PIMAE. 877 o{' the world t and when we see the rules of religion copied out in the words and actions of our fellow creatures, it renders the performanceof them more practicable and more delighttpl to us. While the word of command stands in the law to require our obedience, the actual obedience of our fathers to those commands recorded in the historyinvites 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. Howoften do we read the promises of God fulfilled in the rewards of the righteous, and his threaten- ings'executed against wilful transgressors ? These things set thegoterntuent ofGod before our eyes in a stronger light ; they ',hew us that his words of promise and threateningare not empty sounds ; and make it appear with sen- sible conviction that he will certainly reward, and that he will as certainly punish. The many wonderful instances of a divine providencewvhich concerns itself in the affairs of men, andwhich are recorded in the word of God, have a natural tendency to awaken our fear of so great and glorious a being, and to encourage our hope and trust in him. In a word ; the perfectionsof God, wherebyhe made and governs the world are set beforeour eyes by the scrip- ture history in such divine colours, as give us a more awful and more amia- ble ideaofGod himself, than any words of description could havedone, with- out such an historicalaccount of his works of nature, graceand providence. Since then it appears that someknowledge of the history 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 best attained ? How shall persons, whose capacity is weak, or who have little time to employ on these subjects, be led in the shortest and easiest way to acompetent acquaintancewith the sacred history ? And how shall those who are young in years be trained up in the plainest and most alluring manner to some knowledge of these important affairs, till their growing age and further advantages shall give them a mere extensive and ca- pacious view of all the transactions between God and men recorded in scrip- ture ? Thebible itselfis a very large book, .and though it ought tobe read, at least many parts of it, by persons of all characters and conditions, yet the reducingof the-several things contained in it, to a short and narrow viewby way of abridgment is so exceeding useful, that I had almost called it necessa- ry, at least for youth, and for persons in.the lower ranksof life, who have fewer conveniencesand advantages of knowledge, I have made this suffi- ciently evident with regard to the doctrines and duties of religion in my dis- courseconcerning the composition and use of catechisms, to which I refer my reader: And the same argument will hold good with regard to the histori- cal part of scripture. There 1 have sheen particularly bow needful it is to collect the great articles and rules of our religion which lie scattered up and down in the bible into a shorter scheme for-the use of younger understand- ings; and I have given my reasons also, why the catechistical method of question and answer is preferable to all other methodsof .instruction ; and I need not repeat the same things here, with regard to sacred history. It is proper the reader should know that at the end of the history of the Old Testament I have inserted one chapter, wherein the Jewish affairs are continued from the time of Nehemiah, where the sacred writers end, down to the timeof Christ and the gospel. This isborrowed from the bestancient writings the have of these events, viz. the books of 'Maccabees in the Apo- crypha and the history of Josephus, though I am greatly indebted ahsolo Dr. Prideaux's. historical connexion of the Old and New Testament, wherein these narratives are so happily reduced to a chronological order, and embellished and improved withnoisy valuable hints from heathen historians. And to render the workyet moreuseful in these days of infidelity, I have VOL. v, B s
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