Bible Commentaries

Genesis 28:17 — ‘HALLOWED GROUND’ “How dreadful is this place! this is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.’ Genesis 28:17 I. It must have been the freshness of Jacob’s sense of recent sin that made a spot so dreadful and so blessed seem to him a ‘dreadful’ place. Everything takes its character from the conscience. Even a Bethel was awful, and the ladder of angels terrible,

Exodus 10:16 — AN INSINCERE CONFESSION ‘Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron in haste; and he said, I have sinned against the Lord your God, and against you.’ Exodus 10:16 The words ‘I have sinned’ occur nine times in the Bible, and of the nine we may except two. In the seventh chapter of Micah they are the language, not of an individual, but of a Church. And the prodigal’s use of them is, of course, not matter of

Exodus 13:14-17 — WHAT IS THIS? ‘And it shall be when thy son asketh thee in time to come, saying, What is this? that thou shalt say unto him, By strength of hand the Lord brought us out from Egypt, from the house of bondage,’ etc. Exodus 13:14-17 The Book of Exodus introduces that new epoch in the scriptural history of sacrifices when they began to be regulated by fixed laws, to be part of a national economy. I. The offering of the firstborn was the dedication and consecration of the

2 Kings 9:1 — THE SONS OF THE PROPHETS ‘One of the children of the prophets.’ 2 Kings 9:1 I. The Jewish prophet was not primarily or characteristically a foreteller.—The sole power which the prophet possessed of declaring that which should be arose from his knowledge of that which had been and which was. He meditated in the law of the Lord,

1 Chronicles 22:11 — WORK AND PROSPERITY ‘My son, the Lord be with thee; and prosper thou, and build the house of the Lord thy God.’ 1 Chronicles 22:11 The course which the aged king took with his young son, Solomon, was marked by great wisdom and consideration. He inspired his mind with a high conception of his future life-work, and, at the same time, led him to cherish a pious dependence

Job 28:1 — A BRILLIANT CHAPTER ‘Surely there is a vein for the silver, and a place for gold where they fine it.… But where shall wisdom be found? and where is the place of understanding?’ etc. Job 28:1; Job 28:12 This chapter falls naturally into three sections, the first two sections being terminated by this question, with a slight variety of statement: ‘Whence then cometh wisdom?’ and the last by the result of the investigation. I. The first of

Job 28:12 — A BRILLIANT CHAPTER ‘Surely there is a vein for the silver, and a place for gold where they fine it.… But where shall wisdom be found? and where is the place of understanding?’ etc. Job 28:1; Job 28:12 This chapter falls naturally into three sections, the first two sections being terminated by this question, with a slight variety of statement: ‘Whence then cometh wisdom?’ and the last by the result of the investigation. I. The first of

Job 39:1 — CREATURE AND CREATOR ‘Thou … God.’ Job 39:1; Job 39:17 I. Still the unveiling of the Divine glory proceeds, but now in its application to the things of life.—The feeding of lions and young lions; the fact that the cry of a young raven is prayer in His ears, which He answers with food; the mystery

Job 39:17 — CREATURE AND CREATOR ‘Thou … God.’ Job 39:1; Job 39:17 I. Still the unveiling of the Divine glory proceeds, but now in its application to the things of life.—The feeding of lions and young lions; the fact that the cry of a young raven is prayer in His ears, which He answers with food; the mystery

Psalms 122:2 — WITHIN THE GATES ‘Our feet shall stand within thy gates, O Jerusalem!’ Psalms 122:2 The psalm from which this verse is taken was probably written by a pilgrim to Jerusalem at some time previous to the Babylonish captivity. On the one hand, it is clear that the house of the Lord, the ancient Temple, was still standing; on the other,

Psalms 22:20 — THE POWER OF THE DOG 1 ‘Deliver … my darling from the power of the dog.’ Psalms 22:20 The word dog in the Scriptures often means a wicked person. It has that meaning in the text. David is speaking as a prophet, and he foretells the sufferings of our Saviour. When he says,

Psalms 61:2 — THE ROCK OF AGES ‘Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.’ Psalms 61:2 How many confessions underlie these words! Blindness, else David would not have said, ‘Lead me.’ Weakness, otherwise he would not have thought of a rock. Littleness; therefore he says, ‘Higher than I.’ The words of the text may convey (1) the notion

Proverbs 31:30-31 — THE BEAUTY THAT NEVER FADES ‘Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised. Give her of the fruit of her hands; and let her own works praise her in the gates.’ Proverbs 31:30-31 I. Interpretation.—‘Grace’ and ‘beauty’ will not win lasting praise; therefore they will disappoint. But a God-fearing woman, ‘she shall be praised’; her character in God’s eyes and man’s shall be her lasting grace, her unfading beauty. She

Leviticus 19:16 — TALE-BEARING ‘Thou shalt not go up and down as a talebearer.’ Leviticus 19:16 I. Evil-speaking is a ready way of making ourselves agreeable to other people: ‘Scandal sweetens many a cup of tea.’ Also it is a sin indulged in by many otherwise excellent people, like the benevolent lady of whom Cowper wrote:— Her superfluity

Lamentations 3:19 — SHADOW AND SUNSHINE ‘The wormwood and the gall … the Lord’s mercies.’ Lamentations 3:19; Lamentations 3:22 I. Speaking for himself, the prophet personifies his people ( Lamentations 3:1-21).—His description of the miseries through which they were passing is very pitiful—the wrinkled skin, the broken bones, the darkness as of the grave,

Lamentations 3:22 — SHADOW AND SUNSHINE ‘The wormwood and the gall … the Lord’s mercies.’ Lamentations 3:19; Lamentations 3:22 I. Speaking for himself, the prophet personifies his people ( Lamentations 3:1-21).—His description of the miseries through which they were passing is very pitiful—the wrinkled skin, the broken bones, the darkness as of the grave,

Lamentations 3:26 — Lord, leave it with Him, anoint your head with the oil of joy, and come out to be a Greatheart to Mr. Fearing and Miss Much-afraid. Illustration ‘The little herb Patience does not grow in everybody’s garden. But we are admonished to seek it, because (1) it is a very precious virtue, and a part of the service we owe to God, according to the first table. (2) It contains in itself another virtue, namely, hope in God. (3) It is easier for us to practise it, if we accustom ourselves to it from our youth.

Hosea 14:1 — COME BACK! COME BACK! Hosea 14:1 All sin is departing from God. Holiness is living near to God. The first thing a sinner has got to do is to return. Repentance is returning to God. How is a sinner to return? God in His infinite mercy and condescension has given to us a form of

Numbers 23:26 — a partial and unwilling sacrifice. He is, like Balaam, an uncertain, irresolute, wavering man, with many better principles and feelings, but with an undergrowth of evil which he will not utterly root out. III. From the history of Balaam we learn: (1) the importance to each one of us of being indeed earnest Christians, of giving to God our hearts and our affections; (2) the importance of striving to subdue wholly every separate sin to which we are tempted; (3) the great need we have of seeking earnestly

1 John 1:4 — PLENITUD DE ALEGRÍA "Estas cosas os escribimos para que vuestro gozo sea completo." 1 Juan 1:4 San Juan da en nuestro texto su razón para escribir la Epístola. El Apóstol, que se recostó sobre el pecho del Maestro durante la cena y se describe a sí mismo como "el amado de Jesús", llevó siempre consigo la atmósfera de dulce y santo descanso.