Bible Commentaries

Genesis 28:12 — reached to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it. Behold a ladder. — Scala est, piorum in hoc mundo peregrinatio , saith Pareus, after Junius. But besides this interpretation, our Saviour offereth us another, John 1:51 applying it to himself, the true ladder of life, per quem solum in coelum ascendere possimus . He that will go up any other way must, as the emperor once said, erect a ladder and go up alone. He touched heaven, in respect of his Deity; earth, in

Genesis 49:20 — Out of Asher his bread [shall be] fat, and he shall yield royal dainties. Out of Asher his bread shall be fat. — The "heart of the wheat," as the psalmist hath it. Psalms 81:16 Or, choicest bread corn. Moses expoundeth this; Asher shall "dip his foot in oil." Deuteronomy 33:24 That is, he shall dwell in "the horn of the son of oil," as the expression is. Isaiah 5:1 , marg. Or in a very fruitful corn

Genesis 50:17 — servants of the God of thy father. And Joseph wept when they spake unto him. Forgive, I pray thee now. — In this case a man is bound, not only to let fall all wrath and desire of revenge, but to make a solemn profession of hearty forgiveness. Luke 17:4 If the wrongdoer say, "I repent," you must say, "I forgive," as ever you hope to be forgiven of God. Our Saviour Luke 11:4 seems to make our forgiving our trespassers the intervenient cause - that which they call, sine qua non

Genesis 7:1 — And the LORD said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation. For thee have I seen righteous before me. — Not only before men, as Pharisees, Luke 16:15 and civil justiciaries, Romans 2:29 but before me who see the inside, and love "truth in the hidden man of the heart". Psalms 51:6 1 Peter 3:5 And here Noah’s sincerity prevailed with God for his safety, as did likewise Lot’s,

1 Kings 3:1 — brought her into the city of David, until he had made an end of building his own house, and the house of the LORD, and the wall of Jerusalem round about. And Solomon made affinity with Pharaoh. — That his kingdom might the better be established, 1 Kings 2:46 which albeit God had promised, yet Solomon knew that his providence was to be served, and all good means used. And took Pharaoh’s daughter. — After he had first taken Naamah, the Ammonitess, Rehoboam’s mother, a year and

Nehemiah 10:29 — covenant, to keep the Sabbath from polluting it, and choosing the things that please God, as Isaiah 56:4 ; Isaiah 56:6 . And entered into a curse — The more to confirm the oath, and to keep their deceitful hearts close to God. See Deuteronomy 29:12 ; Deuteronomy 29:21 . This is called the oath of God, Ecclesiastes 7:2 . Confer Isaiah 19:18 ; Isaiah 44:5 ; 2 Chronicles 15:12 ; 2 Chronicles 15:14 ; 2 Chronicles 34:31 . To walk in God’s law — Ex gnomone et canone decalogi, to walk accurately

Nehemiah 2:8 — according to the good hand of my God upon me. Keeper of the king’s forest — Heb. Paradise; probably so called for the pleasantness of it. Tho French Protestants called their temple or church at Lyons, Paradise, David’s delight, Psalms 27:1-14 Psalms 84:1-12 . Of the palace that appertained to the house — i.e., to the Temple, which is called the house, by an excellency; as the Scriptures are called the Bible, that is, the Book, as being the only best book, in comparison whereof all

Esther 9:27 — writing, and according to their [appointed] time every year; The Jews ordained, and took upon them, and upon their seed — See Esther 9:23 . Here we have a repetition of what was before recited, and this is usual in Holy Scripture, as Genesis 2:1 Exodus 15:19 , that things of moment may take the deeper impression. That of Austin is here to be remembered, Verba toties inculcata viva sunt, vera sunt, plana sunt, sana sunt. The words are driven home so many times afresh, are true, are plain, are

Job 11:5 — thou canst not be removed and rectified, but by an extraordinary touch from the hand of heaven: oh therefore that God would speak and open his lips against thee, and for us; for so Zophar doubts not but he would do; but if it proved otherwise, Job 42:7-10 , Job was justified, and these three condemned, because they had not spoken of God (or to God, as in this text), the thing that was right, Job 11:7 , but had been Satan’s instruments to discourage Job, and to drive that good man to many passionate

Job 15:27 — given in as one chief cause of his insolence; he is a belly god, he maketh plaits upon the paunch, so Broughton rendereth it; he hath fattened his guts, so Calvin; he maketh it his business to pamper his body; his heart also is as fat as grease, Psalms 119:70 . Bene curavit cutem suam in hoc mundo He takes good care of his skin in this world. (Vat.). He is waxen fat, that is, prosperity proud, and kicketh, Deuteronomy 32:15 . Pride and fulness of bread were Sodom’s twin sins, Ezekiel 16:49 . When

Job 19:28 — is found in me? But ye should say, Why persecute we him? — Nam olim dicitis cur eum persequebamur? (Tigur.) This ye shall one day surely say, "Then shall ye return and discern between the righteous and the wicked," …, Malachi 3:18 . Then shall it repent you (it should do so now) that ye have rated and reviled me for a hypocrite; viz. when God hath cleared mine integrity (as he did, Job 42:10 ), or at the last day howsoever, what time there shall be a resurrection of names as

Job 21:2 — suffer a word of information, for it is but one word that I have to say, …, The Hebrew is singular, and promiseth brevity. Only this one word Job would that they should hear double; sc. by an after deliberate meditation, as David did, Psalms 62:11 , "God hath spoken once; twice have I heard this," … Gravis rationis humanae morbus est, quod plerunque soleat ea damnare quae aut non intelligat, aut non placuerint (Brent.). And let this be your consolations — Comfort me this

Job 23:7 — him — There for then; sc. when God shall put strength into him; the upright or honest man (who draweth near with a true heart, in full assurance of faith, having his heart sprinkled from an evil conscience by the blood of Jesus Christ, Hebrews 10:22 ) might dispute with God, but not unless he have that advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the just one, to appear in the presence of God for him, Hebrews 9:24 , as the lawyer appeareth for his client, to put by and non suit all accusations, to

Job 26:6 — Hell [is] naked before him, and destruction hath no covering. Hell and destruction are before him — Here beginneth a magnificent and stately description of the majesty of God; and, 1. From his omniscience; 2. From his omnipotence. For the first, "Hell and destruction are before him." Not the grave only, but the nethermost hell, that most abstruse part of the universe, and most remote from heaven, God’s court. Of

Job 26:7 — Architas’ or Archimedes’ pigeon, equally poised with his own weight. Of this great wonder the philosophers, after much study, can give no good reason, because ignorant of this, that God hath appointed it so to be, even from the first creation, Psalms 104:5 Hebrews 1:2 . The poets fable that Atlas beareth up heaven with his shoulders; but we confess the true Atlas, viz. the Lord our God, who by his word alone beareth up heaven and earth (This is the very finger of God, Aristotle himself admireth it,

Job 3:13 — had I been at rest, For now should I have lain still and been quiet — Why, but is it not better to be preserved in salt than to putrefy in sugar? to be emptied from vessel to vessel, than to be at ease, and so to settle on the lees? Jeremiah 48:11 ; to be tumbled up and down, as fishes are in the streams of Jordan, than to perish in the Dead Sea? It is not always (if at all) a happiness to lie still and be quiet. Life consists in action; and in all these things is the life of my spirit, saith

Job 4:7 — where were the righteous cut off? Remember, I pray thee, who ever perished, being innocent? — Why? that hath many a one, as the world counteth and calleth perishing: "The righteous perisheth, and no man layeth it to heart," Isaiah 57:1 . And it was given unto the beast, to make war with the saints, and to overcome them, Revelation 13:7 . So it seemed to be, though so it never was, Revelation 12:11 . The first man that died, died for religion, so early came martyrdom into the world;

Job 5:18 — bindeth up — As a surgeon maketh an incision to let out the imposthumed matter, and then heals up the wound again. God hath a salve for every sore, a medicine for every malady; he is both a Father and a Physician, he lanceth us not unless need be, 1 Peter 1:6 . We are judged of the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world. Would we that God should let us alone to perish in our corruptions (as he did Ephraim, Hosea 4:14 ), and not meddle with us? or that he should scarf our bones before

1 Samuel 22:9 — their Aiones and Negones, that will say as they say, and not stick to lick up their very spittle. Coming to Nob, to Ahimelech. — With this Ahimelech Doeg had been, in pretence of great piety, not long before, "detained before the Lord." 1 Samuel 21:7 See Trapp on " 1 Samuel 21:7 " Now he impeacheth him of high treason, making the worst of everything he said or did, as done by way of conspiracy with David against Saul; whose false suspicion of David he hereby confirmed, and

1 Samuel 31:1 — — As they had done, by times, all the days of Saul, whose endless turmoils - as one saith of our King John - kept his body still in action, his mind in passions, and his prowess in use. Now he is to fight his last, and to die for his transgressions, 1 Chronicles 10:13 and, as it maybe feared, in his trangressions, which is worse than to die in a ditch, John 8:21 though Josephus renown him for a martyr to his country, and Pellican send him to heaven. And the men of Israel fled … and fell down