Chris Coldwell (NaphtaliPress) has published Presbyterian & Reformed books since 1987. He is the editor of The Confessional Presbyterian journal, an annual publication containing scholarly articles from a Confessional Presbyterian perspective by men from the many conservative Presbyterian & Reformed denominations today. He has a particular interest in the text of the Westminster Standards, and a critical text of the Larger Catechism is running serially in the journal beginning with the 2007 issue.
A Critical Text of the Westminster Larger Catechism 5: Q. 1 & 2
Posted 09-13-2007 at 08:40 AM by NaphtaliPress
A Critical Text of the Westminster Larger Catechism: Q. 1–50
Q. 1. What is the chief and highest end of man?
A. Man’s chief and highest end is to glorify God,a and fully to enjoy him forever.b
a. Rom. 11:36; 1 Cor. 10:31.
b. Ps. 73:24–28; John 17:21–23.
Variants:
1. In Q. “What is the chief, and”: MSb.
2. “Man’s”: The use of the apostrophe throughout generally becomes standard from DNLP forward in the traditional text, with some exceptions.
3. (1) “end, is, to” (MAX): MAX—Cox; RPa. (2) “end, is to”: RPc. The original comma after “is” is present in the authoritative texts and the MSS. The additional one introduced by MAX is unnecessary, as is the original which is an example of the type of punctuation Carruthers dropped from his critical text of the Confession of Faith. Both commas were dropped from the traditional text from DNLP forward.
4. In “b”: Ps. 72 for Ps. 73: UPCa (UPCb is correct).
5. “him, forever”: MSb.
6. American proofs: PCUSA(1797)/PCUS(1910): In “b”: Ps. 73:24–26 and John 17:22, 24. PCUS(1910): (+) “General Note: At several points the Larger Catechism is more specific in its statements than the Scriptures. These statements are inferences from the Scriptures, or from statements based on the Scriptures, or from the experience and observation of the Church. In such cases no texts are cited; but reference is made to this general note.” OPC(2001): In “a”: (+) 1 Cor. 6:20; Ps. 86:9, 12. In “b”: (+) Ps. 16:5–11; Rev. 21:3–4.
Q. 2. How doth it appear that there is a God?
A. The very light of nature in man, and the works of God, declare plainly that there is a God:c but his Word and Spirit only do sufficiently and effectually reveal him unto men for their salvation.d
c. Rom. 1:19–20; Ps. 19:1–3; Acts 17:28.
d. 1 Cor. 2:9–10; 2 Tim. 3:15–17; Isa. 59:21.
Variants:
7. In Q. “appear, that” (MAX): MSa?;† MAX—Cox. †There is a smudge in the copy; Bower assigns a comma (Bower, 139).
8. “plainly, that”: MSb.
9. “nature in man and”: Towar
10. “of God declare” (DNLP; L&Rc†): PCUSAab; Woodward; Finley. PCUSAc restored the comma. †The comma was restored by E.Rob from whence it came back into the traditional text. This variant mostly occurs only in L&Rc forms, including Duncan which generally follows E.Rob, but sometimes reverts to the L&Rc reading.
11. “declare that” (MAX): MAX—Cox. The word “plainly” is missing. Corrected by DNLP. The earlier forms and those following them are correct, such as BSTK, LTHGW, STNRSab, ANDSN, SWTNa.
12. (1) “God; but” (RP; E.Rob): MSb; RP; E.Rob—Mair;† FPLC; and all American texts except UPCa. †Normally the American editions of the Scottish text, Towar and Young, track with the Scottish text from Blair forward and are included in the ranges, such as here, unless otherwise noted. (2) “God, but”: MAX—Cox; UPCa. The colon is in: MSa; AMab; TYLRab; W1438; DNLP; L&Rbc.
13. In “c”: Rom. 1:19, 23: UPCa.
14. “Word, and”: MSa. Bower notes MSb has a comma, but I cannot discern anything in the copy.
15. (1) “Spirit, only”: PCUSAa. (2) “do, sufficiently”: PCUSAab. (3) “only, do” (MAX; PCUSAa): MAX—Cox; PCUSA; PCUS; BP. PCUSAa reintroduced the comma. (4) “sufficiently, and”: MAX—DNLP; L&Rab;† RPCNA. †The added comma was dropped by L&Rc and forward in the traditional text.
16. In “d”: 2 Tim. 12–17: UPCa.
17. American proofs. PCUSA(1797): In “c”: (–) Acts 17:28. In “d”: (–) 1 Cor. 2:9; Isa. 59:21. PCUSA(1894): In “d”: (+) 1 Cor. 2:9. PCUS(1910): In “c”: (–) Acts 17:28; (+) Ps. 19:4. In “d”: (–) Isa. 59:21; 2 Tim. 3:15–17; (+) 1 Cor. 1:21. OPC(2001): In “d”: (+) 1 Cor. 1:20–21.
Q. 1. What is the chief and highest end of man?
A. Man’s chief and highest end is to glorify God,a and fully to enjoy him forever.b
a. Rom. 11:36; 1 Cor. 10:31.
b. Ps. 73:24–28; John 17:21–23.
Variants:
1. In Q. “What is the chief, and”: MSb.
2. “Man’s”: The use of the apostrophe throughout generally becomes standard from DNLP forward in the traditional text, with some exceptions.
3. (1) “end, is, to” (MAX): MAX—Cox; RPa. (2) “end, is to”: RPc. The original comma after “is” is present in the authoritative texts and the MSS. The additional one introduced by MAX is unnecessary, as is the original which is an example of the type of punctuation Carruthers dropped from his critical text of the Confession of Faith. Both commas were dropped from the traditional text from DNLP forward.
4. In “b”: Ps. 72 for Ps. 73: UPCa (UPCb is correct).
5. “him, forever”: MSb.
6. American proofs: PCUSA(1797)/PCUS(1910): In “b”: Ps. 73:24–26 and John 17:22, 24. PCUS(1910): (+) “General Note: At several points the Larger Catechism is more specific in its statements than the Scriptures. These statements are inferences from the Scriptures, or from statements based on the Scriptures, or from the experience and observation of the Church. In such cases no texts are cited; but reference is made to this general note.” OPC(2001): In “a”: (+) 1 Cor. 6:20; Ps. 86:9, 12. In “b”: (+) Ps. 16:5–11; Rev. 21:3–4.
Q. 2. How doth it appear that there is a God?
A. The very light of nature in man, and the works of God, declare plainly that there is a God:c but his Word and Spirit only do sufficiently and effectually reveal him unto men for their salvation.d
c. Rom. 1:19–20; Ps. 19:1–3; Acts 17:28.
d. 1 Cor. 2:9–10; 2 Tim. 3:15–17; Isa. 59:21.
Variants:
7. In Q. “appear, that” (MAX): MSa?;† MAX—Cox. †There is a smudge in the copy; Bower assigns a comma (Bower, 139).
8. “plainly, that”: MSb.
9. “nature in man and”: Towar
10. “of God declare” (DNLP; L&Rc†): PCUSAab; Woodward; Finley. PCUSAc restored the comma. †The comma was restored by E.Rob from whence it came back into the traditional text. This variant mostly occurs only in L&Rc forms, including Duncan which generally follows E.Rob, but sometimes reverts to the L&Rc reading.
11. “declare that” (MAX): MAX—Cox. The word “plainly” is missing. Corrected by DNLP. The earlier forms and those following them are correct, such as BSTK, LTHGW, STNRSab, ANDSN, SWTNa.
12. (1) “God; but” (RP; E.Rob): MSb; RP; E.Rob—Mair;† FPLC; and all American texts except UPCa. †Normally the American editions of the Scottish text, Towar and Young, track with the Scottish text from Blair forward and are included in the ranges, such as here, unless otherwise noted. (2) “God, but”: MAX—Cox; UPCa. The colon is in: MSa; AMab; TYLRab; W1438; DNLP; L&Rbc.
13. In “c”: Rom. 1:19, 23: UPCa.
14. “Word, and”: MSa. Bower notes MSb has a comma, but I cannot discern anything in the copy.
15. (1) “Spirit, only”: PCUSAa. (2) “do, sufficiently”: PCUSAab. (3) “only, do” (MAX; PCUSAa): MAX—Cox; PCUSA; PCUS; BP. PCUSAa reintroduced the comma. (4) “sufficiently, and”: MAX—DNLP; L&Rab;† RPCNA. †The added comma was dropped by L&Rc and forward in the traditional text.
16. In “d”: 2 Tim. 12–17: UPCa.
17. American proofs. PCUSA(1797): In “c”: (–) Acts 17:28. In “d”: (–) 1 Cor. 2:9; Isa. 59:21. PCUSA(1894): In “d”: (+) 1 Cor. 2:9. PCUS(1910): In “c”: (–) Acts 17:28; (+) Ps. 19:4. In “d”: (–) Isa. 59:21; 2 Tim. 3:15–17; (+) 1 Cor. 1:21. OPC(2001): In “d”: (+) 1 Cor. 1:20–21.
Total Comments 2
Comments
 |  Dear Chris, Where does this statement come from?: Quote:
“General Note: At several points the Larger Catechism is more specific in its statements than the Scriptures. These statements are inferences from the Scriptures, or from statements based on the Scriptures, or from the experience and observation of the Church. In such cases no texts are cited; but reference is made to this general note.”
Christopher |
  Updated 09-14-2007 at 06:10 AM by ReadBavinck |
| |  Christopher, Sorry I missed this question till now. The PCUS (southern Presbyterian Church) added this to their Scripture proof text set they adopted in 1910. Some American churches have changed the proofs originally provided by the Westminster Assembly, the PCUSA twice, PCUS in 1910, and the OPC in 2001. |
| |
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