Developing and Debating the Covenant of Works

Abstract

Whereas Chapter 2 dealt primarily with the relationship between Ussher’s doctrine of the covenant of works and the broader Christian tradition, this chapter examines how he developed his view in relation to more proximate Reformed theologians and their discussions specifically about the covenant of works. This chapter analyzes how the theologians whom Ussher cited as having written works important to his own thinking developed the concept of the covenant of works. This emphasis on Ussher’s connection to his identified sources illustrates how he adopted and modified previous arguments about the covenant of works. It also gives insight into how theologians built their doctrines on differing assumptions from older traditions, depending on whether they tended to lean more Thomist or more Scotist.