« thy Mother, that thy Days may be long upon the Land which the LORD thy "GOD giveth thee. Thou shalt not kill. "Thou shalt not commit Adultery. Thou "fhalt not steal. Thou shalt not bear false "Witness against thy Neighbour. Thou "fhalt not covet thy Neighbour's Houfe "thou shalt not covet thy Neighbour's "Wife; nor his Man - Servant, nor his "Maid-Servant, nor his Ox, nor his Afs, "nor any Thing that is thy Neighbour's. "" GOD gave to Mofes thefe Ten Commandments, written on two Tables of Stone, wherein was contained, amongst fome other Inftitutions, the Moral Law, or Religion of Nature. And GoD condefcended fo far as to give it them at that Time in Writing, left they fhould forget their Duty; fo remifs and ungrateful was that perverfe and ftubborn Generation!

The CATECHISM.

Hither did the Ifraelites go, after their Departure from Egypt?

A. Into the Land of Canaan, under the Special Guidance and Direction of GoD bimfelf.

Q. Why did GOD lead them thither? A. In Order to fulfil the Promife which be made to their Forefathers.

Q. Which Way did they pass through the Red Sea ?

A. GOD

A. GOD made a Path for them to go on dry Ground thro' the midst of the Waters. Q. What Place did they travel through after that?

A. A wild and barren Wilderness.
Q. How did they fubfift there?

A. On Manna, which GOD fent them down from Heaven.

Q. When they wanted Water, how were their Neceffities fupply'd?

A. GOD caufed Mofes to strike a Rock in Horeb with his Rod, by Virtue of which, Water came out of it, and the People drank their Fill.

Q. When did God give them his written Law?

A. The fifth Day after their Departure from Egypt.

Q. Where did he give it them?

A. Upon Mount Sinai.

Q. How did the LORD defcend upon
A. In Fire.

it?

Q. What did the People hear and fee befides?

A. Thunders, and Lightnings, and a thick Cloud upon the Mount.

Q. How many Commandments are there?
A. Ten.

Q. Which be they?

A. The fame which GOD fpake in the Twentieth Chapter of Exodus, faying, I am the LORD thy Gor, who brought thee out

of

of the Land of Egypt, out of the House of Bondage.

me.

Q. Which is the firft Commandment ?

A. Thou shalt have no other Gods before

Q. Which is the fecond?

A. Thou shalt not make to thyself any graven Image, &c.

Q. Which is the third?

A. Thou shalt not take the Name of the LORD thy GOD in vain, &c. [Here let the Child or Children be examin'd to each Commandment, and repeat them correctly by Heart, as they are before fet down at length.]

Q. Were thefe Ten Commandments all

written?

A. Yes, upon two Tables of Stone.

Q. What did they principally contain ?
A. The Moral Law, or Religion of Na-

ture.

LESSON VII.

Of the COVENANT enter'd into between GOD and the Ifraelites.

OD caused the two Tables of the Law G I to be depofited in the Ark of the Covenant, which was a Cheft made of precious Wood, and plated with Gold. That Ark was kept in a Tabernacle, that is to

fay,

fay, a Tent, made of the richest Silks; and before it was erected an Altar for the Sacrifices of all fuch Sheep and Oxen as were. from Time to Time burnt upon it. That was the Ceremony then obferved in their divine Worship. Aaron and his Sons were. confecrated Priefts for the offering up of their Oblations; and all the Reft of the. Tribe of Levi were devoted to the Service of the Tabernacle. The Ark and Tabernacle were the Tokens of that Covenant which God enter'd into with the Ifraclites. And that Covenant, which was alfo called. the Teftament, was the very fame that was made with Abraham. For he therein conEfirmed, in their Favour, all the Promifes which he had made to their Forefathers. He therein covenanted and agreed, to own and acknowledge them as his peculiar People; to fettle and establish them in the Land of Canaan, and to fhower down his choiceft Bleffings in Abundance upon them: And that promised Land was a Type, or Figure of Heaven, and the everlafting Habitations of the Righteous. The People, on their Parts, folemnly promised to acknowledge no other God but the LORD; to love him with all their Hearts; and to öbey all his Commandments, under the Penalty of being for ever excluded out of that Land of Promife, and incurring the severest Marks of his Difpleafure. That Covenant was confirmed by the Blood of Victims ;

and

and God Almighty was perfectly just and punctual in the Performance of his Part. He made the Current of the River Fordan flow back to its Source or Fountain-Head ; he ftopt the Courfe of the Sun and Moon; and wrought divers other extraordinary Miracles; in Order to put the Ifraelites into Poffeffion of the Land of Canaan; which they afterwards divided into twelve Parts; one for each of the twelve Tribes: But they broke through every Article or Condition on their Parts. They murmur'd, and rebell'd above ten Times during their Progrefs through the Wilderness; and no fooner were they in Poffeffion of the promised Land, but they enter'd into a strict Alliance with the old Inhabitants, whom God had commanded them to extirpate, and paid divine Adoration to their Idols.

The CATECHISM.

Q.HOW

OW were the Sacrifices perform'd under the Old Law?

A. They first flew their Victims, and then burnt all (except what was eaten) upon their Altars.

Q. Where was the Altar always erected? A. Before the Tabernacle.

Q. What was depofited in the Tabernacle?

A. The Ark of the Covenant.

Q. What Sort of a Thing was that Ark?

A. A