Bible Commentaries

Daniel 2:45 — gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream [is] certain, and the interpretation thereof sure. Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain. — Christ is called a stone, (1.) For strength; (2.) For continuance; (3.) For refuge; (4.) For offence. He is piorum rupes, reorum scopulus, as Val. Max. saith of Lucius Cassius’s tribunal. Without hands, — i.e., Without man’s help. And that it brake in pieces the

Daniel 5:10 — not thy thoughts trouble thee, nor let thy countenance be changed: Now the queen. — The queen mother, whom Herodotus calleth Nicochris, and greatly commendeth for her wisdom and ability of speech, which in a woman is a comely ornament: Proverbs 31:26 (1.) She was not at this riotous feast, which is an argument of her temperance; (2.) She prudently insinuateth into the king by the ordinary salutation, "O king, live for ever"; (3.) She adviseth him to bear up, and not to be too troubled;

Daniel 9:23 — understand the matter, and consider the vision. At the beginning of thy supplications. — Thy prayer was scarce in thy mouth ere it was in God’s ear. The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry. Psalms 34:15 See Trapp on " Psalms 34:15 " He heard at the very first, but answered not till Daniel had tugged with him. See James 5:16-17 . For thou art greatly beloved. — Desideratissimus es. - Trem. Kimchi readeth it, A man of measures, a man

Amos 5:6 — fire in the house of Joseph, and devour [it], and [there be] none to quench [it] in Bethel. Seek ye the Lord, and ye shall live — See Amos 5:4 . Sic eadem saepe surdis et obstinatis inculcantur (Mercer). The continual pressing of a duty imports: 1. The excellency; 2. The necessity; 3. The difficulty of doing it: else what need so many words? Perquam durum est, sed ita lex scripts est, saith Ulpian. Hard or not hard, it must be done, or men are undone. Lest he break out like fire — Lest

Amos 5:7 — of righteousness, but leaving it off in the earth, or rather not leaving it at all upon earth ( terras Astraea reliquit ), but chasing it out of the world as much as in you lieth; while you cast it down to the ground, and tread it underfoot, Daniel 8:12 , while you oppress the just, crush the needy, …, Amos 4:1: see the note there. Some read the text, by way of exclamation, thus: O ye that turn judgment, …; q.d. What strange creatures are you! what monsters of men! what public scourges!

Jonah 1:13 — occasion. But they could not — They did but strive against the stream, for the Lord had otherwise determined it; and Voluntas Dei necessitas rei, who hath resisted his will? For the sea wrought, and was tempestuous against them. — As John 1:11 . Praesentemque viris intentant omnia mortem.

Micah 3:3 — mortis habet vices quae trahitur vita genitibus. It is a lifeless life that many poor people live for want of necessaries. Such savage shepherds Ezekiel inveighs against, that not only shear their sheep, but hold them and suck their blood, Ezekiel 34:1-10 . Atqui pastoris est pecus tondere, non deglubere, non carnem et ossa concidere. (Tiber. ap. Sueton.). Chop them in pieces, as for the pot, … — Making no more bones of undoing them and their families than to eat a meal’s meat when

Nahum 3:2 — vadis abies, … But all this is but dull stuff to the divine rhetoric here to be read. Let those that refuse to hear God’s sweet words fear lest they be forced to hear the noise of the whip, the rattling of the wheels, …, Psalms 7:12-13 Luke 19:42 ; Luke 19:44 Proverbs 1:24 . The enemy is sent to revenge the quarrel of God’s covenant; the red horse is at the heels of the white, Revelation 6:4 .

Zephaniah 2:12 — that Jupiter was wont to be feasted by the Ethiopians; but that shall not save them from God’s sore and great strong sword. Nebuchadnezzar, to whom God had given Ethiopia, and Egypt, and Saba as a ransom for his people, Isaiah 43:3 . See Proverbs 11:8 . See Trapp on " Proverbs 11:8 " The Ethiopians and Egyptians were subdued together, Jeremiah 46:2 Isaiah 18:1-2 . It is now inhabited by the Abyssinians (a kind of mongrel Christians), and called Prester John’s country; where they

Zechariah 14:7 — be light. Which shall be known to the Lord — And that should suffice us, without further curious inquiries, de re nobis et toti mundo abscondita (Calvin), concerning the set times and the seasons which the Father hath put in his own power, Acts 1:7 . The Muscovites use to say in a dark point, in a difficult question, God and our great duke know all this; and in other talk, all we enjoy health, and life, and all from our great duke; therefore let us leave all to him. Should not we much more to

Zechariah 6:11 — Pride’s picture drawn by the old Romans, with three crowns on her head: on the first whereof was inscribed Transcendo; I pass on, on the second Non obedio; I disobey, the third Perturbo. I throw into confusion, Danaeus thinks it likely, by Zechariah 6:14 , that here were four crowns made, according to the number of the four persons here mentioned, that brought in the gold and silver. Ribera will have it to be all but one crown made of both metals, and called crowns for the greatness of it; as wisdoms,

Zechariah 9:2 — in the same punishment with Damascus, and fare the worse for its neighbourhood. Though it be very wise — And think to outwit the enemy, to be too hard for him that way, as Midian was for Israel, by his wiles rather than by his wars, Numbers 25:18 . God taketh these wizards in their own craft, δρασσομενος , 1 Corinthians 3:19 , πανουργια , as beasts in a toil, and makes very fools

Matthew 1:6 — And Jesse begat David the king; and David the king begat Solomon of her that had been the wife of Urias; And Jesse begat David the king — But that was not his chief title: he gloried more in styling himself the servant of the Lord, Psalms 36:1 , tit. So Theodosius esteemed it a greater honour that he was membrum Christi member of Christ than Caput Imperii, head of the empire. Numa etiam του θεου υπηρεσιαν

Matthew 10:33 — me — Not only utterly to renounce Christ, but out of base respects to dissemble him, is to deny him. Peter denied his Master as well in saying, "I wot not what thou sayest," as in swearing he never knew the man. The people of Israel, 1 Kings 18:11 , that held their peace only when the prophet had said, "If the Lord be God, follow him," are blamed, and worthily, for their detestable indifference. Indeed, they spake not against the prophet, but they dared not speak with him.

Matthew 12:7 — if ye had known what this meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless. But if ye had known — And it was a foul shame for them not to know. "Who is blind as my servant?" …, Isaiah 42:19 . Varro justly upbraided the Roman priests, that there were many matters in their own rites and religions that they understand not. a What kind of men they were, Cicero (2, de Finib. ) gives us to know in these words of his, Ut maiores nostri Cincinnatum

Matthew 18:22 — saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven. Until seventy times seven — i.e. Infinities, toties quoties. God multiplieth pardons, Isaiah 55:7 ; so should we. "Love covereth all sins," Proverbs 10:12 , so large is the skirt of love’s mantle. Between God and us the distance is infinite, and if it were possible, our love to him, and to our friends in him, our foes for him, should fill up that distance, and extend itself to infiniteness.

Matthew 19:13 — little children, that he should put his hands on them, and pray: and the disciples rebuked them. Then were there brought unto him little ones — By their parents, careful of their greatest good. We must also present ours, as we can, to Christ. And, 1. By praying for them before, at, and after their birth. 2. By timely bringing them to the ordinance of baptism with faith, and much joy in such a privilege. 3. By training them up in God’s holy fear; beseeching God to persuade their hearts, as

Matthew 20:1 — vineyard. For the kingdom of heaven, … — That last sentence Christ further illustrateth and enforceth by this following parable. Peter and the rest were in danger to be puffed up with the pre-conceit of their abundant reward promised, Matthew 19:28-29 . This to prevent, and that they might not stand upon their terms and tip-toes, they are again and again given to know, that "many that are first shall be last, and last first." Which went out early in the morning — "God

Matthew 21:43 — elementis, … Sel. Paedag. Christ. The gospel is that inheritance we received from our godly forefathers, the martyrs; and it must be our care to transmit the same to our posterity, earnestly contending for the faith which was once delivered, Judges 1:3 , once for all; for if lost, or any way corrupted, it will hardly be ever given again. Look to it, therefore, unfruitfulness forfeits all, as the merchant’s nonpayment of the custom forfeits all his goods. It is to be feared, saith one, lest

Matthew 27:26 — wounded a man shall make the wounds heal in a man. But here is a mystery that only Christian religion can tell of, and of which there never was precedent in nature, that the scourging and wounding of one man should cure another. See Trapp on " John 19:1 " a Sanguis medici factus est medicina phrenetici.