And madest known unto them thy holy sabbath ,.... Which was not made known to others, and was peculiar to the Jewish nation, and a privilege granted to them, to have rest corporeal and spiritual, typical of the rest in Christ: and commandedst them precepts, statutes, and laws, by the hand of Moses thy servant ; moral, ceremonial, and judicial, such as other nations had not, Deuteronomy 4:8 . read more
And gavest them bread from heaven for their hunger ,.... To satisfy that, meaning the manna, Exodus 16:3 and broughtest forth water for them out of the rock, for their thirst ; to quench it; this was done both quickly after they came out of the land of Egypt, and a little before their entrance into the land of Canaan, see Exodus 17:6 and promisedst them that they should go in to possess the land which thou hadst sworn to give them ; which oath was made to them and to their... read more
Stand up and bless the Lord your God - It is the shameless custom of many congregations of people to sit still while they profess to bless and praise God, by singing the Psalms of David or hymns made on the plan of the Gospel! I ask such persons, Did they ever feel the spirit of devotion while thus employed? If they do, it must be owned that, by the prevalence of habit, they have counteracted the influence of an attitude most friendly to such acts of devotion. read more
Thou preservest them all - כלם את מחיה ואתה vettah mechaiyeh eth cullam , and thou givest life to them all: and the host of the heavens, משתחוים לך lecha mishtachavim , prostrate themselves unto thee. How near is this to the opinion of Kepler, that all the heavenly host are instinct with life, and navigate the great expanse on pinions adjusted to their situation in their respective orbits! But to preserve in life, or in being, is a very good meaning in the original, which does... read more
Who didst choose Abram - See the notes on Exodus 13:21 ; (note). The name of Abraham - For the explanation of this name, See the notes on Genesis 17:5 . read more
By a cloudy pillar - See the notes on the parallel passages, both here and in the other verses. read more
Madest known unto them thy holy Sabbath - They appear to have forgotten this first of all the commandments of God, during their sojourning in Egypt. read more
A prayerful review of Divine goodness as manifested in the facts of human life. I. This is a prayerful review of the Divine NAME . "And blessed be thy glorious name, which is exalted above all blessing and praise" ( Nehemiah 9:5 ). 1 . It views God as the Creator of all things ( Nehemiah 9:6 ). 2 . It views God as electing his people ( Nehemiah 9:7 ). 3 . It views God as covenanting with the faithful ( Nehemiah 9:8 ). 4 . It views God as delivering his people in... read more
Confession. The feast of tabernacles, held in such wise as Israel had not known since the days of Joshua ( Joshua 8:17 ), concluded, "according unto the manner" of that festival, with a " solemn assembly" on the eighth day ( Joshua 8:18 )—"the last day, that great day of the feast" ( John 7:37 ). After one day's interval, when nothing unusual was done, "on the twenty-fourth day of the month the children of Israel were assembled with fasting" (verse l), and a very great day was... read more
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John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Nehemiah 9:13
Thou camest down also upon Mount Sinai ,.... By some visible tokens of his presence, as a cloud, fire, smoke, &c.; which must be understood consistent with his omniscience, see Exodus 19:18 , and spakest with them from heaven ; the decalogue or ten commandments, Exodus 20:1 , and gavest them right judgments and true laws, good statutes and commandments ; both judicial and ceremonial, which were of excellent use to them in their civil and ecclesiastical polity; these were not... read more