Bible Commentaries

Psalms 13:1 — The title we have selected is taken from Leupold.H. C. Leupold, The Psalms (Baker Book House, 1959), p. 134. What we have here is five lines of lament (Psalms 13:1-2), four lines of prayer (Psalms 13:3-5 a), and three lines of rejoicing (Psalms 13:5 b-6).

Psalms 74:5-6 — of trees. "The interior walls of Solomon's Temple were paneled with cedar and decorated with carvings of cherubim, palm trees and flowers."Ibid., p. 395. It was more than the mere instinct of vandals however that motivated all that chopping. "1 Kings 6:21f reveals that all that carved work was overlaid with pure gold."Derek Kidner, Vol. II, p. 266.

Proverbs 14:32 — death." Keil's translation of this is: "When misfortune befalls him, the godless is overthrown; but the righteous remains hopeful in his death."C. F. Keil, Keil-Delitzsch's Old Testament Commentaries (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company), Vol. 6, p. 311. What is this hope that the righteous have in death? It is the hope of eternal life with God. This proverb teaches that, "There is a deep and essential distinction between the deaths of the godless and the righteous."Ibid. There is a glimpse

Proverbs 14:6 — the supreme authority of God's Word, will never acquire any real wisdom and understanding. "For ever it remains for him far and remote."C. F. Keil, Keil-Delitzsch's Old Testament Commentaries (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company), Vol. 6, p. 293. To the man of understanding, "The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it" (Deuteronomy 30:14). Wisdom is as near to the man of understanding as a copy of the Bible.

Micah 2 overview — their removal from the land which they mistakenly believed was "theirs," not the Lord's (Micah 2:4-5). He then identified and refuted the "false prophets" whose lies had deceived the people and encouraged them in their rebellion against God (Micah 2:6-11). He concluded the chapter with a brief but strong promise of redemption for "a remnant" of the people (Micah 2:12-13).

Matthew 11:12 — … but by such breaches as they themselves sought to make in its walls.J. W. McGarvey, The Fourfold Gospel (Cincinnati, Ohio: The Standard Publishing Company), p. 283. Instances of such violence are: (1) Some tried to make him king by force (John 6:15). (2) the mother of James and John sought to obtain secular appointments for her sons in the kingdom (Matthew 20:21). (3) Some supposed the kingdom would appear immediately (Luke 19:11). (4) The apostles quarreled over who should be the greatest

Matthew 21:44 — And he that falleth on this stone shall be broken to pieces: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will scatter him as dust. The apostle Peter, referring to this metaphor, quoted Isaiah 28:16 and added, "A stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense; for they stumble at the word, being disobedient" (1 Peter 2:7-8). Thus, our Lord's reference to the Pharisees' falling on that stone (himself) is a reference to their stumbling at his

Matthew 5:12 — in fact, three of these: love, fear, and hope of reward. There is nothing dishonorable about any of these motives. If there had been, Christ would not have appealed to all three. His emphasis in this place is on the hope of heaven (see under Matthew 6:9). So persecuted they the prophets that were before you … Christ in this place puts the same dignity upon the apostles as pertained to the prophets of the Old Testament, ranking them, in fact, higher, and showing that they also are to be heeded

Matthew 5:24 — to his brother. These are: (1) when a brother has aught against such a one (this passage), (2) when such a one has been wronged by a brother (Matthew 18:15-17), and (3) when one shall observe that a brother has been overtaken in any fault (Galatians 6:1). Need it be said that this is the only procedure laid down in God's word for dealing with the sins of a brother? Furthermore, these divinely imposed procedures are applicable to all types of sins and errors brethren may commit. The artificial and

Luke 22 overview — The magnificent drama of our Lord's Passion rapidly unfolds in this chapter. The Passover came on (Luke 22:1-2); Judas bargained to betray the Saviour (Luke 22:3-6); the last Supper was eaten (Luke 22:7-23); the apostles disputed about rank (Luke 22:24-30); Peter's denial was foretold (Luke 22:31-34); the changed condition of the apostles was announced (Luke 22:35-38); an angel strengthened the Lord in Gethsemane

John 10:37-38 — do not the works of my Father, believe me not. But if I do them, though ye believe not me, believe the works: that ye may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I in the Father. Having vanquished his foes with the argument from Psalms 82:6, Jesus at once returned to his constant theme of oneness and equality with God, although in such terms as to avoid the legal charge they wanted to make. Jesus' return again and again (as in John 10:32) to the subject of his mighty works was a reiteration

John 12:41 — portrayal of Messiah's dual nature. Christ as God and Christ as man were prophesied and presented throughout Isaiah as the one Messiah. Thus he was hailed as "Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace" (Isaiah 9:6), and by the same prophet as "Despised … rejected … put to grief … bruised … chastised … having no beauty … in travail … cut off out of the land of the living," etc. (Isaiah 53:1 ff). Not the

John 6:65 — And he said, For this cause have I said unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it be given him of the Father. See under John 6:44-45 for comment on how God draws men, and how he gives men power to come to Christ. The Lord's evident purpose here was to encourage the faithful disciples. The defection of many, the unbelief of some, and the treachery of one — all of these

John 6:70 — Jesus answered them, Did not I choose you, the twelve, and one of you is a devil? For more on the subject of foreknowledge, see under John 6:64, also in my Commentary on Romans, p. 322. One of you is a devil … does not mean that Judas had been a devil from the beginning, or that he was a devil when Jesus selected him as an apostle. Judas "by transgression fell"( Acts 1:25);

Acts 3:8 — praising God. This was the signal for all to behold that the Messianic age indeed had come upon the world. Isaiah had written of the times of Messiah that "Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb shall sing" (Isaiah 35:6). Thus began to be fulfilled the promise of Jesus to the Twelve that great "signs" would accompany them on their apostolic mission (Mark 16:17 ff), this being another of several such mighty "signs" recorded in Acts, the miracle of

Romans 6:12 — Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey the lusts thereof. The Christian has a king; that king is Christ who reigns in his heart (see quotation from Wuest under Romans 6:4); and, in view of all that means, who could desire to dethrone him and put the monster of sin back in control of life's inner citadel; for, make no mistake, sin indulged makes sin the king instead of Christ; and the experience of every mortal should

1 Corinthians 15:27 — For he put all things in subjection under his feet. But when he saith, All things are put in subjection, it is evident that he is excepted who did subject all things unto him. For, He … refers to God. The quotation is from Psalms 8:6 (LXX). "The words, spoken of man in general, are here transferred to the federal Head of humanity, the ideal and perfect God-man, Jesus Christ." F. W. Farrar, op. cit., p. 487. See my Commentary on Hebrews, pp. 45-49. He is excepted …

2 Corinthians 8:7 — Paul's use of hyperbole is in evidence. Not only does this mean a great deal less than "everything, absolutely," but there might even be implied some deficiency in the qualified areas of Paul's explanation of it. See under 2 Corinthians 8:6. But Paul here magnanimously extended to them this accolade regarding their excellence in certain graces with the admonition that the grace of giving should also be exemplified in them in a degree proportionate to their excellence in other graces.

Colossians 2:12 — reference to immersion as the action recognized by the apostles as being required in the baptism commanded by Christ. One may read bales of sophistry on this subject, but the simple truth is easy to see. See the parallel Pauline reference in Romans 6:3-5, together with comments in my Commentary on Romans.

Revelation 21:7 — He that overcometh shall inherit these things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. He that overcometh shall inherit these things … See under verse 6, above, for a list of the fourteen promises in Revelation to those who overcome, of which this is the last one. Collectively, they show how rich indeed are the wonderful promises of God for his children. "This amazing paragraph, through Revelation