Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Dyke, Jeremiah
DYKE, JEREMIAH (d. 1620), puritan divine, was the son of a minister at Hempstead, Essex, dispossessed for nonconformity, and the brother of Daniel Dyke, B.D. [q. v.] He took his degrees at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, but the date is unknown. After taking orders he was preferred to the living of Epping in Essex in 1609, which he held till his death. His name or that of his brother is among those of the ministers who subscribed the 'Book of Discipline' (Brook, Lives of the Puritans). He is described as having been a man of a 'cheerful spirit and eminently useful in his ministry,' of moderate views, and one who, although he disliked ceremonies, submitted, so far as his conscience permitted, to their use, yet as being a thorough puritan at heart. Brook says he died in 1620, and was buried in his parish church; but if this be so there must have been another minister of the same name, for there is a record of a sermon being preached at Epping by Jeremiah Dyke in 1623, and a minister of that name was presented to Stanstead Abbots, Hertfordshire, in 1640, which he resigned in 1644. Fuller, too, says he was 'guardian of his brother's works,' which he published in 1635.
The following works are attributed to him:
- 'A Counterpoison against Covetousnes,' 1619.
- 'Good Conscience, or a Treatise shewing the Nature, Means, Marks, Benefit, and Necessity thereof,' 1624.
- 'The Mischiefe and Miserie of Scandals, both taken and given,' &c., 1631.
- 'The Righteous Man's Tower, or the Way to be Safe in a case of Danger,' 1639.
- 'The Right Receiving of and Rooting in Christ,' 1640.
- 'The Worthy Communicant, or a Treatise showing I the due order of Receiving the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper,' 1642.
He also published works of his brother, Daniel Dyke, B.D.
[Brook's Lives of the Puritans, ii. 279; Fuller's Worthies, Hertfordshire, p. 437 (ed. 1811); Newcourt's Repert. Eccl.ii. 248; Fuller's Hist. Cambridge, p. 154; Cussans's Hist. Hertfordshire, 'Braughing,' p. 40; Carter's Cambridge; Notes and Queries, 3rd ser. ii. 363.]