Dedicatory Epistle to Robert, Earl of Warwick

My Lord,

It is not for the benefit of any protection to the ensuing Treatise, let it stand or fall, as it shall be found in the judgments of men: nor that I might take advantage to set forth any of that worth and honor which being personal have truly ennobled your Lordship, and made a way for the delivering over of your family unto posterity; with an eminent luster added to the roll of your worthy progenitors; which if by myself desired, my unfitness to perform, must needs render unacceptable in the performance; neither yet have I the least desire to attempt a further advancement of myself into your Lordship's favor, being much beneath what I have already received; and fully resolved to own no other esteem among the sons of men, but what shall be accounted due (be it more or less) to the discharge of my duty to my Master Jesus Christ, whose wholly I would be: it is not all, nor one of these, nor any such as these, the usual subjects and ends of Dedications, real or pretended, that prevailed upon me, unto this boldness of prefixing your honored name to this ensuing Treatise, (which yet for the matter's sake contained in it, I cannot judge unworthy of any Christian eye) but only that I might take the advantage, to testify (as I do) to all the world, the answering of my heart unto that Obligation, which your Lordship was pleased to put upon me in the undeserved undesired favor, of opening that door wherewith you are entrusted, to give me an entrance to that place for the preaching of the Gospel, whither I was directed by the Providence of the Most High, and where I was sought by his people. In which place this I dare say by the grace of God, that such a stock of prayers and thankfulness, as your heart, which has learned to value the least of Christ in whomsoever it be, will not despise, is tendered for and to your Lordship, even on his behalf who is less than the least of all the saints of God, and unworthy the name which yet he is bold to subscribe himself by,

Your Honor's most obliged Servant in the service of Jesus Christ, John Owen.

My Lord,

I am not writing to seek protection for the treatise that follows — let it stand or fall on its own merits before the judgment of readers. Nor do I write to praise the personal worth and honor that have so genuinely ennobled your Lordship and secured your family's legacy for future generations, adding real distinction to the line of your worthy forebears. Even if I wished to do so, my own inadequacy would only make the attempt embarrassing. Nor do I have any desire to press further into your Lordship's favor — I have already received far more than I deserve, and I am fully resolved to seek no reputation among men beyond what is rightly owed, whatever that may be, to faithful service of my Master Jesus Christ, to whom I would wholly belong. None of these — not one, nor all combined, nor any of the usual motives behind dedications, real or pretended — moved me to the boldness of placing your honored name at the front of this treatise (which, for the substance it contains, I do not think unworthy of any Christian reader). My only reason was to take this opportunity to declare to all the world — as I do here — the gratitude of my heart for the obligation your Lordship was pleased to place upon me. Through an undeserved and unsought act of kindness, you opened the door entrusted to you, granting me entry to the place where Providence directed me to preach the Gospel, and where your people sought me out. From that place, I can say by the grace of God that a store of prayers and heartfelt thanks — not the kind your heart, having learned to value the least of Christ's work in any person, would despise — is offered for and to your Lordship, on behalf of one who is less than the least of all God's saints, and unworthy of the name he nonetheless boldly signs below.

Your Honor's most obliged servant in the service of Jesus Christ, John Owen.