Those Catechisms may very well be esteemed the best, which are Explanatory of the Creed, ten Commandments and the Lords Prayer; because these Summaries or Abstracts contain the Essentials of the true Religion, or those choice truths which God would have us take extraordinary notice of in our course of reading the holy Scriptures: And therefore those that begin with Catechizing, begin the most easy and profitable way for any; because the weightier matters of the Law are not hard to be understood, and such words being Spirit and Life, and the very marrow of Christianity, must needs feed and nourish us up unto eternal life. I have fixed my thoughts upon the Assemblies shorter Catechism, because the Principles in it are mostly agreed upon by all sober intelligent ⟨image 3⟩unprejudiced Protestant Divines. You have also something of the nature of the two Covenants superadded to, or rather enlarged upon more particularly and expressly than in the Catechism. And because Catechisms ought to contain nothing but received truths, you have mostly the Explication of Ancient and Modern Divines: And therefore, where you meet with any thing that is not so elaborate and exact, you may conclude it mine, and not theirs. Hearing occasionally a Discourse of a very learned and godly Divine out of Deut. 6. 6, 7. [And these words which I command thee this day, shall be in thy heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy Children, &c.] who recommended to Parents with the greatest earnestness the work of Catechizing; I shall make bold to transcribe a part of it, and offer it to public view. You shall have, 1. His Reasons to prove that Parents ought diligently to Catechize or teach their Children [Servants also included.] 2. His Answers to the Objections against it. And 3. The Motives he laid down to provoke and stir up all Parents to this necessary duty.
THose Catechisms may very well be esteemed the best, which are Explanatory of the Creed, ten Commandments and the Lords Prayer; because these Summaries or Abstracts contain the Essentials of the true Religion, or those choice truths which God would have us take extraordinary notice of in our course of reading the holy Scriptures: And therefore those that begin with Catechizing, begin the most easie and profitable way for any; because the weightier matters of the Law are not hard to be understood, and such words being Spirit and Life, and the very marrow of Christianity, must needs feed and nourish us up unto eternal life. I have fixed my thoughts upon the Assemblies shorter Catechism, because the Principles in it are mostly agreed upon by all sober intelligent ⟨image 3⟩unprejudiced Protestant Divines. You have also something of the nature of the two Covenants superadded to, or rather enlarged upon more particularly and expresly than in the Catechism. And because Catechisms ought to contain nothing but received truths, you have mostly the Explication of Antient and Modern Divines: And therefore, where you meet with any thing that is not so elaborate and exact, you may conclude it mine, and not theirs. Hearing occasionally a Discourse of a very learned and godly Divine out of Deut. 6. 6, 7. [And these words which I command thee this day, shall be in thy heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy Children, &c.] who recommended to Parents with the greatest earnestness the work of Catechizing; I shall make bold to transcribe a part of it, and offer it to publick view. You shall have, 1. His Reasons to prove that Parents ought diligently to Catechize or teach their Children [Servants also included.] 2. His Answers to the Objections against it. And 3. The Motives he laid down to provoke and stir up all Parents to this necessary duty.
