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
Agrippa said to Paul, “You have permission to speak for yourself.” Then Paul stretched out his hand and began his defense:
“Then Paul stretched forth the hand - See the notes on Act 21:40. This was the usual posture of orators or public speakers. The ancient statues are commonly made in this way, with the right hand extended. The dress of the ancients favored this.”
They have known me for a long time and can testify, if they are willing, that I lived as a Pharisee, adhering to the strictest sect of our religion.
“Which knew me - Who were well acquainted with me. From the beginning - ἄνωθεν anōthen. Formerly; or from the very commencement of my career. Who were perfectly apprised of my whole course.”
the promise our twelve tribes are hoping to realize as they earnestly serve God day and night.
“Unto which promise - To the fulfillment of which promise they hope to come; that is, they hope and believe that the promise will be fulfilled, and that they will partake of its benefits.”
So then, I too was convinced that I ought to do all I could to oppose the name of Jesus of Nazareth.
“I verily thought - I indeed μὲν men supposed. Paul here commences the account of his conversion, and states the evidence on which he judged that he was called of God to do what he had done.”
I frequently had them punished in the synagogues, and I tried to make them blaspheme. In my raging fury against them, I even went to foreign cities to persecute them.
“And I punished them oft ... - See Act 22:19. And compelled them to blaspheme - To blaspheme the name of Jesus by denying that he was the Messiah, and by admitting that he was an impostor.”
I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them
“Delivering thee from the people - From the Jewish people. This implied that he would be persecuted by them, and that the Lord Jesus would interpose to rescue him.”
that the Christ would suffer, and as the first to rise from the dead, would proclaim light to our people and to the Gentiles.”
“That Christ - That the Messiah expected by the Jews should be a suffering Messiah. Should suffer - Should lead a painful life, and be put to death. See the notes on Act 17:3; compare Dan 9:27; Isa 53:1-12.”
But Paul answered, “I am not insane, most excellent Festus; I am speaking words of truth and sobriety.
“I am not mad - I am not deranged. There are few more happy turns than what Paul gives to this accusation of Festus.”
King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know you do.”
“King Agrippa - This bold personal address is an instance of Paul’s happy manner of appeal. He does it to bring in the testimony of Agrippa to meet the charge of Festus that he was deranged. Believest thou the prophets?”
“Short time or long,” Paul replied, “I wish to God that not only you but all who hear me this day may become what I am, except for these chains.”
“I would to God - I pray to God; I earnestly desire it of God. This shows: (1) Paul’s intense desire that Agrippa, and all who heard him, might be saved.”
On their way out, they said to one another, “This man has done nothing worthy of death or imprisonment.”
“This man doeth nothing worthy of death - This was the conclusion to which they had come after hearing all that the Jews had to allege against him.”
When it was decided that we would sail for Italy, Paul and some other prisoners were handed over to a centurion named Julius, who belonged to the Imperial Regiment.
“And when it was determined - By Festus Act 25:12, and when the time was come when it was convenient to send him.”
The next day we landed at Sidon, and Julius treated Paul with consideration, allowing him to visit his friends and receive their care.
“We touched at Sidon - See the notes on Mat 11:21. Sidon was about 67 miles north of Caesarea, and the passage could be easily accomplished, under favorable circumstances, in 24 hours.”
After putting out from there, we sailed to the lee of Cyprus because the winds were against us.
“We sailed under Cyprus - For an account of Cyprus, see the notes on Act 4:36. By sailing “under Cyprus” is meant that they sailed along its coasts; they kept near to it; they thus endeavored to break off the violent winds.”
And when we had sailed across the open sea off the coast of Cilicia and Pamphylia, we came to Myra in Lycia.
“The sea of Cilicia and Pamphylia - The sea which lies off the, coast from these two regions. For their situation, see the notes on Act 6:9, and Act 13:13.”
After sailing slowly for many days, we arrived off Cnidus. When the wind impeded us, we sailed to the lee of Crete, opposite Salmone.
“Had sailed slowly - By reason of the prevalence of the western winds, Act 27:4. Over against Cnidus - This was a city standing on a promontory of the same name in Asia Minor, in the part of the province of Caria called Doris, and…”
By now much time had passed, and the voyage had already become dangerous because it was after the Fast. So Paul advised them,
“When much time was spent - In sailing along the coast of Asia; in contending with the contrary winds. It is evident that when they started they had hoped to reach Italy before the dangerous time of navigating the Mediterranean should arrive.”
But contrary to Paul’s advice, the centurion was persuaded by the pilot and by the owner of the ship.
“The master - The person who is here meant was the helmsman, who occupied in ancient ships a conspicuous place on the stern, and steered the ship, and gave directions to the crew.”
When a gentle south wind began to blow, they thought they had their opportunity. So they weighed anchor and sailed along, hugging the coast of Crete.
“The south wind - The wind before had probably been a head-wind, blowing from the west. When it veered round to the south, and when it blew gently, though not entirely favorable, yet it was so that they supposed they could sail along the coast…”
After hoisting it up, the crew used ropes to undergird the ship. And fearing that they would run aground on the sandbars of Syrtis, they lowered the sea anchor and…
“Which when they had taken up - When they had raised up the boat into the ship, so as to secure it. They used helps - They used ropes, cables, stays, or chains, for the purpose of securing the ship.”
On the third day, they threw the ship’s tackle overboard with their own hands.
“The tackling of the ship - The anchors, sails, cables, baggage, etc. That is, everything that was not indispensable to its preservation, for it seems still Act 27:29 that they retained some of their anchors on board.”
After the men had gone a long time without food, Paul stood up among them and said, “Men, you should have followed my advice not to sail from Crete.
“But after long abstinence - By the violence of the storm, by their long continued labor, and by their apprehension of danger, they had a long time abstained from food.”
For just last night an angel of God, whose I am and whom I serve, stood beside me
“There stood by me - There appeared to me. The angel of God - The messages of God were often communicated by angels. See Heb 1:14. This does not mean that there was any particular angel, but simply an angel.”
On the fourteenth night we were still being driven across the Adriatic Sea. About midnight the sailors sensed they were approaching land.
“The fourteenth night - From the time when the tempest commenced. In Adria - In the Adriatic Sea. This sea is situated between Italy and Dalmatia, now called the Adriatic Gulf.”
But Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, “Unless these men remain with the ship, you cannot be saved.”
“Paul said to the centurion and to the soldiers - The centurion had, it appears, the general direction of the ship, Act 27:11. Perhaps it had been pressed into the service of the government. Except these - These seamen.”