9For you have made the LORD, my refuge,
         Even the Most High, your dwelling place.

10No evil will befall you,
         Nor will any plague come near your tent.

11For He will give His angels charge concerning you,
         To guard you in all your ways.

12They will bear you up in their hands,
         That you do not strike your foot against a stone.

13You will tread upon the lion and cobra,
         The young lion and the serpent you will trample down.

14“Because he has loved Me, therefore I will deliver him;
         I will set him securely on high, because he has known My name.

15“He will call upon Me, and I will answer him;
         I will be with him in trouble;
         I will rescue him and honor him.

16“With a long life I will satisfy him
         And let him see My salvation.”

Parallel Verses

New American Standard Bible (©1995)
You will only look on with your eyes And see the recompense of the wicked.

GOD'S WORD® Translation (©1995)
You only have to look with your eyes to see the punishment of wicked people.

King James Bible
Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked.

Douay-Rheims Bible
But thou shalt consider with thy eyes: and shalt see the reward of the wicked.

Darby Bible Translation
Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold, and see the reward of the wicked.

English Revised Version
Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold, and see the reward of the wicked.

Webster's Bible Translation
Only with thy eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked.

World English Bible
You will only look with your eyes, and see the recompense of the wicked.

Young's Literal Translation
But with thine eyes thou lookest, And the reward of the wicked thou seest,

Cross References

Psalm 37:34 Wait for the LORD and keep His way, And He will exalt you to inherit the land; When the wicked are cut off, you will see it.

Psalm 58:10 The righteous will rejoice when he sees the vengeance; He will wash his feet in the blood of the wicked.

Psalm 92:11 And my eye has looked exultantly upon my foes, My ears hear of the evildoers who rise up against me.

Proverbs 29:16 When the wicked increase, transgression increases; But the righteous will see their fall.

Jeremiah 39:16 "Go and speak to Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, saying, 'Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, "Behold, I am about to bring My words on this city for disaster and not for prosperity; and they will take place before you on that day.

Commentary

Matthew Henry's Whole Bible Commentary

PSALM 91

Some of the ancients were of opinion that Moses was the penman, not only of the foregoing psalm, which is expressly said to be his, but also of the eight that next follow it; but that cannot be, for Ps. 95 is expressly said to be penned by David, and long after Moses, Heb. 4:7. It is probable that this psalm also was penned by David; it is a writ of protection for all true believers, not in the name of king David, or under his broad seal; he needed it himself, especially if the psalm was penned, as some conjecture it was, at the time of the pestilence which was sent for his numbering the people; but in the name of the King of kings, and under the broad seal of Heaven. Observe, I. The psalmist's own resolution to take God for his keeper (v. 2), from which he gives both direction and encouragement to others (v. 9). II. The promises which are here made, in God's name, to all those that do so in sincerity. 1. They shall be taken under the peculiar care of Heaven (v. 1, 4). 2. They shall be delivered from the malice of the powers of darkness (v. 3, 5, 6), and that by a distinguishing preservation (v. 7, 8). 3. They shall be the charge of the holy angels (v. 10-12). 4. They shall triumph over their enemies (v. 13). 5. They shall be the special favourites of God himself (v. 14-16). In singing this we must shelter ourselves under, and then solace ourselves in, the divine protection. Many think that to Christ, as Mediator, these promises do primarily belong (Isa. 49:2), not because to him the devil applied one of these promises (Mt. 4:6), but because to him they are very applicable, and, coming through him, they are more sweet and sure to all believers.

Verses 1-8

In these verses we have,

I. A great truth laid down in general, That all those who live a life of communion with God are constantly safe under his protection, and may therefore preserve a holy serenity and security of mind at all times (v. 1): He that dwells, that sits down, in the secret place of the Most High, shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty; he that by faith chooses God for his guardian shall find all that in him which he needs or can desire. Note, 1. It is the character of a true believer that he dwells in the secret place of the Most High; he is at home in God, returns to God, and reposes in him as his rest; he acquaints himself with inward religion, and makes heart-work of the service of God, worships within the veil, and loves to be alone with God, to converse with him in solitude. 2. It is the privilege and comfort of those that do so that they abide under the shadow of the Almighty; he shelters them, and comes between them and every thing that would annoy them, whether storm or sunshine. They shall not only have an admittance, but a residence, under God's protection; he will be their rest and refuge for ever.

II. The psalmist's comfortable application of this to himself (v. 2): I will say of the Lord, whatever others say of him, "He is my refuge; I choose him as such, and confide in him. Others make idols their refuge, but I will say of Jehovah, the true and living God, He is my refuge: any other is a refuge of lies. He is a refuge that will not fail me; for he is my fortress and strong-hold." Idolaters called their idols Mahuzzim, their most strong-hold (Dan. 11:39), but therein they deceived themselves; those only secure themselves that make the Lord their God, their fortress. There being no reason to question his sufficiency, fitly does it follow, In him will I trust. If Jehovah be our God, our refuge, and our fortress, what can we desire which we may not be sure to find in him? He is neither fickle nor false, neither weak nor mortal; he is God and not man, and therefore there is no danger of being disappointed in him. We know whom we have trusted.

III. The great encouragement he gives to others to do likewise, not only from his own experience of the comfort of it (for in that there might possibly be a fallacy), but from the truth of God's promise, in which there neither is nor can be any deceit (v. 3, 4, etc.): Surely he shall deliver thee. Those who have themselves found the comfort of making God their refuge cannot but desire that others may do so. Now here it is promised,

1. That believers shall be kept from those mischiefs which they are in imminent danger of, and which would be fatal to them (v. 3), from the snare of the fowler, which is laid unseen and catches the unwary prey on a sudden, and from the noisome pestilence, which seizes men unawares and against which there is no guard. This promise protects, (1.) The natural life, and is often fulfilled in our preservation from those dangers which are very threatening and very near, while yet we ourselves are not apprehensive of them, any more than the bird is of the snare of the fowler. We owe it, more than we are sensible, to the care of the divine Providence that we have been kept from infectious diseases and out of the hands of the wicked and unreasonable. (2.) The spiritual life, which is protected by divine grace from the temptations of Satan, which are as the snares of the fowler, and from the contagion of sin, which is the noisome pestilence. He that has given grace to be the glory of the soul will create a defence upon all that glory.

2. That God himself will be their protector; those must needs be safe who have him for their keeper, and successful for whom he undertakes (v. 4): He shall cover thee, shall keep thee secret (Ps. 31:20), and so keep thee safe, Ps. 27:5. God protects believers, (1.) With the greatest tenderness and affection, which is intimated in that, He shall cover thee with his feathers, under his wings, which alludes to the hen gathering her chickens under wings, Mt. 23:37. By natural instinct she not only protects them, but calls them under that protection when she sees them in danger, not only keeps them safe, but cherishes them and keeps them warm. To this the great God is pleased to compare his care of his people, who are helpless as the chickens, and easily made a prey of, but are invited to trust under the shadow of the wings of the divine promise and providence, which is the periphrasis of a proselyte to the true religion, that he has come to trust under the wings of the God of Israel, Ruth 2:12. (2.) With the greatest power and efficacy. Wings and feathers, though spread with the greatest tenderness, are yet weak, and easily broken through, and therefore it is added, His truth shall be thy shield and buckler, a strong defence. God is willing to guard his people as the hen is to guard the chickens, and as able as a man of war in armour.

3. That he will not only keep them from evil, but from the fear of evil, v. 5, 6. Here is, (1.) Great danger supposed; the mention of it is enough to frighten us; night and day we lie exposed, and those that are apt to be timorous will in neither period think themselves safe. When we are retired into our chambers, our beds, and have made all as safe as we can about us, yet there is terror by night, from thieves and robbers, winds and storms, besides those things that are the creatures of fancy and imagination, which are often most frightful of all. We read of fear in the night, Cant. 3:8. There is also a pestilence that walketh in darkness, as that was which slew the first-born of the Egyptians, and the army of the Assyrians. No locks nor bars can shut out diseases, while we carry about with us in our bodies the seeds of them. But surely in the day-time, when we can look about us, we are not so much in danger; yes, there is an arrow that flieth by day too, and yet flies unseen; there is a destruction that wasteth at high-noon, when we are awake and have all our friends about us; even then we cannot secure ourselves, nor can they secure us. It was in the day-time that that pestilence wasted which was sent to chastise David for numbering the people, on occasion of which some think this psalm was penned. But, (2.) Here is great security promised to believers in the midst of this danger: "Thou shalt not be afraid. God by his grace will keep thee from disquieting distrustful fear (that fear which hath torment) in the midst of the greatest dangers. Wisdom shall keep thee from being causelessly afraid, and faith shall keep thee from being inordinately afraid. Thou shalt not be afraid of the arrow, as knowing that though it may hit thee it cannot hurt thee; if it take away the natural life, yet it shall be so far from doing any prejudice to the spiritual life that it shall be its perfection." A believer needs not fear, and therefore should not fear, any arrow, because the point is off, the poison is out. O death! where is thy sting? It is also under divine direction, and will hit where God appoints and not otherwise. Every bullet has its commission. Whatever is done our heavenly Father's will is done; and we have no reason to be afraid of that.

4. That they shall be preserved in common calamities, in a distinguishing way (v. 7): "When death rides in triumph, and diseases rage, so that thousands and ten thousands fall, fall by sickness, or fall by the sword in battle, fall at thy side, at thy right hand, and the sight of their fall is enough to frighten thee, and if they fall by the pestilence their falling so near thee may be likely to infect thee, yet it shall not come nigh thee, the death shall not, the fear of death shall not." Those that preserve their purity in times of general corruption may trust God with their safety in times of general desolation. When multitudes die round about us, though thereby we must be awakened to prepare for our own death, yet we must not be afraid with any amazement, nor make ourselves subject to bondage, as many do all their life-time, through fear of death, Heb. 2:15. The sprinkling of blood secured the first-born of Israel when thousands fell. Nay, it is promised to God's people that they shall have the satisfaction of seeing, not only God's promises fulfilled to them, but his threatenings fulfilled upon those that hate them (v. 8): Only with thy eyes shalt thou behold and see the just reward of the wicked, which perhaps refers to the destruction of the first-born of Egypt by the pestilence, which was both the punishment of the oppressors and the enlargement of the oppressed; this Israel saw when they saw themselves unhurt, untouched. As it will aggravate the damnation of sinners that with their eyes they shall behold and see the reward of the righteous (Lu. 13:28), so it will magnify the salvation of the saints that with their eyes they shall behold and see the destruction of the wicked, Isa. 66:24; Ps. 58:10.

Calvin's Commentary

5. Thou shalt not fear for the terror of the night; for the arrow that flieth by day; 6. For the destruction that walketh in darkness; for the pestilence [577] which wasteth at noon-day. [578] 7. A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; it shall not come nigh thee. 8. Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked.

5 Thou shalt not fear for the terror of the night. The Psalmist continues to insist upon the truth which I have just adverted to, that, if we confide with implicit reliance upon the protection of God, we will be secure from every temptation and assault of Satan. It is of importance to remember, that those whom God has taken under his care are in a state of the most absolute safety. Even those who have reached the most advanced experience find nothing more difficult than to rely upon Divine deliverance; and more especially when, overtaken by some of the many forms in which danger and death await us in this world, doubts will insinuate themselves into our hearts, giving rise to fear and disquietude. There was reason, therefore, why the Psalmist should enter upon a specification of different evils, encouraging the Lord's people to look for more than one mode of deliverance, and to bear up under various and accumulated calamities. Mention is made of the fear of the night, because men are naturally apprehensive in the dark, or because the night exposes us to dangers of different kinds, and our fears are apt at such a season to magnify any sound or disturbance. The arrow, rather than another weapon, is instanced as flying by day, for the reason apparently that it shoots to a greater distance, and with such swiftness, that we can with difficulty escape it. The verse which follows states, though in different words, the same truth, that there is no kind of calamity which the shield of the Almighty cannot ward off and repel.

7 A thousand shall fall at thy side. [579] He proceeds to show that, though the state of all men may to appearance be alike, the believer has the special privilege of being exempted from evils of an imminent and impending nature; for it might be objected that he was but man, and, as such, exposed with others to death in its thousand different forms. To correct this mistake, the Psalmist does not hesitate to assert that, when universal ruin prevails around, the Lord's children are the objects of his distinguishing care, and are preserved amidst the general destruction. The lesson is one which is needed by us all, that, though naturally subject to the common evils which are spread around, we are privileged with a special exemption which secures our safety in the midst of dangers. In the verse succeeding more is meant than merely that the believer will have personal experience of the truth which the Psalmist had stated, actually feeling and seeing with his own eyes that God manages his defense; a new argument is brought forward in support of the truth, which is this, that God, as the righteous judge of the world, cannot but punish the wicked according to their sins, and extend protection to his own children. There is much that is dark in the aspect of things in this world, yet the Psalmist hints that, amidst all the confusion which reigns, we may collect from what we see of God's judgments, that he does not disappoint the expectations of his believing people. He must be considered, however, as addressing those who have eyes to see, who are privileged with the true light of faith, who are fully awake to the consideration of the Divine judgments, and who wait patiently and quietly till the proper time arrive; for most men stagger and confuse their minds upon this subject, by starting to precipitate conclusions, and are prevented from discovering the providence of God by judging according to sense. It becomes us too to be satisfied with apprehending the judgments of God only in some imperfect measure while we remain upon earth, and leaving him to defer the fuller discovery of them to the day of complete revelation.

Footnotes:

[577] "Car ceste est la vraye cognoissance, laquelle nous pouvons bailler aux autres de main en main, quand nous mettons en avant ce que Dieu nous a revele, non point des levres taut seulement: mais aussi du profond du coeur." -- Fr.

[578] The original word, which Calvin renders "the pestilence," is rendered in the Syriac "the blowing wind." Fry's version has "the blast." "The simoon, or hot wind of the desert," he observes, "a phenomenon in those regions too remarkable to have escaped the divine poet in enumerating the sources of danger to human life." This wind being hot and burning in its effects, when it blows at noon-day, must be still more fatal.

[579] "Verses 5 and 6. Jos. Scaliger explains, in Epis. 9, these two verses thus: -- Thou shalt not fear, mphhr, from consternation by night, mchph, from the arrow flying by day, mdvr, from pestilence walking at evening, mqtv, from devastation at noon Under these four he comprehends all the evils and dangers to which man is liable. And as the Hebrews divide the four and twenty hours of day and night into four parts, namely, evening, midnight, morning, and mid-day, so he understands the hours of danger to be divided accordingly: in a word, that the man, who has made God his refuge,' is always safe, day and night, at every hour, from every danger." -- Bythner

Links

Psalm 91 Commentaries: Barnes • Calvin • Clarke • Darby • Gill • Geneva • Guzik • JFB • Keil / Delitzsch • KJV Translators' • Henry's Concise • Matthew Henry • Scofield • TSK • Treasury of David • Wesley

NIV / NLT / ESV / GWT / KJV / ASV / DRB

Jump to Previous Occurrence
Evil-Doers Eyes Lookest Observe Punishment Recompense Reward Seest Wicked

Jump to Next Occurrence
Evil-Doers Eyes Lookest Observe Punishment Recompense Reward Seest Wicked

New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. All rights reserved. For Permission to Quote Information visit http://www.lockman.org.

GOD'S WORD® is a copyrighted work of God's Word to the Nations. Quotations are used by permission. Copyright 1995 by God's Word to the Nations. All rights reserved.

Alphabetical: and eyes look observe of on only punishment recompense see the wicked will with You your

Bible Browser

September 26. "I Will be with Him in Trouble" (Ps. Xci. 15).
"I will be with Him in trouble" (Ps. xci. 15). The question often comes, "Why didn't He help me sooner!" It is not His order. He must first adjust you to the situation and cause you to learn your lesson from it. His promise is, "I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him." He must be with you in the trouble first until you grow quiet. Then He will take you out of it. This will not come till you have stopped being restless and fretful about it and become calm and trustful. Then …
Rev. A. B. Simpson—Days of Heaven Upon Earth

Terror by Night
(Preached in Lent.) PSALM xci. 5. Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night. You may see, if you will read your Bible, that the night is spoken of in the Old Testament much as we speak of it now, as a beautiful and holy thing. The old Jews were not afraid of any terror by night. They rejoiced to consider the heavens, the work of God's fingers, the moon and the stars, which he had ordained. They looked on night, as we do, as a blessed time of rest and peace for men, in which the beasts of …
Charles Kingsley—Discipline and Other Sermons

The Answer to Trust
'Because he hath set his love upon Me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known My name.' --PSALM xci. 14. There are two voices speaking in the earlier part of this psalm: one that of a saint who professes his reliance upon the Lord, his Fortress; and another which answers the former speaker, and declares that he shall be preserved by God. In this verse, which is the first of the final portion of the psalm, we have a third voice--the voice of God Himself, which …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The Sheltering Wing
'He shall cover thee with His feathers, and under His wings shalt thou trust: His truth shall be thy shield and buckler.' --PSALM xci. 4. We remember the magnificent image in Moses' song, of God's protection and guidance as that of the eagle who stirred up his nest, and hovered over the young with his wings, and bore them on his pinions. That passage may possibly have touched the imagination of this psalmist, when he here employs the same general metaphor, but with a distinct and significant difference …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

What God Will do for Us
'He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him. 16. With long life will I satisfy him, and show him My salvation.'--PSALM xci. 15, 16. When considering the previous verses of this psalm, I pointed out that at its close we have God's own voice coming in to confirm and expand the promises which, in the earlier portion of it, have been made in His name to the devout heart. The words which we have now to consider cover the whole range …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The Habitation of the Soul
'Because thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation; there shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.'--PSALM xci. 9, 10. It requires a good deal of piecing to make out from the Hebrew the translation of our Authorised Version here. The simple, literal rendering of the first words of these verses is, 'Surely, Thou, O Lord! art my Refuge'; and I do not suppose that any of the expedients which have been adopted to modify that translation …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The Snare of the Fowler
"Satan, the fowler, who betrays Unguarded souls a thousand ways." "The prince of the power of this world, the spirit which still worketh in the children of disobedience," is like a fowler, always attempting to destroy us. It was once said by a talented writer, that the old devil was dead, and that there was a new devil now; by which he meant to say, that the devil of old times was a rather different devil from the deceiver of these times. We believe that it is the same evil spirit; but there is a …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 3: 1857

Under his Shadow.
A BRIEF SACRAMENTAL DISCOURSE DELIVERED AT MENTONE TO ABOUT A SCORE BRETHREN."He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty."--Psalm xci. 1. UNDER HIS SHADOW. I MUST confess of my short discourse, as the man did of the axe which fell into the stream, that it is borrowed. The outline of it is taken from one who will never complain of me, for to the great loss of the Church she has left these lower choirs to sing above. Miss Havergal, last and loveliest …
Charles Hadden Spurgeon—Till He Come

The Pinnacle of the Temple.
He was then taken to the pinnacle of the Temple, and the tempter said to him, "If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down; thou art sure of aid by a miracle from God;" and quoted, literally, in application, the words of Psa. xci., 11, 12, ";The angels shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone." But Christ arrays against him another passage, which defines the right application of the former: "Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God." (Deut., vi., 16.) As if he had …
Augustus Neander—The Life of Jesus Christ in Its Historical Connexion

The Cloister Garden
Gerhard Ter Steegen Ps. xci. 1 How good it is, when weaned from all beside, With God alone the soul is satisfied, Deep hidden in His heart! How good it is, redeemed, and washed, and shriven, To dwell, a cloistered soul, with Christ in heaven, Joined, never more to part! How good the heart's still chamber thus to close On all but God alone-- There in the sweetness of His love repose, His love unknown! All else for ever lost--forgotten all That else can be; In rapture undisturbed, O Lord, to fall …
Frances Bevan—Hymns of Ter Steegen, Suso, and Others

Evensong
Gerhard Ter Steegen Ps. xci. 4 Take me, Jesus, to Thy breast; Folded close in warmth and rest, Keep me near to Thee; Silenced in the bliss profound Of the love that wraps me round, Every care shall be. Every breath for Thee alone, O my heart's beloved One; Comfort me in sleep. Still deep rest art Thou to Thine, Safely in Thine arms divine Thy beloved keep. …
Frances Bevan—Hymns of Ter Steegen, Suso, and Others

God's Merciful Guardianship of his People. --Ps. Xci.
God's merciful Guardianship of his People.--Ps. xci. Call Jehovah thy salvation, Rest beneath the Almighty's shade, In his secret habitation Dwell, and never be dismay'd: There no tumult shall alarm thee, Thou shalt dread no hidden snare, Guile nor violence can harm thee In eternal safeguard there. From the sword at noon-day wasting, From the noisome pestilence, In the depth of midnight blasting, God shall be thy sure defence; Fear not thou the deadly quiver, When a thousand feel the blow, Mercy …
James Montgomery—Sacred Poems and Hymns

Call Jehovah Thy Salvation
[1184]Trust: Felix Mendelssohn, 1840 Psalm 91 James Montgomery, 1822 DOXOLOGY Call Jehovah thy salvation, Rest beneath the Almighty's shade; In his secret habitation Dwell, and never be dismayed. There no tumult can alarm thee, Thou shalt dread no hidden snare; Guile nor violence can harm thee, In eternal safeguard there. God shall charge his angel legions Watch and ward o'er thee to keep: Though thou walk through hostile regions, Though in desert wilds thou sleep. Since, with pure and firm affection, …
Various—The Hymnal of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the USA

The Foundation of the Monastery Hindered. Our Lord Consoles the Saint.
1. When the matter was in this state--so near its conclusion, that on the very next day the papers were to be signed--then it was that the Father Provincial changed his mind. I believe that the change was divinely ordered--so it appeared afterwards; for while so many prayers were made, our Lord was perfecting His work and arranging its execution in another way. When the Provincial refused us, my confessor bade me forthwith to think no more of it, notwithstanding the great trouble and distress which …
Teresa of Avila—The Life of St. Teresa of Jesus

'Deliver us from Evil'
'But deliver us from evil.'--MATT. vi. 13. The two halves of this prayer are like a calm sky with stars shining silently in its steadfast blue, and a troubled earth beneath, where storms sweep, and changes come, and tears are ever being shed. The one is so tranquil, the other so full of woe and want. What a dark picture of human conditions lies beneath the petitions of this second half! Hunger and sin and temptation, and wider still, that tragic word which includes them all--evil. Forgiveness and …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

That There is no Security against Temptation in this Life
"My Son, thou art never secure in this life, but thy spiritual armour will always be needful for thee as long as thou livest. Thou dwellest among foes, and art attacked on the right hand and on the left. If therefore thou use not on all sides the shield of patience, thou wilt not remain long unwounded. Above all, if thou keep not thy heart fixed upon Me with steadfast purpose to bear all things for My sake, thou shalt not be able to bear the fierceness of the attack, nor to attain to the victory …
Thomas A Kempis—Imitation of Christ

Christ's Messengers: their Equipment and Work
'After these things, the Lord appointed other seventy also, and sent them two and two before His face into every city and place whither He Himself would come. 2. Therefore said He unto them, The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that He would send forth labourers into His harvest. 3. Go your ways: behold, I send you forth as lambs among wolves. 4. Carry neither purse, nor scrip, nor shoes; and salute no man by the way. 5. And into whatsoever …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions Of Holy Scripture

The Wilderness: Temptation. Matthew 4:1-11. Mark 1:12, 13. Luke 4:1-13.
The University of Arabia: Jesus' naturalness--the Spirit's presence--intensity, Luke 2:45-51.--a true perspective--- the temptation's path--sin's path--John's grouping, 1 John 2:16.--the Spirit's plan--why--the devil's weakness--the Spirit's leading--a wilderness for every God-used man, Moses, Elijah, Paul. Earth's Ugliest, Deepest Scar: Jesus the only one led up to be tempted--the wilderness--its history, Genesis 13:10-13. 18:16-19:38.--Jesus really tempted--no wrong here in inner response--every …
S. D. Gordon—Quiet Talks about Jesus

Delivered from Prison
"Now about that time Herod the king stretched forth his hands to vex certain of the church." The government of Judea was then in the hands of Herod Agrippa, subject to Claudius, the Roman emperor. Herod also held the position of tetrarch of Galilee. He was professedly a proselyte to the Jewish faith, and apparently very zealous in carrying out the ceremonies of the Jewish law. Desirous of obtaining the favor of the Jews, hoping thus to make secure his offices and honors, he proceeded to carry out …
Ellen Gould White—The Acts of the Apostles

The Best Things Work for Good to the Godly
WE shall consider, first, what things work for good to the godly; and here we shall show that both the best things and the worst things work for their good. We begin with the best things. 1. God's attributes work for good to the godly. (1). God's power works for good. It is a glorious power (Col. i. 11), and it is engaged for the good of the elect. God's power works for good, in supporting us in trouble. "Underneath are the everlasting arms" (Deut. xxxiii. 27). What upheld Daniel in the lion's den? …
Thomas Watson—A Divine Cordial

Appendix 2 Extracts from the Babylon Talmud
Massecheth Berachoth, or Tractate on Benedictions [76] Mishnah--From what time is the "Shema" said in the evening? From the hour that the priests entered to eat of their therumah [77] until the end of the first night watch. [78] These are the words of Rabbi Eliezer. But the sages say: Till midnight. Rabban Gamaliel says: Until the column of the morning (the dawn) rises. It happened, that his sons came back from a banquet. They said to him: "We have not said the Shema.'" He said to them, "If the column …
Alfred Edersheim—Sketches of Jewish Social Life

How to Make Use of Christ as the Truth, when Error Prevaileth, and the Spirit of Error Carrieth Many Away.
There is a time when the spirit of error is going abroad, and truth is questioned, and many are led away with delusions. For Satan can change himself into an angel of light, and make many great and fairlike pretensions to holiness, and under that pretext usher in untruths, and gain the consent of many unto them; so that in such a time of temptation many are stolen off their feet, and made to depart from the right ways of God, and to embrace error and delusions instead of truth. Now the question is, …
John Brown (of Wamphray)—Christ The Way, The Truth, and The Life

Psalms
The piety of the Old Testament Church is reflected with more clearness and variety in the Psalter than in any other book of the Old Testament. It constitutes the response of the Church to the divine demands of prophecy, and, in a less degree, of law; or, rather, it expresses those emotions and aspirations of the universal heart which lie deeper than any formal demand. It is the speech of the soul face to face with God. Its words are as simple and unaffected as human words can be, for it is the genius …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament