The PREFACE. THESE Notes on the books of Scripture I was led to compofe as part of my minifterial duty at Birmingham, where I introduced the custom of expounding the scriptures from the pulpit, as diftinct from preaching. There are many fubjects within the compafs of religious knowledge with which it behoves all christians to be acquainted, that cannot be conveniently introduced into difcourfes from particular texts; and the amount of all the illuftrations of fcripture that could be given in this way would be very inconfiderable in the course of feveral years. But when large portions are read, and profeffedly expounded, nothing of importance to the right understanding of them will pafs without notice. In this profeffed expofition circumstances in history, geography, and the customs of antient nations, &c. which it is defirable that all chriftians should be acquainted with, will of courfe come into view, and be explained more or lefs largely as the occafion fhall require. This expofition I gave at firft extempore; but finding that this part of the fervice was particularly attend રીત ed ed to by my audience, I gave more attention to it my felf, and compofed my notes and obfervations with inore care; and I foon perceived that this was the moft acceptable,and generally thought to be the most ufeful, part of the fervice. And having been frequently requested to publifh what I delivered in this manner, both by my own congregation, and feveral minifters for their ufe, I undertook to do it. In this work I had made confiderable progrefs when the riots at Birmingham put a period to my labours in that place, and deftroyed a great part of what I had compofed of thefe Notes, and had tranfcribed for the prefs. Not, however, difcouraged by this circumftance, I refumed the fame fervice at Hackney; and, as far as I could judge, with the fame acceptance and advantage. And having abundant leifure fince my fettlement in this country, and having recompofed as well as I could the notes that w.re deftroyed at the riots, I have completed the whole in the best manner that I have been capable of; urged both by my own liking to the work, and the frequent requests of my friends in England. But tho' have fpared no pains to make this work as perfect as I could, too much must not be expected from it, becaufe my plan does not comprehend every thing. If critics and scholars look into it for the folu tion of all fuch difficulties as they particularly with to. fee difcuffed, they will be difappointed. These Notes will appear, from the account i have given of them, to have been compofed for the ufe of unlearned, tho' liberal and intelligent, chriftians; for of fuch my congregations confined. Nothing, however, which fuch perfons are much much interested to know I have paffed without notice, whether I could explain the paffages to my own fatisfaction or not, and a few observations of a more critical nature I have added fince; but which, if any minifter chufe to avail himself of my labour, he may omit, or change, as he shall think proper. The fame may be done by those mafters of families whofe laudable cuftom it is to read portions of the fcripture to their children and fervants, and to thofe it is my wifh more particularly to recommend what I have done. My object in these Notes being originally the inftruction of my hearers, as it is now of my readers, I collected from commentators, and every other quarter, all the illuftrations of difficult paffages that I could find; and having no view to publication, I took no care to note my authorities. This, indeed, if the original and only proper authorites be meant, is now impoffible, all fucceeding commentators having without fcruple borrowed from preceding ones. I have, however, not failed to mention the names of moft late writers whofe remarks appeared to be their own and valuable. My cuftom was to note whatever appeared to me to be neceffary for the illustration of that portion of fcripture that I propofed to read, without confulting any commentator, and afterwards to look over fuch as were generally the moft efteemed, as Patrick, Lowth, Whitby, Doddridge, &c. &c to fee whether I had omitted any thing that would fuit me. But the far greater part of thefe Notes will be found to confift of fuch obfervations as I did not borrow from any writer, tho' many of them will be, no doubt, materially the fame with those of others. ́. As As my principal object in the expofition of the fcriptures from the pulpit was to give my hearers what appeared to me to be the true meaning of what I read to them, I did not, in this part of the fervice, make many obfervations of a practical nature. To enforce the practice of moral duties I confidered as the more parti. cular province of preaching. Sometimes, however, this was unavoidable in the expofition. Accordingly fome remarks of this kind, and fuch as appeared to be of particular importance, will occafionally occur. The reader muft not be offended if the fame obfervations occur feveral times in the course of these Notes, as fimilar paffages require them, and especially when their importance is very great. Without this the expofition of many paffages would be exceedingly imperfect; and it would greatly perplex the reader to be referred from one part of the work to an other, in order to the understanding of the paffage before him. Befides, the fate of the times with refpect to the moft prominent fubjects of general difcuffion, requires. the more frequent mention of fome topics than of others. A Proteftant expofitor, for example, writing about the time of the reformation from popery, would naturally take frequent opportunities of expoling the grofs abufes in doctrine and difcipline which had been introduced by the church of Rome, in order the more effectually to guard his hearers against the prevailing fuperftitions and errors. This, in a Proteftant country is not now neceffary. For a fimilar reafon writing, as I do, in an age in which there is great prevalence of infidelity, and in which the great majority of chriftians are trinitarians, I have been led to dwell more then I fhould otherwife have done on circumstances that are favourable to the evidences of revelation, and the doctrine of the divine unity. Had there been fewer unbelievers, and had chriftians in general been unitarians, this would not have been neceffary. In fome cafes obfervations in the form of Notes are not fufficient to give a clear and connected view of the meaning of the facred writers. In thefe cafes I have had recourse to a paraphrase, expreffing what I take to have been the meaning of the writers in more modern and plainer language, but not always in more words. This I have done with refpect to all the difcourfes of Jefus recorded in the Gospel of John, and many of the Epiftles, in which the connexion between the different parts, and the force of the reasoning, is not always apparent. The paraphrases on the difcourfes of Jefus are taken from my Harmony of the Gospels, and alfo the few notes that were fubjoined to that work are inferted here, it being my intention to omit them in any future editions of it. In that part of this work I have not given the Notes on the four Gofpels feparately, but, after the example of Dr. Doddridge, in the order of my Harmo ny. A table will, however, be added, to direct to the place in which any paffage in any of the Gofpels may be found. It will be perceived that I have given very particular attention to the circumftances which prove the genuineness and divine authority of the books of fcrip ture |