TO THE Christian READER.
20 passages
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.
THE subject matter of this Treatise must wit •••t all controversy be passing excellent, it being not only a portion of Divinely-inspired Scripture, but such a portion of it as is the Moral Law; the most straight, ••fallible, perf •ct, and perpetually-binding rule of life and manners, that short summary and abridgement of all call •-for duties and forbidden sins (whatever Socinians (with whom Anabaptists and Arminian-Remonstrants on the matter join hands (on a wo full design to transform the Gospel into a new Law or Covenant of Works, that thereby in place of the righteousness of Faith, a righteousness of Works may be established, by their alleged Supplements and Amendments of, and Additaments to it, to be made in the New Testament; and Papists by their v •inly boasted of Works of Super-erogation and Counsels of Perfection, whereby they would have the Law out-done by doing more than it requireth, audaciou •ly aver to the contrary); even these Ten words (afterward contracted by the Lord Christ into two Words or Commandments) immediately pronounced by God himself, and twice written with his own singer on Tables of stone, comprising a great many various matters and purposes; so that it may without any the least hesitation or Hyperbole be asserted, There was never so much matter and marrow, with so much admirably-holy, cunning, compended, couched, and conveyed in so few words, by the most Laconic concise, sententious and singularly significant spok Osman in the World: And no wonder, since it is He that gave men tongues, and taught them to speak, that speaketh here, who hath infinitely beyond the most expert of them, (being all but Battologists and Babblers, ⟨image 9⟩beside Him) the art of speaking much, marvellously much in few words; and would even in this •ave us according to our measure humbly to imitate him: And no doubt it is one of the many moe, and more gross evidences of the d cl nsion of this Generation from the ancient, lovely, and laudable simplicity, that many men forgetting that God first appointed words to be the external signs of the rnal concep s of their minds, and foolishly fancying that because they love and admire to hear themselves talk, others do or are ob ged to do so; affect to multiply words, if not without knowl dg, yet without necessity, and with vast disproportion to the matter;