[Footnote 47:  Luke xxiii. 2, 5.]

[Footnote 48:  Acts xvii. 6, xxiv. 5.]

[Footnote 49:  2 Pet. iii. 16.]

[Footnote 50:  Rom. v. 20, vi. 1, 14, 15.]

[Footnote 51:  Phil. i. 15, 16.]

[Footnote 52:  Phil. ii. 21.]

[Footnote 53:  2 Pet. ii. 22.]

[Footnote 54:  1 Pet. ii. 8.]

[Footnote 55:  Luke ii. 34.]

[Footnote 56:  2 Cor. ii. 15, 16.]

[Footnote 57:  Rom. i. 16.]

[Footnote 58:  1 Cor. xiv. 33.]

[Footnote 59:  1 John iii. 8.  Gal. ii. 17.]

GENERAL SYLLABUS

The design of the Author in these Christian Institutes is twofold, relating, First to the knowledge of God, as the way to attain a blessed immortality; and, in connection with and subservience to this, Secondly, to the knowledge of ourselves.

In the prosecution of this design, he strictly follows the method of the Apostles’ Creed, as being most familiar to all Christians.  For as the Creed consists of four parts, the first relating to God the Father, the second to the Son, the third to the Holy Spirit, the fourth to the Church; so the Author distributes the whole of this work into Four Books, corresponding respectively to the four parts of the Creed; as will clearly appear from the following detail:—­

I. The first article of the Creed relates to God the Father, and to the creation, conservation, and government of all things, which are included in his omnipotence.

So the first book is on the knowledge of God, considered as the Creator, Preserver, and Governor of the universe at large, and every thing contained in it.  It shows both the nature and tendency of the true knowledge of the Creator—­that this is not learned in the schools, but that every man from his birth is self-taught it—­Yet that the depravity of men is so great as to corrupt and extinguish this knowledge, partly by ignorance, partly by wickedness; so that it neither leads him to glorify God as he ought, nor conducts him to the attainment of happiness—­And though this internal knowledge is assisted by all the creatures around, which serve as a mirror to display the Divine perfections, yet that man does not profit by it—­Therefore, that to those, whom it is God’s will to bring to an intimate and saving knowledge of himself, he gives his written word; which introduces observations on the sacred Scripture—­That he has therein revealed himself; that not the Father only, but the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, united, is the Creator of heaven and earth; whom neither the knowledge innate by nature, nor the very beautiful mirror displayed to us in the world, can, in consequence of our depravity, teach us to know so as to glorify him.  This gives occasion for treating of the revelation of God in the Scripture, of the unity of the Divine Essence, and the trinity of Persons.—­To prevent man from attributing to God the blame of his own voluntary blindness, the Author shows the state of man at his creation, and treats of the image of God, freewill, and the primative integrity of nature.—­Having finished the subject of creation, he proceeds to the conservation and government of all things, concluding the first book with a full discussion of the doctrine of divine providence.