GENERAL INTRODUCTION. THE only comfort of man in life and death, Question 1. The things necessary for man to know, that he, enjoying this comfort, may live and die happily, which are severally treated of in the three parts of the Catechism, viz. I. The misery of man; II. His deliverance; and III. His gratitude to God for his deliverance, Question 2. THE FIRST PART. THE MISERY OF MAN. The source of the knowledge of man's misery, Question 3-5. The origin of human depravity, Question 7. The punishment of sin, Question 10 and 11. THE SECOND PART. MAN'S DELIVERANCE. The deliverance of man, Question 12-14. The only Mediator between God and man, the Lord Jesus Christ, Question 15-18. The Holy Gospel, in which the Lord Jesus Christ is revealed to us as an all-sufficient Mediator, Question 19. The extent of the salvation provided in the Lord Jesus Christ, Question 20. True faith, Question 21. The objects of true faith, Question 22 and 23. The Holy Trinity, Question 24 and 25. God the Father, Question 26. The Providence of God, Question 27. The benefits of divine Providence, Question 28. His followers called Christians, Question 32. His assumption of human nature, Question 35 and 36. God the Son; His descension into hell, Question 44. His ascension into heaven, Question 46-49. His sitting at the right hand of God, Question 50 and 51. His coming again to judge the quick and the dead, Question 52. God the Holy Ghost, Question 53. The Christian Church, Question 54. The Communion of Saints, Question 56. The Resurrection of the Body, Question 57. Eternal Life, Question 58. Man's Justification, Question 59-64. The Holy Sacraments, Question 65-68. Baptism, Question 69-74. The Lord's Supper, Question 75-82. The Keys of the Kingdom of Heaven, Question 83-85. THE THIRD PART. THANKFULNESS. Good works and true Conversion, Question 86-91. The Ten Commandments, Question 92. The division of the Ten Commandments into two tables, Question 93. The first Commandment, Question 94 and 95. The second Commandment, Question 96-98. The seventh Commandment, Question 108 and 109. The eighth Commandment, Question 110 and 111. The ninth Commandment, Question 112. The tenth Commandment, Question 113. The inability of Man to keep the law of God perfectly, Question 114 and 115. Prayer in general, Question 116-118 The Lord's Prayer, Question 119. The preface to the Lord's Prayer, Question 120 and 121. The first petition, Question 122. The second petition, Question 123. The conclusion of the Lord's Prayer, Question 128 and 129. EXERCISES 42191867 ON The Heidelberg Catechism. I. Lord's Day. Q. 1. What is thy only comfort in life and death? A. That I, with body and soul, both in life and death, am not my own, but belong unto my faithful Saviour, Jesus Christ, who, with his precious blood, hath fully satisfied for all my sins, and delivered me from all the power of the devil; and so preserves me, that without the will of my heavenly Father not a hair can fall from my head: yea, that all things must be subservient to my salvation and therefore, by his Holy Spirit, he also assures me of eternal life, and makes me sincerely willing and ready henceforth to live unto him. EXPLANATIONS. a. Comfort, source of consolation and happiness. b. Faithful, true to the performance of his promises and engagements. c. Saviour, a deliverer from sin and misery. d. Blood, his sufferings and death. e. Sins, transgressions of the law. f. Devil, the spiritual enemy of mankind. 9. Salvation, deliverance from sin and its consequences. h. Holy Spirit, the gracious influences and workings of the Holy Spirit, the third person of the blessed Trinity. i. Eternal life, the holiness and happiness which the saints possess for ever in heaven. j. To live unto him, to aim at the promotion of his glory in all our thoughts, words, and actions. DOCTRINES SEPARATED AND PROVED. 1. The Christian is not his own. 1 Cor. vi. 19-Ye are not your own. 2. The Christian belongs to Christ. 1 Cor. iii. 23-And ye are Christ's. 3. The Christian belongs to Christ both in life and death. Rom. xiv. 7, 8-For none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself. For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord; whether we live, therefore, or die, we are the Lord's. 4. The Lord Jesus Christ is the Saviour of his people. Matt. i. 21-And thou shalt call his name Jesus; for he shall save his people from their sins. 5. The Lord Jesus Christ is a faithful Saviour. 2 Tim. ii. 13-He abideth faithful; he cannot deny himself. 6. The Christian derives all his happiness from the particular relation he sustains to God as his child in Christ Jesus. Ps. lxxiii. 25, 26-Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire besides thee. My flesh and my heart faileth; but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever. 7. Christ with his blood, i. e. with his sufferings, has made a full satisfaction for the sins of his people. 1 John i. 7-And the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. 1 Pet. i. 18, 19-For as much as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers: but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. 8. Christ has delivered his people from the power of the devil. Heb. ii. 14, 15-That through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is the devil; and deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. 1 John iii. 8-For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil. 9. Christ faithfully and carefully preserves his people. John x. 28, 29-And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all, and none is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand. Luke xxi. 18-But there shall not a hair of your head perish. John vi. 39; Matt. x. 29-31. 10. All things are subservient to the salvation of Christians. Rom. viii. 28-And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God; to them who are the called according to his purpose. 11. God, by his Spirit, assures the believer of his relation to Him in Christ. Rom. viii. 16-The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirits, that we are the children of God. 2 Cor. i. 22-Who hath also sealed us and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts. 2 Cor. v. 5. 12. God maketh his people ready and willing to fulfil his own purposes. Ps. cx. 3-Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power. Phil. ii. 13-for it is God which worketh in you, both to will and to do of his good pleasure. i. 74, 75. Rom. viii. 14. Heb. xiii. 21. EXERCISES. Luke Whose are you not? How do you prove that you are not your own? (1.) To whom do you belong? How do you prove that you belong to Christ? (2.) With what do you belong to Christ? In what do you belong to Christ? How do you prove that you belong to Christ both in life and death? (3.) What is Jesus Christ to you? What is a Saviour? (c.) How do you prove that Christ is your Saviour? (4.) What kind of a Saviour is Christ? What is a faithful Saviour? (b.) How do you prove that Christ is such a Saviour? (5.) What is the fact of your not being your own, but belonging unto Christ, to you? What do you mean, when you say it is your comfort? (a.) How do you prove that you, as a Christian, derive thus all your happiness from the relation you sustain to God in Christ? (6.) What has Christ, as your Saviour, done for you? What do you mean by sins? (e.) With what has Christ satisfied for your sins? What do you mean by his blood? (d.) How do you prove that Christ has made a full satisfaction for your sins with his blood? (7.) What has Christ done for you, besides satisfying for your sins? Who is the devil? (f.) How do you prove that Christ has delivered you from all the power of the devil? (8.) What does Christ still do for you? How do you prove that Christ thus preserves you? (9.) How is the extent of Christ's preserving care further expressed? What do you mean by salvation? (g.) How do you prove |