Bible Commentaries

Esther 3:1 — magnify and exalt Haman, Hominem profanum et sceleratum, as one saith, a profane wicked person; merely for his mind sake, to show his sovereignty, and that he would, like some petty god upon earth, set up whom he would, and whom he would, put down, Daniel 4:19 . Alexander the Great made Abdolominus, a poor gardener, king of Sidon. Whether it were also by flattery or sycophancy, or some new projects for establishing his tyranny, and increasing his tributes, that Haman had insinuated himself into this king’s

Esther 3:9 — against the woman, that is, against the Church of God, as in this place. Therefore is Haman to be reckoned among those cruel enemies, who said, Come, and let us destroy them from being a nation, that the name of Israel may be no more remembered, Psalms 83:4 . But let them rage and kill up the saints as much as they can, the sheep will still be more in number than the wolves, the doves than the hawks. Plures efficimur quoties metimur, saith Tertullian, the more you crop us the faster we grow. And I shall

Esther 9:26 — perpetuate the memory of that mercy, worthy to be engraven in pillars of marble. This was a notable name; for it served to remind the Jews of all that God had done for them at this bout. As there is edification in the choice of fit psalms, 1 Corinthians 14:26 , so in the imposing of fit names upon persons, things, and times. As the Christian Sabbath is to good purpose called the Lord’s day; and those festivities of Easter and Whitsuntide were not so fitly called Pasch and Pentecost as the feast

Job 11:12 — him in his pure naturals, he is no wiser; created he was in God’s image, which consisted in knowledge, righteousness, and holiness; knowledge in his understanding, rightness or straightness in his will, and holiness in his affections, Ephesians 4:24 . But since the fall all this is lost and gone quite; he hath principium laesum, neither can he know the things of God, no, though he be φυχικος , a souly man, one that doth excolere animam, develops the

Job 11:2 — audiet? (Vulg.) Yes, Job shall now, or you will want of your will; but if Job have talked more than his part came to (the truth is, his speeches are longer than any of those of his three friends, which are all, except that first made by Eliphaz, Job 4:1-21 Job 5:1-27 , comprehended in one chapter, whereas his take up by two, three, or more), he may well be excused, considering the sharpness of his disease, the ungentleness of his friends, and the sense of God’s displeasure, which his soul laboured

Job 19:25 — earth — Or, Over the earth; to wit, in the air. For there it is probable Christ will sit in the clouds of the air near unto the earth, whither the elect shall be caught up to meet the Lord, and so shall they ever be with the Lord, 1 Thessalonians 4:17 . There the devils shall be subdued and sentenced, where they have ruled and played Rex, Ephesians 2:2 ; see Matthew 24:30 . Some read it, And this (pointing to his body) shall stand up at the last day upon the earth.

Job 33:24 — and salvation, upon the due use of that means. And this is the greatest honour that ever was done to any mere creature. Angels never had such a commission. They indeed are ministers for the good of those that shall be heirs of salvation, Hebrews 1:14 ; but ministers are called Saviours, Obadiah 1:21 1 Timothy 4:16 James 5:20 . I have found a ransom — Or, an atonement; a cover for his sin; as a thing is covered with plaster; or as, under the law, the ark covered the decalogue, the mercy seat

Job 5:9 — nemora culicis et pulicis disponit (Aug.), yea, he useth to be greater in smaller things than in bigger. The soul is more operative in ants than in elephants; in dwarfs than in giants. So he delights to help his people with a little help, Daniel 11:34 (that through weaker means they may see his greatest strength), to magnify his power in pardoning their many and mighty sins, Numbers 14:17-18 Micah 7:18 ; to illustrate his power in their perseverance and wonderful preservation amidst a world of evils

Job 6:4 — the arrows of the Almighty are within me — What marvel, then, though his flesh had no rest, but he was troubled on every side, since without were fightings, within were fears? 2 Corinthians 7:5 . The arrows, not of a mighty man, as Psalms 127:4 , but of an Almighty God; troubles without and terrors within. David felt these arrows, and complaineth of them heavily, Psalms 38:1-2 . "He shall shoot at them with an arrow; suddenly shall they be wounded," saith he of his enemies who had

Psalms 1:5 — shall be cast and condemned. Vix steteris (Terent.). Revelation 6:17 , "For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?" "If the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and sinner appear?" 1 Peter 4:18 . Surely nowhere, but in hell, their own place, Acts 1:25: not before God, for he is a consuming fire, Hebrews 12:29 , and they chaff or stubble, fully dried, see Isaiah 33:14 ; not before Christ, for he shall come in flaming fire, rendering vengeance,

Psalms 14:3 — are all gone aside, they are [all] together become filthy: [there is] none that doeth good, no, not one. They are all gone aside, … — This is God’s own report of the matter, fully answering to that before given in by David, Psalms 14:1 . Good men have the mind of Christ, 1 Corinthians 2:16 , and do fully concur with him in judgment and affection. David was a man after God’s own heart; and the heart of Paul is the heart of Christ, saith Chrysostom. But why, then, doth not David

Psalms 19:12 — to myself, or at least to others. Secondly, That he would keep me from proud and presumptuous sins, Psalms 19:13 . Thirdly, That he would bridle my tongue and mind from speaking, or but thinking, aught that may be offensive to his majesty, Psalms 19:14 . For the first of these, Humanum est, errare et ignorare suum, It is incident to every man to err, and then to be ignorant of his errors (Jun.). Certain it is, that our lives are fuller of sins than the firmament is of stars, or the furnace of sparks.

Psalms 22:1 — those dogs, Psalms 22:16 ) till they came to their kingdoms. David had his share of sharp afflictions, doubtless, when he penned this psalm: witness that graphic description of his greatest grief in all parts and powers of body and soul, Psalms 22:14-16 , … But his mind and thoughts were by God’s Holy Spirit carried out to Christ’s most dolorous and inexpressible sufferings; to the which all his were but as flea bitings, as the slivers or chips of Christ’s cross; and this

Psalms 45:1 — condemned by the Holy Ghost, 1 Kings 11:1-3 , ut per absurdum mihi videatur, illud matrimonium existimare fuisse tantae rei typum, saith learned Beza. Ainsworth rendereth it, A song of the well beloved virgins, friends of the bridegroom and bride, Psalms 45:9 ; Psalms 45:14 , to set forth Christ in his glory, and his Church in her beauty. So, when Jerome had freed the Locrians from the tyranny of Anaxilos and Cleophron, the virgins sang his praise, as is to be read in Pindarus’s Odes; which Politian

Psalms 52:1 — said, David is come to the house of Ahimelech — Few words, but full of poison; leviter volant non leviter vulnerant. Verba Doegi erant pauci, sod multum nocua (Kimchi). See the story more at large 1 Samuel 22:9 . The Rabbis say (from Leviticus 14:44 , where the same word is used of the leprous house, that is here, Psalms 52:5 , of Doeg’s doom) that he was for this fact smitten with leprosy; and afterwards sent to hell, which they gather from Psalms 120:4 (Midrash Tillin). Why boastest

Song of Solomon 2:13 — to make a flourish of goodly words, with Naphtali, but to be fruitful boughs, with Joseph, being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ unto the glory and praise of God. Philippians 1:11 Joseph is a fruitful bough, Genesis 49:22 that is, of the vine, saith the Chaldee paraphrast there. But it may be Jacob meant it of the Egyptian fig tree, whereof Solinus reporteth that it beareth fruit seven times a year. Uno anno septies fructus sufficit. Pull off one fig, and another

Song of Solomon 3:9 — Ephesians 1:18 Of the wood of Lebanon. — See Trapp on " Song of Solomon 1:17 " The saints are the Church’s materials. Romans 1:7 1 Corinthians 1:2 "The precious sons of Zion are comparable to fine gold." Lamentations 4:2 "Her Nazarites are purer than snow, whiter than milk, more ruddy than rubies; their polishing is of sapphire." Song of Solomon 3:7 And yet Bellarmine is not ashamed to say, Nos etiamsi credimus in ecclesia inveniri omnes virtutes, …

Song of Solomon 8:9 — Christ himself being the chief corner stone. Ephesians 2:20 God "plants the heavens, and lays the foundation of the earth, that he may say to Zion, Thou art my people." Isaiah 51:16 None can come to Christ except God the Father draw him. John 6:44 Christ the second person is both "author and finisher of our faith." Hebrews 12:2 The Holy Ghost is "the same Spirit of faith" in David and Paul, 2 Corinthians 4:13 and is received by "the hearing of faith." Galatians

Isaiah 26:19 — [men] shall live, [together with] my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust: for thy dew [is as] the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead. Thy dead men shall rise. — So shall not thine enemies. Isaiah 26:14 This may seem to be Christ’s gracious answer to his poor desponding people; and it is, say some, argumentum a beata resurrectione sumptum, an argument taken from the happy resurrection of the righteous; the wicked also shall be raised at the last

Isaiah 55:2 — men but tasted of God’s bread, they would never set such a price upon dove’s dung. Had they drunk of Christ’s wine, (which is beyond the best nectar or ambrosia), they would never thirst again after the world’s delights; John 4:14 which are such as whereof a man may break his neck before his fast. Ecclesiastes 1:8 “ Clitorio quicunque sitim de fonte levarit, Vina fugit, gaudetque meris abstemius undis. ” - Ovid. Metam., lib. xv. And your labour for that which satisfieth