for which the Holy Spirit was given by Christ to his Church A. No His Operations are very many and can hardly be particularly Enumerated He not only Regenerates and Sanctifies Us Disposes us to our Duty and Fortifies Us against Temptation but moreover Directs us in Our Doubts Comforts us in our Afflictions Supports us in our Troubles Arms us against the Fear of Death Gives us Strength and Courage in Trials and Persecutions And in such Cases as he sees needful Seals our Souls with such an Inward Sense and Assurance of God's Favour as makes us firmly satisfied of our future Everlasting Salvation Rom. v. 5 viii 14 17. 2 Cor. i. 22 Eph. i. 14 Gal. iv 6 Q. How long shall the Holy Ghost continue thus to Comfort Sanctify and Guide the Faithful A. As long as there shall any Faithful Remain in need of his Assistance Which because there will be to the End of the World therefore Christ has promised that He shall also till then continue to Conduct and Govern his Faithful Servants Jo. 14.16 Mat. xxviii 20 SECT XVI Q. WHat does the FOVRTH and Last Part of your Creed Relate to A. To the Church of Christ Its Duty and Privileges here and its future Hope of Glory and Immortality hereafter Q. What is the First Thing which you are taught to believe concerning Christ's Church A. That there is a Holy Catholick Church Q. What is that Church of which this Article speaks A. It is the Vniversal Church of Christ the General Assembly of All those who from the time of the first publishing of the Gospel to this Day have believed in Christ or shall hereafter profess his Faith to the End of the World Q. How can such a Church be the Object of our Faith A. Not as to that part of it which we see and communicate with but chiefly in these Two Respects First As we Believe by the Word of God that those who have Gone before Us in the true Faith of Christ and the Fear of his Holy Name though out of all Visible Communion at present with Us do yet Live to God and are still Members of Christ's Church though in a different State from Us and shall together with Us be gather'd into One Glorious Society at the last Day And Secondly As upon the same Grounds we do also farther believe that in all the Ages yet to come to the End of the World Christ shall continue to have a Church upon Earth So that no Power of Men or Malice of the Devil shall ever be able utterly to Root it out or to destroy it Q. How can a Society consisting of such different Members and those at so great a distance both in Time and Place from One Another yet all together make but One Church A. Because how different so ever the Members of this Church may otherwise seem to be yet they are all * United together under One Head the Lord Jesus * Are * Sanctified and Ruled by the same Holy Spirit * Endued with the same Love to God and towards One Another * Live by the same Laws * Profess the same Faith * Partake of the same Sacraments * Have the same Hope of Salvation set before them * Worship the same God by the same Advocate and Saviour Jesus Christ And as to what concerns all the true and lively Members of this Society * shall one Day be Gathered together into One actual Place and Portion in the Glorious Kingdom of God for Ever Q. Wherefore do you give this Church the Title of Catholick A. Upon several Accounts but chiefly these Two First To distinguish it from the Jewish Church which was confined to a certain People and was to continue but for a certain Time Whereas the Christian Church takes in all Mankind and is to last to the End of the World Psal. ii 8 Acts x. 34 35. Mat. xxviii 19 Mark xvi 15 Luk. xxiv 47 1 Cor. xii 13 And Secondly To shew that in this Creed which comprehends what is to be Believed by all Christians we profess not our Faith of any One determinate Church which may cease and fail such as the Church of England or Church of Rome but of the Catholick or Vniversal Church of Christ as that which shall never fail and to which alone the Promises of God belong Q. May not any One determinate Church be called the Catholick Church A. No it may not any more than London may be called England or England the Whole World The Catholick Church is the Vniversal Church and that neither Ours nor any other particular Church is nor whilst there are more such Christian Churches in the World can be But a Catholick Church a Particular Church may be called And such Ours is though that of Rome I doubt will hardly be able to make a Good Pretension to this Title any more than to the Other Q. Do you make a difference then between A Catholick Church and THE Catholick Church A. There is certainly a wide difference between them THE Catholick Church is as I before said The whole Church But A Catholick Church implies no more than a Sound part of it a Church in Communion with the Catholick Church of Christ in opposition to the Conventicles of Hereticks and Schismaticks Who whatsoever they may pretend are really no parts of the Catholick Church nor shall be consider'd by Christ as such Q. Whom do you account Hereticks and Schismaticks And how does it appear that they are not Parts of the Catholick Church A. The Catholick Church is that Church which professes the true Faith which Christ and his Apostles deliver'd to it and that if not free from All Errour whatsoever yet without any such Errours as destroy the Foundation of that Doctrine which was committed to its Custody Now a Heretick is One who not only Errs in some Matters of lesser moment but in Matters of such Consequence as subvert the very Foundation of Christianity But he who does this can never be a Member of that Church whose Doctrine he not only does not Receive but rejects And who by his Errours destroys that very Faith by which alone he can be intituled to the Character either of a true Disciple or a sound Member of Christ's Church Q. But why may not Schismaticks be accounted true Members of Christs Church A. Because none are Schismaticks but such as forsake and cut themselves off from the Communion of the Catholick Church Now it is a Contradiction that those should continue Members of the Catholick Church who by their Own voluntary departure from it have renounced the Communion of it Q. Do you look upon the Church of England to be a true part of the Catholick Church A. It certainly is Inasmuch as it professes the true Catholick Faith deliver'd in the Holy Scriptures and drawn up in the Creeds of the Church and by the most ancient Councils acknowledged to be sufficient to denominate those who profess'd according thereunto
THE PRINCIPLES OF THE Christian Religion EXPLAINED In a Brief COMMENTARY UPON THE Church Catechism By WILLIAM WAKE D. D. Rector of St. James Westminster and Chaplain in Ordinary to His Majesty LONDON Printed for Richard Sare at Grays-Inn Gate in Holborn 1699. THE PREFACE THE Design of the following Treatise being to Instruct those who are yet to learn in the Principles of their Christian Religion I shall not think it necessary to make any Apology for my Publishing of it It is so proper a Part of our Ministerial Office not only to Teach these Things but to Use our Utmost Endeavours to Inculcate them upon the Minds of those who are committed to our Charge that we never more truly pursue the Business of our Calling than when We are doing of it And no One ought to make an Excuse for doing that the Neglect of which would Need an Excuse or rather would not admit of Any It has pleased God to whose Providence I desire in All Things to Submit my Self to engage me in a Cure in which 't is next to Impossible in the Ordinary Method of Teaching to instruct All Those who belong to it Neither will Our Churches Receive Them nor can I hope by any Private Application effectually to supply what I am sensible must be Wanting in our Publick Ministration To make up the Defects of Both I knew no way so Ready as to compose a Short Summary of what is most Necessary for Every Christian to know and to Order it in such Wise that every One who pleases may partake of the Benefit of it This I have done in the present Treatise Which as it was design'd by me particularly for those of my Own Parish for whose Instruction I am principally concern'd so to Them I must beg Leave in a more Especial Manner to Recommend the Use of it I am not aware 〈◊〉 that there is any Thing in it Above the Capacity of the most Ordinary Christian to comprehend who will but duly Consider what he Reads and is not utterly a Stranger to the Principles of his Religion 'T is true I have inserted many Things into this which are not wont to be handled in Other Catechisms As designing it not for Children for whom such Treatises are commonly framed but for Men and Women for such as either have or I am sure Ought to have already pass'd the First Rudiments of the Gospel of Christ. But I have endeavour'd to express my self with so much Clearness and Perspicuity that I hope All sorts of Persons may be able to profit by what I have done and see in a short Compass both what that Holy Doctrine which we profess is and upon what Grounds we build our Belief of it I have chosen to do this in the Form of a Catechism not only because I look upon that to be the Plainest and most Natural Way of Instruction but because it is certainly the Shortest and most Easy to the Memory And would but Parents take Care to teach their Children at a Competent Age to Answer the Questions here proposed they might possibly thereby not only take a Good Method for the Instruction of Them in the Knowledge of that Religion into which they were Baptized but might at the same time improve Themselves too in the Understanding of it It has been the Wisdom as well as Piety of the Church of England to make a Suitable Provision for the Instruction of all Sorts of Persons in her Communion in the Knowledge of their Christian Profession In Order hereunto she has appointed Catechetical Exercises for Younger Persons as well as Sermons for those of a Greater Age and Understanding And has Obliged Masters and Parents no less to send their Children and Servants to the One than to come Themselves to the Other How Others may judge of this Her Pious Care I cannot tell But for my Own Part I must freely profess that I never think my Self employ'd to better Purpose than when I am discharging this Part of my Ministry And I am confident that would all sorts of Persons but duly attend upon these Instructions they would Reap a more substantial Benefit by them than from those Other Exercises which have I know not how so universally Crept into the Place of them It being certain that the only Way either judiciously to hear or truly to profit by Sermons is to lay a Good Foundation for both by a previous Catechetical Institution in the Principles of Religion And which if Men have neglected when they were Young the best way to Remedy that Defect will be not only to send their Children but to come Themselves also to our Publick Catechizings where not only the Ignorant may be Informed but those who are the Best Improved may possibly meet with Somewhat either to Confirm their Faith or to Direct their Practice I have divided the following Treatise into 52 Sections that so taking of one Every Lord's Day the Whole may be Gone through Once in the Year I have more or less Referr'd to Scripture-Proofs for every Point that I have proposed And that not only to shew upon what Ground I build my Answers but moreover to accustom the Pious Reader to a better Acquaintance with those Holy Writings And I have purposely made the Sections very short that so He may not only Peruse what I have written but may be Encouraged thereby at the same Time diligently to compare it with and examine it by the Great Rule of our Faith The Word of God If by what I have done I shall minister to the Improvement of any Good Christians in the Knowledge of their Religion but especially to Those of my Own Cure I shall think my Pains very happily bestow'd If not yet at least I shall have this Satisfaction that I have done what in me lay to Supply their Necessities And that it must be in some Measure their Own Faults if they shall still continue Ignorant of what was needful to have been Known by them in Order to their Salvation THE PRINCIPLES OF THE Christian Religion explain'd IN A BRIEF COMMENTARY UPON THE Church-Catechism SECT I. Q. FRom whence is the Word Catechism derived A. From a Greek Word which signifies to Teach by Word of Mouth And therefore it has been used particularly to denote such a kind of Instruction as is made by way of Question and Answer Q. What is that you call your Church-Catechism A. It is a plain and summary Institution of the Principles of the Christian Religion set forth by Authority and required to be learned of every Person in order to his being Confirm'd by the Bishop and prepared both for the profitable Reading and Hearing of God's Word and for the worthy Receiving of the Lord's Supper Q. What do you look upon to be the proper Subject of such an Institution A. It ought to comprehend all such things as are generally necessary to be known of All Persons in order to their due serving of God here
ought there not beyond all this some Satisfaction to be made to God for the Sins which we have committed A. Yes certainly and such there has been made by our Saviour Christ for us who has fully satisfied the Justice of God in that kind and left nothing more for us to do in that behalf Q. What do you then say to those Satisfactions which the Church of Rome teaches we may and ought to make for our Sins A. That they are built upon a false Foundation are contrary to the Goodness of God and beyond the Capacity of Man Q. What is the Foundation upon which they are built A. It is this That when God forgives us our Sins whether upon our Own Repentance or by virtue of the Priest's Absolution He remits indeed the Fault and purges away our Guilt and by this acquits us from the Everlasting Punishment that would otherwise have been due to them But yet still retains us under an Obligation to some temporal Sufferings either by Satisfactory Works to be done for them in this Life or by undergoing a certain proportion of Pain for them after Death in a Place which they call Purgatory Q. How does it appear that this Foundation is false and erroneous A. Because in the first place it is Absurd to suppose that God should forgive the whole Guilt of our Sins and yet having done so should afterwards punish us for them And secondly It is injurious to the Sufferings and Merits of Christ whose Death was a sufficient Satisfaction for the Sins of the whole World and has left no room either for God to require or for us to Pay any thing more Q. Does Repentance then if it be sincere without any thing more restore us again to our State of Grace and reconcile us to God Almighty A. If it be sincere it does through Faith in Jesus Christ. Q. Does God allow Repentance to all Sins Jo. vi 29 Act. xiii 38 xvi 30 31. 2 Pet. i. 5 c. A. There is No Sin but what True Repentance washes away But there may be some Cases in which God may deny Us his Grace so that we shall not be able truly to Repent Q. What Cases are They A. They may All be reduced to this One General namely a Wilful Abuse and Resistance of the Divine Grace Whether it be by a long Habit of Sinning or by frequent Acting against the Dictates of our own Consciences and the Motions of God's Holy Spirit To say nothing of some Sins which are in an Eminent manner destructive of the Divine Grace such as Pride Covetousness Sensuality but especially that Sin which is particularly called in Scripture the Sin against the Holy Ghost Q. What is meant by that Sin A. I suppose it to have been the particular Sin of the Jews heretofore in not only obstinately refusing to receive our Blessed Lord for their Messiah after sufficient Proofs given by Him to convince Them that He was so but ascribing those Miracles which He wrought in proof of his Authority to the Help of the Devil when at the same time they either were abundantly convinced Or but for their Own Fault might have been that He did Them by the Power of God Mat. xii 31 Comp. Mark iii. 28 Luk. xii 10 Q. Do you look upon this Sin to have so wholly belonged to those Men as not to be capable of being Committed by Any Now A. That very Sin which in Scripture is so called cannot now be committed because Christ is not now upon Earth nor have we therefore any Occasion Given us thus to Blaspheme against the Holy Ghost Yet some Sins there are of a like Nature which may still be committed and which being Committed may prove no less dangerous to Those who are Guilty of Them than that Sin did prove to the Pharisees heretofore Q. What Sins are those which you suppose to come the nearest to it A. Apostacy from the Christian Religion after having been convinced of the Truth and made Partakers of the Promises of it Next to that an Apostacy from the Truth and Purity of the Gospel for the sake of some worldly Fears on the One hand or present Hopes on the Other to the Communion of a Church which not only obstinately resists the Truth but damns and persecutes all such as profess it And lastly Apostacy to Idolatry which seems to be the Sin unto Death spoken of by St. John 1 Jo. v. 16 and for the Remission of which He gives Us but little Encouragement to Pray V. 16 Q. What then do you think of Those who Go off from the Communion of the Church of England to That of the Church of Rome A. As of Apostates and Idolaters To whom God may by an Extraordinary Effect of his Mercy give Grace for Repentance and so for Salvation but of whom otherwise we have no Ground of Hope Q. Do you think such in a more dangerous Estate than those who were from the beginning bred up in the Roman Communion A. I do forasmuch as they have both rejected the Truth once known and received by them and cast off the Way in which the Providence of God had placed them and that it may be on some base grounds to be sure without any sufficient Reason to justifie their doing of it Q. What then do you think of those who have always been of the Communion of that Church A. I think them in general in much greater danger Now than they were before the Reformation And still those in more danger who have lived among those of the Reformed Church and so were in a better Capacity of being convinc'd of the Errors of their Way But most of all do I think the Estate of those dangerous or rather desperate who are Learned and know their Errors or are Priests and so called to instruct the People in the Purity of Christ's Religion The Sincere and Ignorant who want Capacity or want Opportunity to know the Truth I hope God will forgive The Careless the Prejudiced but most of all the obstinately blind among them I neither can acquit nor do I think that God will forgive Them SECT V. Q. WHat was the second thing which Your Godfathers and Godmothers promised in your Name A. That I should Believe all the Articles of the Christian Faith Q. Where are those Articles to be found A. In the Holy Scriptures and particularly those of the New Testament Q. What mean you by the Holy Scriptures A. I mean those Books which thro' the Assistance of the Holy Spirit were written by Moses and the Prophets under the Law and by the Apostles and Evangelists of Christ since the publishing of the Gospel to direct us in the Knowledge of God and of the Duty which He Requires of Us. Q. How do you know what Books were written by these Persons in order to these Ends A. By the Constant Universal and Undeniable Testimony both of the Jewish and Christian Church From the
by Us in order to our better Performance of those Duties we have before mentioned Such are Some extraordinary Acts of Prayer and Devotion A Retirement from the Business and Conversation of the World but especially from the Follies and Vanities of it And these accompanied with some Acts of Prayer and Mortification whilst we are making the Examination of our Selves before proposed But these must be govern'd by the Rules of Prudence as every Man's Business Opportunities Needs State of Health and the like Circumstances either Require or will allow of Q. Is such a Preparatory Examination of our Selves so necessary before we Come to the Holy Table that we may in no Case presume to Come without it A. No it is not Those who live in a Strict and Regular Course of Life and have nothing extraordinary happen'd to Them as they always know what their State towards God is so are they always Ready to Receive this Holy Sacrament and need not be afraid to partake of it because they had not the Opportunity of making a particular previous Preparation of themselves for it Yet if even these should design to go at a certain Time before known to the Communion they not only piously may but in duty Ought to do somewhat of this kind in order to their going with the better Dispositions to it Q. What if by this means a Good Christian should not be able fully to satisfy himself concerning his Worthiness to Go to the Holy Table A. In that Case he ought to Consider what it is that puts him in doubt of it and having so done let him take the Advice of some Person whom he can Rely upon but especially of his Minister about it That so being free'd from his Scruples he may Go with a Quiet Mind and a full Perswasion of Conscience to this Spiritual Feast and certainly Receive the Benefits of it Q. What if it shall appear that He is not in a State of Going worthily to this Sacrament A. He must for the present Refrain from it and make all the haste He can to Remove the Impediment and Reconcile himself to God that so He may be in a Condition both to Come worthily to it and to be made Partaker of those Graces which are thereby Communicated to every Faithful Receiver of it SECT LII Q. IS there Any Thing yet farther Required of Those who Come to the Lord's Supper A. Yes there is namely that they be first CONFIRM'D by the Bishop It being ordain'd by the Church That none shall be admitted to the Holy Communion until such time as He be Confirm'd or Ready and Desirous to be Confirmed Q. What do you mean by Confirmation A. I mean the Solemn laying on of the Hands of the Bishop upon such as have been Baptized and are come to Years of Discretion Q. How is this performed among Us A. It is directed to be done after a very Wise and Solemn Manner For First The Bishop having given Notice to the Minister of his Intention to Confirm and Appointed a Time for the doing of it the Minister is to call together such of his Parish as are Come to Years of Discretion and have not yet been Confirmed and to Examine them in their Church-Catechism and to prepare as many as he can for the Bishop to Confirm Secondly Having done this he is either to bring or send in Writing with his Hand Subscribed thereunto the Names of all such Persons within his Parish as he shall think fit to be presented to the Bishop to be Confirm'd These being Approved of by the Bishop are brought openly into the Church and Required by the Bishop in the Presence of God and the Congregation there Assembled to Renew the Solemn Vow and Promise which was made in their Names at their Baptism and in their Own Persons to Ratify and Confirm the same acknowledging themselves bound to believe and do all those Things which their Godfathers and Godmothers then undertook for them Which having done the Bishop heartily prays to God for his Grace to enable them to fulfil this their Vow and laying his Hand severally on Every One's Head Beseeches God to defend this His Servant with his heavenly Grace that He may Continue His for Ever and daily Increase in his Holy Spirit more and more until He comes to his Everlasting Kingdom To all which are finally added the Joint Prayers both of the Bishop and the Church to the same Effect and so the Ceremony is ended Q. What are the Reasons that chiefly moved the Church of England to Retain such a Ceremony as this A. There may several be assigned but especially these Four * Apostolical Practice * The Reasonableness of the Thing its self * The Benefit of it to the Person who is Confirmed and * The Satisfaction that arises from hence to the Church of Christ. Q. Did the Apostles Practise such an Imposition of Hands A. The Apostles did lay their Hands on those who had been Baptized and by their Imposition of Hands such Persons did Receive the Holy Ghost Acts viii 17 xix 6 Q. Does the Bishop give the Holy Ghost now as the Apostles did by their Imposition of Hands A. That we do not say nor did the Apostles themselves do it They Laid on their Hands and God Gave his Holy Spirit to those on whom they Laid them And we piously presume that by the fervent Prayers of the Bishop and the Church those on whom He now Lays his Hands shall also Receive the Holy Ghost if they do but worthily prepare Themselves for it Q. Is there any Promise of God on which to build such a Hope A. A General One there is and such as may in this Case above any be depended upon by Us. For First We are directed to Pray not only for Our Selves but for One Another also To encourage us hereunto Christ has promised Us to Grant whatsoever is piously ask'd by the joint Suffrages of his Church of Him Mat. xviii 19 And particularly has declared That God will Give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him Luk. xi 9 Add to this That it has always been accounted a part of the Ministerial Office not only to Instruct but to Pray for and Bless their People When therefore the Chief Pastor of the Church and his Congregation solemnly join together to beg of God the Grace of his Holy Spirit in behalf of such Persons as these who have just now been dedicating themselves a-new to his Service and Ratifying the Covenant made between God and them at their Baptism how can we chuse but believe that God will certainly Grant their Request and Give His Holy Spirit to those for whom He is thus earnestly and solemnly Ask'd of Him Q. From whence does it appear that such an Imposition of Hands was Reasonable to have been Ordain'd and to be Continued in the Church A. From the Condition of those who are commonly Baptized among Us and who being for the most
part Infants and so constrain'd to make Use of Others to become Sureties for them at their Baptism it was certainly very Reasonable that there should be some Solemn Time appointed when such Persons being come to Years of Discretion should Themselves Ratify their Baptismal Covenant and Acknowledge their Obligation to believe and do what their Godfathers and Godmothers had before promised for them Q. What are the Benefits of this Institution to those who are Confirmed A. Besides the Benefit of God's Grace which we reasonably presume to be hereby procured to such Persons by the Prayers of the Bishop and Church on their behalf these Two Advantages do Evidently accrue to Them That First They are by this means secured of the Care of their Godfathers and Godmothers to see that they be duly Instructed in the Principles of their Christian Religion and in which were this Ordinance strictly observed they could not be deficient without being certainly found out and censured by the Church for their neglect And Secondly That by being thus Solemnly called upon to Ratify their Baptismal Vow and Covenant They are engaged to begin betimes both to Consider their Duty and to apply themselves to the serious Discharge of it Q. How does this Ordinance give a Satisfaction to the Church of Christ as to these Matters A As by this means Care is taken to have all these Things Openly transacted before it The Person who perhaps was privately Baptized being Now publickly Confirmed in the Face of the Congregation The Vow which was made by Others in his Name being here Solemnly Renew'd and Ratified by Himself The Child who was Baptized by some Minister of an Inferior Order being now Established in the Communion of the Church by the Chief Pastor of it And lastly The Godfathers and Godmothers who became Sureties both for the Good Instruction and Education of the Person whom they Answer'd for being hereby fully acquitted and discharged of their Trust and declared to have faithfully Fulfilled what they had so sacredly Promised and Vndertook to Do. Q. Do you look upon all Godfathers and Godmothers to be Obliged to see that Those for whom they Answer be first duly Instructed in the Principles of their Religion and then brought to be Confirmed by the Bishop A. They are certainly Obliged as far as a Solemn Promise made in the Presence of God and in a Matter not only Lawful but Pious and Charitable can Oblige them Nor can I imagine how any One Who has taken such an Obligation upon Himself will ever be Able to answer it either to God or his Own Conscience if He shall neglect to fulfil what He undertook in that behalf Q. What think you of Those who Come to the Lord's Supper without either being Confirmed or having any Desire or Intention to be Confirmed A. They are doubtless to be blamed Inasmuch as thereby they not only break the Orders and disobey the Command of the Church which for such Good Reasons as we have seen Requires them to be Confirmed but seem ashamed to Own their Christian Profession and to despise the Prayers of their Bishop for such Graces as they certainly ought to Desire and cannot reasonably Hope by any more effectual means to obtain of God than by a Pious and Reverend Participation of this Holy Ordinance Q. May not the Grace of God be Obtain'd as well by our Own Prayers as by the Bishop's Imposition of Hands upon Us A. That is not the Question We know that God has promised his Holy Spirit to Every One who faithfully Prays for Him But the Question is this First Whether if a Man may Obtain this Grace by his Own Prayers alone He may not expect more certainly to do it by adding the Prayers of the Bishop and the Church to them And Secondly Whether He who Carelesly Neglects or Presumptuously Despises the Orders of the Church and the Pious Provision made by Her for all Her Members at their first setting out into the Dangers and Temptations of the World may not justly fear lest God should Refuse that Grace to his Own Solitary Prayers for which He Neglected or Despised the Prayers of the Bishop and the Church on his behalf Q. What is Required of Persons to be Confirmed A. First That they be of Years of Discretion That is to say Of a Capacity to understand the Nature of their Baptismal Covenant What God therein Promises to Us And what we are thereby Obliged to Believe and Do in Obedience to his Will Secondly That They be not only Capable of this Knowledge but be Actually Instructed in these Things Thirdly That being hereby brought to a Clear Sense of what was done for them by their Godfathers and Godmothers at their Baptism They be now Ready and Desirous in their Own Persons to Ratify and Confirm the same And lastly That in Testimony of their sincere Resolutions to make Good what they here Promise and Vow they do now truly Repent of All their Sins and stedfastly Resolve by the Grace of God to Go on in a Constant Obedience to God's Commands unto their Lives End Q. At what Times ought such Persons to be Confirmed A. At such Times as the Bishop appoints for this Purpose Only if it be possible they should endeavour to be Confirmed and thereby fully take upon themselves the First Sacrament before they proceed to the Participation of the Second Q. How often ought any Christian to be Confirmed A. The Nature of the Office plainly shews it Confirmation as it is understood and practised by Us is nothing Else but a Solemn Ratification of our Baptismal Covenant Now no Man ought to be Baptized more than Once Nor will He therefore need any more than Once to take that Covenant upon Himself If after this He shall fall into any Sins whereby to put Himself out of a State of Grace Or even to be cut off from the Communion of the Church there are Other means of Restoring him again to Both upon his Sincere Repentance for what He has done Amiss But our Baptism must not be Repeated Nor will our Confirmation therefore need to be any more Repeated by Us. FINIS ERRATA PAge 45. l. 24. for be was r. was a. P. 115. l. 28. r. Commandment P. 127. l. 26. for Thaâ— God would r. Both. P. 130. l. 15. for to Them r. in Them P. 151. l. 27. r. don't P. 159. l. 14. blot out to Borks printed for Richard Sare at Grays Inn Gate in Holborn THE Genuine Epistles of St. Barnabas St. Ignatius St. Clement St. Polycarp the Shepherd of Hermas c. with a large Preliminary Discourse 8 vo A Practical Discourse against Profane Swearing 8 vo The Authority of Christian Princes over Ecclesiastical Synods in Answer to a Letter to a Convocation man 8 vo An Appeal to all the true Members of the Church of England on behalf of the King's Supremacy 8 vo A Sermon at the Dorsetshire Feast 1690. Before the Queen at Whitehall May 10. 1691.