XII. ACTS X. 34, 35.-Then Peter opened his mouth, and

said, of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of

persons: but in every nation he that feareth him, and

worketh righteousness, is accepted with him.

XIII. MATT. XXII. 40.-On these two commandments hang all

the law and the prophets.

XIV. HEB. III. 12.-Take heed, brethren, lest there be any in

you of an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the

living God.

XV. ACTS XV. 1, 2.~And certain men, which came down from

Judea, taught the brethren, and said, Except ye be cir-

cumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved.

When therefore Paul and Barnabas had no small dissen-

sion and disputation with them, they determined that Paul

and Barnabas, aud certain other of them, should go up to

Jerusalem, unto the apostles and elders, about this ques-

tion.

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XVI. EPHES. 11. 18.-For through him we both have an access

by one Spirit unto the Father.

XVII. EPHES. II. 8.-For by grace are ye saved through faith ;

and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God.

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XVIII. PHILIP. 11. 12, 13.—Work out your own salvation with

fear and trembling. For it is God which worketh in you

both to will and to do of his good pleasure.

XIX. LUKE XIII. 23, 24.—Then said one unto him, Lord, are

there few that be saved? And he said unto them, Strive

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to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I

say unto you,

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will seek to enter in, and shall not be able.

XX. LUKE XII. 48.-Unto whomsoever much is given, of him

shall be much required: and to whom men have com-

mitted much, of him they will ask the more.

XXI. Luke iv. 1, 2.—And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost,

returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the

wilderness, being forty days tempted of the devil.

XXII. 11 Cor. VII. 10.—Godly sorrow worketh repentance to

salvation not to be repented of; but the sorrow of the

world worketh death.

XXIII. 1 PETER II. 11.-Dearly beloved, I beseech you as

strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which

war against the soul.

XXIV. MATT. XXVII. 38.-Then were there two thieves cru-

cified with him; one on the right hand, and another on

the left.

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INTRODUCTION.

IT has frequently been a subject of complaint, that a
Collection of the best English Divines, from the scarcity of
good editions, and the expense of procuring them, is rarely
met with in the Libraries even of our Clergy, although
these are the sources to which, after the Holy Scriptures,
they must apply for instruction and edification. A few
select volumes of some favorite Authors are perhaps found
on their shelves; but a regular series, exhibiting the pro-
found researches, the luminous expositions, the interesting
criticisms, and the noble eloquence of British Theologians,
falls to the lot of few: indeed our great public repositories
themselves are not unfrequently deficient in so important
a branch of literature. This observation is made from pain-
ful experience, since the Editor has not been able to col-
lect the scattered works of the illustrious Sherlock in
all the Libraries of Cambridge, including the Public
Library itself; nor has it been without extraordinary
pains and difficulty, that his Publisher has completed this
Edition even in our Metropolis. To remedy the defects

above mentioned, and to enable both Clergy and Laymen
to possess a treasure of real excellence, at a time when
the Church of England requires the best exertions of her
sons, is the great object of the present undertaking.

It would indeed be discreditable to an age, in which the

works of so many Authors have been reprinted in a form

combining both economy and convenience, if those of the

great ornaments of our Church should be withheld from

an extended circulation. It has been determined there-

fore to publish a series in which the following plan will

be observed.

Each Work will be preceded by a Biographical Memoir

of its Author, comprising a general account of the times in
which he lived, with a particular reference to the state of
religious opinions.

An Argument or concise Summary of Contents will be

prefixed to every Sermon, Tract, or Disquisition, con-

tained in each Volume; so that not only direct access may

be had to any portion required for perusal or consultation,

but the Summary of each Sermon may be considered as a

Skeleton, well calculated to assist the young Divine in

Composition.

Notes and observations will be added wherever they

may appear necessary or useful; and at the end of each
Author will be given an Index of passages in Scripture,
which have been commented on in such Author.

BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIR

OF

BISHOP SHERLOCK.

THE illustrious prelate with whose works we begin our series, was a younger son of Dr. WILLIAM SHERLOCK, Master of the Temple, and Dean of St. Paul's, a divine who, having passed the greater part of his life in the excitement of polemics, became celebrated in his day for the multiplicity of his controversial writings, but is more advantageously known to posterity by his admirable Treatise on Death. After living to see his son Thomas, who is the subject of this Memoir, rapidly advancing in a course honorable to himself and useful to mankind, he died at Hampstead, June 19, 1707, and was buried in his own cathedral, leaving a very considerable property to his surviving family, which consisted of two sons and as many daughters.

Bishop SHERLOCK was born in London, A. D. 1678. Of his infancy and childhood I find no traces, nor can I discover that he showed any precocity of intellect, though his genius soon distinguished him at Eton, a school well

SHERL.

VOL. I.

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