Bible Commentaries

Psalms 120:1-7 — all the worms of Nile, whose breathRides on the posting winds.Cymbeline, Act III, Sc. 4, Line 35. "The tongue is a fire… a world of iniquity… is set on fire by hell… it is a restless evil… full of deadly poison" (James 3:6-9). The psalmist's prayer here is to be delivered from such ravages of such slanderous tongues. Delitzsch pointed out that, "The tongue is feminine as a rule; but, in spite of that, it is a man who is here addressed who has that kind of a tongue!"F.

Psalms 131:1-3 — soul within me. O Israel, hope in Jehovah From this time forth and forevermore." "My heart is not haughty, nor mine eyes lofty" Haughtiness is betrayed by a proud look, the same being the head of the list of the seven things that God hates (Proverbs 6:17). "Neither do I exercise myself in great matters" The "great matters" here refers to, "high positions, or the like."W. E. Addis, p. 394. Christians are admonished, "Set not thy mind on high things." (Romans 12:16). "Things too wonderful for me" "The

Psalms 134:1-3 — darkened" (Romans 1:21). Note the brief words, "Neither gave thanks." "All ye servants of Jehovah" This phrase may be understood, either as the Levites keeping the night vigil in the Temple, or as the "community at worship."Leslie C. Allen, Vol. II, p. 216. Either meaning could be correct. All depends upon what the situation here actually is. If the scene is that of a group of pilgrims arriving at night before the Temple and addressing the Levites on night duty there, then the words refer to the Levites.

Psalms 36:5-9 — man nor a beast in the whole earth that is uncared for by the Lord."The New Bible Commentary, Revised, p. 473. Jesus himself taught the same thing, declaring with reference to sparrows, "That not one of them is forgotten in the sight of God" (Luke 12:6). "Mountains of God… a great deep" "In these verses, all that is infinite, sublime, and unfathomable in nature is made emblematic of the perfections of Jehovah."J. R. Dummelow's Commentary, p. 343. Note also in these verses that (1) God takes

Psalms 38:1-10 — disease? Furthermore, what disease ever fit such a description as that which is found here? This alleged disease was `total muscle fatigue' and `rotten bones'(Psalms 38:3), `stinking wounds' (Psalms 38:5) `arthritic pain that bent him over' (Psalms 38:6) `burning pains in the kidneys,' (Note: In the Hebrew perspective, the loins always meant, `the seat of the emotions'; and this statement is obviously figurative.), `fainting' and `bruises all over him,' (Psalms 38:8), `total loss of all strength,'

Psalms 58:10-11 — them that had been slain for the Word of God, and for the testimony which they held: And they cried with a great voice, saying, How long, O Master, the holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth" (Revelation 6:9-10). There is no way to escape the conviction that these citizens of heaven itself were eagerly anticipating the vengeance of God upon their enemies and that they would be pleased when it should finally occur. Sinful attitude? Certainly not. Merely

Psalms 69:22-28 — things as the Law of Moses, and the religious institution of Israel, and that such privileges were misused by Israel, not for teaching the Gentiles the knowledge of God, but for the nourishment of Jewish conceit. (See the full discussion of this in Vol. 6 of my New Testament series, pp. 379, 380.) Exactly what David meant by these words as applied to the enemies of his times is not known. One possibility is that "the table" refers to the privileges of the kingship, which became a trap for Saul and his

Psalms 92:10-12 — horn" The horn is a symbol of power, ability, stature and prosperity. "Like the horn of the wild ox" This animal is frequently mentioned in the Old Testament, as in Numbers 23:22; Numbers 24:8; Deuteronomy 33:17; Job 39:9-10; Psalms 22:21; Psalms 29:6; Psalms 92:10; Isaiah 34:7, where all of these references in the KJV are translated "the unicorn."International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (Chicago, Illinois: The Howard-Severance Company, 1915), p. 3037. The unicorn is usually referred to as a "mythical

Ecclesiastes 8:16-17 — these were key elements in man's earthly wretchedness. The unfathomable mysteries of life and all of the hidden things that belong to God come to mind as we read these verses. "This unsearchable nature of divine things is similarly proclaimed in Job 11:6-9 and in Romans 11:33."International Critical Commentary, Vol. 18, p. 157.

Isaiah 29:1-4 — actions and not to the limitation of a single year. We learn in Isaiah 32:9 ff that the time was "slightly longer than a year"; and, in that passage, "Isaiah implies that his hearers did not well understand his language."T. K. Cheyne's Commentary, p. 169. Indeed, they did not; and commentators are still misunderstanding it, as did Peake: "Within a year, Ariel, that is, Jerusalem will be destroyed and will be an altar-hearth indeed, flowing with the blood of human victims."Peake's Commentary Series,

Isaiah 49:7-12 — priest was ever big enough for the title. It is part of the powerful thrust of the Old Testament toward the New Testament in which Jesus Christ stands forth as the sole worthy and rightful bearer of the name Israel."The New Bible Commentary, Revised, p. 616. Christ alone is the mediator of the new covenant; he only is the means by which men on earth may come unto God. He only is the "Way, the Truth and the Life; and no in an cometh unto the Father except by him" (John 14:6). Isaiah 49:9 regards the release

Jeremiah 47:1 — smote Gaza." "Before that Pharaoh smote Gaza" What makes this difficult is that there is no hint here of "which Pharaoh" is meant. Three different dates are suggested for the capture of Gaza mentioned here. (1) Pharaoh-Necho marched against Babylon in 609 B.C., that being when Josiah opposed him and was killed at Megiddo. It is not certainly known, but it is supposed that Pharaoh-Necho might have taken and fortified Gaza at the beginning of that campaign in order to secure his eventual retreat. (2)

Ezekiel 16:15-18 — for thee images of men, and didst play the harlot with them; and thou tookest thy broidered garments and coveredst them, and didst set my oil and my incense before them." THE SHAMEFUL PROFLIGACY OF ISRAEL This extensive paragraph encompasses Ezekiel 16:15-34, but we shall subdivide it. "Playedst the harlot… poured out thy whoredoms" Although the particular sins of Israel mentioned in this long paragraph are here listed as "whoredoms," the reference is inclusive of such things as seeking alliances

Ezekiel 37:20-23 — Certainly that event must be associated with "the times of the regeneration," that is, the times of "the new birth," which by any logical interpretation must be identified with the current dispensation of the grace of God. Some quote Paul from Romans 11:26, "So all Israel shall be saved," as if it said "Then all Israel shall be saved," which, of course, it does not say. What is meant is that "In this manner," that is, by accepting and obeying Christ, and in no other way, but in this way alone, SO all

Daniel 2:1 — succession; and thus the third year would have been part of the second year of Nebuchadnezzar's reign (Babylonian style of reckoning)."Edward J. Young, The New Bible Commentary, Revised, Daniel (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1970), p. 691. The only objection that critics have been able to raise against the fact just cited was stated by Owens: "With this reckoning, one system of of time is found in Daniel 1 but a different method in Daniel 2!John Joseph Owens, Broadman Bible Commentary,

Daniel 9:1-2 — Babylon.'"C. F. Keil, Commentary on the Old Testament by Keil and Delitzsch, The Prophecy of Daniel (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company), p. 320. Thus we have additional confirmation of some of the conclusions reached in our study of Daniel 6:1, above.

Amos 5:18 — those of his apostles, a very definite and extensive corpus of teaching related to this very thing, the words of the New Testament, therefore, providing an inexhaustible reservoir of truth regarding this fundamental doctrine of Christianity (Hebrews 6:2). All Old Testament references to the day of the Lord are illuminated by the New Testament.

Zechariah 3:8 — op. cit., p. 1070. "O Joshua" This name is actually the equivalent of "Jesus"; and, in fact, it appears in the Apocrypha a number of times simply as "Jesus."J. R. Dummelow, Commentary on the Holy Bible (New York City: The Macmillan Company, 1937), p. 602. Therefore we must add to the extensive witness, present throughout the vision, of the coming Christ the significant fact that the principal figure in it actually bore the name of the blessed Messiah. The entry into Canaan also came under another

Mark 2:26 — Version (1885)), "in the days of Abiathar" is correct, apparently because Abiathar was not high priest at the time referred to, but later when David was king. His father Ahimelech was high priest when David ate the showbread (1 Samuel 21:1-6). It could also be that Abiathar also bore the name Ahimelech, as the Bible gives many examples of persons called by two names. Which it is not lawful to eat … Christ here clearly indicated David's actions as unlawful, the point being that a

Mark 2:27 — being a reference to himself. Therefore, the apostles in his service were even more entitled to exemption from the true sabbath restrictions than were the Pharisees who served in their temple, inasmuch as Christ was the greater temple (Matthew 12:5-6). Furthermore, Jesus' lordship over the sabbath derived from his oneness and equality with God. He was in the process of abolishing the sabbath institution altogether. He would nail it to his cross, abolishing it totally and completely; and his words