x GENERAL PREFACE,
tian author comes most directly into collision with those who impugn the divinity of Christ, or deny that he was the promised Messiah.
The Exercitations, though they have been in some measure over- looked, will be found of singular and permanent value when they are carefully examined. They are by no means detached, desultory pro- ductions; they proceed in a systematic and orderly course. The first part of them relates to such general questions as the canonicity, the authorship, and the date of the Epistle, and the language in which it was written, together with the occasion which mainly rendered it necessary, namely, the mistakes of the Jews, in denying the oneness of the church in all ages, and in adhering to the oral law or mere tradition. The second part, in a series of dissertations, embraces the illustration and defence of three great principles upon which the reasoning in the Hpistle proceeds,—namely, that a Messiah had been promised, that before the Epistle was written he had already come in the flesh, and that Jesus of Nazareth was the Messiah. The third part discusses the institutions of the ancient Jewish church. The fourth part unfolds at great length the sacerdotal office of Christ. And the fifth, originally published as a separate treatise in 1671, enters largely on the whole question of the Sabbath. This last, as it was designed to be included in the preliminary Exercitations to this com- mentary, and indeed so forestalls it that without them the exposition of the fourth chapter would be very defective, was appended by Dr Wright to the other Exercitations,—an arrangement so obviously proper that we have not deviated from it in the present edition, The mere summary of their contents, however, must fail to give an ade- quate impression of their merits. They contain the ripest thoughts of the author on the subjects to which they relate, while they will be found a repertory of much curious and interesting matter,—such as the arguments of the Jews against Christianity, the passages in — the Targums which allude to the Messiah, and the digest of the law into 613 precepts by the celebrated Maimonides.
The Exposition was favourably received both on the Continent and in this country. Mr Simon Commenicq, a merchant in Rot- terdam, translated it into Dutch. Under his care it was printed in seven quarto volumes at Amsterdam, 1733-40; and he distributed most of the impression gratuitously. According to Le Long, a pro- posal was made at Amsterdam in 1700 to translate it into Latin. Dr Williams of Rotherham published, in 1790, an abridgment of it in four octavo volumes; and of this abridgment a second edition appeared in 1815, with material corrections and improvements, under the superintendence of Ingram Cobbin, A.M. In 1812, a complete edition, in seven octavo volumes, was published under the editorial care of Dr Wright. A reprint of this last edition, in four bulky octavo volumes, was published by Mr Tegg in 1840,
It is a singular feature in the criticisms which have been passed on the works of our author, that each critic generally evinces pecu- liar admiration for some one of his works, in decided preference to all the rest. Dr M‘Crie coveted the honour of haying written his
GENERAL PREFACE. XI
treatise on the Person of Christ; Ryland pronounced his Latin work on the Origin and Progress of Theology “incomparable,”—‘“the greatest work ever written by a British divine;’ Dr Lindsay Alex- ander speaks of his work on the Holy Spirit as his “ master-work ;” Mr Wilberforce especially recommended his treatise on the Morti- fication of Sin. There is reason to believe, however, that Owen himself regarded the Exposition as the production by which he had rendered the most service to the cause of divine truth, and on which his reputation as a theological author would chiefly depend. On finishing it he laid down his pen, exclaiming, “Now my work is done; it is time for me to die!”
It is impossible to embrace all the testimonies which have been given to the pre-eminent value of this great work,—a value not in the least degree abated by all which has been subsequently published in exposition of this Epistle; for though in verbal exegesis subsequent scholarship has greatly distanced Owen, there is scarcely any theolo- gical truth of the least importance, embodied in the Epistle to the He- brews, the discovery and illustration of which have not been antici- pated by his sagacious research, In accordance with the course adopted in the prefatory notes to his miscellaneous writings, we may record a few opinions which have been expressed by eminent authorities in approbation of Owen’s labours as an expositor. Walch thus speaks of it: “ Kgregium est opus hoc, locuples testis de auctoris singulari eruditione, atque industria quam ad illud conficiendum adhibuit.” According to Tholuck, “It gives evidence of the learning and theo- logical*insight of its truly pious author.’ Mr Bridges describes it as “ probably the most elaborate and instructive comment on a detached portion of Scripture.’ Dr Chalmers pronounces it “the greatest work of John Owen,’—“ a work of gigantic strength as well as gigantic size; and he who hath mastered it is very little short, both in respect to the doctrinal and practical of Christianity, of being an erudite and accomplished theologian.” Bogue and Bennett, in their “ History of Dissenters” (vol. ii. 236), give warm expression to their feelings of admiration: “ If the theological student should part with his coat or his bed to procure the works of Howe, he that would not sell his shirt to procure those of John Owen, and especially his Exposition, of which every sentence is precious, shows too much re- gard to his-body, and too little for his immortal mind.”