Bible Commentaries

Psalms 107:26 — melted because of trouble - It seems to dissolve; it loses all its vigor; it faints. The word used - מוג mûg - means to melt; to flow down; to soften; and is then applied to the heart or mind that loses its courage or vigor by fear or terror. Exodus 15:15; Joshua 2:9, Joshua 2:24; Nahum 1:5. The “trouble” here referred to is that which arises from fear and danger.

Psalms 119:109 — The expression seems to be proverbial. Anything taken in the hand is liable to be rudely snatched away. Thus a casket of jewels, or a purse of gold in the hand, may at any moment be seized by robbers. See the notes at Job 13:14. Compare 1 Samuel 19:5; Judges 12:3. The meaning here is, that his life was constantly in danger.Yet do I not forget thy law - Notwithstanding the danger to which I am exposed, and the care necessary to defend my life, I do not allow my mind to be turned from meditating on

Psalms 119:120 — My flesh trembleth for fear of thee - I stand in awe of thee. I shudder at the consciousness of thy presence. See Habakkuk 3:16; Hebrews 12:21; Joel 2:10; Nahum 1:5. There is nothing unaccountable in this. Any man would tremble, should God manifest himself to him as he might do; and it is possible that the mind may have such an overpowering sense of the presence and majesty of God, that the body shall be agitated,

Psalms 125:1 — in the Lord - His people; his friends. It is, and has been always, a characteristic of the people of God that they trust or confide in him.Shall be as mount Zion - The mountain which David fortified, and on which the city was at first built, 2 Samuel 5:6-9. The name Zion became also the name by which the entire city was known.Which cannot be removed, but abideth for ever - A mountain is an emblem of firmness and stability; and it is natural to speak of it as that which could not be removed. There

Psalms 141:2 — incense - See the notes and illustrations at Luke 1:9-10. Let my prayer come before thee in such a manner as incense does when it is offered in worship; in a manner of which the ascending of incense is a suitable emblem. See the notes at Revelation 5:8; notes at Revelation 8:3.And the lifting up of my hands - In prayer; a natural posture in that act of worship.As the evening sacrifice - The sacrifice offered on the altar at evening. Let my prayer be as acceptable as that is when it is offered in

Psalms 142:5 — “man” that would undertake for me.I said, Thou art my refuge - (a) My “only” refuge. I can go nowhere else.(b) Thou art “in fact” my refuge. I can and do put my trust in thee. See the notes at Psalms 46:1.And my portion - See the notes at Psalms 16:5.In the land of the living - Among all those that live - all living beings. There is no one else among the living to whom I can come but to thee, the living God. My hope is not in human beings, for they are against me; not in angels, for they have not

Psalms 145:21 — that God should be praised, adored, honored by all intelligent creatures; that he should be known and acknowledged in all the earth as the true God; that his praise should ascend from all parts of the universe forever. See the notes at Psalms 100:1-5.

Isaiah 13:7 — the consternation and alarm of the people. They would be so terrified and alarmed that they would have no courage, no hope, and no power to make resistance. They would abandon their plans of defense, and give themselves up to despair (compare Jeremiah 50:43 : ‘The king of Babylon hath heard the report of them, and his hands waxed feeble; anguish took hold of him, and pangs as of a Women in travail;’ Ezekiel 7:17; Zephaniah 3:16).And every man’s heart shall melt - Or, shall faint, so that he shall have

Isaiah 17:12 — Wo to the multitude ... - The word ‘woe’ (הוי hôy) may be either an interjection simply directing the attention to them, or it may be a word indicating approaching calamity and judgment (see the note at Isaiah 5:6). Gesenius supposes that it is rather the language of compassion, on account of the evil which they threatened to bring upon the people of God, like 1 Kings 13:30, ‘Ah! wo, my brother!’The multitude of many people - Or, the tumult of many nations

Isaiah 2:15 — Every high tower - Towers, or fortresses, were erected for defense and protection. They were made on the walls of cities, for places of observation (compare the note at Isaiah 21:5), or in places of strength, to be a refuge for an army, and to be a point from which they might sally out to attack their enemies. They were “high” to afford a defense against being scaled by an enemy, and also that from the top they might look abroad

Isaiah 36:6 — idea here is, that as a slender reed would break when a man leaned on it, and would pierce his hand, so it would be with Egypt. Their reliance would give way, and their trusting to Egypt would be attended with injury to themselves (compare Isaiah 30:5, Isaiah 30:7; Isaiah 31:3).

Isaiah 37:37 — lead him to abandon the siege.Went and returned - Went from before Jerusalem and returned to his own land.And dwelt at Nineveh - How long he dwelt there is not certainly known. Berosus, the Chaldean, says it was ‘a little while’ (see Jos. Ant. x. 1. 5). Nineveh was on the Tigris, and was the capital of Assyria. For an account of its site, and its present situation, see the American Biblical Repository for Jan. 1837, pp. 139-159.

Isaiah 43:22 — be an act of mere unmerited favor.Thou hast been weary - As a people, you have been weary of my service. They had accounted his laws grievous and oppressive; and they had groaned under what they regarded as burdensome rites and ceremonies (see Amos 8:5-6; Malachi 1:13). God here refers, doubtless, to the times before the captivity, and is stating what was the general characteristic of the people.

Isaiah 55:5 — Indicating the haste and anxiety which they would have to partake of the benefits of the true religion.Because of the Lord thy God - From respect to the God who had appointed the Messiah, and who had organized the Church.For he hath glorified thee - John 16:5. God had glorified him by appointing him to be the Messiah; and he would glorify him in the future triumphs of the gospel, in the day of judgment, and in the eternal splendors of heaven.

Isaiah 56:6 — Also the sons of the stranger - (see the note at Isaiah 56:3). The conditions on which they should be admitted to the same privileges are specified, and are the following: 1. They were to ‘join themselves to the Lord’ (see the note at Isaiah 56:3). 2. This should be with a purpose to ‘serve him.’ Their aim

Ezekiel 11:3 — It is not near - In contradiction to Ezekiel 7:2.Let us build houses - “To build houses” implies a sense of security. Jeremiah bade the exiles “build houses” in a foreign land because they would not soon quit it Jeremiah 29:5; Jeremiah 35:7. These false counselors promised to their countrymen a sure and permanent abode in the city which God had doomed to destruction. No need, they said, to go far for safety; you are perfectly safe at home. The Hebrew, however, is, difficult:

Daniel 7:16 — I came near unto one of them that stood by - That is, to one of the angels who appeared to stand near the throne. Daniel 7:10. Compare Daniel 8:13; Zechariah 4:4-5; Revelation 7:13. It was natural for Daniel to suppose that the angels who were seen encircling the throne would be able to give him information on the subject, and the answers which Daniel received show that he was not mistaken in his expectation.

Daniel 8:18 — stupified or senseless. See Daniel 10:9. His strength had been entirely taken away by the vision. There is nothing improbable in this, that the sudden appearance of a celestial vision, or a heavenly being, should take away the strength. Compare Genesis 15:12; Job 4:13, following; Judges 6:22; Judges 13:20, Judges 13:22; Isaiah 6:5; Luke 1:12, Luke 1:29; Luke 2:9; Acts 9:3, Acts 9:8. “But he touched me, and set me upright.” Margin, as in Hebrew, “made me stand upon my standing.” He raised me up on my

Micah 6:3 — done for thee; what against thee? ‘what evil have I done unto thee?’” “Thy foot did not swell these forty years” Deuteronomy 8:4, for He upbears in all ways where He leads. Wherein have I wearied thee? for “His commandments are not grievious” 1 John 5:3. Thou hast been weary of Me, O Israel, God says by Isaiah, “I have not wearied thee with incense; thou hast wearied Me with thine iniquities” Isaiah 43:22-24.

Malachi 3:8 — what?” God specifies two things only, obvious, patent, which, as being material things, they could not deny. “In tithes and offerings.” The offerings included several classes of dues to God:(a) the first fruits ;(b) the annual half-shekel Exodus 30:13-15;(c) the offerings made for the tabernacle Exodus 25:2-3; Exodus 35:5, Exodus 35:21, Exodus 35:24; Exodus 36:3, Exodus 36:6 and the second temple Ezra 8:25 at its first erection; it is used of ordinary offerings; (d) of the tithes of their own tithes,