Christian Theology /

Front matter

THEOLOGICAL LIBRARY,

Instituted 1698.

E i

Book I. Of The Existence Of God And His Word

CHAP. PAGE

I. Of the existence of God - - - . \

II. Of the natural knowledge of God - - 6

III. Of the supernatural hnoiidedge of God - 8

IV. The word of God - - - - 10

V. The books of scripture - - - - 13

VI. The divinity of the scriptures - - 21

VII. The inspiration of the sc7'iptures - - 32

VIII. Of the authority of the scriptures - - 35

IX. Of the perfection of the scriptures - - 41

X. Of the perspicuity of the scriptures - 47

XI. The scriptures, the only rule of faith and

practice - - - - - -52

XII. Of the translations and apocryphal books 59

XU

CONTENTS.

Book II

or GOD IN THE UNITY AND TRINITY.

CHAP. PARK

I. Of the unity of God - - - - 66

II. Various naines of God - - - - 69

III. Of the spirituality of God - - 72

IV. Of the omniscience of God - - - 76

V. Of the will and affections of God - - 81

VI. Of the justice of God - - - - 89

VII. Of the power and omnipresence of God - 02

VIII. Of the eternity and other attributes of God 97

IX. Of the Trinity - - - - -101

X. Of God the Father - - - - 105

XI. Of God the Son - - - - - 106

XII. Of God the Holy Ghost- - - - 114

Book III. Of The Creation And Providence Of God

I. Divine decrees - - - - - 1'20

II. Creation in general - - - - 126

III. The icorks of creation - - - - 130

IV. c reution of angels - - - - 1 37

V. Creation of man - *• - - - 141

VI. The image of God in man - _ _ 145

VII. The covenant of nature - - - - 152

VIII. Of Providence in general - _ _ 157

IX. Objects and acts of Providence - - 161

X. Mode of divine Providence - - - 168

XI. Providence of God over sin - - - 170

XII. Of various passages of scripture concern¬ ing God's providence over sin - - 177

CONTENTS.

xm

Book IV. Of The Fall

CHAP.

I. Of the full of anyelx - _ _

II. Oj the fall of our first parents

III. Of Sin- - .

IV. The consequences of the first transgression

V, Of original sin - - - _ _

VI. Of actual sin - - _ _ _

VII. Of sin against the Holy Ghost

VIII. Of man’s free-will in the state of sin

PAGE

Of the immutability and certainty of elec¬ tion

Of the election and reprobation of angels Of the right use of the above doctrines

XIV

CONTENTS.

Book VI. Of Redemption By Christ The Mediator

CHAP. PAGE

I. The necessity of satisfaction for sin - 249

II. Of the law _____ 257

III. Of the preparatory nature of the law - 266

IV. The different states of the church before

Christ’s coming _ _ _ _ 269

V. Of Jesus Christ as the true Messiah - 274

VI. Christ’s assumption of human nature - 278

VII. Of the two states of Christ _ _ _ 284

VIII. Of the conception and birth of Christ - 287

IX. Of the life of Christ - - - - 291

X. Of the su fferings and death of Christ - 295

XI. Of Christ’s burial and descent into hell 299

XII. Of the resurrection and ascension of

XIII. Of the mediatorial office of Christ in

XIV. Of the prophetical office of Christ - 313

XV ; Of the priestly office of Christ - - 316

XVI. Of the kingly office of Christ - - 321

XVII. Of the covenant of grace _ _ - 324

XVIII. Of the abolition cf the law _ _ - 329

Book VII. Of Calling And Faith

I. Calling in general _ _ _ _ 334

II. Outward calling _____ 335

III. Inivard calling _____ 339

V. Perseverance of faith - - - - 354

VI. Assurance of faith _ _ _ _ 357

CONTENTS.

XV

Book VIII. Of Justification And Sanctification

CHAP.

!• Justification in general - - - _ ^qq

II. The justifieation of a sinner - - _ 353

III. Adoption

IV. Christian liberty - - - _ _ 37^

V. The justification of a righteous man - 378

VI. Sanctifieation, and its connexion with

justification - - - - _ Qon

VII. Good tvorks 33^

"V III. The decalogue or moral law - - _ 339

IX. Repentance gg^,

X. Prayer and oaths - - - _ _ '40J book IX.

OF GLORIFICATION.

I. The state of the soul after death - - 405

II. The resurrection of the dead - _ 403

III. The end of the world - ‘ - - _ 4|g

IV. The last jiulgment - - _ - 5

V . Hell and heaven - - - _ _ 42Q

XVI

CONTENTS.

Book X. Of The Church

CHAP. PAGE

I. The tvord church, its meaning and defini¬ tion ------- 423

II. The true church ----- 425

III. The unity, holiness, and universality of the

IV. The church, as visible and invisible - 430

V. Marhs of the true church - - - 435

VI. The Head of the church, and of Antichrist 438 VII. Ministers of the church - - - - 443

VIII. The poiver of the church - - - 453

IX. Of church synods and councils - - 457

X. Of magistrates ----- 450

XI. Of marriage ----- 453

Book XI. Of The Sacraments

I. Of the Sacraments in general - - - 468

II. Efficacy of the sacraments - - - 473

III. Of the sacraments of the Old Testament 477

IV. Of baptism ------ 432

V. Of the Lord’s supper - - - _ 495

VI. Of various questions in dispute about the

Lord’s supper ----- 592

CHRISTIAN THEOLOGY.

Chapter I. Of The Existence Of God

Since Theology is the doctrine which treats of God and divine things, it must, first of all, be inquired — Whether a God really exists, that is, whether there be allowed to exist a Being who is infinite, all-perfect, supreme, and the cause of the existence of all other beings. I confess, indeed, that this principle is so evident, that we ought rather to take it for granted than attempt to prove it; but the treating of this subject is rendered necessary by the infatuation of many persons, who labour to persuade themselves and others that there is no Deity. Now men of this character, or rather, I should say, these monsters of men, may be refuted by many arguments. I shall brin<^ forth the principal arguments which appear to me the most unexceptionable.

B

OF THE EXISTENCE OF GOD.

The first argument is drawn from the extensive, goodly, and orderly fabric of the universe, and from the beautiful harmony of all created things, destined, as they are, to the use and service of each other; all which could have proceeded only from a most wise and perfect Being, as every one must admit who is willing to exercise his reason. For, to maintain that these things were united by an accidental concur¬ rence of atoms, or indivisible particles, is to shew a want, not merely of understanding, but almost of sense itself. ‘ I cannot conceive,’ says Cicero {de Nat. Dear. lib. II.) ‘ why the man who thinks this possible, should not also imagine that, if innumerable forms of letters, whether of gold, or of any other kind, should be thrown together into some receptacle, there could be accidentally made out of these, when shaken out upon the ground, annals capable of being read; whereas I doubt whether ehance could efl'ect any thing of the kind, even as far as a single verse. But if a concurrence of atoms can produce a world, why not a portico, a house, or a temple? which would be less laborious, and indeed far easier.’

The second argument is derived from this fact, that all things in the world have, as it w ere, certain ends which they keep in view, although those ends are not always known to us. But who has so directed, or indeed could possibly so direct, all things to cer¬ tain ends, but an all-perfect and infinite Being? It cannot be said that every individual thing sets before itself such ends, for we know that the greater part of them are destitute of reason ; and if some are capable of design, yet they perform many things without design. For not even man purposes within himself how he shall digest his food, and distribute its parts through the dillerent members of his body. Some cause, therefore, must be laid down, which directs all these things. To say that nature does all this, is absurd, unless by nature is meant a sub¬ stance or essence distinct from natural things, and which is most wise and powerful, which, in fact, is God himself.

The third argument is drawn from the considera¬ tion of i\\Q matter of which the world is made, and of motion, which has been given to matter. For matter is either eternal and self-existent, or it was produced out of nothing by another and a supreme Being. That it is not eternal or self-existent, clearly appears from the very great absurdity of ascribing to a most imperfect being or existence, such as matter is, what is the greatest of all perfections, namely, eternal and self-existence. If, on the contrary, it was produced out of nothing, by another and a supreme Being, that Being can be no other than God, since infinite power is necessary to produce any thing out of nothing ; which infinite power belongs to that Being only' whom we call God. Again, either motion is of the essence of matter, or some one has impressed motion upon it. Now, that motion is of the essence of matter, no one, I think, in his senses will believe ; at least no one will maintain that such regular motion as that to which the world owes its origin, essentially belongs to matter. We must needs therefore confess that some Being impressed motion upon matter, or, at least, directed motion to the formation of a world, rather than a rude disordered mass. Now every one,' who is not wilfully blind, can perceive that such a Being is no other than the all-perfeet Being whom we call God.

The fourth argument is derived, not only from the construction of the human body, admired by every one, though enough by no one, but also from our soul ; for it is either eternal, or produced out of nothing, or created by some other Being; no one will now J say that it is eternal. To say that it is pro¬ duced from matter is most absurd ; for the effect is not more noble than its cause, and who can believe

' That is, whatever the ancient philosophers may have maintained on one in these modern days will affirm it. '

OF THE EXISTENCE OF GOD.

that out of matter, which is extensive, gross, and inanimate, there could have been produced a spi¬ ritual and thinking essence, one of so excellent a nature, that it comprehends the whole universe in its thoughts, beholds the present, remembers the past, and looks forward to the future: — one, which invents and cultivates so many arts, performs so many won¬ derful things, which, not content with this world and sublunary objects, aspires to God and to eternity, and runs through heaven, and earth, and the seas, although lying concealed in a single corner of the world. Such an essence then must have an author; but who it is, if it is not God, no one can point out. Add to this the wonderful union of the soul with the body, which union is so close and intimate, that certain motions take place in the body, in obedience to certain thoughts of the soul ; and, on the contrary, some thoughts take place in the soul, in compliance with some motions of the body, although the soul is ignorant in what way the members are set in motion according to its will, and how it is that at the mo¬ tion of these members various thoughts are raised within it.

The ffth argument is taken from the agreement of almost all nations, even the most barbarous, upon this subject. For how is it that men of almost every country in the earth, differing in education, customs, manners, and habits, believe in any thing as a God, rather than believe in no God? and that the proudest of mankind had rather bow down to wood and stone, than be without any deity at all? ‘ What nation is there,’ says Cicero, ‘ or what race of men, which has not, without any previous instruction, some idea of the gods ? Now that in which all men agree must necessarily be true.’ ‘ If you go through the earth,’ says Plutarch, ‘ you will perhaps observe cities Avithout Avails, Avithout letters, sunk in the greatest ignorance ; but w e shall see not one which does not Avorship the Deity. But even if, as some assert, there are some nations to be found, among whom no traces of religion are discovered, it ought not to seem strange that barbarians, who have in some measure thrown aside the human nature, and assumed a kind of brutal wildness, have lost that which is peculiar to man. Without understanding there is no notion of a Deity, and no sense of religion, and therefore these cannot apply to the brutes, and consequently not to those who have almost degenerated into brutes.’

The last argument may be sought from the power of conscience, which is the inseparable attendant on crime that has been, or is about to be, committed, and the feeling of which cannot be blunted, nor its judgment be avoided, nor its accusation eluded, nor its testimony corrupted, nor its bail deserted ; nothing being more tenacious than its grasp, nothing more bitter than its torment. Whence is it that conscience is stung when a crime is committed, even though no witnesses are present, and no danger threatens from others ? Whence is it that the transgressor secretly trembles at his guilt, and is afraid even of the most trifling noise? Nor is there any exception to this fact in the case of those who acknowledged no su¬ perior on earth, and to whom their subjects did not blush to offer incense as unto gods. Caligula, for example— who, although no one is said to have car¬ ried his contempt of Deity farther than he did, yet trembled exceedingly when he heard the noise of thunder. ^Vhence all this, I ask, but from the con¬ sciousness of there being some Judge, whom the offender, although he sees not, yet every where dreads? We wave other arguments, which might be added: I shall only subjoin this remark, thaC^while the atheistical doctrine gives a license to every crime, the opposite doctrine influences men to the practice of every Christian and moral virtue.

OF THE NATURAL

Chapter II. Of The Natural Knowledge Of God

From what has been said, it appears that we can, by the power of nature, know God, and that God him¬ self is the author of this knowledge, both by that notion of himself which he has engraven on the minds of all men, and by the excellent works he has done, from the contemplation of which it necessarily follows that God exists. Hence it is that the natural knowledge of God may be considered in two points of view, as innate and acquired. The innate notion of the Deity is that which is so peculiar to man, that, as soon as he is capable of using his reason, he cannot avoid very often thinking of God, and is not able entirely to reject the thoughts of him, although he sometimes may attempt it. The acquired notion is that which is drawn from the careful observation of created things.

Doth these notions are mentioned in the scriptures. St. Paul alludes to the innate when he declares that the Gentiles have “ the work of the law written on their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts, in the meanwhile, accusing, or else excusing, one another.” (Rom. xi. 15.) For this work of the law, written on their hearts, is that innate notion of which we speak. . It is said to be w'ritten on the hearts, not on tables of stone, as the law of Moses. The same apostle speaks of the acquired notion, when he says, “ the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal pow'er and godhead.” (Rom. i. 20.) The Psalmist also, — “ the heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament sheweth his handy work.” (Psalm xix. 1.) To this also may be referred the

KNOWLEDGE OF GOD. 7

words of Job, “ Ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee ; and the fowls of the air, and they shall tell thee, &c. (Job xii. 7 — 9.) The very heathens acknowledged this. Aristotle,— if indeed he is the author of the Book upon the W^orld, — declares that. As the soul by which we live is discovered by its works, so the Deity, tvho is invisible to every mortal nature, is seen by his works. Who ts there so infatuated, says Cicero, ‘ who, looking up to heaven, does not perceive that there are deities, and imagines that chance can effect those things which are made with so much uyiderstanding, that no one, by any power of art, can appre¬ hend their order and revolution ? And if Diodorus Siculus is to be credited, Zaleucus, the lawgiver of the Locrians, enacted a law, which obliged the citizens to acknowledge a deity from the contemplation of the heavens.

Both these kinds of knowledge are a great proof of God’s goodness to man, whom he would not leave altogether without any knowledge of himself, in order that they might render unto him, when known, the tribute of love, praise, thanksgiving, worship^ and obedience ; at the same time they form a bond of society, and prevent men from becoming a prey to each other; they are also an incentive to seek after a clearer revelation, and are sufficient to leave every one, who abuses his natural light, without any ex¬ cuse. This also is the source from which all civil laws have been derived, although they have fre¬ quently contracted much corruption from the im¬ purity of the channels through which they have passed.

This knowledge of God, together with those com¬ mon notions, makes up a system of natural theology, of which, if any one should desire an abridgement* and should wish to inquire how much knowledge the Gentiles were able to derive from the dictates of reason, and from the works of creation and provi¬ dence, we may reply, that the Gentiles were capab^ ..

OF THE SUPERNATURAL of attaining the following truths — That there is a God, and but one God — that God is none of those things which are visible and corruj3tible, but some being very far superior to them — that he is just, good, powerful, and all-wise — that God is the creator of the universe — tliat the w^orld is governed by his providence, as Cicero and several others acknow¬ ledged — that he is eternal and happy — that he must be worshipped and praised — that reetitude and ho¬ nesty are to be practised — that parents ought to be honoured, and that we should not do to any one else what we would not have done to ourselves — that all men ought to endeavour to propitiate God’s favour — that the soul is immortal, and that there is a judgment to come, (the Druids, according to Caesar, believed in the soul’s immortality, which also was the opinion of Plato) — that those who do evil actions are worthy of death. (Rom. i. 32.)

CHAPTER III. %iOF THE SUPERNATURAL KNOWLEDGE OF GOD

That, besides this natural knowledge of God, an¬ other revelation of a supernatural kind was neces¬ sary, was not unknown to the heathens themselves ; among whom it was a received opinion, that, in addition to reason, man needed a kind of divine wisdom. For those who introduced among them religious rites and ceremonies before unknown, would not have found it necessary to pretend that they had conferences with divinities, as Lyeurgus with Apollo, Minos with Jupiter, Numa with Egeria, and many others, had not all men been persuaded that the right mode of worshipping the Deity must be drawn from a revelation of him.

There are two principal arguments which prove the necessity of a divine revelation. First, the im-

KNOWLEDGE OF GOD. 9

perfection of natural knowledge, wliiclr was insuffi¬ cient either for the true knowledge, or for the true worship, of God, and which could not, in any way, comfort the human mind against the fear of death’ and under the consciousness of sin, because it could not point out the mode of satisfying the divine just^ice, and propitiating the divine favour; hence the heathen who possessed this knowledge are described by St. Paul as “ without hope and without God in the w'orld. (Eph. x. 12.) The second argument is drawn from the great corruption of mankind since the fall, their speedy forgetfulness of God and blind¬ ness in divine things, their propensity to all kind of error, and especially to the invention of new and false religions. If there were any among the heathen who worshipped the one God, there were far more who worshipped innumerable deities, even all kinds of creatures, from the grass of the field to the stars of the sky, not even excepting such animals as wolves, dogs, and crocodiles. Nay, they often knew not to what deity they were paying homage; whence that common form which they used in their ad¬ dresses to a deity, whoever thou art ; and in the Capitol at Rome, there was a sacred shield with this inscription, To the genius of the city, whether male or Jemale. And Vossius, in his treatise on Idolatry excellently compares the case of the heathen to that of the blind man recorded in the ninth chapter of St. John; for, as the latter beheld the Son of God, and yet knew not that he was the Son of God, so the former beheld God in his works, and yet closed their eyes against his real nature and perfections. A second revelation, therefore, was necessary, in which God might not only cause to be known, in a clearer manner, his own perfections which he had revealed in the first, but also discover new perfections, and especially reveal “ the mvsterv of godliness.” ^

This supernatural revelation was made through

OF THE WORD OF GOD.

the medium of the Word; for, after God had used mute teachers to instruct mankind, he opened his own sacred lips : and after he had, “ at sundry times, and in divers manners, spake unto the fathers by the prophets, in these last days” he has con¬ descended to “ speak unto us by his Son.” (Heb. i. 1.) Thus also David, having represented the heavens “ declaring the glory of God, and the firmament shewing his handy work,” proceeds to make mention of the Word ; “ The law of the Lord,” he says, “ is perfect, converting the soul.” (Psalm xix. 1, 7.) Now, that theology, — a system of which we are here framing, — contains the body of revealed doctrine, and is called supernatural to distinguish it from that which is natural. But although the two systems differ from each other in the mode of revelation, in the number of things revealed, in their perspicuity and effects, yet are they in strict harmony, and render each other mutual service ; for, as Tertullian observes, God hath sent nature before as an instruc¬ tress, purposing to send revelation after, in order that, as a disciple of nature, thou mayest more easily hearken to revelation.

CHAPTER lA.

OF THE WORD OF GOD.

The icord was a very suitable means of revealing God, and instructing men, to whom he had given the faculty of hearing and reasoning, and one which bestows great honour on mankind ; for what more honourable than to be favoured with an address from the Deity? Now this word was not at first committed to writing, on account of the longevity of the patriarchs, the small number of mankind, and the frequency of divine manifestations. But after the human race began to multiply, and to spread

OF THE WORD OF GOD.

through different parts of the world; when Satan walked abroad with his innumerable devices and wiles, and robbed men of the truth with the greatest ease, because it was not yet recorded in letters, from which it could be drawn and appealed to, and false¬ hood refuted ; God, taking pity on the human race, was pleased to commit his word to writino-. By this means the truth could be more easily preserved and transmitted to later generations, for ‘ the qift of letters is truly divine,’ as Quintilian remarks, and it could also not so easily be corrupted, or at least could be more easily and successfully rescued from corruptions ; by this means also, there was no neces¬ sity for the truth to be repeated and restored by con¬ tinually new revelations, and thus a certain and hxed rule of faith was established. With the same design, we know that the edicts of kings or people

were either engraved on brass, or inscribed on public records. ^

The Almighty condescended to establish and sanc¬ tion this mode of revealing himself to men, by his own example, when, with his own finger, he wrote the decalogue on tables of stone, and afterwards, through Moses and the other prophets, continued this method of preserving and propagating the truth • thus he commanded Moses, saying, “ Write this for a memorial in a book ; ” and again, “ Write thou these words, for after the tenor of these words I have made a covenant with thee, and with Israel.’' (Exod. xvii. 14 ; xxxiv. 27.) The same command may be seen in Isaiah viii. i ; Jer. xxx. 2 ; Hab. x. 2. The case was the same under the New Testament; for, after the only-begotten Son of God had drawn forth the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven from the bosom of the Father, and revealed them unto men he was pleased to commit them to writin»- by the instrumentality of the apostles ; and this he did not only by commanding them to “ teach all nations ” which could not always have been done by word of

OF THE WORD OF GOD.

mouth, as they had to instruct the most distant and also future generations, as well as their own, but also by expressly enjoining them to write, as he said to John, “ What thou seest, write in a book, &c. ; write the things which thou hast seen,” &c. (Rev, i. 11, 19,) and by influencing them to write, and sug¬ gesting to them, by inspiration, what they were to write. And here we may well admire the w isdom of God. While the church was in its infancy, the Lord instructed it by word of mouth, which is the most simple mode of revelation, in the same way as nurses teach their children. Afterwards, when it was in its childhood and youth under the law, he taught it both by word of mouth and by writing, as boys and youths are instructed both from the lips of a master, and by the reading of books. At length, when arrived at maturity under the gospel, the church was confined to the scripture, as adult per¬ sons may derive their instruction from books by their own understandings.

Not all the apostles wrote, nor was it necessary; it was enough for some of them to write wdiat was approved by the rest ; nor is it to be wondered that those holy men chiefly adopted the epistolary me¬ thod, it being the general custom in that age to convey instruction by letters. Thus the rescripts of the emperors were conveyed by letters, and this simple mode of instruction was suited to the gospel, that the cross of Christ might not be made of none effect by the enticing words of man’s wisdom ; and indeed no other mode of writing wms so adapted to a speedy propagation of the gospel.

OF THE BOOKS OF SCRIPTURE.

Chapter V. Of The Books Of Scripture

Having considered the reasons for which the word of God has been committed to writing, we must now ascertain where that record is to be found. Shall we seek it among the heathens ? No book of theirs is met with which can be accounted divine. All is uncertain, fabulous, full of superstition and idolatry. Shall we look for it among the Mahomedans ? they have the Koran, we confess; but that book is hardly worthy of a man in his senses ; and whatever good is in it, has entirely been derived from the Jews and Christians. Truly no where else must the word of God be sought for but in the books of the Old and New Testament, as will be proved here¬ after. We will first speak of the books of the Old Testament. These are the books which God de¬ livered to the Jewish people; they are divided by the Jews into the law, the prophets, and the hagiographa, (i e, sacred writings,) a distribution inti¬ mated by our Lord under the names of “ Moses, the prophets, and the Psalms.’' (Luke xxiv. 44.) ^ The law contains the Pentateuch (i. e. five books), viz. Genesis, Exodus, J^eviticus, Numbers, and Deutero¬ nomy ; the author of these books is universally be¬ lieved to be Moses, the son of Amram, and greatgrandson of the patriarch Levi; although in them are to be found the names of certain places unknown in Moses’s time, and other things which appear to have been added by Ezra, or some other sacred writer.