What is Freer Than Gift?

There is a wonderful chapter in Daniel Rogers' “Practical Catechism” on the free offer of the gospel. Below are some extracts from it designed to whet the appetite, stir the appreciation of God’s free offer of grace in the gospel, and in his words, “teach thee to mend thy slow pace, and run, yea, fly to this offer and free gift.” Read the full chapter in the link below from pages 88 to 108. Daniel Rogers (1573–1652) was an English Puritan minister and scholar, son of Richard Rogers, and a student of William Perkins.

Daniel Rogers, “A Practicall Catechisme” in “Two Treatises, First, The Practicall Catechisme, Wherein, Those Principall Truthes, which most directly, tend to life and godlinesse; are handled. Secondly, A Treatise of the Two Sacraments of the Gospell, Baptisme and the Lords Supper.” (1640), pp. 88-101 (slightly edited for spelling):

Article IV.

The gospel and the offer of grace in it, is the revealer of this deliverance.

 “That is his gracious offer, made to the soul therein: which is nothing else, but the expression of the covenant of grace, that he is willing a poor soul may come to him without doubting and fear, because he holds out the Golden Scepter unto it, and bids it, Be reconciled. Hither refer all those texts wherein this offer is made, both in the covenant and in the seal of Baptism, Isa. 55.1, Ho, every one that thirsteth come. And, Let him that thirsteth, drink freely, Rev. 22.17, and John 7.37, In the great days of the feast, Jesus cried, If any man thirst, let him come.

And surely whoso will profit by this Article, must get this lesson by heart: That the Lord who freely purposed, and faithfully sent his Son into the world, still continues his freedom, and doth offer the Lord Jesus with his excellency most freely. A bottom of most unspeakable comfort to all poor, bruised reeds and broken souls. For if he be freely offered, what poor soul should doubt to accept him? What is freer than gift? He that gave him freely, cannot withdraw him again, nor keep back his satisfaction from a needing soul, as if he repented. And having given him once, he cannot recall him, for why then gave he him? And if he be wholly given, even with all his excellency, what particular thing can be denied with him? It behooves us then much to understand the truth of this freedom: which in a few particulars I will name.

 First, God offers Christ of his own accord, therefore freely. It never came into the heart of Angel or man to dream of it, or desire it. Romans 5, When we were yet enemies. The sun doth not arise more freely over the head of a drunkard snoring in his bed, or wallowing in his vomit, than the Lord Jesus came and is offered to a sinner in his blood and woeful misery. Preventing kindness is free, ere we desired it. See Isa. 65.1.

…

He offers it to whom he pleaseth, passing by millions of people in the world, and offering it to such and such nations, as he did of old to Israel, neglecting the world; so that it is merely unconditional and free, as when Paul came to Athens or Ephesus, who had never heard of gospel before.
…

Q. What are you so large in opening of this?

 A. Because it’s the main hinge whereupon the door of hope and faith turneth: the offer of God satisfied, being the immediate object to which the soul is to resolve and empty itself. The offer I say assisted with a promise. For an offer is no otherwise differing from a promise, than as a general out of which a particular issueth; the promise is included in an offer, but yet in special expressing the Covenant of God to all that receive the offer, that he will receive them, be their God, both in pardon and in all-sufficiency. Into these the soul doth wholly pour forth herself: which that we may understand, consider this, that we have to do with the Father immediately, but with our Lord Jesus only mediately, as a means to lead us with confidence unto him. The Father properly looks at the Son as our surety, and us, for his sake: but we look at him directly, and to our Lord Jesus, as our Mediator. So that look what we can show for our reconciliation, must come from the Father, and that is his offer and promise, oath and covenant of mercy. Into that therefore the poor soul is to resolve itself, all her doubts, fears, temptations and distempers whatsoever, and so to remain settled. So that it mainly concerns the soul to understand the nature, ground, and properties of the offer and promise.

…

Fifthly, this should sear us from all infidelity and contempt of God’s offer: Oh! It’s free and from mere good will, the Lord is tied to none; He hath rejected millions of Jews and Turks and baptized ones, and chosen to offer grace to thee. And, shall the contempt of the free offer of that which thousands would have been glad of (upon the price of going from sea to sea for it) be pardonable? Do but consider what woeful punishment will lie upon thee, who refuseth such an offer laid in thy lap, when as many poor souls would rejoice if the spending of days and nights might procure them a tender and believing heart to receive it; and yet complain, that they cannot come by it. Oh, tremble at the freedom of this offer! Be humble and base thyself to consider but this; I am a poor wretch, standing to the mercy of a free God, who hath it to give where he will, and to deny it at his pleasure. If he gave it to a prodigal son, and deny it to a moral civilian: if he give it to one that came into the vineyard at the eleventh hour, and deny it to him that came in at the seventh: if he deny it to the willer and runner, and be found of such as sought him not, who shall allege against freedom? May he not do with his own as he pleases? Oh, despise none! Lest the Lord make the despisers to seek the despised (as the Gileadites sought to Jeptha) and be glad of their portion. Oh! Turn all emulation and scorn into humility; and deep adoring of this freedom.

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Fourthly, let it teach thee to mend thy slow pace, and run, yea, fly to this offer and free gift. 

Calvin on the Free Offer of the Gospel and God's Love to All Men

John Calvin, Sermons on Deuteronomy, Sermon No. 28 (on Deut. 4.36-38), p. 167:

It is true that Saint John saith generally, that [God] loved the world. And why? For Jesus Christ offereth himself generally to all men without exception to be their redeemer...Thus we see three degrees of the love that God hath shewed us in our Lord Jesus Christ. The first is in respect of the redemption that was purchased in the person of him that gave himself to death for us, and became accursed to reconcile us to God his Father. That is the first degree of love, which extendeth to all men, inasmuch as Jesus Christ reacheth out his arms to call and allure all men both great and small, and to win them to him. But there is a special love for those to whom the gospel is preached: which is that God testifieth unto them that he will make them partakers of the benefit that was purchased for them by the death and passion of his Son. And forasmuch as we be of that number, therefore we are double bound already to our God: here are two bonds which hold us as it were strait tied unto him. Now let us come to the third bond, which dependeth upon the third love that God sheweth us: which is that he not only causeth the gospel to be preached unto us, but also maketh us to feel the power thereof, so as we know him to be our Father and Saviour, not doubting but that our sins are forgiven us for our Lord Jesus Christ's sake, who bringeth us the gift of the Holy Ghost, to reform us after his own image. 

What's in a Name?

George Whitfield:

I embrace the calvinistical scheme, not because Calvin, but Jesus Christ, I think,  has taught it to me. (Letter dated September 24, 1742)

Charles Spurgeon:

Did you say that such-and-such a thing is believed by you because you found it in Calvin's Institutes? I am a Calvinist, and a lover of that grand man's memory and doctrine; but I believe nothing merely because Calvin taught it, but because I have found his teaching in the Word of God. (Sermon number 2584 Metropolitan Tabernacle 44:517)

And I have my own private opinion that there is no such a thing as preaching Christ and him crucified, unless you preach what now-a-days is called Calvinism. I have my own ideas, and those I always state boldly. It is a nickname to call it Calvinism; Calvinism is the gospel, and nothing else. I do not believe we can preach the gospel, if we do not preach justification by faith, without works; nor unless we preach the sovereignty of God in his dispensation of grace; nor unless we exalt the electing, unchangeable, eternal, immutable, conquering, love of Jehovah; nor do I think we can preach the gospel, unless we base it upon the peculiar redemption which Christ made for his elect and chosen people; nor can I comprehend a gospel which lets saints fall away after they are called, and suffers the children of God to be burned in the fires of damnation after having believed. Such a gospel I abhor. The gospel of the Bible is not such a gospel as that. We preach Christ and him crucified in a different fashion, and to all gainsayers we reply, "We have not so learned Christ." (Sermon number 98 New Park Street Pulpit 1:100)

It is no novelty, then, that I am-preaching; no new doctrine. I love to proclaim these strong old doctrines, which are called by nickname Calvinism, but which are surely and verily the revealed truth of God as it is in Christ Jesus. By this truth I make a pilgrimage into the past, and as I go, I see father after father, confessor after confessor, martyr after martyr, standing up to shake hands with me. Were I a Pelagian, or a believer in the doctrine of free-will, I should have to walk for centuries all alone. Here and there a heretic of no very honorable character might rise up and call me brother. But taking these things to be the standard of my faith, I see the land of the ancients peopled with my brethren-I behold multitudes who confess the same as I do, and acknowledge that this is the religion of God?s own church. (Sermon on Election 1:551) 

Again, I must say, I am not defending certain brethren who have exaggerated Calvinism. I speak of Calvinism proper, not that which has run to seed, and outgrown its beauty and verdure. I speak of it as I find it in Calvin?s Institutes, and especially in his Expositions. I have read them carefully. I take not my views of Calvinism from common repute but from his books. Nor do I, in thus speaking, even vindicate Calvinism as if I cared for the name, but I mean that glorious system which teaches that salvation is of grace from first to last.  (Sermon number 385 Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit 7:554) 

The old truth that Calvin preached, that Augustine preached, that Paul preached, is the truth that I must preach to-day, or else be false to my conscience and my God. I cannot shape the truth; I know of no such thing as paring off the rough edges of a doctrine. John Knox's gospel is my gospel. That which thundered through Scotland must thunder through England again. (Defence of Calvinism) 

To me, Calvinism means the placing of the eternal God at the head of all things. (An All Round Ministry, p. 337)

Calvinism is the Gospel. (Sermons, Vol. 1, p. 50)

Calvinism did not spring from Calvin. We believe that it sprang from the great Founder of all truth. (Sermons, Vol. 7, p. 298)

I am not a Calvinist by choice, but because I cannot help it. (Sermons, Vol. 18, p. 692)

Robert L. Dabney:

We Presbyterians care very little about the name Calvinism. We are not ashamed of it; but we are not bound to it. Some opponents seem to harbor the ridiculous notion that this set of doctrines was the new invention of the Frenchman John Calvin. They would represent us as in this thing followers of him instead of followers of the Bible. This is a stupid historical error. John Calvin no more invented these doctrines than he invented this world which God had created six thousand years before. We believe that he was a very gifted, learned, and, in the main, godly man, who still had his faults. He found substantially this system of doctrines just where we find them, in the faithful study of the Bible, Where we see them taught by all the prophets, apostles, and the Messiah himself, from Genesis to Revelation.

Calvin also found the same doctrines handed down by the best, most learned, most godly, uninspired church fathers, as Augustine and Saint Thomas Aquinas, still running through the errors of popery. He wielded a wide influence over the Protestant churches; but the Westminster Assembly and the Presbyterian churches by no means adopted all Calvin's opinions. Like the Synod of Dort, we draw our doctrines, not from any mortal man or human philosophy, but from the Holy Ghost speaking in the Bible. Yet, we do find some inferior comfort in discovering these same doctrines of grace in the most learned and pious of all churches and ages; of the great fathers of Romanism, of Martin Luther, of Blaise Paschal, of the original Protestant churches, German, Swiss, French, Holland, English, and Scotch—and far the largest part of the real scriptural churches of our own day. (The Five Points of Calvinism)

MHCC 51: Brown Bread and the Gospel

Matthew Henry on Isa. 30.19-20:

It was a common saying among the old Puritans, Brown bread and the gospel are good fare.

The Worthy Sayings of Old Mr. [John] Dod, p. 32:

Brown bread with the Gospel is good fare.

Old Mr. Dod's Sayings, p. 16:

Though we have things below, very rare / Yet brown bread with the Gospel is good fare.

Robert Leighton, Exposition of the Lord's Prayer, in Works, Vol. 4, p. 91:

Though he hath no more of the world but daily bread, and of the coarsest sort, he hath a continual feast within, as he that said, Brown bread and the gospel is good fare.

John Spencer, Things New and Old, Vol. 1, p. 20:

Brown bread and the Gospel (said Mr. [Richard] Greenham), is good cheer; and indeed, brown bread, and the blessing of God, is a rich banquet.

Gospel of Dirt

Thomas Carlyle, quoted in William Howie Wylie, Thomas Carlyle: The Man and His Books: Illustrated by Personal Reminiscences, Table-Talk, and Anecdotes of Himself and His Friends, pp. 328-329:

A good sort of man is this Mr. Darwin, and well meaning, but with very little intellect. Ah, it's a sad, a terrible thing to see nigh a whole generation of men and women, professing to be cultivated, looking around in a purblind fashion, and finding no God in this universe. I suppose it is a reaction from the reign of cant and hollow pretence, professing to believe what in fact they do not believe. And this is what we have got to. All things from frog-spawn; the gospel of dirt the order of the day. The older I grow -- and I now stand on the brink of eternity -- the more comes back to me the sentence in the Catechism which I learned when a child, and the fuller and deeper it becomes. 'What is the chief end of man? To glorify God, and enjoy him forever.' No gospel of dirt, teaching that men have descended from frogs, through monkeys, can ever set these aside."

Scope of the Gospel

Ralph Erskine, Gospel Sonnets, Preface, p. x:

...the main Scope of the Gospel itself [is] to exclude all Self-Confidence, and stain the Pride of Man, to bring in Self-Denial, and exalt the Glory of Christ, to extol his Righteousness, by which he has magnify'd the Law, and made it honourable, to exhibit such a Way of Salvation to Sinners, as shall most advance the Honour of all the divine Perfections, which shine most brightly in the Face and Person of Jesus Christ; and to bring Men to such a true and lively Faith of the Free-Grace and Mercy of God in Christ, as well be the only solid Root and Spring of true Peace, Heart-Holiness, and practical Godliness, according to these and the like Scriptures, Rom. v.i. Acts xv.9. Tit. ii.11, 12, and iii. 5, 6, 7, 8.

Martyr for Calvin

It is often said that the Reformed are followers of a man, John Calvin, rather than Christ. Charles Spurgeon responded to this charge by pointing to the substance of what Calvin preached and identifying it as merely the gospel:

I have my own private opinion that there is no such thing as preaching Christ and Him crucified, unless we preach what nowadays is called Calvinism. It is a nickname to call it Calvinism; Calvinism is the gospel, and nothing else.

Wilhelmus à Brakel once wrote a long pastoral letter to the persecuted saints of the Netherlands titled "A Letter of Exhortation to Be Steadfast in the Confession of the Lord Jesus Christ and His Truth in Time of Persecution and Martyrdom." This letter is found in The Christian's Reasonable Service, Vol. 3, pp. 359-376. In it, he discusses various temptations that persecuted believers were subject to, among which is this charge:

The best they can do is laugh about me, calling me a martyr -- not of the Lord Jesus, but of Calvin.

His counsel in the face of such a charge is this:

...there is the temptation of suffering from an evil reputation of being disobedient to the government, of having committed a given evil, of being stubborn, and being but a martyr for the sake of Calvin and his errors. You must skillfully resist this temptation for you know very well that they do not have an evil deed as a basis for torturing you, but they rather do so to cause you to deny the truth. They have but fabricated this evil reputation. You know indeed that Calvin is not the issue; you do not esteem him more highly than other faithful ministers. You do not rely upon his word but only upon the Word of God. God, angels, and believers also know this -- yes, it is even known to the enemies, and they take occasion to harden their heart and render yours weak by way of this evil reputation. Thus, the Jews dealt with the Lord Jesus and said, "For a good work we stone Thee not; but for blasphemy" (John 10:33); "This man calleth for Elias...let us see whether Elias will come to save Him" (Mat. 27:47, 49). It is therefore no wonder that the enemies, having the same nature, do the same things. The Lord will reveal the reason for your suffering in the day of judgment, and your glory in heaven will not be diminished, but be increased. Be therefore faithful.

Noah's Dove

Thomas Shepard, The Sincere Convert (1641) in Works, Vol. 1, pp. 105-106:

Though thy good duties can not save thee, yet thy bad works will damn thee. Thou art, therefore, not to cast off the duties, but the resting in these duties. Thou art not to cast them away, but to cast them down at the feet of Jesus Christ, as they did their crowns, (Rev. iv. 10, 11,) saying, If there be any good or graces in these duties, it is thine, Lord; for it is the prince's favor that exalts a man, not his own gifts: they came from his good pleasure.

But thou wilt say, To what end should I perform duties, if I can not be saved by them?
...
First. To carry thee to the Lord Jesus, the only Saviour (Heb. vii.25.) He only is able to save (not duties) all that come unto God (that is, in the use of means) by him. Hear a sermon to carry thee to Jesus Christ; fast and pray, and get a full tide of affections in them to carry thee to the Lord Jesus Christ: that is, to get more love to him, more acquaintance with him, more union with him; so sorrow for thy sins that thou mayest be more fitted for Christ, that thou mayest prize Christ the more; use thy duties as Noah's dove did her wings, to carry thee to the ark of the Lord Jesus Christ, where only there is rest. If she had never used her wings, she had fallen into the waters; so, if thou shalt use no duties, but cast them off, thou art sure to perish. Or, as it is with a poor man that is to go over a great water for a treasure on the other side, though he can not fetch the boat, he calls for it; and, though there be no treasure in the boat, yet he useth the boat to carry him over to the treasure. So Christ is in heaven, and thou on earth; he doth come to thee, and thou canst not go to him; now call for a boat; though there is no grace, no good, no salvation, in a pithless duty, yet use it to carry thee over to the treasure -- the Lord Jesus Christ. When thou comest to hear, say, Have over Lord by this sermon; when thou comest to pray, say, Have over Lord by this prayer to a Saviour. But this is the misery of people. Like foolish lovers, when they are to woo for the lady, they fall in love with her handmaid that is only to lead them to her; so men fall in love with, and dote upon, their own duties, and rest contented with the naked performance of them, which are only handmaids to lead the soul unto the Lord Jesus Christ.

Thomas Goodwin, Christ Set Forth (1642) in Works, Vol. 4, pp. 13-14:

In the third place, Christ's person, and not barely the promises of forgiveness, is to be the object of faith. There are many poor souls humbled for their sin, and taken off from their bottom, who, like Noah's dove, fly over all the word of God, to spy out what they may set their foot upon, and eying therein many free and gracious promises, holding forth forgiveness of sins, and justification, they immediately close with them, and rest on them alone, not seeking for, or closing with Christ in those promises. Which is a common error among people; and is like as if Noah's dove should have rested upon the outside of the ark, and not come to Noah within the ark; where though she might find rest for a while, yet could she not ride out all storms, but must needs have perished there in the end.

Isaac Ambrose, The Practice of Sanctification (1650) in Prima, Media, & Ultima: the first, middle, and last things, in three treatises as found his Works, p. 84:

That duties may carry us to the Lord Jesus Christ: he alone is able to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, i.e., in the use of means. Hear a sermon, to carry thee to the Lord Jesus; fast and pray, and get a full tide of affections in them, to carry thee to Jesus Christ, i.e. to get more love of him, more acquaintance with him, more union in him, and communion with him: use thy duties as Noah's dove did her wings, carry thee to the ark of the Lord Jesus Christ where only there is rest: if she had never used her wings, she had fallen into the waters; and if she had not returned to the ark, she had found no rest. So, if thou shalt use no duties, but cast them all off, thou art sure to perish; and if they convey thee not to Christ, thou mayest lie down in sorrow.

Thomas Brooks, An Ark For All God's Noahs (1662) in Works, Vol. 2, p. 35:

A man that hath only the world for his portion, is like to Noah's dove out of the ark, that was in continual motion, but could find no resting place; but a man that hath God for his portion is like the dove, returning and resting in the ark.

Thomas Brooks, The Privy Key of Heaven (1665) in Works, Vol. 2, p. 253:

My fourth advice and counsel is, Take heed of resting upon closet duties, take heed of trusting in closet-duties. Noah's dove made use of her wings, but she did not trust in her wings, but in the ark; so you must make use of closet-duties, but you must not trust in your closet-duties, but in Jesus, of whom the ark was but a type.

Live to Die, and Die to Live Again

In 1542 or thereabouts, an anonymous tract was published in Italy called Tratto utilissimo del beneficio de Giesu Christo (On the Benefit of Christ's Death). One of the most important literary productions of the Italian Reformation, it was so popular at the time that within the space of six years, about 40,000 copies had been sold. However, it landed on the Index of Prohibited Books, and the Inquisition was largely successful in rounding up and destroying almost all extant copies. Authorship of the book has been debated for centuries with 19th century scholars ascribing it to the Italian Reformer and martyr Aonio Paleario (1500-1570) and 20th century scholars attributing it to the joint work of poet Marcantonio Flaminio (c. 1497-1550) and the Benedictine monk Benedetto da Mantova. The Inquisitors were so successful in proscribing the book that by the early nineteenth century, when Thomas M'Crie the Elder wrote his history of the Reformation in Italy, he was unable to obtain a copy of this book. His research though did lead to the discovery that the work had been translated into English. After M'Crie's death, around 1840, copies of this work finally came to light, one of which was a manuscript of a 1548 English translation by Edward Courtenay bearing handwritten notes by King Edward VI himself, to whom the translation was evidently loaned by his aunt, Anne Seymour, Duchess of Somerset. One of those notes, written on a leaf near the end of the manuscript, reads as follows: "Live to die, and die to live again." These words speak to the good news of the great benefit of Christ's death, that our Great Shepherd having laid down his life for his sheep, and thereby conquered death itself, we might, by trusting in him, pass from death unto life, and so die to ourselves and live to him; for us "to live is Christ, and to die is gain" (Phil. 1.21).

As the author of The Benefit of Christ's Death writes:

And therefore St. Paul saith that the obligation which was against us is cancelled by Jesus Christ, and discharged upon the tree of the cross, insomuch as he hath set us free from the subjection of the law, and consequently from the tyranny of sin and death, which can no more hereafter hold us oppressed, because it is overcome by Jesus Christ in his resurrection, and so consequently by us, which are his members; in such manner that we may say with St. Paul [1 Cor. 15.55-57], and with the prophet Hosea [Hos. 13.14], "Death is swallowed up in victory. O death! where is thy sting? O grave! where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory, through our Lord Jesus Christ."

For the Spread of the Gospel

George Hill, born in 1750, died 190 years ago today, on December 19, 1819. He graduated the University of St. Andrews at 14, was appointed Professor of Greek there at the age of 22, and was ordained to the ministry at St. Andrews when he was 28. He eventually rose to the positions of Professor of Divinity and Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland. His publications include Volume of Sermons (1796); Lectures upon Portions of the Old Testament (1812); Theological Institutes (1817); and, posthumously, Lectures on Divinity (1821).

On May 20, 1790, he preached a sermon before the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland challenging that body, on the basis of the sermon text, Ps. 22.27-28, to take up the cause of the "universal propagation" of the Christian gospel throughout the world. This sermon promoting a worldwide missionary endeavor preceded by two years the publication of William Carey's An Inquiry into the Obligations of Christians to Use Means for the Conversion of the Heathens, and constitutes an important step forward in the history of missions.

Sermon XIV (preached on May 20, 1790):

While we are thankful for the Father of Lights for the fullness and purity in which the inhabitants of this happy isle enjoy the advantages of the Christian Revelation, let us aspire to the exalted office of being workers with Him in the great and benevolent scheme, by which he is gathering his children out of all kindreds and tribes. The ministers of religion fulfill the peculiar business of their station, when they recommend the gospel to the attention and esteem of the world, by preaching its doctrines uncorruptly, and by exhibiting in their lives, a specimen of the divine power of those truths which they preach. Men of rank and influence act in the spirit of true patriotism, and of a philanthropy still more enlarged, when they cherish, by their example, the respect which the people entertain for the religion of their country: and the most private Christian, by discharging the duty which Jesus requires of him, and by forming his children to the love of that religion into which they were baptized, contributes, in his place, to maintain the barrier which the God of truth hath erected against the progress of idolatry and superstition. The public establishment of Christianity is the light of the world, and the virtues of Christians, by making this light to shine before men, draw them unto Jesus. When the subjects of the Prince of Peace appear clad in the beauties of holiness, they display the glory and the excellency of his kingdom. The attraction of virtue, that charm which commands the heart of man, is felt by every one who beholds the fruit of the spirit in all goodness, and righteousness, and truth; and the friends of Jesus thus prepare for Him, a people who shall be willing, in the day of his power.

Patrick's Places

The first Protestant martyr of Scotland was Patrick Hamilton, who was burned at the stake for the gospel on February 29, 1528, at St. Andrews. I have stood on the site where he was executed. He wrote one book, his Loci Communes Theologici, in Latin, probably in 1526, while in Marburg, Germany, which was translated by John Frith into English in 1532 as Dyvers Frutful Gatheryngs of Scripture Concerning Fayth and Workes (Diverse Fruitful Gatherings of Scripture Concerning Faith and Works), but it is most commonly known as Patrick's Places. It is recorded in John Foxe's Book of Martyrs, Book 8 § 165. It contains brief propositions concerning the law and the gospel. Frith referred to this book as the "pith of all divinity"; it was the first theological treatise of the Scottish Protestant Reformation. Below is an extract on the gospel, evangelical and eloquent in its simplicity.

The doctrine of the gospel.

The gospel is as much as to say, in our tongue,good tidings; like as these be hereunder following, and such others, Luke ii. 10.
Christ is the Saviour of the world, John iv. 42.
Christ is the Saviour, Luke ii. 11.
Christ died for us, Rom. v. 6.
Christ died for our sins, Rom. iv. 25.
Christ bought us with his blood, 1 Pet. i. 19.
Christ washed us with his blood, Rev. i. 5.
Christ offered himself for us, Gal. i. 4.
Christ bare our sins on his back, Isa. liii. 6.
Christ came into this world to save sinners, 1 Tim. i. 15.
Christ came into this world to take away our sins, 1 John iii. 5.
Christ was the price that was given for us and our sins, 1 Tim. ii. 6.
Christ was made debtor for us, Rom. viii. 12.
Christ hath paid our debt, for he died for us, Col. ii. 14.
Christ made satisfaction for us and our sins, 1 Cor. vii. 23.
Christ is our righteousness, 1 Cor. i. 30.
Christ is our sanctification, 1 Cor. i. 30.
Christ is our redemption, 1 Cor. i. 30.
Christ is our peace, Eph. ii. 14.
Christ hath pacified the Father of heaven for us, Rom. v. 1.
Christ is ours and all his, 1 Cor. iii. 23.
Christ hath delivered us from the law, from the devil, and from hell, Col. ii. 14-17.
The Father of heaven hath forgiven us our sins, for Christ's sake, 1 John i. 9.
(Or any such other, like to the same, which declare unto us the mercy of God.)

A Summary of the Gospel

Jeremiah Burroughs, Extract from Gospel Conversation:

The gospel of Christ in general is this: It is the good tidings that God has revealed concerning Christ. More largely it is this: As all mankind was lost in Adam and became the children of wrath, put under the sentence of death, God, though He left His fallen angels and has reserved them in the chains of eternal darkness, yet He has thought upon the children of men and has provided a way of atonement to reconcile them to Himself again.

Namely, the second Person in the Trinity takes man's nature upon Himself, and becomes the Head of a second covenant, standing charged with sin. He answers for it by suffering what the law and divine justice required, and by making satisfaction for keeping the law perfectly, which satisfaction and righteousness He tenders up to the Father as a sweet savor of rest for the souls that are given to Him.

And now this mediation of Christ is, by the appointment of the Father, preached to the children of men, of whatever nation or rank, freely offering this atonement unto sinners for atonement, requiring them to believe in Him and, upon believing, promising not only a discharge of all their former sins, but that they shall not enter into condemnation, that none of their sins or unworthiness shall ever hinder the peace of God with them, but that they shall through Him be received into the number of those who shall have the image of God again to be renewed unto them, and that they shall be kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation.

Faithful Preaching Exalts Christ

Thomas Foxcroft, The Gospel Ministry, pp. 9-10:

Whatever subject ministers are upon, it must somehow point to Christ. All sin must be witnessed against and preached down as opposed to the holy nature, the wise and gracious designs, and the just government of Christ. So all duty must be persuaded to and preached up with due regard unto Christ; to His authority commanding and to His Spirit of grace assisting, as well as to the merit of His blood commending -- and this to dash the vain presumption that decoys so many into ruin, who will securely hang the weight of their hopes upon the horns of the altar without paying expected homage to the scepter of Christ. All the arrows of sharp rebuke are to be steeped in the blood of Christ; and this to prevent those desponding fears and frights of guilt which sometimes awfully work to a fatal issue. Dark and ignorant sinners are to be directed to Christ as the Sun of righteousness; convinced sinners are to be led to Christ as the Great Atonement and the only City of Refuge. Christ is to be lifted up on high for the wounded in spirit to look to, as the bitten Israelites looked to the brazen serpent of old. The sick, the lame, and the diseased are to be carried to Christ as the great Physician, the Lord our Healer; the disconsolate and timorous are to be guided to Christ as the Consolation of Israel, and in us the hope of glory. Every comfort administered is to be sweetened with pure water from this Well of salvation, which only can quench the fiery darts of the evil done. The promises of the gospel are to be applied as being in Christ "yea, and in Him Amen, unto the glory of God by us" (2 Cor. 1:20). So the threatenings of the law are to light and flash in the eyes of sinners as the terrors of the Lord and sparks of the holy resentment of an incensed Savior, which hover now over the children of disobedience and will one day unite and fall heavy upon them. The love of Christ for us is to be held forth as the great constraining motive to religion, and the life of Christ as the bright, engaging pattern of it. Progress and increase in holiness are to be represented under the notion of abiding in Christ and growing up unto Him who is the Head, even Christ. Perfection in grace is the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, and eternal life is a being forever with the Lord where He is, beholding His glory and dwelling in our Master's joy.

New Northampton Press Publications

Dr. Don Kistler of Northampton Press has announced that two new publications are available. The first is a newly-edited reprint of a treatise on meditation by Thomas Watson, The Christian on the Mount, which has not been in print since the early 19th century (although it is available to read online here at Google Books). It is a valuable work on an important and much-neglected topic in our day by a preeminent Puritan. The second is a reprint of a modern treatise by Dr. Bruce Bickel, Light and Heat: The Puritan View of the Pulpit, on the value of Puritan preaching and an examination of how the gospel was preached by Puritans compared to modern evangelistic methods. Both works are excellent resources for their respective topics, and both are on sale until March 1, 2009. I encourage Puritan-minded readers to visit Northampton Press and add these books to your shelf.