memory: yet a few words might, especially when they had those words in writings also.

5. Add to this, that the Catechistical Summaries aforesaid, were more frequently repeated to the people, at least every Lord's-day. Whereas, in the reading of the Scriptures, one passage will be read but seldom, perhaps once or twice in a year and so a corruption not so easily observed.

6. And if among an hundred copies of the Scripture, ten or twenty only should by the carelessness of the scribes be corrupted; all the rest who saw not these copies, would not know it, and so they might fall into the hands of posterity, when many of the sounder might be lost.

7. And lastly. The danger of depravation hath no end; for in every age the Scripture must be written over anew, for every church and person that would use it. And who that knoweth what writing is, could expect that one copy could be written without errors; and that the second should not add to the errors of the first, as printers now do, who print by faulty copies. And though this danger is much less since printing came up, that is but lately. And the mischiefs of wars and heretical tyrants, burning the copies, hath been some disadvantage to us.

Object. Thus you seem to weaken the certain incorruption of the Scriptures.

Answ. No such thing: I do but tell you the case truly as it is. The wonderful providence of God, and care of Christians, hath so preserved them, that there is nothing corrupted, which should make one article of faith the more doubtful. I assert no more depravation in them, than all confess; but only tell you how it came to pass, and tell you the greater certainty that we have of the essentials of religion, than of the rest. And, whereas every man of brains confesseth, that many hundred words in Scripture by variety of copies are uncertain; I only say, that it is not so in the essentials. And I do not wonder that Virgil, Ovid, Horace, Cicero, &c. have not suffered such depravations. For, 1. It is not so easy for a scribe's error to pass unseen in oratione ligata,' as in oratione soluta;' in verse as in prose! 2. And Cicero, with the rest, was almost only in the hands of learned men; whereas the Scriptures were in the hands of all the vulgar, women and children. 3. And the copies of these authors were comparatively but few: whereas every

one almost got copies of the Scripture, that was able. And it is most likely that some depravation should be found among ten thousand copies than among a hundred.

So that I have proved to you, that the Creed, Lord'sprayer, Commandments, and Covenant of Baptism, are not to be believed only because they are in the Scripture; but also because they have been delivered to us by tradition, and so we have them from two hands, as it were, or ways of conveyance; and the rest of the Scriptures but one, for the most part.

I will say yet more, because it is true and needful. If any live among Papists, that keep the Scripture from the people; or among the poor Greeks, Armenians, or Abassines, where the people neither have Bibles commonly, nor can read; or if any among us that cannot read, know not what is in the Bible; yea, if through the fault of the priest, any should be kept from knowing that ever there was a Bible in the world: yet if those persons by tradition receive the Baptismal Covenant, the Creed, Lord's-prayer, and Commandments, as God's Word; and truly believe, and love and practise them; those persons shall be saved; for they have Christ's promise for it: and the very Covenant itself is the gift of Christ, and life to consenters. Whereas, he that knoweth all the Scripture, can be saved only by consenting to, and performing this same Covenant: but having greater helps to understand it, and so to believe it and consent; he hath a great advantage of them that have not the Scripture; and so the Scripture is an unspeakable mercy to the Church. And it is so far from being too little, without the supplement of the Papists' Traditions and Councils, as that the hundredth part of it, as to the bulk of words, is not absolutely itself necessary to salvation.

Yet I say more: if a man that hath the Scripture, should doubt of some books of it, whether they be the word of God, (as of Ruth, Judges, Joshua, Chronicles, &c.); yea, if he doubted of all the Old Testament, and much of the New; yet if he believe so much as containeth all the Covenant of Grace, and the aforesaid summaries, though he sin, and lose much of his helps, yet he may and will be saved, if he sincerely receive but this much. The reason is before given. Though no man can believe any thing truly, who believeth not all that he knoweth to be God's word; yet a man may

doubt, whether one thing be God's word, who doubteth not of another, by several occasions.

And here you see the reason, why a particular or explicit belief of all the Scripture itself was never required of all that are baptized, nor of all, or any man that entered into the ministry. For the wisest doctor in the world doth not attain so high. For no man hath a particular, explicit belief of that which he doth not understand. For it is the matter or sense that we believe: and we must first know what that sense is, before we can believe it to be true. And no man in the world understandeth all the Scripture.

Yea, more, it is too much to require as necessary to his ministry, a subscription in general, that he implicitly believeth all that is in the Bible which you shew him. For, 1. Many faults may be in the translation, if it be a translation. 2. Many errors may be in the copy, as aforesaid.

Nay, such a subscription should not, as absolutely necessary, be required of him as to all the real Word of God. For if the man by error should doubt whether Job, or the Chronicles, or Esther were canonical, and none of the rest, I would not be he that should therefore forbid him to preach Christ's Gospel. I am sure the ancient Church imposed no such terms on their pastors, when part of the New Testament was so long doubted of; and when some were chosen bishops before they were baptized; and when Synesius was chosen a bishop before he believed the Resurrection. I would not have silenced Luther, Althamer, or others that questioned the Epistle of James.

What then shall we say of the Roman insolence, which thinketh not all the Scripture big enough, but ministers must also subscribe to many additions of their own, yea, and swear to traditions and the expositions of the Fathers, and take whole volumes of Councils for their religion? No wonder if such men do tear the churches of Christ in pieces.

1. By this time, I hope, you see to what use Baptism, and the Summaries of Religion are. 2. And of how great use Catechising is. 3. And that Christianity hath its essential parts. 4. And how plain and simple a thing true Christianity is, which constituteth the Church of Christ; and how few things, as to knowledge, are necessary to make a man a Christian, or to salvation. Multitudes of opinions have been the means of turning pastors and people from the

holy and diligent improvement of these few truths in our practice; where we have much to do, which might take up all our minds and time.

CHAP. VIII.

Inference 2. Of the Use of Catechising.

THOUGH it be spoken to in what is said, I would have you more distinctly here note the use of Catechising.

1. It collecteth those few things out of many, which the ignorant could not themselves collect. 2. It collecteth those necessary things which all must know and believe that will be saved. 3. It containeth those great practical things which we have daily use for, and must still live upon, which are as bread and drink for our food. Other things may be well added; the more the better, which God hath revealed. But our life, our comfort, and our hope, are in these. 4. And it giveth us the true method or order of holy truths; which is a great advantage to understand them. Not but the things themselves have the same orderly respect to one another in the Scripture, but they are not delivered in the same order of words.

Therefore, 1. Catechisms should be very skilfully and carefully made. The true fundamental Catechism is nothing else but the Baptismal Sacramental Covenant, the Creed, the Lord's-prayer, and the Commandments, the summaries of our belief, desires and practice. And our secondary Catechism must be nothing else but the plain expositions of these: The first is a Divine Catechism: The second is a Ministerial Expository Catechism. And here, 1. O that ministers would be wiser at last, than to put their superfluities, their controversies and private opinions into their Catechisms, and would fit them to the true end, and not to the interest of their several sects! But the Roman Trent Catechism (and many more of theirs) must needs be defiled with their trash, and every sect else must put their singularities into their Catechisms; so hard is it for the aged, decrepit body of the diseased church, for want of a better concoction of the common essentials of Christianity, to be free from

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these heaps of unconcocted crudities, and excrementitious superfluities, and the many maladies bred thereby.

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I deny not but a useful controversy may be opened by way of Question and Answer: but pretend it not then to be what it is not, milk for babes. 'Him that is weak in the faith receive, but not to doubtful disputations." (Rom. xiv. 1.) The servant of the Lord must be apt to teach, but must not strive.

2. And it is not commonly believed how great skill is needful to make a Catechism, that the method may be true, and that it may neither be too long for the memory, nor too short for the understanding; for my part, it is the hardest work save one (which is the full methodising and explaining the whole body of divinity,) that ever I put my hand to; and when all is done, I cannot satisfy myself in it.

II. Why is not Catechising more used both by pastors and parents? I mean not the bare words unexplained without the sense, nor the sense in a mere rambling way without a form of words; but the words explained. O how much fruit would poor souls and all the church receive by the faithful performance of this work, would God but cure the profaneness and sloth of unfaithful pastors and parents which should do it. But I have said so much of this in my "Reformed Pastor," that I may well forbear more here.

CHAP. IX.

Inference 3. The True Preservative of Puzzled Christians, from the Errors of False Teachers, who vehemently solicit them to their several Parties.

It is the common outcry of the world, How shall we know which side to be on? And who is in the right among so many, who all with confidence pretend to be in the right?'

Answ. Your preservative is obvious and easy; but men usually bestow more labour and cost for error and hell, than for truth and heaven. Pretend not to faith or knowledge before you have it, and you are the more safe. SUSPEND

* Since this I have published a book called the "Catechising of Households."