Christ a Complete Saviour: or, the Intercession of Christ, and Who Are Privileged in It by Bunyan, John - 1793

Glasgow: Printed for the Booksellers, 1793. Hardcover. First edition thus (first separate publication); 12mo (3 1/2 x 5); pp. [2], 3-128; lacking first and last blank leaves else complete (collated); contemporary roan; closed cut to head of spine; few scratches and rubbed spots to covers; corners show some wear; uniform age-toning to pages; text clean; overall in very good condition.In 1688, at his death, John Bunyan left his widowed wife the manuscripts for 12 works never published in his lifetime. She kept them until 1691 when, in turn, the writings were entrusted to Charles Doe - a bookseller and Bunyan's friend and editor. One of the manuscripts was that of 'Christ a Complete Saviour.' In 1692, "Doe's Folio" was published in collaboration with publisher William Marshall - containing the 12 unknown works together with 10 other titles which had appeared in earlier editions. The fact that the collection was published in folio was quite unusual and astonishing since such elaboration was usually allowed only to prominent and non-controversial scholars and authors. Charles Doe intended to publish a second folio with Bunyan's remaining works shortly after, but it was not until 1736 when that goal was accomplished.Though becoming increasingly popular, John Bunyan certainly did not conform to the religious beliefs and conduct of his contemporaries. With England returning to Anglicanism after the Restoration and the laws against non-conformity being strictly enforced, he was repeatedly arrested for preaching "without a licence" and spreading the word of God in private meetings outside the auspices of the Church of England. It was during one of his incarceration periods when he penned his most popular allegorical novel - 'The Pilgrim's Progress."The first edition in book form of 'Christ a Complete Saviour' (the current edition) was published in 1793. As with many of his other works, the subject of the treatise was Bunyan's conviction that "all nature is corrupted" and that no sinner would rely entirely on the Saviour until he is on the brink of perishing, only then willing to accept "Christ as a complete Saviour" out of necessity. The main idea of the work was the author's fervent belief that the intercession of Christ is the true finishing work of a sinner’s salvation.STC lists 2 copies in the United States (Cornell and NYPL), 1 copy at the National Library of Scotland, and 1 copy at the University of Alberta, Canada. This the only copy in the trade and we have not been able to find auction records of copies sold (ESTC T165397).