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Life, ver. 19. That God has given Men all reasonable Evidence of the Certainty of a future State, ver. 29, 31. CHAP. XVII. The heinous guilt of drawing others into Sin, ver. I. That Men ought to be ready to forgive, ver. 3. Of Faith, ver. 5. and that Men ought not to value themselves upon the Gifts wherewith God has endued them, ver 7. Jefus healeth ten leprous Perfons, ver. 11. Of the Nature of Chrift's Kingdom; And a Prædiction of the Deftruction of the Jews, ver. 20.

CHAP. XVIII. Of importunate Prayer, ver. 1. Of Humility and Pride, ver. 9. Jefus encourages little Children to be brought to him, ver. 15. Of the young Man that would not forfake his Poffeffions for Chrift, ver. 18. Of the Danger of Riches, ver. 24. The Blefjedness of Suffering for Religion, ver. 28. Jefus foretels his Death, ver. 31. and heals a blind Man, ver. 35.

CHAP. XIX. The Converfion of Zacchæus, ver. 1. The Parable of the King going into a far Country, ver. 11. Grace encreafed by Improvement, ver. 26. Jefus rides into Jerufalem, ver. 28. Foretels its Deftruction, ver. 41. and clears the Court of the Temple, ver. 45.

CHAP. XX. Jefus filences the chief Priests with a Question about John's Baptifm, ver. 1. The Parable of the Vineyard, ver. 9. Of Obedience to Civil Powers, ver. 21. The Refurrection proved against the Sadducees, ver. 27. Of Chrift's being David's Son, ver. 41. Of Hypocrify, ver. 45. CHAP. XXI. Charity and Piety to be efteemed, not by the Meafure of the outward Work, but by the Zeal of the Heart, ver. 1. Prædiction of the Deftruction of Jerufalem, ver. 5. Of Watchfulness, ver. 34.

CHAP.XXII. Judas agrees to betray Jefus, ver. 1. Jesus eats the Paffover, ver. 7. Inftitutes the Lord's Supper, ver. 19. Of Ambition, ver. 24. Jefus's Agony, ver. 39. Peter's Denial, ver. 54. Jefus is tried and mocked, ver. 63. CHAP. XXIII. Jefus's Trial before Pilate, ver. 1. and before Herod, ver. 6. and before Pilate again, ver. 13. His Crucifixion, ver. 26. One Malefactor reproaches, and another acknowledges him, ver. 39. Prodigies attending Jesus's Death, ver. 44. Jofeph of Arimathæa buries him, ver. 50. CHAP. XXIV. Jefus's Refurrection declared to the Women, ver.1. He appears himself to Two Difciples, ver. 13. and to the reft, ver. 36. He inftructs them about their Ministry, ver. 44. His Afcenfion, ver. 50.

A PARA

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PARAPHRASE

ΟΝ ΤΗ Ε

Gospel of St Luke.

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CHAP.

The Preface, ver. 1.

1

and Office, ver. 15.

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John the Baptift's Conception, ver. 5. The Conception of Chrift, ver. 26. His Office, ver. 32. The Blessed Virgin's Hymn of Thanksgiving, ver. 46. The Birth and Naming of Jolin, ver. 57. Zacharias's Hymn, ver. 68.

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Orafmuch as 1 & 2.
many have

taken in hand to fet
forth in order a de-
claration of thofe
things which are
moft furely believed
among us,

2 Even as they delivered them unto us, which from the beginning were eyewitneffes, and minifters of the word :

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Hereas feveral have written Hiftorical Accounts of the Life and Doctrine of Christ, and of thofe great and celebrated Transactions, upon which the Proof of our Religion depends, and of the Truth whereof we are moft fully perfuaded; they being delivered to us by Perfons of unqueftionable Sincerity, and fuch as were themselves Eye-witnesses of all the Matters of Fact, and conftantly accompanied Jefus in all his Travels during his whole Miniftration.

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3 & 4. It seemed good to me alfo, having had full and perfect information of all thefe things, to write to you, moft excellent Theophilus, a fhort yet particular and exact Account of the principal Actions and Difcourfes of our Lord, from his Birth till his Afcenfion; that you might fee in one view, the Doctrine of that Religion wherein you have been inftructed, and the Evidence of it.

5-9. A

ND because there happened feveral things before the Birth of Chrift, relating to his History, useful and neceffary to be known; I will therefore begin with a brief account of his Fore-runner John the Baptift. The manner of whofe Conception and Birth, was this. There was in the Time of Herod the Great, a Prieft whofe Name was Zacharias, of the Family of Abia, and confe quently one of them whose Lot was to ferve in the eighth of the 24 Courses of the Priests, which were appointed to minister in the Temple by Turns ; 1 Chron. xxiv. 10 & 19. And his Wife's Name was Elifabeth, a Woman of the Family of Aaron.

6. Now Zacharias and his Wife, were both of them eminent for their fingular Piety and Integrity; Perfons fincere and upright in the Sight of God, and of unfpotted Reputation in the Judgment of Men; living in the ftrict practice of all inward Holiness, and in an exact obfervance of all outward and pofitive Laws.

7. And happy they were in all things, excepting only that they wanted the Bleffing of Children, Elifabeth having been always barren;

3 It feemed good to me alfo, having ftanding of all things had perfect underfrom the very firit,

to write unto thee in

order, moft excellent Theophilus,

4 That thou mighteft know the certainty of those things wherein thou haft been inftructed.

5.1 THere was in the days of

Herod the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia:

and his wife was of

the

daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elifabeth.

6 And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord, blameless.

And they had no child, because that Elifabeth was barren, both were now well and they ftricken in years.

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And moreover they were now both of them old, and in the courfe of Nature paft having Children. But at length, the Wisdom of Providence defigning by the miraculous Birth of John the Baptift to prepare Men for the belief of that more wonderful Miracle, the Birth of Chrift; God gave Elifabeth a Son, not without wonderful Prefages even before his Conception, that he fhould be a great and extraordinary Man.

8, 9, 10 & 11. For at the time when the Priefts of the Family of Abia, were miniftring in the Order of their Courfe; and when, according to the ufual Custom of appointing to every one by Lot in what part of the Service he fhould officiate, it happened to be Zacharias's Lot to offer Incense: As he was performing this Office a lone within the Sanctuary at the accuftomed Hour, and all the Congrega tion of the People ftood praying without; there appeared to him an Angel of God, in a glorious Form, ftanding on the right fide of the IncenfeAltar.

12. And affoon as Zacharias faw the Angel, he began to be afraid and greatly concerned, not knowing what the Vifion should mean.

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13. But the Angel fpake Comfortably to him, and incouraged him faying: Be not afraid, Zacharias; For I am fent to bring you glad Tidings of great Joy. The Prayers which you offer for the People, are heard; and God will fpeedily fend them their Saviour and Deliverer, the Meffias. The Prayers alfo which you have often put up in your own Behalf, are heard; and your Wife Elifabeth fhall bear

you

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15. For this Child fhall be the immediate Fore-runner of Chrift, and fhall from his very Infancy give evident Tokens of his being defigned for fuch an extraordinary Office. He fhall * all his Life, as a perfon peculiarly fet apart for the Service of God, abftain from Wine and all other ftrong Drinks; and by inward Piety and real Holinefs of Life, fhall fully anfwer the true intent and fignification of such Abftinence.

16. He fhall preach Repentance and Holinefs of Life, to the People of the Jews And many of them fhall he prevail upon, by the Efficacy of his Exhortations and by the Example of his Life, to return fincerely to the Obedience of God's Commands, and to prepare without Prejudice for the belief of his Gofpel.

17. In a word; he fhall make all things ready for the appearance of the Meffiah; preaching with the fame Zeal and Courage, with the fame Spirit and Authority, as Elijah in old time. did; exhorting People to amend their Lives, and to follow after true and real Holiness; and earnestly perfuading them, that, forfaking the vain and contentious Doctrines of their feveral Sects about external and indifferent things, they would all with one Mind give themfelves up to attend the ne

14 And thou fhalt have joy and gladnefs, and many shall rejoice at his birth.

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