Genre:

Essay

Subjects:

Natural Theology, Natural Law, Morality, Biblical Authority

    Imagines the primeval paradise, in which 'an open manifestation was made of the perfections of the glorious Creator, and a single glance over the world of beauty and wonder would, intuitively, exhibit the evidence of wise and benevolent design' (186). Contrasts this with the present state of the world, in which the material world is cursed, the intellectual world is shrouded, and the moral world is corrupt. Asserts that human disobedience has led to a loss of knowledge of divine law. Denies that 'revelation is a mere re-publication of the law of nature', since it addresses the needs of sinful people for salvation (187). However, since the law has not changed, 'that department of revelation may be called a re-publication of the law of nature' (188).