TO THE MOST HIGH AND MIGHTY PRINCE JAMES BY THE GRACE OF GOD

KING OF GREAT BRITAIN, FRANCE, AND IRELAND DEFENDER OF THE FAITH, &

The Translators of the Bible wish Grace, Mercy, & Peace, through JESUS CHRIST our Lord

(Book Thread)

King James Bible:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/75ne4ersc2gqj38/Authorized-Bible-1611.pdf?dl=0

GREAT & manifold were the blessings, most dread Sovereign, which Almighty God, the Father of all mercies, bestowed upon us the people of England, when first he sent Your Majesty’s Royal Person to rule & reign over us.

For whereas it was the expectation of many, who wished not well unto our Sion, that upon the setting of that bright Occidental Star, Queen Elizabeth of most happy memory, some thick & palpable clouds of darkness would so have overshadowed this Land,

that men should have been in doubt which way they were to walk; and that it should hardly be known, who was to direct the unsettled State;

the appearance of Your Majesty, as of the Sun in his strength, instantly dispelled those supposed & surmised mists, and gave unto all that were well affected exceeding cause of comfort;

especially when we beheld the Government established in Your Highness, & Your hopeful Seed, by an undoubted Title, & this also accompanied with peace & tranquility at home & abroad.

But among all our joys, there was no one that more filled our hearts, than the blessed continuance of the preaching of God’s sacred Word among us; which is that inestimable treasure, which excelleth all the riches of the earth;

because the fruit thereof extendeth itself, not only to the time spent in this transitory world, but directeth & disposeth men unto that eternal happiness which is above in heaven.

Then not to suffer this to fall to the ground, but rather to take it up, & to continue it in that state, wherein the famous Predecessor of Your Highness did leave it: nay, to go forward with the confidence & resolution of a Man in maintaining the truth of Christ,

& propagating it far and near, is that which hath so bound and firmly knit the hearts of all Your Majesty’s loyal & religious people unto You, that Your very name is precious among them:

their eye doth behold You with comfort, & they bless You in their hearts, as that sanctified Person, who, under God, is the immediate Author of their true happiness.

And this their contentment doth not diminish or decay, but every day increaseth & taketh strength, when they observe, that the zeal of Your Majesty toward the house of God doth not slack or go backward, but is more & more kindled,

manifesting itself abroad in the farthest parts of Christendom, by writing in defence of the Truth, (which hath given such a blow unto that man of sin, as will not be healed,) & every day at home, by religious & learned discourse,

by frequenting the house of God, by hearing the Word preached, by cherishing the Teachers thereof, by caring for the Church, as a most tender & loving nursing Father.

There are infinite arguments of this right Christian & religious affection in Your Majesty; but none is more forcible to declare it to others than vehement & perpetuated desire of accomplishing & publishing of this work, which now with all humility we present unto Your Majesty.

For when Your Highness had once out of deep judgment apprehended how convenient it was, that out of the Original Sacred Tongues, together with comparing of the labours, both in our own, and other foreign Languages, of many worthy men who went before us,

there should be one more exact Translation of the holy Scriptures into the English Tongue;

Your Majesty did never desist to urge & to excite those to whom it was commended, that the work might be hastened, & that the business might be expedited in so decent a manner, as a matter of such importance might justly require.

And now at last, by the mercy of God, & the continuance of our labours, it being brought unto such a conclusion, as that we have great hopes that the Church of England shall reap good fruit thereby; we hold it our duty to offer it to Your Majesty,

not only as to our King & Sovereign, but as to the principal Mover & Author of the work: humbly craving of Your most Sacred Majesty, that since things of this quality have ever been subject to the censures of illmeaning & discontented persons,

it may receive approbation & patronage from so learned & judicious a Prince as Your Highness is, whose allowance & acceptance of our labours shall more honour & encourage us, than all the calumniations & hard interpretations of other men shall dismay us.

So that if, on the one side, we shall be traduced by Popish Persons at home or abroad, who therefore will malign us, because we are poor instruments to make God’s holy Truth to be yet more & more known unto the people, whom they desire still to keep in ignorance& darkness;

or if, on the other side, we shall be maligned by selfconceited Brethren, who run their own ways, & give liking unto nothing, but what is framed by themselves, and hammered on their anvil;

we may rest secure, supported within by the truth & innocency of a good conscience, having walked the ways of simplicity & integrity, as before the Lord;

& sustained without by the powerful protection of Your Majesty’s grace & favour, which will ever give countenance to honest & Christian endeavors against bitter censures & uncharitable imputations.