The Content of the Covenant of Works

Abstract

This chapter outlines definitional issues concerning Ussher’s doctrine of the covenant of works, showing the convergence of various strands of doctrinal thinking into one complex doctrine. This chapter surveys the components of Ussher’s covenant of works and indicates why, as an integration of foundational doctrines, it could ground other doctrines. Ussher built his doctrine of the covenant of works on the foundational premises of the natural law, God’s initial eschatological purposes for creation, and the centrality of Adam’s representative role, and these premises show how deeply catholic his formulation of this doctrine was. The natural law formed the terms of the covenant of works, and if Adam had met them, he would have been rewarded with eternal life. This chapter shows how Ussher shaped his doctrinal formulation specifically to refute the claims of the Roman Catholic Church in Ireland.