Bible Commentaries

Psalms 102 overview — AN AFFLICTED ONE PRAYS FOR HIMSELF AND FOR ZION The Superscription here has this very interesting little paragraph: A PRAYER OF AN AFFLICTED ONE, WHEN HE IS OVERWHELMED, AND POURETH OUT HIS COMPLAINT BEFORE JEHOVAH. As Kidner noted, "This psalm has

Psalms 102:10-11 — "Thou, Lord in the beginning didst lay the foundation of the earth, And the heavens are the works of thy hands: They shall perish, but thou continuest: And they all shall wax old as doth a garment; And as a mantle shalt thou roll them up, As a garment,

Psalms 105 overview — PRAISING GOD FOR WHAT HE DID FOR ISRAEL We have been unable to find any authentic information about either the author or occasion of this psalm. After an introduction in the first five verses, the psalm mentions with thanksgiving and gratitude the covenant

Psalms 119 overview — OH HOW I LOVE THY LAW; IT IS MY MEDITATION ALL THE DAYGreat Songs of the Church, Hymn No. 240. Delitzsch gives us the inscription above this psalm in his old German Version: "The Christian's golden A-B-C of the praise, love, power and use of the Word

Psalms 22 overview — THE GREAT OLD TESTAMENT PROPHECY OF THE CRUCIFIXION OF CHRIST From Halley's Bible Handbook, we have the following: "This sounds like a cry of anguish from David, but though written a thousand years before Jesus, it is so vivid a description of the crucifixion

Psalms 23 overview — THE SHEPHERD PSALM Writers have tried to outdo one another in describing the popularity, beauty, and delight of this little psalm. It is described as perhaps the most popular chapter in the Old Testament, which is undoubtedly the truth. The Davidic

Psalms 23:1-4 — "Jehovah is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures; He leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: He guideth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley

Psalms 25 overview — A PRAYER FOR FORGIVENESS We have entitled this psalm "A Prayer for Forgiveness," because of the triple plea to that effect in the psalm. Halley called it, "The Prayer of a Sin-oppressed Soul,"Henry H. Halley's Bible Handbook (Grand Rapids: Zondervan

Psalms 31 overview — THE PERSECUTED ONE SURRENDERS TO THE LORD As Barnes declared, "There can be no doubt that the inscription that ascribes this Psalm to David is correct."Barnes' Notes on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, a 1987 reprint of the 1878 edition),

Psalms 37 overview — RIGHTEOUS REWARDED; WICKED PUNISHED This interesting acrostic psalm has long been a popular reservoir for the selection of memory verses. Hymns have been written on some of the statements here, notably, the one, "John Wesley translated from the German,

Psalms 50 overview — A PROPHETIC GLIMPSE OF THE ETERNAL JUDGMENT The superscription entitles this psalm as "A Psalm of Asaph." This is the very first of the twelve Asaph Psalms, the other eleven being Psalms 72-82 at the beginning of Book Three of the Psalter. "In 1 Chronicles

Psalms 52 overview — SAINT AND SINNER CONTRASTED The superscription for this psalm has this: `For the Chief Musician. Maschil of David; when Doeg the Edomite came and told Saul, and said unto him, David is come to the house of Abimelech.' Contrary to some current critical

Psalms 54 overview — PRAYER FOR DELIVERANCE FROM ENEMIES Superscription: For the Chief Musician: on stringed instruments. Maschil of David: when the Ziphites came and said to Saul, Doth not David himself hide with us? The historical background here, according to the superscription,

Psalms 54:1 — "Save me, O God, by thy name, And judge me in thy might." David may very well have been in the wilderness of Maon at the time of writing this psalm. It was in that wilderness that Saul was almost able to surround David and capture him; but in what we

Psalms 69 overview — PRAYER OF ONE AFFLICTED FOR THE TRUTH Superscription: For the Chief Musician; Set to Shoshannim. A Psalm of David. There is no convincing evidence in the psalm itself that David is not the author, although many scholars assume that David could not

Psalms 75 overview — GOD ABASES THE PROUD, BUT HE EXALTS THE RIGHTEOUS Leupold observed that, "It is particularly meaningful that this Psalm follows Psalms 74."H. C. Leupold, p. 542. It will be remembered that in Psalms 74, the psalmist was demanding action on God's part

Psalms 92 overview — PRAISING THE GREATNESS OF GOD The superscription refers to this psalm as, "A song for the sabbath day," meaning, no doubt, that it was used by the Jews as part of their worship on each sabbath day. In this connection, we were intrigued by a comment

Psalms 96 overview — CALLING FOR THE GENTILES TO WORSHIP THE RIGHTEOUS GOD "This psalm develops a larger view that is not restricted to Israel. Israel is not even mentioned, and the call to worship is addressed to `all nations and all creatures.'"The New Bible Commentary,

Isaiah 1 overview — DIVISION I (Isaiah 1-12) This division has prophecies concerning Judah and Jerusalem, closing with promises of restoration and a psalm of thanksgiving. This chapter has the title for the whole prophecy (Isaiah 1:1), God's complaint against Israel (Isaiah 1:2-9), the statement that Israel has no excuse (Isaiah 1:10-15), a summary of God's requirements (Isaiah 1:16-20), the prophet's lament over Jerusalem (Isaiah 1:21-23), and a declaration of God's judgment upon the apostate people (Isaiah 1:24-31).

Jonah 2:1 — "Then Jonah prayed unto Jehovah his God out of the fish's belly." The first threat to Jonah's life was, of course, that of drowning; and, for whatever period of time he might have been conscious inside the sea-monster, he was profoundly grateful for