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ON

THE GOSPELS:

PRINCIPALLY DESIGNED FOR THE USE OF

SUNDAY SCHOOL TEACHERS AND BIBLE CLASSES.

BY

REV. ALBERT BARNES.

MATTHEW AND MARK.

CONDENSED FROM THE AMERICAN EDITION.

LONDON:

THE RELIGIOUS TRACT SOCIETY;

Instituted 1799.

SOLD AT THE DEPOSITORY, 56, PATERNOSTER ROW,

D

AND 65, ST. PAUL'S CHURCHYARD

AND BY THE BOOKSELLERS Cares

1004 LAUSANNE

TE 6474

DRES

PREFACE.

In the preparation or the following notes, free use has been made of all the helps within the reach of the author. The object has been to endeavour to express, in as few words as possible, the real meaning of the gospels: the results of their critical study rather than the process by which these results were reached. It was the wish of the writer to present to Sunday school teachers a plain and simple explanation of the more common difficulties of the book which it is their province to teach.

It is designed also to be a Ĥarmony of the Gospels. Particular attention has been bestowed, especially in the notes on Matthew, to bring the different narratives of the evangelists together, and to show that, in their narration of the same events, there is no real contradiction. It will be recollected that the sacred narrative of an event is what it is reported to be by all the evangelists. It will also be recollected that the most plausible objections to the New Testament have been drawn from the apparent contradictions in the Gospels. The importance of meeting these difficulties, in the education of the young, and of showing that these objections are not well founded, will be apparent to all.

Particular attention has been paid to the references to parallel passages of scripture. In all instances, in these notes, they are an essential part of the explanation of the text. The authority of the bible has been deemed the only authority that was necessary in such cases.

The great truth is becoming more and more impressed on the minds of this generation, that the bible is the only authoritative source of religious belief; and if there are any institutions preeminently calculated to deepen this impression, and fix it permanently in the minds of the coming age, they are Sunday schools. Every minister of the gospel, every parent, every christian, must therefore feel the importance that just views of interpretation should be imbibed in these schools. The writer of these notes has felt more deeply than he has any other sentiment, the importance of inculcating on the young, proper modes of explaining the sacred scriptures. If he can assist in extending such views through the community, his wish in this work will be accomplished. He commits it, therefore, to the blessing of the God of the bible, praying that it may be one among many instruments of forming correct religious views, and promoting the practical love of God and man.

Philadelphia: August 25, 1832.

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