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
Though she is beautiful and delicate, I will destroy the Daughter of Zion.
“The whole verse is difficult, but should probably be translated; “to a pasturage, yea a luxuriant pasturage, have I likened (or, have reduced to silence, i. e., destroyed) the daughter of Zion.””
Rise up, let us attack by night and destroy her fortresses!’”
“Up! and we will make the assault “by night!” And destroy “her palaces.” The generals delay the assault until the next morning. The soldiers consider themselves aggrieved at this, and clamour for a night attack.”
As a well gushes its water, so she pours out her evil. Violence and destruction resound in her; sickness and wounds are ever before Me.
“As a fountain casteth out - Better, As a cistern “cooleth.” Before me ... - Before My face continually there is disease and wounding: Disease as the result of poverty and want: wounding, or, the commission of deeds of actual violence.”
This is what the LORD of Hosts says: “Glean the remnant of Israel as thoroughly as a vine. Pass your hand once more like a grape gatherer over the branches.”
“They ... - Each word indicates the completeness of Judah’s ruin. Turn back thine hand - Addressed perhaps to Nebuchadnezzar as God’s servant Jer 25:9. He is required to go over the vine once again, that no grapes may escape.”
But I am full of the LORD’s wrath; I am tired of holding it back.
“Or, But I am filled with “the fury of Yahweh: I am weary with holding” it “in.” Pour it out “upon the children” in the street, and upon the company of youths “together;” for both man and “wife shall be taken;” the older and he…”
“For from the least of them to the greatest, all are greedy for gain; from prophet to priest, all practice deceit.
“Given to covetousness - literally, everyone has gained gains. The temper of mind which gains the world is not that which gains heaven. Falsely - Rather, “fraudulently.””
I appointed watchmen over you and said, ‘Listen for the sound of the ram’s horn.’ But they answered, ‘We will not listen!’
“Watchmen - The prophets Isa 52:8. The second of the trumpet - This was the signal for flight Jer 6:1; Amo 3:6. Similarly the prophet’s warning was to move men to escape from God’s judgments.”
Therefore hear, O nations, and learn, O congregations, what will happen to them.
“God summons three witnesses to hear His sentence. (1) the Gentiles. (2) all mankind, Jews and Gentiles. (3) nature (see Jer 6:19). What is among them - Rather, “what happens” in them; i. e., “Know what great things I will do to them.””
Therefore this is what the LORD says: “I will lay stumbling blocks before this people; fathers and sons alike will be staggered; friends and neighbors will perish.”
““Behold,” I give unto “this people” causes of stumbling, And they shall stumble against them: Fathers and sons together, “The neighbor and his friend shall perish.” This is the natural consequence of their conduct.”
They grasp the bow and spear; they are cruel and merciless. Their voice roars like the sea, and they ride upon horses, lined up like men in formation against you…
“Spear - Properly, a javelin for hurling at the enemy (see 1Sa 17:6 note): an ordinary weapon of the Babylonians. Cruel - ruthless, inhuman.”
We have heard the report; our hands hang limp. Anguish has gripped us, pain like that of a woman in labor.
“The effect upon the Jewish people of the news of Nebuchadnezzars approach. Wax feeble - Are relaxed. It is the opposite of what is said in Jer 6:23 of the enemy, “They lay hold etc.””
Do not go out to the fields; do not walk the road. For the enemy has a sword; terror is on every side.
“For the sword of the enemy - literally, “for to the enemy a sword; i. e., for the enemy is armed,” he has a commission from God to execute judgment. See Jer 12:12; Isa 10:5, and Psa 17:13 note.”
“I have appointed you to examine My people like ore, so you may know and try their ways.
“Render it: I have set thee among My people as a prover of ore, And thou shalt know and try their way. They are all of them rebels of rebels (i. e., utter rebels): Slander-walkers, were copper and iron, Corrupters all of them.”
The bellows blow fiercely, blasting away the lead with fire. The refining proceeds in vain, for the wicked are not purged.
“The bellows are burned - Worn out by continual blowing. The prophet has exhausted all his efforts. His heart, consumed by the heat of divine inspiration, can labor no more. Others translate “The bellows snort,” i. e., blow furiously.”
They are called rejected silver, because the LORD has rejected them.”
“Reprobate - See the margin; not really silver, but the dross. The Lord hath rejected them - This then is the end. The smelter is God’s prophet: the bellows the breath of inspiration: the flux his earnestness in preaching.”
This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying,
“In Jer. 7–10 he addresses the people as they flocked into Jerusalem from the country, to attend the solemn services in the temple upon a fastday. Jehoiakim Jer.”
Thus says the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel: Correct your ways and deeds, and I will let you live in this place.
“If the people repented, instead of being led into captivity, God would maintain their national existence. It is a promise of the continuance of an old blessing.”
For if you really correct your ways and deeds, if you act justly toward one another,
“A summary of the conditions indispensable on man’s part, before he can plead the terms of the covenant in his favor. Jer 7:6 In this place - i. e., in Jerusalem. The prophet refers to innocent blood shed there judicially.”
and then come and stand before Me in this house, which bears My Name, and say, ‘We are delivered, so we can continue with all these abominations’?
“We are delivered - Jeremiah accuses them of trusting in the ceremonial of the temple instead of leading holy lives. “You break,” he says, “the Ten Commandments, and then you go to the Temple; and when the service is over you say, We are delivered.”
Has this house, which bears My Name, become a den of robbers in your sight? Yes, I too have seen it, declares the LORD.
“Robbers - literally, tearers, those who rob with violence. The temple was the place which sheltered them. It had been consecrated to God.”
And now, because you have done all these things, declares the LORD, and because I have spoken to you again and again but you would not listen, and I have…
“Rising up early and speaking - A proverbial expression for “speaking zealously and earnestly.” It is used only by Jeremiah.”
And I will cast you out of My presence, just as I have cast out all your brothers, all the descendants of Ephraim.
“The whole seed of Ephraim - i. e., the whole of the nine northern tribes. Their casting out was a plain proof that the possession of the symbols of God’s presence does not secure a Church or nation from rejection, if unworthy of its privileges.”
Do you not see what they are doing in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem?
“The proof of the hopeless immorality of the people is this, that they worship pagan deities (1) generally in the cities of Judah, and not in the capital only; and (2) publicly in the streets of Jerusalem.”
This is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: Add your burnt offerings to your other sacrifices and eat the meat yourselves!
“The meaning is, Increase your sacrifices as you will. Acid burnt-offering to peace-offerings. All is in vain as long as you neglect the indispensable requirements of obedience and moral purity. Eat flesh is equivalent to sacrifice.”
but this is what I commanded them: Obey Me, and I will be your God, and you will be My people.
“Obey ... - These words are not found verbatim in the Pentateuch, but are a sum mary of its principles. Sacrifice is never the final cause of the covenant, but always obedience (Exo 19:5-6; Lev 11:45. Compare Exo. 20; Deut.”