Historical Description of the Life of Our Lord Jesus Christ

her, expressing the nature and manner of writing of our four Evangelists, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John; of whom the first has as his focus the genealogy and lineage of Christ according to his humanity, the second his powers original: "krachten," referring here to the miracles and divine authority of Jesus, the third his suffering, and the fourth his high Divinity. Yet they all four have these qualities together, just as these faces appear on each of these same creatures. Thus, this work of ours is nothing other than a proof that these four wheels are one wheel, and these four Creatures belong to one body, which provides great delight as well as no less certainty in investigating the Gospel Histories.

For further reinforcement, foreign histories original: "uytheemse geschiedenissen," referring to secular or non-biblical historical accounts from the same era have also been added here, matching the Histories of the four Evangelists, which are followed until the passing of the Apostles. Likewise, the cities, places, mountains, rivers, and waters concerning the travels of our Lord have also been described. Furthermore, the entire Work consists of this arrangement:

1. Nothing is omitted of everything that the four Evangelists describe; however, only one speaks at a time—namely, the one who describes the matter in the greatest detail. If any others testify to the same with him, they are noted on the margin with Chapter and verse; and if these others have anything else regarding the same matter, it is handled in our observations.

2. To maintain the chronological order of time chronological order: 't' onderhouden de ordening des tijts,' the practice of arranging events in the exact sequence they occurred, some things that the Evangelists describe one after another are placed specifically.

3. Above each page, the speaking Evangelist or Evangelists are placed on the right-hand side, and those who are meanwhile silent on the left, with the chapter in which they rest.

4. The observations are of various types: sometimes explaining, sometimes Paraphrasing, and sometimes meditating, as the subject requires.

5. The entire work has eight parts, with a short summary of each provided beforehand to better understand the entire dealings of the book.

May it please the God-fearing reader to interpret everything for the best and for his own instruction, and to receive it from our hand with such a heart as we offer it to him out of a favorable love. May it serve and be useful for the common edification and progress in Godliness. May God, to whom alone praise, laud, and honor belong, give His grace to that end, so that we may not only read the life of His beloved Son, but also contemplate it; which is the heartfelt wish of your servant and devoted friend,