The very Gospel of Christ confifis partly in History of his Life and Death; nor can the other Part of it, viz. the Doctrines and Duties, be fo well underflood without fome Knowledge of the Law of Mofes, the Ceremonies of the Jews, the Religion of the Patriarchs, and the Tranfactions of God with Adam the first Father of all Mankind.

The great and blaffed God at one fingle View furveys all his own Works and Designs from the beginning to the end of them, and every Part of his grand Scheme ftands in a delightful Harmony with the reft. He has ordained all his more early Dealings with Men in fuch a Manner, as to let in divine Light by feveral Gradations upon a dark World, and to lay a happy Foundation for his latest and beft. Revelation made by his own Son "and his Apoftles and in many Cafes the former Laws, Ordinances and Transactions, are evidently defigned to prefigure and fhadow out, as well as to introduce thofe which follow. Adam our firft Father, by whom Sin and Death were brought into the World, was a Type or Figure of Jefus the fecond Adam, who brought in Righteoufnefs and Life, Rom. v. 14. 1 Cor. xv. 21, 22, 45, 49. The Law of Mofes was a Shadow of the good Things which were to come; but the Body and Subftance of thefe Bleffings was given us by Chrift our Saviour, Col. ü. 17. Heb. x. 1. And it is cer→ tain we may obtain a more extenfive and complete Knowledge of Chriftianity, by our Acquaintance with the facred Affairs of Adam and Noah, of Abraham and Mofes, and the Sons of Ifrael.

Befides, it is the Hiftory of the Bible, which hath conveyed down to us the Knowledge of thofe Miracles and divine Wonders which have been wrought by the Prophets, the immediate Meffengers of Heaven, to prove that they were fent of God: It is in this History we read thofe Prophecies of things to comey together with

the

the Accomplishment of them, which stand in a beautiful Connection from the Beginning of the World to the Days of the Meffiah. All of them join to confirm our Faith in the feveral Revelations of Religion which God has made the Sons of Men; and all concur to establish the last and noblift Scheme of Religion, i. e. Chriftianity. Thus the very Hiftory of Scripture has a powerful and rational Influence to establish our Belief of the Gofpel, and to make us Christians upon folid and reafon

able Grounds.

I add yet further, that in the hiftorical Part of Scripture we read the holy Laws of God, exemplified in the Life and Practice of good Men in feveral Ages of the World: and when we fee the Rules of Religion copied out in the Words and Actions of our FellowCreatures, it renders the Performance of them more practicable and more delightful to us. While the Word of Command ftands in the Law to require our Obedience, the actual Obedience of our Fathers to thofe Commands recorded in the Hiftory invites our Imitation, and makes the Work more easy.

To conclude: We find not only the Precepts but the Sanctions of the Law of God exemplified in the Narratives of Scripture. How often do we read the Promifes of God fulfilled in the Rewards of the Righteous, and his Threatnings executed against wilful Tranf grefors? Thefe Things fet the Government of God before our Eyes in a fronger Light; they fhew us that his Words of Promife and Threatning are not empty Sounds; and make it appear with fenfible Conviction that he will certainly reward, and that he will as certainly punish. The many wonderful Infances of a Divine Providence which concerns itself in the Affairs of Men, and which are recorded in the Word of God, bave a natural Tendency to awaken our Fear of fo great and glorious, a Being, and to encourage our Hope and Truft

Trust in him. In a Words the Perfections of God, whereby be made and governs the World, are fet before our Eyes by the Scripture Hiftory in fuch divine Colours, as gives us a more awful and amiable Idea of God himself, than any Words of Defcription could have done, without fuch an biftorical Account of his Works of Nature, Grace and Providence.

Since then it appears, that fome Knowledge of the Hiftory of Scripture is necessary and useful to every one among us who would know and love God, and be a Partaker of his Favour, the next thing to be enquired is, how this Knowledge may be beft attained? How Shall Perfons, whofe Capacity is weak, or who have little Time to employ on these Subjects, be led in the shortest and cafest Way to a competent Acquaintance with the facred Hiftory? And how shall those who are young in Years be trained up in the plainest and most alluring Manner to fome Knowledge of theje important Affairs, till their growing Age and further Advantages fhall give them a more extenfive and capacious View of all the Tranfactions between God and Men recorded in Scripture?

*

The Bible itself is a very large Book, and though it ought to be read (at least many Parts of it) by Perfons of all Characters and Conditions, yet the reducing of the feveral Things contained in it to a fhort and narrow View by Way of Abridgment is fo exceeding useful, that I had almoft called it neceflary, at least for Youth, and for Perfons in the lower Ranks of Life, who have fewer Conveniencies and Advantages of Knowledge. I have made this fufficiently evident with regard to the Doctrines and Duties of Religion in my Difcourfe concerning the Compofition and Ufe of Catechifms, to which I refer my Reader: And the fame Argument will hold good with regard to the hiftorical Part of Scripture. There I have fhewn particularly how need

ful

ful it is to collect the great Articles and Rules of our Religion, which lie fcattered up and down in the Bible, into a shorter Scheme for the Ufe of younger Underfandings; and I have given my Reasons also, why the Catechiflical Method of Queftion and Answer is preferable to all other Methods of Inftruction; and I need not repeat the fame Things here, with regard to facred Hiftory.

It is proper the Reader should know, that at the End of the Hiftory of the Old Teftament I have inferted one Chapter, wherein the Jewifh Affairs are continued from. the Time of Nehemiah (where the facred Writers end) down to the Time of Christ and the Gofpel. This is borrowed from the beft ancient Writings we have of these Events, viz. the Books of Maccabees in the Apocry pha, and the Hiftory of Jofephus, though I am greatly indebted alfo to Dr. Prideaux's Hiftorical Connection of the Old and New Teftament, wherein thefe Narratives are fo happily reduced to a Chronological Order, and embellished and improved with many valuable Hints. from Heathen Hiftorians.

And to render the Work yet more ufeful in thefe Days of Infidelity, I have added another Chapter, which I call a Prophetical Connection between the Old Teftament and the New, wherein the most eminent Prophe cies relating to our Bleffed Lord are fet down in one View, together with their Accomplishment; that younger Minds may fee how much this Great Meffiah, or anointed Saviour, was foretold and expected through all Ages, and may have their Faith of Chrift built early upon a folid Foun dation.

I have nothing more to add, but to acquaint the Reader with the Method I have taken in compofing this Work, and with the Ufe that he should make of it.

In framing this Book, I have obferved the following Rules, (viz.)

1. I have

I. I have proceeded for the most part, according to the Order of Things as they lie in the Books of Scripture ; but ftill endeavouring to maintain fome Connection throughout the whole Hiftory. Yet I cannot fay I have always reduced Things to that Order in which they were tranfacted: For in feveral Places I found that a firic Obfervation of Chronology would have intermingled too many Incidents of different Kinds, would have broken the Scheme of Things I had propofed, or interrupted the Narrative of fome particular Event, and rendered the History much more unconnected and difagreeable to thofe for whom I write.

2. Though I have not been folicitous to infert every Incident, and the Name of every Perfon contained in the Old Teftament, yet I have omitted fearce any Name or remarkable Tranfaction which has been referred to or cited in the New, or has any Connection with the Gospel of Christ, which is the Religion of Chriftians. It was not poffible to infert all the particular Narratives contained in the Scripture, without making another Book almost as big as the Bible itself: Whereas my prime Defign was to give an Abftract or Jhort View of the Sacred Hiftory for the Ufe of Perfons of fuch Age, Capacities, or Conditions of Life, as are not able to attend to much Reading, nor gain a fuller and more accurate Knowledge of the Transactions of God with Men.

3. I have added the Chapter and Verfe of one or more Texts of Scripture to every Anfwer that required it, that the Reader might be invited to fearch his Bible, and there gain a larger and more particular Acquaintance with thofe hiftorical Matters which I have briefly mentioned in a Line or two. If young Perfons by this Means are allured to grow familiar with the Word of God, I am perfuaded the Advantage they may reap thereby will richly compenfate all their Labours in reading this hiftorical Abridgment of Scripture, and all my Pains in writing it.