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By Joseph S. Exell · 1887 · 1,353 illustrations
The Biblical Illustrator is a 56-volume reference work compiled by Joseph S. Exell in the late 19th century. Each passage of Scripture is illuminated with historical anecdotes, biographical sketches, analogies from nature, and homiletical observations drawn from ancient and contemporary sources. These illustrations have been carefully restored from the original public-domain text and rewritten for clarity and accessibility — preserving the historical depth while removing Victorian OCR artifacts.
This declaration from Psalm 10:7 captures a foundational truth: *dikaiosyne* (righteousness) is not merely a divine attribute among many, but the quality binding all of Elohim's perfections into perfect unity.
This statement carries three profound truths about divine communication and human responsibility.
No kingdom—evil or good—consciously engineers its own destruction.
The Apostle compares gospel ministers to earthen vessels—common, fragile, ordinary clay—yet holding within them the supreme treasure of Elohim's redemptive truth.
Joseph Parker, D.D., observes that instruction often begins with negatives—teaching children what they must not do.
Under the Levitical dispensation, tithes, firstfruits, and firstlings were consecrated to the Lord.
Man is a creature requiring help, and the text instructs where that help originates.
If we are rooted elsewhere, our life will be stunted and unhealthy.
Not scientific philosophy occupied Paul's proclamation—only Christ's atoning death and certified resurrection.
Paul, writing to the Hebrews, calls this inner barrier "the second veil," describing it as the threshold beyond which lay the most sacred articles of Jewish worship.
Exell, in *The Biblical Illustrator* (1887), distinguishes three dimensions of this sacred duty.
First, God is Father by relation to Christ as the eternal Son, the fountain of Deity itself.
Yet even this secure fastening remains subject to removal by the Lord of hosts who placed it there.
The people of Israel, mowed down and removed from their native soil, lay upon the threshing floor of captivity under tyrannical rule.
Exell identifies five particulars demanding our song: First, redemption's Author: "The Lord hath done it." Yahweh alone conceived and executed this work without counsel or co-laborer.
This proverb exposes the merchant who deprecates goods to negotiate a lower price, then brags of his shrewd bargain once the transaction concludes.
The Spirit speaking to the Church reveals three foundational truths: First, certain great moral elements alone determine the character of individuals or communities.
An ambassador of peace bears a threefold character: he is a minister sent of Elohim, instructed in the terms of peace, and commissioned to negotiate with sinners at war with the Almighty.
All three appeared equally earnest, equally resolved to return to the land of covenant and grace.
The Victorians, with Bible in hand, understood that Yahweh—who is "wise in counsel, benevolent in purpose, and almighty in power"—employs even the most destructive forces of nature as ministers of His will.
save me, O my God!"—expresses this dependence completely.
Yet this encounter in Mark 5:21 reveals a paradox that Joseph S.
This summons extends to bodily powers first: the tongue, "glory of our frame," must be tuned like David's harp of old.
Since He is full of mercy Himself, He delights when we exercise the same toward our fellow creatures.