Bible Commentaries

Genesis 1:5 — hurry; night ìéìä , from the yelling of wild beasts. Darkness he created not, but only by accident; and yet not that, without some notable use. Much less that darkness of affliction which he is said to "create". Isaiah 45:7 "Unto the upright there ariseth light in darkness," Psalms 112:4 yea, light by darkness, as to Paul, whose bodily blindness opened the eyes of his mind. Luther said that God’s works are effected usually by contraries. Laertius. Opera

Genesis 1:9 — gathered, … — The water, they say, is ten times greater than the earth, as is the air ten times greater than the water, and the fire than the air. Sure it is, that the proper place of the water is to be "above the earth". Psalms 104:6 Sailors tell us that as they draw nigh to shore, when they enter into the haven, they run as it were downhill. "The waters stood above the mountain," till (at God’s rebuke here) they "fled, and hasted away at the voice of his

Genesis 20:6 — Non prorsus vacare culpa qui humano modo puri sunt . He can find flaws in that for which we may look for thanks. This makes Nehemiah crave pardon of his zealous reformations; and David cries out, "Enter not into judgment," … Psalms 143:2 Sordet in conspectu iudicis, quod fulget in conspectu operantis , saith Gregory. "Ye are they that justify yourselves before men," saith Christ to the Pharisees; "but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among

Genesis 32:28 — "the girdle of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the shoes of peace" and patience, "the shield of faith, the helmet of hope"; or those of offence, as, "the sword of the spirit," and the darts of prayer. Ephesians 6:14 At no place must we lie open; for our enemy is a serpent. If he can but bite the heel, he will transfuse his venom to the heart and head. God’s "Spirit" in us "sets up a standard". Isaiah 59:19 The apostle sounds the alarm,

Nehemiah 9:17 — water works formerly; or against a viperous brood among ourselves, here of late? And in their rebellion appointed a captain — They once talked (in their mad mood) of doing such a thing, and therefore they are here said to have done it, Numbers 14:4 ; like as Joshua 24:9 , it is said that Balak arose and fought with Israel; and yet the story saith no such matter. But if he did not, yet because he thought and talked of such a matter, it was a done thing before the Lord! But thou art a God ready

Job 12:16 — his — This Job produceth as a proof of God’s insuperable strength and unsearchable wisdom, that he hath an over ruling hand in the artifices and sleights of men, even the "cunning craftiness" (as the apostle speaketh), Ephesians 4:14 , "whereby they lie in wait to deceive." These he not only and barely permitteth in his just judgment upon the deceived (whether through ignorance or idleness), but disposeth, also, and ordereth both the deceiver and the deceived (whether

Job 9:4 — should turn him out of the track of justice? Let God be just and true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome (or be clear) when thou judgest, or when thou art judged, Psalms 51:4 Romans 3:4 ; for at the same time that God doth judge, or execute judgment upon any, he may also be said to be judged; whilst men pass their censures, either as applauding or disliking his judgments; and then may he be said to overcome, when judged,

Proverbs 30:7 — suitor begs a denial. Agur therefore re-enforceth his request: it was honest, else he would never have begun it; but being so, he is resolved to follow it. So doth David with his "one thing" which he did desire, and he would desire, Psalms 27:4 he would never give it over. So Jacob would have a blessing, and therefore wrestles with might and slight; and this he doth in the night and alone, and when God was leaving him, and upon one leg. He had a hard pull of it, and yet he prevailed. "Let

Hosea 12:4 — Sí, tuvo poder sobre el ángel, y prevaleció; lloró y le suplicó: lo encontró [en] Betel, y allí habló con nosotros; Ver. 4. Sí, tenía poder sobre el ángel ] Ese ángel del pacto, Malaquías 3:1 , el ángel del gran concilio (μεγαλης βουλης αγγελος), como los Setenta interpretan a Isaías 9:6 , el Señor Cristo, que redimió a Jacob. de todo mal, Génesis 48:16 , y se llama

Hosea 9:14 — is 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

Amos 6:4 — couches, melting in sensual pleasures. Kατασπαταλωντες . Lascivientes. Deliciantes. Compare 1 Timothy 5:6 James 5:5 . God grudgeth not his people an honest affluence, Psalms 23:4 , but granteth them all things richly to enjoy, 1 Timothy 6:17 . Howbeit he requireth them to be sober and watch; not making provision for the flesh, to live after the lusts thereof, but walking decently as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness,

Micah 4:7 — armour of proof that the saints have about their hearts, which maketh them insuperable, more than conquerors. And the Lord shall reign over them in mount Zion — i.e. In the Christian Church, out of which went the law, that is, the gospel, Micah 4:2 . See Isaiah 40:9 ; Isaiah 52:7 Hebrews 12:22 . There shall Christ reign, and so he did ever: but now he shall declare himself to be "Messiah the Prince," Daniel 9:25 , Lord and Christ, Acts 2:36 , Saviour and Sovereign. As King Hebrews

Micah 7:14 — [in] the wood, in the midst of Carmel: let them feed [in] Bashan and Gilead, as in the days of old. Feed thy people with thy rod — Rule them with thy sceptre, or feed them with thy pedum pastorale, thy shepherd’s rod, or staff, Psalms 23:4 . This, say some, is the speech of God the Father to God the Son, or (as others), of God to the ministers and pastors, charging them to take heed to his flock, and to feed his Church; but it seems rather to be a prayer of the Christian Church (seeing

Micah 7:19 — and our God, Isaiah 59:2 , and made him send us far away into captivity; yet he will turn again and yearn toward us, he will turn again our captivity as the streams in the south. His compassions are more than fatherly, Psalms 103:13 ; motherly, Isaiah 49:15 ; brotherly, Hebrews 2:12 . This the Church knows, and therefore cries after him, "Make haste, my beloved, and be thou like to a roe or to a young hart," Song of Solomon 8:14 , which when it fleeth looketh behind it, saith the Chaldee

Zechariah 10:1 — disolviéndose poco a poco por el calor del sol, deja caer la lluvia a gotas de la región media del aire. Esto, si llega a su debido tiempo y medida, hace mucho para el engorde de la tierra, Salmo 65:11 , apaga el calor, nutre la hierba y el árbol, Isaías 44:14 , refresca a todas las criaturas, hierba, frutos, Levítico 26:4 Jam 5:18 Isaías 30:23 . Entonces, si de otra manera, resulta un gran castigo, Joel 1:10,11 ; Joel 1:17 ; Joel 1:19 . Había gran expectación en Judea y en las partes orientales

Zechariah 2:9 — Jerjes solía armar su tienda en lo alto y se quedaba mirando a su ejército cuando estaba en combate), se oirá a los filisteos gritar: "Dios ha venido al campamento. ¡Ay de ¡nosotros! ¿Quién nos librará de las manos de estos dioses poderosos? " 1 Samuel 4:8 . Pero si una vez estrecha su mano (esa mano poderosa, como la llama Santiago, que abarca los cielos y sacude los cimientos de la tierra), cuánto más si golpea con la mano y golpea con el pie (como el profeta en otro caso, Ezequiel 6:11 , y como

Zechariah 8:10 — del enemigo (ver algo similar en 2 Crónicas 15: 5), sí comió el pan de su alma en el peligro de su vida, estar totalmente a merced del enemigo, que es mera crueldad. "Porque si un hombre encuentra a su enemigo, ¿lo dejará irse?" dijo Saúl, 1 Samuel 24:19; Creo que no, hasta que tenga su centavo de él; como ese monstruo de Milán, como los papistas sangrientos en la masacre de París, como los españoles despiadados sobre los indios inofensivos (50.000.000 de los cuales han asesinado en 42 años, como

Deuteronomy 32:15 — apples and fruits, Repugnante contra temet ipsam tua faelicitate, saith Salvian: Salvian, lib. i, /@ad Eccles. Catholic./@ to the Church in his time; thy prosperity is thy bane. And Cum ipsis opibus lascivere coepit ecclesia, saith Platina; In Benedict. 4. The Church began to be rich and wanton at once. Religio peperit divitias, et filia devoravit matrem: Religion brought forth riches, and the daughter soon devoured the mother, saith Augustine. The much wool on the sheep’s back is ofttimes his

1 Thessalonians 5:17 — actually upon God, as, 1. His daily morning and evening sacrifice, the neglect or non-performance whereof the Jews counted and called an "abomination of desolation." 2. The sanctification of creatures, calling, and relations. 3. New mercies. 4. New infirmities. 5. Variety of crosses. 6. Faintness of faith, spiritual desertions, temptations of Satan. 7. Sweetness of meditation. 8. Forethought of his last account, … Neither let any say we cannot awhile; for, 1. "A whet is no let;"

James 1:5 — not upon God; it is stupidity of sense, not a solidity of faith; a reckless desperation, not a confident resolution: such was that patience put forth by Mithridates of old, and by Baltasar Gerardus the Burgundian, that slew the Prince of Orange, 1584, and for the same endured very grievous torments. True patience is the fruit of prayer; this wisdom from above is one of those perfect gifts that cometh down from the "Father of lights," who is therefore called the "God of patience and