Author Richard Barcellos has given us a small, informative primer, The Covenant of Works: Its Confessional and Scriptural Basis.
You may already think you have a good theological understanding of the
COW however Barcellos brings out numerous historical and theological
aspects as they relate to the Second London Confession of Faith of 1689
and as the 2LCF relates to the Westminster Standards (Confession, Larger
and Shorter Catechisms).
The author reviews the history of the LCF with a definition of the COW - good stuff. And
though I disagree with some of the content, there is valuable
information that can be gleaned and used for further study. At only 137
pages, this could be read quickly and used to kick start a study of
the subject.
However,
what I thought was going to be an interesting and informational book on
the Covenant of Works turned out to be a difficult read. The book is
chock full of parenthetical statements and references making the flow
difficult and a time consuming read. Though well footnoted,
numerous foot notes simply refer to the reader to the author's other
books for fuller explanations. At times, as in chapter one, lesser known
Latin theological terms are defined as a preface to what follows (well
done), other terms are not defined and it leaves me wondering who the
intended audience is. It appears to be written for the layperson but
with the difficulties outlined above, I'm unsure if a good, introductory
grasp of the COW can be obtained. A different, more helpful approach
to the subject could have been taken. A larger, but yet still slim
volume eliminating the issues outlined above would have made this a much
better read.
My main disagreement with this volume is that I don't believe the author has made a good case for the covenant coming after Adam's creation. I would hold to the view that Adam was created in covenant. With that statement being made, I'll leave it to the reader to decide.
The author has provided a complimentary copy of this book. The views expressed are my own.
