Some Helps for Young Scholars in Christianity, Title page – Epigraph
Some helpes for young Schollers in Chriſtianity, as they are in vſe & taught; Partly, At the Examination before the Communion: And partly, In the ordinarie Catechiſme eueryevery Sabboth day, in the new Kirk of Salt-Preſton.
2. COR. 12.19. Now we doe al theſe things dearly beloued, for your edifying.
PHILIP. 3.3. And reioice in Chriſt Ieſus, and hauehave no confidence in the fleſhe.
Multa cauillari promptiùs eſt, quàm aemulari.
It is more eaſie faults to pike,
In many things then do the like.
EDINBƲRGH Printed by Robert VValde-graue, Printer to the Kings Maieſty. 1602.
Cum Privilegio Regio.
To the Reader.
IF the often repetitions following, to any man ſeeme tedious & ſuperfluous, let him conſider that heere wee hauehave to doe but with rude beginners, that are wained from the milk (as it were) & drawen from the breaſts, to whome as to childrē beginning to learn, precept muſt be vponupon precept, precept vponupon precept, line vntounto line, line vntounto line, &c. whilk craues painful labour of the teachers, with greate plainneſſe, (which is not ſo common perhappes in this our Church and country as neede were) and therefore the Apoſtle Peter ſayth, wherefore, I will not bee negligent to put you alwayes in remembrance of theſe thinges, though that ye hauehave knowledge, and be eſtabliſhed in the preſent truth, &c. 2. Pet. 1.12. much more then, is repetition needful to ſuch as are yong in knowledge, or rather ignorant, as the gentiles wiſely acknowledge who beſought Paul and Barnabas, that they woulde preach theſe words, that is, the ſame words they harde that Sabboth day, to them the next Sabboth day. Act. 13.4….
TO HIS LOVING flock of Salt-preſtoun who by the preaching of the Goſpel, beleeue and turne to the Lorde. IOHN DAVIDSON, wiſheth increaſe of Faith & Repentance, with conſtancie therin, to the end & in the end, Amen.
WHat hath beene the drifte of my doctrine ſen god placed mee among you, welbeloued in Chriſte Ieſus, yee cannot be ignorant, ſeing with out excellencie of wordes and all curioſitie, in moſte plaine ſorte ofter my familiar maner, I ſhew you the Teſtimonie of God, eſteeming, not to knowe anye thinge among you, as the Apoſtle ſayeth, ſaue Ieſus Chriſt and him crucified. For the whilk purpoſe this daye ſeauen yeare, to wit; the 16. day of Nouember 1595. the firſte time I ſpake among you, I made choiſe of this place of Scripture following, to bee as a ground of that doctrine whilk thereafter I minded to builde thereupon, during our continuance together at gods pleaſure. The place was this, as ye remember. The people that ſate in darkneſſe, ſawe great light. &c. Mat. 4.16. Firſt, I opened the true meaning of the place, obſeruing ſome pertinent notes therupon. Thereafter I made ſome vſe thereof by applycation to you for that preſent, as a people by the ſea-coaſte, long ſitting in no leſſe darkneſſe, then did they of Galile, that dwelt by the lake of Genazareth, whilk was to them as a ſea: ſhewing therewithall the greate merciemercy of God towarde you, in offering to you that day the light of his goſpell after ſik a rare manner, ſo that rightly it might be ſaide ouer againe of new, A people that ſate in darkneſſe, hath ſeene greate lighte. Laſt, after all this, I gathered ſome general grounds of Chriſtian religion out of that place, as firſt. The miſerable blinde eſtate of man by nature, without Chriſt. Secondlie, the moſte comfortable light of ſaluation in Chriſt. Thirdly, that men receaue Chriſt his light by faith wrought by the holy Spirite in the preaching of the goſpell. Fourthly, the end, that walking in that light of Chriſt, we may glorifie him that hes tranſtated vsus out of darknes into his wonderful light.
Heerevnto in the afternoone the ſame daye, I added theſe words of Chriſt: Behold, I ſtand at the dore and knock, if any man heare my voice and open the dore, I will come in to him, and ſuppe with him and he with mee. Reuel. 3.20. To ſerue as a ſpurre to exhort you to the cheerefull embraceing of ſo comfortable a ghueſt, whilk mooued the whole pariſh preſent, ſo at that time and long thereafter, that as the Apoſtle ſpeaketh of the Galathians, I beare you record that if it had beene posſible, ye would hauehave plucked out your eyes & hauehave giuen them to me. Though nowe and then to ſome I be-come an enemie for ſpeaking of the trueth. God graunt them amendement that offend of ſimplicitie and not of malice. But we muſt not bee offended, though one part onlie, of the foure parts of ground that the ſeede of Gods worde lights on, (& ſeeme for the moſt part to receaue it,) bee fruitful, for Sathan is a buſie Biſhop; and perſecution & cares of the world with fleſhly pleaſures, ar not ſoone ouercome. But with this ſorte of people at this preſent I hauehave not to doe, but onlye with you who obey from the hart vntounto that forme of doctrine, wherevnto ye were deliuered. Whilk yee know hes euer bene according to the foreſaid groundes. For the better keeping in memorie whereof, I hauehave thought good to put them in writ in diuers formes, and ſet them to printing for your vſe as ye ſee, that nothing bee wanting that maye further the ſounde grounding of you, according to your meane capacitie, in the true Chriſtian religion, ſo farre as in me lyeth. Wherefore it reſts, that yee bee not ſlouthful in exerciſing your ſelues, & your families, in reading, learning, and practiſing heereof. Fare-well in Chriſt. 16. Nouember. 1602.
ANd the Lord ſaide,Geneſ. 18.17.18.19 Sal I hyde from Abraham that whilk I do, &c. for I knaw him that he will command his ſonnes, & his houſhald after him, that they keip the way of the Lorde, to do righteouſneſſe and iudgement, &c.
And the wordes that I command thee this day, ſalbe in thy hart,Deut. 6.… 7. and thou ſall rehearſe them continuallye vntounto thy children, and ſall talke of them when thou tarrieſt in thyne houſe, and as thou walkeſt by the way, & when thou lyes downe, and when thou ryſes vp.
And they red the book of the law diſtinctly, & gaue the ſenſe,Nehom. 8.8. & cauſed them to vnderſtand the reading.
The Lord eſtabliſhed a teſtimony in Iacob, & ordained a law in Iſrael,Pſal. 78 4 5.6.7. whilk he cōmanded our fathers that they ſuld teich their childrē, that the poſterity might knaw it, & the children whilk ſuld be borne, ſuld ſtand vp and declare it to their children, that they might ſet their hope on god and not to forget the works of God, but keip his commandenents.
Whome ſall he teich knawledge,Eſai. 28.9 …8. & whome ſall he make to vnderſtand the things that he heareth? thē that are wained frō the milke, & drawne from the breaſts: for precept muſt be vponupon precept, precept vponupon precept, line vntounto line, line vntounto line, there a little, and there a little.
For when as concerning the time,H…b. 5.12 ye aucht to be teachers, yet hauehave ye neid againe, that we teach you what are the firſt principles of the word of God, & are becum ſik as hauehave neid of milke, and not of ſtrong drinke.