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
In my first book, O Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach,
“The former treatise - The former book. The Gospel of Luke is here evidently intended. Greek: the former λόγος logos, meaning “a discourse,” or “a narrative.” O Theophilus - See the notes on Luk 1:3.”
After His suffering, He presented Himself to them with many convincing proofs that He was alive.
“He showed himself - The resurrection of Jesus was the great fact on which the truth of the gospel was to be established. Hence, the sacred writers so often refer to it, and establish it by so many arguments.”
Jesus replied, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by His own authority.
“It is not for you to know - The question of the apostles respected the time of the restoration; it was not whether he would do it.”
After He had said this, they watched as He was taken up, and a cloud hid Him from their sight.
“While they beheld - While they saw him. It was of importance to state that circumstance, and to state it distinctly.”
“Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky?
“Ye men of Galilee - Galilee was the place of their former residence, and they were commonly known by the name of Galileans. Why stand ye ...”
In those days Peter stood up among the brothers (a gathering of about a hundred and twenty) and said,
“In those days - On one of the days intervening between the ascension of Jesus and the day of Pentecost. Peter stood up - Peter standing up, or rising.”
He was one of our number and shared in this ministry.”
“He was numbered with us - He was chosen as an apostle by the Lord Jesus, Luk 6:13-16. This does not mean that he was a true Christian, but that he was reckoned among the apostles.”
This became known to all who lived in Jerusalem, so they called that field in their own language Akeldama, that is, Field of Blood.)
“It was known ... - , Mat 27:8. The scene in the temple; the acts of the priests in purchasing the field, etc., would make it known; and the name of the field would preserve the memory of the guilt of Judas.”
Therefore it is necessary to choose one of the men who have accompanied us the whole time the Lord Jesus went in and out among us,
“Wherefore of these men - Of those who had witnessed the life and works of Christ, and who were therefore qualified to discharge the duties of the office from which Judas fell. Probably Peter refers to the seventy disciples, Luk 10:1-2.”
So they proposed two men: Joseph called Barsabbas (also known as Justus) and Matthias.
“And they appointed two - They proposed, or, as we should say, nominated two. Literally, they placed two, or made them to stand forth, as persons do who are candidates for office.”
to take up this ministry and apostleship, which Judas abandoned to go to his rightful place.”
“That he may take part of this ministry - The word rendered “part” - κλῆρον klēron - is the same which in the next verse is rendered lots.”
When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place.
“And when the day of Pentecost - The word “Pentecost” is a Greek word signifying the 50th part of a thing, or the 50th in order.”
They saw tongues like flames of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them.
“And there appeared unto them - There were seen by them, or they saw. The fire was first seen by them in the room before it rested in the form of tongues on the heads of the disciples.”
Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven.
“There were dwelling at Jerusalem - The word rendered “dwelling” - κατοικοῦντες katoikountes - properly means to have a fixed and permanent habitation, in distinction from another word - παροικοῦντες paroikeountes - which means to have a temporary and transient residence in a place.”
Astounded and amazed, they asked, “Are not all these men who are speaking Galileans?
“Galileans - Inhabitants of Galilee. It was remarkable that they should speak in this manner, because: (1) They were ignorant, rude, and uncivilized, Joh 1:46. Hence, the term Galilean was used as an expression of the deepest reproach and contempt, Mar 14:70; Joh 7:52.”
Parthians, Medes, and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia,
“Parthians ... - To show the surprising extent and power of this miracle, Luke enumerates the different nations that were represented then at Jerusalem. In this way the number of languages which the apostles spoke, and the extent of the miracle, can be ascertained.”
both Jews and converts to Judaism; Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!”
“Cretes - Crete, now called Candia, is an island in the Mediterranean, about 200 miles in length and 50 in breadth, about 500 miles southwest of Constantinople, and about the same distance west of Syria or Palestine.”
Astounded and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?”
“Were in doubt - This expression, διηπόρουν diēporoun, denotes “a state of hesitancy or anxiety about an event.” It is applied to those who are traveling, and are ignorant of the way, or who hesitate about the road.”
But others mocked them and said, “They are drunk on new wine!”
“Others, mocking, said - The word rendered “mocking” means “to cavil, to deride.” It occurs in the New Testament in only one other place: Act 17:32, “And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked.””
These men are not drunk, as you suppose. It is only the third hour of the day!
“For these are not drunken ... - The word these here includes Peter himself, as well as the others. The charge doubtless extended to all.”
‘In the last days, God says, I will pour out My Spirit on all people.
“It shall come to pass - It shall happen, or shall occur. In the last days - Hebrew, Chaldee, Syriac, and Arabic, after these things, or afterward.”
I will show wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and billows of smoke.
“I will show wonders - Literally, “I will give signs” - δώσω τέρατα dōsō terata. The word in the Hebrew, מופתים mowpatiym, means properly “prodigies; wonderful occurrences; miracles performed by God or his messengers,” Exo 4:21; Exo 7:3, Exo 7:9; Exo 11:9; Deu 4:34, etc.”
And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’
“Whosoever shall call - In the midst of these wonders and dangers, whosoever should call on the Lord should be delivered (Joel). The name of the Lord is the same as the Lord himself.”
He was delivered up by God’s set plan and foreknowledge, and you, by the hands of the lawless, put Him to death by nailing Him to the cross.
“Him, being delivered - ἔκδοτον ekdoton. This word, delivered, is used commonly of those who are surrendered or delivered into the hands of enemies or adversaries.”
David says about Him: ‘I saw the Lord always before me; because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.
“For Daniel speaketh ... - This doctrine that the Messiah must rise from the dead Peter proceeds to prove by a quotation from the Old Testament. This passage is taken from Psa 16:8-11.”