IT having been suggested to me, that a separate edition of the first Volume of the Elements of Christian Theology might be useful to many persons who have no occasion for the second, I have been induced to publish the first volume of that work in this cheap form. If it should be the means of diffusing more widely a knowledge of the Holy Scriptures, and a belief of their Divine Authority; and especially, if it should lead those who are entrusted with the education of youth to make this most important of all studies a regular branch of instruction to their pupils, my object will be fully answered. This volume consists of two parts: the first relates to the Old Testament; the second to the New. In treating of the Old Testament, I have begun with proving the authenticity and inspiration of the books of which it consists, and have entered into these subjects at considerable length, but I trust not more fully than their importance demands. They form a material branch in the evidences for the truth of the Christian Religion, as the Old Testament is in fact the foundation of the New. In the second chapter, I have given a very brief account of the contents of the several books of the Old Testament, and have mentioned their respective authors, and the times when they lived. In the historical books, I have stated the period which they comprehend, and the principal facts which they relate; and in the prophetical books, I have enumerated the prophecies they contain, and |