Bible Commentaries

Psalms 119:9 — BETH. Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed [thereto] according to thy word. Wherewithal shall a young man — Semipuer, a lad, a stripling, who hath his name in Hebrew of tossing to and fro; confer Ephesians 4:14 , and the same word signifieth youth and tow, Isaiah 1:31 , or rather the shreds that fall from tow and flax, when whiffied; to note the vanity of youth, and its aptness to be enkindled, when once affections begin to boil within them. The Greek word

Psalms 63:1 — flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is; When he was in the wilderness of Judah — That is, of Idumea, saith Genebrard, which bordered upon the tribe of Judah; but better understand it either of the forest of Hareth, 1 Samuel 22:5 , or of the wilderness of Ziph, 1 Samuel 23:14 , where David was, In deserto desertus exul, et omnis fere consolationis inept, not only destitute of outward comforts, but in some desertion of soul; Et sic miserrimus, et calamitosissimus

Proverbs 11:18 — The wicked worketh a deceitful work: but to him that soweth righteousness [shall be] a sure reward. The wicked worketh a deceitful work. — By defrauding his genius, and afflicting his flesh, as Proverbs 11:17 he thinks he doth a very good work. Some emperors have left their thrones, and thrust [themselves] into a monastery, there to macerate themselves with much fasting and coarse clothing, out of an opinion of promoting their soul’s health thereby.

Proverbs 14:22 — and delve it, that whet their wits and beat their brains about it - do not these err? Are they not heavenly wide, Toto errant caelo. utterly out? Shall they not miss their purpose, and meet with disappointment? Witness those Babel-builders, Genesis 11:1-9 those kill-Christs, Psalms 2:1-12 those state traitors, Sheba, Shebna, …, various English traitors who drew their last thread in the triangle of Tyburn. Knute, the first Danique king, caused the false Edric’s head to be set on the

Proverbs 16:32 — of that which the Romans made with the Samnites; a peace worse than war, as Augustine De Civ. Dei., lib. iii. cap. 28. saith of the peace brought in by Sulla. Men must be at deadly feud with those "lusts that war in their members," James 4:1 "fighting against their souls." 1 Peter 2:11 These to conquer is the noblest and most signal victory, since in subduing these we overcome the devil, Ephesians 4:26 James 4:7 as in yielding to them, we "give place" to him, and entertain

Proverbs 20:27 — holds affinity with the Hebrew Shamajim, Heaven, so it doth with the Latin word mens, the mind, or reasonable soul, which indeed is that light that is in us by an excellence, Matthew 6:23 that "spirit of a man that knows the things of a man," 1 Corinthians 2:11 that candle that is in a man’s belly or body, as in a lantern, making the least mote perspicuous. This is true by a specialty of that divine faculty of the soul, conscience, which is frequently called the "spirit of a man,"

Proverbs 8:13 — The fear of the LORD [is] to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate. The fear of the Lord. — Which is a high point of heavenly wisdom, Proverbs 1:7 to the praise whereof this therefore appertaineth. There are those who make this verse an explanation of the former, thus: I find out the knowledge of witty inventions, such as are the fear of the Lord, the hatred of evil, yea, of inward evils, as

Ecclesiastes 5:6 — soul. Say to it in this case, as Christ did to those Pharisees in the gospel, "Why temptest thou me, thou hypocrite?" or as the witch said to Saul, that sought to her, "Wherefore layest thou a snare for my life, to cause me to die?" 1 Samuel 28:9 Shall my prayer become sin, and my religious vows, through non-payment, a cause of a curse? Psalms 109:7 When thou art making such an ill bargain, say to thy mouth, as Boaz said to his kinsman, "At what time thou buyest it, thou must

Ecclesiastes 9:18 — as an Achan in the army, as a Jonah in the ship, a trouble-town, a common mischief, a traitor to the state; especially if he be an eminent man, as Jeroboam, that ringleader of rebellion, and Manasseh, who "made Judah also to sin," 2 Kings 21:11 and so brought such evil upon them, that whosoever heard of it, "both his ears tingled." Ecclesiastes 9:12 Great men’s sins do more hurt (1.) By imitation; for Regis ad exemplnm, …; ( 2.) By imputation, for plectuntur Achivi;

Song of Solomon 4:5 — specified) is signified, that the spirit of regeneration worketh upon the whole man in all manner of virtue. Holiness in the heart, as the candle in the lantern, appears in the body, and every member thereof. Spirit, soul, and body are sanctified throughout, 1 Thessalonians 5:23 like as the most holy place, the sanctuary, and the outer court of Solomon’s temple, were filled with the cloud. The Church’s breasts here are said to be fair, full, and equally matched. Hereby some understand the two

Isaiah 57:15 — to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones. For thus saith the high and lofty One. — Higher than the highest; so high, that he is said to "humble himself to behold things done in heaven"; Psalms 113:6 to look out of himself upon the saints and angels there. He is a God, saith one, whose nature is majesty, whose place is immensity, whose time is eternity, whose life is sanctity, whose power is omnipotence, whose work is mercy, whose wrath is justice,

Lamentations 2:1 — footstool in the day of his anger! How hath the Lord covered the daughter of Zion witha cloud! — Heb., With a thick cloud: nothing like that bright cloud wherein he appeared to his people, as a token of his grace, at the dedication of the temple. 1 Kings 8:10 How comes it about, and what may be the reason for it? Oh in what a wonderful manner and by what strange means hath the Lord now clouded and covered his people (whom he had established as Mount Zion) with blackest calamities and confusions,

Ezekiel 47:10 — shall be according to their kinds, as the fish of the great sea, exceeding many. The fishers shall stand upon it. — Upon the Dead Sea, where formerly they had little enough to do. This sea is the wide world dead in sins and trespasses. Ephesians 2:1 These fishers are Christ’s apostles and ministers, who are called fishers of men, Matthew 4:19 and their preaching compared to fishing. Matthew 13:47 They fish with various success, as did Peter; Luke 5:5 but may enclose a great multitude, as

Ezekiel 47:12 — be for meat, and the leaf thereof for medicine. Shall grow all trees for meat. — Arbores esibiles; these are Cρηστοι , useful Christians, such as whose lips are feeding, and their tongues trees of life. Proverbs 11:30 ; Proverbs 15:4 See Trapp on " Proverbs 11:30 " See Trapp on " Proverbs 15:4 " Whose leaf shall not fade. — They will not fail to make a bold and wise profession of the truth. See on Psalms 1:3 Jeremiah 17:8 . Neither shall

Joel 3:12 — be wakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat: for there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about. Let the heathen be awakened — Here begins God’s answer to the prophet’s prayer. The heathen, though at ease, Zechariah 1:11 , and fast asleep, must be aroused and assembled to the valley of Jehoshaphat, where God the righteous Judge (at the prophet’s request reminding him of his promise, "I am come for thy words," saith he to Daniel, Daniel 10:12 ) gets

Amos 4:8 — glad to keep rain water in cisterns for all uses; being much afflicted with thirst and drought, if it rain not. But they were not satisfied — Either because there was not enough to be had; or by a singular curse of unsatisfiableness, see Haggai 1:6 . See Trapp on " Haggai 1:6 " Yet have ye not returned unto me — Usque ad me, so far as me. You have made some faint overtures and essays of returning, but they have not reached out unto me; they have not amounted to the full measure

Amos 8:8 — this — q.d. So great are the oppressions here exercised, that the very axle of the earth is even ready to crack under them. Amaziah, that hedge priest of Bethel, had said of our prophet, that the land was not able to bear all his words, Amos 7:10 , but Amos more truly affirmeth, that the land trembled under their many and mighty sins, and could bear them no longer; the earthquake happened about this time, Amos 1:1 , and it was a just wonder, that the earth had not opened her wide mouth, and

Obadiah 1:19 — possess the fields of Ephraim, and the fields of Samaria: and Benjamin [shall possess] Gilead. And they of the south shall possess the mount of Esau — Those of the south, that is, the tribe of Judah. For Judaea was divided into five parts, Joshua 15:1-63 , whereof one was southward, toward the coast of Edom, Joshua 15:21 . Another was in the vale or plain, near unto the Philistines, Joshua 15:33 . Here, then, Obadiah showeth that the Jews shall not only recover their ancient inheritances, but

Jonah 4:11 — more than sixscore thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; and [also] much cattle? And should not I spare Nineveh — I, who am all bowels ( Ego emphaticum. Mercer); I, who am a sin pardoning God, Nehemiah 10:31 , none like me for that, Micah 7:18 ; I, who am "the Father of mercies, and God of all comfort," 2 Corinthians 1:3 , whose property and practice it is to comfort "those that are cast down," 2 Corinthians 7:6 ; I, who am so transcendently

Micah 2:2 — (Laertins), Pαντων μεν πρωτιστα κακων επιθυμια εστιν . Covetousness is called the lust of the eyes, 1 John 2:16 , because from looking comes lusting, from lusting acting (hence lusts of the soul are called deeds of the body, Romans 8:13 ), yea, acting with violence, they covet and take, they rob and ravish, Psalms 10:9 , there is neither equity nor