angela hormberg

Tag: Matthew Henry’s Commentary

  • Psalm 63

    Psalm 63

    Commonplace –

    “O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land” (Psalm 63:1a).

    It is good to seek God in the morning. Before breakfast and the busy-ness of the day settles in on us, time set aside to read the Word and draw close to God prepares us for all the day brings.

    In the title of Psalm 63 is the description “A Psalm of David, when he was in the wilderness of Judah”. Matthew Henry offers the following commentary on the ‘wilderness’:

    “1. Even in Canaan, ye there were wildernesses, places less fruitful and less inhabited than other places. It will be so in the world, in the church, but not in heaven; there it is all city, all paradise, and no desert ground; the wilderness there shall blossom as the rose.

    2. The best and dearest of God’s saints and servants may sometimes have their lot cast in a wilderness, which speaks them lonely and solitary, desolate and afflicted, wanting, wandering, and unsettled, and quite at a loss what to do with themselves.

    3. All the straits and difficulties of a wilderness must not put us out of tune for sacred songs; but even then it is our duty and interest to keep up a cheerful communion with God. There are psalms proper for a wilderness, and we have reason to thank God that it is the wilderness of Judah we are in, not the wilderness of sin” (Henry 382).

    Works Cited

    Henry, Matthew. “Psalm 63.” Matthew Henry’s Commentary On the Whole Bible: New Modern Edition. Volume 3, Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., March 1996.

    Holy Bible: Giant Print with Study Aids. Dugan Publishers, Inc., 1984.

    © 2025 Angela Hormberg

  • Psalm 62

    Psalm 62

    Commonplace –

    “Truly my soul waiteth upon God: from him cometh my salvation” (Psalm 62:1).

    Matthew Henry offers helpful insight,

    “”We are in the way both of duty and comfort when our souls wait upon God, when we cheerfully refer ourselves, and the disposal of all our affairs, to His will and wisdom, when we acquiesce in and accommodate ourselves to all the dispensations of his providence, and patiently expect a doubtful event, with an entire satisfaction in his righteousness and goodness” (379).

    “He only is my rock and my salvation: he is my defence; I shall not be moved” (Psalm 62:6).

    Again, Matthew Henry worthily notes,

    “The more faith is acted the more active it is. Crescit eundo – It grows by being exercised. The more we meditate upon God’s attributes and promises, and our own experience, the more ground we get of our fears, which, like Haman, when they begin to fall, shall fall before us, and we shall be kept in perfect peace, Isa 26:3.

    Works Cited

    Henry, Matthew. “Psalm 62.” Matthew Henry’s Commentary On the Whole Bible: New Modern Edition. Volume 3, Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., March 1996.

    Holy Bible: Giant Print with Study Aids. Dugan Publishers, Inc., 1984.

    © 2025 Angela Hormberg

  • 2025 Rtb: Genesis 22

    2025

    Read Through the Bible

    Day 13: Genesis 22

    “And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together” (Genesis 22:8).

    “Abraham’s words must be made good: God himself will provide a lamb. God will not disappoint those expectations of his people which are of his own raising; but according to their faith it is to them” (Henry 112).

    “Christ is the great blessing of the world. Abraham was ready to give up his son for a sacrifice to the honour of God, and, on that occasion, God promised to give his Son as a sacrifice for the salvation of man” (Henry 113).

    Henry, Matthew. “Volume 1: Genesis.” Matthew Henry’s Commentary On the Whole Bible: New Modern Edition. Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., March 1996.

    Holy Bible: Giant Print with Study Aids. Dugan Publishers, Inc., 1984.

    © 2025 Angela Hormberg

  • Psalm 61

    Psalm 61

    Commonplace –

    “Hear my cry, O God; attend unto my prayer” (Psalm 61:1).

    David calls to God and offers prayers. He is in a state of overwhelm and turns to God. In that state, David reminds himself of God’s past faithfulness, when God was “a shelter for [him], and a strong tower from the enemy” (Psalm 61:2). Because of God’s past faithfulness, David returns seeking comfort and knowing he will receive it. As we have seen over the past few days, David’s prayers are turned to praise.

    Matthew Henry aptly notes,

    “Those abide to good purpose in this world that abide before God, that serve him and walk in his fear; and those that do so shall abide before him for ever” (Henry 379).

    Works Cited

    Henry, Matthew. “Psalm 60.” Matthew Henry’s Commentary On the Whole Bible: New Modern Edition. Volume 3, Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., March 1996.

    Holy Bible: Giant Print with Study Aids. Dugan Publishers, Inc., 1984.

    © 2025 Angela Hormberg

  • 2025 Rtb: Genesis 20-21

    2025

    Read Through the Bible

    Day 12: Genesis 20-21

    “And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, She is my sister; And Abimelech king of Gerar sent, and took Sarah” (Genesis 20:2).

    Chapters 20 and 21 relate to Abraham and his house. Chapter 20 relates Abraham’s lie to Abimelech; he told Abimelech Sarah was his sister and directed her to lie, too. Yet, God spared Abimelech. God came to Abimelech in a dream, told Abimelech the truth and warned Abimelech of the consequences of knowing Sarah.

    Matthew Henry makes a worthy point regarding Abraham’s sin,

    “We are here [in Chapter 20] returning to the story of Abraham; yet that part of it which is here recorded is not to his honour. The fairest marbles have their flaws, and, while there are spots in the sun, we must not expect any thing spotless under it. The scripture, it should be remarked, is impartial in relating the blemishes of even of its most celebrated characters” (Henry 103).

    Henry, Matthew. “Volume 1: Genesis.” Matthew Henry’s Commentary On the Whole Bible: New Modern Edition. Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., March 1996.

    Holy Bible: Giant Print with Study Aids. Dugan Publishers, Inc., 1984.

    © 2025 Angela Hormberg

  • 2025 Rtb: Genesis 18-19

    2025

    Read Through the Bible

    Day 11: Genesis 18-19

    “And the Lord appeared unto him in the plains of Mare: and he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day; And he lift up his eyes and looked, and, lo, three men stood by him: and when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground” (Genesis 18:1-2).

    Matthew Henry writes,

    “How Abraham expected strangers, and how richly his expectations were answered (v.1): He sat in the tent-door, in the heat of the day; not so much to repose or divert himself as to seek an opportunity for doing good, by giving entertainment to strangers and travellers, there being perhaps no inns to accommodate them. Note 1. We are likely to have the most comfort of those good works to which we are most free and forward. 2. God graciously visits those in whom he has first raised the expectation of him, and manifests himself to those that wait from him” (Henry 93).

    It’s interesting what Henry makes the following remark regarding Abraham’s hospitality,

    “Where, upon a prudent and impartial judgment, we see no cause to suspect ill, charity teaches us to hope well and to show kindness accordingly. It is better to feed five drones, or wasps, than to starve one bee” (Henry 93).

    Genesis 18 ends with God’s judgment on Sodom. Abraham pleads for the preservation of the city, if even ten good men could be found there. As Abraham aptly observes,

    “[Abraham] returned to his place to observe what that event could be; and it proved that his prayer was heard, and yet Sodom was not spared, because there were not ten righteous in it. We cannot expect too little from man nor too much from God” (Henry 97).

    Further in Genesis 19, we are made aware of the events surrounding Lot, after he escaped Sodom. His wife defies the angel’s command and turns back, wherein she is turned into a pillar of salt. Lot goes on with his two daughters. Lot ultimately becomes drunk, and his daughter’s take advantage of his state to commit sin. Of drunkenness, Matthew Henry writes,

    “The peril of drunkenness. It is not only a great sin itself, but it is the inlet of many sins; it may prove the inlet of the worst and most unnatural sins, which may be a perpetual wound and dishonour. Excellently does Mr. Herbert describe it,

    He that is drunken may his mother kill, Big with his sister

    A man may do that without reluctance, when he is drunk which, when he is sober, he could not think of without horror” (Henry 102).

    Henry, Matthew. “Volume 1: Genesis.” Matthew Henry’s Commentary On the Whole Bible: New Modern Edition. Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., March 1996.

    Holy Bible: Giant Print with Study Aids. Dugan Publishers, Inc., 1984.

    © 2025 Angela Hormberg

  • Psalm 60

    Psalm 60

    Commonplace –

    “Give us help from trouble: for vain is the help of man. Through God we shall do valiantly: for He it is that shall tread down our enemies” (Psalm 60:11-12).

    In Psalm 60, David again begins with prayers of protection and favor. In verse 6, the Psalm turns to praise, as David writes,

    “God hath spoken in his holiness; I will rejoice, I will divide Schechem, and mete out the valley of Succoth” (Psalm 60:6).

    God answered and gave David the victory. Regarding Psalm 60 Matthew Henry notes, it was written when “David was in the zenith of his prosperity, and the affairs of [David’s] kingdom seem to have been in a better posture than ever they were either before or after” (Henry 376). Further on Henry writes,

    “David, in prosperity, was as devout as David in diversity” (375).

    Matthew Henry outlines Psalm 60 as follows,

    “I. [David] reflects upon the bad state of the public interests, for many years, in which God had been contending with them (v. 1-3).

    II. [David] takes notice of the happy turn lately given to their affairs (v. 4).

    III. [David] prays for the deliverance of God’s Israel from their enemies (v. 5).

    IV. [David] triumphs in hope of their victories over their enemies, and begs of God to carry them on and complete them (v 6-12)” (Henry 375).

    Works Cited

    Henry, Matthew. “Psalm 60.” Matthew Henry’s Commentary On the Whole Bible: New Modern Edition. Volume 3, Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., March 1996.

    Holy Bible: Giant Print with Study Aids. Dugan Publishers, Inc., 1984.

    © 2025 Angela Hormberg

  • Psalm 59

    Psalm 59

    Commonplace –

    “But I will sing of thy power; yea, I will sing aloud of thy mercy in the morning: for thou hast been my defence and refuge in the day of my trouble” (Psalm 59:16).

    As with Psalm 57, there is a turning point in this psalm. It begins in prayer and ends with praise; verse 16 is that turning point. In the face of his enemies, David turns to God, his strength and defense. Matthew Henry notes,

    “[David] would praise him because he had still a dependence upon Him and a confidence in Him, as his strength to support him and carry him on in his duty, his defense to keep him safe from evil, and the God of his mercy to make him happy and easy. He that is all this to us is certainly worthy of our best affections, praises and services” (375).

    Works Cited

    Henry, Matthew. “Psalm 59.” Matthew Henry’s Commentary On the Whole Bible: New Modern Edition. Volume 3, Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., March 1996.

    Holy Bible: Giant Print with Study Aids. Dugan Publishers, Inc., 1984.

    © 2025 Angela Hormberg

  • Psalm 58

    Psalm 58

    Commonplace –

    “So that a man shall say, Verily there is a reward for the righteous; verily he is a God that judgeth the earth” (Psalm 58).

    Here the Psalmist addresses the wicked and calls them to account. He declares our choices have consequences.

    Regarding “he is a God”, Matthew Henry notes,

    “He is a God (so we read it), not a weak man, not an angel, not a mere name, not (as the atheists suggest) a creature of men’s fear and fancy, not a deified hero, not the sun and moon, as idolaters imagined, but a God, a self-existent perfect Being; he is that judges the earth; his favour therefore let us seek, from whom every man’s judgment proceeds, and to him let all judgment be referred” (372).

    Works Cited

    Henry, Matthew. “Psalm 58.” Matthew Henry’s Commentary On the Whole Bible: New Modern Edition. Volume 3, Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., March 1996.

    Holy Bible: Giant Print with Study Aids. Dugan Publishers, Inc., 1984.

    © 2025 Angela Hormberg

  • 2025 Rtb: Genesis 16-17

    2025

    Read Through the Bible

    Day 10: Genesis 16-17

    “And Sarai said unto Abram, Behold now, the Lord hath restrained me from bearing: I pray thee, go in unto my maid; it may be that I may obtain children by her. And Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarai” (Genesis 16:2)

    Here we have a situation much like the one in the garden leaving off the presence of the serpent as the tempter. Sarai is misled by her own reasoning. Most likely, Abram shared all that God had shown him in Genesis 15, and Sarai, acknowledging her barren state and attributing it rightly to God’s will, determines to bring about God’s promise through her maid, Hagar. Abram accepts Sarai’s suggestion without first consulting God. Matthew Henry observed:

    “Abram’s compliance with Sarai’s proposal, we have reason to think, was from an earnest desire of the promised seed, on whom the covenant should be entailed. God had told him that his heir should be a son of his body, but had not yet told him that it should be a son by Sarai; therefore he thought, “Why not Hagar, since Sarai herself proposed it?” Note, (1.) Foul temptations may have very fair pretenses, and be coloured with that which is very plausible. (2.) Fleshly wisdom, as it anticipates God’s time of mercy, so it puts us out of God’s way. (3.) This would be happily prevented if we would ask of God by the word and by prayer, before we attempt that which is important and suspicious. Herein Abram was wanting; he married without God’s consent. This persuasion came not of Him that called him” (86).

    Henry’s comment is spot on. It is a reminder to seek God’s answers in His Word and through prayer to Him. While answers do come through other Christians that God uses, their suggestions should always align with His Word.

    Father God, help me to seek You first and not be swayed by suggestions of those around me. Help me to be in your Word. Make Your will known to me. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

    Henry, Matthew. “Volume 1: Genesis.” Matthew Henry’s Commentary On the Whole Bible: New Modern Edition. Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., March 1996.

    Holy Bible: Giant Print with Study Aids. Dugan Publishers, Inc., 1984.

    © 2025 Angela Hormberg