Chap. V. -- Of the Works of God that outwardly are of Him.

Q. 1. What are the works of God that outwardly respect his creatures?

A. First, of creation; secondly, of [27] actual providence. Ps. xxxiii. 9; Heb. i. 2, 3.

Q. 2. What is the work of creation?

A. An act or work of God's almighty power, whereby of nothing, in six days, he created heaven, earth, and the sea, with all things in them contained. Gen. i. 1; Exod. xx. 11; Prov. xvi. 4.

Q. 3. Wherefore did God make man?

A. For his own glory in his service [28] [29] and obedience. Gen. i. 26, 27, ii. 16, 17; Rom. ix. 23.

Q. 4. Was man able to yield the service and worship that God required of him?

A. Yea, to the uttermost, being created upright in the image of God, in purity, innocence, righteousness, and holiness. Gen. i. 26; Eccles. vii. 29; Eph. iv. 24; Col. iii. 10.

Q. 5. What was the rule whereby man was at first to be directed in his obedience?

A. The moral [30] or eternal law of God, implanted in his nature and written in his heart by creation, being the tenor of the covenant between God and him, sacramentally typified by the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Gen. ii. 15-17; Rom. ii. 14, 15; Eph. iv. 24.

Q. 6. Do we stand in the same covenant still, and have we the same power to yield obedience unto God?

A. No; the ^acovenant was [31] broken by the sin of Adam, with whom it was made, ^bour nature corrupted, ^cand all power to do good utterly lost. ^aGen. iii. 16-18; Gal. iii. 10, 11, 21; Heb. vii. 19, viii. 13. ^bJob xiv. 4; Ps. li. 5. ^cGen. vi. 5; Jer. xiii. 23.

[27] The very outward works of God are sufficient to convince men of his eternal power and Godhead, and to leave them inexcusable, if they serve him not.

[28] The glory of God is to be preferred above our own either being or well-being, as the supreme end of them.

[29] The approaching unto God in his service is the chief exaltation of one nature above the beasts that perish.

[30] God never allowed, from the beginning, that the will of the creature should be the measure of his worship and honour.

[31] Though we have all lost our right unto the promise of the first covenant, yet all not restored by Christ are under the commination and curse thereof.