For ask now of the days that are past, which were before thee,
&c.] Inquire into and consult the annals of former times, of ages past:
since the day that God created man upon the earth;
trace them quite up to the creation of the world, and men in it:
and [ask] from the one side of heaven to the other;
traverse the whole globe, and examine the records of every nation in it in both hemispheres:
whether there hath been any such [thing] as this great thing is, or
hath been heard like it?
whether they can give any account of anything seen, heard, or done like what follows; suggesting that they cannot furnish out an instance to be mentioned with it.