Bible Commentaries

Genesis 50:2 — recovered of the like, he might tell by what means, or stay to make trial of that skill he had upon the patient. Olim exponebatur aeger obvio cuilibet sanandus. - Plutarch. Herodot., lib. i. Physic is, without question, the ordinance of God. Exodus 21:19 He styles himself, "Jehovah Rophe," Exodus 15:26 the Lord the physician. And a physician is more worth than many others, saith the heathen poet. Iατηρ δ ανηρ πολλων

Nehemiah 6:12 — pronounced this prophecy against me: for Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him. And, lo, I perceived that God had not sent him — By my spiritual sagacity I smelt him out; as having my inward senses habitually exercised to discern good and evil, Hebrews 5:14 . Doth not the ear try words, as the mouth tasteth meat? Job 12:11 . What though we have not received the spirit of the world (we cannot cog and comply as they can, yet), we have received a better thing, the Spirit of God, the mind of Christ, 1 Corinthians

Esther 2:20 — than silence. Euripides also saith, that silence, and modesty, and keeping at home, are the greatest commendation to a woman that can be. Curtius telleth us, that the Persians never trust one whom they find to be talkative, Cui tacere grave sit (Curt. 1. 4). Why Esther concealed her kindred, see the note, See Trapp on " Esther 2:11 " , and know that this is no warrant for Popish equivocation; a device of the Jesuits, for the comfort of afflicted Catholics (as Blackwell and Garnet profess),

Esther 5:6 — reneweth, as supposing that Esther durst not propose her request because of the greatness of the matter; and assuring her that she should have it, though never so great. And saith not the God of heaven as much to his servants and suppliants? Isaiah 45:11 Jeremiah 33:3 . Why, then, stand they off in a sinful shamefacedness, and improve not to the utmost this divine indulgence, this precious privilege? why say they not with Luther (who well understood the latitude of this royal charter), Fiat mea voluntas,

Esther 6:8 — Pερισκελης , as Jerome testifieth (Ep. ad Fabiol.). And the horse that the king rideth upon — The king of Persia did always ride, either on horseback or in a chariot, and had one special horse proper to himself, as had also David, 1 Kings 1:33 , Alexander, Julius Caesar, … At this day the better sort in Persia fight, buy, sell, confer, and do all on horseback. The difference between the gentleman and the peasant is, that the peasant never rides, the gentleman never goes

Esther 9:10 — The ten sons of Haman the son of Hammedatha, the enemy of the Jews, slew they; but on the spoil laid they not their hand. The ten sons of Haman — Of whom he had so boasted, Esther 5:12 , and bore himself bold, as believing that being so full of children, he should leave the rest of his substance to his babes, Psalms 17:14 . These ten likely were ringleaders to those Hamanists in Shushan, that durst appear in so bad a cause, being

Job 10:15 — dilemma, whereby he declareth himself every way miserable, saith Mercer; whether he be bad or good, suffer he must without remedy. "If I be wicked, woe unto me"; woe is the wicked man’s portion; tell him so from me, saith God, Isaiah 3:10-11 . Though he love not to hear on that ear, but can bless himself in his heart, when God curseth him with his mouth, Deuteronomy 29:19 . And a godly man setteth the terror of sin’s woes before his flesh, that slave, that must be frighted at

Job 13:15 — not be so rid of me, for I will hang on still; and if I must needs die, I will die at his feet, and in the midst of death expect a better life from him. Dam expiro spero, shall be my motto. "The righteous hath hope in his death," Proverbs 14:32 ; yea, his hope is most lively when himself lieth a dying, superest sperare salutem. "My flesh and my heart faileth," saith he; "but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever," Psalms 73:26 . True faith in a danger

Job 24:5 — harness themselves, as if this were their trade and occupation whereby they must needs get their living. Hic labor, hoc opus, vel artificium eorum est, saith Lavater. As "man goeth forth unto his work and to his labour until the evening," Psalms 104:23 , so do these greedy cormorants, these evening wolves (as Micah calleth them), these spoilers "that devise iniquity, and work evil upon their beds: when the morning is light they practise it, because it is in the power of their hands. And

Job 31:37 — die; and that we need not care though our greatest enemies knew of our worst practices, though our faults were written in our foreheads, as they say. Of Socrates Pliny saith, that his name was not the name of a man, but of integrity itself (Nat. Hist. 1. 7, c. 31). Of Cato Major Paterculus saith, that he was free from all human vices, and as like to virtue itself as might be. Cicero saith, that he was one of those few that lived and died with glory. How much more truly and boldly may we affirm the

Job 36:13 — simulans inimicus, saith Bernard, No man more deserveth wrath upon wrath than a feigned friend but true enemy. Such are all hypocrites, whether gross or close. And hence our Saviour’s severity against such in the Gospel, but especially Matthew 23:1-39 Neither let any such goat in sheep skin think to steal on Christ’s right hand at the last day; he shall uncase such and cashier them, yea, cast them into the hottest fire of hell, whereof hypocrites are as the freeholders, and other sinners

Job 4:8 — Even as I have seen, they that plow iniquity, and sow wickedness, reap the same. Even as I have seen — And therefore can boldly say: for what so sure as sight? See Numbers 11:23 Genesis 34:1-2 . Diligent inspection of a thing, and deep consideration upon it, makes confidence, which is the fruit of experience. That they plow iniquity, and sow wickedness — Here is ploughing and sowing, a mystical husbandry. Sinners

Job 5:10 — Who giveth rain upon the earth, and sendeth waters upon the fields: Who giveth rain upon the earth — This is reckoned, and rightly, among the marvellous works of God. See Job 28:26 Jeremiah 10:13 Amos 5:8 Acts 14:17 . Rain is the flux of a moist cloud, which being dissolved by little and little by the heat of the sun, lets down rain by drops out of the middle region of the air: this is God’s gift. For Hebrews 1:1-14 . Decreeth it,

Job 9:5 — they know not — For further proof of God’s power first (and then afterwards of his wisdom) Job produceth divers particular acts of his upon the creatures, both unreasonable and reasonable. Eliphaz had said somewhat to this purpose, Job 4:1-21 , sed hic admirandus est Iob, saith Mercer, Job doth it admirably; his tongue, like a silver trumpet, sets forth the high praises of God far more plainly, plentifully, and magnificently than any of his friends, who yet have done it very well too.

Proverbs 1:4 — To give subtilty to the simple, to the young man knowledge and discretion. To give subtilty. — Serpentine subtilty, Genesis 3:1 sacred sagacity, a sharp wit, a deep reach, a Spirit that "searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God," 1 Corinthians 2:10 and transformeth a man "into the same image from glory to glory." 2 Corinthians 3:18 Equidem scio multos

Proverbs 12:14 — shall be satisfied with good by the fruit of [his] mouth: and the recompence of a man’s hands shall be rendered unto him. A man shall be satiated with good, … — There are "empty vines that bear fruit to themselves." Hosea 10:1 And as empty casks sound loudest, and base metal rings shrillest, so many empty tattlers are full of discourse - sed cui bono? as he said. Plato and Xenophon thought it fit and profitable that men’s speeches at meals should be written. And

Proverbs 16:5 — not comprehend about the doctrine of reprobation, as those chatters, Romans 9:20 . These, while, like proud and yet brittle clay, they will be knocking their sides against the solid and eternal decrees of God - called mountains of brass Zechariah 6:1 - break themselves in pieces. So likewise do such as "stumble at the word, being disobedient, whereunto also they were appointed." 1 Peter 2:8 How much better were it for them to take the prophet’s counsel, "Hear, and give ear,

Proverbs 21:6 — stones about his ears? Judas, but the halter about his neck? besides a worse thing in another world. Thus many a wretched worldling spins a fair thread to strangle himself both temporally and eternally. By covetousness they not only kill others, Proverbs 1:19 but desperately "drown themselves in perdition and destruction." 1 Timothy 6:9 Fuge ergo, dives, eiusmodi exitum - as St Ambrose concludes the stroy of Ahab’s and Jezebel’s fearful end - sed fugies eiusmondi exitum si fugeris

Proverbs 26:17 — think, Josiah’s when he went up against Pharaohnecho, thinking thereby to ingratiate with the Assyrian, Pharaoh’s professed enemy. It is from idleness usually that men are thus busy in other men’s matters without thank or other benefit, 1 Timothy 5:13 1 Thessalonians 4:11 and therefore this proverb fitly follows the former. Howbeit this is not always true, for charity may move men to interpose for a right understanding and a good accord between disagreeing parties. Neither in this case

2 Samuel 11:1 — Jerusalem. After the year was expired. — Heb., At the return of the year: Namque in se sua per vestigia volvitur annus. This year was David’s seventh climacterical, the forty-ninth of his age, as is generally held, and the nineteenth of his reign, 1 Chronicles 21:1 to him a woeful year, because, left to himself, he "fell into temptation and a snare, and many foolish and hurtful lusts," … Augustine thanks God for himself, that the heart and temptation did not meet together. Joseph,