the deaiby his own power, of the ubiquity of Christ's body, of apprehend- ing and applying Christ's righteousness to ourselves by faith, of Christ's being our surety, of Christ's paying our debts, of our sins imputed to Christ, of Christ's righteousness imputed to us, of Christ's dying to appease the wrath of God and reconcile him to us, of infused grace, of free grace, of the world of the elect, of irresistible workings of the Spirit in bringing men to believe, of carnal reason, of spiritual desertions, of spiritual incomes, of the outgoings of God, of taking up the ordinance," etc., and thou shalt find that as these forms of speech are not OAvned by the Scripture, so neither the things contained in them. How excellent, therefore, was that advice of Paul to Timothy in his second epistle to him, chap. i. 13, " Hold fast the form of sound words, which thou hast heard of me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus" ! for if we once let go those forms of sound words learned from the apostles, and take up such as have been coined by others in succeeding ages, we shall together [with them] part with the apostles' doc- trine, as woful experience hath taught us ; for after Constantine the Great, together with the council of Mce, had once deviated from the language of the Scripture in the business touching the Son of God, calling him " co- essential with the Father," this opened a gap for others afterward, under a pretence of guarding the truth from heretics, to devise new terms at plea- sure ; which did, by degrees, so vitiate the chastity and simplicity of our faith, delivered in the Scripture, that there hardly remained so much as one point thereof sound and entire. So that as it was wont to be disputed in the schools, whether the old ship of Theseus (which had in a manner been wholly altered at sundry times, by the accession of new pieces of timber uj^on the decay of the old) were the same sliip it had been at first, and not rather another by degrees substituted in the stead thereof : in like manner there was so much of the primitive truth worn away, by the corruption that did, by little and little, overspread the generality of Chris- tians, and so many errors in stead thereof tacked to our religion, at several times, that one might justly question whether it were the same religion with that which Christ and his apostles taught, and not another since de- vised by men and put in the room thereof. But thanks be to God through our Lord Jesus Christ, who, amidst the universal corruption of our reli- gion, hath preserved his wi'itten word entire (for had men corrupted it, they Avould have made it speak more favourably in behalf of their lusts and worldly interests than it doth) ; which word, if we with diligence and sincerity pry into, resolving to embrace the doctrine that is there plainly delivered, though all the world should set itself against us for so doing, we shall easily discern the truth, and so be enabled to reduce our religion to its first principles. For thus much I perceive by mine own experience, who, being otherwise of no great abilities, yet setting myself, with the aforesaid resolution, for sundry years together upon an impartial search of the Scripture, have not only detected many errors, but here presented the reader with a body of religion exactly transcribed out of the word of God : which body whosoever shall well ruminate and digest in his mind, may, by the same method wherein I have gone before him, make a farther inquiry into the oracles of God, and draw forth whatsoever yet lies hid; and being brought to light, [it] will tend to the accomplishment of godliness amongst us, for at this only all the Scripture aimeth ; — the Scripture, which all men who have thoroughly studied the same must of necessity be enamoured with, as breathing out the mere wisdom of God, and being the exactest rule of a holy life (Avhich all religions Avhatsocver confess to be the way unto happiness) that can be imagined, and whose divinity will
PREFACE OF MR BIDDLE TO HIS CATECHISM EXAMINED. 59^
never, even to the world's end, be questioned by any but such as are un- willing to deny their worldly lusts and obey the pure and perfect precepts thereof; which obedience whosoever shall perform, he shall, not only in the life to come, but even in this life, be equal unto angels.
John Biddle.
MR BIDDLE'S PREFACE BRIEFLY EXAMINED.
In the entrance of Mr Biddle's preface he tells the reader very modestly " That he could never yet see or hear of a catechism" (although, I presume, he had seen, or heard at least, of one or two Avritten by Faustus Socinus, though not completed ; of one by Valentinus Smalcius, commonly called " The Racovian Catechism," from whence many of his questions and answers are taken ; and of an " Exposition of the Articles of Faith, in the Creed called the Apostles', in way of catechism, by Jonas Schlichtingius," pub- lished in French, anno 16-46, in Latin, anno 1651) "from whence the true grounds of Christian religion might be learned, as it is delivered in Scrip- ture;" and therefore, doubtless, all Christians have cause to rejoice at the happy product of Mr B.'s pains, wherewith he now acquaints them, ushered in with this modest account, Avhereby at length they may know their own religion, Avherein as yet they have not been instructed to any purpose. And the reason of this is, because " all other catechisms are stuffed with many supposals and traditions, the least jjart of them being derived from the word of Grod," Mr B. being judge. And this is the common language of his companions, comparing themselves and their own writings with those of other men.-^ The common language they de- light in is, " Though Christians have hitherto thought otherwise."