Bible Commentaries

Isaiah 1:12 — 12.Who hath required this at your hand ? What an admirable confutation of false worship, when God declares that they will not come before him according to the appointed manner, and makes a general declaration, that in vain do they offer to him anything

Isaiah 34:9 — necessary to add many confirmations, such as those which he employs in this and in other passages; and thus he denotes a horrible change, which shall destroy the whole face of Judea. Moreover, he alludes to the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, (Genesis 19:24,) as the prophets very frequently do. In that destruction, as Jude informs us, we have a perpetual representation of the wrath of God against the reprobate, (Judges 1:7;) and it is not without good reason that the prophets call it to our remembrance,

Isaiah 52:2 — 2.Shake thyself from the dust; arise. He explains more fully the deliverance of the Church, and exhibits it prominently by ὑποτύπωσιν , “a lively description.” When he bids her “shake off the dust and arise,” let us not on that account think that our liberty is in our power, so that we can obtain it

Isaiah 54:14 — 14.In righteousness. He means that God will be the maker and architect of his Church. I am aware that there are some who explain it differently, and who think that “righteousness” means “good­works.” And indeed that exposition

Jeremiah 22:26 — will remove you,” he says, “into foreign lands, in which ye were not born, and there ye shall die.” (67) The word is strong; it means to toss, to hurl, violently to cast forth, to throw with force, as one throws a missile weapon. See 1 Samuel 28:11. The “mittam “ of the Vulg. is too weak; the “ἀποῤῥίψω ” of the Sept. is more suitable. — Ed

Lamentations 3:66 — mention the heavens of Jehovah, as though he had said, that though God is hidden from us while we sojourn in the world, he yet dwells in heaven, for heaven is often called the throne of God, — “The heaven is my throne.” (Isaiah 66:1.) “O God, who dwellest in the sanctuary.” (Psalms 22:4; Psalms 77:14.) By God’s sanctuary is often meant heaven. For this reason, then, the Prophet asked here that the ungodly should be destroyed from under the heaven of Jehovah,

Daniel 2:19 — memory, namely, Those who hesitate, and tremble, and pray to God with difference, are unworthy of being heard. Let not such a one, says James, think he shall obtain anything from the Lord, if he is driven about variously like the waves of the sea. (James 1:6.) As God, therefore, shewed himself propitious to the prayers of Daniel, we conclude him to have prayed with true faith, and to be clearly persuaded that his life was in God’s hands; hence, also, he felt that God did not vainly harass the mind

Matthew 14:19 — 19.He blessed. In this passage, as in many others, blessing denotes thanksgiving. Now Christ has taught us, by his example, that we cannot partake of our food with holiness and purity, unless we express our gratitude to God, from whose hand it comes to

Deuteronomy 32:34 — hypocrites of the day of visitation, in order that they may not suppose that they have gained anything by the delay. For this reason Jeremiah says that “the sin of Judah is written with an iron penand with the point of a diamond,” (Jeremiah 17:1.) Moses employs a different figure, that, although God may not appear as an immediate avenger, still their sins are stored up in his treasures, and will be brought to light by Him at the fitting season. Hence we gather the profitable lesson, that

Luke 7:34 — mortifies himself by fasting, ought to attend to this passage. On this principle John would rank higher than the Son of God; but, on the contrary, we ought to maintain, that bodily exercise profiteth little, but godliness is profitable to all things, (1 Timothy 4:8.) And yet we must not make this a pretense for giving a loose rein to the flesh, by indulging in luxuries and effeminacy: only we must beware of superstition, lest foolish men, imagining that perfection lies in matters of a purely elementary

Luke 9:54 — country itself had perhaps suggested to them the desire of thundering immediately against the ungodly; for it was there that Elijah had formerly destroyed, by a fire from heaven, the king’s soldiers who had been sent to apprehend him, (2 Kings 1:10.) It therefore occurred to them that the Samaritans, who so basely rejected the Son of God, were at that time devoted to a similar destruction. And here we see to what we are driven by a foolish imitation (591) of the holy fathers. James and John

John 10:35 — he wishes that political order should exist among men, and that we should be governed by usages and laws. For this reason Paul says, that all who resist the power are rebels against God, because there is no power but what is ordained by God, (Romans 13:1.) It will, perhaps, be objected, that other callings also are from God, and are approved by him, and yet that we do not, on that account, call farmers, or cowherds, or cobblers, gods I reply, this is not a general declaration, that all who have

John 18:7 — can it be doubted that Satan hurried them on, with wild fury, to such a desperate hardihood; for there is no insanity that drives a man with such viohnee as this kind of blindness; Wicked men, after having been given over to a reprobate mind, (Romans 1:28,) care no more about rushing against God than if they had only to do with a fly. They feel his power, indeed, but not so as to be disposed to obey; for sooner will they be broken a hundred times than they will yield. In short, their malice is a veil

John 2:25 — a wide difference between him and us; for Christ knew the very roots of the trees, but, except from the fruits which appear outwardly, we cannot discover what is the nature of any one tree. Besides, as Paul tells us, that charity is not suspicious, (1 Corinthians 13:5,) we have no right to entertain unfavorable suspicions about men who are unknown to us. But, that we may not always be deceived by hypocrites, and that the Church may not be too much exposed to their wicked impostures, it belongs to

John 4:26 — employs the name Messiah as a seal to ratify the doctrine of his Gospel; for we must remember that he was anointed by the Father, and that the Spirit of God rested on him, that he might bring to us the message of salvation, as Isaiah declares, (Isaiah 61:1.)

John 6:1 — 1.Afterwards, Jesus went. Although John was accustomed to collect those actions and sayings of Christ, which the other three Evangelists had omitted, yet in this passage, contrary to his custom, he repeats the history of a miracle which they had related.

Acts 10:39 — when he saith that they were appointed witnesses (708) by God, (709) and that they are brought forth, as it were, by God, that they might by their preaching bring men unto the faith of Christ. So Paul, in the fifteenth of the First to the Corinthians, (1 Corinthians 15:15,) saith, “We (saith he) should be found false witnesses [of Gods] unless Christ were risen from the dead.” And we have already heard by the mouth of Christ, “Ye shall be my witnesses in Judea, Samaria, and at Jerusalem.”

Acts 2:24 — sorrows, and doth also declare that he had the victory, by this it cometh to pass that the faithful ought not now to be afraid of death; for death hath not the like quality now which was in Adam; because by the victory of Christ the curse is swallowed up, (1 Corinthians 15:54.) We feel, indeed, yet the pricking of sorrows, but such as do not wholly wound us, whilst that we hold up the buckler of faith against them. He added a reason, because it was impossible that Christ should be oppressed by death, who

Acts 27:1 — − 1.Luke setteth down Paul’s voyage by sea most of all to this end, that we may know that he was brought to Rome wonderfully by the hand of God; and that the glory of God did many ways appear excellent in his doings and sayings even in the very journey,

Romans 3:10 — 10.As it is written, etc. He has hitherto used proofs or arguments to convince men of their iniquity; he now begins to reason from authority; and it is to Christians the strongest kind of proof, when authority is derived from the only true God. And hence