AN ABRIDGMENT 
 
 OF THE 
 
 NEW TESTAMENT; 
 
 OR, THE 
 
 LIFE, 
 
 MIRACLES, AND DEATH, 
 
 OF 
 
 OUR LORD &> SAVIOUR 
 
 JESUS CHRIST' 
 
 Embellished with Beautiful Engravings. 
 
 GLASGOW: 
 
 Sold wholesale by J. Lumsden and Son 
 
 ( Two-Pence* ) 
 
LIFE 
 
 OF OUR 
 
 LORD and SAVIOUR! 
 
 Jesus Christ, 
 
 Wow when the time appointed 
 was come, God sent an angel to 
 a city of Nazareth, to a young 
 woman named Mary, who was 
 engaged to be married to a tr i 
 named Joseph, who was r * 
 -scendant from David. 
 
 The angel said to her, 
 thou favourire of 
 Lord be with thee 
 of womer 
 
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 She was astonished at his ap- 
 pearance, and wondered what his 
 words meant. — Then he said, 
 <c Fear not, Mary, thou hast 
 found favour with God. Thou 
 shalt have a son, and shalt call 
 his name Jesus. His birth will 
 be a miracle, therefore he shall 
 be called the Son of God : and 
 he shall reign for ever." Mary 
 replied, " I am the handmaid of 
 the Lord, let him do with me 
 as it seemeth good unto him." 
 
 Some time after this, Joseph, 
 with Mary, who was to be his 
 wife, went up to Bethlehem to 
 be registered; for they were de- 
 scended from David; and Beth- 
 lehem was David's city. 
 
 While they were there, her 
 
Our Lord and Saviour. 7 
 
 child was born; and she wrap- 
 ped him up in swaddling clothes, 
 and laid him in a manger, be- 
 cause there was no room for 
 them in the inn. 
 
 An angel appeared to some 
 shepherds, who were attending 
 their flocks in the field, and told 
 them what had happened. So 
 they went and found him in the 
 manger, as the angel had said. 
 
 Now Herod was at that time 
 king of Judah, and was much 
 troubled concerning Jesus, and 
 endeavoured to destroy him, for 
 he was afraid that he would de«* 
 thf ;ne him, as it was prophesied 
 that he should be King of the 
 the Jews. Therefore he com^ 
 manded that all the male infanta 
 
s 
 
 The Life of 
 
 in Bethlehem, and Its neighbour- 
 hood> that were under two years 
 of age, should be killed, think- 
 ing that he should be sure to 
 destroy him by that means, but 
 the angel of the Lord appeared 
 to Joseph by nighty and said, 
 ** Arise, and take the young child 
 and his mother, and go into 
 Egypt, and remain there till I 
 teU thee; for Herod seeketh the 
 child to kill him." 
 
 Accordingly Joseph took the 
 .child, and Mary his mother, and 
 swent into Egypt, and abode 
 f.here, as the Lord had command- 
 ed him. 
 
 When Herod was dead, the 
 angel appeared again to Joseph, 
 
Our Lord and Saviour. 1 1 
 
 and told him to return to the 
 land of Israel. 
 
 Joseph therefore returned 
 with the child and his mother* 
 and went and abode in Naza- 
 reth. 
 
 When Jesus was twelve years 
 old, he was taken by Joseph and 
 Marv to Jerusalem, to the feast 
 of the passover, and when they 
 were returning home, thev mis- 
 sed him; then they searched for 
 three days, and at last found him 
 in the temple, sitting among 
 the doctors or learned men, both 
 hearing them and asking them 
 questions; and all who heard 
 him were astonished at his un- 
 derstanding and wisdom. 
 
 Jesus came from Nazareth to 
 
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 1 he Life of 
 
 be baptized by John. When he 
 came out of the water, the hea- 
 vens opened, and the Spirit 
 of God descended like a dove 
 and settled on him, and a voice 
 came from heavensaying, " Thou 
 art my beloved Son 5 in whom I 
 delight." 
 
 Jesus taught the people in the 
 synagogues on the sabbath days, 
 to repent of their sins; and they 
 were astonished at his doctrine, 
 and his power in working so 
 many miracles. 
 
 As Jesus was walking bv the 
 sea of Galilee, he saw Simon 
 Peter, and Andrew his brother, 
 casting their nets into the sea; 
 and he said, " Follow me," and 
 they followed him. A little fur- 
 
Our Lord and Saviour. 1 3 
 
 flier, he saw two other brothers, 
 James and John, the sons of 
 Zehedee; and when he called 
 them, they left their ships and 
 followed him. 
 
 The confined limits of this 
 little book will not admit a com- 
 plete history of the life, suffer- 
 ings, miracles, crucifixion, re- 
 surrection, ascension, and all the 
 other circumstances attending 
 the great work our blessed Sa- 
 viour came down to perform: 
 but the following are some of 
 the many acts, which no other 
 than divine Jove and power 
 could accomplish. 
 
 Simon's wife's mother was ill 
 of a fever, and they entreated 
 Jesus to go to her; he according- 
 
The Life of 
 
 ly went, and stood by her, and 
 took her by the hand, and re- 
 buked the fever; which imme- 
 diately left her. 
 
 One day as Jesus was coniing 
 down from a mountain, a man 
 full of leprosy, when he saw 
 Jesus, fell on his face before him, 
 saying, if thou wilt, thou canst 
 make me clean Jesus had 
 compassion on him, and said, 
 u I will, be thou clean-" And 
 the leprosy was immediately 
 cleansed, 
 
 Jesus went into a synagogue 
 on a Sabbath, and taught the 
 people; and a man was there 
 with a withered hand. Then 
 he said to him, " Stand forth," 
 so he stood forth; then Jesus 
 
Xazarrts l'aised fecajiHie^eacl 
 
 V 
 
Our Lord and Saviour. 1 7 
 
 said, « Stretch out thy hand/' 
 and he stretched forth his hand, 
 and it was restored perfect, like 
 the other. 
 
 Jesus went up into a moun- 
 tain to pray; in the morning he 
 called his disciples to him, and 
 chose out twelve, whom he call- 
 ed apostles, and he gave them 
 power to heal all manner of dis- 
 eases. Their names were, Simon 
 Peter, and Andrew his brother, 
 James and John, the sons of 
 Zebedee, and Philip, and Bar- 
 tholemew, and Matthew, and 
 Thomas, and James the son of 
 Alpheus, and Thaddeus or Judas, 
 and Simon the Canaanite, called 
 aslo Zelotest and Judas Iscariot, 
 who afterwards betrayed him. 
 
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 Jesus was at a city called Nain, 
 and saw a widow, whose only 
 son was going to be buried, and 
 he had compassion on her, and 
 he touched the bier, and said, 
 
 Young man, I say unto thee, 
 arise;" ana be immediately arose, 
 and stood upon his feet. 
 
 A woman, who had an issue 
 of blood tv^elve vears, and had 
 spent her money upon physi- 
 cians without anv relief, came 
 behind him and touched the hem 
 of his garment; " For," thought 
 she, " ~if I can but touch his 
 clothes, I shall be healed!" Im- 
 mediately the disease was cured, 
 and she felt that she was well. 
 
 Jairus, the ruler of the syna- 
 gogue, came to Jesus, and be- 
 
Our Lord and Saviour. 1 9 
 
 sought him to come and heal his 
 only daughter, who was dying* 
 — Jesus went with him and when 
 they came to the ruler's house, 
 they found her dead-, but Jesus 
 took her hand, and said, u Dam- 
 sel, I say unto thee, arise," then 
 she arose; and those that were 
 with her glorified God. 
 
 Jesus withdrew into a moun- 
 tain to pray, but sent his disci- 
 ples over the lakes; and the ves- 
 sel was tossed by the waves, for 
 the wind was contrary. In the 
 morning he went to them, walk- 
 ing on the sea; but they, think- 
 ing it was a spirit, were terrified. 
 Jesus said, i( Be not afraid; it is 
 I." Peter said, " If it be thou, 
 master, bid me come to thee on 
 
20 The Life of 
 
 the water." Jesus said, " come. 5 ' 
 Peter got out of the vessel, and 
 walked on the water towards 
 Jesus; but seeing the waves very 
 boisterous, he was afraid, and 
 beginning to sink, he cried out, 
 u Save me, Master." Jesus 
 stretched out his hand, and said, 
 u Distrustful man! why dost 
 thou fear ?" As soon as they 
 got on board, the wind ceased. 
 
 Lazarus of Bethany, the bro- 
 ther of Martha and Mary, was 
 sick, and the sisters sent to tell 
 Jesus — Now Jesus loved Martha, 
 Mary and Lazarus; and he said 
 to his disciples, €i Let us return 
 to Judea, our friend Lazarus 
 sleepeth, but I go to wake him." 
 They said, " If he sleep he will 
 
i dead ca 
 ^ -1 fo 
 
Our Lord and Saviour. 23 - 
 
 recover." Then Jesus told them 
 that Lazarus was dead. When 
 they came to Bethany, Lazarus 
 had been in the tomb four days; 
 Mary threw herself at his feet, 
 ! and said, " If thou hadst been 
 here, Master, my brother had 
 not died," Then Jesus said, 
 <c Where have ye laid him?" 
 They answered, " come and see." 
 When he came to the tomb, he 
 prayed to God, and then, with 
 a loud voice, he said, u Lazarus, 
 come forth !" — And he who had 
 been dead came forth, bound 
 head and foot. Jesus said, 
 <c Unbind him, and let him go." 
 Many of the Jews who were pre- 
 sent and saw the miracle, be- 
 lieved on Jesucj but some of 
 
M> The Life of 
 
 them went to the Pharisees, and 
 told them what he had done; 
 then they and the chief priests 
 assembled and said, « What shall 
 we do, this man worketh many 
 miracles, if we let him alone, 
 every body will believe on him." 
 From that day, therefore, they 
 consulted how they might de- 
 stroy him. 
 
 Meantime the passover ap- 
 proached, and they wondered 
 whether or not Jesus would 
 come to keep the festival; for 
 the chief priests and Pharisees 
 had ordered, that whoever knew 
 where he was, should inform 
 *hem, that they might seize him. 
 
 When Jesus was on the road 
 to Jerusalem, he said to his 
 
Our Lord and Saviour. 25 
 
 postles, €€ We are now going to 
 Jerusalem,where the Son of man 
 shall be delivered to the chief 
 priests and scribes, who will con- 
 demn him to die, and deliver 
 him up to the Gentiles to be 
 mocked, scourged, and crucified; 
 but the third day he fchall rise 
 again-" 
 
 When they were nigh Jerusa- 
 lem, Jesus sent two of his disci- 
 ples to the village opposite to 
 fetch an ass and her colt. The 
 disciples went, and having done 
 what the Lord commanded, they 
 covered the ass with their man- 
 tles, and made him ride. Many 
 spread their mantles in the way* 
 others cut branches from the 
 palm trees, and strewed them in 
 
26 The Life of 
 
 the way, while the crowd that 
 went before and followed after, 
 shouted, crying, " Hosanna to 
 the son of David, blessed is he 
 that cometh in the name of the 
 Lord." " 
 
 Judas Iscariot went to the 
 chief priests, and said, " What 
 will ye give me, and I will de- 
 liver him to you ?" They gave 
 him thirty shekels, and he said, 
 " The man whom I kiss is he, 
 secure him." From that time 
 he watched an opportunity to 
 deliver him up* 
 
 On the first dav of the festi« 
 val, the disciples asked Jesus 
 where they should prepare the 
 paschal supper; and he said, 
 c * Go into the city, where ye 
 
Christ Jtilletk the Tempest 
 
 J 
 
Our Lord and Saviour. 29 
 
 will meet a man carrying a pitch- 
 er of water, follow him, and 
 wherever ye enter, prepare the 
 passover. 
 
 In the evening, Jesus placed 
 himself at table with the twelve; 
 and whilst they were eating, he 
 said, " Verilyl say unto you, that 
 one of you shall deliver me up." 
 They were all exceeding sorrow- 
 ful, and every one began to say, 
 Is it I ?" — He answered, The 
 man whose hand is in the dish 
 with me, is he who betrayeth 
 me — The son of man departeth 
 in the manner foretold in scrip- 
 ture; but woe to that man who 
 betrayeth him — it had been bet- 
 ter for that man not to have 
 been born." Jesus took the loaf, 
 
30 
 
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 and gave it to his disciples, say- 
 ing, « Take, eat, this is my 
 body/'— He then took the cup, 
 and having given thanks, gave 
 it to them, saying, <c Drink ye 
 all of it; for this is my blood, 
 which is shed for many, for the 
 forgivenness of sins. — Do this 
 in remembrance of me." And 
 after the hymn, they went to the 
 Mount of Olives. 
 
 Then Jesus said to them, 
 c< This night I shall prove a 
 stumbling stone to all of you; 
 but after I am risen, I will go 
 before you into Galilee." He 
 then went with the disciples to 
 Gethsemane; and said to them, 
 " The hour is come, when the 
 gon of man is betrayed into the 
 
Our Lord and Saviour. 31 
 
 hands of sinners." As he said 
 these words, Judas, with a large 
 multitude, came up to him, and 
 said, u Hail, Rabbi !" and kissed 
 him. They then seized and 
 bound him, and took him be- 
 fore Caiphas the High Pne r ; 
 and after he had examined him, 
 they took him to Pontius Pilate, 
 where the false witnesses accused 
 him} but he answered them not 
 a word, which surprized Pilate 
 exceedingly. 
 
 It was usual for the governor, 
 at their great festival, to release 
 a prisoner — Now there was a 
 prisoner named Barabbas, who 
 was famous for the crimes he had 
 committed; When Pilate asked 
 wirich he should release, they 
 
32 ' The Life of 
 
 cried out, cc Barabbas !" He an- 
 swered, " What shall I do with 
 Jesus?'* They said, " Let him 
 be crucified !" Pilate answered, 
 " Why, what evil hath he done?" 
 But they cried the louder, " Cru- 
 cify him! Crucify him!" When 
 Pilate perceived he could not 
 prevail, he took water and wash- 
 ed his hands before them all, 
 saying, " I am guiltless of the 
 blood of this innocent man, see 
 ye to it." Then the people said, 
 
 " HIS BLOOD BE ON US, AND ON 
 
 our children." Then Pilate 
 delivered him to be crucified. 
 
 Then the soldiers cruelly 
 scourged him, and crowned him 
 with a crown of thorns, and put 
 a rod in his hand, and mocked 
 
J 
 
Our Lord a?id Saviour. 35 
 
 him, and spit in his face, and af- 
 ter offering him other indigni- 
 ties, they nailed him to the cross, 
 and crucified him between two 
 thieves. 
 
 When three days had elapsed, 
 Jesus arose from the dead, as he 
 had foretold, and appeared unto 
 Mary Magdalene, and the other 
 Mary, saying, Rejoice ! be not 
 afraid, but go tell the news to 
 my disciples/' 
 
 In the evening, when the dis- 
 ciples were assembled, Jesus 
 came and stood before them, 
 saying, " Peace be unto you. 
 As the Father sent me, so I send 
 you." He then asked if they 
 had any thing to eat, and they 
 gave him some broiled fish and 
 
 A 
 
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 36 The Life of 
 
 honey-comb, which he ate before 
 them. ' 
 
 The eleven apostles went to 
 Galilee* whither he commanded 
 them, and there he appeared to 
 them again; and when some 
 doubted, he said, " handle me, 
 j^nd be convinced, for a spirit 
 hath not flesh and blood as I 
 have." 
 
 The last time he appeared to 
 them, he said, " All authority is 
 given to me in heaven and earth, 
 and now reformation and for- 
 giveness of sins must be pro- 
 claimed in mv name to all na- 
 tions, beginning at Jerusalem, 
 where ye must continue, until 
 ^e receive power from above." 
 Then he led them as far 
 
Our Lord and Saviour. 37 
 
 Bethany, and as he was blessing 
 them 5 he was parted from them, 
 and carried up to heaven. A 
 cloud received him out of their 
 sight, and he sat on the right 
 hand of God. 
 
 And all the disciples worship- 
 ped Jesus, and returned to Jeru- 
 salem with great joy, and were 
 constantly in the temple praising 
 and blessing God. They con- 
 tinued in Jerusalem, in obe- 
 dience to the commands of Je- 
 sus, until he had endowed them 
 with the power he had promis- 
 ed, and then they went forth, 
 and preached in his name to all 
 nations and countries. 
 
 FINIS* 
 
REFLECTIONS. 
 
 On God. 
 
 GrOD is in himself, from eter- 
 nity to eternity, the most per- 
 fect and blessed Being: In his 
 substance, spiritual and eternal: 
 in his person three united in one: 
 In his name, Father, Son, and 
 Holy Ghost: In his will, holy, 
 just, merciful and true: In power, 
 omnipotent: In wisdom, incom- 
 prehensible: a light unto which 
 none can approach, yet all in all 
 
Reflections, 41 
 
 omnipresent; the highest good* 
 and the only inexhaustible foun- 
 tain of all goodness; the creator 
 of all things and the director, 
 protector, preserver, and sustain** 
 er of them all. 
 
 On the Creation of the visible 
 
 Wortdy Sfc* 
 
 The great Almighty Lord 
 God hath revealed himself by his 
 glorious works in the creation of 
 the heavens and the earthy 
 Genesis i. which he made by his 
 eternal Word, L e. by his only 
 begotten Son: John iih 2 Heb. 
 i. 2, and the creation he per- 
 formed in six days, viz. On the 
 first day he created lightj on the 
 
 second^ the firmament of the 
 
42 Reflections 
 
 heaven: on the third, the sea and 
 the earth, with the grass, herbs, 
 and trees; on the fourth, the 
 sun, moon, and stars; on the 
 fifth, fish and fowls, and on the 
 sixth, cattle and also beasts, with 
 the insects of various kinds* 
 Moreover, he then created man. 
 And though Moses makes no 
 mention of the angelic host, ex- 
 positors are of opinion, the other 
 places in holy writ intimate that 
 those myriads of the heavenly 
 hierarchy which stand before the 
 throne, were on the first day 
 created with the light. The c e 
 God formed spiritual, amicable 
 beings, whose natures we cannot 
 comprehend. 
 
 And on the seventh day God 
 
Reflections* 43 
 
 rested from all his works, Gen. 
 ii. %, and 3. That is,— « The 
 €i creation of all things were fi~ 
 €C nished, and the world perfect- 
 u ly made. This resting of God 
 (i being spoken after the manner 
 (i of men, implieth not any wea- 
 c< riness in him: for the "Creator 
 €i of the ends of the earth faint- 
 " eth not, neither is weary, Isa« 
 " xl. 28. It was bv the ancients 
 
 ■if 
 
 u made a symbol of the rest of 
 c< the just from all their labours; 
 f* when all grief, sorrow, and 
 ** sighing shall fly away, and 
 « God shall be all in all."— And 
 God blessed the seventh day, 
 and hallowed it. Gen. ii 3. 
 
 The state of our first parents 
 in Paradise, and the miserable 
 
44 Reflections. 
 
 change by their expulsion thence, 
 for breaking the divine com- 
 mand, Moses relates in the 3d 
 of Genesis, which account we 
 are to understand literally; and 
 should make it a matter of hu- 
 miliation, that besides the tem- 
 poral evils of labour, sorrow, 
 sickness, and death, consequent 
 on their fall, they, and all their 
 posterity, without a Redeemer, 
 must for ever have perished. 
 
 Notwithstanding God promis- 
 ed a Redeemer, vet so great was 
 the depravity of man after the 
 fall, that the greatest part of 
 mankind fell into abominable 
 idolatry; which provoked the 
 Almighty to destroy the beauti« 
 
 _ 
 
s 
 
Reflections. 47 
 
 ful frame of the earth, together 
 with its wicked inhabitants, ex- 
 cept Noah and his family, whom 
 he found just. But the know- 
 ledge of the true God, and how 
 he would be worshipped, was 
 transmitted down by Adam, 
 through the Patriarchs, before 
 the flood: and by Noah, of the 
 line of Seth, afterwards unto his 
 descendants. 
 
 FINIS*