EDITIONS OF RUTHERFORD'S LETTERS.
Row, in his "History of the Kirk of Scotland" (p. 396), wrote in 1650 regarding these Letters:—"Sundry have whole books full of them, whilk, if they were printed, I am confident, through the Lord's rich mercy and blessing, would not fail to do much good." This was written fourteen years before any attempt had been made at collecting them for publication.
I. The First Edition appeared in 1664, in duodecimo. The place of publication is not given on the title-page, these being days of persecution; but it is known to have been Rotterdam, in Holland, under the superintending care of Mr. M'Ward, who was once Rutherford's amanuensis. It is divided into two parts, the one containing 215 Letters, the other, 71. It has a long recommendatory Preface, containing matter that is of no great interest to us now; but it preserves one weighty saying of this man of God on his deathbed. "When he was on the threshold of glory, ready to receive the immortal crown, he said, 'Now my tabernacle is weak, and I would think it a more glorious way of going home, to lay down my life for the cause, at the Cross of Edinburgh or St. Andrews; but I submit to my Master's will.'"
Here is the original title-page:—
(First Edition)
JOSHUA REDIVIVUS.
OR,
Mr. Rutherford's Letters,
Divided in two Parts.
The First,
Containing those which were written from Aberdeen,
where he was confined by a sentence of the High
Commission; drawn forth against him, partly
upon the account of his declining them, partly
upon the account of his Non-Conformity.
The Second,
Containing some which were written from Anwoth
before he was by the Prelates' Persecution thrust from
his ministry; & others upon diverse occasions
afterward, from St. Andrews, London, &c.
Now published for the use of all the people of God,
but more particularly for those who now are or afterward
may be put to Suffering, for Christ and His cause.
By a Wellwisher to the Work & People of God.
John xvi. 2. "They shall put you out of the synagogues; yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service. V. 3. And these things will they do, because they have not known the Father, nor me."
2 Thess. i. 6. "Seeing it is a righteous thing with God, to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you; V. 7. And to you who are troubled rest with us; when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven, with His mighty angels," &c.
Printed in the Year cIƆ IƆc LXIIII By some mistake in reading the numeral letters, booksellers' catalogues have spoken of editions in 1662 and 1663; but there were none such. Such a mistake might easily occur in writing the numerals. In a Manuscript of the Letters (kindly forwarded to the Editor by Rev. A. B. Grosart, Kinross), the date of the First Edition is written thus: cIƆ IcƆ LIIII. Here there is, beyond doubt, a mistake; the X is omitted from LXIIII.; for the MS. is merely a copy of the First Edition. It copies out the title-page in full, and then appends this note: "Intended to be wryten from the printed book, by the wryter, for particular use, and for several reasons unnecessary to be inserted." Some of the "Testimonies of the Martyrs" are appended, as they appeared in the "Cloud of Witnesses" afterwards. There are now and then marginal notes, all of which are simply hints as to what the Letter contains, thus: "Cause of Rutherford's confinement;" "Comfort for the servants of God and for ministers." The existence, however, of such a MS., copied with such pains from a printed volume, tells the high esteem in which the Letters were held. We may note one small matter. In this MS. the name "Bethaia" (so written in all the printed editions) is given "Bethia;" showing that the name was so written at that time also, as it is always now.
2. The Second Edition.—It appeared in 1671, an exact reprint of the first, with the same title-page, etc. But it is very inaccurate; e.g. there are ten obvious misspellings of common words in the two first pages, not to speak of bad punctuation, which is a fault common to all the early editions.
3. The Third Edition, in 1675, retains the original title-page, except that it has, "In Three Parts," and "The Second and Third." This last Part contains sixty-eight additional Letters. This edition is the one which subsequent editors follow. It omits the original "Preface to the Christian Reader," and has only four introductory pages, two of which are the advertisement about the lost MS. of Rutherford on Isaiah. It has a long "Postscript," in which we cannot say there is much that is important.
4. The Edition of 1692.
5. The Edition of 1709. Edinburgh.
6. The Edition of 1724. Edinburgh. 12mo. "Printed by T. Lumsden and J. Ritchie, and sold at their printing-house in the Fish Market, and by John Paton and James Thomson, booksellers in the Parliament Closs; and sold at Glasgow by John Robertson, James and John Browns, and Mrs. Brown, booksellers. 1724." It is marked "The Fifth Edition." If this means the "fifth" of those editions that contain the "Three Parts," then our list is not complete. But it seems as if the editor had overlooked one of the earlier editions; and if so, this is the sixth.
7. The Edition of 1738. Edinburgh. Marked "Sixth Edition."
8. The Edition of 1761. Edinburgh. In two vols.
9. The Edition of 1765. Glasgow. A good edition. It has the author's Testimony and Dying Words, as well as the original Preface of the earliest edition. It is marked "Ninth Edition."
10. The Edition of 1783. Glasgow. Marked "Tenth Edition." 8vo. Printed by John Bryce.
(The Eleventh Edition we have not seen, but it may be that of 1796.)
11. The Edition of 1802. Aberdeen. Marked "Twelfth Edition."
12. The Edition of 1809. Edinburgh. Marked "Thirteenth Edition."
13. Another in 1818, "One hundred and fifty-two Religious Letters," to which is added a Testimony to the Covenanted Work of Reformation between 1638 and 1649. Octavo.
14. Another in 1821. With a brief notice of the author.
15. The London Religious Tract Society's Edition, first published in 1824. It is properly only a selection of sixty Letters, with extracts from many others. It has "Contents" prefixed to each Letter.
16. Another, 1824. Glasgow. With brief notice of the author.
17. The Edition of 1825. One of "Collins' Select Christian Authors." It passed through three editions. It has a doctrinal Preface by Thomas Erskine, Esq., and gives about one half of the Letters. It has not retained all the peculiar phraseology of the original; but it gives some account of his life, and appends his "Last Words," and his "Testimony to the Covenanted Work of Reformation." Kenmure is misspelt "Kenmuir" in the edition of 1825, but corrected in the next.
18. The Edition of 1830. Glasgow.
19. Another in 1834.
20. The Edition of 1836. London: Baisler. Edited by Rev. Charles Thomson. In two vols. It has valuable explanatory notes, and the Letters are, for the most part, arranged chronologically,—a great improvement on the "Three Parts" of so many former editions.
21. The Edition of 1839.
22. The Edition of 1846. Aberdeen: King. This edition is in double columns.
23. The Edition of 1848. Edinburgh: Whyte and Kennedy. With historical and biographical notices, by Rev. James Anderson. The Letters, so far, chronologically arranged, and ten additional Letters given. Contents also, and indices; and a Sketch of Rutherford's Life.
24. The Edition of 1857. London: Collingridge. Edited by Rev. D. A. Doubdney. It has the long Original Preface of 1664, and the Postscript of 1675; also a synopsis of each Letter. But it is not accurate, especially as to proper names.
25. The Edition of 1863. In two vols. It contains Letters 290, 325, 327, 336, 337, 340, 343, 355, 356, 365, not found in any previous edition but that of 1848; as well as 283 and 307, added since then. There are 365 in all; one for each day of the year, if any one chooses.
26. An Edition in octavo, by Rev. J. M'Ewan, Edinburgh,—a reprint of the old. 1867.
27. Extracts.—There have been abridgments in the form of "Extracts," from time to time. We might give as samples, Jo. Wesley's Extracts (an edition in 1825); John Brown of Haddington's "Pleasant and Practical Hints," selected from the Letters; and recently, "Last Words of S. R., in verse, by A. R. C., with some of his sweet sayings." A variety of such have appeared.
28. Edition 1875. By Dr. Thomas Smith. Preface by Dr. Duff.
29. Foreign Editions.—1. There is an American Edition; a reprint, by Carter, New York, of the Edition of 1848.—2. A Dutch translation appeared at Flushing in 1673. The translation made by Mr. Koelman, minister of Sluys, with a brief Life. Of this there have been frequent reprints; that of 1754 is in three vols. octavo; another in 1855,—a new translation in double columns, published at Grave.—3. There is also a German translation (see "Mission of Inquiry to the Jews, 1839," ch. v.); but we are not able to give any account of it.
30. This present Edition, 1891. Edinburgh: Oliphant, Anderson, & Ferrier. Reprinted 1894.