of his bleffings; and not defer the thoughts of religion till the evil days come, till old age fteals upon us, and death is just ready to feize us; for then cometh judg ment, when we must give an account of all our thoughts, words, and deeds, as the following directions more particularly fhew. III. The book of PSALMS is fuited to the feveral circumstances of devout minds. Some of them inftruct us to give God the glory due unto his name, and praife him according to his excellent greatnefs, as it is made manifeft in his works of creation and providence; as particularly the 8th, 19th, 33d, 1038, 104th, 107th, and 148th. Others fhew forth his marvellous loving-kindness to his church, to Jacob his people, and Ifrael his inheritance, and foretel the glories of Chrift's coming, and his kingdom: of which fort are the 2d, 45th, 68th, 72d, 78th, 96th, 98th, 105th, 106th, 110th, 111th, 136th, and many more. Again, Home Pfalms declare the excellency of God's law, which he has given us to be a light to our feet, and a guide to our paths, and fhew the happinefs of those who live under the conduct of it: fuch are the 1ft, the 19th, and above all, the 119th, which confifts of the highest encomiums of God's law, and the most earnest prayers for grace to understand and practise it. At other times the Pfalmift directs us how to humble ourselves in the fight of God; to implore the pardon of our fins, and help in the time of trouble: of which kind the most principal Pfalms are the 25th, 51ft, 130th, 141ft, 143d. In many Pfalms he exhorts us fubmit to God's will in all events, and to put our truft in his mercy, to tarry God's leifure, as he fometimes expreffes it, who will never fail those that feek him, and is the helper of the friendless of which fort the moit remarkable Pfalms are the 9th, 10th, and 11th. And, laftly not to mention many others, in feveral of which the Pfalmist inftructs us not to regard ourselves only, but likewife to be mindful of the afflictions of Jofeph, and pray to God to deliver Ifrael out of all his troubles, every perfon may find, in the following collection, a Pfalm that shall fuit him, and help him to raife his affections to God in every circumftance of life, A prayer for fafety, and our ene A perfuafion to patience and confi- v. 6. A fong A pfalm for the fabbath-day, 92. A meditation on God's power and The ftory of the Ifraelites rebellion and God's mercy, pf. 106. v. 7. Prayers, praises, and profeffions of obedience, pf. 119. God's bleffings on the righteous, Upon all penitential occafions read Note, the 6th, 32d, 38th, 51ft, 102d, 130th, 143d, are called the feven penitential pfalms, in a more particular manner. SOLOMON's SONG. The graces of the church, ch. 6. v. IV. The PROPHETICAL Books admonish the people of their duty, and quicken them to the practice of it, by fetting God's judgments and mercies before their eyes. They keep up a fenfe of providence in their minds. They foretel the times of the Meffias, and prepare men's minds for the reception of him. Therefore the moft obfcure parts of the prophetical writings ought not to be defpifed, as if they were altogether ufelefs. For, though we should fuppofe them of no use to the church at prefent, yet they may be useful to after times; and what they mean, though we know not now, yet we may know hereafter. Another particular, which I would defire the pious reader to obferve, in the writings of the prophets, and which is that part of them that is beft fuited to common capacities, is that holy zeal, wherewith they reprove the vices of the times they lived in, and thofe pathetick exhortations, whereby they perfuade finners to amend their ways and break off their fins by a fincere repentance. First befeeching them by the mercies of God, by all that he has done for them, by the obliga tions he has laid upon them, and the right he has to their fervice; recounting his paft favours towards them, and renewing his gracious promises for the time to come: And, if thefe gentle methods will not prevail with finners, they then reprefent to them the greatness of God's majesty, the dread of his power, the fierceness of his anger, their own monftrous ingratitude and incorrigiblenefs, in abufing his mercies, defpifing his judgments, refifting his fpirit, and rendering ineffectual all thofe methods which divine wisdom itself could make use of to recover finners from the error of their ways. All which will be much better under.tood, if the reader will be pleafed to attend to the following particulars. ISAIAH. Ifrael's complaint, c. 1. v. I. God's judgments against covetouf nefs, c. 5. v. 8. L14 The ver. 4. The reftauration of Ifrael, and vo- | Ezekiel encouraged by God, ch. 3. cation of the Gentiles, ch. 11. ver. 10. ch. 14. ver. 1. ch. 49. ver. 18. ch. 54. ver. 1. A thanksgiving for mercies, ch. 12. ver. 29. The bleffings of Christ's kingdom, ch. 32. ver. 1. ch. 35. ver. 1. Sennacherib invadeth Judea, ch. 36. ver. I. An exhortation to a trust in Chrift, ch. 51. A. prophecy of Cbrift's fufferings, ch. 53. The office of Christ, ch. 61. ver. 1. The bleffed ftate of the new Jerufalem, ch. 65. ver. 17. A reproof to fervile preachers, ch. Every man answerable for his own Ezekiel's vifion of the dry bones, ch. The three children in the fiery furnace, ch. 3. ver. 13. Belshazzar's impious feaft, cb. 5. ver. I. Daniel in the lions den, ch. 6. v. 10. HOSEA. God's judgment against a finful peo- - JEREMIAH. Read the 5th chapter, particularly ver. 22. "Fear ye not me? faith the Lord,' &c. Read alfo the 17th, 18th, and 31ft chapters: In the 31ft and following verfes of which laft, you find a large and excellent account of that new covenant referred to in the 8th chapter of the epistle to the Hebrews: and chapter 35, where the great example of obedience in the Rechabites is propofed for our inftruction. From the 52d ch. by the terrible fufferings of Zedekiah, the greatest men may learn to stand in awe of God, to be humble and moderate, and under a conftant fenfe of the uncertainty of the enjoyments of this world; as alfo from king Jehoia-impious, ch. 8. v. 1. kim's advancement in the 37th year of his captivity, not to defpond, much lefs to defpair, upon the long continuance of misfortunes or afflictions. LAMENTATIONS. v. 4. An exhortation to repentance, ch. 6. ver. 1, ch. 12. ver. 3. ch. 14. ver. I God's abhorrence of hypocrify, ch. 7. V. II. God threateneth deftruction to the The diftrefs and captivity of Ifrael for their fins, ch. 9. ver. I. Read the 3d chap, in time of cala- An exhortation to repentance, ch. 5. The Gospels, Acts, Epiftles, and Revelation. The CONTENTS. I. THE GOSPELS defcribed with particular Rules and Directions for the profitable reading of St. Matthew, St. Mark, St. Luke, St. John, containing the Doctrine, Parables, Miracles, Manner of Life and Converfation, and the Circumftances of our Saviour's Death. II. The ACTS of the Apoftles. III. The EPISTLES to the Romans, Corinthians, Galatians, Ephefians, Philippians, Coloffians, Theffalonians; to Timothy, Titus, Philemon, and to the Hebrews. The Epifles of James, Peter, John, and Jude. IV. The REVELATION of John the Divine. THIS title of the NEW TESTAMENT might more properly be tranflated the New Covenant, as it is diftinguished from the former Covenant, which God made with the Jews, by the miniftry and mediation of Mofes. Whereas the new covenant is a covenant of grace; and thereupon is called the gift of grace, and abundance of grace; because it makes merciful allowances for the unavoidable frailties of human nature, and fets forth Christ to be a propitiation for the fins of all thofe who truly repent, and endeavour to please God, by a fincere, tho' imperfe& obedience, The The GOSPEL S. I. THE GOSPELS contain thefe principal matters: Our Lord's doctrine and parables: His miracles: His manner of life: And the circumftances of his death. 1. OUR Lord's doctrine appears more plainly and openly in his fermons and other difcourfes, and more obfcurely and refervedly in his parables. I fhall chiefly take notice of his glorious, full, and admirable fermon, which he delivered upon the mount, and is contained in the 5th, 6th, and 7th chapters of St. Matthew. For it comprehends the very marrow and quinteffence of chriftianity, and ought to be the daily fubject of every good Chriftian's reading and meditation, till he has copied it into his life and converfation. And let me further obferve, that the fum of our Saviour's preaching confifts in teaching this one great and fundamental truth of chriftianity, that we are nothing, and God is all in all; 'tis his word that inlightens our minds, his fpirit directs our wills, his providence orders our affairs, his grace guides us here, and his mercy must bring us to heaven hereafter. 2. As to his parables: It was the custom of the wife men among the ancients to clothe their inttructions in apt flories and fuitable comparifons: This they did at once to please and to inftruct, to excite men's attention by gratifying their curiofity, and to quicken their memory by entertaining their fancy. Our Saviour took this method to recommend his weighty inftructions, and to make them fink deeper into the minds of his hearers. The fame method was likewife very proper to deliver the myileries of the Gospel with fome degree of obfcurity and referve; which he did both to excite men's induftry in fearching further into the deep things of God, and withal to punifh the floth and negligence of thofe, who grudge taking any pains to learn God's will and their own duty. This method engages attention; it avoids all the harthness of reproof, which plain and fimple language would occafion; it appeals to, and leaves the matter with, the fenfe of the hearers; and it turns off the invidious part of drawing the parallel and making the application pon the parties themselves. Thefe were the reafons why our Saviour chofe to convey his inftructions in parables. And we may obferve in general concerning them, firit, that they have a pleafing variety fuited to men's different apprehenfions and capacities, and in the next place, that there is an extraordinary decency, and, if I may fo express it, a genteelnes, which runs through them all. There is an exact decorum obferved in all Chrift's parables, and every thing that is spoken is fitted to the character of the perfon who speaks it; as they are here fet down. The PARABLES. The Parable of the fower and the feed. See Markiv. ver. 30. Luke vii. ver. 4. -Of the tares. -Of the grain of muftard-feed. See Mark iv. ver. 30. Luke xiii. ver. 19. -Of the leaven. See Luke xiii. ver. 21. Of the hidden treasure. Of the merchant fecking pearls. Of the net caft into the fea. -Of the unmerciful fervant. Of the labourers in the vineyard. Of the hufbandmen, who flew the heir and pof- St. |