CALVIN,

CHAPTER I.

OF DIVINE REVELATION.

AND

OTHERS.

t. God reveals to all mo- 1. The same doctrine is ral agents, in some manner, taught in the Con. P. C. U. S. so much knowledge of him- Con. C. Scot. and Say. Plat. ch. self and their duty as to ren- 1. sec. 1.* Con. R. D. C. Art. 2. der them inexcusable for their and of the Protestant French sins. churches, A. D. 1559.

Calvin's Institution, Book 1. ch. 3, passim.

2. "To attain to God the Creator, it is needful to have the scripture to be our guide." "Therefore not in vain he hath added the light of his word, that thereby he might be known to salvation."

Inst. B. 1. ch. 6. sec. 1. 3. The commonly received books of the Old and New Tes

2. A revelation is necessary to give that knowledge of God, and of his will, which is essential to salvation.

Con. P. C. U. S. p. 1. Con. R. D. C. Art. 2. Say. Plat. p. 13. and Con. C. Scot. ch. 1. sec. 1.

3. The same doctrine is taught in the Con. P. C. U. S.

*The characters Con. P. C. U. S. are used for the Confession of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America: Con. C. Scot. for the Confession of the Church of Scotland, composed by the Assembly of Divines at Westminster, A. D. 1643, and approved by the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, A. D. 1647; which is now the standard, so far as the articles of faith are concerned, of all the different denominations of Sootch churches in America. Say. Plat. denote the confession of faith, called the Saybrook Platform, which was adopted by the churches in Connecticut, in New-England, A. D. 1708, printed 1710, and re-printed under the inspection of the General Association, in 1810. This was a copy of the Savoy Confession, which was adopted, by a general synod, convened in Boston, A. D. 1680. The Westminster Confession had been previously assented to, in 1648, by the unanimous vote of the Elders and Messengers, from the churches in Massachusetts, convened in Cambridge. Con. R. D. C. signify the Confession of the Reformed Dutch Churches, which was adopted by the Synod of Dortrecht, in 1619, and is now the standard of the Reformed Dutch Churches in America.

* In all the quotations from Emmons, reference is made to his volume of sermons, "On some of the first principles and doctrines of true religion," printed at Wrentham, Massachusetts, A. D. 1800. It will be found upon a careful examination of the following pages, that Dr. Emmons is strictly Hopkinsian in most of his sentiments. He has taken the leading doctrines, which are exhibited in the system, for his guide in matters of faith; and undauntedly pursued them, regardless of consequences. What Dr. Hopkins commenced, he has carried to perfection; and what that excellent man taught confusedly, he has inculcated in language too plain to be misunderstood. Of the two writers, the one of Franklin is certainly to be preferred, because he is more systematical in his arrangements, more thorough in his investigations, and more precise in his language, than the one of Newport. Dr. Emmons is a metaphysician who does not flinch!

taments are the word of God, which was written under the plenary inspiration of the Holy Ghost; and which is proved to be of divine origin, by the antiquity, dignity, unity and excellence of the writings; by the integrity of the writers, miracles, prophecy, history, and more especially by the inward testimony of the spirit.

Inst. B. 1. ch. 7 and 8. 4. The scriptures are the only rule of faith and practice. By them we are to try every spirit. "The Spirit of Christ is given, not to guide men without the scripture, but according to the scripture." The Spirit and the written word must "go hand in hand.”

OTHERS.

p. 4 and 5. Say. Plat. p. 15. Con. C. Scot. p. 28 and 29. Con. R. D. C. Art. 3, 4, 5 and 6. Also, in the Confessions of the German Protestants in the city of Auspurge, A. D. 1530, of Basil, in 1532, of the Waldenses in 1532, of Helvetia in 1566, of France in 1559, and of the English Church in 1562. See "An Harmony of Confessions, printed in London, A. D. 1643.

4. "The whole counsel of God, concerning all things necessary for his own glory, man's salvation, faith and life, is either expressly set down in scripture, or by good and necessary consequence, may be deduced from scripture."

Con. P. C. U. S. p. 6. Con. C. Inst. B. 1. ch. 9.* Scot. p. 30. Say. Plat. p. 16. Con. R. D. C. Art. 5. And all the ancient Protestant Confessions.

" is no

*Much is said by the Hopkinsians, about the right and wrong in the nature of things; but Calvin considered the command of God to be the only foundation of right. His sentiments appear to have been the same with those expressed by that distinguished philologist, JOHN HORNE TOOKE, in his "Diversions of Purley." "RIGHT," he says, other than RECT-um, (regitum) the past participle of the Latin verb regere," from rego, to rule. Hence right signifies, that which is ruled or ordered. 66 Thus, when a man demands his RIGHT; he asks only for that which it is ordered he shall have. A right conduct is that which is ordered." "The right road is, that ordered or directed to be pursued (for the object you have in view.) To do right is, to do that which is ordered to be done. To be in the right is, to be in such situation or circumstances as are ordered." In a religious view, therefore, that alone is right, which God has ordered us to perform. How then, can any pretend that the nature of things constitutes right and wrong? So far as the nature of things reveals what God has

men, profane history, miracles, prophecy, the light which the Old and New Testaments reflect on each other, the care of Jews and Christians to preserve the sacred writings, the harmony which subsists between all the parts, and the Godlike contents of the whole volume.

Syst. Vol. 1. Part. 1. ch. 1. 4. "This is a complete, unerring and perfect rule of faith and practice, and the only rule. This being understood and believed, is sufficient to make men wise unto salvation; and we have no warrant to believe any religious truth, unless it be revealed, or can be supported by the Holy Scriptures; and this is the only rule of our duty."

System, Vol. 1. p. 45.

OTHERS.

can avoid seeing natural objects, when both are placed before his mind with equal plainness.” Emmons, p. 77.

3. "The divine Spirit sug gested every word and thought to the holy penmen."

Emmons' Ser. 2.

4. There is an essential dif

ference between right and wrong in the nature of things, which does not depend upon the di vine will, which God cannot destroy without destroying the nature of things; and which all moral agents are capable of discerning without a revelation: therefore, "there is a propriety in every man's judging for himself in matters of morality and religion."

Emmons' Ser. 3.

enjoined upon man, so far it exhibits the difference between right and wrong, which are entirely dependent on the will of God. When we apply right to God, we cannot intend that he has a superior, or is commanded by the nature of his creatures. We say, "God has a right, and God is right, or RIGHT-cous." We intend, that he might with propriety act upon such moral principles as he has commanded us to regard; or that his dealings are analogous to those which he has enjoined upon his rational creatures. He is right or RIGHT-eous, when he acts according to his own rule. His perfections may also be said, figuratively, to require, or command a certain course of conduct; and in this sense, the attributes of Jehovah are to him the rule of right. "Shall not the judge of all the earth do right ?” Will not God speak the truth, fulfil his promises, and do good? Will he not obey the laws prescribed by his own character? Will he not conform to those moral rules, by which he has required his offspring to regulate their conduct?

CALVIN,

5. The natural powers of the mind, as well as the affections of the heart are so corrupted, that men cannot savingly understand the scriptures without a divine illumination of the understanding, as well as a reno vation of the heart.

is

5. The same doctrine taught, in the Con. C. Scot. ch. 1. sec. 6. and ch. 10. sec. 1. Say. Plat. p. 16 and 41. Con. P. C. U. S. p. 7, 54, 199 and 349. Con. R. D. C. Canon 3. Art. 1.

The latter confession of Helvetia teaches, that the under

Inst. B. 1. chap. 4, 5, 6. standing has suffered such a depravation as to render illumination necessary to the discernment of divine truth.

6. It is our crime, that " 'we want natural power," to "climb up unto the pure and clear knowledge of God," by the reading of the scriptures.

Inst. B. 1. ch. 5. sec. 14.

7.The written revelation is now completed, and other revelations are not to be expected. Inst. B. 1. ch. 9.

6. By "a due use of the ordinary means," the learned and the unlearned might obtain a sufficient understanding of the scriptures.

Con. C. Scot. ch. 1. sec. 7. Con. P. C. U. S. p. 8. Say. Plat. f. 17.

7. The confessions say the same. Con. C. Scot, ch. 1. sec. 6. Say. Plat. p. 16. Con. P. C. U. S. p. 6 and 7.

CHAPTER II.

OF GOD.

CALVIN,

1. "There is one indivisible divine essence, which is unbegotten, absolutely of itself and without beginning."

1. There is but one only, liv ing and true God, say all confessions. That there is a God we know by the creation, preInst. B. 1. ch. 13. sec. 25. servation and government of