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.