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PRINCETON, N. J
Manton, Thomas, 1620-1677. I The complete works of Thomas! Manton
_ ._ J
THE
WORKS OF THOMAS MANTON, D.D.
VOL. 11.
COUNCIL OF PUBLICATION.
W. LINDSAY ALEXANDER, D.D., Professor of Theology, Congregational Union, Edinburgh.
JAMES BEGG, D.D., Minister of Newington Free Church, Edinburgh.
THOMAS J. CRAWFORD, D.D., S.T.P., Professor of Divinity, University, Edinburgh.
D. T. K. DRUMMOND, M.A., Minister of St Thomas's Episcopal Church, Edinburgh.
WILLIAM H. GOOLD, D.D., Professor of Biblical Literature and Church History, Reformed Presbyterian Church, Edinburgh.
ANDREW THOMSON, D.D., Minister of Broughton Place United Presby- terian Church, Edinburgh,
<©en£ral >Cbitor. REV. THOMAS SMITH, D.D., Edinburgh.
THE COMPLETE WORKS
ov
THOMAS MANTON, D.D,
VOLUME 11.
AN ESTIMATE OF MANTON, BY THE REV. J. C. RYLE, B.A.
SEVERAL DISCOURSES TENDING TO PROMOTE
PEACE AND HOLINESS.
TWENTY SERMONS ON IMPORTANT PASSAGES OP SCRIPTURE.
FAREWELL AND FUNERAL SERMONS.
LONDON:
JAMES NISBET & CO., 21 BERNEKS STREET.
1871.
CONTENTS.
PAGE
An Estimate of Manton, by the Rev. J. C. Eyle, B.A., . ix
Several Discourses tending to Promote Peace and Holiness AMONG Christians.
The Epistle Dedicatory, ..... 3
The Preference of Duties : Morals before Rituals, . . 5
A Description of the True Circumcision, . . 23
"What Kind of Perfection is Attainable in this Life, . . 56
A Persuasive to Unity in Things Indifferent, . . . 68
Not to be Offended in Christ, the Ready Way to Blessedness, 79
Wisdom is Justified of her Children, .... 93 The Faithful Followers of Christ must expect Troubles in this
World, 113
The Excellency of Saving Faith, . . . .140
A Wedding Sermon, . . . . . .162
Twenty Sermons.
Preface, . . . . . . . 175
Sermon I. Ps. xxxii. 1, 2, . . . . . 177
II. Ps. xxxii. 1, 2, . . . . .189
III. Acts iii. 26, . . . . .201
IV. 2 Peter i. 4, . . . . .213 V. Mark ix. 49, . . . . . 222
VI. 2 Thes. iii 5, 235
VII. 2 Thes. iii. 5, . . . . .246
VIII. Eph. i. 8, . . . . .256
IX. Mat. xxvii. 46, .... 264
X. Rom. i. 29, 30, .... 275
XL Gal. V. 16, . . . . . 284
XIL Job xix. 25, . . . . . 293
XIIL 1 Tim. vi. 8, . . . . .306
CONTENTS,
Sermon XIV. Eccles. ix. 11, XV. Acts xxi. U, XVI. John iii. 16, XVII. Deut. XXX. 15, XVIII. Mat. vii, 12, XIX. Eph. ii. 10, XX. Eph. ii. 10,
Faritwell Sermon. Editorial Note, Sermon, . . ,
PAGB
315 327 340 357 3G9 384 397
410 411
A Funeral Sermon. Editorial Note, Sermon,
424
425
The Saint's Triumph over Death.
Editorial Note, ....
Sermon, .....
The Blessed Estate of them that Die in the Lord. The Epistle Dedicatory, Sermon, . . . , .
440 441
456 457
AN ESTIMATE OF MANTON.
BY THE REV. J. C. RYLE.
The publication of a complete and uniform edition of Manton's works is a great boon to the readers of English theology. Many of his best writings have been hitherto inaccessible to all who have not long purses and large libraries. The few who know him would gladly testify, I am sure, that Thomas Manton was one of the best authors of his day, and that his works richly deserve reprinting.
The republication of this great divine's writings in their present form appears to demand a few prefatory remarks. What are Man- ton's special merits ? What claim has a man of the seventeenth century on the attention of 1871 ? What good thing is there about him that we should buy him and read him ? These are reasonable questions, to which I propose to supply an answer in the following brief essay. A calm examination of Manton's real worth appears a suitable accompaniment to a new edition of Manton's works.
The inquiry, it must be admitted, is not an easy one. The materials for forming a judgment are singularly few and scanty. Two hundred years have passed away since Manton was laid in the grave. He died in an age when his principles and his party were very unpopular, and few cared to be known as his friends and admirers. Except the long and exhaustive biography of him by Harris, which has been wisely reprinted in this edition, we possess little information about him. All other impressions about him must be based on a patient analysis of his voluminous posthumous works. Considerable familiarity with these works forms my principal claim on the reader's attention in sending forth this essay.
Let me clear the way by considering an objection which is fre- quently brought against Manton and other divines of his school. That objection is that he was " a Puritan." I admit the fact, and do not deny it for a moment. A friend and associate of Baxter, Calamy. Owen, and Bates — a leading man in all the fruitless conferences be-
X AN ESTIMATE OF MANTON.
tween Puritans and Churchmen in the early part of Charles Il.'a reign — ejected from St Paul's, Covent Garden, by the disgrace- ful Act of Uniformity — a sufierer even unto bonds on account of his Nonconformist opinions, — if ever there was an English divine who must be classed as a Puritan, that man is Dr Manton. But what of it, if he was a Puritan ? It does not prove that he was not a valuable theologian, an admirable writer, and an excellent man. Let me once for all make a few plain statements about the school to which Manton belonged — the school of the English Puritans, It is one of those points in the ecclesiastical history of our country about which the ignorance of most Englishmen is deep and astounding. There are more baseless and false ideas current about them than about any class of men in British history. The impressions of most people are so ridiculously incorrect, that one could laugh if the subject were not so serious. To hear them talk about Puritans is simply ludicrous. They make assertions which prove either that they know nothing at all of what they are talking about, or that they have forgotten the ninth com- mandment. For Dr Manton's sake, and for the honour of a cruelly mis- represented body of men, let me try to explain to the reader what the Puritans really were. He that supposes they were ignorant, fanatical sectaries, haters of the Crown and Church of England — men alike destitute of learning, holiness, or loyalty — has got a great deal to learn. Let him hear some plain facts, which I will venture to copy from a work written by myself in 1868 (" Bishops and Clergy of other Days ").