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3,811 commentary entries
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible
The Christian Law. (a. d. 61.)
THE CHRISTIAN LAW. (A. D. 61.) The apostle, having condemned the sin of those who had an undue respect of persons, and having urged what was sufficient to convict them of the greatness of this evil, now proceeds to show…
Faith and Works. (a. d. 61.)
FAITH AND WORKS. (A. D. 61.) In this latter part of the chapter, the apostle shows the error of those who rested in a bare profession of the Christian faith, as if that would save them, while the temper of their minds a…
Government of the Tongue. (a. d. 61.)
GOVERNMENT OF THE TONGUE. (A. D. 61.) The foregoing chapter shows how unprofitable and dead faith is without works. It is plainly intimated by what this chapter first goes upon that such a faith is, however, apt to make…
Properties of Wisdom. (a. d. 61.)
PROPERTIES OF WISDOM. (A. D. 61.) As the sins before condemned arise from an affectation of being thought more wise than others, and being endued with more knowledge than they, so the apostle in these verses shows the d…
Origin of War and Contention; Against Pride; Submission to God. (a. d. 61.)
ORIGIN OF WAR AND CONTENTION; AGAINST PRIDE; SUBMISSION TO GOD. (A. D. 61.) The former chapter speaks of envying one another, as the great spring of strifes and contentions; this chapter speaks of a lust after worldly t…
Caution against Slander; Caution against Presumption. (a. d. 61.)
CAUTION AGAINST SLANDER; CAUTION AGAINST PRESUMPTION. (A. D. 61.) In this part of the chapter, I. We are cautioned against the sin of evil-speaking: Speak not evil one of another, brethren, James 4:11. The Greek word, k…
Warnings to the Rich; Motives to Patience under Affliction. (a. d. 61.)
WARNINGS TO THE RICH; MOTIVES TO PATIENCE UNDER AFFLICTION. (A. D. 61.) The apostle is here addressing first sinners and then saints. I. Let us consider the address to sinners; and here we find James seconding what his…
Caution against Swearing; Profaneness Condemned; Confession and Prayer; Efficacy of Prayer. (a. d. 61.)
CAUTION AGAINST SWEARING; PROFANENESS CONDEMNED; CONFESSION AND PRAYER; EFFICACY OF PRAYER. (A. D. 61.) This epistle now drawing to a close, the penman goes off very quickly from one thing to another: hence it is that m…
Inscription. (a. d. 66.)
INSCRIPTION. (A. D. 66.) In this inscription we have three parts:— I. The author of it, described, 1. By his name—Peter. His first name was Simon, and Jesus Christ gave him the surname of Peter, which signifies a rock,…
Privileges of Christians. (a. d. 66.)
PRIVILEGES OF CHRISTIANS. (A. D. 66.) We come now to the body of the epistle, which begins with, I. A congratulation of the dignity and happiness of the state of these believers, brought in under the form of a thanksgiv…
Privileges of Christians. (a. d. 66.)
PRIVILEGES OF CHRISTIANS. (A. D. 66.) The first word, wherein, refers to the apostle's foregoing discourse about the excellency of their present state, and their grand expectations for the future. "In this condition you…
Privileges of Christians. (a. d. 66.)
PRIVILEGES OF CHRISTIANS. (A. D. 66.) The apostle having described the persons to whom he wrote, and declared to them the excellent advantages they were under, goes on to show them what warrant he had for what he had de…
Sobriety and Holiness; Exhortation to Brotherly Love. (a. d. 66.)
SOBRIETY AND HOLINESS; EXHORTATION TO BROTHERLY LOVE. (A. D. 66.) Here the apostle begins his exhortations to those whose glorious state he had before described, thereby instructing us that Christianity is a doctrine ac…
Vanity of the Natural Man. (a. d. 66.)
VANITY OF THE NATURAL MAN. (A. D. 66.) The apostle having given an account of the excellency of the renewed spiritual man as born again, not of corruptible but incorruptible seed, he now sets before us the vanity of the…
Against Malice and Hypocrisy. (a. d. 66.)
AGAINST MALICE AND HYPOCRISY. (A. D. 66.) The holy apostle has been recommending mutual charity, and setting forth the excellences of the word of God, calling it an incorruptible seed, and saying that it liveth and abid…
The Living Stone; Cautions against Sensuality. (a. d. 66.)
THE LIVING STONE; CAUTIONS AGAINST SENSUALITY. (A. D. 66.) I. The apostle here gives us a description of Jesus Christ as a living stone; and though to a capricious wit, or an infidel, this description may seem rough and…
Submission to Magistrates; Various Exhortations; Christ's Example as a Sufferer. (a. d. 66.)
SUBMISSION TO MAGISTRATES; VARIOUS EXHORTATIONS; CHRIST'S EXAMPLE AS A SUFFERER. (A. D. 66.) The general rule of a Christian conversation is this, it must be honest, which it cannot be if there be not a conscientious di…
Duties of Husbands and Wives. (a. d. 66.)
DUTIES OF HUSBANDS AND WIVES. (A. D. 66.) The apostle having treated of the duties of subjects to their sovereigns, and of servants to their masters, proceeds to explain the duty of husbands and wives. I. Lest the Chris…
Duties towards Friends and Enemies. (a. d. 66.)
DUTIES TOWARDS FRIENDS AND ENEMIES. (A. D. 66.) The apostle here passes from special to more general exhortations. I. He teaches us how Christians and friends should treat one another. He advises Christians to be all of…
Good Conscience and Good Conversation. (a. d. 66.)
GOOD CONSCIENCE AND GOOD CONVERSATION. (A. D. 66.) The confession of a Christian's faith cannot credibly be supported but by the two means here specified—a good conscience and a good conversation. conscience is good whe…
Christ's Sufferings. (a. d. 66.)
CHRIST'S SUFFERINGS. (A. D. 66.) Here, I. The example of Christ is proposed as an argument for patience under sufferings, the strength of which will be discerned if we consider the several points contained in the words;…
Christian Baptism. (a. d. 66.)
CHRISTIAN BAPTISM. (A. D. 66.) Noah's salvation in the ark upon the water prefigured the salvation of all good Christians in the church by baptism; that temporal salvation by the ark was a type, the antitype whereunto i…
The Mortification of Sin. (a. d. 66.)
THE MORTIFICATION OF SIN. (A. D. 66.) The apostle here draws a new inference from the consideration of Christ's sufferings. As he had before made use of it to persuade to patience in suffering, so here to mortification…
Comfort of the Servants of God. (a. d. 66.)
COMFORT OF THE SERVANTS OF GOD. (A. D. 66.) I. Here you have the visible change wrought in those who in the 1 Peter 4:3 were represented as having been in the former part of their life very wicked. They no longer run on…