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NOTES

ON

THE GOSPELS:

PRINCIPALLY DESIGNED FOR THE USE OF

SUNDAY SCHOOL TEACHERS AND BIBLE CLASSES.

BY

REV. ALBERT BARNES.

CONDENSED FROM THE AMERICAN EDITION,

1835.

LONDON:

RELIGIOUS TRACT SOCIETY,
Instituted 1799.

SOLD AT THE DEPOSITORY, 56, PATERNOSTER ROW.

AND BY THE BOOKSELLERS.

LONDON:

PRINTED BY WILLIAM CLOWES, Duke-street, Lambeth.

PREFACE.

IN the preparation of 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.

THE writings which are regarded by christians as the sole standard of faith and practice, have been designated at various periods by different names. They are frequently called the Scriptures, to denote that they are the most important of all writings; the Holy Scriptures, because composed by persons Divinely inspired, and containing sacred truth; and the Canonical Scriptures. The word canon means a rule, and it was applied by the christian fathers to the books of the Bible, because they were regarded as an authoritative rule of faith an practice by all christians; and also to distinguish them from certain spurious or apocryphal books, which, although some of them might be true as matter of history, or correct in doctrine, were not regarded as an inspired rule of faith, and were therefore considered as not canonical.

But the most common appellation given now to these writings is, the Bible. This is a Greek word signifying book. It is given to the scriptures by way of eminence, to denote that this is the Book of books, as being infinitely superior to every unassisted production of the human mind.

The most common and general division of the Bible is into the Old and New Testaments. The word testament is taken from the Greek translation of the Hebrew word meaning covenant, compact, or agreement. It is applied to the covenant or compact which God made with the Jews to be their God, and thus primarily denotes the agreement, the compact, the promises, the institutions, of the old dispensation, and then the record of that compact in the writings of Moses and the prophets. The name Old Testament,' or Old Covenant,' therefore, denotes the books containing the records of God's compact with his people, or his dispensations under the Mosaic or Jewish state. The word New Covenant, or Testament, denotes the

·

books which contain the record of God's new covenant or compact with his people under the Messiah, or since Christ came.

The Jews divided the Old Testament into three parts, called the Law, the Prophets, and the Hagiographia, or the holy writings. This division is noticed by our Saviour in Luke xxiv. 44,* All things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the Prophets, and in the Psalms, concerning me.'

The books of the Bible were anciently written without any divisions into chapters and verses. The division into chapters and verses is of recent origin. It was first adopted in the 13th century by Cardinal Hugo, who wrote a celebrated commentary on the scriptures. He divided the Latin Vulgate, the version used in the church of Rome, into chapters nearly the same as those which now exist in our English translation. These chapters he divided into smaller sections by placing the letters A B C, &c., at equal distances from each other in the margin.

The verses into which the New Testament is divided are still more modern. This division was invented and first used by Stephens, in an edition of the New Testament, printed in 1551. The division was made while he was on a journey from Lyons to Paris, during the intervals in which he rested in travelling. It has been adopted in all the subsequent editions of the Bible.

In regard to this division into chapters and verses, it is clear that they are of no authority whatever. It has been doubted whether the sacred writers used any points or divisions of any kind. It is certain that they were wholly unacquainted with those now in use. It is further evident, that in all cases, these divisions have not been judiciously made. The sense is often interrupted by the close of a chapter, and still oftener by the break in the verses. In reading the scriptures, little regard should be had to this division. It is of use now only for reference; and inaccurate as it is, it must evidently be substantially retained.

*See note on that place.

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