Voices and influences
John Gill
The self-taught Baptist Hebraist who pastored one London congregation for fifty-one years and wrote a comment on every verse in the Bible.
Summary
This site quotes John Gill 5,991 times across 66 books, and lists 0 works.
- Lived 1697 to 1771.
- Quoted here most in Psalms: 639 of 5,991.
John Gill
- Lived
- 1697 to 1771
- Tradition
- Reformed Baptist
5 of 5,991 quotations
Own words
Quoted in full, because John Gill died in 1771 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.
A bruised reed shall he not break,.... Various are the thoughts of interpreters, about what is meant by this, and by the smoking flax shall he not quench.
Undated in the archive this site cites.
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Some think the Scribes and Pharisees are designed, whose power Christ could easily crush, and their wrath and fury restrain, but would not, till the time of his vengeance was come. Others that the publicans and sinners are intended, of whose conversion and salvation there were more hope than of the Scribes and Pharisees; and which Christ greatly sought after, and therefore cherished and encouraged them in his ministry and conversation.
Matthew 12:20 A bruised reed He will not break, and a smoldering wick He will not extinguish, till He leads justice to victory. BSB
And Cain talked with Abel,.... Or "said", or "spoke unto" him (l); either what the Lord God said to him in the foregoing verses, as Aben Ezra; or he spoke to him in a kind and friendly manner, and thereby got him to take a…
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walk in the field with him.
Genesis 4:8 Then Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let us go out to the field.” And while they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him. BSB
And whosoever offereth a sacrifice of peace offering unto the Lord,.... This, as Ben Gersom observes, is distinguished from a burnt offering; for though it was to be perfect, and without blemish, yet not obliged to be a male as that, Lev 3:
Undated in the archive this site cites.
Leviticus 22:21 When a man presents a peace offering to the LORD from the herd or flock to fulfill a vow or as a freewill offering, it must be without blemish or defect to be acceptable. BSB
So David and Abishai came to the people by night,.... Josephus (l) wrongly says, that he took with him both Abishai and Ahimelech; he chose to have but one, for the greater secrecy.
Undated in the archive this site cites.
1 Samuel 26:7 That night David and Abishai came to the troops, and Saul was lying there asleep in the inner circle of the camp, with his spear stuck in the ground by his head. And Abner and the troops were lying around him. BSB
Therefore, behold, I will bring evil upon the house of Jeroboam,.... Calamities, destruction, and ruin: and will cut off from Jeroboam him that pisseth against the wall; not leave a dog of his, or rather a male, see 1Sa 25:22.
Undated in the archive this site cites.
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and him that is shut up and left in Israel; in garrisons or in prisons, in cities or in fields, or in whatsoever situation or circumstances they may be.
1 Kings 14:10 Because of all this, behold, I am bringing disaster on the house of Jeroboam: I will cut off from Jeroboam every male, both slave and free, in Israel; I will burn up the house of Jeroboam as one burns up dung until it is gone! BSB
Influence, on the record
This site quotes John Gill 5,991 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
John Gill was born at Kettering in Northamptonshire on November 23, 1697, the son of a wool merchant who served as a deacon in the dissenting congregation there. Because the family were Nonconformists, the local grammar school effectively closed to him around the age of eleven. So he taught himself. What he taught himself was languages. He worked through Latin and Greek on his own, then Hebrew — and then kept going, into the Targums, the Talmud, and the medieval rabbis. Almost no English Christian of his century read Jewish sources as widely as Gill did, and he read them in the original. He was baptized in 1716, began preaching, and in 1719 was called to a small Particular Baptist congregation at Horsleydown in Southwark, south London. He stayed fifty-one years, until his death. That pulpit had a long life ahead of it: the congregation later moved and eventually became the church that called Charles Spurgeon a century afterward, and Spurgeon spoke of Gill as one of his predecessors. The work he is remembered for is the commentary. Gill wrote an exposition of the entire Bible, verse by verse, book by book — the New Testament first, in three volumes (1746–1748), then the Old Testament in six (1748–1763). It was the first complete verse-by-verse commentary on the whole Bible written by a Baptist, and it is thick with rabbinic material nobody else was bringing to English readers. He also wrote The Cause of God and Truth (1735–1738), a four-part defense of Calvinist doctrine against the Arminian arguments of Daniel Whitby, and late in life A Body of Doctrinal and Practical Divinity (1767–1770), the first full systematic theology produced by an English Baptist. The University of Aberdeen gave him a doctorate in divinity in 1748; he remarked that he had neither asked for it nor deserved it. His theology was high Calvinism, and he pressed it further than most. Gill held to eternal justification and was reluctant to make a free offer of Christ to all who heard him — a position later called hyper-Calvinism, and one that Andrew Fuller and then Spurgeon worked hard to undo among the Baptists. Historians still argue about exactly how far he went. Robert Hall's jab has followed the commentary ever since: it was, he said, a continent of mud. But the mud kept getting reprinted. Augustus Toplady defended him fiercely. Spurgeon kept him on the shelf and praised his learning in Commenting and Commentaries, while rejecting outright his restraint about inviting sinners to come. He preached his last sermon in 1771 and died at Camberwell on October 14 of that year, aged seventy-three. Fifty-one years in one pulpit, a comment on every verse in the Bible, and a body of theology his own denomination has been arguing with ever since. Sources: John Gill, An Exposition of the Old and New Testaments and A Body of Doctrinal and Practical Divinity; John Rippon, A Brief Memoir of the Life and Writings of the Late Rev. John Gill, D.D.; C. H. Spurgeon, Commenting and Commentaries; Timothy George and David Dockery, eds., Baptist Theologians.
5,991 quotations across 66 books
Where this voice is quoted
In those days King Xerxes sat on his royal throne in the citadel of Susa.
“That in those days, when the King Ahasuerus sat on the throne of his kingdom,.... Not only was placed upon it, but settled in it; after Xerxes had subdued Egypt, in the second year of his reign (e), and enjoyed great peace and tranquillity: which…”
In the third year of his reign, Xerxes held a feast for all his officials and servants.
“In the third year of his reign he made a feast unto all his princes, and his servants,.... The nobles and officers in his court; on what account this was cannot be said with certainty, whether the first day of it was his birthday, or…”
Hangings of white and blue linen were fastened with cords of fine white and purple material to silver rings on the marble pillars.
“Where were white, green, and blue hangings,.... Or curtains of fine linen, as the Targum, which were of these several colours; the first letter of the word for "white" is larger than usual, to denote the exceeding whiteness of them.”
Beverages were served in an array of goblets of gold, each with a different design, and the royal wine flowed freely, according to the king’s bounty.
“They gave them drink in vessels of gold, the vessels being divers one from another,.... In the pattern and workmanship of them, though of the same metal, which diversity made the festival the more grand; earthen cups, with the Persians, were reckoned very mean; when…”
Queen Vashti also gave a banquet for the women in the royal palace of King Xerxes.
“Also Vashti the queen made a feast for the women.... For it was not customary with the Persians, nor other eastern nations, to admit of women to their festivals (m), but they feasted by themselves. Who Vashti was is not known with any certainty.”
to bring Queen Vashti before him, wearing her royal crown, to display her beauty to the people and officials. For she was beautiful to behold.
“To bring Vashti the queen before the king,.... Not against her will, or by force; but they were sent to let her know it was the king's pleasure that she should come to him immediately: with the crown royal; that is, upon her head, to…”
Then the king consulted the wise men who knew the times, for it was customary for him to confer with the experts in law and justice.
“Then the king said to the wise men that knew the times,.... Astrologers, as Aben Ezra, that knew the fit time for doing anything; or that had knowledge of ancient times, historians, well read in history, and knew things that had happened similar to this…”
Then the king’s attendants proposed, “Let a search be made for beautiful young virgins for the king,
“Then said the king's servants that ministered unto him,.... Fearing that, if Vashti should be restored, vengeance would be taken on them; or however to remove the grief and melancholy of the king, they gave the following advice: let there be fair young virgins sought…”
Now there was at the citadel of Susa a Jewish man from the tribe of Benjamin named Mordecai son of Jair, the son of Shimei, the son of Kish.
“Now in Shushan the palace was a certain Jew,.... Not one of the tribe of Judah, for he was afterwards called a Benjaminite; but was so called, because he was of the kingdom of Judah, which consisted of both tribes.”
And Mordecai had brought up Hadassah (that is, Esther), the daughter of his uncle, because she did not have a father or mother.
“And he brought up Hadassah (that is Esther) his uncle's daughter,.... Her Hebrew name was Hadassah, which signifies a myrtle, to which the Israelites, and good men among them, are sometimes compared, Zec 1:”
When the king’s command and edict had been proclaimed, many young women gathered at the citadel of Susa under the care of Hegai.
“So it came to pass, when the king's commandment and decree was heard,.... In the several provinces of his kingdom: and when many maidens were gathered unto Shushan the palace, to the custody of Hegai; Josephus (o) says, there were gathered to the number of…”
Esther did not reveal her people or her lineage, because Mordecai had instructed her not to do so.
“Esther had not showed her people nor her kindred,.... What nation or family she was of; it not being asked, she was under no obligation to declare it; and being born in Shushan, as very probable, she was taken to be a Persian: for Mordecai…”
And every day Mordecai would walk back and forth in front of the court of the harem to learn about Esther’s welfare and what was happening to her.
“And Mordecai walked every day before the court of the women's house,.... Being one of the court, and in an high post, as Aben Ezra thinks, he might walk there without being examined, and called to an account for it: to know how Esther did…”
Then the royal servants at the king’s gate asked Mordecai, “Why do you disobey the command of the king?”
“Then the king's servants, which were in the king's gate,.... Observing the behaviour of Mordecai towards Haman from time to time: said unto Mordecai, why transgressest thou the king's commandment? of giving reverence to Haman, which they knew he could not be ignorant of.”
When Haman saw that Mordecai would not bow down or pay him homage, he was filled with rage.
“And when Haman saw that Mordecai bowed not, nor did him reverence,.... For, after the information given him, he observed and watched him, to see whether he bowed and did him reverence or not: then was Haman full of wrath; exceedingly displeased and angry; it…”
So the king removed the signet ring from his finger and gave it to Haman son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, the enemy of the Jews.
“And the king took his ring from his hand, and gave it unto Haman, the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the Jews' enemy.”
“Keep your money,” said the king to Haman. “These people are given to you to do with them as you please.”
“And the king said unto Haman, the silver is given unto thee,.... The 10,000 talents of silver Haman proposed to pay into the treasury were returned to him, or the king out of his great munificence refused to take them: the people also, to do…”
A copy of the text of the edict was to be issued in every province and published to all the people, so that they would be ready on that day.
“The copy of the writing, for a commandment to be given in every province, was published unto all people,....”
“If it pleases the king,” Esther replied, “may the king and Haman come today to the banquet I have prepared for the king.”
“And Esther answered, if it seem good unto the king,.... She humbly submits it to his pleasure, suggesting it would be exceeding grateful to her, could it be granted: let the king and Haman come this day unto the banquet that I have prepared for…”
Nevertheless, Haman restrained himself and went home. And calling for his friends and his wife Zeresh,
“Nevertheless Haman refrained himself,.... From showing any outward resentment to Mordecai, from laying hands upon him or taking revenge on him, as being too much below him to avenge himself on a single person, when the whole body of the people Mordecai belonged to would…”
So the king’s attendants answered him, “Haman is there, standing in the court.” “Bring him in,” ordered the king.
“And the king's servants said unto him, behold, Haman standeth in the court,.... In the outward court; for into the inward court none might enter without being called, for which he was waiting: and the king said, let him come in; into his bedchamber; and…”
So the king and Haman went to dine with Esther the queen,
“So the king and Haman came to banquet with Esther the queen. Or, "to drink with her" (e), that is, wine; for in the next verse it is called a banquet of wine; so they did according to the invitation the queen had given them…”
Then Harbonah, one of the eunuchs attending the king, said: “There is a gallows fifty cubits high at Haman’s house.
“And Harbonah, one of the chamberlains, said before the king,.... One of the seven chamberlains, see Est 1:10, his name, with Josephus (y), is Sabouchadas.”
The king removed the signet ring he had recovered from Haman and presented it to Mordecai. And Esther appointed Mordecai over the estate of Haman.
“And the king took off his ring, which he had taken from Haman, and gave it unto Mordecai,.... which, with the Persians, was a token of the strongest affection and strictest friendship (z); the Targum calls it his signatory ring, that with which he signed…”
The king extended the gold scepter toward Esther, and she arose and stood before the king.
“Then the king held out the golden sceptre towards Esther,.... As a token that she had not incurred his displeasure by coming into his presence without leave, and that she was admitted to speak and make her request; see Est 5:3 so Esther arose and…”