Acts 26:18 To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God… There are no sermons I know of any divine or pastor in this kingdom, that have been more frequently printed, or more universally read and esteemed, than the elegant and judicious discourses of Mr. Binning, which were published after his death, at different times, in four small volumes. As there was a great demand for these valuable writings, about twenty six years ago; so these printed copies of them were compared with his own manuscript copy now in my hand, carefully revised, and then printed, in a large 4to of 641 pages, by Robert Fleming, Printer at Edinburgh, in the year 1735, to which was prefixed a short account of his Life, chiefly taken from the large memoirs of his Life, that the Reverend Mr. Robert M'Ward, some time minister of the gospel at Glasgow, wrote, in a long letter to the Reverend Mr. James Coleman, Minister of the gospel at Sluys in Flanders, who translated Mr. Binning's Sermons into High Dutch, and printed them for the benefit of the Christian congregations in Holland and Flanders. Some of the most memorable particulars of this great man's life have been also published, anno 1753, by the reverend, learned, and industrious Mr. John Wesley, late Fellow of Lincoln college, Oxford, in his Christian Library, which contains about fifty volumes in 8vo of Extracts from, and Abridgments of, the choicest pieces of practical Divinity, we have printed in our language. It is prefixed to Mr. Binning's Sermons upon the first and part of the second chapters of the first Epistle of John, in the 29th volume of that useful work.(427) Mr. Binning's elegant and judicious Treatise of Christian Love was first printed from a manuscript in my hand, at Edinburgh, 1743, in an octavo pamphlet of forty-seven pages, in short print, by Robert Fleming, to which he hath prefixed a short preface. And the publisher tells us, "That he had revised about twenty four sermons, upon very edifying and profitable subjects, to print in a separate volume, from which they [his readers] should receive as great improvement and satisfaction, as from any of his printed treatises, which every person may easily discover from the style and language to be Mr. Binning's genuine compositions, as his manner of writing can scarcely be imitated by any other person." These sermons were carefully transcribed some little time ago, and revised by the assistance of a friend, and are now printed in this small volume.... And not to detain the reader further from the serious and candid perusal of this book, I shall only add, that I have faithfully transcribed these sermons from the manuscript copy without the smallest alteration of his sentiments. I have endeavoured to rectify a few grammatical errors of the transcribers and the old form of spelling, and altered a few words not now used in our modern sermons, for words of the same meaning. As I have added several sermons of this author upon the kingdom of God, which I transcribed since the proposals of this book were printed, so I could not insert the sermons upon Acts xxvi.18; Acts xiv.11, 12, without almost doubling the price, which I feared would not be agreeable to some of the encouragers of this work. I intend to put the other sermons I have transcribed, or may yet copy, into the hands of some friends to revise before they be printed; as also Mr. M'Ward's Life of this worthy gentleman, taken from his own papers.... It is my sincere wish, that all the readers of this book may be builded up in spiritual wisdom and goodness unto eternal life. Brousterland, September 12th, 1760 Parallel Verses KJV: To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me. |
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