Bible Commentaries

Isaiah 42:1 — weight of his Mediatorship, and the importable burden of my wrath, which he must suffer for a season. Some render it "whom I lean upon." See 2 Kings 5:18 ; 2 Kings 7:2 ; 2 Kings 7:13 . Mine elect, or choice one. — Cyrus was so. Isaiah 43:10 John 6:27 ; John 6:29 ; John 10:36 See the notes on Matthew 12:18 . Cyrus was so singular a man, saith Herodotus, Herod., lib. iii. that no Persian ever held himself worthy to be compared unto him. And of his court Xenophon Xenoph. Cyrop., lib.

Isaiah 48:1 — a curse upon me, and not a blessing." Genesis 27:12 It is sure enough. And are come forth out of the waters Pro îîé videtur hic legendum îîòé of Judah, — i.e., Out of the bowels, as Genesis 15:4 as waters out of a spring. Deuteronomy 33:28 Psalms 68:26 Judah was the tribe royal: hence they so gloried, and remained "ruling with God, and faithful with the saints," when other tribes revolted. Which swear by the name of the Lord. —

Isaiah 53:8 — taken from distress and torment into glory when he had cried, Consummatum est, It is finished; and, Father, into thy hands I commit my spirit. The Seventy render it somewhat otherwise, as may be seen, Acts 8:33 . The apostle Peter explaineth it, Acts 2:24 . And who shall declare his generation? — Or, Who can reckon his age or his race? Or, Who can utter or describe his generation? i.e., the wickedness of the men of those times he lived in. Or, the history of his life and death. Some understand

Isaiah 56:11 — they know not to be satisfied. Lac et luna, is that they look for; the "instruments of a foolish shepherd," forcipes et mulctra, the shears and milk pail are in their hand; Zechariah 11:15 they eat the fruit and drink the milk; as Ezekiel 25:4 yea, they eat the fat, and tear the claws in pieces. Zechariah 11:16 Albertus Magnus complained heavily of the covetousness of pastors in his time. Temporalia colliguntper se, spiritualia seminant per alios saith he on Matthew 10:16 ; Midas secundum

Jeremiah 31:34 — shall all know me. — All mine elect shall know me in some competent measure: know the principles, Hebrews 6:1-2 and go on unto perfection, ib. For I will forgive their iniquities. — In heaven, and in their own consciences also, Zechariah 3:4 provided that they put this and the like promises in suit by their prayers. Malachi 3:16 Augustine, Mr Perkins, and Archbishop Ussher expired with crying for mercy and forgiveness.

Jeremiah 45:1 — Jeremiah’s prophecies, and then read them to the people, and afterwards to the princes. For this piece of work he expected belike some good piece of preferment, as the apostles also did for their forsaking all and following Christ. Matthew 18:1-4 ; Matthew 19:27-30 ; Matthew 20:21-29 , … Thus flesh will show itself in the best, and in many things we offend all. But instead of any such thing, Baruch, together with his master, Jeremiah, was sought for to be slaughtered; and besides, he

Jeremiah 5:7 — why? it is a forsaking of him, a giving away his honour to another, a disgrace done to a man’s self - since we always "swear by the greater," Hebrews 6:16 and a means to procure his utter ruin, without God’s greater mercy. Amos 6:14 Zephaniah 1:3-5 Men sport themselves with oaths, as the Philistines did with Samson, which will at last pull the house about their ears. Zechariah 5:4 When I fed them to the full, they then committed adultery. — Fulness in good men oft breeds

Jeremiah 9:2 — wicked courses are a continual eyesore and heartbreak unto me? For they are all adulterers. — Both corporal and spiritual. An assembly of treacherous. — A pack of perfidious wretches; a rabble of rebels conspiring against heaven. Isaiah 1:4

Joel 1:19 — "Thy hand is lifted up" in threatening, and will fall down in punishing, but "they will not see," Isaiah 26:11 , they will not search, they will not have their eyes (like the windows in Solomon’s temple) broad inward, 1 Kings 6:4 ; the eyes of their minds are as ill set (for this matter) as the eyes of their bodies, they see not what is within. But whatever they do, "my soul shall weep in secret for their pride, and mine eyes shall weep sore," …, Jeremiah 13:17

Joel 2:14 — — This is not the speech of one that doubteth and is uncertain, as was that of David, 1 Samuel 12:22 , who can tell that God will have mercy on me, that the child may live but of one earnestly affirming and avouching, as was that of Mordecai, Esther 4:14 , "And who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?" q.d. It is sure thou art. And it is no less sure that if men turn to God he will turn to them, Zechariah 1:3 ; and that whithersoever he comes, he leaves

Joel 3:5 — things: Because ye have taken my silver, … — Sacrilege is a second sin they here stand charged with. Ye have taken, that is, taken away (by which observation, ye shall easily reconcile the Psalmist, Psalms 68:19 , with the apostle, Ephesians 4:8 , saith Tarnovius here), my silver and my gold; vessels consecrated to my use and service; or mine, that is, my people’s, whom ye have robbed; but it shall not thrive with you; it shall prove as the gold of Toulouse (Aurum Tholosanum), fatal

Amos 1:6 — Deuteronomy 2:23 1 Samuel 6:17 , and not so first called by Cambyses, making it his magazine when he marched against Egypt, as Mela would persuade us. I will not turn away — Or I will not convert them, as some render it, so Amos 1:2 ; Amos 1:1 ; Amos 1:4 ; Amos 1:6 i.e. non reducam ad misericordiam suam, I will show them no mercy; but they shall have "an evil, an only evil," Ezekiel 7:5 , without mixture of mercy. This is punishment enough. Because they carried away captive the whole captivity

Amos 5:14 — Seek good, and not evil, that ye may live: and so the LORD, the God of hosts, shall be with you, as ye have spoken. Seek good, and not evil, that ye may live — See Amos 5:4 ; Amos 5:6 . Oh seek, seek, seek, saith our prophet; as some of the martyrs cried out, Pray, pray, pray: Mr Sanders and Mrs Askew repeated those words two different times together, Mr Marsh once, adding, Never more need. To seek God is to seek good,

Amos 7:8 — west," Psalms 103:12 , so that he beholdeth no sin in Jacob nor perverseness in Israel, Numbers 22:21 . The Church, privy to her own infirmities, calleth herself black, Song of Solomon 1:5 , but Christ calleth her fair all over, Song of Solomon 4:7 . She saith, God hath punished us less than our sins, Ezra 9:13 . He saith, She hath received double for her sins, Isaiah 40:2 . Too much, saith God; too little, saith she. O beautiful contention! But this is a privilege proper to the communion of

Jonah 2:1 — thanksgiving is a special part of prayer? This therefore is prayer. Jonah having prayed, and perceiving that he was heard, and by the goodness of God preserved safe in body and sound in mind, he grows "strong in faith, giving glory to God," Romans 4:20 , and being fully persuaded that he should yet walk before him again in the land of the living. Out of the fish’s belly — Where, though he might seem buried alive, and free among the dead, yet he enjoyed God’s gracious presence,

Micah 1:11 — shame naked: the inhabitant of Zaanan came not forth in the mourning of Bethezel; he shall receive of you his standing. Pass ye away, thou inhabitant of Saphir — Or, thou that dwellest fairly, as it were in a city set with sapphires, see Isaiah 54:11 , such as was Susa in Persia, and Antioch in Syria, a city so sweet and specious that Mahomet never dared come into it, lest he should be there detained by the pleasure of the place. Saphir here (say some) may allude to Samaria, that instead of her

Micah 1:2 — Jews; speaking to God as a righteous judge and swift witness, Iudex, Iudex, vindex, against them if they hearkened not to his message: nisi pareant, ideoque pereant. The Lord from his holy temple — That is, let him testify from heaven, Psalms 11:4 , that he is displeased with you, and that I have carefully sought your soul’s health. Or, from his temple at Jerusalem, wherein ye glory, and where ye think ye have him as fast bound to you as the Tyrians had their idol Apollo, whom they chained

Micah 3:10 — They build up Zion with blood, and Jerusalem with iniquity. They build up Zion with blood — Heb. bloods, that is, with goods gotten by rapine and robbery, to the utter undoing of many poor oppressed, whose livelihood is their life, Mark 12:44 Luke 8:43 . How much better Selimus, the Great Turk, who, being upon his death bed moved by Pyrrhus, the basha, to bestow the great wealth taken by him from the Persian merchants upon some notable hospital for relief of the poor, took order that those

Zechariah 11:4 — how careful was he ever to raise them up "seven shepherds, and eight principal men," Micah 5:5 , till at length he sent the man Christ Jesus, who is the chief of ten thousand, the "chief Shepherd," as St Peter calls him, 1 Peter 5:4 , that one and only Shepherd, as Solomon, Ecclesiastes 12:11 , that great Shepherd of the sheep, as Paul, Hebrews 13:20 , who came to look up the lost sheep of the house of Israel, whom (to move compassion and affection) he here calleth the sheep of

Zechariah 8:23 — bruised with the serpent, as the modern Jews say of us. "Come unto me," saith Christ. "Therefore, my brethren dearly beloved and longed for, my joy and crown, so stand fast in the Lord, my dearly beloved," saith Paul, Philippians 4:1 . We will go with you — Be of your religion; not for fear, or any other alterior motive, as those Persians, Esther 8:17 . Josephus relates of the Jews, that they were very careful how they received proselytes in Solomon’s time (because