212 THE CHILD'S CATECHISM. 5. Q. How must you learn to know God and serve him ? A By the holy scriptures of the Old and New Testament, which are the word of God. " 2 Tim. iii. 16. All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is pro- fitable for doctrine, for reproof,-for instruction in righteousness. Luke xvi. 29. They haveMoses and the prophets ¡ let them hear them. 2 Pet. iii. 2. That ye may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of- us the apostles of the Lord and Saviour. 2 Tim. iii. 15. From a child thou haft known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise to salvation, 6. Q. What do the scriptures teach you of the knowledge of God ? A. The scriptures teach me what God is in himself, and what he is in relit, tion to 'us who are his creatures. See the scriptures under the two following questions 7. Q. Who is God, considered in himself, and in his ownnature? A. God in his ownnature, is a Spirit, every where present, without begin- ning, and without end, most wise and powerful, most holy and merciful, most just and true. ' John iv. 24. God is a Spirit. Jer. xxiii. 0. Can any bide himself in secret places that I shall not see him, saith the Lord ? Do not I fill heaven and earth. Ps. xc. 2. From everlasting to_everlasting thou art God. Rom. xvi. 27. To God onlywise be 'glory. Rev. iv. 8. Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to ecime; Is. vi. 2. Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts. Ex. xxxiv. 6. The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious. Deut. xxxii. 4. A God of truth and with- out iniquity just and right is be." S. Q. What is God in relation to us who are his creatures? A. As the great God is our Maker who gave us our being, so he continually preserves us and does us good: Ile is our Lord and Ruler now, and he will be our Judge at last. ' Ps. c. 3. Know ye that the Lordhe is God, it is he who bath bath made us, and not we ourselves. Ps. xxxvi. 6. 0 Lord, thou preservest man and beast : Ps. cxix. 68. Thou art good and doest good. Ps. cin. 19. The Lord bath pre- pared his throne in the heavens,-his kingdom ruletb over a1L Ps. 1. 6. God is Judge himself. 9. Q. And how do the scriptures teach you to serve God? A. I most serve God by keeping all his commandments, that is, by doing every thing that he requires of me, and avoiding every thing that he forbids me. °''Dent. x. 12, 13. What doth the Lord thy God require of .thee ? -To keep the commandments of the Lord. Ex. xxiv. 3. All the words which the Lord hash said will we do. Ps. cxix. I01. I have refrained my feet from every evil way, that 1 might keep thy word." 10.' Q. What commandments hasGod given to men? A. He gave the law of ten commandments to the Jews in the Old Testa- ment, and they are summed up in two commandments for us in the New Testament. it Deut. x. 4. And he wrote on the tables ,(of stone) the tencommandments which-the Lord spoke unto you in the 'mount. Mat. xxii. 40. On these two com- mandments hang all the law and the prophets." See question 21. 11. Q. Repeatthe ten commandments of God in short, whibh be gave in the Old Testament *. What is thefirst commandment? A. Thou shalt have no other gods before me. 12. Q. What is the second commandment? A. Thou shaltnot make to thyself any graven image, or the likeness of any thing in heaven'or earth, to bow down andworship it. * It is thought moreproper in a catechism forchildren, to give the ten corn- mandments in short, and not tó write them down here in full length, which is not so needful for children, and would burden their memories. Christ himself and St. Paul have done the same thing, when they rehearsed several of these commands. See Mat. xix. 18. and Rom. xiii. 9. Note, A particular account of what is required and what is forbidden in these commandments, may be seen in the Assembly's Catechism.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTcyMjk=