Interpret → Preach
For the service
John Wesley’s own Explanatory Notes Upon the Old and New Testament on the day’s readings — his verse-by-verse commentary, not a summary of it. Read the full edition ↗
first Isaiah 11:1-10
- v.1And — And having said that the Assyrian yoke should be destroyed because of the anointing, he now explains who that anointed person was. The stem - Or, stump: for the word signifies properly a trunk cut off from the root. By which he clearly implies, that the Messiah should be born of the royal house of David, at that time when it was in a most forlorn condition, like a tree cut down, and whereof nothing is left but a stump or root under ground. Of Jesse - He doth not say of David, but of Jesse, who was a private and mean person, to intimate, that at the time of Christ's birth the royal family should be reduced to its primitive obscurity.
- v.2Wisdom — It is not needful, exactly to distinguish these two gifts; it is sufficient that they are necessary qualifications for a governor, and a teacher, and it is evident they signify perfect knowledge of all things necessary for his own and peoples good, and a sound judgment, to distinguish between things that differ. Counsel - Of prudence, to give good counsel; and of might and courage, to execute it. Knowledge - Of the perfect knowledge of the whole will and counsel of God, as also of all secret things, yea of the hearts of men. Fear - A fear of reverence, a care to please him, and lothness to offend him.
- v.3In the fear — He shall not judge rashly and partially, but considerately and justly, as the fear of God obliges all Judges to do. Judge - Of persons or causes. After the sight - According to outward appearance, as men do, because they cannot search mens hearts. Reprove - Condemn or pass sentence against a person. His ears - By uncertain rumours or suggestions.
- v.4Judge — Defend and deliver them. Reprove - Or condemn their malicious enemies. Thy rod - With his word, which is his scepter, and the rod of his power, Psalm cx, 2, which is sharper than a sword, Heb. iv, 12, by the preaching whereof he subdued the world to himself, and will destroy his enemies, 2Thes ii, 8. This he adds farther, to declare the nature of Christ's kingdom, that it is not of this world.
- v.5The girdle — It shall adorn him, and be the glory of his government, as a girdle was used for an ornament, chap. iii, 24, and as an ensign of power, Job xii, 18, and it shall constantly cleave to him in all his administrations, as a girdle cleaveth to a man's loins.
- v.6The wolf — The creatures shall be restored to that state of innocency in which they were before the fall of man. Men of fierce, and cruel dispositions, shall be so transformed by the grace of Christ, that they shall become gentle, and tractable. A child - They will submit their rebellious wills to the conduct of the meanest persons that speak to them in Christ's name.
- v.7Feed — Together, without any danger or fear. Straw - The grass of the earth, as they did at first, and shall not devour other living creatures.
- v.9My holy mountain — In Zion, in my church. The sea - The channel of the sea.
- v.10A root — A branch growing upon the root. Ensign - Shall grow up into a great tree, shall become an eminent ensign. The people - Which not only the Jews, but all nations, may discern, and to which they shall resort. Rest - His resting-place, his temple or church, the place of his presence and abode. Glorious - Shall be filled with greater glory than the Jewish tabernacle and temple were; only this glory shall be spiritual, consisting in the plentiful effusions of the gifts, and graces, of the Holy Spirit.
psalm Psalm 72:1-7, 18-19
- v.1Judgments — He saith judgments in the plural number, because though the office of judging and ruling was but one, yet there were divers parts and branches, of it; in all which he begs that Solomon may be directed to do as God would have him to do.
- v.2Thy afflicted ones — For such are thine in a special manner, thou art their judge and patron.
- v.3The mountains — Which are so dangerous to passengers, in regard of robbers and wild beasts. Hereby it is implied, that other places should do so too, and that it should be common and universal.
- v.4Judge — Vindicate them from their oppressors.
- v.5Thee — Thee, O God, this shall be another blessed fruit of this righteous government, that together with peace, true religion shall be established, and that throughout all generations, which was begun in Solomon's days, but not fully accomplished 'till Christ came.
- v.6He shall come — Christ did come down from heaven, and brought or sent down from heaven his doctrine, (which is often compared to rain) and the sweet and powerful influences of his spirit.
second Romans 15:4-13
- v.4Aforetime — In the Old Testament. That we through patience and consolation of the scriptures may have hope - That through the consolation which God gives us by these, we may have patience and a joyful hope.
- v.5According to the power of Christ Jesus.
- v.6That ye — Both Jews and gentiles, believing with one mind, and confessing with one mouth.
- v.7Receive ye one another — Weak and strong, with mutual love.
- v.8Now I say — The apostle here shows how Christ received us. Christ Jesus-Jesus is the name, Christ the surname. The latter was first known to the Jews; the former, to the gentiles. Therefore he is styled Jesus Christ, when the words stand in the common, natural order. When the order is inverted, as here, the office of Christ is more solemnly considered. Was a servant - Of his Father. Of the circumcision - For the salvation of the circumcised, the Jews. For the truth of God - To manifest the truth and fidelity of God.
- v.9As it is written — In the eighteenth Psalm, here the gentiles and Jews are spoken of as joining in the worship of the God of Israel. Psalm xviii, 49
- v.10Deut. xxxii, 43.
- v.11Psalm cxvii, 1.
- v.12There shall be the root of Jesse — That kings and the Messiah should spring from his house, was promised to Jesse before it was to David. In him shall the gentiles hope - Who before had been "without hope," Eph. ii, 12. Isaiah xi, 10
- v.13Now the God of hope — A glorious title of God, but till now unknown to the heathens; for their goddess Hope, like their other idols, was nothing; whose temple at Rome was burned by lightning. It was, indeed, built again not long after, but was again burned to the ground.
gospel Matthew 3:1-12
- v.1In those days — that is, while Jesus dwelt there. In the wilderness of Judea - This was a wilderness properly so called, a wild, barren, desolate place as was that also where our Lord was tempted. But, generally speaking, a wilderness in the New Testament means only a common, or less cultivated place, in opposition to pasture and arable land. Mark i, 1; Luke iii, 1.
- v.2The kingdom of heaven, and the kingdom of God, are but two phrases for the same thing. They mean, not barely a future happy state, in heaven, but a state to be enjoyed on earth: the proper disposition for the glory of heaven, rather than the possession of it. Is at hand — As if he had said, God is about to erect that kingdom, spoken of by Daniel, Dan. ii, 44; vii, 13, 14; the kingdom of the God of heaven. It properly signifies here, the Gospel dispensation, in which subjects were to be gathered to God by his Son, and a society to be formed, which was to subsist first on earth, and afterward with God in glory. In some places of Scripture, the phrase more particularly denotes the state of it on earth: in, others, it signifies only the state of glory: but it generally includes both. The Jews understood it of a temporal kingdom, the seat of which they supposed would be Jerusalem; and the expected sovereign of this kingdom they learned from Daniel to call the Son of man. Both John the Baptist and Christ took up that phrase, the kingdom of heaven, as they found it, and gradually taught the Jews (though greatly unwilling to learn) to understand it right. The very demand of repentance, as previous to it, showed it was a spiritual kingdom, and that no wicked man, how politic, brave, or learned soever, could possibly be a subject of it.
- v.3The way of the Lord — Of Christ. Make his paths straight - By removing every thing which might prove a hindrance to his gracious appearance. Isaiah xl, 3.
- v.4John had his raiment of camel's hair — Coarse and rough, suiting his character and doctrine. A leathern girdle - Like Elijah, in whose spirit and power he came. His food was locusts and wild honey - Locusts are ranked among clean meats, Lev. xi, 22. But these were not always to be had. So in default of those, he fed on wild honey.
- v.6Confessing their sins — Of their own accord; freely and openly. Such prodigious numbers could hardly be baptized by immerging their whole bodies under water: nor can we think they were provided with change of raiment for it, which was scarcely practicable for such vast multitudes. And yet they could not be immerged naked with modesty, nor in their wearing apparel with safety. It seems, therefore, that they stood in ranks on the edge of the river, and that John, passing along before them, cast water on their heads or faces, by which means he might baptize many thousands in a day. And this way most naturally signified Christ's baptizing them with the Holy Ghost and with fire, which John spoke of, as prefigured by his baptizing with water, and which was eminently fulfilled, when the Holy Ghost sat upon the disciples in the appearance of tongues, or flames of fire.
- v.7The Pharisees were a very ancient sect among the Jews. They took their name from a Hebrew word, which signifies to separate, because they separated themselves from all other men. They were outwardly strict observers of the law, fasted often, made long prayers, rigorously kept the Sabbath, and paid all tithe, even of mint, anise, and cummin. Hence they were in high esteem among the people. But inwardly, they were full of pride and hypocrisy. The Sadducees were another sect among the Jews, only not so considerable as the Pharisees. They denied the existence of angels, and the immortality of the soul, and by consequence the resurrection of the dead. Ye brood of vipers — In like manner, the crafty Herod is styled a fox, and persons of insidious, ravenous, profane, or sensual dispositions, are named respectively by him who saw their hearts, serpents, dogs, wolves, and swine; terms which are not the random language of passion, but a judicious designation of the persons meant by them. For it was fitting such men should be marked out, either for a caution to others, or a warning to themselves.
- v.8Repentance is of two sorts; that which is termed legal, and that which is styled evangelical repentance. The former (which is the same that is spoken of here) is a thorough conviction of sin. The latter is a change of heart (and consequently of life) from all sin to all holiness.
- v.9And say not confidently — The word in the original, vulgarly rendered, Think not, seems here, and in many places, not to diminish, but rather add to the force of the word with which it is joined. We have Abraham to our father - It is almost incredible, how great the presumption of the Jews was on this their relation to Abraham. One of their famous sayings was, "Abraham sits near the gates of hell, and suffers no Israelite to go down into it." I say unto you - This preface always denotes the importance of what follows. Of these stones - Probably pointing to those which lay before them.
- v.10But the axe also already lieth — That is, there is no room for such idle pretenses. Speedy execution is determined against all that do not repent. The comparison seems to be taken from a woodman that has laid down his axe to put off his coat, and then immediately goes to work to cut down the tree. This refers to the wrath to come in verse 7. Is hewn down - Instantly, without farther delay.
- v.11He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire — He shall fill you with the Holy Ghost, inflaming your hearts with that fire of love, which many waters cannot quench. And this was done, even with a visible appearance as of fire, on the day of pentecost.
- v.12Whose fan — That is, the word of the Gospel. His floor - That is, his Church, which is now covered with a mixture of wheat and chaff. He will gather the wheat into the garner - Will lay up those who are truly good in heaven.