9
He dead, they sealed the stone upon his grave,
But, the third-day he rose, made death his slave;
Betimes, good Mary to his grave made speed,
To whom her Saviour spake, from fear, her freed;
And, ten times he appear'd in forty days
Then, calls the twelve, and thus to them, he says.
…
15
Th' Apostles have for help Evangelists, Men rare,
For helps; by whom, the Churches planted are;
Th' Apostles, dead, black, hellish mists arise,
Which cloud the light and darken Heaven's bright skies:
The sun turn'd black, stars fell, the moon chang'd hue,
Heav'n roll'd away; This, Prophets did forshew.1
How very ambitious, to set the history of the Bible to prose! Leading off each section of his history of the Bible, Clapham provides a little poem to help fix the story in our minds. To such creativity I could never aspire.
Clapham’s book caught my attention, for in the back he offers dates for several of the books of the Bible. Of particular interest: “According to M More, Matthew writ (sic), An Dom. 42. The world then aged 3970.”2
Earlier, Clapham defers to the dating provided by a “Master More.” Is this perhaps Thomas More? Any idea what writing Clapham might be referring to?
