Bible Commentaries

Psalms 37:3-7 — the justice as the noonday. Rest in Jehovah, and wait patiently for him: Fret not thyself because of him that prospereth in his way, Because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass." That marvelous aria from Mendelssohn's Elijah, gives Psalms 37:7 here, along with Psalms 37:1, as the scriptural basis of the words of the aria, which are as follows: "O rest in the Lord; wait patiently for Him. And He shall give thee thy heart's desires.Commit thy ways unto Him, and trust in Him,And fret not thyself

Psalms 61:6-8 — the Messiah. "He shall abide before God forever" These words also are a reference, not to David, but to Christ. The RSV has a preferable reading: "May he be enthroned forever before God; bid steadfast love and faithfulness watch over him!" (Psalms 61:7, RSV) David was the one who did the praying in these verses, and one may wonder if David was really praying for such extravagant and eternal blessings upon himself as those which are outlined in these verses. Yes, they may actually apply to David, as

Psalms 72:1-4 — requirements as these. "The unjust rulers and judges of Israel neglected this duty."The Pulpit Commentary, Vol. 8-B, p. 65. "They judge not the fatherless… and the right of the needy do they not judge (Jeremiah 5:28)." Isaiah 1:23 and Zechariah 7:10 also bear witness to the same behavior.

Psalms 77:4-9 — "Many have been the songs that he either composed or sang; and he had once derived much spiritual comfort from them; but they gave him no help now, and aroused no feelings of confident faith."H. C. Leupold, p. 556. The six plaintive questions of Psalms 77:7-9 are eloquent expressions indeed of the doubts and fears of the psalmist. He strongly desired to find negative answers to all these questions, but the harsh conditions confronting the nation of Israel seemed to demand an affirmation of his worst

Psalms 98:9 — summonsed before the throne of Christ for judgment (Matthew 25). (5)    The redeemed shall receive their reward, and (6)    the wicked shall be banished from the presence of God forever (2 Thessalonians 1:9). (7)    There shall be a general resurrection of the dead (Hebrews 9:27). (8)    Cosmic disturbances of the greatest dimensions shall occur; every mountain, and every island shall be moved out of its place, and the

Ecclesiastes 9:16-18 — verses stress both the value and the vulnerability of wisdom. Yes, wisdom is more valuable than strength or weapons of war; "But we are left here with a suspicion that, `In human politics the last word generally goes to the loud voice of Ecclesiastes 9:17, or to the cold steel of Ecclesiastes 9:18.'"The Bible Speaks Today, p. 85. "But one sinner destroyeth much good" Achan, one sinner alone, caused the tremendous defeat of all God's people at Ai (Joshua 7); and Doeg, one sinner alone, caused the murder

Isaiah 31:4 — the hill thereof." Many scholars have had trouble in deciding whether this verse is a threat to Jerusalem, or a promise of deliverance. "The words in the Hebrew here always mean to fight against";Broadman Bible Commentary (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1971), p. 281. and, since mount Zion is the object here, a great deal of perplexity has resulted; but Hailey explained it perfectly: "The shepherds making the loud noise do not represent Assyria… but represent the politicians of Judah and the Egyptians.

Isaiah 36:1-3 — scribe. "It is also of interest that the spot where this meeting occurred was the very place where Isaiah some forty years earlier had been commanded to meet Ahaz. It was probably on the north side of Jerusalem, not far from the Damascus gate (Isaiah 7:3)."The Pulpit Commentary, Vol. 1Ob, p. 2. God's message to the king of Judah would be the same as it was then, "Do not fear the Assyrians."

Isaiah 39:7 — throne was indeed an evil son of the devil until near the very end of his life. In the Book of Daniel, we read that, "Among the princes of Judah were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azaraiah; and the prince of the eunuchs gave names unto them (Daniel 1:6-7). It was usually true in that era that "eunuchs" were men who had been emasculated; and although it was also true that sometimes "eunuchs" were "officers of the king." This was by no means true of the princes of Judah in Babylon. They were not officers

Isaiah 5:1-2 — planted it with the choicest vine, and built a tower in the midst of it, and also hewed out a winepress therein: and he looked that it should bring forth grapes, and it brought forth wild grapes." "My well beloved" In the light of what follows in Isaiah 5:7, we know that Isaiah's "well beloved" here is no other than the "Lord of Hosts." As for the winepress, the tower, etc., these are fully discussed in Vol. 2 of my New Testament series, pp. 221-222. The message is that every possible improvement and advantage

Isaiah 55:9-11 — always accomplish the thing whereto God sent it. This is exactly the thing Paul referred to when he said, "The gospel is a savor (an odor) of life unto life in them that are saved and an odor of death unto death in them that perish" (2 Corinthians 2:15-17). Paul's wonderful metaphor here is derived from the custom of the Roman Triumphal Processions in which tremendous quantities of incense were burned along the parade route. Those destined to die in the arena, following the triumph, and those to be released

Jeremiah 33:6-9 — earthly Jerusalem, but "the Jerusalem which is above, which is free, which is our mother" (Galatians 4:26). Another proof that we are here confronted with Messianic prophecies is seen in the fact that both the Northern and Southern Israels (Jeremiah 33:7) are promised a share in the blessings, an indication that all Jews of whatever tribe will have access to the New Covenant, along with all others of the human race, and upon the same terms.

Jeremiah 34:12-16 — (4) It was an inhuman, unfeeling crime against innocent and defenseless people. (5) It was a violation and repudiation of the promises they themselves had made under oath; it was a perfidious perjury. (6) It was a crime against both God and mankind. (7) It was a crime against their wicked state which suffered the punishment their conduct so richly deserved.

Jeremiah 42:1-3 — from Ishmael. It was not necessary to "go to him," for he was already among them. hence the words, "all the people… came near" (Jeremiah 42:1). "Pray for us" The prophet had previously been forbidden to pray for the rebellious people (Jeremiah 7:17; Jeremiah 11:14, and Jeremiah 14:11); "But he was now free to do so."The New Layman's Bible Commentary, p. 842. Jeremiah at once agreed to do so, but not on the basis that the God to which he prayed was any other than the God of all the people. The

Jeremiah 9:4-6 — themselves to commit iniquity. Thy habitation is in the midst of deceit; through deceit they refuse to know me, saith Jehovah." "Trust ye not in any brother" Some have been critical of advice such as this, pointing out such passages as 1 Corinthians 13:7, where the true man of God is represented as one who "believeth all things!" However, as Haley pointed out, There is no `command' here regarding the trust of a brother, but `advice,' equivalent to saying, "Such is the state of public morals that if

Ezekiel 6:1-3 — watercourses and to the valleys: Behold, I, even I, will bring a sword upon you, and I will destroy your high places." "The mountains were mentioned here because they were especially the places where Israel practiced idolatry (Leviticus 26:30-33; Isaiah 65:7; and Jeremiah 3:6)."Charles Lee Feinberg in Ezekiel (Moody Press), p. 40. The same is true of the watercourses and valleys. "The ravines and valleys were the scenes of Baal-worship (Jeremiah 2:23) and of child-sacrifice (Isaiah 57:5)."J. R. Dummelow's

Daniel 6:19-23 — judgments of God upon the incorrigibly wicked (Acts 12:23); (5) to aid providentially in bringing sinners to hear the gospel of Christ (Acts 8:3); (6) to excercise influence over human rulers and princes as in the case of Persia (Daniel 10:20); and (7) to hold open forever the "Word of God" until the dispensation is ended (Revelation 10).

Hosea 11:5 — most obvious meaning here reads a negative, `He shall not return.'...They will not go back to Egyptian bondage, but fall to the Assyrian conqueror."J. B. Hindley, The New Bible Commentary, Revised (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1970), p. 713. Smith accepted the New English Bible rendition, but corrected their error in his interpretation: "If they want Egypt, then Egypt they shall have. But it shall not be the old literal Egypt, but rather another bondage in which Assyria shall

Amos 1:13 — Testament, Amos (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1953), p. 252. The chief god of this savage people was Milcom (or Malcam), worshipped as the principle of destruction, and appeased, "with sacrifices of living children, given to the fire to devour (1 Kings 11:7)."Paul T. Butler, op. cit., p. 286. They, like the Edomites and the Moabites, despite their being physically related to Israel, exploited every opportunity within their reach for encroaching upon Israel or aiding aggressions against them. "Their nation

Amos 5:1 — people of God the impossibility of averting the threatened destruction, and to take away from the self-secure sinners the false foundations of their trust."C. F. Keil, Commentary on the Whole Bible (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company), p. 277. To make his message still more powerful, Amos actually uttered it in the tone and meter of the traditional funeral service known by all the people; and Hammershaimb, along with others, supposes that the occasion was that of a popular feast at Bethel: "We