The purpose of this twofold work is to increase in the knowledge and grace of Christ, to deny the self and the world, and to fashion the Christian to the course by which they may become pleasing in the eyes of God. 

In the first part, Byfield deals with the wicked man. He demonstrates the signs of those openly wicked, those who are hypocrites, and then how faith may be found and adoption to eternal life attained. In the second part he deals with the godly man.  He covers a general division of those things which demonstrate a godly man, as well as signs of humiliation, true faith, and those graces that the godly need while on their journey to heaven.

After all this, he concludes his treatise with the way godly men must get assurance, and keep it; that when a man has done what he can to observe the directions of true religion, he can be sure he shall go to heaven.

This is not a scan or facsimile, has been updated in modern English for easy reading and has an active table of contents for electronic versions.