A17384:7
A commentary
A commentary: or, sermons upon the second chapter of the first epistle of Saint Peter wherein method, sense, doctrine, and use, is, with great variety of matter, profitably handled; and sundry heads of divinity largely discussed. By Nicholas Byfield, late preacher of God's Word at Isle-worth in Middlesex.A commentary: or, sermons vpon the second chapter of the first epistle of Saint Peter vvherein method, sense, doctrine, and vse, is, with great variety of matter, profitably handled; and sundry heads of diuinity largely discussed. By Nicholas Byfield, late preacher of God's Word at Isle-worth in Middlesex.
London: printed by Humphrey Lownes for George Latham, 1623London: printed by Humfrey Lownes for George Latham, 1623
Title page typeset from the transcription.
Modern spelling is a reading aid: the words are the author’s, only the spelling is modernized. Original shows the page as printed, with the transcription marks.
To the Christian Reader.
Many and great are the means which the Lord hath been pleased, since this latter Spring of the Gospel (begun above an hundred years ago) to afford unto his Church, for opening of the mysteries of the Gospel. Never since the Apostles times were the Scriptures more truly interpreted, more fully expounded, more distinctly divided, or more powerfully pressed, then in our Times. The number of those who have taken good pain in this kind, is not small. We may well put into the Catalogue of them, the Author of this Commentary upon the second Chapter of the first Epistle of S. Peter, Master Nicholas Byfield by name; who continued, for the space of twenty years, to take more then ordinary pains in the work of the Lord. He had a singular gift in diving ⟨image 5⟩into the depth of those points which he undertook to handle. As the many other Treatises which in his life time he published, do verify as much; so, in particular, this Commentary here commended unto thee. In it thou shalt find, besides the Grammatical exposition, Logical resolution, and Theological observations, many divine points copiously handled by way of Common-place; which hath made the book to arise unto that bigness that it hath. In this manner of handling the holy Scriptures, he hath not gone alone. Many of the main Pillars of the reformed Churches have beaten out a path before him; as, Martin Bucer, Peter Martyr, Musculus, Zanchius, Lavater, Perkins, and sundry others. The large volume of Peter Martyrs Common-places, was gathered out of his Commentaries on the holy Scriptures. The Church of God hath reaped much good by such copious and distinct handling of heads of Divinity. Their labours therefore, who take pains therein, are not to be concealed from the Church. If it had pleased the Lord to have continued the life, liberty and ability of this his Servant longer unto his Church, he had (questionless) gone on further in this course which he so well began: and so ⟨image 5⟩