Bible Commentaries

Psalms 121:7-8 — "Jehovah will keep thee from all evil; He will keep thy soul. Jehovah will keep thy going out and thy coming in From this time forth and forevermore." "Jehovah will keep thee from all evil" Here is stated the actual meaning of verse 6. "He will keep thy going out… coming in" "This is the equivalent of, `The Lord shall preserve thee in all thy ways' (Psalms 91:11)."The Pulpit Commentary, Vol. 8-C, p. 185.

Psalms 21:3-4 — life."Mitchell Dahood in The Anchor Bible, p. 132. Furthermore, although Maclaren freely admitted such expressions as, "O King live forever," are in a sense parallel to what is said here, "The great emphasis of expression here and its repetition in Psalms 21:6 (immediately following) can scarcely be disposed of as mere hyperbole." Also, as both Maclaren and Dahood pointed out Divine attributes are also ascribed to "the King" of this passage in Psalms 21:6, thus clearly distinguishing the earthly king David

Psalms 88 overview — PSALTER We have given three headings of this psalm because of our uncertainty concerning which is correct. Briggs advocated the first of these;International Critical Commentary, Vol. II, p. 244. Kittel suggested the second;Kittel, quoted in H. C. Leupold, p. 627. and Kirkpatrick gave us the third.Quoted by Baigent in The New Layman's Bible Commentary, p. 662. Certainly, the near hopeless tone of the psalm would apply equally well to the emotions of one fatally ill with leprosy, or to the almost total despair

Proverbs 10:20 — "The tongue of the righteous is as choice silver: The heart of the wicked is little worth." Dod's paraphrase of the second clause is, "Sinful persons make a great show on the outside, but there's nothing within them that's worth anything"!Dod in the Preacher's Homiletic Commentary, Vol. 13, p. 170. Peter said to the lame man, "Silver and gold have I none," but his words were life, health and strength to the cripple.Acts 3:6 f.

Proverbs 11:2 — "When pride cometh, then cometh shame; But with the lowly is wisdom." A number of other proverbs regarding pride are Proverbs 13:10; Proverbs 15:33; Proverbs 16:18-19; Proverbs 18:12; Proverbs 22:4. "People who are proud will soon be disgraced. It is wiser to be modest."Good News Bible. The great sin of all mankind is pride; and Paul tells us that it was the sin that ruined Satan (1 Timothy 3:6).

Proverbs 11:4 — "Riches profit not in the day of wrath; But righteousness delivereth from death." The Good News Bible rendered "day of wrath" here as "day of death"; but in the light of Revelation 6:17, that day is "the day of the wrath of God," i.e., the judgment day. In this interpretation, the "day of death" from which righteousness delivers is the "second death." It is also true that riches are of no value in the day of death.

Proverbs 12:25 — "Heaviness in the heart of a man maketh it stoop; But a good work maketh it glad." "A word of terror disturbs the heart of a (righteous) man, but a good message will gladden him."The Greek Septuagint (LXX). In the first clause, the subject is anxiety; and the Savior, "Bids us beware of anxiety, and not to perplex ourselves with solicitude for the future (Matthew 6:34; 1 Peter 5:7)."The Pulpit Commentary, Vol. 9, p. 237.

Isaiah 28 overview — continuous prophecy regarding (1) the destruction of Ephraim; (2) the impiety and folly of Judah; (3) the danger of alliances with Egypt; and (4) the straits to which they would be reduced by the Assyrians.Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown's Commentary, p. 460. The date of these chapters is most likely that proposed by Dummelow: "This chapter must be assigned to a date prior to the capture of Samaria by the Assyrians (722 B.C.) and the fall of the northern kingdom."J. R. Dummelow's Commentary, p. 434. Even

Isaiah 50 overview — This remarkable chapter contains the beginning of what is called "The Third Servant Song," although the word "servant" does not appear in it. Isaiah 42:1-4; Isaiah 49:1-6; and Isaiah 52:13 to Isaiah 53:12, are reckoned as the three, along with what is written here. "The first two songs emphasized the Servant's mission; the third one, however, treats of his obedience, and of his steadfast endurance under persecution.

Isaiah 63:17-19 — inheritance. Thy people possessed it but a little while: our adversaries have trodden down thy sanctuary. We are become as they over whom thou never barest rule, as they that were not called by thy name." The judicial hardening of Israel announced in Isaiah 6:9-10, at this time, "had been going on ever since."George C. M. Douglas, p. 403. And from the appearance of Isaiah 63:17, it would seem that some of the people, no doubt a few of those faithful souls in the `righteous remnant' were fully aware of what

Jeremiah 14 overview — chronological references it is difficult to date passages like this; even references to invasions and exile are not conclusive, because there were three invasions of Judah and as many deportations."Charles Lee Feinberg in Ezekiel (Chicago: Moody Press), p. 467. A great drought is featured in this chapter; but there were many droughts in that part of the world; and there is nothing here that distinguishes this particular drought from others. Some have even tried to break up the chapter into various units,

Micah 6:16 — "No special statutes of his are anywhere mentioned; but he was the founder of that evil dynasty that gave Ahab to Israel and Athaliah (the murderess) to Judah."W. J. Deane, op. cit., p. 90. She, Athaliah, was called "the daughter of Omri" (2 Kings 8:26). Of course, it was through those persons that the cult of Baal had been introduced in Israel, resulting, at last, in the total apostasy of the whole nation. This was dealt with extensively in the prophecy of Hosea, above. "The chapter closes with the

Matthew 13:17-18 — of God's eternal purpose for man's salvation. Paul frequently wrote of this, and a more particular attention to that "mystery" can be quite rewarding. The New Testament refers to these mysteries: The mystery of Christ and his church (Eph. 6:32)The mystery of lawlessness (2 Thessalonians 2:7)The mystery of the seven stars and seven candlesticks (Revelation 1:20)The mystery of the resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:51)The mystery of the blindness of Israel (Romans 11:25)The mystery of the harlot

Matthew 23:5 — But all their works they do to be seen of men: for they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments … John A. Broadus, quoting Rabbinical writers, described the phylactery as follows: In Exodus 13:16; Deuteronomy 6:8 and Deuteronomy 11:18, it was said to Israel concerning the teachings of the law, that they should be bound, "for a token upon thy head, and for frontlets between thine eyes." In the inter-biblical period, we find the Jews

Mark 9:28-29 — they fully expected to succeed is evident, so their faith was not that of failing to expect success, but of taking it for granted that they could succeed without praying to God for the expected blessing. The apostles had often succeeded before (Mark 6:13; Mark 6:30); and they perhaps believed that they had the power IN THEMSELVES to continue doing such things. They had to learn that God's power is not given to men in that way. It has rather ever to be asked for afresh. To trust in God's power in

Luke 12:24 — Consider the ravens, they sow not, neither do they reap; which have no store-chamber nor barn; and God feedeth them: of how much more value are ye than the birds. This is another of the Saviour's illustrations teaching the same lesson as that based upon his reference to the sparrows (Luke 12:6-7). It is easy to see in these passages how the Lord varied and adapted his teaching at various times and places.

Luke 21:21-22 — remained free from the Roman warfare and Jewish persecution.Eusebius, the ancient church historian, was thus quoted by Norval Geldenhuys, op. cit., p. 535. All things that are written may be fulfilled … The great chapter of Deuteronomy 28:15-68 is surely included in this. Almost no form of calamity which was visited upon the Jews during the Roman war was left unmentioned in this chapter; but many of the prophets were just as specific (see Leviticus 26:31-33; Deuteronomy 32:35; 1 Kings 9:6-9;

Acts 10:36 — remark is an unbelievable affirmation that (1) the lordship of Jesus Christ, (2) the mighty works of the Master, (3) the death, burial and resurrection of Christ, (4) the final judgment of all men, (5) the remission of sins through faith in Christ, and (6) the fact of Christ's being appointed to be the Judge of all men in the last day — that none of these things is relevant to evangelizing Gentiles! Dibelius' contention in this is as wild, irresponsible and unbelievable as any comment this writer

Acts 28:14 — the Christians in Puteoli for Paul to remain with them over a Sunday in order to observe the Lord's supper with them. "Thus Paul and his party would be with the Christians at the Lord's table on the Lord's Day, as they had been at Troas (Acts 20:6-7) and at Tyre (Acts 21:4)." Orrin Root, Acts (Cincinnati, Ohio: Standard Publishing Company, 1966), p. 202. There can hardly be any doubt that all three instances of these seven-day periods of waiting were caused by the apostle Paul's arrival

Ephesians 1:3 — life." F. F. Bruce, op. cit., p. 27. In heavenly places … MacKnight gave the meaning here as "in the Christian church"; James MacKnight, Apostolical Epistles and Commentary, Ephesians (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House, 1969), p. 258. and, although the blessings "in Christ" are certainly those in his spiritual body, which is the church, it seems evident that more is intended here. As Bruce expressed it, "Christ is exalted to the heavenly realm, and thus