A Compendious View of Natural and Revealed Religion
Overview
Also known as The Systematic Theology of John Brown, A Compendious View of Natural and Revealed Religion served as a textbook for Brown's seminary students and for laity in his church. It is divided into seven areas of study:
- Of the Regulating Standard of Religion
- Of God, the Author, Object, and End of All Religion
- Of the Covenant Bond of Religious Connection between God and Men
- Of Christ the Mediator of the Covenant of Grace
- Of the Principal Blessings of the Covenant of Grace
- Of the External Dispensation of the Covenant of Grace by Law, Gospel, Etc.
- Of the Church or Society, For and To Which the Covenant of Grace is Dispensed
This masterwork also includes his essay "Address to Students of Divinity."
- One of the earliest Reformed systematic theologies
- Comprehensive coverage of God, man, salvation, the church, and more
- Insightful look into Brown’s understanding of free grace and evangelical piety
A most useful and valuable book to ministers and students.
—The Eclectic Review
John Brown (1722–1787) was born at Carpow in the parish of Abernethy, in Pershire Scotland. Around the age of twelve, his parents died and Brown supported himself as a shepherd. After teaching himself Latin, Hebrew, and Greek, Brown would work as a schoolmaster, briefly as a volunteer soldier, and eventually would become a student of divinity in the Secession Church. He was ordained as a minister at Haddington, East Lothain, in 1751, where he remained for the rest of his life. While continuing his duties as a minister, Brown also took the position of Professor of Divinity and began to publish works to great acclaim. Brown had six children, four of whom became ministers, and one that became the provost of Haddington.