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Hearts of our PRINCES, Our Parliaments, our Clergy, and our People!

MY LORD! The Pleasure I do my Self in mentioning what the World allows to be but a Piece of Justice due to You, muft not draw me to forget the Discharge of a Higher Duty Your Lordship's Goodness demands of Me in particular; the Duty of Gratitude for Perfonal Favours. A generally neglected Virtue, but which has ftill fome Place in Human Breafts; remaining fix'd as a Principle in (I hope) not a few, and which filled them, under the worst Face of Things, with ardent Hope and ftrong Affurance of what we now fo joyfully behold; How fteadily the Eye of Heaven is fixed upon the Generous and the Good, upon the FRIENDS OF THEIR COUNTRY, the Patrons

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Patrons of Truth and Liberty, and the Ornaments of our Holy Religion..

THAT God would blefs Your Lordship, with the longest Period that Mortality permits, wherein to fee our Nation flourish, and reap happy Fruits from all the Publick and Private Good You have done, is the Earnest Prayer of all grateful People, and of none more than of,

My LORD,

Your Lordship's most obliged,

And bumble Servant,

THOMAS PYLE.

PREFACE

TO THE

READER.

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CLEAR and familiar Explication of the most useful Parts of Holy Scripture, for the Advantage of common Readers, is of Juch Benefit to Religion in general, and to our Proteftant Church in particular; that I need only appeal to the Experience of thofe Families, or private Perfons, that have reaped the Labours of any of our excellent and pious Divines in this Way. I am so much an Enemy to keeping the Vulgar in Ignorance of thefe Writings which are the only Rule of Faith; that I efteem no Performances beyond those that tend to make every one's Principles in Religion their own. The Hiftory and Doctrines of our blessed Saviour in the Four Gofpels, are brought down to the Understandings of all People with fuch

Exactness

Exactness of Judgment, and fo happy a PerSpicuity of Stile and Method, in the Paraphrafe of Dr. Clarke on thofe Books, that I no. Jooner read that Work, but I congratulated all the more unlearned Members of this Church, upon fo bleffed an Advantage of Light and Knowledge; wifhed it in every Houfe; and defired nothing more than to fee the remaining Parts of the New Teftament put into all Hands in the fame Dress of Clearness and Simplicity. By his Want of Time and Lei- . fure, and from his Encouragement upon my Inclinations towards fo good a Work, I am induced to venture at carrying on, what is begun with an Exactness few can pretend to, and a Success I can never hope for. Yet I Shall promife, to my utmost, to follow his Example, in giving the Senfe of thefe Sacred Writings with the most unprejudiced Mind, and with all fincere Regard to Plainnefs and Truth.

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HE FOUR GOSPELS are indeed a fufficient Account of the Life and Death, the Doctrines and Religion of the Holy JESUS. But neither would the Actions of his Life have been confirmed to fucceeding Generations, as Facts fufficient to build a Religion upon, nor could his Doctrine or his Death have extended their noble Effects any further than the little Corner of Judea (and that but to one Generation of Men) had he barely lived, and preached, and died. A Religion defigned for the whole World, must be propagated to all, after it had been communicated to fome. This must be done by Persons qualified and endowed with proper and equal Powers for fo great a Work, with Powers to convince the prefent Age of its Facts and Doctrines, and to convey them with full Teftimony to future Generations.

This is enough to fatisfy the Chriftian Reader, of the Neceffity, Usefulness, and particular Advantage of this Book to the Chriftian Church, as well as of the Four Gofpels. It contains a History of the Propagation of our most holy Religion for the first thirty Years after our Lord's Afcenfion. And when you have duly confidered the three

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