In G.o.d's care, who protects me from all danger, and keeps me from all evil.
=1 Pet. 5:7. Casting all your care upon him: for he careth for you.=
_131. Have you deserved all this?_
Not in the least; He does all this, not because I have deserved it, but because He is a loving and merciful Father.
=Gen. 32:10. I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies, and of all the truth, which thou hast showed unto thy servant.=
_132. What do you owe G.o.d for all his goodness?_
It is my duty to serve Him thankfully and obediently all the days of my life.
=Ps. 103:2. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits.=
_133. Which are the most excellent of the heavenly creatures?_
The holy angels.
_134. What is the work of the holy angels?_
They praise G.o.d, and serve him, especially by ministering to His children.
=Heb. 1:14. Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation.=
_135. Are there not also evil angels?_
Yes; there are evil angels who have fallen away from G.o.d through pride and disobedience, and are forever excluded from fellowship with Him.
The devil is their king.
_136. Which is the most excellent of the earthly creatures?_
Man, to whom G.o.d gave power to rule over the earth.
_137. What was the character of man as he was made by G.o.d?_
Adam and Eve were innocent, without sin, and like G.o.d.
=Gen. 1:27. [R. V.] G.o.d made man in his own image, in the image of G.o.d made he him: male and female made he them.=
_138. In what did the image of G.o.d in man consist?_
In true wisdom, righteousness and holiness, peace and joy.
=Eph. 4:24. Put on the new man, which after G.o.d is created in righteousness and holiness.=
_139. What benefit did the human body have from the image of G.o.d?_
Perfect health, immortality, and a life free from care in Paradise.
_140. Did our first parents remain innocent and without sin?_
No; they sinned and lost the image of G.o.d, and thus sin and death entered into the world.
=Gen. 2:17. In the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.=
=Rom. 6:23. The wages of sin is death.=
_141. In what did their sin consist?_
It consisted especially in the unbelief of their hearts and in their selfishness and disobedience.
_142. Who led them astray?_
They permitted the devil to lead them astray.
=Gen. 3:1-5.=
=John 8:44. The devil was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. For he is a liar, and the father of it.=
_143. How has sin injured the human soul?_
1. It has darkened the understanding.
=See 1 Cor. 2:14.=
2. It has made the will incapable of what is good, and desirous of all that is evil.
=Rom. 8:7. The carnal mind is enmity against G.o.d.=
3. It has disturbed the peace and joy of conscience.
=Gen. 3:8, 10.=
_144. How has sin injured the human body?_
Sin has made the body a tool of every evil pa.s.sion, and has brought upon it disease, distress, countless pains, and finally death.
=Job 14:1, 2. Man that is born of a woman is of few days, and full of trouble.=
=He cometh forth like a flower, and is cut down: he fleeth also as a shadow, and continueth not.=
_145. Have all men become sinners through the fall of our first parents?_
Yes; sin and death have spread from our first parents to the whole human race.
=Rom. 5:18. By the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation.=