as possible ; it being not my view, to swell the book,.but to contract
'NOTES UPON THE NEW TESTAMENT?'
require to offer here and there a small alteration : though not taking upon me to dictate to any; but simply to propose what appears to me either certain or probable.
5. To the text will be added, a few short explanatory notes : as few as possible ; it being not my view, to swell the book,.but to contract it ; not to make it as large, but as small as I can : and as short as possible, that the comment may not obscure or swallow up the text.
And these few short notes, will be explanatory only, not curious or critical: In pursuance of my great design, of making the Scripture more intelligible to the unlearned reader.
Agreeably to this design, I shall (together with the common division into chapters and verses) divide the text all along, according to the matter it contains, after the manner of the great Bengelius : making a small, or a large pause, just as the sense requires.
And even this is such a help in many places as one who has not tried it, would hardly conceive.
Those to whom I am chiefly indebted in the following work are Dr. Gell, the Oxford Divines, the late pious and learned Dr. Doddridge, and that great light of the world Bengelius.
May the Father of Lights, the Giver of every good gift, open the eyes of our understanding, and cause the Light of the glorious gospel of His Son to shine in all our hearts !
This was the preface which Wesley intended to publish in his projected book.
Having read it, we look at the big quarto volume that lies on our desk.
It contains seven hundred and fifty-nine pages, with two and a half pages crowded with errata.
As we turn over the leaves of the first edition we feel that the book does not answer to the description contained in the third, fourth, and fifth paragraphs of the original preface ; and we are convinced that Wesley must have changed his first design concerning the scope and character of the book.
The needed light soon reaches us.
In the first edition of the Notes we find the expanded preface, which contains twelve paragraphs.
The first six sections, slightly altered, are taken from the original preface.
Then come six new paragraphs of great interest.1
Examining the first of the new paragraphs, we find the reason of Wesley's change of plan, and arrive at an understanding of the problem of the dual composition of the book.
In the seventh paragraph Wesley says:
I once designed to write down barely what occurred to my own mind, consulting none but the inspired writers.
But no sooner was I acquainted with that great light of the Christian world (lately gone to his i[tmust be noted that the date at the end of the expanded preface is booted 4s
1754; that was when the original preface was written.
It is somewhat misleading,