the Creed, and part of a twelfth; besides twelve sermons or treatises relating to two of the nine books aforesaid.

There were published in the year 1654 and 1657, (that was nigh twenty years after their author's death,) the tenth and eleventh books of Comments upon the Creed. For which two excellent books, as also for what additions are de novo made to the former in this new edition, the church is indebted to the most reverend father in God, Gilbert, by Divine Providence, lord archbishop of Canterbury, &c. (who procured the papers from the reverend Doctor Newlin, successor and executor to the author, and the careful preserver of his manuscripts,) besides what she owes his Grace for his indefatigable vigilancy and care of her welfare.

These twelve books, and the twelve treatises or sermons, are in this present edition disposed into three tomes.

In the first tome are contained five books: viz. The

I. Of the eternal truth of scripture.

II. How necessary the ministry of man is for planting of faith. III. Blasphemous positions of Jesuits, &c. about the church's authority.

IV. Of justifying faith: or that faith by which the just doth live.

V. Of the originals of unbelief, misbelief, mispersuasions, &c. In the second tome be contained the four next books: viz. The

VI. Of the Divine essence and attributes. To which are annexed nine of the twelve sermons or treatises, (mentioned above, four of which make up that treatise which the author intituled, About the Signs of the Times,) as relating to the discourses about God's providence contained in that book: which nine are now reckoned with and as parts of that sixth book.

VII. Of the knowledge of Christ: before which be placed as introductions, two sermons, (Bethlehem and Nazareth, the woman a true help to man,) and Christ's answer to St. John's disciples, the remaining three of the twelve: as also two sermons, one, about the wise men of the East; the other, Rachel's tears, never printed before. All which constitute the seventh book.

VIII. The humiliation of the Son of God.

IX. Of the consecration of the Son of God to his everlasting

priesthood.

In the third tome be contained three books: viz. The

X. Which treateth of many useful and weighty subjects. Of original righteousness in Adam. How sin found entrance into the world. Of original sin. Of man's servitude to sin. Of freedom of will. Of mortification. It contains also a grave answer to Mr. Burton's exception. A paraphrase upon the eleven first chapters of Exodus. Christ's exercising his everlasting priesthood: and divers other matters, very considerable.

XI. Which treats of Christ's exaltation, and session at God's right hand. His being made Lord and Christ. His coming with power to judge the quick and the dead; to raise the bodies of the dead; to award life and death everlasting secundum opera: where the question about merit is well handled. To which are annexed about twenty sermons, one, of which (placed before the sermons of blood) upon Genesis xlii. 21. was never printed before.

XII. Contains a treatise of the holy catholic church. To which is annexed, A treatise of Christian obedience, never printed before, which is conceived to be a part of the second book of that treatise.

I have always sufficient reason to suspect the weakness of my judgment: and I do here very seriously reflect upon the feebleness of my memory, which hath sometimes been so nullified) but for a very little moment, I bless God) by the sudden ingruence of a lethargy or apoplexy, that I could not remember the name of any one in my parish, where I have been vicar forty years. And therefore beforehand, begging pardon if I fail, I tell the reader, that I do now intend, and deliberate to recollect, and here set down all such particulars as may any way contribute to the benefit or content of the reader to the credit or caution of the stationer. I insert this latter term, because the very last time I did the office of a prefacer for one, (as I am now doing for three,) my imperfect shallow sense-by the printer's leaving out the first letter and word, and somewhere divers words-was turned into perfect nonsense : so that one who blamed me as censorious for an hard word in JACKSON, VOL. I.

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that preface not put in by me, was very candid that he did not blame me as senseless, for more words left out by the printer.

The first particular I think of (consequent to what is said before concerning the ordering of the books in their several tomes) is, to shew to which article of the Creed (respectively) these books of Comments upon the Creed do relate.

I should wholly wave this labour, (because useless to the learned,) but that I know some that love and read this author who are no great scholars. Now these may be willing to know, that the first five books relate only to the first article, or first part of the article, "I believe in God:" the five being chiefly if not wholly spent in declaring what belief is, what motives we have to believe holy scripture, what helps be needful for plantation of faith, what errors be negatively, privatively, or positively opposite to faith; with their originals.

The sixth book, (with the nine appendices,) treating of God's essence and attributes; very largely of his infinite power and providence visible in the creation and government of the world, relate to that part of the article wherein we profess our faith "in God the Father Almighty, Maker of "heaven and earth.”

All the five sermons or treatises placed tome ii. fol."401*. being figured and counted with the seventh book, as parts of it, because introductive to it: the seventh book itself, the whole eighth and ninth, the latter part of the tenth, and the former part of the elventh books, relate to the articles concerning our blessed Saviour, from his conception to his coming to judgment, inclusive.

How this learned author proves, by reason, that the resurrection of the body is possible; how he confirms a Christian's faith, that it is future, and shall be, see tome iii. fol. 421, &c†. He that would taste the joys or see a glimpse of the glory in life everlasting, let him read tome iii. fol. 498, &c.

He that would see the dreadful torments of death eternal, may without danger take a view of them (tom. iii. fol. 448§, &c.); and seeing so fear them, that (by God's grace) he never come to feel them.

* Of this edition, vol. vi. p. 195. Vol. x. p. 394, &c.

† Vol. x. p. 234, &c.

§ Vol. x. p. 291, &c.

The twelfth book hath (in the former part of it) a most rational and solid discourse of the holy catholic church.

It is meet here to let the reader know, (that he may serve himself of what he finds dispersed upon those heads,) that this author's comments upon the other three articles, as also his devotions, his soliloquies or meditations upon the "holy, blessed, and undivided Trinity," are not found; which loss I do most heartily lament. And my sorrow for his lost book of Prodigies is not turned into joy, but rather returned upon me, by what I have seen written, either pro or con, upon that subject; either by the excessive collection of particulars accounted prodigies, or by that very learned tract, in part occasioned by that collection. Our great author would have been an excellent answerer or moderator in those disputes. Surely there is

a right use of real prodigies, and of all the tragical acts and accidents which have been since those books were written. And that is, not to stir up men to censure or disturb states, but to serious repentance, to more constant and fervent prayers for the peace and prosperity of prince and people, of church and state. And he that makes not such use of them adds one to the number of them.

Another particular, not needless to be known, is this. The author's works at first were printed by piecemeal, as they came off hand, some at Oxford, some at London, some fiftyseven, some forty-seven, others thirty-seven years ago. The fourth book" Of justifying faith," was twice printed in quarto; once in the year 1615, a second time (divers years after) with some small variation in obedience to the king, who prohibited divines to meddle with quinquarticular controversies: this last edition is made according to the first impression of that fourth book, as being conceived to be the better.

The nine sermons printed and placed all together, (tom. ii. fol. 287. &c.) which upon the first folio bear this title, " Divers "Sermons, with a short Treatise befitting these present Times;" and afterward fol. 349, 351 †. have this title set before the four latter sermons, "A Treatise concerning the Signs of the Times, or God's Forewarnings:" these, making (in their titles) mention of time and times, may make an inquisitive reader

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* Vol. vi. p. 1, &c.

+ Ibid. p. 110.

desirous to know the time when these sermons were preached; and that was, as I suppose, about the year of our Lord 1635. My conjecture is grounded upon these three particulars:

1. All the nine were printed at Oxford in the year 1637. 2. Some of them were preached at Newcastle, some before the king; which may seem to imply some distance of time.

3. The great visitation by wind, which did so affect (I should say astonish) our great author, happened upon the fourth of November 1636, not long before those troubles in Scotland began, which brought on that parliament which begun November 3, 1640.

It is meet the Christian reader be secured, that this great author hath not been injured by perverting his sense. And what better argument than this can be given-that no alteration hath been made where the matter seemed to require a correction? For example: in the Epistle to the Reader, tome i. line 14*, there the word conscience looks as if it would be changed into conscious, or to be construed for guilt. So tome i. fol. 13. line 25 †, And yet . . . after these two words conjecture would insert two more to complete the sense, viz. they persecuted. But the temptations of these probabilities did not prevail to make the addition to the one, or the alteration in the other. The reader may perhaps of himself find one or two such passages in the second tome, fol. 7 and 9, which yet were not tampered with.

This tenderness of doing the author wrong hath begot a care of doing all those persons right who had any interest in his writings. Those to whom the author did dedicate his books were either right honourable patrons, right reverend fathers, or right religious sons of the church. Whilst they were living, he honoured their persons, and that every pious reader may have remembrancers to honour the memories of them dead, all the Epistles dedicatory prefixed to the several books are printed in this edition-And who will deny such honour unto the saints?

I challenge Invention herself to contrive a memorial equal to the merit of that noble person, who was God's instrument to divert our author (my pen had a mind to write convert) from being a merchant, to become a divine: this was the * Vol. i. p. lvii. line 15. Ibid. p. 23. line 4. Vol. v. pp. 16 and 20.