Two accounts of William Guthrie's life (by Dunlop and Wodrow) and Trail's "Recommendatory preface" open this volume.

Part one of The Works of Mr. William Guthrie includes The Christian's Great Interest: In Two Parts,

1. The Trial of a Saving Interest in Christ.

2. The Way how to attain it.

Part two of The Works of Mr. William Guthrie binds in "Five Sermons on particular occasions."

In part three of The Works of Mr. William Guthrie we find "A Treatise on Ruling Elders and Deacons; in which these things which belong to the understanding of their office are clearly set down."

Part three was not written by William Guthrie, but by his cousin, James Guthrie (Christ's faithful martyr "who championed the cause of the Protesters and strongly upheld the principles of the Covenant," Dictionary of Scottish Church History and Theology, p. 382).

William Guthrie "served as moderator of the Protester Synod of Glasgow and Ayr in 1654" (DSCHT, p. 382). Regarding Guthrie, Robert Trail (in his preface) points out that "it pleased the Lord, who had separated him from his mother's womb, to call him by his grace, by the ministry of excellent Mr. Samuel Rutherford, and this young gentleman became the first-fruits of his (Rutherford's--RB) ministry at St. Andrews" (p. xliv). William Guthrie has been called "the greatest practical preacher in Scotland."

"John Owen spoke of Guthrie as 'one of the greatest divines that ever wrote' and said his The Christian's Great Interest contained 'more divinity' than all his own folios" (DSCHT, p. 382).

Thomas Chalmers said that it was the best book that he had ever read. Many editions have appeared in numerous languages.