greenbaggins
Puritan Board Doctor
Thomas Ridgeley explains:
It will be of singular use for us not only to know the doctrines which are contained in scripture, but to observe their connection and dependence on one another, and to digest them into such a method that subsequent truths may give light to those which went before; or to lay them down in such a way that the whole scheme of religion may be comprised in a narrow compass, and, as it were, beheld with one view. This method will be a very great help to memory; and is what we call a system of divine truths, or a methodical collection of the chief articles of our religion, adapted to the capacity of those who need to be taught 'the first principles of the oracles of God.' When the design of this is to give the world a specimen of that 'form of sound words' which the church thinks itself obliged to 'hold fast,' and steadfastly to adhere to, we call it a confession of faith; and when digested into questions and answers, we call it a catechism...Confessions of faith, and catechisms are not to be reckoned a novel invention, or not consonant to the scripture rule; since they are nothing else but a peculiar way of preaching or of instructing us in divine truths (Commentary on the Larger Catechism, volume 1, p. 1).
