Welcome to Institutes of the Christian Religion by John Calvin, translated by Henry Beveridge. We are starting at the beginning of the book for this reading. This Reformation Audio resource is a production of Stillwaters Revival Books. Many free resources, as well as our complete mail-order catalog containing classic and contemporary Puritan and Reformed books, CDs, and much more, at great discounts, are on the web at www.swrv.com. Also, please consider, pray, and act upon the important truths found in the following quotation by Charles Spurgeon. As the Apostle says to Timothy, so also he says to everyone, give yourself to reading. He who will not use the thoughts of other men's brains proves he has no brains of his own. You need to read. Renounce as much as you will all light literature, but study as much as possible sound theological works, especially the Puritanic writers and expositions in the Bible. The best way for you to spend your leisure is to be either reading or praying. And now to SWRB's reading of INSTITUTES OF THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION BY JOHN CALVIN, WHICH WE HOPE YOU WILL FIND TO BE A GREAT BLESSING, AND WHICH, WE PRAY, DRAWS YOU NEARER TO THE LORD JESUS CHRIST, FOR HE IS THE WAY, THE TRUTH, AND THE LIFE, AND NO MAN COMETH UNTO THE FATHER BUT BY HIM. John 14, 6. The present edition is from the translation made by Henry Beveridge in 1845 for the Calvin Translation Society. The reader may be assured that the translation faithfully reflects the teaching of Calvin, but must also bear This is a very long dissertation by Kalpin, and the current translation encompassing 704 pages. The general index of chapters indicates that there are four books. The first book encompasses eighteen chapters, the second book seventeen chapters, the third book twenty-five chapters, and the fourth book twenty chapters. NOW THE FIRST BOOK OF THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD THE CREATOR, CHAPTER ONE, ENTITLED THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD AND OF OURSELVES MUTUALLY CONNECTED, NATURE OF THE CONNECTION. THERE ARE THREE SECTIONS. SECTION ONE. OUR WISDOM, INSOFAR AS IT OUGHT TO BE DEEMED TRUE AND SOLID WISDOM, CONSISTS ALMOST ENTIRELY OF TWO PARTS, THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD AND OF OURSELVES. THAT IS, THESE ARE CONNECTED TOGETHER BY MANY TIES. IT IS NOT EASY TO DETERMINE WHICH OF THE TWO PRECEDES AND GIVES BIRTH TO THE OTHER. For in the first place, no man can survey himself without forthwith turning his thoughts towards the God in whom he lives and moves. Because it is perfectly obvious that the endowments which we possess cannot possibly be from ourselves, nay, that our very being is nothing else than subsistence in God alone. In the second place, those blessings which unceasingly distill to us from heaven are like streams conducting us to the fountain. Here again, the infinitude of good which resides in God becomes more apparent from our poverty. In particular, the miserable ruin into which the revolt of the first man has plunged us compels us to turn our eyes upwards. Not only that, while hungry and famishing, we may thence ask what we want, But being aroused by fear may learn humility. For as there exists in man something like a world of misery, and ever since we were stripped of the divine attire, our naked shame discloses an immense series of disgraceful properties, every man being stung by the consciousness of his own unhappiness, and this way necessarily obtains at least some knowledge of God. Thus our feeling of ignorance, vanity, want, Weakness, in short, depravity and corruption, reminds us, see Calvin on John 4.10, that in the Lord and none but He dwell the true light of wisdom, solid virtue, exuberant goodness. We are accordingly urged by our own evil things to consider the good things of God, and indeed we cannot aspire to Him in earnest until we have begun to be displeased with ourselves. For what man is not disposed to rest in himself? Who, in fact, does not thus rest, so long as he is unknown to himself? That is, so long as he is contented with his own endowments, and unconscious or unmindful of his misery. Every person, therefore, on coming to the knowledge of himself, is not only urged to seek God, but is also led, as by the hand, to find Him. Section 2 On the other hand, it is evident that man never attains to a true self-knowledge until he have previously contemplated the face of God, and come down, after such contemplation, to look into himself. for, such as is in a pride, we also seem to ourselves just, and upright, and wise, and holy, until we are convinced by clear evidence of our injustice, vileness, folly, and impurity. Convinced, however, we are not, if we look to ourselves only, and not to the Lord also, He being the only standard by the application of which this conviction can be produced. For since we are all naturally prone to hypocrisy, any empty semblance of righteousness is quite enough to satisfy us instead of righteousness itself, and since nothing appears within us or around us that is not tainted with very great impurity, so long as we keep our mind within the confines of human pollution, anything which is in some small degree less defiled delights us as if it were most pure. just as an eye, to which nothing but black had been previously presented, deems an object of a whitish or even of a brownish hue to be perfectly white. Nay, the bodily sense may furnish a still stronger illustration of the extent to which we are deluded in estimating the powers of the mind. If, at midday, we either look down to the ground, or on the surrounding objects which lie open to our view, we think ourselves endued with a very strong and When we look up to the sun and gaze at it unveiled, the sight which did excellently well for the earth is instantly so dazzled and confounded by the repulgence as to oblige us to confess that our acuteness in discerning terrestrial objects is mere dimness when applied to the sun. Thus, too, it happens in estimating our spiritual qualities. So long as we do not look beyond the earth, we are quite pleased with our own righteousness, wisdom, and virtue. We address ourselves in the most flattering terms and seem only less than demigods. But should we once begin to raise our thoughts to God and reflect what kind of being He is, and how absolute the perfection of that righteousness and wisdom and virtue to which as a standard we are bound to be conformed, what formerly delighted us by its false show of righteousness, will become polluted with the greatest iniquity. What strangely imposed upon us under the name of wisdom, will disgust by its extreme folly, and what resented the appearance of virtuous energy, will be condemned as the most miserable impotence, so far as those qualities in us which seem most perfect, from corresponding to the divine purity. Section 3 Hence that dread and amazement with which, as Scripture uniformly relates, holy men were struck and overwhelmed whenever they beheld the presence of God. When we see those who previously stood firm and secure so quaking with terror that the fear of death takes hold of them, they are in a manner swallowed up and annihilated. The inference to be drawn is that men are never duly touched and impressed with a conviction of their insignificance until they have contrasted themselves with the majesty of God. Frequent examples of this consternation occur both in the Book of Judges and in the prophetical writings. so much so that it was a common expression among the people of God, We shall die, for we have seen the Lord. Hence the book of Job also, in humbling men under a conviction of their folly, feebleness, and pollution, always derives its chief argument from descriptions of the divine wisdom, virtue, and purity. Nor without cause, for we see Abraham the readier to acknowledge himself, but dust and ashes, the nearer he approaches to behold the glory of the Lord, And Elijah, unable to wait, would unveil face for his approach, so dreadful is the sight. And what can man do, man who is but rottenness and a worm, when even the cherubim themselves must veil their faces in very terror? To this undoubtedly the prophet Isaiah refers when he says, Isaiah 24-23 The moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed, when the Lord of hosts shall reign. That is, when He shall exhibit His refulgence, and give a nearer view of it, the brightest objects will, in comparison, be covered with darkness. But though the knowledge of God and the knowledge of ourselves are bound together by a mutual tie, due arrangement requires that we treat of the former in the first place, and then descend to the latter. By the knowledge of God I understand that by which we not only conceive that there is some God, but also apprehend what it is for our interest, and conduce it to His glory, what, in short, it is befitting to know concerning Him. For, properly speaking, we cannot say that God is known where there is no religion or piety. I am not now referring to that species of knowledge by which men, in themselves lost and under curse, apprehend God as a Redeemer and Christ the Mediator. I speak only of that simple and primitive knowledge to which the mere course of nature would have conducted us had Adam stood upright. For although no man will now, at the present ruin of the human race, perceive God to be either a Father, or the Author of salvation, or propitious in any respect until Christ interposed to make our peace, still it is one thing to perceive that God our Maker supports us by His power, rules us by His providence, fosters us by His goodness, and visits us with all kinds of blessings and, another thing, to embrace the grace of reconciliation offered to us in Christ. Since then, the Lord first appears, as well in the creation of the world as in the general doctrine of Scripture, simply as a Creator, and afterwards as a Redeemer in Christ, a twofold knowledge of Him hence arises, of Thee the former is now to be considered, the latter will afterwards follow in His order. But although our mind cannot conceive of God without rendering some worship to Him, it will not, however, be sufficient simply to hold that He is the only Being whom all ought to worship in the door, unless we are also persuaded that He is the fountain of all goodness, and that we must seek everything in Him, and in none but Him. My meaning is, we must be persuaded not only that as He once formed the world, so He sustains it by His boundless power, governs it by His wisdom, in particular, rules the human race with justice and judgment, bears with him in mercy, shields them by his protection, but also that not a particle of light, or wisdom, or justice, or power, or rectitude, or genuine truth, will anywhere be found which does not flow from him, and of which he is not the cause. In this way we must learn to expect and ask all things from Him, and thankfully ascribe to Him whatever we receive, for this sense of the divine perfections is the proper master to teach us piety, out of which religion springs. By piety I mean the union of reverence and love to God, which the knowledge of His benefits inspires. far, until men feel that they owe everything to God, that they are cherished by His paternal care, and that He is the author of all our blessings, so that naught is to be looked for away from Him, they will never submit to Him in voluntary obedience. Nay, unless they place their entire happiness in Him, they will never yield up their whole selves to Him in truth and sincerity. Section 2. Those, therefore, who, in considering this question, propose to inquire what the essence of God is, only delude us with frigid good speculations, it being much more our interest to know what kind of being God is and what things are agreeable to his nature, for of what use is it to join Epicurus in acknowledging some God who has cast off the care of the world and only delights himself in ease? What avails it, in short, to know a God with whom we have nothing to do? the effect of our knowledge, rather, ought to be, first, to teach us reverence and fear, and, secondly, to induce us, under its guidance and teaching, to ask every good thing from Him, and, when it is received, describe it to Him. For how can the idea of God enter your mind without instantly giving rise to the thought that, since you are His workmanship, you are bound by the very law of creation to submit to His authority, that your life is due to Him, that whatever you do ought to have reference to Him? If so, it undoubtedly follows that your life is sadly corrupted, for if it is not framed in obedience to him, since his will ought to be the law of our lives. On the other hand, your idea of his nature is not clear unless you acknowledge him to be the origin and fountain of all goodness. Hence, where arise both confidence in him and a desire of pleading to him, did not the depravity of the human mind lead it away from the proper course of investigation. For, first of all, the pious mind does not devise for itself any kind of God, but looks alone to the one true God, nor does it feign for him any character it places, but it is contented to have him in the character in which he manifests himself, always guarding, with the utmost diligence, against transgressing his will and wandering with daring presumption from the right path. He by whom God is thus known, perceiving how he governs all things, confides in him as his guardian and protector, and casts himself entirely upon his faithfulness, perceiving him to be the source of every blessing. If he is in any strait or feels any want, he instantly recurs to his protection and trusts to his aid, persuaded that he is good and merciful. that, in the divine clemency, a remedy will be provided for his every time of need. Acknowledging him as his father and his lord, he considers himself bound to have respect to his authority in all things, to reverence his majesty, aim at the advancement of his glory, and obey his commands. Regarding him as a just judge, armed with severity to punish crimes, he keeps the judgment seat always in his view. Standing in awe of it, he curbs himself and fears to provoke his anger. Nevertheless, he is not so terrified by an apprehension of judgment as to wish he could withdraw himself even if the means of escape lay before him. Nay, he embraces him not less as the avenger of wickedness than as the rewarder of the righteous, because he perceives that it equally appertains to his glory to store up punishment for the one and eternal life for the other. Besides, it is not the mere fear of punishment that restrains him from sin. Loving and revering God is his father. Honoring and obeying him as his master, although there were no hell, he would revolt at the very idea of offending him. Such is pure and genuine religion, namely, confidence in God coupled with serious fear, fear which both includes in it willing reverence, and brings along with it such legitimate worship as is prescribed by the law. And it ought to be more carefully considered that all men promiscuously do homage to God, but very few truly reverence Him. On all hands there is abundance of ostentatious ceremonies, but sincerity of heart is rare. CHAPTER THREE THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD NATURALLY IMPLANTED IN THE HUMAN MIND THERE ARE THREE SECTIONS SECTION ONE THAT THERE EXISTS IN THE HUMAN MIND, AND INDEED BY NATURAL INSTINCT, SOME SENSE OF DEITY. WE HOLD TO BE BEYOND DISPUTE, SINCE GOD HIMSELF, TO PREVENT ANY MAN FROM PRETENDING IGNORANCE, has endued all men with some idea of his Godhead, the memory of which he constantly renews, and occasionally enlarges, that all to a man being aware that there is a God, and that He is their Maker, may be condemned by their own conscience, when they neither worship Him, nor consecrate their lives to His service. Certainly, if there is any quarter where it may be supposed that God is unknown, the most likely for such an instance to exist is among the dullest tribes farthest removed from civilization. But, as a heathen tells us, there is no nation so barbarous, no race so brutish, as not to be imbued with the conviction that there is a God. Even those who, in other respects, seem to differ least from the lower animals, constantly retain some sense of religion. So thoroughly has this common conviction possessed the mind, so firmly is it stamped on the breasts of all men. Since then there never has been, from the very first, any quarter of the globe, any city, any household even, without religion. This amounts to a tacit confession, that a sense of deity is inscribed on every heart. Nay, even idolatry is ample evidence of this fact, for we know how reluctant man is to lower himself. him. Therefore, when he chooses to worship wood and stone rather than be thought to have no God, it is evident how very strong this impression of a deity must be, since it is more difficult to obliterate it from the mind of man than to break down the feelings of his nature, be certainly being broken down when, in opposition to his natural haughtiness, he spontaneously humbles himself before the meanest object as an act of reverence to God. It is most absurd, therefore, to maintain, as some do, that religion was devised by the cunning and craft of a few individuals, as a means of keeping the body of the people in due subjection, while there was nothing which those very individuals, while teaching others to worship God, less believed than the existence of a God. I readily acknowledge that designing men have introduced a vast number of fictions into religion, with the view of inspiring the populace with reverence, or striking them with terror, and thereby rendering them more obsequious. But they never could have succeeded in this, had the minds of men not been previously imbued with that uniform belief in God, from which, as from its seed, the religious propensity springs. And it is altogether incredible that those who, in a matter of religion cunningly imposed on their ruder neighbors, were altogether devoid of a knowledge of God. For though in old times there were some, and in the present day not a few, are found to deny the being of a god, yet, whether they will or not, they occasionally feel the truth which they are desirous not to know. We do not read of any man who broke out into more unbridled and audacious contempt of the deity than C. Caligula. And yet none showed greater dread when any indication of divine wrath was manifested. Thus, however unwilling, he shook with terror before the God whom he professedly studied to contemn. You may every day see the same thing happening to his modern imitators. The most audacious despiser of God is most easily disturbed trembling at the sound of a falling leaf. How so, unless in vindication of the Divine Majesty, which smites their consciences, the more strongly the more they endeavor to flee from it, they all, indeed, look out for hiding places where they may conceal themselves from the presence of the Lord, and again efface it from their mind. But after all their efforts they remain caught within the net. Though the conviction may occasionally seem to vanish for a moment It immediately returns and rushes in with new impetuosity, so that any interval of relief from the gnawings of conscience is not unlike the slumber of the intoxicated or the insane, who have no quiet rest in sleep, but are continually haunted with dire, horrific dreams. Even the wicked themselves, therefore, are an example of the fact that some idea of God always exists in every human mind. Section 3 All men of sound judgment will therefore hold that a sense of deity is indelibly engraven on the human heart, and that this belief is naturally engendered in all, and thoroughly fixed, as it were, in our very bones, is strikingly attested to by the contumacy of the wicked, who, though they struggle furiously, are unable to extricate themselves from the fear of God. Though Diodorus and others like Stamp make themselves merry with whatever has been believed in all ages concerning religion, and Dionysius scoffs at the judgment of heaven, it is but a Sardonian grin, for the worm of conscience Keener than burning steel is gnawing them within. I do not say with Cicero that errors wear out by age, and that religion increases and grows better day by day. For the world, as will be shortly seen, labors as much as it can to shake off all knowledge of God. and corrupts his worship in innumerable ways. I only say that, when the stupid hardness of heart, which the wicked eagerly court as a means of despising God, becomes enfeebled, the sense of deity, which of all things they wish most to be extinguished, is still in vigor, and now and then breaks forth, whence we infer that this is not a doctrine which is first learned at school, but one after which every man is, from the womb, his own master. one which nature herself allows no individual to forget, though many, with all their might, strive to do so. Moreover, if all are born and live for the expressed purpose of learning to know God, and if the knowledge of God, insofar as it fails to produce this effect, is fleeting and vain, it is clear that all those who do not direct the whole thoughts and actions of their lives to this end fail to fulfill the law of their being. This did not escape the observation even of philosophers. for it is the very thing which Plato meant when he taught, as he often does, that the chief good of the soul consists in resemblance to God, that is, when, by means of knowing Him, she is wholly transformed into Him. Thus Greilus, also in Plutarch, reasons most skillfully when he affirms that if one religion is banished from the lives of men, they not only in no respect excel, but are in many respects Much more wretched than the brutes since, being exposed to so many forms of evil, they continually drag on a troubled and restless existence, that the only thing therefore which makes them superior is the worship of God, through which alone they aspire to immortality. Chapter Four The Knowledge of God Stifled or Corrupted, Ignorantly or Maliciously There are four sections. Section One But though experience testifies that a seed of religion is divinely sown in all, scarcely one in a hundred is found who cherishes it in his heart, and not one in whom it grows to maturity so far as it from yielding fruit in its season. Moreover, while some lose themselves in superstitious observances, and others of said purpose wickedly revolt from God, the result is that, in regard to the true knowledge of Him, all are so degenerate that in no part of the world can genuine godliness be found. In saying that some fall away into superstition, I mean not to insinuate that their excessive absurdity frees them from guilt. For the blindness under which they labor is almost invariably accompanied with vain pride and stubbornness. Mingled vanity and pride appear in this, that when miserable men do seek after God instead of ascending higher than themselves, as they ought to do, they measure Him by their own carnal stupidity, and neglecting solid inquiry, fly off to indulge their curiosity and vain speculation. Hence they do not conceive of Him in the character in which He is manifested, but imagine Him to be whatever their own rashness has devised. This abyss standing open they cannot move one footstep without rushing headlong to destruction. With such an idea of God, nothing which they may attempt to offer in the way of worship or obedience can have any value in His sight, because it is not Him they worship, but instead of Him the dream and figment of their own heart. This corrupt procedure is admirably described by Paul when he says that, quote, thinking to be wise they became fools, Romans 1.22. He had previously said that, quote, they became vain in their imaginations. But lest they should suppose them blameless, he afterwards adds, that they were deservedly blinded, because not contented with sober inquiry, because arrogating to themselves more than they have any title to do, they of their own accord court darkness, nay, bewitch themselves with perverse empty show. Hence it is that their folly, the result not only of vain curiosity, but of licentious desire and overweening confidence in the pursuit of forbidden knowledge, cannot be excused. The expression of David, Psalm 141, quote, The fool hath said in his heart there is no God, is primarily applied to those who, as will shortly, farther appear, stifle the light of nature, and intentionally stupefy themselves. We see many, after they have become hardened in a daring course as in, madly banishing all remembrance of God, though spontaneously suggested to them from within by natural sense. To show how detestable this madness is, the psalmist introduces them as distinctly denying that there is a God, because although they do not disown His essence, they rob Him of His justice and providence, and represent Him as sitting idly in heaven. nothing being less accordant with the nature of God than to cast off the government of the world, leaving it to chance, and so to wink at the crimes of men that they may wanton with impunity and evil courses. It follows that every man who indulges in security, after extinguishing all fear of divine judgment, virtually denies that there is a God. As a just punishment of the wicked, after they have closed their own eyes, God makes their hearts dull and heavy, and hence, seeing, they see not. David, indeed, is the best interpreter of his own meaning. When he says elsewhere, the wicked has, quote, no fear of God before his eyes. Psalm 36, 1. And again, quote, he hath said in his heart, God hath forgotten. He hideth his face. He will never see it. Thus, although they are forced to acknowledge that there is some God, they however rob him of his glory by denying his power. For, as Paul declares, If we believe not, he abideth faithful, he cannot deny himself. 2 Timothy 2.13 So those who feign to themselves a dead and dumb idol are truly said to deny God. It is, moreover, to be observed that though they struggle with their own convictions, and would feign not only banish God from their minds, but from heaven also, their stupefaction is never so complete as to secure them from being occasionally dragged before the divine tribunal. Still, as no fear restrains them from rushing violently in the face of God so long as they are hurried on by that blind impulse, it cannot be denied that their prevailing state of mind in regard to Him is brutish oblivion. In this way the vain pretext which many employ to clothe their superstition is overthrown. They deem it enough that they have some kind of zeal for religion, how preposterous soever it may be, not observing that true religion must be conformable to the will of God as its unerring standard, that he can never deny himself and is no specter or phantom to be metamorphosed at each individual's crease. It is easy to see how superstition, with its false glosses, mocks God while it tries to please him. Usually, fastening merely on things on which he has declared he sets no value, it either contemptuously overlooks or even undisguisedly rejects the things which he expressly enjoins, or in which we are assured that he takes pleasure. Those, therefore, who set up a fictitious worship merely worship and adore their own delirious fancies. Indeed, they would never dare so to trifle with God had they not previously fashioned him after their own childish conceits. Hence that vague and wandering opinion of deity is declared by an apostle to be ignorance of God. Quote, Howbeit then, when ye knew not God, ye did service unto them which by nature are no gods. And he elsewhere declares that the Ephesians were, quote, without God, Ephesians 2.12, at the time when they wandered without any correct knowledge of him. It makes little difference, at least in this respect, whether you hold the existence of one god, or a plurality of gods, since, in both cases alike, by departing from the true god, you have nothing left but an execrable idol. It remains, therefore, to conclude with Lactantius. OPEN PARENS. INSTIT.DIV.LIV.12,6 CLOSE PARENS. No religion is genuine that is not in accordance with truth. Section 4 To this fault they add a second, that when they do think of God, it is against their will, never approaching Him without being dragged into His presence, and when there, instead of the voluntary fear flowing from reverence of the Divine Majesty, feeling only that forced and servile fear which divine judgment extorts, judgment which, from the impossibility of escape, they are compelled to dread, but which, while they dread, they at the same time also hate. To impiety, and to it alone, the saying of Statius promptly applies, quote, Fear first brought gods into the world, open parents, capital T-H-E-B, period, L-I-B, period, one, close parents. Those whose inclinations are in variance with the justice of God, knowing that His tribunal has been erected for the punishment of transgression, earnestly wish that that tribunal were overdrawn. Under the influence of this feeling they are actually warring against God, justice being one of his essential attributes. Perceiving that they are always within reach of his power, that resistance and evasion are alike impossible, they fear and tremble. Accordingly, to avoid the appearance of contemning a majesty by which all are overawed, they have recourse to some species of religious observance, never ceasing, meanwhile, to defile themselves with every kind of vice, and to add crime to crime until they have broken the holy law of the Lord in every one of its requirements, and set His whole righteousness at naught. At all events, they are not so restrained by their semblance of fear as not to luxuriate and take pleasure in iniquity, choosing rather to indulge their carnal propensities than to curb them with the bridal of the Holy Spirit. But since this shadow of religion—it scarcely even deserves to be called a shadow—is false and vain, it is easy to infer how much this confused knowledge of God differs from that piety which is instilled into the breasts of believers, and from which alone true religion springs. And yet hypocrites with feign, by means of tortuous windings, make a show of being near to God at the very time they are fleeing from Him. For while the whole life ought to be one perpetual course of obedience, they rebel without fear in almost all their actions, and seek to appease Him with a few paltry sacrifices. While they ought to serve Him with integrity of heart and holiness of life, they endeavor to procure His favor by means of frivolous devices and punctilious of no value. Nay, they take greater license in their grovelling indulgences, because they imagine that they can fulfill their duty to him by preposterous expiations. In short, while their confidence ought to have been fixed upon him, they put him aside and rested in themselves all the creatures. At length they bewilder themselves in such a maze of error that the darkness of ignorance obscures and ultimately extinguishes those sparks which were designed to show them the glory of God. Still, however, the conviction that there is some deity continues to exist, like a plant which can never be completely eradicated, though so corrupt that it is only capable of producing the worst of fruit. Nay, we have still stronger evidence of the proposition for which I now contend, that a sense of deity is naturally engraven on the human heart, and the fact that the very reprobate are forced to acknowledge it. when at their ease they can jest about God and talk pertly and loquaciously in disparagement of His power, but should despair from any cause overtake them, it will stimulate them to seek Him and dictate ejaculatory prayers, proving that they were not entirely ignorant of God, but had perversely suppressed feelings which ought to have been earlier manifested. CHAPTER FIVE THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD CONSPICUOUS IN THE CREATION AND CONTINUAL GOVERNMENT OF THE WORLD There are fifteen sections. Section 1. Since the perfection of blessedness consists in the knowledge of God, he has been pleased. In order that none might be excluded from the means of obtaining felicity, not only to deposit in our minds that seed of a religion of which we have already spoken, but so to manifest his perfections in the whole structure of the universe, and daily place himself in our view, that we cannot open our eyes without being compelled to behold him. His essence, indeed, is incomprehensible, utterly transcending all human thought. But on each of his works his glory is engraven in characters so bright, so distinct, and so illustrious, that none, however dull and illiterate, can plead ignorance as their excuse. Hence, with perfect truth, the psalmist exclaims, he covereth himself with light as with a garment. Psalm CIV.2 As if he said that God for the first time was arrayed in visible attire when, in the creation of the world, he displayed those glorious banners on which, to whatever side we turn, we behold his perfections visibly portrayed. In the same place the psalmist aptly compares the expanded heavens to his royal tent, and says, He layeth the beams of his chambers in the waters, maketh the clouds his chariot, and walketh upon the wings of the wind, sending forth the winds and lightnings as his swift messengers. And because the glory of his power and wisdom is more refulgent in the firmament, it is frequently designated as his palace. And first, wherever you turn your eyes, there is no portion of the world, however minute, that does not exhibit at least some sparks of beauty, while it is impossible to contemplate the vast and beautiful fabric as it extends around, without being overwhelmed by the immense weight of glory. Hence, the author of the epistle to the Hebrews elegantly describes the visible worlds as images of the invisible. the elegant structure of the world serving us as a kind of mirror in which we may behold God, though otherwise invisible. For the same reason, the psalmist attributes language to celestial objects, a language which all nations understand. Psalm 19.1 The manifestation of the Godhead being too clear to escape the notice of any people, however obtuse. The Apostle Paul, stating this still more clearly, says, That which may be known of God is manifest in them, for God hath showed it unto them. For 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 power and Godhead. Romans 1.20 Section 2 In attestation of his wondrous wisdom both the heavens and the earth present us with innumerable proofs Not only those more recondite proofs, which astronomy, medicine, and all the natural sciences are designed to illustrate, but proofs which force themselves on the notice of the most illiterate peasant, who cannot open his eyes without beholding them. It is true, indeed, that those who are more or less intimately acquainted with those liberal studies are thereby assisted and enabled to obtain a deeper insight into the secret workings of divine wisdom. No man, however, though he be ignorant of these, is incapacitated for discerning such proofs of creative wisdom as may well cause him to break forth in admiration of the Creator. To investigate the motions of the heavenly bodies, to determine their positions, measure their distances, and ascertain their properties demands skill and a more careful examination, and where these are so employed, As the providence of God is thereby more fully unfolded, so it is reasonable to suppose that the mind takes a loftier flight, and obtains brighter views of His glory. Still, none who have the use of their eyes can be ignorant of the divine skill manifested so conspicuously in the endless variety yet distinct and well-ordered array of the Heavenly Host. And therefore it is plain that the Lord has furnished every man with abundant proofs of His wisdom. The same is true in regard to the structure of the human frame. To determine the connection of its parts, its symmetry and beauty, with the skill of a galen, requires singular acuteness, and yet all men acknowledge that the human body bears on its face such proofs of ingenious contrivance, as are sufficient to proclaim the admirable wisdom of its maker. Section 3. Hence, certain of the philosophers have improperly called man a microcosm, that is, a miniature world, as being a rare specimen of divine power, wisdom, and goodness, and containing within himself wonders sufficient to occupy our minds, if we are willing so to employ them. Paul, accordingly, after reminding the Athenians that they, quote, might feel after God and find Him, immediately adds that, quote, he is not far from every one of us. Acts 17, 27. Every man having within himself undoubted evidence of the heavenly grace by which he lives and moves and has his being. But if in order to apprehend God it is unnecessary to go farther than ourselves What excuse can there be for the sloth of any man who will not take the trouble of descending into himself that he may find him? For the same reason, too, David, after briefly celebrating the wonderful name and glory of God as everywhere displayed, immediately exclaims, quote, What is man, that thou art mindful of him? Out of the mounds of babes and sucklings thou hast ordained strength. Psalm 8, verses 2 and 4. Thus he declares not only that the human race are a bright mirror of the Creator's works, but that infants hanging on their mother's breasts have tongues eloquent enough to proclaim His glory without the aid of other orators. Accordingly, he hesitates not to bring them forward as fully instructed to refute the madness of those who from devilish pride would fain extinguish the name of God. Hence, too, the passage which Paul quotes from Eratos, quote, We are his offspring, Acts 17, 28, the excellent gifts with which he has endued us, attesting that he is our God. In the same way also, from natural instinct, and as it were at the dictation of experience, heathen poets call him the father of men. No one, indeed, will voluntarily and willingly devote himself to the service of God unless he has previously tasted his paternal love, and been thereby allured to love and reverence Him. Section 4 But herein appears the shameful ingratitude of men, though they have in their own persons a factory where innumerable operations of God are carried on, and a magazine stored with treasures of inestimable value. Instead of bursting forth in His praise as they are bound to do, they, on the contrary, are the more inflated and swelled with their pride. They feel how wonderfully God is working in them, and their own experience tells them of the vast variety of gifts which they owe to His liberality. Whether they will or not, they cannot but know that these are proofs of His Godhead, and yet they inwardly suppress them. They have no occasion to go farther than themselves, provided they do not, by appropriating as their own that which has been given them from heaven, put out the light intended to exhibit God clearly to their minds. At this day, however, the earth sustains on her bosom many monster minds, minds which are not afraid to employ the seed of Deity deposited in human nature as a means of suppressing the name of God. Can anything be more detestable than this madness in man, who, finding God a hundred times both in his body and his soul, makes his excellence in this respect a pretext for denying that there is a God? He will not say that chance has made him differ from the brutes that perish, but, substituting nature as the architect of the universe, he suppresses the name of the swift motions of the soul, its noble faculties and rare endowments, bespeak the agency of God in a manner which would make the suppression of it impossible, did not the Epicureans, like so many Cyclots, use it as a vantage ground from which to wage more audacious war with God? Are so many treasures of heavenly wisdom employed in the guidance of such a worm as man, and shall the whole universe be denied the same privilege? To hold that there are organs in the soul corresponding to each of its faculties is so far from obscuring the glory of God that it rather illustrates it. Let Epicurus tell what concourse of atoms, cooking meat and drink, can form one portion into refuse and another portion into blood, and make all the members separately perform their office as carefully as if they were so many souls acting with common consent in the superintendence of one body. But my business at present is not with that sty. I wish rather to deal with those who, led away by absurd subtleties, are inclined, by giving an indirect turn to the frigid doctrine of Aristotle, to employ it for the purpose both of disproving the immortality of the soul and robbing God of His rights. Under the pretext that the faculties of the soul are organized They chain it to the body as if it were incapable of a separate existence, while they endeavor as much as in them lies by pronouncing eulogiums on nature, to suppress the name of God. But there is no ground for maintaining that the powers of the soul are confined to the performance of bodily functions. What has the body to do with your measuring the heavens, counting the number of the stars, ascertaining their magnitudes, their relative distances, the rate at which they move, and the orbits which they describe? I deny not that astronomy has its use. All I mean to show is that these lofty investigations are not conducted by organized symmetry, but by the faculties of the soul itself, apart altogether from the body. The single example I have given will suggest many others to the reader. The swift and versatile movements of the soul in glancing from heaven to earth, connecting the future with the past, retaining the remembrance of former years, nay, farming creations of its own, its skill, moreover, in making astonishing discoveries and inventing so many wonderful arts, are sure indications of the agency of God in man. What shall we say of its activity when the body is asleep, its many revolving thoughts, its many useful suggestions? its many solid arguments, nay, its presentiment of things yet to come. What shall we say but that man bears about with him a stamp of immortality which can never be effaced? But how is it possible for man to be divine and yet not acknowledge his Creator? Shall we, by means of a power of judging implanted in our breasts, distinguish between justice and injustice, and yet there being no judge in heaven? Shall some remains of intelligence continue with us in sleep, and yet no God keep watch in heaven? Shall we be deemed the inventors of so many arts and useful properties, that God may be defrauded of His praise, though experience tells us plainly enough that whatever we possess is dispensed to us in unequal measures by another hand? The talk of certain persons concerning a secret inspiration quickening the whole world is not only silly, but altogether profane. Such persons are delighted with the following celebrated passage of Virgil. Know first that heaven and earth's compacted frame, and flowing waters and the starry flame, and both the radiant lights, one common soul, inspires and feeds and animates the soul, This active mind, infused through all the space, unites and mingles with the mighty mass. Hence men and beasts, the breath of life, obtain, and birds of air and monsters of the mane. The ethereal vigor is in all the same, and every soul is filled with equal flame." The meaning of all this is that the world which was made to display the glory of God is its own creator, for the same poet has in another's place adopted a view common to both Greeks and Latins. Hence to the bee some sages have assigned a portion of the God and heavenly mind. For God goes forth and spreads throughout the whole heaven, earth, and sea the universal soul. Each at its birth, from him all beings share, both man and brute, the breath of vital air. To him return, then, loosed from earthly chain, to fly whence they sprang, and rest in God spurn at the grave and fearless of decay, dwell in high heaven, and star the ethereal way." Here we see how far that Jejune's speculation of a universal mind animating and invigorating the world is fitted to beget and foster piety in our minds. We have a still clear proof of this in the profane verses which the licentious Lucretius has written as a deduction from the same principle. the plain object is to form an unsubstantial deity and thereby banish the true God whom we ought to fear and worship. I admit, indeed, that the expression, quote, Nature is God, may be piously used if dictated by a pious mind, but as it is inaccurate and harsh, open parents, Nature being more properly the order which has been established by God, close parents, in matters which are so very important and in regard to which special reverences do, it does harm to confound the deity with the inferior operations of his hands. Section 6 Let each of us, therefore, in contemplating his own nature, remember that there is one God who governs all natures, and in governing wishes us to have respect to himself, to make him the object of our faith, worship and adoration. Nothing, indeed, can be more preposterous than to enjoy those noble endowments which bespeak the Divine Presence within us, and to neglect Him who, of His own good pleasure, bestows them upon us. In regard to His power, how glorious the manifestations by which He urges us to the contemplation of Himself! Unless, indeed, we pretend not to know whose energy it is that by word sustains the boundless fabric of the universe. at which time making heaven reverberate with thunder, sending forth a scorching lightning, and setting the whole atmosphere in a blaze. At another, causing the raging tempest to blow, and forthwith in one moment, when it so pleases him, making a perfect calm. Keeping the sea, which seems constantly threatening the earth with devastation, suspended as it were in air, at one time lashing it into fury by the impetuosity of the winds, at another appeasing its rage and stilling all its waves. Here we might refer to those glowing descriptions of divine power as illustrated by natural events which occur throughout Scripture, but more especially in the book of Job and the prophecies of Isaiah. These, however, I purposely omit because a better opportunity of introducing them will be found when I come to treat the scriptural account of the I only wish to observe here that this method of investigating the Divine Perfections by tracing the liniments of His countenance as shadowed forth in the firmament and on the earth is common both to those within and to those without the pale of the Church. From the power of God we are naturally led to consider His eternity, since that from which all other things derive their origin must necessarily be self-existent and eternal. Moreover, if it be asked what cause induced Him to create all things at first, and now inclines Him to preserve them, we shall find that there could be no other cause than His own goodness. But if this is the only cause, nothing more should be required to draw forth our love towards Him. every creature, as the psalmist reminds us, participating in His mercy. His tender mercies are over all His works. Psalm 145 verse 9 Section 7 In the second class of God's works, namely, those which are above the ordinary course of nature, the evidence of His perfections are in every respect equally clear. For in conducting the affairs of men He so arranges the course of His providence As daily too declare by the clearest manifestations, that though all are in innumerable ways the partakers of his downty, the righteous are the special objects of his favor, the wicked and profane the special objects of his severity. It is impossible to doubt his punishment of crimes. while at the same time he, in no unequivocal manner, declares that he is the protector, and even the avenger of innocents, by shedding blessings on the good, helping their necessities, soothing and soothing their griefs, relieving their sufferings, and in all ways providing for their safety. And though he often permits the guilty to exult for a time with impunity, and the innocent to be driven to and fro in adversity, nay, even to be wickedly and iniquitously oppressed This ought not to produce any uncertainty as to the uniform justice of all his procedure. Nay, an opposite inference should be drawn. When any one crime calls forth visible manifestations of his anger, it must be because he hates all crimes. And, on the other hand, his leaving many crimes unpunished only proves that there is a judgment in reserve when that punishment now delayed shall be inflicted. And like manner, how richly does he contemplating his mercy, when, as frequently happens, he continues to visit miserable sinners with unwearied kindness, until he subdues their depravity and woos them back with more than a parent's fondness. Section 8 To this purpose the psalmist, Psalm 57, mentioning how God in a wondrous manner often brings sudden and unexpected succor to the miserable, when almost all on the brink of despair, whether in protecting them when they stray and desert, and at length leading them back into the right path, or supplying them with food when famishing for want, or delivering them when captive from iron fetters and foul dungeons, or conducting them safe into harbor after shipwreck, or bringing them back from the gates of death by curing their diseases, or, after burning up the fields with heat and drought, fertilizing them with the river of His grace, or exalting the meanest of the people, and casting down the mighty from their lofty seats, the solemnest After bringing forward examples of this description, infers that those things which men call fortuitous events are so many proofs of divine providence, and more especially of paternal clemency, furnishing ground of joy to the righteous, and at the same time stopping the mouths of the ungodly. But as the greater part of mankind, enslaved by error, walk blindfold in this glorious He exclaims that it is a rare and singular wisdom to meditate carefully on these works of God, which many, who seem most short-sighted in other respects, behold without profit. It is indeed true that the brightest manifestation of divine glory finds not one genuine spectator among a hundred. Still, neither his power nor his wisdom is shrouded in darkness. His power is strikingly displayed when the rage of the wicked, to all appearance irresistible, is crushed in a single moment. Their arrogance subdued, their strongest bulwarks overthrown, their armor dashed to pieces, their strength broken, their schemes defeated without an effort, and audacity which set itself above the heavens is precipitated to the lowest depths of the earth. On the other hand, the poor are raised up out of the dust, and the needy lifted out of the dunghill. Psalm 63 7 The oppressed and afflicted are rescued in extremity, the despairing animated with hope, the unarmed defeat the armed, the few the many, the weak the strong. The excellence of the divine wisdom is manifested in distributing everything in due season, confounding the wisdom of the world, and taking the wise in their own craftiness. 1 Corinthians 3 19 In short, conducting all things in perfect accordance with reason. Section 9 We see there is no need of a long and laborious train of argument in order to obtain proofs which illustrate and assert the Divine Majesty. The few which we have merely touched show them to be so immediately within our reach in every quarter that we can trace them with the eye, or point to them with the finger. And here we must observe again. See Chapter 2 S.2 that the knowledge of God, which we are invited to cultivate, is not that which, resting satisfied with empty speculation, only flutters in the brain but a knowledge which will prove substantial and fruitful wherever it is duly perceived and rooted in the heart. The Lord is manifested by His perfections. When we feel their power within us and are conscious of their benefits, the knowledge must impress us much more vividly than if we merely imagined a God whose presence we never felt. Here it is obvious that, in seeking God, the most direct path and the fittest method is not to attempt with presumptuous curiosity to pry into His essence, which is rather to be adored than minutely discussed, but to contemplate Him in His works by which He draws near, becomes familiar, and in a manner communicates Himself to us. To this the Apostle referred when he said that we need not go far in search of Him. 1727, because by the continual working of his power he dwells in every one of us. Accordingly, David, OPEN PARENS, Psalm 145, CLOSE PARENS, after acknowledging that his greatness is unsearchable, proceeds to enumerate his works, declaring that his greatness will thereby be unfolded. It therefore becomes us, also diligently, to prosecute that investigation of God, which so enraptures the soul with admiration as, at the same time, to make an efficacious impression on it. And, as Augustine expresses it, in Psalm 145, since we are unable to comprehend him, and are, as it were, overpowered by his greatness, our proper course is to contemplate his works, and so refresh ourselves with his goodness. Section 10 By the knowledge thus acquired, we ought not only to be stimulated to worship God, but also aroused and elevated to the hope of future life. For, observing that the manifestations which the Lord gives both of His mercy and severity are only begun and incomplete, we ought to infer that these are doubtless only a prelude to the higher manifestations, of which the full display is reserved for another state. When we see the righteous brought into affliction by the ungodly, assailed with injuries, overwhelmed with calumnies, and lacerated by insult incontinently, while, on the contrary, the wicked flourish, prosper, acquire ease and honor, and all these with impunity, we ought forthwith to infer that there will be a future life in which iniquity shall receive its punishment, and righteousness its reward. When we observe that the Lord often lays his chastening rod on the righteous, we may the more surely conclude that far less will the unrighteous untimely escape the scourges of his anger. There is a well-known passage in Augustine. Were all sin now visited with open punishment, it might be thought that nothing was reserved for the final judgment. And, on the other hand, were no sin now openly punished, it might be supposed there was no divine providence. It must be acknowledged, therefore, that in each of the works of God, and more especially in the whole of them taken together, the divine perfections are delineated as in a picture and the whole human race thereby invited and allured to acquire the knowledge of God, and in consequence of this knowledge true and complete felicity. Moreover, while His perfections are thus more vividly displayed, the only means of ascertaining their practical operation and tendency is to descend into ourselves and consider how it is that the Lord there manifests His wisdom, power, and energy, how He there displays His justice, goodness, and mercy. For although David Psalm 62.6 justly complains of the extreme infatuation of the ungodly in not pondering the deep counsels of God as exhibited in the government of the human race. What he elsewhere says, Psalm 90, is most true that the wonders of the divine wisdom in this respect are more in number than the hairs of our head. But I leave this topic at present. as it will be more fully considered afterwards in its own place. We can also be reached by email at swrb at swrb.com, by phone at 780-450-3730, by fax at 780-468-1096, or by mail at 4710-37A Avenue, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. T6L3T5. If you do not have a web connection, please request a free printed catalog. If you do have a web connection and would like to be added to our email list, please send an email to add at swrb.com or swrb at swrb.com with the word add in the subject line. SWRB's email list is a double opt-in list. 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Thank you again for listening to this SWRB reading, and remember that Isaiah 26.3 states, Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee, because he trusteth in thee. And 2 Corinthians 13.11 concludes, Finally, brethren, farewell. Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace, and the God of love and peace shall be with you. This Reformation audio track is a production of Stillwater's Revival Books. You are welcome to make copies and give them to those in need. SWRB makes thousands of classic Reformation resources available, free and for sale, in audio, video, and printed formats. It is likely that the sermon or book that you just listened to is also available on cassette or video or as a printed book or booklet. Our many free resources as well as our complete mail order catalog containing thousands of classic and contemporary Puritan and Reform books, tapes and videos at great discounts is on the web at www.swrb.com. We can also be reached by email at SWRB at SWRB.com by phone at 780 450 3730 by fax at 780-468-1096 or by mail at 4710-37A Avenue Edmonton, that's E-D-M-O-N-T-O-N, Alberta, abbreviated capital A, capital B, Canada, T-6-L-3-T-5. You may also request a free printed catalog. And remember that John Kelvin in defending the Reformation's regulative principle of worship, or what is sometimes called the scriptural law of worship, commenting on the words of God, which I commanded them not, neither came into my heart. From his commentary on Jeremiah 731, writes, God here cuts off from men every occasion for making evasions, since he condemns by this one phrase, I have not commanded them, whatever the Jews devise. There is then no other argument needed to condemn superstitions than that they are not commanded by God. For when men allow themselves to worship God according to their own fancies, and attend not to His commands, they pervert true religion. And if this principle was adopted by the Papists, all those fictitious modes of worship in which they absurdly exercise themselves would fall to the ground. It is indeed a horrible thing for the Papists to seek to discharge their duties towards God, by performing their own superstitions. There is an immense number of them, as it is well known, and as it manifestly appears. Were they to admit this principle, that we cannot rightly worship God except by obeying His word, they would be delivered from their deep abyss of error. The Prophet's words, then, are very important, when he says that God had commanded no such thing, and that it never came to his mind. As though he had said, That men assume too much wisdom, When they devise what he never required, Nay, what he never knew.