An Excellent and godly Sermon, Dedication – To the reader
To the right worſhipfull Maſter Richard Martin, Warden of the Queenes Maieſties Mints, and Alderman of the Citie of London, Grace and peace from God the Father, through Chriſt Ieſus our Lord.
I HaueHave ſent vntounto you, right worſhipfull, and dearly beloued in the Lord, according to your earneſt requeſt, and my promiſe, the ſumme and effecte of my Sermon preached at Paules Croſſe: deſiring you to receiue it, as a moſt certaine token of my vnfayned louelove towardes you in Chriſt. For although it come from an olde friend and brother in the Lord: yet I ſend it vntounto your worſhip for a Newe yeres gift, to teſtifie a newe increaſe of my Chriſtian louelove towards you, & ſo many as ſhal reade it, with purpoſe to liue according to the rule of ſound doctrine and godlines: And concerning you, of whoſe integritie I hauehave good experience, I perſwade my ſelfe that our moſt mercifull Father, by this meanes vvill vvorke in your heart, the plentifull increaſe of the giftes and invvard graces of that nevv man, vvhichwhich is framed according to the Image of his dearely beloued ſonne Chriſt Ieſus. For as you hauehave bene moſt earneſt to hauehave in vvriting this doctrine: ſo I doubt not, but you vvill be moſt diligent in the practiſe thereof: for vvhichwhich cauſe I commit it into your hands, to vſe to Gods glorie, the profit of his children, & to your ovvne comfort. Grace, peace, and louelove vvith faith, from God the Father, and from the Lord Ieſus Chriſt be vvith you novve and euer. Amen.
From Cambridge, by your moſt louing friend, and brother in the Lord, Laurence Chaderton.
To the Chriſtian Reader.
AS much reading is a wearines to ye fleſh, ſo there is neither end nor profit, in making many bookes. True wiſdome eſcheweth both: but the folie of our time neuer ceaſeth to write, nether can be ſatiſfied with reading the new and variable inuētions of men. A fault amongſt wiſe Philoſophers much miſliked, how much more ought it to be cōdemned & eſchewed of al learned Chriſtians? But vaine glory, & deſire of popular fame in the writers, & deſire of filthy lucre in the Printers, hauehave ſtuffed our Engliſh ſtudies with many ſuperfluous & vnneceſſary books to the great hurt of many good wits, & to the hinderance of cōſtant iudgemēt in the ſoūdnes of Chriſtiā doctrine. A matter moſt neceſſary to be reformed by ſuch as hauehave receiued authority to this end, that neither our Church, nor cōmon weale ſhuld be hurt, but rather bettered by the writings of men. For my part, I wiſh with all my heart, that we had fewer bookes, & greater ſkill in the old & newe Teſtament of Chriſt, wherin are bequeathed vntounto vsus moſt heauenly & precious Iewels, & legacies of the immortal inheritance: to which moſt ſure word & Teſtament, if we take heed as vntounto a light that ſhineth in a dark place, we ſhalbe directed aright in the ſtrait way that leadeth to immortalitie & happines. Now touching this my Sermon, if I did thinke (deare Chriſtian Reader) that it would quench in the mind of any, the deſire of hearing the Goſpell preached, & not rather inflame their heart, both to hearing & faithful working, I would rather hauehave buried it in perpetuall ſilence, then committed it to writing. But being fully perſwaded, that by this meanes ye Lord God in mercye wil bring into the minds of thoſe that heard me, a fruitfull remēbrance of his mighty working by the power of his ſpirit, at that preſent, to their ſingular comfort: I hauehave in ſome part ſatiſfied the earneſt, & importunat ſute of many deare Chriſtians and brethren, who did both by letters & word of mouth, after a ſort compel me to write it. The ſumme and effect of al I hauehave ſet downe, not in the ſame words I ſpake (for the Lord knoweth I neuer writ it and therfore could not) but in other, ſo plainly as I could for the capacity and vnderſtāding of al. I hauehave added thoſe things, whereof then I could not, partly for lacke of time, partly for other neceſſary occaſiōs, intreat. And albeit mine owne inabilitie in this kinde of writing, wherein I am altogether a ſtranger, and the feare of the ſeuere cenſure of the learned eloquent diuines, did greatly diſſwade me: yet my earneſt deſire both to leaue behind me ſome ſmal teſtimonie of my ſaith, cō ſcience, & religion: & alſo to hauehave my iudgement touching faith & workes approued of ye Engliſh church, did as it were violētly carie me to this dutiful worke of louelove. Now my harty deſire is, that this my labour may be acceptably receiued, & louingly expounded of all, & my prayer vntounto God is & ſhalbe, that eueryevery one of vsus, according to the meaſure of the gift of Chriſt, may be inabled by his ſpirit, to hold faſt the ſound doctrine of pure religion, in life and in death, & with al ioy of the holy Ghoſt ſincerely to practiſe the ſame, to the glory of Chriſt, & the edificatiō of his Church. But let no man thinke, that ye reading of this can be half ſo effectual and profitable to him, as the hearing was, or might be. For it wāteth the zeale of the ſpeaker, the attention of the hearer, the promiſe of God to the ordinary preaching of his word, the mighty & inward working of his holy ſpirit, & many other thīgs which the Lord worketh moſt mercifully by ye preaching of his glorious Goſpel, which are not to be hoped for by reading the written Sermons of his miniſters. Neuertheleſſe I truſt that he will bleſſe the reading hereof, to the praiſe of his owne name, & the cōfort of his Church. To him therefore by Chriſt be al praiſe & honour in the Church for euer. Amen.