Bible Commentaries

Isaiah 52:2 — propriety of the style of Scripture, which always joins the footstool to the throne." (Isaiah 66:1; Psalms 110:1.) Voyages, tom. ix. p. 85, 12mo. Besides the six steps to Solomon's throne, there was a footstool of gold fastened to the seat, 2 Chronicles 9:18, which would otherwise have been too high for the king to reach, or to sit on conveniently.When Thetis comes to wait on Vulcan to request armour for her son, she is received with great respect, and seated on a silver-studded throne, a chair of ceremony,

Jeremiah 4:1 — they were threatened might be averted, 3, 4. He then sounds the alarm of war, 5, 6. Nebuchadnezzar, like a fierce lion, is, from the certainty of the prophecy, represented to be on his march; and the disastrous event to have been already declared, 7-9. And as the lying prophets had flattered the people with the hopes of peace and safety, they are now introduced, (when their predictions are falsified by the event,) excusing themselves; and, with matchless effrontery, laying the blame of the deception

Jeremiah 6:1 — 6, 7, although warned of the fatal consequence, 8. He intimates also, by the gleaning of the grapes, that one invasion should carry away the remains of another, till their disobedience, hypocrisy, and other sins should end in their total overthrow, 9-15. And to show that God is clear when he judgeth, he mentions his having in vain admonished and warned them, and calls upon the whole world to witness the equity of his proceedings, 16-18, in punishing this perverse and hypocritical people, 19, 20,

Jeremiah 8:1 — every mark of indignity, 1-3. From this the prophet returns to reprove them for their perseverance in transgression, 4-6; and for their thoughtless stupidity, which even the instinct of the brute creation, by a beautiful contrast, is made to upbraid, 7-9. This leads to farther threatening expressed in a variety of striking terms, 10-13. Upon which a chorus of Jews is introduced, expressing their terror on the news of the invasion, 14, 15; which is greatly heightened in the next verse by the prophet's

Ezekiel 4:1 — consisting chiefly of the worst kinds of grain, and likewise ill-prepared, as he had only cow's dung for fuel, tended all to denote the scarcity of proviswn, fuel, and every necessary of life, which the Jews should experience during the siege of Jerusalem. 9-17. NOTES ON CHAP. IVVerse Ezekiel 4:1. Take thee a tile — A tile, such as we use in covering houses, will give us but a very inadequate notion of those used anciently; and also appear very insufficient for the figures which the prophet was commanded

Hosea 14:9 — Verse Hosea 14:9. Who is wise, and he shall understand these things? — What things? Those which relate to the backslidings, iniquity, and punishment of Israel; and to the mercy and kindness of God in their promised restoration. The things which belong to the work

Micah 5:1 — conversion and restoration. See Romans 11:12-15. The remaining verses contain a prophecy of the final overthrow of all the enemies of pure and undefiled religion, and of the thorough purification of the Church of God from the corruptions of Antichrist, 9-15. NOTES ON CHAP. VVerse Micah 5:1. O daughter of troops — The Chaldeans, whose armies were composed of troops from various nations.He (Nebuchadnezzar) hath laid siege against us; (Jerusalem;) they shall smite the judge of Israel (Zedekiah) with

Matthew 24:1 — the destruction of the temple, 1, 2. His disciples inquire when and what shall be the sign of this destruction, 3. Our Lord answers, and enumerates them-false Christs, 5. Wars, famines, pestilences, and earthquakes, 6-8. Persecution of his followers, 9. Apostasy from the truth, 10-13. General spread of the Gospel, 14. He foretells the investment of the city by the Romans, 15-18. The calamities of those times, 19-22. Warns them against seduction by false prophets, 23-26. The suddenness of these calamities,

Matthew 3:1 — CHAPTER III. John the Baptist begins to preach, 1. The subject of his preaching, 2, 3. Description of his clothing and food, 4. The success of his ministry, 5, 6. His exhortation to the Pharisees, 7-9. He denounces the judgments of God against the impenitent, 10. The design of his baptism, and that of Christ, 11, 12. He baptizes Christ in Jordan, 13-15; who is attested to be the Messiah by the Holy Spirit, and a voice from heaven, 16, 17. NOTES ON

Matthew 9:15 — Verse Matthew 9:15. Can the children of the bride-chamber — νυμφωνος. Or, νυμφιου, bridegroom, as the Cod. Bezae and several versions have it. These persons were the companions of the bridegroom, who accompanied him to the house of his father-in-law when he went

Luke 1:69 — Verse 69. And hath raised up a horn of salvation — That is, a mighty and glorious Saviour: a quotation from Psalms 18:2. Horns are the well known emblems of strength, glory, and power, both in the sacred and profane writers, because the strength and beauty

Luke 24:1 — coming early to the sepulchre on the first day of the week, bringing their spices, find the stone rolled away, and the tomb empty, 1-3. They see a vision of angels, who announce Christ's resurrection, 4-8. The women return and tell this to the eleven, 9, 10. They believe not, but Peter goes and examines the tomb, 11, 12. Christ, unknown, appears to two of the disciples who were going to Emmaus, and converses with them, 13-29. While they are eating together, he makes himself known, and immediately disappears,

John 17:12 — alteration: "O cursed lust of gold! when for thy sake The wretch throws up his interest in both worlds, First hanged in this, then damned in that to come." That the scripture might be fulfilled. — Or, Thus the scripture is fulfilled: see Psalms 41:9; Psalms 109:8; compared with Acts 1:20. Thus the traitorous conduct of Judas has been represented and illustrated by that of Ahitophel, and the rebellion of Absalom against his father David. Thus what was spoken concerning them was also fulfilled in

John 5:1 — CHAPTER V. The man who had been diseased thirty-eight years healed on the Sabbath day, 1-9. The Jews cavil, persecute Christ, and seek to kill him, because he had done this cure on the Sabbath, 10-16. Our Lord vindicates his conduct, and shows, from the testimony of the Father, the Scriptures, John the Baptist, and his own works, that he

Acts 21:1 — disciples, and stay seven days, and are kindly entertained, 4, 5. Having bade the disciples farewell, they take ship and sail to Ptolemais, salute the brethren, stay with them one day, come to Caesarea, and lodge with Philip, one of the seven deacons, 6-9. Here they tarry a considerable time, and Agabus the prophet foretells Paul's persecution at Jerusalem, 10, 11. The disciples endeavour to dissuade him from going; but he is resolute, and he and his company depart, 12-16. They are kindly received by

Acts 25:1 — next day Paul is brought to his trial, and the Jews of Jerusalem bring many groundless charges against him, against which he defends himself, 6-8. In order to please the Jews, Festus asks Paul if he be willing to go up to Jerusalem, and be tried there, 9. Paul refuses, and appeals to Caesar, and Festus admits the appeal, 10-13. King Agrippa, and Bernice his wife, come to Cesarea to visit Festus, and are informed by him of the accusations against Paul, his late trial, and his appeal from them to Caesar,

Acts 7:1 — being permitted to answer for himself relative to the charge of blasphemy brought against him by his accusers, gives a circumstantial relation of the call of Abraham, when he dwelt in Mesopotamia, in Charran, c., 1-8. The history of Jacob and Joseph, 9-17. The persecution of their fathers in Egypt, 18, 19. The history of Moses and his acts till the exodus from Egypt, 20-37. The rebellion and idolatry of the Israelites in the wilderness, 38-43. The erection of the tabernacle of witness, which continued

1 Corinthians 16:2 — which was called ארנקי של צדקה Arneki shel tsedakah, "The purse of the alms," or what we would term, the poor's box. This is what the apostle seems to mean when he says, Let him lay by him in store-let him put it in the alms' purse, or in the poor's box.9. It was a maxim also with them that, if they found any money, they were not to put it in their private purse, but in that which belonged to the poor.10. The pious Jews believed that as salt seasoned food, so did alms, riches; and that he who did not

1 Corinthians 7:9 — Verse 1 Corinthians 7:9. But if they cannot contain — If they find it inconvenient and uncomfortable to continue as widowers and widows, let them remarry.It is better to marry than to burn. — Bishop Pearce translates the original thus: For it is better to marry

2 Corinthians 5:11 — translation of ειδοτες ουν τον φοβον του κυριου, which should be rendered, knowing therefore the fear of the Lord; which, strange as it may at first appear, often signifies the worship of the Lord, or that religious reverence which we owe to him; Acts 9:31; Romans 3:18; Romans 13:7; 1 Peter 1:17; 1 Peter 2:18; 1 Peter 3:2. As we know therefore what God requires of man, because we are favoured with his own revelation, we persuade men to become Christians, and to labour to be acceptable to him, because