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ID Title Author Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication) STC Words Pages
A01377 The Christians profession, or A treatise of the grounds and principles of diuinity by way of question and answer. In which all the chiefe grounds of religion are so plainely proued and explained by the Word of God, as that the meanest capacitie may by reading vnderstand the same. I. G., fl. 1630. 1630 (1630) STC 11498; ESTC S120492 43,346 118

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I am perswaded by obser●ing your worships care in your family that you will make some good vse of the same Lastly I presumed to dedicate the same vnto your worships and your Ladyes ioyntly together both because of that neere relation that is betweene you and also because of my selfe being so much obliged vnto you humbly crauing pardon for this my boldnesse and humbly suing that these my poore labours may find acceptance I commit both you and all of yours vnto the blessing and protection of Almighty God vnto whom my prayers shall euer bee directed for your continuall ioy and comfort in the inioyment of all out ward mercies so farre as in mercy hee shall see best for you and for your continuall growth and increase in the apprehending and assurance of his free grace and fauour here and the inioyment of euer lasting glory for euer hereafter and so I reft Yours to command in what I may I. G. An Epistle to the Christian Reader CHristian Readers when I writ this Treatise I neuer intended the same should come to publike view I only intended the good of my owne priuate Familie thereby iudging my labours altogether vnworthy of common view But afterwards considering that a publike good is euer to be preferred before a priuate and being publisht it might d ee more good in the hands of many in one day then in my owne priuate Family in many yeares I was moued through the importunity of some friends to present the same resoluing that it will meet with many exceptions and obiections among many people as alwaies the workes and labours of others going before haue done Wherefore Christian Reader I thought good to acquaint you with such reasons as moued me to publish the same and to remoue such obiections as I conceiue may bee made against the same The first reason is because of all these errours and contentions which dee now so much abound is ignorance of the grounds of Religion grounded vpon the Word of God Yee erre not knowing the Scriptures Mat. 22.29 And therefore we haue cause to blesse God for that order of teaching inioyned by publike authority by way of Catechisme that so people may thereby be the better instructed in the grounds and principles of Diuinity and that the publike Catechising may bee the more profitable it is necessary that people doe acquaint themselues in priuate with such Catechismes as do most plainely by the Scriptures set forth the grounds and principles of Religion and among the rest of Catechismes that are published Christian Reader you shall not find your labour lost in the reading of this Catechisme for this I dare presume that those that read the same with vnderstanding shall bee able to vnderstand in some measure any ground of Religion that is taught by the Minister in publicke which would be to no small profit both to the Minister and people Secondly because I haue obserued by experience that the more Ministers contend against those errours which doe now so much abound either in their Sermons or writings the more they spread abroad because such is the corruption of mans nature through pride that the more hee is opposed in those errours which he mayntaines the more strongly hee labours to defend them spread them abroad Whereby the peace and vnity of the Church is much broken and disturbed to the great griefe and wounding of the soules of all Gods people and therefore I conceiue that the best way both to suppresse heresie and to maintaine the peace and vnity of the Church is positiuely to maintaine those grounds of diuinity which are established and inioyned by publike authority grounded vpon the Word of God for one contrary will expell another when light comes darkenesse is expelled and so when the light of Gods Word is clearely set forth and shines in the Church the darknesse of Popery and all other errours will be dayly expelled like as it was with the Philistians Dagon when the Arke was set vp Dagon fel to the ground of himselfe So when Christ and his Gospell is set vp and maintained who is the true Arke then Dagon all false Religion will fall downe to the ground for nothing so much ouer-throwes Sathan and his Kingdome For by the preaching of the Gospell Sathan is sayed to fall from Heauen like lightning and therefore wee haue great cause to blesse God in that wee haue those grounds of Religion grounded vpon the word established by publike authority and inioyning all the Ministers of this Land to teach and maintayne the same the which I could wish were not too much neglected by many For my owne part that loue that I beare to the truth of Gods Word and to the peace and vnity of the Church moued me to cast in my Mite desiring that it may bee a meanes to stirre vp others who are farre more able to cast in out of their treasures that so the truth of Gods Word may be more cleared the doctrine of the Church the peace and vnity of the same more defended and maintayned the ignorant instructed and errours suppressed all of which by this meanes through the blessing of God may be effected I take not vpon me to teach any but I onely shew my iudgement as an inferiour not passing for the censure of any It may be some will be ready to obiect say that this was agreat deale of needlesse labour spent For we haue no need of new Catechismes now seeing we haue so many Printed already made by worthy learned men and seeing that there is publike Catechising in euery Congregation to which I answer I confesse that there are many publike Catechismes made by learned men to whom I iudge my selfe farre inferiour and yet I say that among all those varieties of printed Catechismes you shal find this differing from all other in matter method or manner if not in all for I neuer yet saw two Catechismes that were iust alike in matter method and manner although they were both concerning the same grounds but how-euer in this one thing it is different from all the Catechismes that euer I yet saw namely in the manner of prouing the grounds for in all ordinary Catechismes the places of Scripture are onely quoted to proue the grounds by reason where of people that are not acquainted with the Scriptures knowes not whether those grounds be agreable to the word of God or no and to turne to euery proofe is such a labour as that few will vndertake the same Wherefore to ease the Reader I haue taken the more paynes not onely to quote the proofes of Scripture but also to write them downe framing euery answer so neere as I could to the very wordes of my Text alleadged for the prouing of the same with explication of such thinges as are obscure which labour I shall thinke well bestowed in writing so that it may bee profitable to the Reader Agayne I conceiue that there is the more need of Printed Catechismes in