Bible Commentaries

Psalms 12:3-4 — will we prevail; Our lips are our own; who is lord over us?" These lines are a promise that God will indeed intervene and "cut off" such an offensive society. "Tongue that speaketh great things." "Proud and lofty boastings are intended, as in Daniel 7:20." G. Rawlinson, The Pulpit Commentary, Vol. 8 (Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1950), p. 76. "With our tongues we will prevail." "The wicked acknowledge no responsibility for their words."W. E. Addis, Peake's Commentary on the Bible (Edinburgh:

Psalms 42:11 — out from before thine eyes, yet I will look again toward thy holy temple." (Jonah 2:4). And again, he prayed, "The earth with its bars closed upon me forever, yet hast thou brought up my life from the pit… and my prayer came in unto thee" (2:6-7). Note the recurrence of the word "yet" and its position here in Psalms 42:10.

Psalms 83:6-8 — Philistia with the inhabitants of Tyre: Assyria also is joined with them; They have helped the children of Lot. (Selah)" The peoples mentioned here are: (1) the Edomites; (2) the Ishmaelites; (3) the Moabites; (4) the Hagarenes; (5) Gebal; (6) Ammon; (7) Amalek; (8) Philistines; (9) Tyre; and (10) Assyria. All of these are well known, except Gebal and the Hagarenes. Gebal was "An ancient Phoenician city situated on a bluff overlooking the Mediterranean sea."International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

Proverbs 27:10 — thy father's friend, forsake not; And go not to thy brother's house in the day of thy calamity. Better is a neighbor that is near than a brother that is far off." Two other proverbs are concerned with the admonition we have here. They are Proverbs 17:17 and Proverbs 18:24. Also Proverbs 19:7 explains how it is that brothers may hate each other. See our comments on those proverbs. What is related here is a sad fact that brothers (or sisters) may sometimes be quite unwilling to aid each other in times

Isaiah 27:8 — punishment in carefully adjusted quantities";T. K. Cheyne's Commentary, p. 160. The Hebrew word used for dry measure here is "`[~seah],' meaning one-third of an ephah."Ibid. This surely reminds us of the judgments connected with the trumpets in Revelation 8:7-8; Revelation 8:10, where we read that only "one third" was allowed in the various destructions prophesied. In this light, we find it difficult to believe that only God's judgments of Northern Israel are in view here. It appears to us that this is simply

Isaiah 33:4-6 — stability in "thy times," that is, the times of Hezekiah, his treasures being the fear of the Lord. The prophecy turned at once from the contemplation of victory and stability foreseen in the future to the disastrous situation revealed in Isaiah 33:7-9.

Isaiah 65:11-12 — because, when I called, ye did not answer; when I spake, ye did not hear; but ye did that which was evil in mine eyes, and chose that wherein I delighted not." Here we have an outcropping of the Jews propensity for worshipping "the host of heaven" (Acts 7:42). "The planet Jupiter was worshipped as the god Fortune; and the planet Venus was worshipped, sometimes as Second Fortune, or as Destiny."Albert Barnes' Commentary, Vol. II, p. 415. "In due course, those who worship Destiny will indeed receive their

Jeremiah 6:7-8 — wickedness: violence and destruction are found in her; before me continually is sickness and wounds. Be thou instructed, O Jerusalem, lest my soul be alienated from thee; lest I make thee a desolation, a land not inhabited." The meaning of Jeremiah 6:7 is that, "just as a water well maintained its waters at a constant level, no matter how much was taken out of it; in the same way Jerusalem maintained its full level of producing wickedness, violence, and destruction, continually. "Be thou instructed,

Hosea 10:7 — up over all its channels, and go over its banks; and it shall sweep onward into Judah; it shall overflow and pass through; it shall reach even to the neck; and the stretching out of its wings shall fill the breadth of thy land, O Immanuel" (Hosea 8:7-8). Significantly, Israel would not be the only one to suffer; the judgment was also impending for Judah likewise.

Hosea 7:13 — construction of the phrase is impressive… "And I, I would have redeemed them, but they, they spoke lies against me." The contrast between the Lord's intention and Israel's action is deliberately pointed."Ralph L. Smith, Beacon Bible Commentary, Vol. 7 (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1972), p. 35. There is infinite pathos in the heart-cry of the Father over his wicked people. The descendents of the patriarchs had reverted to paganism, denied the god of their fathers, and greedily walked in the drunken

Joel 1:16-18 — magnitude was upon them. What with the locusts devouring all that appeared above ground, and the drought destroying the seeds sown under the surface, the havoc was complete; famine and distress afflicted both man and beast.W. J. Deane, op. cit., p. 7.

Amos 1:10 — "But I will send a fire on the wall of Tyre, and it shall devour the palaces thereof. Note the similarity with Amos 1:7, both predictions being somewhat stylized prophecies of the destruction of the places indicated. This prophecy was fulfilled, as were all the others. FULFILLMENT REGARDING TYRE Within the space of little more than half a century, Tyre was made a vassal

Habakkuk 2:10 — the Babylonians thought they were building their own security; but actually they were destroying it. As Jeremiah expressed it, "Do they provoke me to anger? saith Jehovah; do they not provoke themselves to the confusion of their own faces" (Jeremiah 7:19)? Sin always has a violent recoil impacting upon the sinner himself.

Habakkuk 3:1 — temple services, being sung or chanted by the congregation. Shigionoth indicates that it was to be sung "after the manner of the elegies, or mournful odes."Robert Jamieson, op. cit, p. 831. The plural of this word, Shiggaion, is used as a title (Psalms 7:1). "It is believed to refer to the wild beat of the song, its tempo corresponding to the profound emotions it describes."A. G. Nute, The New Layman's Bible Commentary (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1979), p. 1010. David composed a Psalm

Zechariah 4:8-9 — Testament appearance). However, even if it cannot be certainly determined, it will matter little, for both angels were from God and either one spoke from God.Homer Hailey, A Commentary on the Minor Prophets (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House, 1972), p. 340. These verses confirm the suggestion made above under Zechariah 4:7 that the top stone was merely a reference to Zechariah's finishing the temple, even as he had begun it.

Matthew 1:17 — to have the same number in the next one." Ibid., p. 16. Matthew had Scriptural precedent for this, to say nothing of his inspiration. Ezra, in giving his own genealogy, omits six names in a single group. This will appear in a comparison of Ezra 7:1-2 with 1 Chronicles 6:6-11.

Matthew 13:11-12 — the Messiah's purpose. "Mystery," as used in the New Testament, referred to things concerning the kingdom of God, hidden from all previous generations; but then, in Christ, revealed to the apostles, and later to all mankind (Romans 16:25-27; 1 Corinthians 2:7-8).

Matthew 2:12 — warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way. Being warned of God in a dream … the wise men refused to cooperate with Herod. His caution in calling the wise men privily (Matthew 2:7) was of no avail. He that "slumbers not nor sleeps" was watching over the Saviour's cradle. Dreams were often a vehicle of revelation among the Hebrews. They were considered inferior to visions but often played a vital role in protecting the

Matthew 5:7 — in short, ALL kinds of unmerciful and inhumane behavior are proscribed by the Son of God in this beatitude. Such things are forever excluded from the kingdom of heaven. Specific mention should also be made of cruel judgments of other people (Matthew 7:1) and cruel refusal to forgive those who sin against us (Matthew 6:15). The quality of mercy is not strained.It droppeth as the gentle rain from heavenUpon the place beneath. It is twice bless'd:It blesses him that gives and him that takes.'Tis mightiest

Matthew 9:13 — But go ye and learn what this meaneth, I desire mercy, and not sacrifice: for I came not to call the righteous but sinners. Both here and in Matthew 12:7, Christ quoted from Hosea 6:6. The context in that passage shows that Christ was here comparing the Pharisees with the reprobate priesthood of Hosea's times. In that same paragraph, Hosea charged, "And as the troops of robbers wait for a man, so