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William Gilpin Predendary of Salisbury, and Vicar of Boldre, in New Forest, near Lymington. |
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An Exposition of the New Testament, Intended as an Introduction to the Study of the Scriptures, by Pointing Out the Leading Sense and Connection of the Sacred Writers | Annotations on the New Testament: Compiled from the Best Critical Authorities (1829)
London, 1790. 1 vol. 4to.; and 1798, 2 vols.
(On Matthew 21:33-44)
“Jesus, having thus silenced the chief priests, continued the subject, by setting before them, in the audience of the people, their hardened, impenitent and dangerous state, the ungrateful returns which the Jews had made to God, for all his calls of mercy, and, finally, God’s intention of casting them off, and adopting the Gentiles in their room.’ Expos. in Mark xii. 1—11.” (An Exposition of the New Testament, &c. vicar of Boldoe in New Forest, near Lymington.’ London, 1790. 1 vol. 4to.; and 1798, 2 vols.)
(On Luke 14:16-24)
“A person in the company, pleased with these instructions, expressed aloud his sense of the happiness of those who lived under the influence of the gospel. Jesus closing with the sentiment, showed, under the following parable, how very undeserving the Jews therefore were, in refusing its gracious offers; and how justly they should be rejected in favor of the Gentiles. A rich man, said he, made a great feast, to which he invited his particular friends. But they, instead of attending when called, absented themselves on trifling excuses. The master of the feast, displeased at this neglect, sent out his servants, and in the room of those unworthy guests, whom he had first invited, filled his table with those whom they accidentally met in the high roads and places of public resort.” (Expos. in Luke xiv. 16—24.)
(On Romans 9:22)
“Suppose God, to make his indignation against sin the more exemplary, hath reserved the impenitent Jews, to be punished in one general or national rejection” (Expos. in loc.)
(On 1 Thessalonians 2:16)
“The end of this verse relates to the approaching destruction of Jerusalem.” (Note in loc)
(On 1 Peter 4:17)
” Thus, amidst the general ruin which is coming upon these wicked times, the Christian shall have his share. But his afflictions will be light, in comparison of that great overthrow which shall destroy the Jewish nation.” (Expos. in loc.)
(On 2 Peter 2:1)
“But as there were false prophets under the law, so shall there be false teachers under the gospel, who shall introduce vile heresies, denying even the Lord who bought them, and shall draw upon themselves a sudden ruin. They shall influence many, and deceive them through interested views, and bring great slander on the truth, till their destruction, which is advancing apace, shall suddenly overwhelm them. The swift destruction seems to correspond with the destruction of Jerusalem.” (Expos. and Note in loc.)
(2 Peter 2:4-9)
“Nor is this destruction, which is coming upon the Jews, an extraordinary instance of God’s justice. Against enormous wickedness, he hath often executed severe judgments. The angels that sinned were driven from the presence of God. The old world was destroyed by a flood, and Sodom and Gomorrah by fire. But from the former of these calamities, Noah, who had endeavored to convert his unrighteous neighbors, was exempted; and from the latter Lot was delivered, who had all along opposed the wickedness of the country in which he dwelt. Thus mercy and judgment are equally tempered in the hands of God.” (Expos. in loc.)
(2 Peter 2:10)
“It is not easy to explain whom the apostle means to point out in this and the following verses. Some suppose he alludes to certain false opinions which prevailed about heavenly beings. Others (among whom is Dr. Lardner, see Cred. v. i. chap. viii. p. 199,) think that some expressions in these verses allude to the riotous disposition of the Jews, which finally brought on their destruction. The chief difficulty lies in the confusion of the several ideas.” (Note in loc.)
“The swift destruction seems to correspond with the destruction of Jerusalem.’ Note on ver. 1.
WHAT OTHERS HAVE SAID
“Among works on the subject of taste and beauty, in which philosophical analysis and metaphysics are happily blended with the graces of refined thought and composition, are the writings of the REV. WILLIAM GILPIN (1724-1804) and SIR UVEDALE PRICE (1747-1829). The former was author of Remarks on Forest Scenery, and Observations on Picturesque Beauty, as connected with the English lakes and the Scottish Highlands. As vicar of Boldre, in the New Forest, Hampshire, Mr Gilpin was familiar with the characteristics of forest scenery, and his work on this subject (1791) is equally pleasing and profound—a storehouse of images and illustrations of external nature, remarkable for their fidelity and beauty, and an analysis ‘ patient and comprehensive, with no feature of the chilling metaphysics of the schools.’ His Remarks on Forest Scenery consist of a description of the various kinds of trees. ‘ It is no exaggerated praise,’ he says, ‘ to call a tree the grandest and most beautiful of all the productions of the earth. In the former of these epithets nothing contends with it, for we consider rocks and mountains as part of the earth itself. And though among inferior plants, shrubs, and flowers, there is great beauty, yet, when we consider that these minuter productions are chiefly beautiful as individuals, and are not adapted to form the arrangement of composition in landscape, nor to receive the effect of light and shade, they must give place in point of beauty—of picturesque beauty at least—to the form, and foliage, and ramification of the tree. Thus the splendid tints of the insect, however beautiful, must yield to the elegance and proportion of animals which range in a higher class.’
Having described trees as individuals, he considers them under their various combinations, as clumps, park-scenery, the copse, glen, grove, the forest, &c. Their permanent and incidental beauties in storm and sunshine, and through all the seasons, are afterwards delineated in the choicest language, and with frequent illustration from the kindred pages of the poets ; and the work concludes with an account of the English forests and their accompaniments—lawns, heaths, forest distances, and sea-coast views ; with their proper appendages, as wild horses, deer, eagles, and other picturesque inhabitants. As a specimen of Mr Gilpin’s manner—though a very inadequate one—we subjoin his account of the effects of the sun, ‘ an illustrious family of tints,’ as fertile sources of incidental beauty among the woods of the forest.
What do YOU think ?