PREFACE,

to the

CHRISTIAN READER.

The sweetness found in investigating the life of our Savior Savior: a translation of 'Salighmaker,' literally 'one who makes blessed,' referring to Jesus Christ was a constant encouragement and sustenance to me in this work; and just as those who labor in the gold mines surely face great hardships, yet are so comforted by the finding of those precious treasures that they hold their labor in low esteem, so it was also with me in this matter. Thus, the Apostle spoke quite rightly in 2 Timothy 2:6: The farmer who tills the field shall be the first to enjoy its fruits. I well believe that men of greater gifts and experience would not make such a great task of it, but I speak according to my own circumstances and ability.

It was also no small reason for me to begin this work, seeing that the four Evangelists Evangelists: the traditional authors of the four Gospels—Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, who so holily and with such great assurance described these things, are held in suspicion by some of disagreement, or at least of obscurity, because some stories, sayings, and events seem to differ somewhat through variety of times and circumstances; which in this work shall be found entirely innocent. One shall find nothing else in them but a sweet, clear, and melodious Harmony Harmony: a 'Gospel Harmony' is a work that attempts to merge the four different Gospel accounts into a single, chronological narrative, when one brings each thing to its proper order and time. Such that these four Evangelists are with great reason compared in Ezekiel Chapter 1 to four Wheels, which are to be seen as one wheel, being driven by a living wind; where one stands, there stands the other also; where one turns, there the other turns also; where one is raised or lowered, that always happened together with one another, just as did the four accompanying Living Creatures The 'Living Creatures' or Tetramorph from Ezekiel’s vision are traditionally used in Christian art to symbolize the four Evangelists., having four different faces: the one like a Man, the second like a Lion, the third like an Ox, and the fourth like an Eagle,