Bible Commentaries

Psalms 101:8 — HUNDRED AND FIRST PSALMThere are two parts of this Psalm: - I. The sum, with the dedication of it, Psalms 101:1.II. The full explanation of mercy and judgment, and how practiced: - 1. Towards himself, Psalms 101:2-5.2. Towards ungodly men, Psalms 101:4-5; Psalms 101:7-8.3. Towards all good men, Psalms 101:6.I. The sum of the Psalm, mercy and judgment, the two great virtues of a king.1. Mercy in countenancing, giving audience, judging, and rewarding the good.2. Judgment in discountenancing, being a

Psalms 140:13 — Verse Psalms 140:13. The righteous shall give thanks — For thou wilt support and deliver him.The upright shall dwell in thy presence. — Shall be admitted to the most intimate intercourse with God.The persecuted have ever been dear to God Almighty; and the

Psalms 141:10 — Verse Psalms 141:10. Let the wicked fall into their own nets — This is generally the case; those who lay snares for others fall into them themselves. Harm watch, harm catch, says the old adage. How many cases have occurred where the spring guns that have been

Psalms 15:3 — Verse Psalms 15:3. He that backbiteth not with his tongue — לא רגל על לשנו lo ragal al leshono, "he foots not upon his tongue."4. He is one who treats his neighbour with respect. He says nothing that might injure him in his character, person, or property; he forgets no calumny, he is author of no slander, he insinuates nothing by which his neighbour may be injured. The tongue,

Psalms 15:4 — Verse Psalms 15:4. In whose eves a vile person is contemned —7. This man judges of others by their conduct; he tries no man's heart. He knows men only by the fruits they bear; and thus he gains knowledge of the principle from which they proceed. A vile person,

Psalms 16:1 — given in the following manner: David, sojourning among idolaters, and being obliged to leave his own country through Saul's persecution, cries to God for help; expresses his abhorrence of idolatry, and his desire to be again united to God's people, 1-4; and declares his strong confidence in God, who had dealt bountifully with him, 5-7. Then follows a remarkable prophecy of the resurrection of Christ, 8-11. NOTES ON PSALM XVIThe title of this Psalm in the Hebrew is מכתם לדוד michtam ledavid, which

Isaiah 22:23 — "to leave us a remnant to escape, and to give us a nail in his holy place:" that is, as the margin of our Bible explains it, "a constant and sure abode." "He that doth lodge near her (Wisdom's) house, Shall also fasten a pin in her walls." Ecclus. 14:24. The dignity and propriety of the metaphor appears from the Prophet Zechariah's use of it: - "From him shall be the corner-stone, from him the nail, From him the battle-bow, From him every ruler together." Zechariah 10:4. And Mohammed, using the

Isaiah 35:1 — of Jordan shall also rejoice: The glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it, The beauty of Carmel and of Sharon; These shall behold the glory of JEHOVAH, The majesty of our God. 3. Strengthen ye the feeble hands, And confirm ye the tottering knees. 4. Say ye to the faint-hearted, Be ye strong; Fear ye not; behold your God! Vengeance will come; the retribution of God: He himself will come, and will deliver you. 5. Then shall be unclosed the eyes of the blind; And the ears of the deaf shall be opened:

Isaiah 57:2 — the same manner, has restored to a clear sense a passage before absolutely unintelligible: - למו חרצבות אין כי lemo chartsubboth ein ki אולם ובריא תם ulam ubari tham "For no distresses happen to them; Perfect and firm is their strength." Psalms 73:4. To follow on my application of this to our Lord: - HE, the JUST ONE, shall enter into peace - the peaceable, prosperous possession of the glorious mediatorial kingdom. They shall rest upon their beds - the hand of wrong and oppression can reach these

Jeremiah 50:5 — Going and weeping shall they go. - Religious sorrow does not preclude activity and diligence. While they are weeping for their sins, they are going on in the path of duty, seeking the Lord while he may be found, and calling upon him while he is near.4. They shall ask the way to Zion. - Real penitents are the most inquisitive of all mortals; but their inquiries are limited to one object, they ask the way to Zion. What shall we do to be saved? How shall we shun the perdition of ungodly men, c.5. With

Daniel 3:1 — made seven times hotter than usual, and these men to be cast into it, bound by the most mighty of his army, who were killed by the flame in the execution of this service, 19-23. On this occasion God literally performed his promise by Isaiah, (Isaiah 43:2:) "When thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burnt; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee;" for an angel of God, appearing in the furnace, protected these young men, and counteracted the natural violence of the fire; which, only consuming

Zechariah 9:1 — afterwards by Alexander. Some apply the beginning of this chapter (1-7) to the one event, and some to the other. The close of the seventh verse relates to the number of Philistines that should become proselytes to Judaism; (see Joseph. Antiq. xiv. 15, 4;) and the eighth, to the watchful providence of God over his temple in those troublesome times. From this the prophet passes on to that most eminent instance of God's goodness to his Church and people, the sending of the Messiah, with an account of

Luke 18:13 — propitious toward me through sacrifice - or, let an atonement be made for me. I am a sinner, and cannot be saved but in this way. The Greek word ιλασκω, or ιλασκομαι, often signifies to make expiation for sin; and is used by the Septuagint, Psalms 65:4; Psalms 78:38; Psalms 79:9, for כפר kipper, he made an atonement. So ιλασμος a propitiation, is used by the same, for חטאה chataah, a sacrifice for sin, Ezekiel 44:27; and ιλαστηριον, the mercy seat, is, in the above version, the translation of כפרת

Luke 2:1 — CHAPTER II. The decree of Augustus to enrol all the Roman empire, 1, 2. Joseph and Mary go to their own city to be enrolled, 3-5. Christ is born, 6, 7. His birth is announced to the shepherds, 8-14. They go to Bethlehem, and find Joseph, Mary, and Christ, 15-20. Christ is circumcised, 21. His parents go to present him in the temple, 22-24. Simeon receives him: his song, 25-35. Anna the prophetess, 36-38. The holy family return to Nazareth, 39,

Luke 3:2 — high priest's office by turns. It is likely that Annas only was considered as high priest; and that Caiaphas was what the Hebrews termed כהן משנה cohen mishneh, or סגן כהנים sagan cohanim, the high priest's deputy, or ruler of the temple. Matthew 2:4, and John 18:13.The facts which St. Luke mentions here tend much to confirm the truth of the evangelical history. Christianity differs widely from philosophic system; it is founded in the goodness and authority of God; and attested by historic facts.

Acts 24:27 — Verse Acts 24:27. After two years — That is, from the time that Paul came prisoner to Caesarea.Porcius Festus — This man was put into the government of Judea about A.D. 60, the sixth or seventh year of Nero. In the succeeding chapter we shall see the

Acts 5:15 — read, from the 11th to the 15th. Acts 5:11-15Verse Acts 5:11. And great fear came upon all the Church, and upon as many as heard these things.Verse Acts 5:13. And of the rest durst no man join himself to them; but the people magnified them:Verse Acts 5:14. And believers were the more added to the Lord, both men and women.Verse Acts 5:12. (last clause.) And they were all with one accord in Solomon's porch.Verse Acts 5:12. (first clause.) And by the hands of the apostles were many signs and wonders wrought

Acts 9:2 — rivers, Amara or Abara, which ran through it, and Pharpar, called by the Greeks Chrysorrhoas, the golden stream, which ran on the outside of its walls. It is one of the most ancient cities in the world, for it existed in the time of Abraham, Genesis 14:15; and how long before is not known. The city of Damascus is at present a place of considerable trade, owing to its being the rendezvous for all the pilgrims from the north of Asia, on their road to and from the temple of Mecca. It is surrounded with

Romans 8:1 — CHAPTER VIII. The happy state of those who believe in Christ, and walk under the influence of his Spirit, 1, 2. The design of God in sending his Son into the world was to redeem men from sin, 3, 4. The miserable state of the carnally minded, 6-8. How Christ lives and works in his followers; their blessedness here, and their happiness hereafter, 9-17. Sufferings are the common lot of all men; and from which Gentiles and Jews have the hope of being

Romans 8:28 — together for their good; for this reason, because they are called, invited, or made welcome to the blessings of the covenant, (which is ratified in eating of the covenant sacrifice,) according to God's original purpose first declared to Abraham, Genesis 17:4: Thou shalt be a father of many nations-and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him, Genesis 18:18. Thus this clause is to be understood; and thus it is an argument to prove that all things, how afflictive soever, shall work for our good