Loading...
Loading...
1,944 results found
Proverbs 4:7 declares wisdom the principal thing—not merely intellectual attainment, but the *summum bonum* (*chief good*) that elevates the human soul. Joseph S. Exell's 1887 exposition reveals wisdom's four-fold excellence. First, wisdom addresses man's spiritual state before Elohim. True happiness...
First comes the temporal: "Afterward, that I will pour out My Spirit upon all flesh" (Joel 2:28).
Exell's Victorian exposition identifies three critical marks of this union: First, the *kaine ktisis*—the new creature (2 Corinthians 5:17).
The poor in spirit are those convinced of their spiritual poverty—not the economically destitute, nor the cowardly in Christ's service, nor the mean-spirited.
Yet it remains what it always was: a beast, combining antagonism to both God and humanity.
This convergence illustrates the manifold ways souls approach the Saviour.
Walking through an orchard one summer morning, I encountered a tree bearing neither leaves nor fruit.
Matthew 27:20 records the chief priests and elders persuading the multitudes to demand His destruction.
First, the believer who imagines himself mature in Christ—perhaps believing he has attained "the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ" (Ephesians 4:13)—when in reality he remains a babe, deceives himself catastrophically.
Exell's Victorian commentary illuminates three critical dimensions of this truth.
God's method of punishment is not arbitrary cruelty but divine permission—He lets us punish ourselves.
It radiates fire, love, light, and warmth from its very essence.
Both inquired diligently, yet their motives revealed the condition of their hearts.
Exell observed in 1887, this earthly life proved too shallow a vessel to hold peace, righteousness, worship, and divine love.
The hand lifts itself to violence, as Cain's did against Abel, or grasps what belongs to others, as Achan seized forbidden spoils.
To grasp its sweetest meaning, we must enter the spirit of Isaiah 24, which thunders with clouds, darkness, and judgment.
Consider the varieties of mischief-making: some men deliberately pursue evil and delight in tempting others.
"Justification" (*dikaiōsis*), literally acquittal, denotes vindication before a court of divine justice.
The reason for this invitation rests in reconciliation: "that he may make peace with Me." God's offer reveals His unselfishness—He seeks not His own benefit but the sinner's restoration.
Yet Yahweh has opened a way of reconciliation for sinners who have grossly offended Him.
This is no temporary statute, no passing ordinance that grows obsolete with the turning of years.
First, confidence in human means stands opposed to this truth.
The mirage—from the Latin *mirari* (to wonder at)—deceives the thirsty traveler with an optical illusion: shimmering water that recedes as one approaches.
Joseph Exell's 1887 commentary identifies three essential truths about Christian ministry.