The PREFACE. T HERE is nothing that has Life, but it hath either Motion, or Action: And fuch is the Condition of Man, with a greater Measure of both, to bumble him; the whole Course of his Life being compared to a Pilgrimage, in which State a Man can prefume upon no certain Continuance. We find Man cannot poffefs himself of one Moment's Reft from the Time of his Birth until his Death. ALEXANDER, himself, who was Master of almost the whole World, ftill found no Content; and fuch was the Cafe of all the Holy Patriarchs, Prophets, &c. They cou'd make their Lives no better than Toil and Labour. With what Pains did ABRAHAM wander from Chaldea into the Land of Canaan ? How was Moses tormented in the Wilderness almost to the Lofs of bis own Soul? But abfolutely never to come into the Promis'd Land: And for DAVID, how miserable lived he, when he cou'd not truft his own Friends, &c. Thus we may fee, there is nothing in this World wherein there can be found a true Satisfaction; and the few Pleasures we enjoy are but for a Moment, and ftill without Content; and, last of all, perhaps, may bring us into everlasting Mifery. As for my part, I think fo little of it, that all its Pleafures feem to me as vain Things; and I cou'd wish that every ChriStian Reader wou'd fet as lightly by it, forfake its Vanities, and prepare for a future State; roufing up in the Service of GOD; praying, reading and meditating on the Holy Scriptures, Sermons, and other good Books. By the First we may be prepared both in our Fudgments and Affections: By the Second we may inform and furnish ourselves with Materials; by the Third we may digeft them into the clearest Senle. Lectio inquirit, Oratio poftulat, Meditatio invenit, Contemplatio deguftat, faith St. AUGUSTINE. Prayer does defire, Reading does enquire, Study and Meditation do difcover and digeft. Firt, pray to GOD to direct and enable us for the particular Service that lies upon us. I was a ufual Saying of LUTHER, Bene oraffe eft bene ftuduiffe. He always found himself in best Temper for Study, when he had first compofed his Thoughts, and raised up his Affections by Frayer. St. PAUL's Advice is, To pray without A 2 ceafing cealing, I.THESS. V. 17. To give Attendance to Reading, I. TIM- iv. 13. And he says, That it is the Study of the Scriptures that must make the Man of GOD perfect, throughly furnished, I TIM. ii. 17. If this were neceffary in thofe primitive Times, when Men were extraordinary inspired with Special Gifts; much more now when we cannot expect. any immediate Infusion, but must apply our jelves unto the natural proper Means of attaining any Ability, and fall under the Rules of Art: And that of Read- ing is one of the principal; when affifted by the natural Part, he may find that inward Satisfaction of that particulur Business which he hath Occafion to enquire into, in order to Salvation. I have in this Book unvailed feveral Parts of Scripture which before lay bid; and collected out of the Works of the most ancient Authors fuch Accounts as may render the Work (till more valuable and inftructive, never before attempted. I have also given an Ac- count of the most noted Cities, Towns and Places as mentioned in the Scripture, the Time of their growing mighty, and how loft and decay'd; and briefly described the Travels of all the Patriarchs, the Parts they travelled, and the memorable Actions they did in thoje Places; with a fhort Chronology of the Times, &c. Al which will give great Light to the Understanding of the Bible. And if I Should be questioned, How I came to the Knowledge of thefe Things? I aufwer, From the Writings of St. AUSTIN, St.CHRYSOSTOM, JE- ROM, STRABO, PLINY, LIVY, PLUTARCH, EUSEBIUS, JOSE PHUS, &c. our Sir Walter Raleigh, Clark, Smith, Burket, Stack- houfe, and many others. Some of which lived in thofe Times, and in that Country; and have alfo defcrib'd in the Actions of the Perfians, Chaldeans, Græcians, and Romans, the State of the Jews as it food in thefe Times, and of the obfcure Meaning of the Prophe- cies; also the Scituation and Destruction of Jerufalem; and how most ef thefe Cities, Towns, Countries, Nations, Islands, Seas, Defari:, and Mountains were fituated; how many Miles they were diftant from Jerufalem'; with the Bearings of Earth; hefides an Account of The Body of the Book is in Question and Anfwer, in two Co- lumns, and gives the Spiritual Senje or Doctrine of the Old and New Teftament, with inftructions, which I have defign'd to be used in Schools, at the Discretion of the Teacher, provided but once a Day at least, the Scholars being placed on a Row hereby, to come to the Knowledge of GOD and His Divine Word in Youth, that when they grow old they may rot depart from it. In the Notes and Ob fervations you have the Hiftorical ACCOUNT of their Lives, and the most remarkable Accidences which bear an Affinity with the Queftion and Anfwer; and run all the Way through, as Occafion Having thus paffed over the chief Contents of the Book, with fome Inftructions, it will also be a great Help for the understanding of the feveral Books of Scripture, to know their feveral Times, References, and Order. The Five Books of Mos&s are as the first Bafis by which the whole Frame of Scripture may be the more eafily apprehended. The other Hiftorical Books do most of them, in their Occafions, and Hiftorical Grounds, refer to the Books of SAMUEL. The Prophets are ordinarily divided into three Ranks. 1. These who prophefied before the Captivity, who refer to the Hiftory in the Books of Kings and Chronicles, especially the Second Book. 2. Trofe that prophefied in the Captivity concerning whofe Times there is but very little Mention in the Hiftorical Parts of Canonical Scripture. 3. Thofe that prophefied after the Captivity; anto whom the Hiftory of EZRA and NEHEMIAH bath fome Reference. And fo, in the New Teftament, the Epifiles, many of of them, refer unto the Story of the Acts of the Apostles. As for the Ranking and Succeffion of the Books in Scripture, they were not writ in the fame Order as they are placed; but they are fet down rather according to their Bulk and Largenefs than their true Order: For those that were before the Captivity are to be reckoned according to this Succeffion. 1. Anno Mundi 920, Obadiah in the Reign of Ahab, I. Kings xvili. 23. And in 840, Jonah in the Reign of Jeroboam, II. Kings xiv. 25. In 780, Amos, Ifaiah, Hofea, Micah and Nahum, in the Days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah. In 700, Joel; in 680, Habakkuk; and Zephaniah and Jeremiah in 610, about The Time of Maneffeh Jofiah and Jehoiakim. 2. In 582, in the Cap tivity, there prophefied Ezekiel and Daniel. 3. From the Return out of Captivity 'till our Saviour's Coming are reckoned 559 Years. About the 18th Year of this began Haggai and Zechariah, not long after Malachi. And fo in the New Teftament, tho' the larger Epiftles are placed first, yet they were not written fo. 'Tis probable they were compofed according to this Order, Anno D.om. 50. I. Thef. 55. Romans and 1. Corinth. 56. I. Tim. II. Corinth. 57. Titus 61. II. Theff. Philip. Coloff. Galat. Ephef. Hebr. & Phil. In 64. II. Tim. So for the Canonical Epistles, that of James is thought to be written first, then thofe of PETER, then Jude, and lastly John. So likewife the Book of Pfalms, fome conceive that the 108th should be first, where DAVID doth stir up and prepare himself to this Work of making Pfalms: O God, my Heart is ready: 1 will fing and give Praile: And the 72d Pfalm the last, because it concludes with this Paffage, The Prayers of David are ended. All Scriprures are either manifeft, or critical and obfcure: For divers Texts bave a double Meaning, Hiftorical and Literal, Typi al, and Alle gorical: 4 gorical: Inftance thofe Places concerning the Brazen Serpent, Num, 21. 9. John iii. 14. Jonah in the Whale's Belly, Jonah 1. 17. Matt. 40. Abraham's two Wives and Sons. Sarah and Ifaac, Hagar and Ifhmael, Gen. 21. Gal. 4. 22. The Law concerning the muzling the Ox that treads out the Corn, Deut. xxv. 4. 1 Cor. ix. 9. In all which there is Some typical Allufion primarily intended. Matters that are absolutely necessary to Salvation are express'd in the first of these. Other Truths, whether Hiftorical, Do&trinal, or Practical, may be fometimes involved in doubtful difficult Expreffions. In the Explanation of which I have obferved the natural and most obvious Signification ; and where the Words do manifeftly disagree with other perfpicuous Scriptures have fought for fome other Meaning to be confonant with the Words, and other Circumftances of the Place. In finding out th ́s, many confult their oren Fancies; and 'tis this that breeds fo many Diffentions, which I aver to be necdless. For no Prophecy in Scripture is of any private Interpretation, I. PET. 1. 25. NEH. 88. but with the Holy Ghoft Himfelf, who best understands His Own Meaning Therefore all difficult Expreffions are to be examined according to their Orinal, and most authentiek Tranflations, which will give much Light to the true Meaning of them: And where we are not capacitated for this Undertaking, I wou'd have all fuch difficult Paffages paffed over. And, in Reference to this Treatise, to stick by the Faith, which is the Subftance of Things hoped for, the Evidence of Things not feen, Heb. xi. 1. 3 To conclude, 1 have used all my Endeavours to make the Circumfances of the most difficult Places throughout this Book, to run in a Parallel with the Scriptures themselves, on ferious Confultation conceived in my own Fudgment, to be most congruous and per-. tinent; confulting the Means to preserve the Word of God from any dangerous heretical Impofition: Plain and eafy, without stagger. ing or Doubt, according to the Revelation of the Mystery, which was kept fecret fince the World began, but now is made manifeft. And by the Scriptures of the Prophets, according to the Commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all Nations, for the Qbedience of Faith. Now to GOD, only wife, be Glory: And the God of Peace that brought again from the Dead our Lord JESUS CHRIST that great Shepherd of the Sheep, through the Blood of the everlafting Covenant make you perfect in every good Work to do his will; working in you that which is well pleafing in his Sight, through JESUS CHRIST, to Whom be Glory for Ever and Ever. Amen. An LIST of the SUBSCRIBERS NAMES. YORK IS Grace Archbp Herring HHenry Raper, Efq; Mr Edward Bower, 3 Mr Thomas Mallifon Samuel Fall John Blackburn Thomas Copeland John Nicholson William Copeland John Chettle Draper Wood John Beverley John Deighton Peter Bulman John Benfon William Harper William Hilton Jeremiah Smith Richard Davis Leonard New.comb Roger Groves John Walker John Jackfon William Jefferfon John Roebuck James Towel Thomas Smith George Chapman Kingfhead John Hains Nat. Bell, 6 Tho. Gent. Mrs Sarah Timperton Smithson Waddell Penelope Waller William Harrison Robertfon Margaret Chattle CRAIKE. The Reverend Mr Jephfon John Wilfon COXWOULD, &c. The Rev. Mr Wilkinson The Rev. Mr Lamb Mr James Tod Jofeph Ridfdale Mr James Routh BOLTBY, &c. Richard Scur John Haw Jofeph Jarvis William Ward William Welbank John Harrifon Mr John Row Mrs Mary Ward WEIGHTÒ N. Mr John Cleugh Thomas Whitaker Hildyard Brogdon Mr Daniel Cooper John Horner Bell |