ANE PROLOGE TO THE CATHECYSME.

THE

HE fourt buke of the Kingis (O Christiane peple) makis [Fol. i. a.] mentioun, that the sonnis of Israel, utherwais callit the 4. Regum peple of the Jewis, was led in captivite into Babylone, be the ultimo. king of the Assyrianis, callit Nabuchodonosor, to thair greit miserie and confusioun. The cause quharof is plainlie expremit in the fift cheptour of Esaie, quhair God almychty sais thus: Propterea capitivus ductus est populus meus, quia non habuit Esaie v. scientiam. Thairfor is my peple (sais almychty God) ledde in captivite, because that thai haif nocht had knawlege or understanding. Gyf ye speir, quharof had thai na understanding or knawlege? Treulie nother of thame self nor of thair God, for baith thai miskend thame self and thair Lord God, quhilk thing, was the special cause of thair captivite and miserable thirldome in Babylone. That thai miskend thame self, it is clerlie schawin in the secund cheptour of Jeremie, quhair oure Lord spekis thus to the same peple: Si laveris te nitro et multi- Jer. ii. plicaveris tibi herbam borith, maculata es in iniquitate tua coram me dicit dominus. Quomodo dicis nn sum polluta? Post Baalim non abii. Vide vias tuas in convalle et scito quid feceris. Suppoise thow wesche thi self with saip, and gather a greit heip of the herbe callit Borith quhilk hais greit vertue of clenging, yet in my sycht thow art fylit be reson of thi wyckitnes and syn sais oure Lord. Quhy sais thow swa: I am nocht fylit, I haif nocht gaine efter Baalim that ydole be ydolatrie, Behald and see thy wais quhilk thow hes gaine in [Fol. i. b.] the vail or den quharin thow usit to commit ydolatrie. Ken quhat thow hast don. And eftir hend, in the same cheptour God sais thus to the same peple: Et dixisti absque peccato et innocens ego sum et propterea avertatur furor tuus a me: Ecce ego in judicio contendam tecum, eo quod dixeris non peccavi: Quam vilis facta es, nimis iterans vias tuas. Thow hes said, I am an innocent without sinne. And thairfor O Lord lat thi wraith be turnit fra me. Behald sais oure Lord, I will strif with the in jugement, because thow sais: I haif nocht synnit. How vile and evil favorit hes thow made thi self, ouir oft doand evil deidis. Be thir wordis ye may weil persaif that the peple of the Jewis miskend thame self, in sa

Esaie i.

Osee vi.

mekil that thai war abhominabil synnaris, and yit thai thocht thame self innocentis and without sinne wharin thai falyeit mekil, because that the beginnyng of all perfectioun is, first a man to ken his awin falt, syne to seik for the mercy of God. And mairowyr the Jewis nocht onlie miskend thame self, bot alswa thai miskend thair Lord God and his godlie lawis and commandis gevin to thame, to ken and keip to the plesour of God and thair salvatioun, accordyng to the complant that God makis in the first cheptour of Esaie sayand thus: Cognovit bos possessorem suum et asinus presepe domini sui, Israel autem me non cognovit et populus meus non intellexit. The Oxe [Fol. ii. a.] hes knawin the man that aucht him, and the Asse has knawin the mangier of his maister, bot Israel hes nocht knawin me, and my peple hes nocht hade understanding, that is to say, suppoise I am thair only awner, Lord and maister, and my word is the fode of thair saulis, yit thai haif nocht knawin me for thair awner, Lord and maister, nother haif thai had understanding of my worde quhilke is the fuode of thair saulis. Will ye plainlie understand how mekil God requiris of us all to ken his hie majestie and his haly worde? Here quhat he sais in the sext of Osee? Misericordiam volui et non sacrificium, et scientiam dei plusquam holocaustum. I preferre deidis of mercy abone all corporal and outwart sacrifice, and I preferre the trew knawlege of God abone all brount offeringis, quhilk was wont to be offerit corporallie amang the Jewis in the auld law. Heir alswa quhat he sais in the nynt cheptour of Jeremie: Non glorietur sapiens in sapientia sua, et non glorietur fortis in fortitudine sua et non glorietur dives in divitiis suis, sed in hoc glorietur qui gloriatur scire et nosse me, quia ego sum dominus, qui facio misericordiam et judicium et justiciam in terra. Lat nocht the wisman glore in his wisdome, lat nocht the sterk man glore in his strenth, lat nocht the riche man glore in his riches, bot lat him glore that gloris, to ken and understand me, that I am the lord quhilk giffis mercy and makis jugement and rychteusnes in the erde. Be this it is manifest and plain, that our Lord God requiris of us [Fol. ii. b.] all, to ken his majestie and his godlie will or lawis, and that with ane perfite knawlege, cled and jonit with his lufe and obediens. Of the quhilk knawlege the halie Apostil S. Jhone 1 John ii. sais thus: In hoc scimus quoniam cognovimus eum: si mandata ejus servamus. Qui dicit se nosse deum et mandata ejus non custodit mendax est, et in hoc veritas non est. Be this we un

Jer. ix.

I

derstand that we ken God, gif we keip his commandis, for he that sais that he kennis God and kepis nocht his commandis, he is ane lear, and in him thair is na verite. We grant that part of evil men hes some knawlege of God, bot because that thair knawlege is nocht jonit and cled with sincere affection, lufe and obediens, tharfor thair knawlege is comptit of God as na knawlege, because it is nocht plesand and acceptable to him. Now thairfor christin peple with all diligens leir to ken your self, that is to say, your awne miserabil stait quharin ye stand be reson of your sinnis, and againe leir to ken your Lord God, how gratious and mercifull he is to al trew penitent and faithful persones, and how richteous and just he is in his jugementis againe al synnaris that perseveris in thair synnis, and wil nocht ken thaim self and thair God as we haif schawin to yow. Call to your remembrance quhat S. Paul sais to the Corinthianis: Qui ignorat ignorabitur. He that mis- 1 Cor. xiv. kennis salbe miskennit. Quhasumever miskennis thai things wylfullie quhilk God requiris of thame to ken and keip for thair salvacioun, salbe miskennit of God in the day of extreme jugement, quhen the hevinlie juge sal say to siclike personis, the wordis writtin in S. Mathewis evangel: Amen dico vobis [Fol. iii.a.] nescio vos. Veralie I say to yow I ken yow nocht, as he Math. xxv. mycht say plainlie: because ye wald nocht knaw and keip my wordis and my commandis, quhilk I spak to yow be my servandis send to yow in my name and autorite, tharfor this day I will nocht admit yow to be of the nowmer of thame that sal enter into the kyngdom of hevin. Let us all bewar of oure self and take gud tent, that we be nocht siclike wilful ignorant and miskennand men as certane of the Jewis was, of quhome God said thir wordis: Ipsi vero non cognoverunt Psal. xciv. vias meas quibus juravi in ira mea si introibunt in requiem meam. Thai haif nocht knawin my wayis (that is to say) my mercy and my jugement, according as it is written in the Psalme: Universæ viæ domini misericordia et veritas. All the way is of Psal. xxiv. our Lord is mercy and verite. Now because thai haif nocht knawin my wayis, to thame I haif sworne in my wraith, that thai sall nocht enter into my rest, as he mycht say. I haif determit to use agains thame the rigour of jugement and wil nocht admit thame to entir into my land of rest quhilk is eternal life. Thairfor christin peple that ye may eschaip the dangerous thirldome and captivite of the devil and all his powar, that ye may haif the knawlege of God, quhilk he

Jac. i.

requiris of yow sa specially, and finally that ye may be admittit to the glorious kyngdome of eternal rest, do as the Apostil S. James counsels yow sayand thus: Abjicientes omnem immunditiam et abundantiam malitiæ, in mansuetudine suscipite insitum [Fol. iii. b.] verbum quod potest salvare animas vestras, etc. Quhairfor (sais he) put away all unclenes and abundance of malice, with meiknes ressave the word, that is plantit or sawin amongis yow, quhilk is able to saif your saulis. And se that ye be doaris of the word and nocht heraris only, dissaving your selfes, For gif ony heris the word and do it nocht, he is like unto ane man, that behaldis his bodaly face into ane myrrour, for alssone as he hais lukit on him self, he gais away and incontinent foryettis quhat his fassioun was, bot quha sa lukis on the law of perfite libertie and perseveris tharin (gif he be nocht ane foryetful herar, bot a doar of the wark) the same man salbe happy in his deid. And brevely, as he is nocht worthy to be callit ane craftis man, quhilk kennis nocht quhat belangis to his craft, na mair is ane man, or woman worthy to be callit ane christin man or ane christin woman, gif he or sche will nocht ken quhat belangis to thair christindome. Thairfor that al christin men and wemen, specially thai that ar sympil and unleirit in haly writ, may haif trew knawlege and plaine understanding quhat belangis to thair christindome, it is thocht expidient to propone to thame ane Catechisme, that is ane common instruction contenand schortly and plainly thai thingis quhilk ar necessary to thame to ken and keip, to the plesour of God and thair eternal salvation. And veralie siclike ane Catechisme was had and usit in the Apostils tyme, as it is manifest be the wordis of S. Paul writand thus to thame quhilke els war instruckit in the [Fol. iv. a.] Catechisme: Quapropter intermittentes inchoationis Christi sermonem ad perfectionem feramur non rursum jacientes fundamentum pænitentiæ ab operibus mortuis, et fidei ad deum, baptismatum doctrinæ, impositionis quoque manuum, ac resurrectionis mortuorum et judicii æterni. Thairfor lat us laif the doctrine pertening to the beginning of ane christin lyf, and lat us ga unto perfection, and now na mair laying the fundatioun of penance fra dede warkis, and of fayth toward God and of doctrin of Baptime, of laying on of handis, of the resurrection of the dede, and of general jugement. In thir wordis saint Paul declaris that the Catechisme usit in the beginning of the kirk, had sax partis: The first declarit penance to be done for

Heb. vi.