Bible Commentaries

Exodus 11:7 — WHEREIN THE DIFFERENCE? ‘That ye may know how that the Lord doth put a difference between the Egyptians and Israel.’ Exodus 11:7 I. There is no difference by nature ( Romans 3:22-23).—All have sinned, all have come short, all are under the curse of a broken law. But by grace the difference is vast as the abyss of space, and is ever widening. There is a difference by grace,

Exodus 15:3 — THE DIVINE WARRIOR ‘The Lord is a man of war; the Lord is His name’ Exodus 15:3 These words are part of an outburst of national song, the triumphant song of God’s chosen people when they, by God’s strength, escaped from the tyranny of Egypt, and found themselves a redeemed, free, delivered people. The Lord has continued to

Exodus 8:22 — The Lamb is not only in the midst of the throne; but wherever two or three are gathered, He is in the midst. In Him we live, and move, and have our being. The whole earth, every cranny of it, is full of Him. Yield Him your whole heart. Illustration (1) ‘In Halyburton’s priceless Memoirs we read: “Hereby I was brought into a doubt about the truths of religion, the being of God, and things eternal. Whenever I was in dangers or straits and would build upon these things, a suspicion secretly haunted

1 Kings 19:19 — INFLUENCE AND DECISION ‘So he departed thence, and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was ploughing with twelve yoke of oxen before him, and he with the twelfth; and Elijah passed by him, and cast his mantle upon him.’ 1 Kings 19:19 There may be many to whom the casting of the mantle does not mean the leaving of home and business, but a continuing in the state of life where you are, only with the mantle still over you, with Jesus Christ as the ruling partner of the

2 Kings 13:21 — POSTHUMOUS INFLUENCE ‘When the man was let down, and touched the hones of Elisha, he revived, and stood upon his feet.’ 2 Kings 13:21 The miracle described in these verses—a man being revived by contact with another’s dry bones—is one that is being continually repeated. It takes place every day before our eyes. I. Shakespeare says that ‘the evil that men do lives after them,

2 Kings 19:15 — HEZEKIAH’S PRAYER ‘And Hezekiah prayed before the Lord.’ 2 Kings 19:15 I. Observe the one plea upon which Hezekiah rests his cause.—He says nothing of himself, and of the services which he had wrought, and the reformation which he had promoted throughout the land. It was but a small matter that Hezekiah and his people

2 Kings 5:11 — SIMPLE, EASY, UNENCUMBERED PLAN!’ ‘But Naaman was wroth, and went away, and said, Behold, I thought, He will surely come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of the Lord his God, and strike his hand over the place, and recover the leper.’ 2 Kings 5:11 Naaman represents human nature, anxious to be blessed by God’s revelation of Himself, yet unwilling to take the blessing except on its own terms: for Naaman saw in Elisha the exponent and prophet of a religion which was, he dimly felt, higher and

2 Chronicles 22:3 — V. How fortunate Samuel! How inexpressibly unfortunate was Ahaziah.—Hannah thanked God for the gift of her boy, and consecrated him early to the Lord. Athaliah waited upon her boy with malign influence, and turned him away from God. Illustrations (1)‘Children are what the mothers are. No fondest father’s fondest care Can fashion so the infant’s heart As those creative beams that dart, With all their hopes and fears, upon The cradle of a sleeping son. His startled eyes with wonder see A father

Psalms 54:1 — THE NAME THAT SAVES ‘Save me, O God, by Thy name.’ Psalms 54:1 I. The appeal of the sinner here is to the name of God.—That name is the expression or revelation of what God is, and of what He is to the sinner. The character of God, as the King eternal, immortal, and invisible, and as the God of all grace, is that

Psalms 85:8 — emphatically ‘folly.’ IV. Peace, the peace of Christ, is a delicate plant.—Do not expose it. Do not trifle with it, but lay it up in your heart’s closest affections. Watch it. Deal tenderly with it. It is your life. —Rev. James Vaughan. Illustrations (1) ‘This eighth verse suggests a duty which we are too prone to forget. Be quiet, O Christian heart! when thou hast prayed. Listen to what the Lord God shall speak to thee. Thou wilt hear a still, small voice in thine heart, for God will speak peace.

Psalms 92:12 — PALM-TREE CHRISTIANS ‘The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree.’ Psalms 92:12 The characteristic thing about the palm-tree Christian, mentioned three times, is that he ‘shall flourish.’ To flourish means four things in such a connection: To grow luxuriantly, to increase and enlarge; to thrive and to be prosperous; to be prominent;

Psalms 95:1 — WORSHIP AND REST ‘O come, let us sing unto the Lord: let us heartily rejoice in the strength of our salvation.… Let us worship and fall down: and kneel before the Lord our Maker.’ Psalms 95:1; Psalms 95:6 (Prayer Book Version) Such is the invitation that Sunday by Sunday and day by day we give one another. We are about to do something joyous, gladsome, and inspiriting, and we wish others to come along with us and share our happiness. We

Psalms 95:6 — WORSHIP AND REST ‘O come, let us sing unto the Lord: let us heartily rejoice in the strength of our salvation.… Let us worship and fall down: and kneel before the Lord our Maker.’ Psalms 95:1; Psalms 95:6 (Prayer Book Version) Such is the invitation that Sunday by Sunday and day by day we give one another. We are about to do something joyous, gladsome, and inspiriting, and we wish others to come along with us and share our happiness. We

Numbers 16:3 — THE PRIESTHOOD ‘Ye take too much upon you, seeing all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them: where fore then lift ye up yourselves above the congregation of the Lord?’ Numbers 16:3 I. This assertion was strictly true.—Every one of the congregation was holy—i.e. separated to the service of God from all other people ( Exodus 19:6, Leviticus 20:24). The Lord, too, was amongst them, as He said, ‘I will dwell among the children

Numbers 21:25 — LIFE AT ITS NOBLEST ‘Israel took all these cities … Israel possessed his land.’ Numbers 21:25; Numbers 21:35 I. ‘The joys of conquest are the joys of man.’—To face hopeless odds without fear, in quiet reliance upon the Divine word; to act strongly, and conquer to the uttermost; and then, knowing that all—both the occasion, the promise,

Numbers 21:35 — LIFE AT ITS NOBLEST ‘Israel took all these cities … Israel possessed his land.’ Numbers 21:25; Numbers 21:35 I. ‘The joys of conquest are the joys of man.’—To face hopeless odds without fear, in quiet reliance upon the Divine word; to act strongly, and conquer to the uttermost; and then, knowing that all—both the occasion, the promise,

Numbers 27:18 — PREPARATION FOR PISGAH ‘Lay thine hand upon him.’ Numbers 27:18 I. Even a good man’s life may be shortened by his sin.—Note the solemn repetition of the statement that Moses’ death was due to his transgression. In government God is ever just and equal. His broken law has no respect for persons. Should zeal for

Deuteronomy 31:23 — MOSES AND JOSHUA ‘(Moses) gave Joshua … a charge.’ Deuteronomy 31:23 I. Moses, the great leader, is about to leave Israel; Joshua, the new leader, was untried, and it is no wonder if their courage began to ebb. But see with what stirring words Moses encourages the people. He points them far above and beyond Joshua,

Deuteronomy 33:25 — mercies. ‘As thy days, so shall thy strength be.’ Never was the most exquisite machine so perfectly adjusted, never was any mathematical proportion so accurate, as each day’s grace is set to the margin of each day’s work. Rev. Jas. Vaughan. Illustration (1) ‘Language seems exhausted in the attempt to describe what God can be to those that trust Him. Now He is a dwelling-place, the home and refuge of the soul. Again, He is a sword and shield. And yet again He is a mother cradling her child. But, after

Deuteronomy 4:39-40 — by fully understanding their teaching and their Bible, while they have remained mere Jews by not understanding it. God’s revelation to the Jews was His boundless message, and not any narrow message of man’s invention. —Canon Kingsley. Illustration (1) ‘Who has a God like my God? I will exult in Him, as Moses exulted. Verily, He is high and lifted up! I will rejoice in His power. I will comfort me in His wisdom. His love shall overshadow me in the heat. Oh, who has a God like my God?’ (2) ‘An idol