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
Jesus called His disciples to Him and said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more than all the others into the treasury.
“This poor widow hath cast more in ... - That is, more in proportion to her means, and therefore more that was acceptable to God.”
For they all contributed out of their surplus, but she out of her poverty has put in all she had to live on.”
“Of their abundance - Of their superfluous store. They have given what they did not “need.” They could afford it as well as not, and in doing it they have shown no self-denial. She of her want - Of her poverty.”
As Jesus was leaving the temple, one of His disciples said to Him, “Teacher, look at the magnificent stones and buildings!”
“What manner of stones - The stones here referred to were those used in the building of the temple, and the walls on the sides of Mount Moriah, on which the temple stood.”
While Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John, and Andrew asked Him privately,
“On the mount of Olives, over against the temple - The Mount of Olives was directly east of Jerusalem, and from it there was a fine view of the temple.”
So be on your guard. You will be delivered over to the councils and beaten in the synagogues.
“Take heed to yourselves - Be cautious that no man deceive you; or, take care of your lives, not to run into unnecessary danger. To councils - The higher ecclesiastical courts of the Jews, including the Sanhedrin, or great council of the nation.”
But when they arrest you and hand you over, do not worry beforehand what to say.
“Neither do ye premeditate - Do not think beforehand, or “prepare” an answer. You know not what the accusations will be, and God will furnish you with a reply that shall be adapted to the occasion.”
Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child. Children will rise against their parents and have them put to death.
“The brother shall betray ... - The brother shall give up in a treacherous manner his brother to be put to death, on account of his attachment to Jesus.”
Therefore keep watch, because you do not know when the master of the house will return—whether in the evening, at midnight, when the rooster crows, or in the morning.
“Watch ye - Be diligent, faithful, and waiting for the return of your Lord, who will come at an unexpected hour. Master of the house - Denoting here the Lord Jesus. At even, or at midnight, or ...”
And what I say to you, I say to everyone: Keep watch!”
“I say unto all, Watch - This command was proper, not only for those who were expecting the calamities that were soon to come upon the Jews, but for all who are soon to die and to go to the judgment.”
Then the soldiers led Jesus away into the palace (that is, the Praetorium) and called the whole company together.
“Called Praetorium - The hall of the “praetor,” or Roman governor, where he sat to administer justice. Whole band - See the notes at Mat 27:27.”
They dressed Him in a purple robe, twisted together a crown of thorns, and set it on His head.
“With purple - Matthew says scarlet. See the notes at Mat 27:28. About his head - In the form of a garland or diadem. The whole head was not covered, but it was placed in a circle round the temples.”
They kept striking His head with a staff and spitting on Him. And they knelt down and bowed before Him.
“Worshipped him - Mocked him with the “appearance” of homage. The word “worship” here denotes only the respect and honor shown to princes and kings. It does not refer to any “religious” homage.”
There they offered Him wine mixed with myrrh, but He did not take it.
“Wine mingled ... - Matthew says “vinegar.” It was probably “wine soured,” so that it might be called either. This was the common drink of the Roman soldiers. Myrrh - See the notes at Mat 27:34.”
“And the scripture was fulfilled ... - This passage of Scripture is found in Isa 53:12. This does not mean that he “was” a transgressor, but simply that in dying he “had a place” with transgressors.”
Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent Council member who himself was waiting for the kingdom of God, boldly went to Pilate to ask for the body of Jesus.
“Joseph, an honorable counselor - A distinguished man, who probably held a high office among the Jews, as one of their great council, or a Jewish senator.”
Pilate was surprised to hear that Jesus was already dead, so he summoned the centurion to ask if this was so.
“And Pilate marveled if - Wondered if he was dead, or wondered that he was so soon dead. It was not common for persons crucified to expire under two or three days, sometimes not until the sixth or seventh.”
When Pilate had confirmed it with the centurion, he granted the body to Joseph.
“When he knew it of the centurion - Being informed by the centurion of the fact that he was dead. The centurion had charge of the soldiers who watched him, and could therefore give correct information.”
When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so they could go and anoint the body of Jesus.
“See this passage explained in the notes at Mat 28:1-8. Mar 16:1 Sweet spices - “Aromatics.” Substances used in embalming. The idea of sweetness is not, however, implied in the original.”
And when they heard that Jesus was alive and she had seen Him, they did not believe it.
“Believed not - This is proof that they did not expect his resurrection; proof that they were not easily deceived, and that nothing but the clearest evidence could undeceive them.”
And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.
“Into all the world - To the Gentiles as well as the Jews. It was contrary to the opinions of the Jews that the Gentiles should be admitted to the privileges of the Messiah’s kingdom, or that the partition wall between them should be broken…”
And these signs will accompany those who believe: In My name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues;
“And these signs - These miracles. These evidences that they are sent from God. Them that believe - The apostles, and those in the primitive age who were endowed with like power.”
After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, He was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God.
“He was received up into heaven - In a cloud from the Mount of Olives. See Act 1:9. The right hand of God - We are not to suppose that God has hands, or that Jesus sits in any particular direction from God.”