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
Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away.
“Heaven and earth shall pass away,.... Which may be understood either affirmatively, as what will be at the second coming of Christ; or comparatively, rather than any thing said by Christ should; and so shows the certainty and irreversibleness of his predictions, as it follows…”
It is like a man going on a journey who left his house, put each servant in charge of his own task, and instructed the doorkeeper to keep watch.
“For the son of man is as a man taking a far journey,.... Or this case of the son of man's coming to take vengeance on the Jewish nation, is like a man that takes a journey into a far country.”
And what I say to you, I say to everyone: Keep watch!”
“And what I say unto you,.... The four disciples, Peter, James, John, and Andrew; who came privately to him, and put to him the questions, which occasioned this long discourse; see Mar 13:3. I say unto all.”
Some of those present, however, expressed their indignation to one another: “Why this waste of perfume?
“And there were some that had indignation within themselves,.... The Syriac version reads, "some of the disciples": agreeably to Mat 26:8, particularly Judas, and others might be incensed by his means: and said, why was this waste of the ointment made?”
She has done what she could to anoint My body in advance of My burial.
“She hath done what she could,.... What she had in her heart, and in the power of her hands to do; she hath done according to her ability, and her good will; and if she had not done it now, she could not have done…”
So He sent two of His disciples and told them, “Go into the city, and a man carrying a jug of water will meet you. Follow him,
“And he sendeth forth two of his disciples,.... Peter and John, as appears from Luk 22:8; and saith unto them, go ye into the city; the city of Jerusalem; for there only the passover might be eaten, Deu 26:2; and there shall meet you a…”
and whichever house he enters, say to the owner, ‘The Teacher asks: Where is My guest room, where I may eat the Passover with My disciples?’
“And wheresoever he shall go in,.... Into whatsoever house he shall enter, go in after him: and say ye to the good man of the house; the owner, and master of it, who might be Nicodemus, or Joseph of Arimathea, or some man of note…”
And he will show you a large upper room, furnished and ready. Make preparations for us there.”
“And he will show you a large upper room,.... A room in the highest part of the house, large enough for such a company, for thirteen persons, which was the number of Christ and his disciples: furnished and prepared; with a table, and a sufficient…”
And while they were reclining and eating, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, one of you who is eating with Me will betray Me.”
“And as they sat and did eat,.... Or "as they lay along"; for such was their posture at the eating of the passover; See Gill on Mat 26:20, Jesus said, verily I say unto you, one of you which eateth with me shall betray me…”
The Son of Man will go just as it is written about Him, but woe to that man by whom He is betrayed!
“The son of man indeed goeth,.... Out of this world by death, as it is written; both in the book of God's decrees, and in the Scriptures of the Old Testament; but woe to that man by whom the son of man is betrayed!”
While they were eating, Jesus took bread, spoke a blessing and broke it, and gave it to the disciples, saying, “Take it; this is My body.”
“And as they did eat,.... The paschal lamb, and the unleavened bread, just at the conclusion of that feast: Jesus took bread, and blessed, and brake it; beginning and instituting a new feast, to be kept in aftertimes, in commemoration of his sufferings and death…”
He said to them, “This is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many.
“And he said unto them,.... Not after they had drank of it, but before, and as he gave it to them: this is my blood of the New Testament, which is shed for many; in Matthew it is added, "for the remission of sins"; See…”
And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.
“And when they had sung an hymn,.... The Hallell, used at the passover: they went out into the Mount of Olives; Christ, and eleven of his disciples; for Judas now separated from them, and went to the chief priests to acquaint them how things were…”
Then Jesus said to them, “You will all fall away, for it is written: ‘I will strike the Shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.’
“And Jesus saith unto them,.... As they were going to the Mount of Olives. The Persic version reads, in this place; meaning the Mount of Olives, having got thither: all ye shall be offended because of me this night; See Gill on Mat 26:31; for…”
But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you into Galilee.”
“But after that I am risen,.... From the dead, which, for their comfort, he assures them of; though they would be offended and discouraged at the seizing, and condemning, and crucifixion of him: I will go before you into Galilee; the place of their nativity…”
Then they came to a place called Gethsemane, and Jesus told His disciples, “Sit here while I pray.”
“And they came to a place which is named Gethsemane,.... At the foot of the Mount of Olives, where the olives, which grew in great plenty on the mount, were pressed: and where our Lord began to be bruised, for our sins: and be saith…”
Then Jesus returned and found them sleeping. “Simon, are you asleep?” He asked. “Were you not able to keep watch for one hour?
“And he cometh and findeth them sleeping,.... His three disciples, Peter, James, and John: and saith unto Peter; particularly, he having so lately asserted, with so much confidence, his love to Christ, and close attachment to him: Simon, sleepest thou?”
Again He went away and prayed, saying the same thing.
“And again he went away,.... To the same place, or at much such a distance from them, as before: and prayed and spake the same words; or word, that is, the same matter; for λογος, here, answers to דבר, which signifies a thing, or matter…”
When Jesus returned the third time, He said, “Are you still sleeping and resting? That is enough! The hour has come.
“And he cometh the third time,.... After he had prayed a third time, to the same purport as before: and saith unto them, sleep on now, and take your rest; which words are spoken ironically: it is enough; or "the end is come"; as the…”
And one of the bystanders drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his ear.
“And one of them that stood by,.... One of the disciples that stood by Jesus, as Judas was betraying him, and the soldiers were laying hold on him, Peter by name: drew a sword, and smote a servant of the high priest, and cut off…”
Every day I was with you, teaching in the temple courts, and you did not arrest Me. But this has happened that the Scriptures would be fulfilled.”
“I was daily with you in the temple,.... That is, for several days past; ever since he made his public entry into Jerusalem: teaching; the people, in a public manner: and ye took me not; did not attempt to lay hands on him, seize him…”
but he pulled free of the linen cloth and ran away naked.
“And he left the linen cloth,.... "In their hands", so the Persic version renders it; just as Joseph left his garment in the hands of his mistress, Gen 39:12; and fled from them naked; to the house from whence he came.”
They led Jesus away to the high priest, and all the chief priests, elders, and scribes assembled.
“And they led Jesus away to the high priest,.... Caiaphas, as is added in the Syriac, Arabic, and Persic versions.”
Then some men stood up and testified falsely against Him:
“And there arose certain,.... Two false witnesses, as in Mat 26:60, who stood up in court; for witnesses were obliged to stand, whilst they gave in their testimony: "says R. Bo, in the name of R.”
But even their testimony was inconsistent.
“But, neither so did their witness agree together. Their witness did agree together, for they both witnessed the same thing; but not so as to found upon it the charge of a capital crime against him; their witness was not so, ιση, "equal", was not…”