Bible Commentaries

Proverbs 15:33 — before honor goeth humility." "Humility is that low sweet root from which all the heavenly virtue shoot."Sir Thomas Moore, The Loves of the Angels "Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time" (1 Peter 5:6). The Magnificat has the precious lines, "He hath put down princes from their thrones, and hath exalted them of low degree" (Luke 1:52). The glorious Head of our holy religion washes the disciples' feet.

Proverbs 28:13 — as teaching any such thing as "auricular confession" after the manner of the Roman church. Christians are not commanded to confess to any kind of prelate, or representative of any church. We are commanded to confess our sins "one to another" (James 5:16); and that is a mutual affair. Also it is said that every tongue shall "Confess to God" (Romans 14:11; Romans 15:9).

Proverbs 29:13 — "The poor man and the oppressor meet together; Jehovah lighteneth the eyes of them both." Cook rendered "oppressor" here as "usurer,"Barnes' Notes on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, a 1987 reprint of the 1878 edition), Proverbs, p. 78. and the last line as, "God bestows his light equally on both." This, of course, is the equivalent of, "God maketh his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sendeth rain on the just and the unjust" (Matthew 5:45).

Isaiah 2 overview — This chapter has three paragraphs. The first (Isaiah 2:1-4) speaks of the proclamation of the Kingdom of God from Mount Zion by God himself in the person of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord; the second (Isaiah 2:5-11) is a call for apostate Israel to repent and heed the word of God; and the third (Isaiah 2:12-22) reveals the inevitability of the "Day of Jehovah," namely the Great and final judgment identified with the second advent of the Son of God.

Isaiah 5:3-7 — people was certain to be in that situation. Next, notice the dramatic shift to the first person on the part of the prophet. Why? Isaiah was God's mouthpiece here and was speaking for God Himself. Notice the promise to "command the clouds" in Isaiah 5:6. Only God could do that. At that point, no doubt, the more discerning of Isaiah's hearers had begun to understand; but then the prophet hit them squarely with the full, literal, unvarnished truth in Isaiah 5:7. God indeed had planted the vineyard

Jeremiah 42 overview — PROPHETIC WARNING FOR ISRAEL TO STAY IN PALESTINE The divisions of this chapter are: (1) the people request God's Word of Jeremiah (Jeremiah 42:1-3); (2) Jeremiah promises to pray for them, and the people promise to obey God's Word (Jeremiah 42:4-6); (3) after ten days, God replies (Jeremiah 42:7-8); (4) the command to remain in Judea (Jeremiah 42:9-12); (5) severe warning against moving to Egypt (Jeremiah 42:13-18); (6) and a prophecy of destruction for those going to Egypt (Jeremiah 42:19-22).

Ezekiel 3 overview — this chapter we have: (1) Ezekiel commanded to eat the roll of the book (Ezekiel 3:1-3); (2) God promises Ezekiel power to overcome the difficulties of his mission (Ezekiel 3:4-9); (3) Ezekiel is brought to the place where he is to labor (Ezekiel 3:10-15); (4) Ezekiel is warned of his responsibility for the souls entrusted to his watchfulness (Ezekiel 3:16-21); and (5) we have the conclusion (the third phase) of Ezekiel's divine commission to Israel (Ezekiel 3:22-27).

Matthew 1:6 — and Jesse begat David the king. And David begat Solomon of her that had been the wife of Uriah; … wife of Uriah. It is a marvel, in the providence of God, that this guilty and unfortunate wife of Uriah the Hittite should have found a place in the Lord's ancestry; however, her first child was not permitted to live. David's sin with her constitutes one of the saddest events in the Old Testament. Like the two women in Matthew 1:5, she was presumably a Gentile.

Matthew 18:9 — And if thine eye causeth thee to stumble, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: it is good for thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into the hell of fire. See on Matthew 18:8, above. The lesson is identical in these cases and is repeated for emphasis. Special attention is directed to the Saviour's teaching on eternal punishment. See notes on Matthew 25:41. See under Matthew 5:29-30.

Mark 1:21 — identical with such teaching as that found in the sermon on the mount and in the parables and other discourses. Significantly, the first teaching of Jesus (as recorded by Mark) occurred in a synagogue provided by a liberal and God-fearing Gentile (Luke 7:5).

Mark 12:19 — Teacher, Moses wrote unto us, If a man's brother die, and leave a wife behind him, and leave no child, that his brother should take his wife, and raise up seed unto his brother. This, of course, was a reference to the ancient law of Levirite marriage, as set forth in Deuteronomy 25:5. It was a rather fair and factual statement of that Mosaic injunction, but they were about to make it the basis of ridiculing the idea of a resurrection.

Luke 13 overview — On the final tour preceding his crucifixion, Jesus worked and taught the things recorded in this chapter: the double call to repentance (Luke 13:1-5), the parable of the fruitless fig tree (Luke 13:6-9), another sabbath miracle (Luke 13:10-17), twin parables of the mustard seed and the leaven (Luke 13:18-21), the narrow door (Luke 13:22-30), the threat from the Pharisees (Luke 13:31-33), and the lament over the Holy City (Luke 13:34-35).

Luke 23:4 — And Pilate said unto the chief priests and the multitudes, I find no fault in this man. This is another effort of Pilate to avoid condemning Jesus, there having been at least seven of these in all. See my Commentary on Matthew, Matthew 27:13-24. This was the point at which Pilate should have dismissed the charges, called out the soldiers in the tower of Antonio, and dismissed the mob; but in the meantime he had a brilliant idea, prompted by what the Sanhedrinists next said. See under Luke 23:5.

Luke 24:34 — no New Testament record describing the appearance of Jesus to Peter; and modesty should restrain human comment about it. Of the fact, there is no question. Paul declared that the Lord "appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve" (1 Corinthians 15:5); and Luke's record of it here is unimpeachable.

Romans 5:3-4 — well. It extends to what would naturally be supposed to be the very opposite of a ground for glorying — to the persecutions that we have to undergo as Christians. Ibid. A comparison of what Paul wrote in these verses with what he wrote in Romans 5:2 reveals a circle: hope-tribulation-stedfastness-approvedness-hope, thus showing that the attainment of the glorious final hope depends upon the soul's response to tribulations. What a sacred light this sheds upon the sorrows and disciplines of the

1 Corinthians 6:7 — The Christian is of a different temperament from the man who is always screaming about his "rights," it being a far better way of life to "go the second mile … give the cloak also … and turn the other cheek" (Matthew 5:38-42).

Galatians 3:17 — Now this I say: a covenant confirmed beforehand by God, the Law, which came four hundred and thirty years after, doth not disannul, so as to make the promise of none effect. This was Paul's repetition for the sake of emphasis of the argument already delivered above. Four hundred and thirty years … For comment on the variation in this figure from that given by Stephen in Acts 7:6, see my Commentary on Acts 7:5-8. Paul used the figure also found in the LXX, and Stephen used a round number.

Hebrews 2:4 — to cast out demons, as in the case of the girl at Philippi (Acts 16:18), the power to inflict divine punishment upon the wicked, as in the case of Elymas who was blinded (Acts 13:11) and that of Ananias and his wife who were stricken with death (Acts 5:1-10). Overwhelmingly, therefore, were the confirming miracles establishing the word of the apostles of Christ as being truly that of God himself. Why, then, have miracles ceased? If miracles were a good thing in the first age of the church, why not

Revelation 7:12 — God, for ever and ever. Amen. Amen … Amen … This usage of such an expression both to introduce and to close this sevenfold doxology is most impressive. See further comment on the use of "Amen" in this prophecy under Revelation 5:12 f, above. The great doxology here is similar to the one recorded there. Unto our God … does not exclude either Christ or the Holy Spirit, but is inclusive of the entire Godhead.

2 Samuel 12:13-14 — forgiveness of sins that was available to worthies of the O.T. One of the greatest scholars of our times, John T. Willis, declared that, "Here and elsewhere the O.T. teaches that God forgave sins in O.T. times (Leviticus 4:26; Leviticus 4:31; Leviticus 4:35; Leviticus 5:10; Leviticus 5:13; Leviticus 5:16; Numbers 14:18; Psalms 103:3; Psalms 103:10; Psalms 103:12; Psalms 130:3-4)."John T. Willis, p. 353. Furthermore, it is a fact that the word "forgiveness" is used in all of those references. However, there