A Body of Divinity, Vol. 4 (of 4) Wherein the doctrines of the Christian religion are explained and defended, being the substance of several lectures on the Assembly's — A Reader’s Guide

The Rhetoric of Self-Accusation

Ridgley's treatment of confession in the closing portion of the volume reveals a distinctive rhetorical strategy. He instructs the reader to confess sins 'before or after our conversion to God,' dividing them into categories that mirror the catechism's structure. The language shifts from doctrinal exposition to a series of pointed interrogatives: 'Have we not sometimes questioned the truth of his promises?' and 'Have we not also refused to submit to him as king of saints?' These questions are not merely rhetorical; they function as a template for the reader's own prayer. Ridgley insists that the penitent must consider 'how far we have reason to fall under a sense of guilt,' a phrase that balances objective moral law with subjective awareness. The passage culminates in the startling claim that the believer should acknowledge being 'the chief of sinners,' echoing Paul's self-description in 1 Timothy 1:15. Ridgley anticipates objections—that this applies only to the notoriously vile—and counters by arguing that ignorance of others' sins makes self-knowledge the only reliable measure.

Scriptural Citation as Argumentative Anchor

Ridgley's use of scripture is not decorative but argumentative. In the excerpt on confession, he cites the Song of Solomon 5:9 ('What is thy beloved more than another beloved?') to illustrate low thoughts of Christ. The quotation is embedded in a list of failures: 'the low thoughts we have sometimes had of the person of Christ, his love to us, or the benefits we have been made partakers of from him.' The verse is repurposed from its original context of romantic longing to signify spiritual tepidity. Similarly, 1 Timothy 1:15 is invoked not as a proof text for Paul's biography but as a model for self-assessment: 'the apostle says concerning himself, the chief of sinners.' Ridgley's method is to treat each citation as a lens through which the reader can examine a specific fault. The effect is cumulative: the reader is not simply told to confess but is given scriptural language to articulate the confession.

Lexical Precision in Moral Taxonomy

Ridgley's vocabulary for sin is remarkably fine-grained. He distinguishes between 'sins of commission' and 'sins of omission,' a standard scholastic pair, but then subdivides commission into those 'committed before or after our conversion to God.' The former 'contain a disowning his authority'; the latter, 'an ungrateful disregard to, or forgetfulness of the greatest benefits.' The word 'disregard' is carefully chosen—it implies not active rebellion but negligent inattention. Elsewhere, he speaks of 'hardening our hearts against him, refusing to submit to his yoke, or bear his cross,' where 'hardening' echoes the language of Exodus while 'yoke' and 'cross' evoke New Testament calls to discipleship. The phrase 'leaned to our own understanding' (a direct allusion to Proverbs 3:5) is used to diagnose intellectual pride: the sin of preferring one's own reason to Christ's prophetic office. This lexical precision allows Ridgley to map a comprehensive moral landscape without resorting to vague generalities.

Structural Echoes of the Catechism

The volume's organization mirrors the Westminster Larger Catechism's question-and-answer format, but Ridgley imposes his own logical progression. Each commandment is treated in a sequence: first the positive duty, then the prohibited sin, then the aggravations that increase guilt. The table of contents shows this pattern clearly: for the Ninth Commandment, for instance, he covers 'The duties required,' 'Sins forbidden,' and then 'Of bearing false witness' with subcategories on lying, hypocrisy, and reproach. Within the body, Ridgley often returns to earlier answers for cross-reference, as when he directs the reader to 'a foregoing answer [103]' for a list of aggravations. This internal referencing creates a web of doctrine that rewards sequential reading. The final section on confession recapitulates the entire Decalogue: 'it may be of use for us to consider the sins forbidden under each of the Ten Commandments, which have been before particularly insisted on.' The volume thus ends by looping back to its beginning, reinforcing the catechism's cyclical method of instruction.

Readers approaching this volume should note that Ridgley's lectures were originally delivered orally, and the text retains a homiletic cadence—repetition, rhetorical questions, and direct address. The annotations by James P. Wilson, added in this 1815 edition, occasionally gloss Ridgley's references but do not alter his argument. For those studying the history of Reformed moral theology, the volume offers a detailed case study in how catechism-based preaching translated doctrinal categories into practical piety.

Reading Ridgley’s careful weighing of each commandment, I kept thinking how rare it is to hear someone defend belief so gently—word by word, without rushing. That same patient, almost tender stubbornness lingers in the transcript of Reynolds’s trial, where a man stands quietly for his own honesty. It stayed with me afterward, like a long exhale. Trial of C. B. Reynolds For Blasphemy, at Morristown, N. J., May 1887: Defence — Edition Insights held that same hush.