he could not be
completely furnished to meet the assaults of error, which, from one
generation to another, makes, with unerring instinct, its main assault
upon the person and office of the Son of God.

But if the evangelical narrative would not be complete without the
fourth gospel, neither would it be perfect for the use of the church
with this alone. The record of our Lord's life and teachings as given in
the first three gospels is preeminently adapted to popular instruction.
It is precisely such a record as the preachers of the gospel need in
their public ministrations. With it they can use the fourth gospel with
effect; but without it they would want the natural preparation for and
introduction to those deep and spiritual views of Christ's person and
office which the bosom-disciple unfolds. It is not in the three synoptic
gospels, nor in the gospel of John taken separately, that we find the
complete evangelical armor, but in the perfect whole of the four.

10. Very numerous attempts have been made to construct _harmonies_ of
the four gospels. One plan is to form out of the whole, in what is
supposed to be the true chronological order, a continuous narrative
embracing all the matter of the four, but without repetitions of the
same or similar words. Another plan is to exhibit in chronological
order, the entire text of the four gospels arranged in parallel columns,
so far as two or more of them cover the same ground. The idea is very
imposing, but the realization of it is beset with formidable if not
insurmountable difficulties. It is certain that the evangelists do not
always follow the exact order of time, and it is sometimes impossible to
decide between the different arrangements of events in their records. In
the four narratives of the events connected with the resurrection all
harmonists find themselves baffled. Had we a full account of all the
particulars of that exciting scene, we might undoubtedly assign to the
different parts of each narrative its true place in the order of time.
But with our present means of information this is impossible. Experience
shows that the most profitable way of studying the evangelical narrative
is to take _each gospel as a whole_, but with continual reference to the
parallel parts of the other gospels, so far as they can be ascertained.
In this work a good harmony, like that of Robinson, may render essential
service, though its arrangements must in many cases be regarded only as
_