Voices and influences
Albert Barnes
The Philadelphia pastor who rose at four every morning to write Bible notes for his own Sunday school, and sold a million volumes of them.
Summary
This site quotes Albert Barnes 8,265 times across 66 books, and lists 0 works.
- Lived 1798 to 1870.
- Quoted here most in Isaiah: 746 of 8,265.
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Albert Barnes
- Lived
- 1798 to 1870
- Tradition
- Presbyterian
5 of 8,265 quotations
Own words
Quoted in full, because Albert Barnes died in 1870 and these works are out of copyright. Each citation below names its edition and its year. A citation naming a modernised text means that edition makes its own editorial changes, and that edition's terms are not in this site's record.
For my thoughts are not your thoughts - Interpreters have differed in regard to the connection of this verse with the preceding.
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Undated in the archive this site cites.
The rest of the quotation
It is evident, I think, that it is properly connected with the subject of pardon; and the sense must be, that the plans and purposes of God in regard to forgiveness are as far above those of people as the heavens are higher than the earth, Isa 55:
Isaiah 55:8 “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways,” declares the LORD. BSB
He hath shewed thee - Micah does not tell them now, as for the first time; which would have excused them. He says, “He hath shewed thee;” He, about whose mind and will and pleasure they were pretending to enquire, the Lord their God.
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Undated in the archive this site cites.
The rest of the quotation
He had shewn it to them. The law was full of it. He shewed it to them, when He said, “And now, Israel, what doth the Lord thy God require of thee, but to fear the Lord thy God, to walk in all His ways, and to love Him and to serve the Lord, thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul, to keep the commandments of the Lord and His statutes which I command thee this day for thy good?” Deu 10:12-13. They had asked, “with what outward thing shall I come before the Lord;” the prophet tells them, “what thing is good,” the inward man of the heart, righteousness, love, humility. And what doth the Lord require (search, seek) of thee? - The very word implies an earnest search within. He would say (Rup.), “Trouble not thyself as to any of these things, burnt-offerings, rams, calves, without thee. For God seeketh not thine, but thee; not thy substance, but thy spirit; not ram or goat, but thy heart.” : “Thou askest, what thou shouldest offer for thee? Other thyself. For what else doth the Lord seek of thee, but thee? Because, of all earthly creatures, He hath made nothing better than thee, He seeketh thyself from thyself, because thou hadst lost thyself.” To do judgment - are chiefly all acts of equity; “to love mercy,” all deeds of love. Judgment, is what right requires; mercy, what love. Yet, secondarily, “to do judgment” is to pass righteous judgments in all cases; and so, as to others, “judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment” Joh 7:24; and as to one’s self also. Judge equitably and kindly of others, humbly of thyself. […]
Micah 6:8 He has shown you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you but to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God? BSB
(Compare Exo. 39:1-31.) Moses is now commanded to commit all that pertains to the offerings made to the Lord in the sanctuary to the exclusive charge of the members of a single family, who were to hold their office from generation to generation.
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Undated in the archive this site cites.
The rest of the quotation
In the patriarchal times, the external rites of worship had generally been conducted by the head of the tribe or family, in accordance with the principle involved in the dedication of the firstborn Exo 13:2; Num 3:12-
Exodus 28:1 “Next, have your brother Aaron brought to you from among the Israelites, along with his sons Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar, to serve Me as priests. BSB
The leper was to carry about with him the usual signs of mourning for the dead. Compare Lev 10:6 and margin reference.
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Undated in the archive this site cites.
The rest of the quotation
The leper was a living parable in the world of the sin of which death was the wages; not the less so because his suffering might have been in no degree due to his own personal deserts: he bore about with him at once the deadly fruit and the symbol of the sin of his race. Exo 20:
Leviticus 13:45 A diseased person must wear torn clothes and let his hair hang loose, and he must cover his mouth and cry out, ‘Unclean, unclean!’ BSB
Chambers - (Margin, floors). Rather, a lean-to, which completely surrounded three sides of the building, the north, the west, and the south.
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Undated in the archive this site cites.
1 Kings 6:5 Against the walls of the temple and the inner sanctuary, Solomon built a chambered structure around the temple, in which he constructed the side rooms. BSB
Influence, on the record
This site quotes Albert Barnes 8,265 times across 66 books.
This site’s own count of what it does with the voice
The life, in order
The life told as one accountfrom this site's record
Albert Barnes was born at Rome, New York, on December 1, 1798. He was headed for the law. At Hamilton College he was converted, changed direction, and went to Princeton Theological Seminary instead, graduating in 1824. His first pastorate was Morristown, New Jersey, from 1825 to 1830. In 1830 he was called to the First Presbyterian Church of Philadelphia, where he preached until 1867 — thirty-seven years in one pulpit. The habit that made him famous was the alarm clock. Barnes rose at four every morning and wrote until nine, before the day's pastoral work began. What he wrote were notes on the Bible for his own Sunday school teachers and Bible class — plain explanations, verse by verse, aimed at people with no Greek and no library. He published them, beginning with the Gospels in 1832. They did not stop. Notes, Explanatory and Practical eventually covered the whole New Testament and much of the Old — Job, the Psalms, Isaiah, Daniel — and sold more than a million volumes in his lifetime, an astonishing number for the period. Generations of American laymen learned their Bible out of Barnes. He was also tried for heresy. His 1829 sermon The Way of Salvation, and then his notes on Romans in 1835, were charged with departing from the Westminster Confession on original sin and the atonement; Barnes taught that Christ's death was a provision made for all rather than a payment restricted in advance to the elect. The Presbytery of Philadelphia suspended him from the ministry in 1835, and the General Assembly reversed the suspension in 1836. He was acquitted, but the fight was one of the fuses of the Old School–New School division that split the American Presbyterian church in 1837. Barnes stood on the New School side. He fought slavery hard and early. An Inquiry into the Scriptural Views of Slavery (1846) took up the biblical arguments the Southern churches used and dismantled them one at a time; The Church and Slavery followed in 1857. The books were read widely in the North during the years the country came apart. His eyesight failed badly in later life, and he kept working with help. He resigned the pulpit in 1867 and died in Philadelphia on December 24, 1870, at seventy-two. What he left is unusual for a scholar. Not a monument — a tool. A working pastor's commentary, written before breakfast for people who had no one else to explain the text, still in print and still free more than a century and a half later. Sources: Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the New Testament and An Inquiry into the Scriptural Views of Slavery; the published minutes of the Presbyterian General Assembly, 1835–1837; Philip Schaff, History of the Christian Church; George Marsden, The Evangelical Mind and the New School Presbyterian Experience.
8,265 quotations across 66 books
Where this voice is quoted
He made ten gold lampstands according to their specifications and placed them in the temple, five on the south side and five on the north.
“According to their form - Rather, “after their manner” (compare 2Ch 4:20). There is no allusion to the shape of the candlesticks, which were made, no doubt, after the pattern of the original candlestick of Moses.”
The king had them cast in clay molds in the plain of the Jordan between Succoth and Zeredah.
“Zeredathah - Or, Zarthan (marginal reference). The writer of Chronicles probably uses the name which the place bore in his own day.”
Solomon also made all the furnishings for the house of God: the golden altar; the tables on which was placed the Bread of the Presence;
“The tables - A single table only is mentioned in 1Ki 7:48; 2Ch 29:18. It is supposed that Solomon made ten similar tables, any one of which might be used for the showbread; but that the bread was never placed on more than one table…”
So all the work that Solomon had performed for the house of the LORD was completed.
“This chapter contains one important addition only to the narrative of Kings (see the marginal references); namely, the account of the circumstances under which the manifestation of the Divine Presence took place 2Ch 5:11-13.”
The poles of the ark extended far enough that their ends were visible from in front of the inner sanctuary, but not from outside the Holy Place; and they are…
“From the ark - Or, according to a different reading here and according to 1Ki 8:8, some read, “the ends of the staves were seen from the Holy place.” There it is unto this day - This should be corrected as in the margin.”
The trumpeters and singers joined together to praise and thank the LORD with one voice.
“Even the house of the Lord - Or, according to another reading (Septuagint), which removes the superfluousness of these words - “The house was filled with a cloud of the glory of the Lord.””
Now, my God, may Your eyes be open and Your ears attentive to the prayer offered in this place.
“In Kings, a different conclusion takes the place of these verses. The document from which both writers copied contained the full prayer of dedication, which each givcs in a somewhat abbreviated form. 2Ch 6:41 Thy resting place - i. e., the holy of holies.”
When Solomon had finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the LORD filled the temple.
“The fire came down from heaven - As in the time of Moses on the dedication of the tabernacle Lev 9:24 The fact is omitted from the narrative of Kings; but omission is not contradiction.”
So at that time Solomon and all Israel with him—a very great assembly of people from Lebo-hamath to the Brook of Egypt—kept the feast for seven days.
“Solomon kept the feast - i. e., Solomon kept at this same time, not the Feast of the Dedication only, but also the Feast of tabernacles.”
When Solomon had finished the house of the LORD and the royal palace, successfully carrying out all that was in his heart to do for the house of the LORD…
“The narrative now runs parallel with 1Ki 9:1-9, but is more full, and presents less of verbal agreement. 2Ch 7:13-15 are additional to the earlier record.”
Now My eyes will be open and My ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place.
“The prayer that is made in this place - literally, as in the margin. The unsual phrase includes the two cases of prayers offered in 2Ch 6:24 and toward 2Ch 6:34, 2Ch 6:38 the sanctuary.”
Solomon rebuilt the cities Hiram had given him and settled Israelites there.
“The cities which Huram had restored to Solomon - These cities had not been mentioned previously by the writer of Chronicles, who, however, seems to assume that the fact of their having been given by Hiram to Solomon is known to his readers.”
Then Solomon went to Hamath-zobah and captured it.
“Hamath-zobah - Usually identified with the “great Hamath” Amo 6:2; the capital of Coele-Syria; but probably a town of Zobah otherwise unknown, which revolted from Solomon, and was reduced to subjection.”
In keeping with the ordinances of his father David, Solomon appointed the divisions of the priests over their service, and the Levites for their duties to offer praise and to…
“The man of God - This phrase, so common in Kings (see the introduction to Kings, 4th note), is rare in Chronicles, and is applied only to Moses 1Ch 23:14, David, and one other prophet 2Ch 25:7, 2Ch 25:9.”
Now when the queen of Sheba heard about the fame of Solomon, she came to test him with difficult questions.
“The narrative here is parallel with that in marginal reference, from which it varies but little, and to which it adds nothing. 2Ch 9:11 Terraces - Rather, as in the margin, “stairs” (see the 1Ki 10:12 note).”
The throne had six steps, and a footstool of gold was attached to it. There were armrests on both sides of the seat, with a lion standing beside each armrest.
“The footstool (not mentioned in Kings) was an essential appendage to an Oriental throne; it appears everywhere in the Egyptian, Assyrian, and Persian sculptures.”
All the kings of the earth sought an audience with Solomon to hear the wisdom that God had put in his heart.
“All the kings of the earth - Rather, “all the kings of the land:” all the monarchs, that is, whose dominions were included in So omon’s empire (see 1Ki 4:21).”
Solomon’s horses were imported from Egypt and from all the lands.
“And out of all lands - An addition to the words in Kings. The principal countries would no doubt be Arabia and Armenia - the former always famous for its excellent breed; the latter mentioned in Ezekiel Eze 27:14 as trading with horses in the…”
As for the rest of the acts of Solomon, from beginning to end, are they not written in the Records of Nathan the Prophet, in the Prophecy of Ahijah the…
“The book of Nathan ... - On the “books” here mentioned, see the introduction to Chronicles, the second note. We hear nothing of Iddo in Kings: but he is mentioned below twice 2Ch 12:15; 2Ch 13:22.”
Rehoboam continued to live in Jerusalem, and he built up cities for defense in Judah.
“Rehoboam was between two dangers: on the north he might be attacked by Jeroboam, on the south by Jeroboam’s ally, Egypt.”
Gath, Mareshah, Ziph,
“For Gath, see Jos 13:3 note. Its native king, Achish 1Ki 2:39, is to he regarded, not as an independent monarch, but as one of the many vassal-kings over whom Solomon reigned 2Ch 9:23. For Mareshah, see Jos 15:44, for Ziph, Jos 15:55.”
Adoraim, Lachish, Azekah,
“The site of Adoraim is uncertain. For Lachish, see Jos 10:3; Azekah, Jos 10:10; Zorah, Jos 15:33; Aijalon, Jos 10:12; Hebron, Jos 14:15. No one of the cities was really within the limits of the tribe of Benjamin.”
And Jeroboam appointed his own priests for the high places and for the goat demons and calf idols he had made.
“The high places - i. e., the two sanctuaries at Dan and Bethel. For the devils - literally, “for the goats:” probably the word is used (as in Lev 17:7) for objects of idolatrous worship generally.”
So they strengthened the kingdom of Judah and supported Rehoboam son of Solomon for three years, because they walked for three years in the way of David and Solomon.
“Three years - i. e., during the first three years of Rehoboam’s reign. In the fourth year an apostasy took place, which neutralized all the advantages of the immigration (marginal reference).”
And Rehoboam married Mahalath, who was the daughter of David’s son Jerimoth and of Abihail, the daughter of Jesse’s son Eliab.
“This is probably an extract from the “genealogies” of Iddo 2Ch 12:15. As Jerimoth is not mentioned among the legitimate sons of David 1Ch 3:1-8; 1Ch 14:4-7, he must have been the child of a concubine.”