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he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the Ghost.

And was in all things like unto us, only without sin. Heb. ii. 17. Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high-priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. iv. 15. For we have not an high-priest, which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Phil. ii. 7, 8. He made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the

cross.

PROOFS SUBJOINED.-1 Tim. ii. 5. For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus. 1 Cor. xv. 21. For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.

11. Q. Why do you make mention of the person of whom Christ was born?

A. To shew that he was the true seed of Abraham and David, of whom the Prophets spake. Gen. xxii. 18. And in thy seed shall all the nations of the world be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice. 2 Samuel, vii. 12, 13, 14. And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build an house for my name, and I will stablish the throne of his kingdom for ever. I will be his father, and he shall be my son. Psalm 1xxxix. 36, 37. His

seed shall endure for ever, and his throne as the sun before me. It shall be established for ever as the moon, and as a faithful witness in heaven. cxxxii. 11. The Lord hath sworn in truth unto David; he will not turn from it; of the fruit of thy body will I set upon thy throne. Jeremiah, xxiii. 5, 6. Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will raise unto David a righteous branch, and a king shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice upon the earth. In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name, whereby he shall be called, the Lord our Righteousness.

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For from Abraham by David did our blessed Lord and Saviour descend. Matt. i. 1. The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham. Rom. i. 3. Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David, according to the flesh. Luke, i. 32. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David. Luke, iii. 31. Which was the Son of Melea, which was the Son of Menan, which was the Son of Maltatha, which was the Son of Nathan, which was the Son of David.

12. Q. Wherefore do you give the title of Virgin to the mother of our Lord?

A. To testify our belief, that in the production of our Saviour she had no knowledge of any man, but was at once a mother and a virgin: not to determine any thing of her condition afterwards; though we piously suppose, and it has been generally received, that she still continued, as she then was, a virgin.

PROOFS SUBJOINED.-Isaiah, vii. 14. Behold a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his

name Immanuel. Matt. i. 24. He knew her not, till she had brought forth her first-born son: and he called his name Jesus. Luke, i. 34, 35. Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? And the angel answered and said unto her, the Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.

13. Q. Should not this relation of the blessed Virgin to our Saviour oblige us to pay a more than ordinary respect to her?

A. No doubt it should: and therefore it will become us always to mention her with honour; to imitate her virtues; and to give thanks to God for that extraordinary favour which he was pleased to bestow upon her, that she should be the mother of our Lord. Luke, i. 48. For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.

14. Q. What think you of that worship which, upon this account, is paid to her in the church of Rome?

A. As of the grossest idolatry that, it may be, was ever committed in the world: such as no good Christian can think of without horror; nor any one partake of, without the hazard of his salvation.

15. Q. What is that worship of which you speak such hard things?

A. It is the most proper worship of God. They pray to her in almost all their religious service: *They put their trust in her: They rely upon her for *grace, and *salvation: They consecrate particular offices of devotion to her: They erect reli

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gious societies to her honour: *They depend on her mercies no less, if not more, than on Christ's; and recur much oftener to her, than to him, for pardon and forgiveness.

SECT. XI.

Of his Death and Burial: Of his Descent into Hell.

1. Q. You said that the end of Christ's being born of the Virgin Mary, was, that he might thereby be in a capacity of dying for us: Tell me, therefore, how did Christ do this?

A. He suffered under Pontius Pilate; was crucified, dead and buried.

2. Q. Who was Pontius Pilate?

A. He was governor of Judea under Tiberius, the Roman emperor, at the time of Christ's death, and condemned our Saviour to be crucified.

PROOFS SUBJOINED.-Matt. xxvii. 2, 11, 23, 24. And when they had bound him, they led him away, and delivered him to Pontius Pilate the governor. And Jesus stood before the governor: and the governor asked him, saying, Art thou the king of the Jews, and Jesus said unto him, Thou sayest. And the governor said, Why, what evil hath he done? But they cried out the more, saying, Let him be crucified. When Pilate saw that he could prevail nothing, but that rather a tumult was made, he took water, and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, I am innocent of the blood of this just person: see ye to it. Luke, iii. 1. Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Cæsar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, the word of God came unto John, the son of Zacharias, in the wilderness.

3. Q. Why do you take notice of the person under whom Christ suffered?

A. For several reasons. 1st, To fix the time of his suffering, which had been particularly foretold by the prophet Daniel, 490 years before it came to pass. 2nd. To shew that at that time the sceptre was departed from Judah; and so the time of Jacob's prophecy concerning the coming of the Messiah accomplished. And, 3dly, To account for the manner of Christ's death, which was also extraordinary, and foretold by the prophets: crucifixion being not a Jewish, but a Roman kind of punishment.

PROOFS SUBJOINED.-Daniel, ix. 25, 26. Know, therefore, and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and build Jerusalem, unto the Messiah the Prince, shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come, shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. Gen. xlix. 10. The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.

4. Q. How came Pontius Pilate to condemn our Saviour to this death?

A. He did it to satisfy the importunity of the Jews, after having plainly declared, that he was not worthy to die. Matt. xxvii. 23, 24. And the governor said, Why, what evil hath he done? But they cried out the more, saying, Let him be crucified.

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