the Relation I have the Honour to bear to your Lordship, and the many particular Favours I have received from you, did not in Duty oblige me to take every Opportunity of making the gratefullest and most publick Acknowledgment of your Lordship's Goodness; yet your Lordship's known Readiness to Encourage, Affist, and Patronize any Attempts of this Nature, or any other that are defigned for the Promotion either of true Religion or good Learning; would have emboldened me, among Others, to defire your Lordship's Protection, and to have prefumed to do my self the Honour of præfixing your Lordship's Name to these Papers. : I HAVE used at least as much Care, and taken as much Pains, in the prefent Papers, to endeavour to express the full Meaning of the Evangelift in na tural tural and plain Words, to continue the Senfe by clear and eafie Tranfitions, and to obviate all the Difficulties I could in the Text; as I did in the Paraphrafe on St. Matthew. And I fuppofe, it will not be thought a great Prefumption in me to hope, that I have in some Measure fucceeded in this Defign; after having received your Lordfhip's Corrections and Approbation, who have fo thoroughly confidered every Part of the Sacred Text, and are fo abfolute a Mafter and known a Judge of Style. To attempt upon this Occafion, to defcribe your Lordship's many other great Qualifications and Vertues; as it would be a Thing needless in Respect of the World, which every Day experiments many real Proofs of your Lordship's Goodness; fo I know it would be doing a Thing unexceptable and uneafie to your Lordship. Wherefore I add no more, but only defire your Lordship to accept these Papers as an humble Expreffion of Duty and Gratitude, from, Your Lordship's moft Dutiful Chaplain and Servant, Sam. Clarke. THE CONTENTS ST. Of the GOSPEL according to MA R K. СНА Р. І. OHN the Baptift's Office, ver. 1. Jefus baptiz'd, ver. 9. Tempted, ver. 12. fus begins to preach, and defcribes the Do. Chufes Apoftles, ver. 16. How he gain'd Refpect among the People, ver. 22. Heals Jefus cures a Palfie, and proves his Power of forgiving Sins, ver. I. Calls Matthew, and vindicates himself from the Charge of keeping ill Company, ver. 13. Excufes his Jefus heals a wither'd Hand, and shows that pofitive Infti- tutions must give Place to moral Duties, ver. 1. Suffers not evil Spirits to declare who he was, ver. 12. Chufes his twelve Apostles, ver. 13. His Actions are misinterpre- ted by his Friends, ver. 21. And blafphemed and attri- buted to the Devil, by the Pharifees, ver. 22. Jefus proves his Divine Commiffion by the Greatness of his Works, and by the Tendency of his Doctrine, ver. 23, and 27. Blaf- The Parable of the Sower, with the Explication, ver. 1, and 14. Why Jefus fpake in Parables, ver. 11. Knowledge must be communicated, ver. 21. Grace given proportionable to Mens Improvements, ver. 24. Parable of Corn grow- ing imperceptibly, ver. 26. Of the Mustard-feed, ver. Jefus difpoffeffes a Legion of Devils, ver. 1. Heals a Bloody- flux, ver. 25. Raifes Jairus's Daughter, ver. 35. Jefus defpifed by his Country-men for the Meanness of his Parentage, ver. 1. And therefore worked but few Mi- racles among them, ver. 5. He fends forth his Twelve Apoftles to preach, ver. 7. The Opinion of Herod and Others concerning Jefus, ver. 14. The Caufe and Man- ner of John Baptift's Death, ver. 17. The Apostles give an Account of the Success of their Preaching, ver. 30. Je- fus feeds five Thousand with five Loaves and two Fishes, |