Bible Commentaries

Genesis 32:24 — And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day. And Jacob was left alone. — Purposely, for secret prayer: so the Church gets her into "the clefts of the rocks"; Song of Solomon 2:14 Isaac, into the fields; Daniel, to the river’s side; Christ, into the mount; Peter, up to the roof, or house top; that they might pour out their prayers and solace themselves with God in secret. This a hypocrite may seem to do, either of custom

Proverbs 30:5 — recorded in Scripture, and far better worthy than ever Pindar’s seventh ode was to be written in letters of gold. Oda septima Pind. tantae fuit admirationis apud Rhodios ut fuerit scripta in templo aureis literis, … - Joh. Manl., Loc. Com., 414. Every word of God is pure, purer than "gold tried in the fire," Revelation 3:18 purer than "silver tried in a furnace, and seven times purified." Psalms 12:6 Julian, therefore, that odious apostate, is not to be hearkened to, who

Ecclesiastes 11:7 — sweet; which made the Gibeonites make such a hard shift to live, though it were but to be hewers of wood and drawers of water. "I pray thee let me live," live upon any terms, said Benhadad, in his submissive message to that merciful nonsuch. 1 Kings 20:32 "If I have found favour in thy sight, O king, and if it please the king, let my life be given me at my petition," said that καλη και σοφη , that paragon of her time,

Song of Solomon 3:3 — about the city found me: [to whom I said], Saw ye him whom my soul loveth? The watchmen that go about the city found me, — i.e., The angels, who are God’s watchmen εγρηγοροι . Daniel 4:10 Ezekiel 33:2 over the world, and are so called somewhere in Scripture, as also ministering spirits, guardians of the saints, … But here I conceive are meant either those princes of the world, strangers to the mystery of Christ, 1 Corinthians

Song of Solomon 5:10 — refert divinam Christi naturam, rubor humanam. White and red may signify Christ’s Godhead and manhood. God is called the "Ancient of days"; Daniel 7:9 his "head and his hairs are white like wool, as white as snow." Revelation 1:14 Man had his name Adam of the red earth, out of which he was taken. Genesis 2:7 Christ also, the second Adam, became red with his own blood, whereby he "purchased the Church" Acts 20:28 - a bloody spouse she was unto him - and paved for

Daniel 4:30 — prince in him of a man more than his voice and shape? Is not this great Babylon Urbem suam opponit coelo, eamque pro coelo habet. that I have built? — Why, no; it was built over a thousand years before you were born: Joseph. Antiq., lib. xvi. cap. 1l. you have only beautified and fortified it. It is God that buildeth the city. Psalms 127:1 And they were your ancestors, Nimrod and Ninus, whom he made use of for that purpose. Why, then, should you rob him of his glory, and them of their right, by

Hosea 12:3 — desirous he showed himself so soon of that desirable privilege and the promises annexed. Whence we may learn (saith one) that God taketh care even of unborn babes, that belong to him, and worketh strangely in them sometimes, as he did in the Baptist, Luke 1:44 , the child leaped in the womb, by a supernatural motion; he leaped more like a suckling at the breast, as the word signifieth, than an unborn embryo. Mention had been made in the former verse of the name of Jacob; here we have the etymology, or

Hosea 9:14 — the property of gracious spirits to be more sensible of, and more deeply affected with, the calamities that are coming upon the wicked, than those wicked ones themselves are; as Daniel was for Nebuchadnezzar, whose dream he had interpreted, Daniel 4:19 , and as Habakkuk was for the Chaldeans, whose destruction he had afore prophesied, Habakkuk 3:16 . Hosea likewise (out of great commiseration of Ephraim’s direful and dreadful condition) sets himself to pray for them; though himself seems set

Hosea 9:17 — My God will cast them away, because they did not hearken unto him: and they shall be wanderers among the nations. My God will cast them away — My God, not their God, for they are castaways and apostates; see the like, 1 John 5:17 , and learn to stick to God the closer when others start from him; and to secure our own interest in a general defection, by siding with God, and subscribing, as here the prophet doth, to his perfect righteousness in the rejection and destruction

Amos 5:16 — the matter, the prophet here heapeth up three majestic names of God; that they might tremble and turn, considering the greatness of him with whom they here have to do, being "glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders," Exodus 15:11 . Wailing shall be in all streets, … — A general outcry, as once in Egypt, when in every house there was a dead corpse; or, as at the taking and sacking of Troy there was “ Luctus ubique, pavor, et plurima morris imago ”(

Amos 6:4 — themselves upon their couches, and eat the lambs out of the flock, and the calves out of the midst of the stall; That lie upon beds of ivory — Which was a commodity far fetched (even out of India), and dearly bought; precious and sumptuous, Ezekiel 27:15 . The wealthier sort used to deck their houses with such kind of beds decked with ivory ( lectis eburatis, as Plautus phraseth it), as Esther 1:6 , with gold and silver; hence their houses are called houses of ivory, Amos 3:15 1 Kings 22:39 . See Plin.

Amos 7:10 — the Pope and his shavelings were therefore so sharp set against Luther because he lifted at the triple crown, and sought to bring down the monks’ fat paunches. The land is not able to bear all his words — His burdensome prophecies, Malachi 1:1 See Trapp on " Malachi 1:1 " much less can I endure them, or any faithful servant of thine, true to his trust. Such a lying accusation we read of, Esther 3:8 , made by haughty Haman against the innocent Jews, that they kept not the king’s

Amos 8:14 — up again. They that swear by the sin of Samaria — i.e. By the calf set up at Bethel, not far from Samaria. This calf is called the sin, or guilt, of Samaria, to show the abomination of it; for which cause also Paul calls it sinful sin, Romans 7:13 , as not finding for it a worse epithet; and antichrist for like cause he calleth "that man of sin," 2 Thessalonians 2:3 , to note him merum scelus, pure wickedness, saith Beza, merely made up of sin. Now, to swear by this of Samaria was

Jonah 1:1 — Now the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, Now the word of the Lord came — Heb. And the word For with that particle "And" the Hebrews sometimes begin a discourse, as Ezekiel 1:1 Leviticus 1:1 , an elegance proper to that tongue. Howbeit Hugo Cardinalis maketh this "And," not an inceptive particle, but a copulative to many other things that were in the prophet’s mind. Others conceive it to be continuative of

Jonah 1:12 — Chrysostom, who saith, That to seek the public good of the Church, and to prefer the salvation of others before a man’s private profit, is the most perfect canon of Christianism, the very top gallant of religion, the highest point and pitch of piety. In 1 Corinthians 11:1-34 τουτο ορος ηκριβωμενος αυτη η κορυφη η ανωτατω

Micah 3:4 — their doings. Then shall they cry unto the Lord, but he will not hear them — Then, sc. when God shall have changed their cheer, pulled the fat morsel from between their teeth, and fed them with the bread of affliction and water of affliction, 1 Kings 22:27 , with prisoners’ pittance, as they call it, which will neither keep them alive nor suffer them to die; then shall they cry and whine as hogs when hungry, as dogs when tied up from their meat; but God will not hear them. He will even

Micah 4:7 — will make her that halted a remnant, and her that was cast far off a strong nation: and the LORD shall reign over them in mount Zion from henceforth, even for ever. And I will make her that halted a remnant — Yea, a renowned remnant, Zephaniah 3:19 . Not many Jews were converted in comparison to the Gentiles; hence they are called a remnant. They both killed the Lord Jesus and their own prophets; they have also persecuted us, saith the apostle, or cast us out, as by an ostracism; and they "please

Micah 5:12 — changing or turning; and is used for unlawful devilish arts and artisans: ëשׁó hence βασκαινω , fascino, to bewitch. It is also applied to false teachers and their magic acts, Galatians 3:1-29: 1 Kings 18:23 . See a like promise Zechariah 13:2 . See Trapp on " Zechariah 13:2 " See Malachi 3:5 . See Trapp on " Malachi 3:5 " And thou shalt have no more soothsayers — Or star gazers, diviners, fortune tellers. One

Micah 6:1 — and pathetic preface, wherein he woos their attention: Audite quaeso, Hear, I pray you. Ministers are spokesmen for Christ, and must therefore give good words: and yet remembering on whose errand they come, it is required that they be found faithful, 1 Corinthians 4:2 . Arise, contend thou — Surge, age, O Micah! Debate thou God’s cause against this rebellious and ungrateful people, as it were in judgment; calling all, even the insensible creatures, to be judges. See the like Deuteronomy

Matthew 2:6 — relation to him ennobleth whatsoever place or person, and may justly comfort us against whatsoever troubles. The prophet Micah, whose words are here cited, opposeth the birth of this babe of Bethlehem to all the troops and troubles of Assyria, Micah 5:1-2 . For out of thee shall come a Governor — No sooner is this Child born, this Son given to us, bug the "government is laid upon his shoulder," Isaiah 9:6 , as the key of the house of David was upon Eliakim’s, Isaiah 22:22 . Send