Bible Commentaries

Psalms 126:5-6 — soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children" (Isaiah 66:8). This simply means, "No tears; no converts to Christ." This sentiment, "Coincides with the Preacher on the Mount, `Blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted' (Matthew 5:4)."F. Delitzsch, Vol. V-C, p. 290. "When a man's heart is so stirred that he weeps over the sins of others, he is elect to usefulness. Winners for souls are first weepers for souls. As there is no birth without travail, so is there no spiritual harvest

Psalms 31:19-22 — the voice of my supplications, When I cried unto thee." "Great is thy goodness… laid up" (Psalms 31:19). This is a theme often reiterated in the words of the apostles and of Christ himself. Jesus said, "Great is your reward in heaven" (Matthew 5:12); and Paul, quoting from Isaiah 64:4, or perhaps inspired by such lines, elaborated them as follows: "Things which eye saw not, and ear heard not, And which entered not into the heart of man.Whatsoever things God prepared for them that love him"(1

Psalms 58:6-9 — your pots can feel the thorns, He will take them away with a whirlwind, the green and the burning alike." This prayer against the hardened and unrepentant wicked men of this passage reveals a seven-fold curse upon them. 1. Break their teeth (Psalms 58:6). 2. Break out (pull) the teeth of lions (Psalms 58:6). 3. Let them melt away as water that runs off (Psalms 58:7). 4. His arrows… let them be cut off (Psalms 58:7). 5. Let them be as a snail that melteth (Psalms 58:8). 6. Let them be like

Psalms 63:9-11 — way. 2.    Forty-thousand of the rebel army died in the forest of Ephraim. 3.    The bodies of the dead provided food for the wild beasts. 4.    Many were left unburied, for there was plenty left for the jackals. 5.    The king rejoiced in God, throne restored, enemies all dead; back at home. None of these details are missing from the prophecy.

Psalms 86:11-17 — in The Anchor Bible, Vol. II, p. 291. "Great is thy lovingkindness toward me" We have often commented upon David's frequent use of this term in psalms that are admittedly his; and we find the term in this psalm no less than three times in Psalms 86:5; Psalms 86:13; Psalms 86:15. "The proud… a company of violent men… who set not thee before them" The evil men described here were proud (arrogant), violent (ruthless), unbelievers who took not God into their thoughts. "But thou, O lord,

Proverbs 20:1 — drinking." It is drinking which is condemned. The very nature of alcohol is such that any consumption of it almost invariably leads to excess. Paul's instructions to Timothy to, "Drink no longer water, but a little wine for thy stomach's sake" (1 Timothy 5:23) did not mean that Timothy would never drink any more water, but that he would stop being a teetotaler. And regardless of what some social-drinking Christians think about it, the true and holy standard of Christian living is simply: "Don't touch

Song of Solomon 8:13-14 — Solomon closes here with the bridegroom's request, for the bride to speak so that his friends may hear her voice. This reflects the constant desire of Christ the heavenly Bridegroom to hear the prayers of his people.The New Bible Commentary, Revised, p. 587. Inherent in this request is the evident physical absence of the bridegroom. Back in Song of Solomon 8:5, the bride is seen "leaning on the arm of her lover"; but here they are separated. How is this? Christians are "with Christ" continually. We walk

Isaiah 28:16-19 — revealed in Isaiah 8:14 that this stone would also be "a sanctuary, a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense." Added to the three designations here, we have six adjectives for this Rock. They are (1) elect; (2) cornerstone; (3) tried; (4) sanctuary; (5) stone of stumbling; and (6) rock of offense. It might also be added that Christ is the stone "from another world," and he is "the living stone" (Zechariah 3:9), and the "growing stone" (Daniel 2:34-35). For an extended discussion of this fantastic

Isaiah 44:18-20 — hearts of men, but that is never an arbitrary action on God's part. The hardened and blinded are themselves responsible for it (Romans 1:20-28). In their self-imposed darkened state the idolaters cannot understand their own folly."Homer Hailey, p. 375. Furthermore, we consider the consecration of so-called "sacred images" in certain allegedly "Christian" communions of our own era as just as foolish, and just as loaded with folly, as was the practice of idolatry in ancient times. Yes indeed, we are

Isaiah 51:21-23 — drink it again: and I will put it in the hand of them that afflict thee, that have said to thy soul, Bow down that we may go over; and thou hast laid thy back on the ground, and as the street, to them that go over." Note the word "Therefore" in Isaiah 51:21. "Here, as in Isa. 10:24; 27:9; and 30:18, the transition from threatening to promise is marked by the word `therefore'.Footnote is not available The pitiful description of the Israelites' condition in the previous three verses is followed here

Isaiah 66:5-6 — Vol. 1 (Matthew) of my New Testament Series of Commentaries, pp. 386,387.) Isaiah's reference here to brothers persecuting brothers, "Is one of the earliest allusions to purely religious persecution and theological hatred. The intolerance of Isaiah 66:5 was acted out, almost to the letter, in John 9:24; John 9:34,"The New Bible Commentary, Revised, p. 624. in the record of the man born blind. What we have in these verses is a continuation of what Isaiah wrote in Isaiah 13.

Jeremiah 14:10-12 — God's reply to the prayer as follows: "The measure of Israel's iniquity being now full, they must be punished. The nation is ripe for destruction; intercede not for them."Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (London: T. Mason and G. Lane, 1837), p. 295. "They have loved to wander" There is nothing innocent about this "wandering." Cheyne rendered it, "roving lawlessly about."T. K. Cheyne, Jeremiah in the Pulpit Commentary, p. 355. "Pray not for this people" Twice previously, God gave Jeremiah this

Jeremiah 15:15-18 — reminds God of his love and respect for the divine word; (3) he protests his loneliness and his being left out of the assemblies of the people; (4) and he even echoed the sentiments of Christ on Calvary, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?"; and (5) finally, in Jeremiah 15:18 he seemed to hit the very depths of despair, "The figure of the deceitful brook is devastating."Broadman Bible Commentary (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1971), p. 95. It appears that Jeremiah was even tempted to believe that

Jeremiah 35:6-11 — commanded us" The obedience of the Rechabites to their principles was indeed astounding. "All of their days, they had obeyed all of Jonadab's injunctions; all of them obeyed at all times and in all particulars."Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown's Commentary, p. 542. No greater contrast to the disobedience of Israel could possibly have been imagined. It should be noted that, "What is praised here is not Jonadab's injunctions, but the faithful obedience of his sons."Ibid., p. 543. The superiority of the obedience

Jeremiah 48:1-4 — the Promised Land, but the city of Numbers 32:3; Numbers 32:38, built by the Reubenites."R. K. Harrison, Jeremiah in the Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries, p. 174. "Kiriathaim" "A city six miles south of Dibon."The New Layman's Bible Commentary, p. 845. Dibon was where the Moabite Stone was found. "Heshbon" This was an important city, belonging originally to Moab; but then captured by Sihon and made his capital (Numbers 21:26); after its conquest by Israel under Moses, it was given to the Reubenites

Daniel 5:25-28 — Persians. "The writing indicates that the Babylonian kingdom would be turned over to the Medes and Persians; here the Medes and Persians are taken to be a single unit. Also, the Medes and Persians are noted as combined in Daniel 6:8; Daniel 6:12; Daniel 6:15."Footnote is not available This makes it positively certain that no "Median Empire" was developed between Babylon and the Greeks. Only this one government, that of the Medes and Persians, existed between Babylon and the Greeks, meaning that the Greek

Daniel 6:1-3 — have no damage" "The repetition of the word `king' might imply that Darius was not the king whose loss of revenue was to be guarded against."J. E. H. Thomson, The Pulpit Commentary, Vol. 13, Daniel (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1950), p. 185. This of course would reflect the relative positions of the sub-king Darius over Babylon and of Cyrus the great king over the whole empire. It is of interest here that there is no mention of Darius having appointed Daniel as one of the three

Amos 5:21 — their trust in an inadequate, incomplete, unauthorized, perverted, and innovated worship. In Amos 3, he took away their vain trust in the doctrine of election. In Amos 4, he took away their trust in tithes and offerings; and also in this chapter (Amos 5:18-20), he took away their trust in the future destruction of their enemies by God Himself.

Amos 7:8 — Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1961), p. 798. "I will not again pass by them any more" Again, the clear reference to the ancient Passover is evident; only, this time, he will not do a similar thing. As Smith said: "The word `pass by' here and in Amos 5:17 was probably deliberately used by Amos (rather, by the Lord) to represent the reversal of the "passover" when God passed through Egypt in judgment, but delivered Israel (Exodus 12:23)."Ralph L. Smith, Beacon Bible Commentary (Nashville: Broadman

Amos 8:8 — earthquake, which does not seem to be indicated at all. There may be something else here. Dummelow pointed out the fact followed by most interpreters that the word for "River" used in this place is regularly employed for the Nile";J. R. Dummelow, op. cit., p. 570. but Barnes noted that, "It is the Egyptian name for river which Israel brought with them out of Egypt, and is used either for the Nile, or for one of the artificial trenches derived from it,"Albert Barnes, op. cit., p. 325. hence, by extension (through