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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.
Exell (1887) distinguished between natural rest—the common privilege of thousands—and the particular rest of the good, which flows from freedom from fear.
Yet the cross became a threshold of transformation for one man while confirming the other's damnation.
Exell's 1887 commentary frames this as a mirror for self-examination in two categories.
When mortals undertake an enterprise, unforeseen difficulties arise and baffle our best calculations.
It was no frivolous boon which Christ, in the days of His sojourn on earth, thought proper to confer when, in the external sense, He opened blind eyes.
We are debtors—not to the flesh, but to Adonai and to one another across the ages. This threefold obligation structures the Christian conscience. First, we owe debts to *all times*. To the past, we are indebted to those who preserved...
Many religionists, as Spurgeon observed, attend to religion without ever truly understanding it.
The mechanism of faith operates through three agents: First, the minister commissioned by Adonai speaks God's mercy and humanity's duty.
The Book of Proverbs unites secular and spiritual wisdom without artificial division, revealing that godly living encompasses all dimensions of existence.
Night is the season of repose, yet also the time chosen for deeds of darkness and sin.
There exist two worlds: the world of sense and the world of spirit.
The greatness of man becomes a terrible charge against the Almighty.
Human history becomes one prolonged wrestling match with God's infinite riddle.
During inspection, workers discovered a live artillery shell wedged in a disused corner—a projectile that had remained concealed for over fourteen years.
First, adoption grants believers the *huiothesia* (legal status of sons), while regeneration grants the nature of children—we possess both through faith.
The real hindrance lies not in legality but in morality—in the human will itself.
The apostle unfolds the principal phases of Christ's being and work.
The Holy Spirit Himself is the source of all spiritual fruit, and this fruit does not admit of exhaustive classification, though three groups emerge: Christian states of mind in their general aspect; qualities affecting intercourse with neighbours; and principles guiding...
The investiture of Christ operates on two levels: the clothing of a garment and the clothing of a person.
He began with doubt: "If Thou be the Son of God," targeting the very foundation of our Lord's identity and Sonship.
Exell's Victorian instruction distinguishes three journals worthy of consideration.
First, it may occur suddenly—a vivid impression of Divine grace received in conversion that never fades.
This final biblical reference to Christ's Cross corresponds with the recurring phrase in *Revelation*, "the Lamb slain" (*arnion sphazō*), reaching backward to Genesis 3:15's promise of the bruised heel.
The word "wages" (*opsonion*) denotes "rations"—the daily bread supplied to a Roman soldier.