Works
John Brown wrote numerous books, of which the most notable are described here.
Only one dictionary of the Bible, by then long out of print, had preceded Brown's The Dictionary of the Bible. It therefore met a need and after the initial edition published in 1769 numerous editions, variously amended, were issued until 1868. It expressed a Calvinist theology, and in it, the author estimated that 2016 would see the Millenium. Many articles in it are long and appear to be tracts or sermons .
A General History of the Christian Church was issued in two volumes in 1771.
The Self Interpreting Bible was Brown's most significant work, and it remained in print (edited by others), until well into the twentieth century. The objective of providing a commentary for ordinary people was very successful. The idea that the Bible was "self-interpreting" involved copious marginal references, especially comparing one scriptural statement with another. Brown also provided a substantial introduction to the Bible, and added an explication and "reflections" for each chapter.
A measure of its popularity is that it was translated into Welsh, and its appearance in Robert Burns's "Epistle to James Tennant",
My shins, my lane, I sit here roastin'
Perusing Bunyan, Brown and Boston,
Read more about this topic: John Brown (theologian)
Famous quotes containing the word works:
“In saying what is obvious, never choose cunning. Yelling works better.”
—Cynthia Ozick (b. 1928)
“The works of women are symbolical.
We sew, sew, prick our fingers, dull our sight,
Producing what? A pair of slippers, sir,
To put on when you’re weary or a stool
To stumble over and vex you ... “curse that stool!”
Or else at best, a cushion, where you lean
And sleep, and dream of something we are not,
But would be for your sake. Alas, alas!
This hurts most, this ... that, after all, we are paid
The worth of our work, perhaps.”
—Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806–1861)
“Nature is so perfect that the Trinity couldn’t have fashioned her any more perfect. She is an organ on which our Lord plays and the devil works the bellows.”
—Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe (1749–1832)