THE

ASSEMBLY'S SHORTER CATECHISM

ANALYZED AND EXPLAINED.

GENERAL INTRODUCTION.

SHOWING THE CHIEF DESIGN OF MAN'S CREATION—THAT THE SCRIPTURES ARE THE ONLY RULE OF FAITH AND DUTY AND THE TWO PRINCIPAL TOPICS TREATED OF IN SCRIPTURE, AND EXPLAINED IN THE TWO DIVISIONS OF THE CATECHISM.

The Chief Design of Man's Creation.

Man's chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him for ever.

ANALYSIS AND PROOFS.

We are here taught,

1. That the chief design of man's creation, in reference to God, was, to glorify him. 1 Cor. x. 31.-" Whether therefore ye eat or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God."

2. That the chief design of man's creation, in reference to himself, was the enjoyment of God for ever. Psal. lxxiii. 25, 26." Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire besides thee.-God is my portion for ever."

EXPLANATION.

Observation 1.-The chief end of man's creation, in reference to God, was, to glorify him.

The glory of God is commonly distinguished into his essential and his declarative glory.

1. God's essential glory is what he is absolutely in himself. “I am that I am.”—Exod. iii. 14. It is that glory which he has in himself, and which he will not give to another. This glory is infinite, eternal, and unchangeable; and, consequently, it can neither be increased nor diminished.-Job xxxv. 7; Psal. xvi. 2.

2. God's declarative glory is his making known his glory to, by, and in, the creatures which he hath made.

The irrational creatures, both animate and inanimate, glorify God passively, by affording matter of praise to God, their Maker.-Psal. xix. 1. But we, his rational creatures, ought to glorify him actively,-by setting our hearts wholly upon him,-by making use of all things in subordination to his glory, and only as means more perfectly to show forth his. praise, by being willing to part with every thing dear to us, rather than not maintain and declare his glory,--and by employing for this purpose all the powers and faculties which he hath conferred upon uss-(1 Cor. vi. 20; Matt. v. 16)by obeying his commandments, and by acknowledging all his perfections.

God is to be glorified in all things.-1 Cor. x. 31; 1 Peter iv. 11. We are to glorify him in all our actions, whether natural, as eating and drinking, &c.; or civil, as in the common affairs of life; or moral and religious, in the duties which we owe to God. "There is not a grain of real goodness in the most spacious actions which are performed without a reference to the glory of God. This the world cannot understand; but it will appear highly reasonable to those who take their ideas of God from the Scriptures, and who have felt the necessity and found the benefits of redemption."

We ought to make the glory of God our chief end in all our actions. 1. Because it was God's chief end in our creation, preservation, and redemption. 2. Because God hath made us capable of glorifying him. 3. Gratitude should excite us to make this our chief end.-Psal. c. 3; Prov. xvi. 4; Psal. lxvi. 8, 9; 1 Cor. vi. 19, 20; Psal. ciii. 1–5.

We may here observe, that no man can glorify God ac

ceptably, until he believes in Jesus Christ; for without faith it is impossible to please him; and whatsoever is not of faith is sin.-Heb. xi. 6; Rom. xiv. 23. Nor can we of ourselves glorify God; for of ourselves we can do nothing good.-John xv. 5. But seeing God hath promised the grace of his Spirit, we should not be weary in well-doing.

Obs. 2.-The chief end of man's creation, in reference to himself, was the enjoyment of God for ever.

To enjoy God is to acquiesce or rest in God as the chief good, with complacency and delight; or it is to feel unspeakably happy in his presence.-Psal. cxvi. 7.

Believers enjoy God in this world as well as in that which is to come.-Gen. v. 24; 1 John i. 3; 1 Cor. i. 9. But there is a very great difference between the enjoyment of God here and the enjoyment of him hereafter. In this world, the enjoyment of God is mediate; that is, ordinances intervene : but in the world to come it will be immediate; ordinances will be unknown-means shall be done away. Here, the enjoyment of God is only begun there, it will be completed. Here, it is partial: there, it will be full.-1 Cor. xiii. 12; Psal. xvi. 11. The enjoyment of God in this world consists in union with God in Christ, through faith in him. And from this flows communion with him in this world.

The external means by which we are to seek after this enjoyment, and in which we hold communion with God, are, the institutions of his appointment, public, private, and secret; such as prayer, meditation, the reading, and preaching, and hearing of the Word, and the sacraments, &c.

The enjoyment of God here is a pledge of the full enjoyment of him hereafter in glory, when believers shall be admitted into his glorious presence, where they shall have a full sense of his love, and fully and eternally acquiesce and rest in him with perfect and inconceivable delight and joy. -1 Cor. xiii. 12; Psal. xvi. 11.

We ought chiefly to desire and seek the enjoyment of God for ever, because he is the chief good, and in the enjoyment of him consists man's chief happiness; and likewise, because God is but imperfectly and inconstantly enjoyed here, and we cannot be perfectly happy until we eternally enjoy him in heaven.-Psal. iv. 6, 7; 1 Cor. xiii. 9, 10; Psal. xvi. 11.

It may here be observed, that, in the world to come, be lievers will have communion not only with God in Christ,

but also with angels, and with their brethren of mankind redeemed from among the nations.

Obs. 3.-The glorifying of God, and the enjoyment of him, are inseparably connected.

The glorifying and the enjoyment of God are here connected as one chief end, because God hath inseparably connected them; and no one can truly design and seek the one, without, at the same time, designing and seeking the other. And we may here remark, that the glorifying of God is here set before the enjoyment of him for ever, to show that the former is the means by which the latter is obtained; that holiness on earth must precede happiness in heaven; and that none shall enjoy God for ever, who have no desire to glorify him in this world.-Heb. xii. 14; Matt. v. 8.

INFERENCES.

From this subject we learn,-1. That there is great cause for lamentation, that God and his glory are so seldom the subject of our meditation. 2. The necessity of examining ourselves, whether we have ever viewed the glory of God as our chief end? whether it is our desire to do what he hath commanded, and to abstain from what he hath forbidden ? 3. That we ought to be convinced that of ourselves we cannot glorify God, and, therefore, that prayer for the Spirit of God is absolutely necessary, to enable us to glorify him in our bodies and in our spirits, which are his. 4. That the soul of man is immortal; for, seeing that a desire of happiness is natural to it, and that nothing can satisfy its desire or constitute its chief good but God, it is evident that we must inscribe immortality on this better part of man. 5. The goodly heritage of the people of God beyond the grave. 6. The necessity of holiness. 7. That the believer ought not to be discouraged on account of the difficulties with which he may meet in the way to heaven, seeing that they are but of short duration that they are but light afflictions.-Rom. viii. 18. Lastly, That it ought to be our aim, while we are in this world, in the strength of divine grace, to glorify God in all things, that we may enjoy him for ever in the world to come.

II.-The Scriptures the only Rule of Faith and Duty.

The Word of God, which is contained in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, is the only rule to direct us how we may glorify and enjoy him.

ANALYSIS AND PROOFS.

We are here taught,―

1. The necessity of a rule to direct us how we may glorify and enjoy God. Jer. x. 23.-" The way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps." See also Acts ii. 37.

2. That the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are the Word of God. 2 Tim. iii. 16.-" All Scripture is given by inspiration of God." See also 2 Pet. i. 21.

3. That the Word of God is the only rule to direct us how we may glorify and enjoy him. Isa. viii. 20.-" To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them."

EXPLANATION.

Obs. 4.—We need a rule to direct us how to glorify and enjoy God.

The light of nature, and the works of creation and providence, show indeed that there is a God; that this God is infinite in his being, and wisdom, and power, and goodness; and that he is to be worshipped and glorified by his creatures. But they cannot fully and savingly show what God is; they cannot reveal his love and mercy to sinners in his Son; they cannot reveal how he should be glorified and worshipped; and they cannot direct us how we should enjoy him, either here or hereafter.-Rom. i. 20, and ii. 14; 1 Cor. i. 21; Heb. xi. 6; Rom. x. 17; Acts iv. 12.

Obs. 5.-The Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are the Word of God, or a revelation from heaven.

The word Scriptures signifies writings. And the Word of God is emphatically so called, because he has therein written to us the great things of his law and covenant.-Hos.

viii. 12.

A Testament is a writing or a voluntary act of a person be