I HAVE'long been convinced, that if any Thing can stop that Progress of Infidelity and Vice, which every wife Man beholds with Sorrow and Fear; that if any Thing can allay thofe Animofities, which (unnatural as they are,) have fo long inflamed us, and pained the Heart of every generous Chriftian; in a Word, that if any Thing can establish the Purity and Order, the Peace and Glory of the Church, or Spread the Triumphs of Perfonal, and Domeftick Religion among us, it must be an attentive Study of the Word of GOD, and efpecially of the New Testament; that beft of Books, which, if read with Impartiality and Serioufness, under the Influences of that Blessed Spirit by whom it was inspired, would have the noblest Tendency to inlighten and adorn the Mind, and not only to touch, but to animate and transform the Heart. The Station of Life, in which Divine Providence has placed me, rendered it peculiarly necessary for me to make these Sacred Oracles my principal Study; and having, to my unspeakable Delight and Advantage, felt much of their Energy, I long fince determined, that it should be the main Bufinefs of my Life as an Author, to illuftrate them, and to lead my Fellow-Chriftians into a due Regard for them, by endeavouring, in as plain and popular a Manner as I could, to display their Beauty, their Spirit, and their Ufe. And I thankfully acknowledge the Goodness of GOD to me, in giving me Health and Spirits to finish fo confiderable a Part of my Defign, tho' I have so much other Bufinefs daily on my Hands, and have been obliged to execute this in a much more laborious Manner, than I at first apprehended would have been requifite. The Title I have given to the Work fufficiently explains its original Defign, which was chiefly to promote Family Religion, and to render the reading of the New Testament more pleasant and improving, to those VOL. I. b k that 11 PREFACE. that wanted the Benefit of a learned Education, and had not Opportunity or Inclination to confult a Variety of Commentators. And I thought it proper ftill to retain the Title of The Family Expofitor, even when I had made fome Alteration in the Plan; becaufe that is ftill the leading View of the greater Part of the Work. In Pursuit of this I have given a large Paraphrafe on the Sacred Text, well knowing, that this is the most agreeable and useful Manner of explaining it to common Readers, who hardly know how to manage Annotations, especially when they are to be read to others. The chief Objection against this Way is, that when a whole Verfe, and much more, when feveral Verfes are taken together, (as they frequently are,) it requires a great Attention, and in fome Places fome confiderable Penetration, to trace the exact Correspondence between the refpective Clauses of the Text, and the Paraphrafe. There are fome Performances of this Kind in our own Language, as well as in others, in which fuch Liberties are taken, that I freely confefs, that were it not for the initial References, or oppofite Column, I should not be able to guefs from the Paraphrase itself, what the Scripture was, which it pretended to explain. This must undoubtedly give the greatest Advantage for Disguise and Mifreprefentation; and where thofe Gloffes are read by themselves without the Scriptures, (which I know has been the Cafe in fome Families,) it is really exchanging the Prophets and Apoftles for modern Divines. To prevent this intolerable Evil, I have formed my Paraphrase so, that it is impoffible to read it without the Text, having every where interwoven the Words of Scripture with it, and carefully diftinguished them from the rest by the Italic Character. So that every one may immediately fee, not only the particular Claufe to which any Explication anfwers, but also what are the Words of the Sacred Original, and what merely the Senfe of a fallible Man; who is liable, tho' in the Integrity of his Heart, to mislead his Readers, and dares not attribute to himself the fingular Glory of having put off every Prejudice, even while he would deliberately and knowingly allow none. I thought it might be fome additional Improvement to this Work, and fome Entertainment to the more accurate Reader, to give the Text in a New Verfion, which I have accordingly done from the Original with all the Care I could. There are fo few Places, in which the general Senfe will appear different from our received Translation, that fome will perhaps think this an unnecessary Trouble: But I can by no means repent it, as it has given me an Opportunity, of fearching more accurately into feveral Beauties of Expreffion, which had before escaped me; and of making fome Alterations, which tho they may not be very material to the Edification of Men's Souls, may get in fome Degree do a farther Honour to Scripture; raifing fome of thofe Ornaments, which were before depreffed; and PREFACE. and fufficiently proving, that feveral Objections urged against it were entirely of an English Growth: Ends, which might yet more abundantly be answered by a new Verfion of the Old Teftament, which has fuffered much more in our Tranflation, as it is natural to suppose it must. I thought it might alfo conduce to the Usefulness of this Expofition, to digeft the History of the Four Evangelists into one continued Series, or in other Words, to throw it into the Order of an Harmony. By this Means each Story and Difcourfe is exhibited with all its concurrent Circumstances, as recorded by the facred Penmen; frequent Repetitions are prevented; and a Multitude of feeming Oppofitions are fo evidently reconciled, as to fuperfede many Objections, and render the very Mention of them unneceffary. My Reader will hardly imagine the Pains, that this Part of the Work has cost me, both in examining the Order of the feveral Texts, and collating the different Accounts in each, in fuch a Manner, that no one Clause in any of the Evangelifts might be omitted; and yet the feveral Paffages to be inferted might make one connected Senfe, and, without any large Addition, fand in a due Grammatical Order. I was the more fenfible of this Labour, as I laid it down for a Maxim to myself, when I entered on this Work, that I would ftudy as much as poffible to make it an Original in all its Parts. Accordingly the first Copy of it was drawn up with hardly any other Affiftance, than that of the Greek Teftament, which I endeavoured to harmonize, to tranflate, to paraphrafe, and to improve, just as if none had ever attempted any thing of that Nature before me: Afterwards I was obliged to compare it with what others had done; and, as may easily be fuppofed, I found in many Instances an Agreement, and many others a Difference, betwixt them and myself. Where we differed, I endeavoured impartially to examine the Reasons on both Sides; and where I have perceived myself indebted to any, for leading me into a more just and beautiful Verfion, Explication, or Difpofition, than I had before chofen, I have generally, and fo far as I can recollect, univerfally, acknowledged it; unless where the Hint came from fome living Friend, where Such Acknowledgment would not have been agreeable. There are, no doubt, many other Inftances, in which the Thoughts, that seemed originally my own, might be fuggefted by Memory, tho' I knew not from whence they came; and a thousand more are so obvious, that one would fuppofe they must occur to every attentive Reader, who has any Genius and Furniture for Criticifm. To have multiplied References and Quotations in fuch a Cafe, would have been, I think, a very useless and burthenfome Piece of Pedantry, and might, (as I fear has been the Cafe with Pfeiffer, and Wolfius,) have difcouraged the Reader from confulting any, in fo great a Croud. I could not well brook the Drudgery of tranfcribing the Works of others, and should fcorn the Meanness of diefing myself up in borrowed b 2 Plumes; in iii iv PREFACE. Plumes; but if any imagine me a mere Compiler Ball not be greatly concerned at their Mistake, but fay, with the modeft and excellent Moní. Rollin, "If the Things themselves are good, it fignifies very little "whose they are *." ! The Notes are, at the Defire of many Friends, entirely added to my firft Scheme; and when I saw fo many Perfons of Learning and Rank were pleased to encourage my Undertaking, I thought it would be no unacceptable Expreffion of my Gratitude to them, to infert feveral, which I fhould otherwife have omitted. Some of them feemed abfolutely necessary, to justify the Verfion, and Paraphrase, in what might feem moft peculiar in it: Several more refer to the Order, and give my Reasons, for leaving the general Track, where I have left it; and for not leaving it much oftner, where fome very learned and ingenious Authors have taken a great deal of Pains, (tho' I perfuade myself with a very good Intent,) to lead us out of the Way: And as feveral of these are modern Writers, the Remarks are fuch, as do not commonly occur. The rest of the Notes confift; either of fome Obfervations on the Beauty and Force of various Paffages; which I don't remember to have feen elsewhere; or of References to, and Obfervations upon, confiderable Writers, whether they be, or be not profelfed Expofitors of Scripture, who seem in the most Masterly Manner to examine, or to illuftrate and confirm the Senfe I have given. Thefe are generally but very short; because it would have been quite foreign to my Purpofe, and utterly inconfiftent with my Scheme, to have formed them into. large Critical Effays: But I hope they may be fome Guide to young Students, who, if they have Libraries at Hand, are in great Danger of being loft in a Wood, where, I am forry to say it, they will find a multitude of prickly and knotty Shrubs, and in Comparison but few pleasant and fruitful Trees. It has appeared to me an Office of real and important Friendship to Gentlemen in this Station of Life, to endeavour to felect for them the most valuable Paffages which occur in reading, and to remit them thither, not only for the Illuftration of Scripture, but also for their Dis rection in ftudying the Evidences and Contents, both of Natural and Revealed Religion. This I have done with great Care and Labour in a pretty large Work, which perhaps may be published after my Death, if furviving Friends should judge it proper. To that I have generally referred thofe Citations, which relate to Polemical Divinity; and at prefent only add, that with regard to these Notes, I have endeavoured to render them eafy and entertaining, even to an English Reader; and for that Purpose bave cautiously excluded Quotations from the learned Languages, even where * Que m'importe d'ou il fois pourvû qu'il fe trouve utile, Roll, Man, d'ens feign, vol. i. pag. 75. where they might have ferved to illuftrate Cuftoms referred to, or Words: to be explained. That Deficiency may be abundantly made up by the Perufal of Elfner, Albert, Bos, Wolfius, Raphelius, Fortuita Sacra, &c.. Books, which I cannot but recommend to my young Friends, as proper not only to ascertain the Senfe of a Variety of Words and Phrafes, which occur in the Apoftolick Writings, but alfo to form them to the most useful Method of studying the Greek Claffics; thofe great Masters of folid Senfe, elegant Expreffion, juft lively Painting, and mafculine Eloquence, to the Neglect of which I'cannot but afcribe that enervate, diffolute, and puerile Manner of Writing, which is growing so much on the prefent Age, and will probably confign fo many of its Productions to fpeedy Oblivion. The Improvement of each Section is entirely of a practical Nature, and generally confifts of preffing Exhortations; and devout Meditations, grounded on the general Defign, or on Jome particular Paffages, of the Section to which they are annexed. They are all in an Evangelical Strain, and they could not with any Propriety have been otherwife. I am well · aware, that this Manner is not much in the prefent Tafte, and I think it at once, a fad Inftance, and Caufe, of our Degeneracy, that it is not. If it be necessary, that I should offer any Apology, it must in short be this I have with all poffible: Attention, and Impartiality, confidered first the general Evidences of the Truth of Christianity, and then thofe of the Infpiration of the New Teftament, which feems to me infeparably connected with the former; and on the whole; am in my Gonfcience perfuaded of both, and have been confirmed in that Conviction by the moft laboured Attempts to overthrow them. It feems a neceffary Confequence of this Conviction, (and Fam aftonished it should not be more generally attended to,) that we are with the humbleft Submission of Mind to form our Religious. Notions on this Plan, and to give up the most darling Maxims, which will not bear the Teft of it. I'fhould think any impartial Reader must immediately fee, and every judicious Critick be daily more confirmed in it, that the New Teftament teaches us to conceive of Chrift, not as a generous Benefactor only, who having performed fome Actions of heroic Virtue and Benevolence, is now. retired +'As fome of the Books mentioned above are not very common among us, it not be improper to infert their Titles; viz. Facobi Elfner. Obfervat. Sacræ, 2 Vol. 8vo. Traject, ad Rhen. 1720.. Lamberti Bos Exercitat. Philolog. Franek. 1700.. Animadverf. Franek. 1715.. Obfervat. Mifcell. Leovard. 1735. Raphelii Annotat. Philol. in Nov. Teft. ex lecta, 3 Tom: Lunen. 1731. may. honte, Polybio, & Herodoto col Wolfii Cura Philolog. & Critica, 4to. Hamb. 1725. |