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…
Undated in the archive this site cites.
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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
all the kings of Arabia, and all the kings of the mixed tribes who dwell in the desert;
“And all the kings of Arabia,.... Of Arabia Petraea; and all the kings of the mingled people that dwell in the desert; the other Arabians or mixed people, that dwell in Arabia Deserta, as the Scenites, Nomades, Kedarenes, and others; and so the Targum, "and…”
all the kings of Zimri, Elam, and Media;
“And all the kings of Zimri,.... Of Arabia Felix, so called from Zimran, a son of Abraham by Keturah, Gen 25:2; the same whom Pliny (n) calls Zamerenes; and all the kings of Elam; or Persia; who are prophesied against in Jer 49:34; and all…”
Wail, you shepherds, and cry out; roll in the dust, you leaders of the flock.
“Howl, ye shepherds, and cry,.... The Targum is, "howl, ye kings, and cry;'' and the rulers and governors of the nations before threatened with destruction are meant; who are here called upon to lamentation and mourning for the ruin and loss of their kingdoms; though…”
Flight will evade the shepherds, and escape will elude the leaders of the flock.
“And the shepherds shall have no way to flee,.... Or, "and flight shall perish from the shepherds" (u); though they may attempt it, they shall not be able to accomplish it; neither the dignity of their persons, the greatness of their power, or the abundance…”
He has left His den like a lion, for their land has been made a desolation by the sword of the oppressor, and because of the fierce anger of the…
“He hath forsaken his covert as a lion,.... Which some understand of God leaving Jerusalem, or the temple, where he dwelt; who, while he made it his residence, protected it; but when he forsook it, it became exposed to the enemy.”
Some of the elders of the land stood up and said to the whole assembly of the people,
“Then rose up certain of the elders of the land,.... The same with the princes; some of the court, who rose up as advocates for the prophet: and spake to all the assembly of the people: to justify the vote of the court, and to…”
Then King Jehoiakim sent men to Egypt: Elnathan son of Achbor along with some other men.
“And Jehoiakim sent men into Egypt,.... To seek for him; and to require the delivery of him upon being found: namely, Elnathan the son of Achbor; the father of this man very probably is the same we read of in Josiah's time, 2Ki 22:12; who…”
Do not listen to them. Serve the king of Babylon and live! Why should this city become a ruin?
“Hearken not unto them,.... The false prophets: serve the king of Babylon, and live; pay homage and tribute to him; which is the way to live in your own land, and enjoy the benefits of that, and of the temple worship; which, if not, you…”
For this is what the LORD of Hosts says about the pillars, the sea, the bases, and the rest of the articles that remain in this city,
“For thus saith the Lord of hosts concerning the pillars,.... The pillars of brass that stood in the temple; the one called Boaz, and the other Jachin, 1Ki 7:15; and concerning the sea; the sea of molten brass, which stood upon twelve oxen, 1Ki 7:23…”
which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon did not take when he carried Jeconiah son of Jehoiakim king of Judah into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon, along with all the nobles of…
“Which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon took not,.... For he seems only to have taken the vessels of gold, and left the vessels of brass, as the above were; see 2Ki 24:13; when he carried away captive Jeconiah, the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, from…”
Then the prophet Jeremiah replied to the prophet Hananiah in the presence of the priests and all the people who were standing in the house of the LORD.
“Then the prophet Jeremiah said unto the prophet Hananiah,.... The false prophet, as he is called by the Targum, Syriac, and Arabic versions: in the presence of the priests, and in the presence of all the people that stood in the house of the Lord…”
Then the prophet Hananiah took the yoke off the neck of Jeremiah the prophet and broke it.
“Then Hananiah the prophet took the yoke from off the prophet Jeremiah's neck,.... Which he wore as a symbol of the subjection of Judea, and other nations, to the king of Babylon: an impudent and insolent action this was, to take the prophet's yoke from…”
this is what the LORD says about the king who sits on David’s throne and all the people who remain in this city, your brothers who did not go with…
“Know that thus saith the Lord,.... Or "for", or "wherefore thus saith the Lord" (x); for the word "know" is not in the text, and seems needless; though it is also supplied by other interpreters (y).”
This is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says about Ahab son of Kolaiah and Zedekiah son of Maaseiah, who are prophesying to you lies in My…
“Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel,.... See Gill on Jer 29:4; of Ahab the son of Kolaiah, and of Zedekiah the son of Maaseiah, which prophesy a lie unto you: two false prophets, of whom we have no account any where…”
For they have committed an outrage in Israel by committing adultery with the wives of their neighbors and speaking lies in My name, which I did not command them to…
“Because they have committed villany in Israel,.... Or "folly" (f); as the sins of adultery, and prophesying falsely, are afterwards mentioned.”
You are to tell Shemaiah the Nehelamite that
“Thus shalt thou speak to Shemaiah the Nehelamite,.... Or, "the dreamer" (h); because he pretended to have dreams from the Lord; or because what he delivered as prophecies were mere dreams; as that the captives should quickly return to their own land; so Kimchi: but…”
this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: “In your own name you have sent out letters to all the people of Jerusalem, to the priest…
“Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, saying,.... See Gill on Jer 29:4; because thou hast sent letters in thy name unto all the people that are at Jerusalem; not in the name of the captives, whom he consulted not; nor with…”
This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD:
“The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord,.... The word of prophecy, us the Targum. Some make this to be the "thirteenth" sermon of the prophet's; it is a consolatory one, as Kimchi observes: saying; as follows:”
These are the words that the LORD spoke concerning Israel and Judah.
“And these are the words that the Lord spake concerning Israel, and concerning Judah. Which follow in this chapter and the next; first concerning Israel, the ten tribes; and then concerning the two tribes of Judah and Benjamin, even concerning all Israel; whereas, if this…”
Nevertheless, all who devour you will be devoured, and all your adversaries—every one of them—will go off into exile.
“Therefore all they that devour thee shall be devoured,.... Thus rendering the words, they are to be connected with Jer 30:10; and all between to be put into a parenthesis: but rather, in connection with the preceding words, they should be rendered "nevertheless", or "notwithstanding"…”
This is what the LORD says: “I will restore the fortunes of Jacob’s tents and have compassion on his dwellings.
“Thus saith the Lord, I will bring again the captivity of Jacob's tents,.... That is, the captives of Israel, the inhabitants of them; alluding to the patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, dwelling in tents, and to the Israelites in the wilderness; and fitly expresses the…”
Their leader will be one of their own, and their ruler will arise from their midst.
“And their nobles shall be of themselves,.... Or, "his noble One" (d); Jacob's noble One, the Messiah, in whom all the promises centre; and whose incarnation and priesthood are the foundation of all the things above predicted.”
The fierce anger of the LORD will not turn back until He has fully accomplished the purposes of His heart. In the days to come you will understand this.
“The fierce anger of the Lord shall not return,.... This explains what is meant by the continuing whirlwind in Jer 30:23; until he hath done it; his whole will and pleasure; brought Babylon to ruin, and destroyed all the antichristian powers: and until he hath…”
For this is what the LORD says: “Sing with joy for Jacob; shout for the foremost of the nations!
“For thus saith the Lord, sing with gladness for Jacob,.... For the restoration of Jacob, or the conversion of the Jews; which will be matter of joy to the Christians among the Gentiles; who seem to be here called upon to express their joy on…”
Then the maidens will rejoice with dancing, young men and old as well. I will turn their mourning into joy, and give them comfort and joy for their sorrow.
“Then shall the virgin rejoice in the dance, both young men and old together,.... Not any particular virgin, but all virgins, as Kimchi interprets it.”