Excerpt from A Harmony of the Four Gospels, Vol. 1 of 2: In Which the Natural Order of Each Is Preserved, With a Paraphrase and Notes It is true, the compound text in the following Harmony has not the form of a continued narration, which some may think a defect, considering that the composers of harmonies have gene rally studied a continued narration as the perfection of their work. But the reader must be sensible, that in every case where more than one Evangelist has mentioned the same things, the Words of none of them but one can be set down on such a plan; and these too must often be very much changed in order to their being aptly connected. Properly speaking, therefore, a work of that kind is rather a history compiled from the Gospels than a Harmony, notwithstanding, the words of the inspired writers may for the most part be made use of. However, the present Har mony can easily bear the want of a continued narration, as there is a Paraphrase subjoined, the sections of which correspond to the sections of the Harmony, and exhibit a particular account of the matters contained in them. And because these accounts are drawn from the Evangelists jointly, circumstances tending to re concile them are suggested, where any seeming in their accounts rendered it necessary. In the Paraphrase like wise, the connection and beauty of particular passages are often pointed out, together with the moral reflections which they af ford. And being designed for the illustration of the sacred texts, as well as to give a connected view of our Lord's actions, the words explained are generally introduced in different characters, that the reader may be the better able to examine the propriety of the explications given. There is also a Commentary, wherein the opinions of different interpreters upon the difficult passages are proposed and examined, and the senses offered in the Para phrase supported, sometimes by critical observations on the words of the text, sometimes by reasonings from the context. Yet the Harmony of the Gospels being the principal thing intended, the notes are often employed in settling the order of the history, and in reconciling the differences occurring in the accounts which the Evangelists have given of our Lord's transactions. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.