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
Zichri, a mighty man of Ephraim, killed Maaseiah the son of the king, Azrikam the governor of the palace, and Elkanah the second to the king.
“Maaseiah was either an officer called “the king’s son” (compare 1Ki 22:26), or perhaps a son of Jotham, since Ahaz could hardly have had a son old enough to take part in the battle (compare 2Ch 28:1).”
But a prophet of the LORD named Oded was there, and he went out to meet the army that returned to Samaria.
“Nothing more is known of this Oded. Compare 2Ch 15:1. He went out before the host - Rather, “He went out to meet the host,” as the same phrase is translated in 2Ch 15:2. A rage that reacheth up to heaven - i. e.”
Then the men who were designated by name arose, took charge of the captives, and provided from the plunder clothing for the naked.
“Jericho, which lies much farther from Samaria than many points of the territory of Judah, was perhaps selected because the captives had been carried off principally from this point; or because there may have been less danger of falling in with portions of Pekah’s army…”
The Edomites had again come and attacked Judah and carried away captives.
“The Edomites took advantage of the reverses of Ahaz, and were perhaps in league with Rezin (see 2Ki 16:6 note).”
The Philistines had also raided the cities of the foothills and the Negev of Judah, capturing and occupying Beth-shemesh, Aijalon, and Gederoth, as well as Soco, Timnah, and Gimzo with…
“Philistia also, eager to retaliate the blows she had received from Uzziah 2Ch 26:6, seized her opportunity. Ajalon and Shocho were among the cities fortified by Rehoboam 2Ch 11:7, 2Ch 11:10; Beth-shemesh Jos 15:10 was famous as the scene of Amaziah’s defeat 2Ch 25:21.”
For the LORD humbled Judah because Ahaz king of Israel had thrown off restraint in Judah and had been most unfaithful to the LORD.
“Ahaz king of Israel - An instance of the lax use of the word “Israel” 2Ch 12:6; 2Ch 21:2. It is simply equivalent to “king of Judah.” He made Judah naked - literally, “he had caused licentiousness in Judah” - i. e.”
Then Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria came to Ahaz but afflicted him rather than strengthening him.
“Tilgath-pilneser - This form of the name is doubly corrupt. See the properly Hebraized form in 2Ki 15:29. Distressed him, but strengthened him not - This statement, and that at the end of 2Ch 28:21, is supplemental to, and not contradictory of, 2Ki 16:9.”
Since Damascus had defeated him, he sacrificed to their gods and said, “Because the gods of the kings of Aram have helped them, I will sacrifice to them that they…
“His adoption of the Syrian gods, Hadad, Rimmon, and others, as objects of worship, no doubt preceded the destruction of Damascus by the Assyrians 2Ki 16:9. Israel - i. e. “Judah;” so in 2Ch 28:27. Compare 2Ch 28:19.”
Hezekiah was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem twenty-nine years. His mother’s name was Abijah, the daughter of Zechariah.
“The treatment of Hezekiah’s reign by the author of Chronicles is in marked contrast with that followed in the Book of Kings. The writer of Kings describes mainly civil affairs; the author of Chronicles gives a full account of Hezekiah’s religious reformation. 2 Chr.”
In the first month of the first year of his reign, Hezekiah opened and repaired the doors of the house of the LORD.
“By “the first month” is meant (compare 2Ch 30:2-3) the month of Nisan, the first of the Jewish sacred year, not necessarily the first month of Hezekiah’s reign.”
“Listen to me, O Levites,” he said. “Consecrate yourselves now and consecrate the house of the LORD, the God of your fathers. Remove from the Holy Place every impurity.
“Sanctify now yourselves - Compare the marginal reference. Hezekiah follows David’s example, knowing, probably, that the priests had in the preceding time of idolatry contracted many defilements.”
Then the Levites set to work: Mahath son of Amasai and Joel son of Azariah from the Kohathites; Kish son of Abdi and Azariah son of Jehallelel from the Merarites…
“On the triple division of the Levites, see 1Ch 23:6; and on the musical Levites, see 1Ch 25:1-6. 2Ch 29:13 The descendants of Elizaphan - a grandson of Kohath Exo 6:22, and chief of the Kohathites at the time of the census in the wilderness…”
When they had assembled their brothers and consecrated themselves, they went in to cleanse the house of the LORD, according to the command of the king by the words of…
“By the words of the Lord - Rather, as suggested in the margin, “According to the commandment of the king in the business (or matters) of the Lord.””
They brought seven bulls, seven rams, seven lambs, and seven male goats as a sin offering for the kingdom, for the sanctuary, and for Judah.
“Hezekiah commenced his restoration of the Yahweh-worship with an unusually comprehensive sin-offering, embracing the four chief kinds of sacrificial animals, and seven animals of each kind: he intended to atone for the sins, both conscious and unconscious, of the king, the priests, the people of…”
Then they brought the goats for the sin offering before the king and the assembly, who laid their hands on them.
“The he goats for the sin offering - Rather, “the he goats of the sin offering” - that portion of the Sin offering which had been reserved to the last.”
And the priests slaughtered the goats and put their blood on the altar for a sin offering, to make atonement for all Israel, because the king had ordered the burnt…
“All lsrael - Hezekiah aimed at reuniting once more the whole people of Israel, if not into a single state, yet, at any rate, into a single religious communion. The northern kingdom was in a condition approaching to anarchy. The end was evidently approaching.”
And Hezekiah ordered that the burnt offering be sacrificed on the altar.
“All had hitherto been preparatory. Now Hezekiah gave orders that “the burnt offering” - i. e. the daily morning sacrifice - should be offered upon the brass altar in front of the porch, thus restoring and reinstituting the regular temple-service.”
Then Hezekiah said, “Now that you have consecrated yourselves to the LORD, come near and bring sacrifices and thank offerings to the house of the LORD.”
“Hezekiah addresses, not the priests, but the congregation: “Now that by the atoning sacrifice which has been offered for you, you are consecrated once more to be a holy people to the Lord, approach with confidence and offer your free-will offerings as of old.””
So they established a decree to circulate a proclamation throughout Israel, from Beersheba to Dan, that the people should come to keep the Passover of the LORD, the God of…
“They had not done it ... - Some prefer, “they had not kept it in full numbers, as it was written” - i. e.”
Nevertheless, some from Asher, Manasseh, and Zebulun humbled themselves and came to Jerusalem.
“Compare 2Ch 30:18. Hence, five of the ten tribes certainly sent representatives. Two - Reuben and Gad - were in captivity. One - Dan - was absorbed into Judah. Simeon and Naphtali, which alone remained, seem to have been more than ordinarily idolatrous 2Ch 34:6.”
They proceeded to remove the altars in Jerusalem and to take away the incense altars and throw them into the Kidron Valley.
“The continuance of the idolatrous altars to this time shows that Hezekiah had been more anxious to construct than to destroy, to establish the Yahweh-worship than to root out idolatry.”
And on the fourteenth day of the second month they slaughtered the Passover lamb.
“The laggart priests and Levites, who from want of zeal for the Yahweh-worship, or from actual inclination to idolatry, had neglected to purify themselves (2Ch 30:3 and marginal reference), were now shamed by the general ardor, and sanctified themselves for the Paschal festival.”
They stood at their prescribed posts, according to the Law of Moses the man of God. The priests sprinkled the blood, which they received from the hand of the Levites.
“After their manner - According to the Mishna, the custom was for the priests to stand in two rows extending from the altar to the outer court, where the people were assembled.”
The whole assembly agreed to observe seven more days, so they observed seven days with joy.
“To keep other seven days - This was a voluntary addition to the requirements of the Law - the fruit and sign of the abounding zeal which characterized the time.”
When all this had ended, the Israelites in attendance went out to the cities of Judah and broke up the sacred pillars, chopped down the Asherah poles, and tore down…
“Jerusalem had been cleansed 2Ch 30:14; now the land had to be purged. Hezekiah therefore gave his sanction to a popular movement directed as much against the “high places” which had been maintained since the times of the patriarchs, as against the remnants of the…”