Bible Commentaries

Exodus 17:3 — MURMURERS The people murmured.’ Exodus 17:3 The points to be made in this sermon are— I. The longing of the people for rest and refreshment of a physical kind.—They had few thoughts above the satisfaction of their bodily cravings. Weary of the desert, they looked forward keenly to reach Rephidim

Exodus 28:2 — emblazoned upon His front is His own proper title: ‘Holiness to the Lord.’ Not for Himself—He needs it not—but for us! He bears the iniquity of our holy things. For us the golden letters run ‘for glory and for beauty’ upon the mitre of Jesus. Illustrations (1) ‘The shoulders are the place of strength, so that as our great High Priest goes in, He bears our names, representing us, one by one, on the place of strength; and there they are borne up and carried, there we typically dwell between His shoulders,

Exodus 5:1 — LET MY PEOPLE GO! ‘Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Let My people go.’ Exodus 5:1 The history of the deliverance of God’s people from the bondage of Egypt, their pilgrimage through the wilderness, and their ultimate settlement in the Land of Promise, bear a striking analogy to the history of the human soul. I. The words ‘Let My

Exodus 7:6 — the opposition intensifies unexpectedly, the magician’s rod also turning into serpents, His power increases in proportion. ‘ Aaron’s rod swallowed up their rods.’ The brave preaching of the seemingly feeble Gospel is God’s way of power. Illustration (1) ‘God’s warnings will not continue for ever. To me, as to Pharaoh, will come a final message. How do I know when it will come? How did Pharaoh know? He did not know, nor do I. He was gratified, like a fool, by the removal of each plague, and went on

2 Kings 13:18 — HAND-TYING UNBELIEF ‘He smote thrice, and stayed.’ 2 Kings 13:18 Human perversity limits Divine favour. This incident teaches concerning prayer:— I. Importunity in supplication is one of the supreme elements of devotion.—Let us understand now that Elisha is trying to teach this king to pray God for help in

2 Kings 17:33 — HONORARY CHRISTIANS ‘They feared the Lord, and served their own gods, after the manner of the nations, whom they carried away from thence.’ 2 Kings 17:33 I. This is the reason why so many people have lost the peace of God; like those Israelites they fear the Lord, but serve idols. They are making the awful mistake of trying to serve two masters. Those Israelites had a half-and-half religion, and

2 Chronicles 21:20 — ‘UNWEPT, UNHONOURED, AND UNSUNG’ ‘He departed without being desired.’ 2 Chronicles 21:20 It is related of Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat—a worthy father’s foolish son—that after a reign of eight years ‘he departed without being desired.’ 1. Desired— this use of the word is extremely rare.— Desire properly denotes a forward-looking

Psalms 120:1 — A CASE OF DISTRESS ‘My distress.’ Psalms 120:1 The first of the Songs of Ascents, sung by the devout Hebrews, as they gathered from the farthest parts of the land to the great annual feasts. Ah, ye now desolate hills and valleys of the Holy Land, how blithe ye were in those happy days, when

Psalms 70:1 — GOD THE HOPE OF THE DESPAIRING ‘Haste Thee, O God, to deliver me.’ Psalms 70:1 (Prayer Book Version) I. This short psalm is a rushing sob of anxious solicitude.—There is little of restfulness in it. Enemies are engaged in cruel persecution and mockery. It seems as though the Psalmist felt that the strain was becoming too much

Psalms 74:11 — GOD AS SILENT AND INACTIVE ‘Why withdrawest Thou Thy hand?’ Psalms 74:11 I. This is a great complaint, but it is a complaint of faith.—Hardly a gleam of light is to be found throughout. The Psalmist sits in the midst of national desolation and pours out his soul to God, in passionate appeal for His help, and protest against

Isaiah 11:10 — A PERFECT KING AND KINGDOM ‘A root of Jesse.’ Isaiah 11:10 Judah, like an old and decayed tree, in spite of springtime burst of bloom, followed by midsummer witherings, was tottering to its fall. A century and a quarter before that fall, and seven hundred years before the event, Isaiah saw a straight,

Jeremiah 5:22 — would not tremble at His presence, since He can do so much with what man despises? What a great God is this, Whose weakness is stronger than men! What cannot His power accomplish for me, Who made of soft sand a strong bar to the sea! Illustrations (1) ‘The perversity of the human heart is beyond belief. It is not moved by the manifestation of God’s power in the majesty and beauty of Nature as in the soft sand-barrier to the waves. It is not touched by reverent gratitude for God’s beneficence in

Deuteronomy 2:13 — THE NEW BEGINNING ‘Get you over the brook Zered.’ Deuteronomy 2:13 ‘Much in this chapter instructs us, such as the careful way in which their inheritance and the way to it were defined. But one star glimmers in the sky with an especial radiance and beauty, that which tells of One who knows all about the walking of

Deuteronomy 28:8 — and authority over all creation; over every creature in heaven and in earth, over all angels, all persons, all passions, all principles, over all elements. On Him has been bestowed the gift of universal dominion. —Rev. E. H. Hopkins. Illustration (1) ‘We may see the Lord’s doings with our eyes, and yet we may not be able to see them with an inner perception until the Lord gives us a heart to know, and eyes to see, and ears to hear. When God leads He finds shoe leather. We only get to know His watchful,

Deuteronomy 5:3 — short of this; but the true salvation-point is not reached. Illustration ‘All Israel were summoned to hear the words of Moses, because no one was excepted from their range. And the end of hearing should always be learning, keeping, and doing ( James 1:22-25). ‘ “Not with our fathers” may mean not with the patriarchs, who had simply the covenant of circumcision; or it may mean that the covenant of Sinai was ratified not only with the generation which received it, but with all others represented

John 16:12 — MUCHAS COSAS POR REVELAR "Aún tengo muchas cosas que deciros, pero ahora no las podéis soportar". Juan 16:12 El conocimiento limitado, incluso sobre los temas más profundamente interesantes del pensamiento humano, es una necesidad de nuestro estado actual. Estas limitaciones en nuestro conocimiento de las cosas divinas son para nuestro beneficio, una adaptación

1 Corinthians 1:6 — EL TESTIGO ACERCA DE CRISTO 'El testimonio de Cristo fue confirmado en ti'. 1 Corintios 1:6 El cristianismo significa, ante todo, el testimonio de Cristo; es decir, el testimonio de Cristo. Ahora bien, esto es lo que el gran Apóstol insta una y otra vez. Él siempre lo está impulsando. Se presenta en todas partes a los hombres

1 Thessalonians 3:12 — AMOR CRISTIANO 'El Señor los haga crecer y abundar en amor los unos para con los otros, y para con todos los hombres, como nosotros lo hacemos para con ustedes.' 1 Tesalonicenses 3:12 San Pablo fue verdaderamente un hombre de oración. Comenzó, continuó y terminó su vida cristiana con eso. De ahí esta oración por los tesalonicenses, para que crezcan y abunden en santas excelencias, especialmente en aquella que

1 Timothy 1:19 — Fiel a Dios y fiel a uno mismo 'Manteniendo la fe y la buena conciencia; la cual algunos, habiendo desechado la fe, han hecho naufragio. ' 1 Timoteo 1:19 San Pablo le explica a Timoteo su objetivo por escrito: animarlo y estimularlo en la batalla de la vida. En las responsabilidades que se le imputan; en las dificultades que tendrá que afrontar, sea fiel a las grandes esperanzas que se le

1 Peter 1:24-25 — PERMANENTE 'Toda carne es como la hierba, y toda la gloria del hombre como la flor de la hierba. Se seca la hierba y se cae su flor, pero la palabra del Señor permanece para siempre. Y esta es la Palabra que por medio del evangelio os ha sido anunciada. ' 1 Pedro 1:24 Para entrar en el espíritu de las declaraciones del Apóstol, debemos marcar cuidadosamente cada término de la comparación, o más bien el contraste, que él establece aquí. Un término expresa, en un lenguaje elegante y contundente, el pensamiento