweth to the flesh, ſhall ofthe flesh reap corruption ; buthe that foweth to the ſpirit, ſhallofthe ſpirit reap life everlafting.
Q. 10. What isthe fourth inference from hence ?
A. ThatGod will proceedwith menbydifferent rulesinthe day ofjudgment, according to the different laws they lived under in this world ; Rom. ii. 12. For as many as have finned without law ſhall alſo periſh without law; and as many as have finned in the law, shall bejudgedby the law.
Q. 11. What is the fifth inference from hence ?
A. That those whohave finned against the clearest light, and besthelps, will, iftheydie impenitent, bejudgedtothegreatest miſery ; Matth. xi. 23. And thou Capernaum, which art exalted untoheaven, ſhall be broughtdown to hell ; for if the mighty works which have beendone inthee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day.
Heb. ii.
3. How shallwe eſcape ifwe neglect ſo great ſalvation ?
Q.12. What is the fixth inference from hence?
A. That as we are to prize the moral law highly, as a rule of life ; Pfalm cxix. 105. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto mypath : So are we tobleſs God for the goſpel difpenfation, by which only we can attainto justification andfalvation ; Heb. xii. 22. But ye are come to mount Sion, andunto the city ofthe livingGod,theheavenly Jerufalem, to an innumerable company of angels.
Of love to God and Man.
Queft.42.What Hat is the fum of the ten commandments ?
A. Thefum of the ten commandments is to love the Lord our God with all our hearts, with all our foul, with all our strength, and with all our mind; and our neighbour as ourselves.
Q. 1. What is the ſum ofthe ten commandments ?
A. To love the Lord ourGod with a fupreme love, and menwith a fincere love, in and for him ; Matth. xxii. 37, 38 .
Jeſus ſaid unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thyGod with all thy heart, and with all thy foul, and with all thy mind.
This is the firſt and great commandment : The ſecond is like unto it; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyſelf.
An Exposition of the Affembly's Catechism.
Q. 2. What is the firſt thing contained inour ſupreme love to God?
A. It implies the loving ofGod purely and abſolutely for himſelf.
The excellencies that are in him ; Cant. i. 3. Thy name is as ointment poured forth ; therefore the virgins love thee.
And the benefits we receive from him ; Pfalm cxvi. 1 .
I love the Lord, becauſe he hath heardmy voice andmy fupplication.
Q. 3. What is the ſecondproperty ofthis ſupreme love ?
A. Supreme lovedevotes the whole man toGod and Chrift :
Sothat in life and death that man deſigns the glory of God as his main end ; Rom. xiv. 7, 8. For none of us liveth to himſelf, and no man dieth to himself; for whether we live, we live unto the Lord, and whether we die, we die unto the Lord; whether we live therefore or die, we are the Lord's.
Q. 4. What is thethird property offupreme love ?
A. Itcauſes the foul todepreciate and flight allother things incomparison of God's glory, and an intereſtin Chriſt ; Ans xx. 24. But noneoftheſe things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myſelf, ſo that I might finiſhmy courſe withjoy; Phil. iii. 8. I count allthingsbut loſs for the excellencyofthe knowledge of Chrift Jeſus myLord.
Q. 5. What is the fourth property offupreme love ?
A. It centers the foul inGod as its only reſt ; Pfalm cxvi.
7. Return unto thy reſt, O my soul. Andcannot be fatisfied till itcome to the full enjoyment ofhim ; 2 Thef. iii. 5. And the Lord direct your hearts into the love ofGod, and into the patient waiting for Chriſt."
Q. 6. Why muſtwe loveGodwith a fupreme love ?
A. Becauſe ſuch a love only ſuits the tranſcendent excellencyofGod; commands all we are andhave forGod ; and isthe only love that will continue tothe end; Rom. viii. 35. Who : ſhall ſeparate us from the love of Chrift ?
Q. 7. What is it to love our neighbour as ourſelves ?
A. It is the exact obſervation and practice of the golden rule of Chrift ; Matth. vii. 12. Therefore allthingswhatſoever yewould that men ſhould do to you, do ye even ſo to them ; for this is the law andthe prophets.
Q. 8. Are all men to be loved alike, and with the ſame degree of love?
A. No ; tho' we must love all men with the love ofbenevolence, yet the faints only with the love ofcomplacency ; Pfal. xvi. 3. But to the ſaints that are in the earth, and to the excellent in whom is all my delight.
Pfalm xv. 4. In whoſe
An Exposition of the Affembly's Catechism. eyesavileperſon is contemned; but he honoureth them that fearthe Lord. Andto ſuch we must eſpecially do good;
Gal. vi. 10. Aswe have therefore opportunity, let usdo good unto all men, eſpecially untothem who are ofthehouſhold of faith.
Q. 9. What is the firſt inſtruction from hence ?
A. Hence we learn the excellency ofdivine love.
Mofes expreſſes the wholeduty ofmaninten commandments : Chrift hangs the whole lawupon theſe two, love to God and our neighbour ; Mark xii. 30, 31. Andthou shalt love the Lord thyGod, with allthy heart, and with all thy foul, and with allthy mind, and with all thy ſtrength : This is the firſtcommandment. Andtheſecond islike, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neigbour as thyſelf: There is none other commandment greater thantheſe. Andthe apostle reduces theſe two into one ; Gal. v. 14. For allthe law is fulfilled in oneword, eveninthis.
Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
Q. 10. What is the ſecondinference fromhence?
A. It convinces the holiest ofmenhow far ſhort they come intheir obedience to the rule ofduty, and thereinthe law was ourſchool-mafter to bring us toChrift, Gal. ili. 24.
Q11 . What is thethird inference fromhence ?
A. It diſcovers the excellency and perfection ofthe law of God; Pfalm xix. 7. The law ofthe Lord is perfect, converting the foul: Andthat we arehighly tohonour andmagnify it as a rule ofduty, though we must utterlyrenounce it as thewayofourjuftification.
Q. 12. What is the laſt inference from hence ?
A. That there is nothing too dear for a Chriſtian in this world, but he must give it upby felf-denial, whenit comes in competition with his fupreme love toGod; Luke xiv. 26. If anymancome to me, and hate not his father, and mother, andwife, and children, and brethren, and fifters, yea, and his own life alſo,hecannotbe mydiſciple ; (i. e.) Lovethem leſs thanme.
Of the Preface to the ten Commandments.
W Hat is thepreface tothetencommandments?
Quest. 43 .
A. The preface to the ten commandments isinthesewords, Iam theLordthy God, which have brought thee out of the land ofEgypt, out ofthe house ofbondage.
Q. 44. Whatdoth the preface tothe ten commandments teachus?
A. The preface to the ten commandments teacheth us, that
An Exposition of the Affembly's Catechifm.
becauseGod is the Lord, and ourGod, andRedeemer, therefore we are bound to keep allhis commandments.
Q. 1. Why dothGod uſe arguments and inducements towin men to the obedience of his laws ?
A. Becauſe he loves to work on man asa rational creature, according to the principles of his nature ; Hof. xi. 4. Idrew them with cords of a man, with bands of love : And becauſe hedelights in none but free and chearful obedience ; Pfal. cx.
3. Thy people ſhall be willing in the dayof thy power.
Q. 2. What is the firſt argument in this preface ?
A. Itis the fovereignty ofthe Law-giver, [I am the Lord,] which ſhouldawe the heartof every man to obedience; James iv. 12. There is one Law-giver, who is able to ſave, and todeItroy.
3.What is the ſecond argument to obedience ?
A. Our propriety inGod by covenant, [I am the Lord thy God; this obligeth toobedience, and aggravatethdisobedience ;
Píalm 1. 7. Hear, O my people, and I willspeak ; O Ifrael, and Iwill teſtify against thee : I amGod, even thyGod. Hoíea ix.
1. For thou hast gone a whoring from thyGod.
Q. 4. What is the third argument unto obedience ?
A. The benefits of redemption that theyreceive fromGod.
Benefits perfuade to duty; and the goodness ofGod leadeth thee to repentance, Rom. ii. 4.
Q. 5. How candeliverance out of Egypt, be an argumentto themthat never were in Egypt ?
A. As that deliverance was a type of our deliverance, ſo it isanargumenttous, and an argument from the leſs to the greater ; for it obligeth us more than them ; Luke i. 74, 75
That he would grant unto us, thatwe being delivered out of the hands of our enemies, might ſerve him without fear, inholineſs and righteouſneſs before him, all thedays of our life.
Q. 6. What is that deliverance we have ? and howdoth it oblige us to obedience ?
A. Our deliverance is not from Egypt, but from hell ; Col.
1. 13. Who hathdelivered us from the power of darkness, and hath tranſlatedus into the kingdom of his dear Son. And our perſons are bought by the Redeemer to glorifyGod; 1 Cor. vi.
19, 20. What, knowye notthat your bodyis the templeofthe Holy Ghoſt , which is in you? For ye are bought with a price :
Therefore glorifyGod in your body, and in your ſpirit, which areGod's.
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