Loading...
Loading...
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.
The Christian idea of life is founded on conscious dedication: "To the Lord we live; to the Lord we die." What all other men must do unconsciously, the Christian does with full awareness.
This blessedness demands our attention to what purity truly means.
What distinguishes Christian righteousness from mere external morality?
The central questions remain: Does this prophecy address an imminent event in Ahaz's time, or does it exclusively concern a distant future?
Joseph Spurgeon Exell observes that this man may pray correctly with his lips while harboring two catastrophic beliefs: first, "I shall not be moved"—immunity from consequence; second, "God hath forgotten.
When we trace all things to their origin, we discover that mere critical terms prove unsatisfying; we yearn for something deeper.
The seer beholds earth spread open to heaven like a vast cornfield beneath hovering clouds—clouds heavy with *tsedaqah* (righteousness), Jehovah's faithfulness throughout this prophetic book.
According to Josephus, nine temple gates were overlaid with silver and gold, but one gate of Corinthian brass "far excelled those of gold or silver." This magnificent entrance, also known as Nicanor's Gate or the Shushan Gate, featured bas-relief lily...
The body is a bad master, though it may be a good servant.
Isaiah embodied this truth through his children, whose names became living proclamations to Judah.
First, God secures it for the accomplishment of His elect—those predestined to receive His truth.
Nearly eighteen centuries have passed since Demetrius laid down his pastoral labours and died, yet Christ has not yet returned to judgment.
First, Christ will return with inexpressible dignity and grandeur to vindicate the honour of the Divine administration, demonstrating the admirable wisdom and justice with which Yahweh has governed creation.
This breath infused intelligence in the brain and vitality in the heart, making man a moral being capable of virtue and responsible for his actions.
The Son of God, represented throughout Proverbs as *Wisdom* (Chokmah), extends this invitation universally: Elohim shows no partiality of persons.
(Proverbs 3:4) What constitutes a truly religious life?
Exell's Victorian homiletic analysis illuminates two essential truths about spiritual sustenance.
Before we can be struck down, Elohim must be wounded and overpowered.
Across continents and centuries—from China's imperial annals recording the discovery of "bread-stones" during famine, to the West African coast where the yellowish earth called "caouac" sustains entire populations, to the banks of the Orinoco where Humboldt documented indigenous peoples kneading...
This tree appears five times in the Bible, always associated with rivers or watercourses—symbols of divine provision and life itself.
There is no tribulation—in kind or degree—that Elohim cannot comfort.
Just as miners extract precious metals from the earth's hidden depths, believers discover spiritual wealth concealed in the shadowed places of their experience.
God's plan encompasses society comprehensively—threading millennia from earth's earliest dust to the emergence of new heavens and earth.
First, to take partial views of His glorious gospel.