Proverbs 25 commentary

God needs not search into any thing; nothing can be hid from him. But it is the honour of rulers to search out matters, to bring to light hidden works of darkness.

For a prince to suppress vice, and reform his people, is the best way to support his government.

Religion teaches us humility and self-denial. He who has seen the glory of the Lord in Christ Jesus, will feel his own unworthiness.

To be hasty in beginning strife, will bring into difficulties. War must at length end, and might better be prevented. It is so in private quarrels; do all thou canst to settle the matter.

A word of counsel, or reproof, rightly spoken, is especially beautiful, as fine fruit becomes still more beautiful in silver baskets.

See what ought to be the aim of him that is trusted with any business; to be faithful. A faithful minister, Christ's messenger, should be thus acceptable to us.

He who pretends to have received or given that which he never had, is like the morning cloud, that disappoints those who look for rain.

Be patient to bear a present hurt. Be mild to speak without passion; for persuasive language is the most effectual to prevail over the hardened mind.

God has given us leave to use grateful things, but we are cautioned against excess.

We cannot be upon good terms with our neighbours, without discretion as well as sincerity. How much better a Friend is God than any other friend! The oftener we come to him, the more welcome.

A false testimony is dangerous in every thing.

Confidence in an unfaithful man is painful and vexatious; when we put any stress on him, he not only fails, but makes us feel for it.

We take a wrong course if we think to relieve those in sorrow by endeavouring to make them merry.

The precept to love even our enemies is an Old Testament commandment. Our Saviour has shown his own great example in loving us when we were enemies.

Slanders would not be so readily spoken, if they were not readily heard. Sin, if it receives any check, becomes cowardly.

It is better to be alone, than to be joined to one who is a hinderance to the comfort of life.

Heaven is a country afar off; how refreshing is good news from thence, in the everlasting gospel, which signifies glad tidings, and in the witness of the Spirit with our spirits that we are God's children!

When the righteous are led into sin, it is as hurtful as if the public fountains were poisoned.

We must be, through grace, dead to the pleasures of sense, and also to the praises of men.

The man who has no command over his anger, is easily robbed of peace. Let us give up ourselves to the Lord, and pray him to put his Spirit within us, and cause us to walk in his statutes.

CHAPTER 25

Pr 25:1-28.

1. The character of these proverbs sustains the title (see Introduction).

also--refers to the former part of the book.

copied out--literally, "transferred," that is, from some other book to this; not given from memory.

2. God's unsearchableness impresses us with awe (compare Is 45:15; Ro 11:33). But kings, being finite, should confer with wise counsellors;

3. Ye wisely keeping state secrets, which to common men are as inaccessible heights and depths.

4-5. As separating impurities from ore leaves pure silver, so taking from a king wicked counsellors leaves a wise and beneficent government.

6-7. Do not intrude into the presence of the king, for the elevation of the humble is honorable, but the humbling of the proud disgraceful (Lu 14:8-10).

8. (Compare Pr 3:30).

lest ... shame--lest you do what you ought not, when shamed by defeat, or "lest thou art shut out from doing any thing."

9-10. (Compare Mt 5:25, Margin).

secret--that is, of your opponent, for his disadvantage, and so you be disgraced, not having discussed your difficulties with him.

11. a word fitly--literally, "quickly," as wheels roll, just in time. The comparison as apples ... silver gives a like sense.

apples, &c.--either real apples of golden color, in a silver network basket, or imitations on silver embroidery.

12. Those who desire to know and do rightly, most highly esteem good counsel (Pr 9:9; 15:31). The listening ear is better than one hung with gold.

13. Snow from mountains was used to cool drinks; so refreshing is a faithful messenger (Pr 13:17).

14. clouds--literally, "vapors" (Jr 10:13), clouds only in appearance.

a false gift--promised, but not given.

15. Gentleness and kindness overcome the most powerful and obstinate.

long forbearing--or, "slowness to anger" (Pr 14:29; 15:18).

16-17. A comparison, as a surfeit of honey produces physical disgust, so your company, however agreeable in moderation, may, if excessive, lead your friend to hate you.

18. A false witness is as destructive to reputation, as such weapons to the body (Pr 24:28).

beareth ... witness--literally, "answereth questions," as before a judge, against his neighbor.

19. Treachery annoys as well as deceives.

20. Not only is the incongruity of songs (that is, joyful) and sadness meant, but an accession of sadness, by want of sympathy, is implied.

21-22. (Compare Mt 5:44; Ro 12:20). As metals are melted by heaping coals upon them, so is the heart softened by kindness.

23. Better, "As the north wind bringeth forth (Psa 90:2) or produces rain, so does a concealed or slandering tongue produce anger."

24. (Compare Pr 21:9, 19).

25. (Compare Pr 25:13).

good news--that is, of some loved interest or absent friend, the more grateful as coming from afar.

26. From troubled fountains and corrupt springs no healthy water is to be had, so when the righteous are oppressed by the wicked, their power for good is lessened or destroyed.

27. Satiety surfeits (Pr 25:16); so men who are self-glorious find shame.

is not glory--"not" is supplied from the first clause, or "is grievous," in which sense a similar word is used (Pr 27:2).

28. Such are exposed to the incursions of evil thoughts and successful temptations.

These are also proverbs of Solomon - In my old MS. Bible, this verse concludes the preceding chapter. It seems that the remaining part of this book contains proverbs which had been collected by the order of King Hezekiah, and were added to the preceding book as a sort of supplement, having been collected from traditionary sayings of Solomon. And as the men of Hezekiah may mean Isaiah, Shebna, and other insptred men, who lived in that time, we may consider them as of equal authority with the rest, else such men could not have united them to the sacred book. The chronological notes in the margin of this and the five following chapters denote the time when the proverbs contained in them were collected together in the reign of Hezekiah, about two hundred and seventy years after the death of Solomon.

It is the glory of God to conceal a thing - This has been understood as referring to the revelation of God's will in his word, where there are many things concealed in parables, allegories, metaphors, similitudes, etc. And it is becoming the majesty of God so to publish his will, that it must be seriously studied to be understood, in order that the truth may be more prized when it is discovered. And if it be God's glory thus partially to conceal his purposes, it is the glory of a king to search and examine this word, that he may understand how by Him kings reign and princes decree judgment. Prophecies are partially concealed; and we cannot fully know their meaning till their accomplishment; and then the glory of God's wisdom and providence will be more particularly evident, when we see the event correspond so particularly and exactly with the prediction. I know not, however, that there are not matters in the Book of God that will not be fully opened till mortality is swallowed up of life. For here we see through a glass darkly; but there, face to face: here we know in part; but there we shall know as we also are known.

On this subject I cannot withhold an extract of a letter sent to myself, by a royal and learned personage. (His Royal Highness the Duke of Sussex.) "As far as I have presumed to dive into and occupy myself with the sacred volumes, I feel satisfied of their Divine origin and truth. And I am satisfied, likewise, that they contain more matter than any one, and myself in particular, can ever aspire fully to understand. This belief, however, ought in nowise to slacken our diligence, or damp our ardor, in attempting a constant pursuit after the attainment of knowledge and truth; as we may flatter ourselves, although unable to reach the gate, we are still approaching nearer to its portals, which of itself is a great blessing."

This sentiment will be approved by every pious and enlightened mind.

The heaven for height - The simple meaning of this is, the reasons of state, in reference to many acts of the executive government, can no more be fathomed by the common people, than the height of the heavens and the depth of the earth.

Take away the dross from the silver - You cannot have a pure silver vessel till you have purified the silver; and no nation can have a king a public blessing till the wicked - all bad counsellors, wicked and interested ministers, and sycophants - are banished from the court and cabinet. When the wise and good only are the king's ministers and advisers, then the throne will be established in righteousness, and his administration be a universal blessing.

Come up hither - Our Lord refers to this, see Luk 14:8 (note), and the notes there. Be humble; affect not high things; let those who are desperate climb dangerous precipices; keep thyself quiet, and thou shalt live at ease, and in peace. Hear the speech of a wise heathen on this subject: -

Quid fuit, ut tutas agitaret Daedalus alas;Icarus immensas nomine signet aquas?

Nempe quod hic alte, dimissus ille volabat.Nam pennas ambo nonne habuere suas?

Crede mihi; bene qui latuit, bene vixit; et infraFortunam debet quisque manere suam.

Vive sine invidia; mollesque inglorius annosExige: amicitias et tibi junge pares.

Ovid, Trist. lib. iii., El. 4, ver. 21. "Why was it that Daedalus winged his way safely, while Icarus his son fell, and gave name to the Icarian sea? Was it not because the son flew aloft, and the father skimmed the ground? For both were furnished with the same kind of wings. Take my word for it, that he who lives privately lives safely; and every one should live within his own income. Envy no man; pray for a quiet life, though it should not be dignified. Seek a friend, and associate with thy equals."

Go not forth hastily to strive - לרב lerib, to enter into a lawsuit. Keep from this pit or the bottomless deep, unless urged by the direst necessity.

Debate thy cause with thy neighbor - Take the advice of friends. Let both sides attend to their counsels; but do not tell the secret of thy business to any. After squandering your money away upon lawyers, both they and the judge will at last leave it to be settled by twelve of your fellow citizens! O the folly of going to law! O the blindness of men, and the rapacity of unprincipled lawyers!

On this subject I cannot but give the following extract from Sir John Hawkins's Life of Dr. Johnson, which he quotes from Mr. Selwin, of London: "A man who deliberates about going to law should have,

1. A good cause;

2. A good purse;

3. A good skillful attorney;

4. Good evidence;

5. Good able counsel;

6. A good upright judge;

7. A good intelligent jury; and with all these on his side, if he have not,

8. Good luck, it is odds but he miscarries in his suit." O the glorious uncertainty of the law!

A word fitly spoken - על אפניו al ophannaiv, upon its wheels. An observation, caution, reproof, or advice, that comes in naturally, runs smoothly along, is not forced nor dragged in, that appears to be without design, to rise out of the conversation, and though particularly relative to one point, will appear to the company to suit all.

Is like apples of gold in pictures of silver - - Is like the refreshing orange or beautiful citron, served up in open work or filigree baskets, made of silver. The Asiatics excel in filigree silver work. I have seen much of it, and it is exquisitely beautiful. The silver wire by which it is done they form into the appearance of numerous flowers; and though these wires are soldered everywhere at their junctions with each other, yet this is done with such delicacy and skill as to be scarcely perceptible. I have seen animals formed on this filigree work, with all their limbs, and every joint in its natural play. Fruit-baskets are made also in this way, and are exquisitely fine. The wise man seems to have this kind of work particularly in view; and the contrast of the golden yellow fruit in the exquisitely wrought silver basket, which may be all termed picture work, has a fine and pleasing effect upon the eye, as the contained fruit has upon the palate at an entertainment in a sultry climate. So the word spoken judiciously and opportunely is as much in its place, as the golden apples in the silver baskets.

As an ear-ring of gold - I believe נזם nezem to mean the nose-ring with its pendants; the left nostril is pierced, and a ring put through it, as in the ear. This is very common in almost every part of the East, among women of condition. This is a farther illustration of the above metaphor.

As the cold of snow - That snow was frequent in Judea, is well known; and that in the East they have snow-houses - places dug under ground, where they lay up snow for summer use - is also a fact. By means of the mass of snow desposited in them the icy temperature is kept up, so that the snow is easily preserved. The common method of cooling their wine, which is as easy as it is effectual, is by dipping a cloth in water, wrapping it round the bottle, and then hanging the bottle in the heat of the sun. The strong evaporation carries off the caloric from the wine, and the repetition of the wet cloth in the same exposure, makes the wine almost as cold as ice.

How agreeable this must be in a burning climate, may be easily conceived. Perhaps it is this to which the wise man refers; for it is a fact that they could have no snow in harvest unless such as had been preserved as mentioned above; but this could be only in a few places, and within the reach of a very few persons. But cooling their liquors by the simple mode of evaporation already explained, was within the reach even of the laborers in the harvest field. I think the text favors this supposition; for כצנת שלג ketsinnerth sheleg, need not be referred to snow itself procuring cold, but to a coldness like that of snow, procured by evaporation. If this interpretation be allowed, all difficulty will be removed.

A false gift - מתת שקר mattath shaker, a lying gift, one promised, but never bestowed. "Whoso maketh greate boastes, and giveth nothing;" Coverdale. So the Vulgate: "Vir gloriosus, et promissa non complens;" "A bragging man, who does not fulfill his promises," is like clouds which appear to be laden with vapor, and like the wind which, though it blow from a rainy quarter, brings no moistness with it. So the vain boaster; he is big with promise, but performs nothing.

A soft tongue breaketh the bone - This is similar to another proverb on the same subject: "A soft answer turneth away wrath." An angry word does nothing but mischief.

Hast thou found honey? - Make a moderate use of all thy enjoyments. "Let thy moderation be known unto all, and appear in all things."

Withdraw thy foot - Another proverb will illustrate this: "Too much familiarity breeds contempt."

As vinegar upon nitre - The original word נתר nather is what is known among chemists as the natron of the ancients and of the Scriptures, and carbonate of soda. It is found native in Syria and India, and occurs as an efflorescence on the soil. In Tripoli it is found in crystalline incrustations of from one third to half an inch thiek. It is found also in solution in the water of some lakes in Egypt and Hungary. The borders of these lakes are covered with crystalline masses, of a grayish white or light brown color; and in some specimens the natron is nearly pure carbonate of soda, and the carbonate is easily discovered by effervescing with an acid. It appears to have its Hebrew name from נתר nathar, to dissolve or loosen: because a solution of it in water is abstersive, taking out spots, etc. It is used in the East for the purposes of washing. If vinegar be poured on it, Dr. Shaw says a strong fermentation immediately takes place, which illustrates what Solomon says here: "The singing of songs to a heavy heart is like vinegar upon natron:" that is, "there is no affinity between them; and opposition, colluctation, and strife, are occasioned by any attempt to unite them." And poureth vyneper upon chalke - Coverdale. This also will occasion an effervescence. See Jer 2:22.

If thine enemy be hungry - See this and the next verse explained, Rom 12:20 (note).

Thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his head - Not to consume, but to melt him into kindness; a metaphor taken from smelting metallic ores: -

So artists melt the sullen ore of lead,

By heaping coals of fire upon its head:

In the kind warmth the metal learns to glow,

And pure from dross the silver runs below.

S. Wesley.

The north wind driveth away rain - The margin has, "The north wind bringeth forth rain." It is said that the "north wind brings forth rain at Jerusalem, because it brings with it the vapours arising from the sea that lies north of it." The marginal is the true reading; and is supported by the Chaldee, Syriac, and Septuagint; but the Arabic reads south wind.

A backbiting tongue - A hidden tongue.

It is better to dwell in a corner - See the note on Pro 21:9 (note).

It is not good to eat much honey - Coverdale translates the whole passage thus: "Like as it is not good to eat to muche hony; even so, he that wyll search out hye thinges, it shal be to hevy for him." As he that etith myche honye, and it is not to him goode; so, that is a sercher of mageste, schal ben oppressid of glorie - Old MS. Bible. He that searches too much into mysteries, is likely to be confounded by them. I really think this is the meaning of the place; and shall not puzzle either myself or my reader with the discordant explanations which have been brought forward with the hope of illustrating this passage.

These - Which are contained in this and the following chapters. The men - Certain persons appointed by Hezekiah for that work. Many of them are political precepts, and such as in a special manner concerned Hezekiah, and other princes, for the conduct of their house and kingdom. Copied - Out of the historical records which were then extant.

The glory - It is agreeable to the nature of God; it is a testimony of his infinite wisdom, and of his absolute power and sovereignty. To conceal - To keep his counsels, and the reasons of his actions in his own breast. Search out - To communicate their counsels to others, that so they may search and find out the right way.

The heart - Though wise kings will search out other men, yet their inward thoughts and purposes are hardly discoverable.

Take away - Then, and not 'till then it is fit for that use.

Stand not - Do not affect frequent and familiar society with greater persons than thyself.

Debate - If thou hast any quarrel with him, first try to compose it by private discourse with him. Discover not - Let not heat of contention provoke thee to divulge any of his secrets committed to thy trust.

Lest he - Reproach thee for thy gross violation of the laws of prudence, justice and friendship.

Of silver - Which it seems was usual in those times, and was grateful to the eye for the beauty and variety both of the colours and figures, the golden apples appearing through net - work of silver.

Cold of snow - As drink cooled with ice or snow, as is usual in hot countries.

Boasteth - Promising what he never intends to give. Is like - Like empty clouds carried about with wind, and not affording that rain which they promise.

Forbearing - By patient submission and expectation. Breaketh - Softens the hardest heart.

Honey - By honey he understands, not only all delicious meats, but all worldly delights, which we are here taught to use with moderation.

Withdraw - Visit him not too frequently.

A sword - Is as cruel and pernicious as any instrument of death.

As vinegar - Which dissolves the nitre, and makes it useless and ineffectual.

Bread - By bread and water he understands all things necessary for his subsistence.

For - In so doing, which words are expressed Rom 12:20, where this text is quoted. Thou shalt melt him into repentance, and love.

So - Because it comes more rarely and difficultly, after it hath been long expected.

Falling - When righteous men are oppressed by the wicked, the state of that common - wealth is as deplorable, as if the publick fountains were corrupted.

Not good - For health. To search - Industriously to seek for applause. Is not - Is not only sinful, but shameful also.

1 THese are also proverbs of Solomon, which the men of Hezekiah king of Judah copied out .

Which are contain'd in this and the following Chapters.

Certain▪ persons appointed by Hezekiah for that work, whether Prophets, as Isaiah, Hosea, or Micah, who lived in his days, or some others, it is neither evident nor material. Most of them are political Precepts, and such as in a special manner concerned Hezekiah, and other Princes, to know, for the conduct of their House and Kingdom.

Either out of other Books or Writings of Solomon, concerning natural or civil things, of which we read, 1 Kin. 4. 32. Or out of the historical Records which were then extant concerning Solomon's speeches and actions in the History of the Kings of Iudah, which is oft mentioned in holy Scripture.

2 It is the glory of God to conceal a thing : but the honour of kings is to search out a matter .

It is agreeable to the Nature, and highly conducing to the Honour of God, because it is a Testimony of his infinite Wisdom and Knowledg, of his absolute Power and Soveraignty, and of his other incomprehensible Perfections.

To keep his counsels, and the reasons of his actions in his own Breast, that he needs not to impart them to any other for their advice and assistance, as being self-sufficient both for the contrivance and execution of whatsoever pleaseth him, and accountable to none for any of his matters.

But Kings must not affect to be like God in this respect, because they are Creatures, and therefore ignorant and insufficient, and accountable to an higher Authority.

In the conduct of their great affairs, not to lean to their own understandings, nor to be wedded to their own wills, but to communicate their counsels to others, that so they may search and find out the true and right way, and to be ready to give a satisfactory account of the Justice and reasonableness of them as occasion shall require.

Marginal references: Deut. 29. 29. Rom. 11. 33.

3 The heaven for height, and the earth for depth , and the heart of kings is unsearchable .

As no Man upon Earth can exactly discover the height of Heaven, or the depth of Earth, or discern what is contained in them.

Though wise Kings will search out other men and things, yet their inward thoughts and purposes are hardly discoverable, partly because every Man's Heart lies out of the fight of others, and partly because it is the practice of Kings industriously to conceal their intentions.

Marginal references: Heb. there is no searching.

4 Take away the dross from the silver, and there shall come forth a vessel for the finer .

Then, and not till then it is fit for that use.

5 Take away the wicked from before the king , and his throne shall be established in righteousness .

From his Court and Councels.

By removing them who by their wicked counsels and practices provoked God's displeasure against the King, and blasted his Reputation, and alienated the Hearts of his People from him.

By such impartial execution of Justice.

Marginal references: Ch. 20. 8.

6 Put not forth thy self in the presence of the king, and stand not in the place of great men .

Heb. Do not magnifie, or, glorifie thy self, by vaunting speech or carriage, but, which is implied, carry thy self humbly and modestly, which is most pleasing to Kings, and most becoming and safe for thee.

Do not affect nor use frequent and familiar Society with greater Persons than thy self, whereby thou maist easily involve thy self in much guilt, and expose thy self to envy or contempt, and to many other inconveniences.

Marginal references: Heb. set not out thy glory.

7 For better it is that it be said unto thee , Come up hither: than that thou shouldst be put lower in the presence of the prince whom thine eyes have seen .

It is more for thy credit and comfort.

By some publick Officer▪ or by the King himself.

Into whose presence and acquaintance thou hast so boldly intruded thy self, who as before he observed thy impudence so now he sees and suffers this publick disgrace to be cast upon thee.

Marginal references: Luk. 14. 10.

8 Go not forth hastily to strive , lest thou know not what to do in the end thereof, when thy neighbour hath put thee to shame .

Without necessary cause and due consideration.

Either judicially or otherwise.

For thy folly in undertaking what thou wast not able to accomplish, and for thy injustice in charging him wrongfully.

9 Debate thy cause with thy neighbour himself ; and discover not a secret to another.

If thou hast any quarrel with him, first try to compose it by private discourse with him. Compare Mat. 5. 25. & 18. 15. Luk. 12. 58.

Any secret. Let no heat of contention provoke thee to divulge any of his secret counsels committed to thy trust, or to reproach him with any of his secret faults, as is usual in Law suits, and other contentions. Or, the secret, any secret difference between thee and him, which therefore is fittest to be ended secretly between you, and not to be imparted to any other.

Marginal references: Or, [illegible: 1 word] not the [illegible: 1 word] another.

10 Lest he that heareth it▪ put thee to shame , and thine infamy turn not away .

Reproach thee for thy gross violation of the Laws of Prudence, and Justice, and Charity, and Friendship therein.

And that disgrace which thou didst design against another fall, and be fastned upon thy self.

11 A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver .

For the matter, and season, and other circumstances of it

Which it seems was usual in those times, and was grateful to the Eye for the beauty and variety both of the Colours and Figures, the golden Apples appearing through Net-work of Silver, or being engraven or pourtrayed upon Tablets of Silver.

Marginal references: Heb. [illegible: 1 word] upon [illegible: 1+ letters]is [illegible: 1 word]

12 As an ear-ring of Gold, and ornament of fine gold , so is a wise reprover upon an obedient ear .

Highly acceptable and a great Ornament, and not an offence▪ and dishonour, as fools esteem it.

That reproves an offender faithfully. Yet prufently in the fittest manner and season.

To a Man that hearkens to it, and is instructed and reformed by it.

13 As the cold of snow in the time of harvest, so is a faithful messenger to them that send him: for he refresheth the soul of his masters .

Either 1. as drink cooled with Ice or Snow, as was, and is usual in hot Countries. Or 2. as a cool Air such as is in Snowy seasons. Or 3. as drink which is as cold as Snow.

With a true account and speedy dispatch of those important Affairs which were committed to him.

Marginal references: Ch. 13. 17▪; Heb. day. Gen. 2. 4.; Heb. [illegible: 1 word] or restoreth.

14 Whoso boasteth himself of a false gift , is like clouds and wind without rain .

Pretending that he hath given, or promising that he will give a Man those gifts, which he neither hath given, nor intendeth to give him.

Like empty Clouds carried about with wind, and not affording that Rain which by their appearance they promise.

Marginal references: Heb. in [illegible: 1 word] of falshood.; Jude 12.

15 By long forbearing is a prince persuaded , and a soft tongue breaketh the bone .

By patient submission and expectation.

Or, pacified, whereas his rage is increased by opposition. Compare Eccles. 10. 4.

A mild and humble answer.

Softneth an Heart which is as hard as Bone or Stone. He alludes to those Oyls which sink through the Flesh to the very Bone. See Psal. 109. 18.

Marginal references: Gen. 32. 4. & 1 Sam. 25. 24. & Ch. 15. 1. & 16. 14.

16 Hast thou found honey eat so much as is sufficient for thee, lest thou be filled therewith, and vomit it .

Which in those parts was oft found in Woods or Fields, as Iudg. 14. 8, &c. 1 Sam. 14. 25. By Honey he understands, not onely all delicious Meats, but all present and worldly delights, which we are here taught to use with moderation,

Hony excessively taken disposeth a Man to vomiting.

Marginal references: Vers. 27.; onely.

17 Withdraw thy foot from thy neighbours house , lest he be weary of thee, and so hate thee .

Visit him not too frequently nor unseasonably.

As men are apt to loath those Meats of which they surfeit, as was now observed, v. 16.

Marginal references: Or, let [illegible: 1 word] foot be seldom in thy neighbours house.; Heb. full of thee.

18 A man that beareth false witness against his neighbour, is a maul, and a sword, and a sharp arrow .

Is as cruel and pernicious to him as any instrument of Death▪ The design of the Proverb is to shew the wickedness of slander, and that a false witness is in some respect as bad as a Murderer.

Marginal references: Ps. 120. 3, 4. Ch. 12. 18.

19 Confidence in an unfaithful man in time of trouble, is like a broken tooth and a foot out of joynt .

It is not onely deceitful, but hurtful, as a broken Tooth though it make shew of helping, yet is not onely unhelpful to a Man for chewing his Meat, but also troublesome and painful; and as a Foot out of Joynt, doth not help but hinder, and pain him that attempts to walk upon it.

20 As he that taketh away a garment in cold weather , and as vinegar upon nitre ; so is he that singeth songs to an heavy heart .

When it is most seasonable and necessary.

Which dissolves the Nitre, and makes it useless and ineffectual.

He is no less absurd and impertinent.

Whose grief is not relieved but increased by it, as common experience sheweth, and divers learned Authors have observed.

21 If thine enemy be hungry, give him Bread to eat: and if he be thirsty, give him water to drink.

By Bread and Water he understands all things necessary for his subsistence.

Marginal references: [illegible: 1 word]. 23. 4. [illegible: 1 word] 5. 44. [illegible: 1 word] 12. 20.

22 For thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his head , and the LORD shall reward thee .

Understand, in so doing, which words are expressed, Rom 12. 20. where this Text is quoted.

Either 1. in a bad sense, Thou shalt hereby aggravate his sin and occasion a more speedy and grievous vengeance from God, which, like fire from Heaven, shall fall upon his Head and consume him. Not that he persuades him to do a kindness with an evil intent, with an expectation or desire, or design of bringing God's wrath upon him, but onely he foretels what would happen and dissuades him from taking vengeance, and provokes him to kindness instead of it, because vengeance is God's peculiar work which he will certainly inflict upon such Persons, which argument is used to that very purpose by St. Paul, Rom. 12. 19. Or 2. in a good sense, Thou shalt melt him into repentance and inflame him with love and kindness to thee for so unexpected and undeserved a favour, he shall be as neartily grieved and tormented with the Thoughts of his vile and wicked carriage to thee, as a Man would [illegible: 1+ letters]e that had burning Coals of Fire heaped upon his Head. But if these Coals of Fire do not melt him but still he hardens his Heart against thee, they will consume him. Thus either by the one or by the other way thou shall be secured and deliverd from him. The Metaphor may seem to be taken from Founders who melt the hardest Metals by heaping Coals of Fire upon them. And the Head may be here mentioned rather than any other part, because in Scripture Phrase both Blessings and Curses are said to fall upon mens Heads, i. e. upon them, heads being frequently put for Persons.

Thy charity to him shall be fully recompensed to thee, if not by him, yet by God, which is far better.

Marginal references: [illegible: 1 word]. 11. 6. [illegible: 1 word] 10.

23 The North-wind driveth away rain: so doth an angry countenance a backbiting tongue .

In the hearer, who by his countenance sheweth his dislike of such Persons and practices.

Heb. a secret Tongue, which privily slandereth his Neighbour as it is expressed, Psal. 101. 5. and as the manner of Back-biters is. But this Verse is otherwise rendred in the Margent, and by diverse others, The North Wind bringeth forth (as this Verb properly and most frequently signifies, and as it is rendred by all the Ancient Interpreters, and by many others) Rain: (which it doth in Iudea, because the Sea lies Norward, as well as Westward, from it, as also in Africa, as Aristotle observes, though it drive away Rain in Countries of another situation) so doth a backbiting Tongue (cause) an angry Countenance, it causeth much anger and mischief, both to the Person slandered, and to the slanderer, and to other Persons who may be concerned with or for either of them, as is manifest from common experience.

Marginal references: [illegible: 1 word] 37. 22.; [illegible: 1 word] [illegible: 1 word] north [illegible: 1+ letters] bringeth [illegible: 1 word]: so [illegible: 1 word] back [illegible: 1+ letters] tongue [illegible: 1 word] coun [illegible: 1+ letters].

25 As cold waters to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far countrey .

Because it comes thither more rarely and difficultly, after it hath been long expected and earnestly desired, all which circumstances make it more acceptable.

26 A righteous man falling down before the wicked, is as a troubled fountain, and a corrupt spring.

Either 1. into sin. So the sense is, When a just Man is either allured or terrified into any sinful practice before wicked men, or into any base and servile compliance with their Lusts, he who by his excellent counsels was like a Fountain or well of life, as his Mouth is called, Prov. 10. 11. sending forth refreshing streams for the benefit of many, is now corrupted and rendered unserviceable. Or rather 2. into misery, of which kind of falling this word is constantly used, and never to my remembrance of falling into sin. And so the sense is this, When righteous men are oppressed and devoured by the wicked, the state of that Commonwealth is as deplorable, as if the publick Fountains, from whence all the People fetch their Water, were corrupted, and it is a sign that the Fountains of Justice are poisoned.

27 * It is not good to eat much honey; so for men to search their own glory , is not glory .

To wit, for the health of the Body.

Which words are easily understood both out of the foregoing clause, where the Honey is supposed to be eaten by men, and out of the following words which are evidently meant of them.

Industriously to seek for honour and applause from men.

Is not onely sinful, but shameful also and a sign of a vain and mean spirit. The Negative Particle, not is here understood out of the former part of the Verse, as it is, Psal. 1. 5. & 9. 18.

Marginal references: Vers. 16.

28 He that hath no rule over his own spirit , is like a city that is broken down and without walls .

Over his passions, and especially his anger, which is signified by this word. Prov. 16. 2. Eccles. 10. 4.

Exposeth himself to manifold dangers and mischiefs.

Marginal references: Ch. 16. 32.

Pro 25:1 1 These also are proverbs of Solomon,    Which the men of Hezekiah the king of Judah have collected.

Hezekiah, in his concern for the preservation of the national literature, is the Jewish Pisistratos, and the “men of Hezekiah” are like the collectors of the poems of Homer, who were employed by Pisistratos for that purpose. גּם־אלּה is the subject, and in Cod. 1294, and in the editions of Bomberg 1515, Hartmann 1595, Nissel, Jablonsky, Michaelis, has Dechî. This title is like that of the second supplement, Pro 24:23. The form of the name חזקיּה, abbreviated from יחזקיּהוּ (חזקיּהוּ), is not favourable to the derivation of the title from the collectors themselves. The lxx translates: Αὗται αἱ παιδεῖαι Σαλωμῶντος αἱ ἀδιάκριτοι (cf. Jam 3:17), ἃς ἐξεγράψαντο οἱ φίλοι Ἐζεκίου, for which Aquila has ἃς μετῆραν ἄνδρες ἐζεκίου, Jerome, transtulerunt. העתיק signifies, like (Arab.) nsaḥ, נסח, to snatch away, to take away, to transfer from another place; in later Hebrew_Bible_to transcribe from one book into another, to translate from one language into another: to take from another place and place together; the Whence? remains undetermined: according to the anachronistic rendering of the Midrash מגניזתם, i.e., from the Apocrypha; according to Hitzig, from the mouths of the people; more correctly Euchel and others: from their scattered condition, partly oral, partly written. Vid., regarding העתיק, Zunz, in Deutsch-Morgenl. Zeitsch. xxv. 147f., and regarding the whole title, vol. i. pp. 5, 6; regarding the forms of proverbs in this second collection, vol. i. p. 17; regarding their relation to the first, and their end and aim, vol. i. pp. 25, 26. The first Collection of Proverbs is a Book for Youth, and this second a Book for the People.

Pro 25:2

It is characteristic of the purpose of the book that it begins with proverbs of the king:

It is the glory of God to conceal a thing;

And the glory of the king to search out a matter.

That which is the glory of God and the glory of the king in itself, and that by which they acquire glory, stand here contrasted. The glory of God consists in this, to conceal a matter, i.e., to place before men mystery upon mystery, in which they become conscious of the limitation and insufficiency of their knowledge, so that they are constrained to acknowledge, Deu 29:28, that “secret things belong unto the Lord our God.” There are many things that are hidden and are known only to God, and we must be contented with that which He sees it good to make known to us.Cf. von Lasaulx, Philosophie der Geschichte, p. 128f.: “God and Nature love to conceal the beginning of things.”

The honour of kings, on the contrary, who as pilots have to steer the ship of the state (Pro 11:14), and as supreme judges to administer justice (1Ki 3:9), consists in this, to search out a matter, i.e., to place in the light things that are problematical and subjects of controversy, in conformity with their high position, with surpassing intelligence, and, in conformity with their responsibility, with conscientious zeal. The thought that it is the glory of God to veil Himself in secrecy (Isa 55:1-13 :15; cf. 1Ki 8:12), and of the king, on the contrary, not to surround himself with an impenetrable nimbus, and to withdraw into inaccessible remoteness - this thought does not, immediately at least, lie in the proverb, which refers that which is concealed, and its contrary, not to the person, but to a matter. Also that God, by the concealment of certain things, seeks to excite to activity human research, is not said in this proverb; for 2b does not speak of the honour of wise men, but of kings; the searching out, 2b, thus does not refer to that which is veiled by God. But since the honour of God at the same time as the welfare of men, and the honour of the king as well as the welfare of his people, is to be thought of, the proverb states that God and the king promote human welfare in very different ways - God, by concealing that which sets limits to the knowledge of man, that he may not be uplifted; and the king, by research, which brings out the true state of the matter, and thereby guards the political and social condition against threatening danger, secret injuries, and the ban of offences unatoned for. This proverb, regarding the difference between that which constitutes the honour of God and of the king, is followed by one which refers to that in which the honour of both is alike.

Pro 25:3 3 The heavens in height, and the earth in depth,    And the heart of kings are unsearchable.

This is a proverb in the priamel-form, vid., p. 13. The praeambulum consists of three subjects to which the predicate אין חקר [= no searching out] is common. “As it is impossible to search through the heavens and through the earth, so it is also impossible to search the hearts of common men (like the earth), and the hearts of kings (like the heavens)” (Fleischer). The meaning, however, is simple. Three unsearchable things are placed together: the heavens, with reference to their height, stretching into the impenetrable distance; the earth, in respect to its depth, reaching down into the immeasurable abyss; and the heart of kings - it is this third thing which the proverb particularly aims at - which in themselves, and especially with that which goes on in their depths, are impenetrable and unsearchable. The proverb is a warning against the delusion of being flattered by the favour of the king, which may, before one thinks of it, be withdrawn or changed even into the contrary; and a counsel to one to take heed to his words and acts, and to see to it that he is influenced by higher motives than by the fallacious calculation of the impression on the view and disposition of the king. The ל in both cases is the expression of the reverence, as e.g., at 2Ch 9:22. וארץ, not = והארץ, but like Isa 26:19; Isa 65:17, for וארץ, which generally occurs only in the st. constr.

Pro 25:4-5

There now follows an emblematic (vid., vol. i. p. 10) tetrastich: 4 Take away the dross from silver,    So there is ready a vessel for the goldsmith; 5 Take away the wicked from the king,    And his throne is established by righteousness.

The form הגו (cf. the inf. Poal הגו, Isa 59:13) is regarded by Schultens as showing a ground-form הגו; but there is also found e.g., עשׂו, whose ground-form is עשׂי; the verb הגה, R. הג (whence Arab. hajr, discedere), cf. יגה (whence הגה, semovit, 2Sa 20:13 = Syr. âwagy, cf. Arab. âwjay, to withhold, to abstain from), signifies to separate, withdraw; here, of the separation of the סיגים, the refuse, i.e., the dross (vid., regarding the plena scriptio, Baer’s krit. Ausg. des Jesaia, under Pro 1:22); the goldsmith is designated by the word צרף, from צרף morf, to turn, change, as he who changes the as yet drossy metal by means of smelting, or by purification in water, into that which is pure. In 5a הגה is, as at Isa 27:8, transferred to a process of moral purification; what kind of persons are to be removed from the neighbourhood of the king is shown by Isa 1:22-23. Here also (as at Isa. l.c.) the emblem or figure of Pro 25:4 is followed in Pro 25:5 by its moral antitype aimed at. The punctuation of both verses is wonderfully fine and excellent. In Pro 25:4, ויצא is not pointed ויצא, but as the consecutive modus ויּצא; this first part of the proverb refers to a well-known process of art: the dross is separated from the silver (inf. absol., as Pro 12:7; Pro 15:22), and so a vessel (utensil) proceeds from the goldsmith, for he manufactures pure silver; the ל is here similarly used as the designation of the subject in the passive, Pro 13:13; Pro 14:20. In Pro 25:5, on the contrary, ויּכּון (ויּכּן) is not the punctuation used, but the word is pointed indicatively ויכּון; this second part of the proverb expresses a moral demand (inf. absol. in the sense of the imperative, Gesen. §131, 4b like Pro 17:12, or an optative or concessive conjunction): let the godless be removed, לפני מלך, i.e., not from the neighbourhood of the king, for which the words are מלּפני מלך; also not those standing before the king, i.e., in his closest neighbourhood (Ewald, Bertheau); but since, in the absolute, הגה, not an act of another in the interest of the king, but of the king himself, is thought of: let the godless be removed from before the king, i.e., because he administers justice (Hitzig), or more generally: because after that Psalm (101), which is the “mirror of princes,” he does not suffer him to come into his presence. Accordingly, the punctuation is בּצּדק, not בּצדק (Pro 16:12); because such righteousness is meant as separates the רשׁע from it and itself from him, as Isa 16:5 (vid., Hitzig), where the punctuation of בּחסד denotes that favour towards Moab seeking protection.

Pro 25:6-7

There now follows a second proverb with מלך, as the one just explained was a second with מלכים: a warning against arrogance before kings and nobles. 6 Display not thyself before the king,    And approach not to the place of the great. 7 For better than one say to thee, “Come up hither,”    Than that they humble thee before a prince,    Whom thine eyes had seen.

The גּדלים are those, like Pro 18:16, who by virtue of their descent and their office occupy a lofty place of honour in the court and in the state. נדיב (vid., under Pro 8:16) is the noble in disposition and the nobleman by birth, a general designation which comprehends the king and the princes. The Hithpa. התהדּר is like the reflex forms Pro 12:9; Pro 13:7, for it signifies to conduct oneself as הדוּר or נהדּר (vid., Pro 20:29), to play the part of one highly distinguished. עמד has, 6b, its nearest signification: it denotes, not like נצּב, standing still, but approaching to, e.g., Jer 7:2. The reason given in Pro 25:7 harmonizes with the rule of wisdom, Luk 14:10.: better is the saying to thee, i.e., that one say to thee (Ewald, §304b), עלה הנּה (so the Olewejored is to be placed), προσανάβηθι ἀνώτερον (thus in Luke), than that one humble thee לפני נדיב, not: because of a prince (Hitzig), for לפני nowhere means either pro (Pro 17:18) or propter, but before a prince, so that thou must yield to him (cf. Pro 14:19), before him whom thine eyes had seen, so that thou art not excused if thou takest up the place appropriate to him. Most interpreters are at a loss to explain this relative. Luther: “which thine eyes must see,” and Schultens: ut videant oculi tui. Michaelis, syntactically admissible: quem videre gestiverunt oculi tui, viz., to come near to him, according to Bertheau, with the request that he receives some high office. Otherwise Fleischer: before the king by whom thou and thine are seen, so much the more felt is the humiliation when it comes upon one after he has pressed so far forward that he can be perceived by the king. But נדיב is not specially the king, but any distinguished personage whose place he who has pressed forward has taken up, and from which he must now withdraw when the right possessor of it comes and lays claim to his place. אשׁר is never used in poetry without emphasis. Elsewhere it is equivalent to נתנש, quippe quem, here equivalent to רפנש, quem quidem. Thine eyes have seen him in the company, and thou canst say to thyself, this place belongs to him, according to his rank, and not to thee - the humiliation which thou endurest is thus well deserved, because, with eyes to see, thou wert so blind. The lxx, Syr., Symmachus (who reads 8a, לרב, εις πλῆθος), and Jerome, refer the words “whom thine eyes had seen” to the proverb following; but אשר does not appropriately belong to the beginning of a proverb, and on the supposition that the word לרב is generally adopted, except by Symmachus, they are also heterogeneous to the following proverb:

Pro 25:8-10 8 Go not forth hastily to strife,    That it may not be said, “What wilt thou do in the end thereof,    When now thy neighbour bringeth disgrace upon thee?” 9 Art thou striving with thy neighbour? strive with him,    But disclose not the secret of another; 10 That he who heareth it may not despise thee,    And thine evil name depart no more.

Whether ריב in לריב is infin., as at Jdg 21:22, or subst., as at 2Ch 19:8, is not decided: ad litigandum and ad litem harmonize. As little may it be said whether in אל־תּצא [go not forth], a going out to the gate (court of justice), or to the place where he is to be met who is to be called to account, is to be thought of; in no respect is the sense metaphorical: let not thyself transgress the bounds of moderation, ne te laisse pas emporter; יצא לרב is correlate to בּוא לרוב, Jdg 21:22. The use of פּן in 8b is unprecedented. Euchel and Löwenstein regard it as an imper.: reflect upon it (test it); but פּנה does not signify this, and the interjectional הס does not show the possibility of an imper. Kal פּן, and certainly not פּן (פּן). The conj. פּן is the connecting form of an original subst. (= panj), which signifies a turning away. It is mostly connected with the future, according to which Nolde, Oetinger, Ewald, and Bertheau explain מה indefinite, something, viz., unbecoming. In itself, it may, perhaps, be possible that פן מה was used in the sense of ne quid (Venet. μήποτέ τι); but “to do something,” for “to commit something bad,” is improbable; also in that case we would expect the words to be thus: פן תעשׂה מה. Thus מה will be an interrogative, as at 1Sa 20:10 (vid., Keil), and the expression is brachyogical: that thou comest not into the situation not to know what thou oughtest to do (Rashi: פן תבא לידי לא תדע הם לעשׂות), or much rather anakoluth.; for instead of saying פּן־לא תדע מה־לּעשׂות, the poet, shunning this unusual פן לא, adopts at once the interrogative form: that it may not be said at the end thereof (viz., of the strife); what wilt thou do? (Umbreit, Stier, Elster, Hitzig, and Zöckler). This extreme perplexity would occur if thy neighbour (with whom thou disputest so eagerly and unjustly) put thee to shame, so that thou standest confounded (כלם, properly to hurt, French blesser). If now the summons 9a follows this warning against going out for the purpose of strife: fight out thy conflict with thy neighbour, then ריבך, set forth with emphasis, denotes not such a strife as one is surprised into, but that into which one is drawn, and the tuam in causam tuam is accented in so far as 9b localizes the strife to the personal relation of the two, and warns against the drawing in of an אחר, i.e., in this case, of a third person: and expose not the secret of another אל־תּגל (after Michlol 130a, and Ben-Bileam, who places the word under the 'פ'פתחין בס, is vocalized with Pathach on ג, as is Cod. 1294, and elsewhere in correct texts). One ought not to bring forward in a dispute, as material of proof and means of acquittal, secrets entrusted to him by another, or secrets which one knows regarding the position and conduct of another; for such faithlessness and gossiping affix a stigma on him who avails himself of them, in the public estimation, Pro 25:10; that he who hears it may not blame thee (חסּד = Aram. חסּד, vid., under Pro 14:34), and the evil report concerning thee continue without recall. Fleischer: ne infamia tua non recedat i.e., nunquam desinat per ora hominum propagari, with the remark, “in דבּה, which properly means in stealthy creeping on of the rumour, and in שׁוּב lies a (Arab.) tarshyḥ,” i.e., the two ideas stand in an interchangeable relation with a play upon the words: the evil rumour, once put in circulation, will not again retrace its steps; but, on the contrary, as Virgil says:Mobilitate viget viresque acquirit eundo.

In fact, every other can sooner rehabilitate himself in the public estimation that he who is regarded as a prattler, who can keep no secret, or as one so devoid of character that he makes public what he ought to keep silent, if he can make any use of it in his own interest. In regard to such an one, the words are continually applicable, hic niger est, hunc tu, Romane, caveto, Pro 20:19. The lxx has, instead of ודבתך 10b, read ומריבתך, and translated it with the addition of a long appendix: “They quarrel, and hostilities will not cease, but will be to thee like death. Kindness and friendship deliver, let these preserve thee, that thou mayest not become one meriting reproaches (Jerome: ne exprobrabilis fias), but guard thy ways, εὐσυναλλάκτως.”

Pro 25:11

The first emblematical distich of this collection now follows: 11 Golden apples in silver salvers.      A word spoken according to its circumstances.

The Syr. and Jerome vocalize דּבר דּבר, and the Targ. דּבר דּבר; both are admissible, but the figure and that which is represented are not placed in so appropriate a relation as by דּבר דּבר; the wonderfully penetrating expression of the text, which is rendered by the traditional nikkud, agrees here with the often occurring דּבר (= מדבּר), also its passive דּבוּר. The defective writing is like, e.g., בּטח, Psa 112:7, and gives no authority to prefer דּבּר = מדבּר (Böttcher). That דּברי, corresponding to the plur. תּפּוּחי, is not used, arises from this, that דבר is here manifestly not a word without connection, but a sentence of motive, contents, and aim united. For על־אפניו, the meaning of בּעתּו presents itself from Pro 15:23, according to which, among the old interpreters, Symmachus, Jerome, and Luther render “at its time.” Abulwalîd compared the Arab. âiffan (âibban, also 'iffan, whence 'aly 'iffanihi, justo tempore), which, as Orelli has shown in his Synon. der Zeitbegriffe, p. 21f., comes from the roots af ab, to drive (from within) going out, time as consisting of individual moments, the one of which drives on the other, and thus denotes time as a course of succession. One may not hesitate as to the prep. על, for אפנים would, like עתּות, denote the circumstances, the relations of the time, and על would, as e.g., in על־פּי and על־דּברתי, have the meaning of κατά. But the form אפניו, which like חפניו, Lev 16:12, sounds dualistic, appears to oppose this. Hitzig supposes that אפנים may designate the time as a circle, with reference to the two arches projecting in opposite directions, but uniting themselves together; but the circle which time describes runs out from one point, and, moreover, the Arab. names for time âfaf, âifaf, and the like, which interchange with âiffan, show that this does not proceed from the idea of circular motion. Ewald and others take for אפניו the meaning of wheels (the Venet., after Kimchi, ἐπὶ τῶν τροχῶν αὐτῆς), whereby the form is to be interpreted as dual of אפן = אופן, “a word driven on its wheels,” - so Ewald explains: as the potter quickly and neatly forms a vessel on his wheels, thus a fit and quickly framed word. But דבר signifies to drive cattle and to speak = to cause words to follow one another (cf. Arab. syâḳ, pressing on = flow of words), but not to drive = to fashion in that artisan sense. Otherwise Böttcher, “a word fitly spoken, a pair of wheels perfect in their motion,” to which he compares the common people “in their jesting,” and adduces all kinds of heterogeneous things partly already rejected by Orelli (e.g., the Homeric ἐπιτροχάδην, which is certainly no commendation). But “jesting” is not appropriate here; for what man conceives of human speech as a carriage, one only sometimes compares that of a babbler to a sledge, or says of him that he shoves the cart into the mud.It is something different when the weaver’s beam, minwâl in Arab., is metaph. for kind and manner: they are 'aly minwâl wâḥad, is equivalent to they are of a like calibre, Arab. kalib, which is derived from καλόπους (καλοπόδιον), a shoemaker’s last.

Is it then thus decided that אפניו is a dual? It may be also like אשׂריו, the plur. especially in the adverbial expression before us, which readily carried the abbreviation with it (vid., Gesen. Lehrgebr. §134, Anm. 17). On this supposition, Orelli interprets אפן from אפן, to turn, in the sense of turning about, circumstances, and reminds of this, that in the post-bibl. Heb. this word is used as indefinitely as τρόπος, e.g., באופן מה, quodammodo (vid., Reland’s Analecta Rabbinica, 1723, p. 126). This late Talm. usage of the word can, indeed, signify nothing as to the bibl. word; but that אפנים, abbreviated אפנים, can mean circumstances, is warranted by the synon. אודות. Aquila and Theodotion appear to have thus understood it, for their ἐπὶ ἁρμόζουσιν αὐτῷ, which they substitute for the colourless οὕτως of the lxx, signifies: under the circumstances, in accordance therewith. So Orelli thus rightly defines: “אפנים denote the âḥwâl, circumstances and conditions, as they form themselves in each turning of time, and those which are ascribed to דבר by the suffix are those to which it is proper, and to which it fits in. Consequently a word is commended which is spoken whenever the precise time arrives to which it is adapted, a word which is thus spoken at its time as well as at its place (van Dyk, fay mahllah), and the grace of which is thereby heightened.” Aben Ezra’s explanation, על פנים הראויים, in the approved way, follows the opinion of Abulwalîd and Parchon, that אפניו is equivalent to פניו (cf. aly wajhihi, sua ratione), which is only so far true, that both words are derived from R. פן, to turn. In the figure, it is questionable whether by תּפּוּחי זהב, apples of gold, or gold-coloured apples, are meant (Luther: as pomegranates and citrons); thus oranges are meant, as at Zec 4:12. הזּהב denotes golden oil. Since כסף, besides, signifies a metallic substance, one appears to be under the necessity of thinking of apples of gold; cf. the brazen pomegranates. But (1) apples of gold of natural size and massiveness are obviously too great to make it probable that such artistic productions are meant; (2) the material of the emblem is usually not of less value than that of which it is the emblem (Fleischer); (3) the Scriptures are fond of comparing words with flowers and fruits, Pro 10:31; Pro 12:14; Pro 13:2; Pro 18:20, and to the essence of the word which is rooted in the spirit, and buds and grows up to maturity through the mouth and the lips, the comparison with natural fruits corresponds better in any case than with artificial. Thus, then, we interpret “golden apples” as the poetic name for oranges, aurea mala, the Indian name of which with reference to or (gold) was changed into the French name orange, as our pomeranze is equivalent to pomum aurantium. משׂכּיּות is the plur. of משׂכּית, already explained, Pro 18:11; the word is connected neither with שׂכך, to twist, wreathe (Ewald, with most Jewish interpreters)On this proceeds also the beautiful interpretation by Maimuni in the preface to More Nebuchim: Maskiyyôth sont des ciselures réticulaires, etc., according to Munk’s translation from the Arab. text, vid., Kohut’s Pers. Pentateuch-Uebers. (1871), p. 356. Accordingly Jewish interpreters (e.g., Elia Wilna) understand under אפניו the four kinds of writing: פשׁט, רמז, דרושׁ, and סוד, which are comprehended under the memorial word פרדס. nor with שׂכה, to pierce, infigere (Redslob, vid., under Psa 73:7); it signifies medal or ornament, from שׂכה, to behold (cf. שׂכיּה, θέα = θέαμα, Isa 2:6), here a vessel which is a delight to the eyes. In general the Venet. rightly, ἐν μορφώμασιν ἀργύρου; Symmachus and Theodotion, more in accordance with the fundamental idea, ἐν περιβλέπτοις ἀργύρου; the Syr. and Targ. specially: in vessels of embossed work (נגוּדי, from נגד, to draw, to extend); yet more specially the lxx, ἐν ὁρμίσκῳ σαρδίου, on a chain of cornelian stone, for which, perhaps, ἐν φορμίσκῳ (Jäger) ἀργυρίου, in a little silver basket, is the original phrase. Aquila, after Bereschith rabba c. 93, translates by μῆλα χρύσου ἐν δίσκοις ἀργυφίου. Jerome: in lectis argenteis, appears to have fallen into the error of taking משב for משכב, lectus. Hitzig here emends a self-made ἅπαξ λεγ. Luther’s “golden apples in silver baskets” is to be preferred.A favourite expression of Goethe’s, vid., Büchmann’s Geflügelte Worte, 1688.

A piece of sculpture which represents fruit by golden little disks or points within groups of leaves is not meant - for the proverb does not speak of such pretty little apples - but golden oranges are meant. A word in accordance with the circumstances which occasion it, is like golden oranges which are handed round in silver salvers or on silver waiters. Such a word is, as adopting another figure we might say, like a well-executed picture, and the situation into which it appropriately fits is like its elegant frame. The comparison with fruit is, however, more significant; it designates the right word as a delightful gift, in a way which heightens its impression and its influences.

Pro 25:12

Another proverb continues the commendation of the effective word; for it represents, in emblem, the interchangeable relation of speaker and hearer:

A golden earring and an ornament of fine gold -

A wise preacher to an ear that heareth;i.e., as the former two ornaments form a beautiful ensemble, so the latter two, the wise preacher of morality and an attentive ear, form a harmonious whole: על, down upon, is explained by Deu 32:2. נזם, at Pro 11:12, standing along with באף, meant a ring for the nose; but here, as elsewhere, it means an earring (lxx, Jerome, Venet.), translated by the Syr. and Targ. by קדשׁא, because it serves as a talisman. A ring for the noseVid., Gieger’s Zeitschrift, 1872, pp. 45-48, where it is endeavoured to be shown that נזם, as an earring, is rejected from the later biblical literature, because it had become “an object used in the worship of idols,” and that the word was used only of a ring for the nose as a permissible ornament, while עגיל was used for the earring. But that does not apply to the Solomonic era; for that, in the passage under review, נזם signifies a ring for the nose, is only a supposition of Geiger’s, because it accords with his construction of history. cannot also be here thought of, because this ornament is an emblem of the attentive ear: willingly accepted chastisement or instruction is an ear-ornament to him who hears (Stier). But the gift of the wise preacher, which consists in rightly dividing the word of truth, 2Ti 2:15, is as an ornament for the neck or the breast חלי (= Arab. khaly, fem. חליה = ḥilyt), of fine gold (כּתם, jewel, then particularly precious gold, from כּתם, Arab. katam, recondere).Hitzig compares Arab. kumêt; but this means bayard, as Lagarde remarks, the Greek κόμαιθος; and if by כתם gold foxes (gold money) are to be thought of, yet they have nothing whatever to do with bayards (red-brown horses); cf. Beohmer, de colorum nominibus equinorum, in his Roman. Stud. Heft 2, 1872, p. 285.

The Venet. well: κόσμος ἀπυροχρύσου (fine gold); on the contrary (perhaps in want of another name for gold), כתם is translated, by the lxx and Syr., by sardine; by the Targ., by emerald; and by Jerome, by margaritum.Another Greek translates πίνωσις χρυσῆ. This πίνωσις is a philological mystery, the solution of which has been attempted by Bochart, Letronne, and Field.

It looks well when two stand together, the one of whom has golden earrings, and the other wears a yet more precious golden necklace - such a beautiful mutual relationship is formed by a wise speaker and a hearer who listens to his admonitions.

Pro 25:13

The following comparative tristich refers to faithful service rendered by words:

Like the coolness of snow on a harvest day

Is a faithful messenger to them that send him:

He refresheth the soul of his master.

The coolness (צנּה from צנן, צנן, to be cool) of snow is not that of a fall of snow, which in the time of harvest would be a calamity, but of drink cooled with snow, which was brought from Lebanon or elsewhere, from the clefts of the rocks; the peasants of Damascus store up the winter’s snow in a cleft of the mountains, and convey it in the warm months to Damascus and the coast towns. Such a refreshment is a faithful messenger (vid., regarding ציר, Pro 13:17, here following קציר as a kind of echo) to them that send him (vid., regarding this plur. at Pro 10:26, cf. Pro 22:21); he refreshes, namely (ו explicativum, as e.g., Eze 18:19, etenim filius, like the ו et quidem, Mal 1:11, different from the ו of conditional clause Pro 23:3), the soul of his master; for the answer which he brings to his master refreshes him, as does a drink of snow-cooled water on a hot harvest day.

Pro 25:14

This proverb relates to the word which promises much, but remains unaccomplished:

Clouds and wind, and yet no rain -

A man who boasteth with a false gift.

Incorrectly the lxx and Targ. refer the predicate contained in the concluding word of the first line to all the three subjects; and equally incorrectly Hitzig, with Heidenheim, interprets מתּת שׁקר, of a gift that has been received of which one boasts, although it is in reality of no value, because by a lying promise a gift is not at all obtained. But as לחם כזבים, Pro 23:3, is bread which, as it were, deceives him who eats it, so מתת שׁקר is a gift which amounts to a lie, i.e., a deceitful pretence. Rightly Jerome: vir gloriosus et promissa non complens. In the Arab. ṣaliḍ, which Fleischer compares, the figure 14a and its counterpart 14b are amalgamated, for this word signifies both a boaster and a cloud, which is, as it were, boastful, which thunders much, but rains only sparsely or not at all. Similar is the Arab. khullab, clouds which send forth lightning, and which thunder, but yet give no rain; we say to one, magno promissor hiatu: thou art (Arab.) kabaraḳn khullabin, i.e., as Lane translates it: “Thou art only like lightning with which is no rain.” Schultens refers to this proverbial Arabic, fulmen nubis infecundae. Liberality is called (Arab.) nadnay, as a watering, cf. Pro 11:25. The proverb belongs to this circle of figures. It is a saying of the German peasants, “Wenn es sich wolket, so will es regnen” [when it is cloudy, then there will be rain]; but according to another saying, “nicht alle Wolken regnen” [it is not every cloud that yields rain]. “There are clouds and wind without rain.”

Pro 25:15

Three proverbs follow, which have this in common, that they exhort to moderation: 15 By forbearance is a judge won over,      And a gentle tongue breaketh the bone. קצין (vid., Pro 6:7) does not denote any kind of distinguished person, but a judge or a person occupying a high official position. And פּתּה does not here mean, to talk over or delude; but, like Jer 20:7, to persuade, to win over, to make favourable to one; for ארך אפּים (vid., Pro 14:29) is dispassionate calmness, not breaking out into wrath, which finally makes it manifest that he who has become the object of accusation, suspicion, or of disgrace, is one who nevertheless has right on his side; for indecent, boisterous passion injures even a just cause; while, on the contrary, a quiet, composed, thoughtful behaviour, which is not embarrassed by injustice, either experienced or threatened, in the end secures a decision in our favour. “Patience overcomes” is an old saying. The soft, gentle tongue (cf. רך, Pro 15:1) is the opposite of a passionate, sharp, coarse one, which only the more increases the resistance which it seeks to overcome. “Patience,” says a German proverb, “breaks iron;” another says, “Patience is stronger than a diamond.” So here: a gentle tongue breaketh the bone (גּרם = עצם, as at Pro 17:22), it softens and breaks to pieces that which is hardest. Sudden anger makes the evil still worse; long-suffering, on the contrary, operates convincingly; cutting, immoderate language, embitters and drives away; gentle words, on the contrary, persuade, if not immediately, yet by this, that they remain as it were unchangeable.

Pro 25:16

Another way of showing self-control:

Hast thou found honey? eat thy enough,

Lest thou be surfeited with it, and vomit it up.

Honey is pleasant, salutary, and thus to be eaten sparingly, Pro 24:13, but ne quid nimis. Too much is unwholesome, 27a: αὐτοῦ καὶ μέλιτος τὸ πλέον ἐστὶ χολή, i.e., even honey enjoyed immoderately is as bitter as gall; or, as Freidank says: des honges süeze erdruizet sô mans ze viel geniuzet [the sweetness of honey offends when one partakes too much of it]. Eat if thou hast found any in the forest or the mountains, דּיּךּ, thy enough (lxx τὸ ἱκανόν; the Venet. τὸ ἀρκοῦν σοι), i.e., as much as appeases thine appetite, that thou mayest not become surfeited and vomit it out (והקאתו with Tsere, and א quiesc., as at 2Sa 14:10; vid., Michlol 116a, and Parchon under קוא). Fleischer, Ewald, Hitzig, and others, place Pro 25:16 and Pro 25:17 together, so as to form an emblematic tetrastich; but he who is surfeited is certainly, in Pro 25:16, he who willingly enjoys, and in 17, he to whom it is given to enjoy without his will; and is not, then, Pro 25:16 a sentence complete in itself in meaning? That it is not to be understood in a purely dietetic sense (although thus interpreted it is a rule not to be despised), is self-evident. As one can suffer injury from the noblest of food if he overload his stomach therewith, so in the sphere of science, instruction, edification, there is an injurious overloading of the mind; we ought to measure what we receive by our spiritual want, the right distribution of enjoyment and labour, and the degree of our ability to change it in succum et sanguinem, - else it at last awakens in us dislike, and becomes an evil to us.

Pro 25:17

This proverb is of a kindred character to the foregoing. “If thy comrade eats honey,” says an Arabic proverb quoted by Hitzig, “do not lick it all up.” But the emblem of honey is not continued in this verse:

Make rare thy foot in thy neighbour’s house,

Lest he be satiated with thee, and hate thee.

To make one’s foot rare or dear from a neighbour’s house is equivalent to: to enter it seldom, and not too frequently; הוקר includes in itself the idea of keeping at a distance (Targ. כּלה רגלך; Symmachus, ὑπόστειλον; and another: φίμωσον πόδα σου), and מן has the sense of the Arab. 'an, and is not the comparative, as at Isa 13:12 : regard thy visit dearer than the house of a neighbour (Heidenheim). The proverb also is significant as to the relation of friend to friend, whose reciprocal love may be turned into hatred by too much intercourse and too great fondness. But רעך is including a friend, any one with whom we stand in any kind of intercourse. “Let him who seeks to be of esteem,” says a German proverb, “come seldom;” and that may be said with reference to him whom his heart draws to another, and also to him who would be of use to another by drawing him out of the false way and guiding on the right path - a showing of esteem, a confirming of love by visiting, should not degenerate into forwardness which appears as burdensome servility, as indiscreet self-enjoyment; nor into a restless impetuosity, which seeks at once to gain by force that which one should allow gradually to ripen.

This group of proverbs has the word רע in each of them, connecting them together. The first of the group represents a false tongue:

Pro 25:18 18 A hammer, and a sword, and a sharp arrow -      A man that beareth false witness against his neighbour.

An emblematic, or, as we might also say, an iconological proverb; for 18a is a quodlibet of instruments of murder, and 18b is the subscription under it: that which these weapons of murder accomplish, is done to his neighbour by a man who bears false witness against him - he ruins his estate, takes away his honour, but yet more: he murders him, at one time more grossly, at another time with more refinement; at one time slowly, at another time more quickly. מפיץ, from פּוּץ, is equivalent to מפּץ, and מפּץ from נפץ; the Syr. and Targ. have instead פדועא (פדיעא) from פּדע = פּצע; the word פּריעא, on which Hitzig builds a conjecture, is an error of transcription (vid., Lagarde and Levy). The expression, 18b, is from the decalogue, Exo 20:16; Deu 5:17. It is for the most part translated the same here as there: he who speaks against his neighbour as a false witness. But rightly the lxx, Jerome, the Venet., and Luther: false testimony. As אל sA .y signifies both that which is mighty = power, and Him who is mighty = God, so עד signifies both him who bears testimony and the testimony that is borne, properly that which repeats itself and thereby strengthens itself; accordingly we say ענה עד, to give testimony in reply - viz. to the judge who asks - or generally to offer testimony (even unasked); as well as ענה לעד, Deu 31:21, i.e., as evidence (Jerome, pro testimonio). The prep. ב with this ענה has always the meaning of contra, also at 1Sa 12:3; Gen 30:33 is, however, open to question.

Pro 25:19 19 A worthless tooth and an unsteady foot -      Trust in a faithless man in the day of need.

The form רעה (with Mercha on the antepenult), Isa 29:19, takes the place of an inf. absol.; רעה here (about the tone syllable of which Dechî does not decide, thus without doubt Milra) is certainly not a subst.: tooth of breaking (Gesen.); for how strange such a designation of a worthless tooth! שׁן is indeed mas. in 1Sa 14:5, but it can also be used as fem., as רגל, which is for the most part fem., also occurs as mas., Göttche. §650. Böttcher, in the new Aehrenlese, and in the Lehrbuch, takes רעה as fem. of an adj. רע, after the form חל; but חל is not an adj., and does not form a fem., although it means not merely profanity, but that which is profane; this is true also of the Aram. חוּל; for חוּלתּא, Est 2:9, Targ., is a female name mistaken by Buxtorf. Are we then to read רעה, with Hitzig, after the lxx? - an unimportant change. We interpret the traditional רעה, with Fleischer, as derived from רועעה, from רועע, breaking to pieces (crumbling), in an intransitive sense. The form מוּעדת is also difficult. Böttcher regards it as also, e.g., Aben Ezra after the example of Gecatilia as part. Kal. = מועדת, “only on account of the pausal tone and the combination of the two letters מע with û instead of ô.” But this vocal change, with its reasons, is merely imaginary. מוּעדת is the part. Pual, with the preformative מ struck out, Ewald 169d. The objection that the part. Pual should be ממעד, after the form מבער, does not prove anything to the contrary; for מועדת cannot be the fem. so as not to coincide with the fem. of the part. Kal, cf. besides to the long û the form without the Dagesh יוּקשׁים, Ecc 9:12 = מיקּשׁים (Arnheim, Gramm. p. 139). רגל מוּעדת is a leg that has become tottering, trembling. He who in a time of need makes a faithless man his ground of confidence, is like one who seeks to bite with a broken tooth, and which he finally crushes, and one who supports himself on a shaking leg, and thus stumbles and falls. The gen. connection מבטח בוגד signifies either the ground of confidence consisting in a faithless man, or the confidence placed in one who is faithless. But, after the Masora, we are to read here, as at Psa 65:6, מבטח, which Michlol 184a also confirms, and as it is also found in the Venice 1525, Basel 1619, and in Norzi. This מבטה is constr. according to Kimchi, notwithstanding the Kametz; as also משׁקל, Ezr 8:30 (after Abulwalîd, Kimchi, and Norzi). In this passage before us, מבטח בוגד may signify a deceitful ground of confidence (cf. Hab 2:5), but the two other passages present a genit. connection of the words. We must thus suppose that the ā of מבטח and משׁקל, in these three passages, is regarded as fixed, like the â of the form (Arab.) mif'âl.

Pro 25:20

The above proverb, which connects itself with Pro 25:18, not only by the sound רע, but also by שׁן, which is assonant with שׁנון, is followed by another with the catchword רע: 20 He that layeth aside his coat on a day of frost, vinegar on nitre,      And he who welcomes with songs a dejected heart.

Is not this intelligible, sensible, ingenious? All these three things are wrong. The first is as wrong as the second, and the third, which the proverb has in view, is morally wrong, for one ought to weep with those that weep, Rom 12:15; he, on the contrary, who laughs among those who weep, is, on the most favourable judgment, a fool. That which is wrong in 20a, according to Böttcher in the Aehrenlese, 1849, consists in this, that one in severe cold puts on a fine garment. As if there were not garments which are at the same time beautiful, and keep warm? In the new Aehrenlese he prefers the reading משׁנּה: if one changes his coat. But that surely he might well enough do, if the one were warmer than the other! Is it then impossible that מעדה, in the connection, means transire faciens = removens? The Kal עדה, tarnsiit, occurs at Job 28:8. So also, in the poetic style. העדה might be used in the sense of the Aram. אעדּי. Rightly Aquila, Symmachus, περιαιρῶν; the Venet. better, ἀφαιρούμενος (Mid.). בּגד is an overcoat or mantle, so called from covering, as לבוּשׁ (R. לב, to fasten, fix), the garment lying next the body, vid., at Psa 22:19. Thus, as it is foolish to lay off upper clothing on a frosty day, so it is foolish also to pour vinegar on nitre; carbonic acid nitre, whether it be mineral (which may be here thought of) or vegetable, is dissolved in water, and serves diverse purposes (vid., under Isa 1:25); but if one pours vinegar on it, it is destroyed. לב־רעThe writing wavers between על לב־רע (cf. על עם־דּל) and על־בל רע dna )על ע. is, at Pro 26:23 and elsewhere, a heart morally bad, here a heart badly disposed, one inclined to that which is evil; for שׁר שׁיר is the contrast of קונן קינה, and always the consequence of a disposition joyfully excited; the inconsistency lies in this, that one thinks to cheer a sorrowful heart by merry singing, if the singing has an object, and is not much more the reckless expression of an animated pleasure in view of the sad condition of another. שׁיר על .rehtona  signifies, as at Job 33:27, to sing to any one, to address him in singing; cf. דּבּר על, Jer 6:10, and particularly על־לב, Hos 2:16; Isa 40:2. The ב of בּשּׁרים is neither the partitive, Pro 9:5, nor the transitive, Pro 20:30, but the instrumental; for, as e.g., at Exo 7:20, the obj. of the action is thought of as its means (Gesen. §138, Anm. 3*); one sings “with songs,” for definite songs underlie his singing. The lxx, which the Syr., Targ., and Jerome more or less follow, has formed from this proverb one quite different: “As vinegar is hurtful to a wound, so an injury to the body makes the heart sorrowful; as the moth in clothes, and the worm in wood, so the sorrow of a man injures his heart.” The wisdom of this pair of proverbs is not worth much, and after all inquiry little or nothing comes of it. The Targ. at least preserves the figure 20b: as he who pours vinegar (Syr. chalo) on nitre; the Peshito, however, and here and there also the Targum, has jathro (arrow-string) instead of methro (nitre). Hitzig adopts this, and changes the tristich into the distich:

He that meeteth archers with arrow on the string,

Is like him who singeth songs with a sad heart.

The Hebrew of this proverb of Hitzig’s (מרים קרה על־יתר) is unhebraic, the meaning dark as an oracle, and its moral contents nil.

Pro 25:21-22 21 If thine enemy hunger, feed him with bread;      And if he thirst, give him water to drink. 22 For thereby thou heapest burning coals on his head,      And Jahve will recompense it to thee.

The translation of this proverb by the lxx is without fault; Paul cites therefrom Rom 12:20. The participial construction of 22a, the lxx, rightly estimating it, thus renders: for, doing this, thou shalt heap coals on his head. The expression, “thou shalt heap” (σωρεύσεις), is also appropriate; for חתה certainly means first only to fetch or bring fire (vid., Pro 6:27); but here, by virtue of the constructio praegnans with על, to fetch, and hence to heap up - to pile upon. Burning pain, as commonly observed, is the figure of burning shame, on account of undeserved kindness shown by an enemy (Fleischer). But how burning coals heaped on the head can denote burning shame, is not to be perceived, for the latter is a burning on the cheeks; wherefore Hitzig and Rosenmüller explain: thou wilt thus bring on him the greatest pain, and appease thy vengeance, while at the same time Jahve will reward thy generosity. Now we say, indeed, that he who rewards evil with good takes the noblest revenge; but if this doing of good proceed from a revengeful aim, and is intended sensibly to humble an adversary, then it loses all its moral worth, and is changed into selfish, malicious wickedness. Must the proverb then be understood in this ignoble sense? The Scriptures elsewhere say that guilt and punishment are laid on the head of any one when he is made to experience and to bear them. Chrysostom and others therefore explain after Psa 140:10 and similar passages, but thereby the proverb is morally falsified, and Pro 25:22 accords with Pro 25:21, which counsels not to the avenging of oneself, but to the requital of evil with good. The burning of coals laid on the head must be a painful but wholesome consequence; it is a figure of self-accusing repentance (Augustine, Zöckler), for the producing of which the showing of good to an enemy is a noble motive. That God rewards such magnanimity may not be the special motive; but this view might contribute to it, for otherwise such promises of God as Isa 58:8-12 were without moral right. The proverb also requires one to show himself gentle and liberal toward a needy enemy, and present a twofold reason for this: first, that thereby his injustice is brought home to his conscience; and, secondly, that thus God is well-pleased in such practical love toward an enemy, and will reward it; - by such conduct, apart from the performance of a law grounded in our moral nature, one advances the happiness of his neighbour and his own.

Pro 25:23

The next group of proverbs extends from Pro 25:23 to Pro 25:28. 23 Wind from the north produceth rain;      And a secret tongue a troubled countenance.

The north is called צפון, from צפן, to conceal, from the firmament darkening itself for a longer time, and more easily, like the old Persian apâkhtara, as (so it appears) the starless, and, like aquilo, the north wind, as bringing forward the black clouds. But properly the “fathers of rain” are, in Syria, the west and the south-west; and so little can צפון here mean the pure north wind, that Jerome, who knew from his own experience the changes of weather in Palestine, helps himself, after Symmachus (διαλύει βροχήν), with a quid pro quo out of the difficulty: ventus aquilo dissipat pluvias; the Jewish interpreters (Aben Ezra, Joseph Kimchi, and Meîri) also thus explain, for they connect together תחולל, in the meaning תמנע, with the unintelligible חלילה (far be it!). But צפון may also, perhaps like ζόφος (Deutsch. Morgenl. Zeitsch. xxi. 600f.), standing not without connection therewith, denote the northwest; and probably the proverb emphasized the northern direction of the compass, because, according to the intention of the similitude, he seeks to designate such rain as is associated with raw, icy-cold weather, as the north wind (Pro 27:16, lxx, Sir. 43:20) brings along with it. The names of the winds are gen. fem., e.g., Isa 43:6. תּחולל (Aquila, ὠδίνει; cf. Pro 8:24, ὠδινήθην) has in Codd., e.g., the Jaman., the tone on the penult., and with Tsere Metheg (Thorath Emeth, p. 21) serving as העמדה. So also the Arab. nataj is used of the wind, as helping the birth of the rain-clouds. Manifestly פנים נזעמים, countenances manifesting extreme displeasure (vid., the Kal זעם, Pro 24:24), are compared to rain. With justice Hitzig renders פנים, as e.g., Joh 2:6, in the plur. sense; because, for the influence which the tongue slandering in secret (Psa 101:5) has on the slandered, the “sorrowful countenance” would not be so characteristic as for the influence which it exercises on the mutual relationships of men: the secret babbler, the confidential communication throwing suspicion, now on this one and now on that one, behind their backs, excites men against one another, so that one shows to another a countenance in which deep displeasure and suspicion express themselves.

Pro 25:24 24 Better to sit on the top of a roof,      Than a quarrelsome woman and a house in common.

A repetition of Pro 21:9.

Pro 25:25 25 Fresh water to a thirsty soul;      And good news from a far country.Vid., regarding the form of this proverb, vol. i. p. 9; we have a similar proverb regarding the influence of good news at Pro 15:30. Fresh cold water is called at Jer 18:14 מים קרים; vid., regarding קר, 18:27. “עיף, cogn. יעף, and עוּף, properly to become darkened, therefore figuratively like (Arab.) gushiya 'alyh, to become faint, to become feeble unto death, of the darkness which spreads itself over the eyes” (Fleischer).

This proverb, with the figure of “fresh water,” is now followed by one with the figure of a “fountain”:

Pro 25:26 26 A troubled fountain and a ruined spring -      A righteous man yielding to a godless man.

For the most part, in מט one thinks of a yielding in consequence of being forced. Thus e.g., Fleischer: as a troubled ruined spring is a misfortune for the people who drink out of it, or draw from it, so is it a misfortune for the surrounding of the righteous, when he is driven from his dwelling or his possession by an unrighteous man. And it is true: the righteous can be compared to a well (מעין, well-spring, from עין, a well, as an eye of the earth, and מקור, fountain, from קוּר, R. קר, כר, to round out, to dig out), with reference to the blessing which flows from it to its surroundings (cf. Pro 10:11 and Joh 7:38). But the words “yielding to” (contrast “stood before,” 2Ki 10:4, or Jos 7:12), in the phrase “yielding to the godless,” may be understood of a spontaneous as well as of a constrained, forced, wavering and yielding, as the expression in the Psalm בּל־אמּוט [non movebor, Psa 10:6] affirms the certainty of being neither inwardly nor outwardly ever moved or shaken. The righteous shall stand fast and strong in God without fearing the godless (Isa 51:12.), unmoveable and firm as a brazen wall (Jer 1:17.). If, however, he is wearied with resistance, and from the fear of man, or the desire to please man, or from a false love of peace he yields before it, and so gives way - then he becomes like to a troubled fountain (רפשׂ, cogn. רמס, Eze 34:18; Isa 41:25; Jerome: fans turbatus pede), a ruined spring; his character, hitherto pure, is now corrupted by his own guilt, and now far from being a blessing to others, his wavering is a cause of sorrow to the righteous, and an offence to the weak - he is useful no longer, but only injurious. Rightly Lagarde: “The verse, one of the most profound of the whole book, does not speak of the misfortunate, but of the fall of the righteous, whose sin compromises the holy cause which he serves, 2Sa 12:14.” Thus also e.g., Löwenstein, with reference to the proverb Sanhedrin 92b: also in the time of danger let not a man disown his honour. Bachja, in his Ethics, referring to this figure, 26a, thinks of the possibility of restoration: the righteous wavers only for the moment, but at last he comes right (מתמוטט ועולה). But this interpretation of the figure destroys the point of the proverb.

Pro 25:27

This verse, as it stands, is scarcely to be understood. The Venet. translates 27b literally: ἔρευνά τε δόξας αὐτῶν δόξα; but what is the reference of this כּבדם? Euchel and others refer it to men, for they translate: “to set a limit to the glory of man is true glory;” but the “glory of man” is denoted by the phrase כּבד אדם, not by כּבדם; and, besides, חקר does not mean measure and limit. Oetinger explains: “To eat too much honey is not good; whereas the searching after their glory, viz., of pleasant and praiseworthy things, which are likened to honey, is glory, cannot be too much done, and is never without utility and honour;” but how can כּבדם be of the same meaning as כּבד הדברים אשׁר or הנמשׁלים כּדּבשׁ - such an abbreviation of the expression is impossible. Schultens, according to Rashi: vestigatio gravitatis eorum est gravitas, i.e., the searching out of their difficulty is a trouble; better Vitringa (since כבוד nowhere occurs in this sense of gravitas molesta ac pondere oppressura): investigatio praestantiae eorum est gloriosa; but Vitringa, in order to gain a connection to 27a, needs to introduce etiamsi, and in both explanations the reference of the כּבדם is imaginary, and it by no means lies near, since the Scripture uses the word כבוד of God, and His kingdom and name, but never of His law or His revelation. Thus also is an argument against Bertheau, who translates: the searching out of their glory (viz., of the divine law and revelation) is a burden, a strenuous occupation of the mind, since חקר does not in itself mean searching out, and is equivocally, even unintelligibly, expressed, since כבוד denotes, it is true, here and there, a great multitude, but never a burden (as כּבד). The thought which Jerome finds in 27b: qui scrutator est majestatis opprimetur a gloria, is judicious, and connects itself synonym. with 27a; but such a thought is unwarranted, for he disregards the suff. of כּבדם, and renders כבוד in the sense of difficulty (oppression). Or should it perhaps be vocalized כּבדם (Syr., Targ., Theodotion, δεδοξασμένα = נכבּדות)? Thus vocalized, Umbreit renders it in the sense of honores; Elster and Zöckler in the sense of difficultates (difficilia); but this plur., neither the biblical, nor, so far as I know, the post-bibl. usage of the word has ever adopted. However, the sense of the proverb which Elster and Zöckler gain is certainly that which is aimed at. We accordingly translate:

To surfeit oneself in eating honey is not good,

But as an inquirer to enter on what is difficult is honour.

We read כּבדם instead of כּבדם. This change commends itself far more than כּבד מכּבוד (וחקר), according to which Gesenius explains: nimium studium honoris est sine honore - impossible, for חקר does not signify nimium studium, in the sense of striving, but only that of inquiry: one strives after honour, but does not study it. Hitzig and Ewald, after the example of J. D. Michaelis, Arnoldi, and Ziegler, betake themselves therefore to the Arabic; Ewald explains, for he leaves the text unchanged: “To despise their honour (that is, of men) is honour (true, real honour);” Hitzig, for he changes the text like Gesenius: “To despise honour is more than honour,” with the ingenious remark: To obtain an order [insigne ordinis] is an honour, but not to wear it then for the first time is its bouquet. Nowhere any trace either in Hebrew or in Aramaic is to be found of the verb חקר, to despise (to be despised), and so it must here remain without example.The Hebrew meaning investigare, and the equivalent Arabic ḥaḳr, contemnere (contemtui esse), are derivations from the primary meaning (R. חק): to go down from above firmly on anything, and thus to press in (to cut in), or also to press downward.

Nor have we any need of it. The change of כּבדם into כּבדם is enough. The proverb is an antithetic distich; 27a warns against inordinate longing after enjoyments, 27b praises earnest labour. Instead of דּבשׁ הרבּות, if honey in the mass were intended, the words would have been דּבשׁ הרבּה (Ecc 5:11; 1Ki 10:10), or at least הרבּות דּבשׁ (Amo 4:9); הרבות can only be a n. actionis, and אכל דּבשׁ its inverted object (cf. Jer 9:4), as Böttcher has discerned: to make much of the eating of honey, to do much therein is not good (cf. Pro 25:16). In 27b Luther also partly hits on the correct rendering: “and he who searches into difficult things, to him it is too difficult,” for which it ought to be said: to him it is an honour. כּבדם, viz., דברים, signifies difficult things, as ריקים, Pro 12:11, vain things. The Heb. כּבד, however, never means difficult to be understood or comprehended (although more modern lexicons say this),Cf. Sir. 3:20f. with Ben-Sira’s Heb. text in my Gesch. der jüd. Poesie, p. 204 (vv. 30-32); nowhere does this adj. כבד appears here in this warning against meditating over the transcendental. but always only burdensome and heavy, gravis, not difficilis. כבדם are also things of which the חקר, i.e., the fundamental searching into them (Pro 18:17; Pro 25:2.), costs an earnest effort, which perhaps, according to the first impression, appears to surpass the available strength (cf. Exo 18:18). To overdo oneself in eating honey is not good; on the contrary, the searching into difficult subjects is nothing less than an eating of honey, but an honour. There is here a paronomasia. Fleischer translates it: explorare gravia grave est; but we render grave est not in the sense of molestiam creat, but gravitatem parit (weight = respect, honour).

Pro 25:28

This verse, counselling restraint as to the spirit, is connected with the foregoing, which counsels to self-control as to enjoyment:

A city broken through, now without walls -

A man without self-control over his spirit.

A “city broken down” is one whose wall is “broken,” 2Ch 32:5, whether it has met with breaches (פּרצים), or is wholly broken; in the former case also the city is incapable of being defended, and it is all one as if it had no wall. Such a city is like a man “who hath no control over his own spirit” (for the accentuation of the Heb. words here, vid., Thorath Emeth, p. 10): cujus spiritui nulla cohibitio (Schultens), i.e., qui animum suum cohibere non potest (Fleischer: עצר, R. צר, to press together, to oppress, and thereby to hold back). As such a city can be plundered and laid waste without trouble, so a man who knows not to hold in check his desires and affections is in constant danger of blindly following the impulse of his unbridled sensuality, and of being hurried forward to outbreaks of passion, and thus of bringing unhappiness upon himself. There are sensual passions (e.g., drunkenness), intellectual (e.g., ambition), mingled (e.g., revenge); but in all of these a false ego rules, which, instead of being held down by the true and better ego, rises to unbounded supremacy.Vid., Drbal’s Empirische Psychologie, §137.

Therefore the expression used is not לנפשׁו, but לרוּחו; desire has its seat in the soul, but in the spirit it grows into passion, which in the root of all its diversities is selfishness (Psychol. p. 199); self-control is accordingly the ruling of the spirit, i.e., the restraining (keeping down) of the false enslaved ego-life by the true and free, and powerful in God Himself.

Pleasures and Advantages of Wisdom.

1 These are also proverbs of Solomon, which the men of Hezekiah king of Judah copied out.

This verse is the title of this latter collection of Solomon's proverbs, for he sought out and set in order many proverbs, that by them he might be still teaching the people knowledge, Eccl. xii. 9. Observe, 1. The proverbs were Solomon's, who was divinely inspired to deliver, for the use of the church, these wise and weighty sentences; we have had many, but still there are more. Yet herein Christ is greater than Solomon, for if we had all upon record that Christ said, and did, that was instructive, the world could not contain the books that would be written, John xxi. 25. 2. The publishers were Hezekiah's servants, who, it is likely, herein acted as his servants, being appointed by him to do this good service to the church, among other good offices that he did in the law and in the commandments, 2 Chron. xxxi. 21. Whether he employed the prophets in this work, as Isaiah, Hosea, or Micah, who lived in his time, or some that were trained up in the schools of the prophets, or some of the priests and Levites, to whom we find him giving a charge concerning divine things (2 Chron. xxix. 4), or (as the Jews think) his princes and ministers of state, who were more properly called his servants, is not certain; if the work was done by Eliakim, and Joah, and Shebna, it was no diminution to their character. They copied out these proverbs from the records of Solomon's reign, and published them as an appendix to the former edition of this book. It may be a piece of very good service to the church to publish other man's works that have lain hidden in obscurity, perhaps a great while. Some think they culled these out of the 3000 proverbs which Solomon spoke (1 Kings iv. 32), leaving out those that were physical, and that pertained to natural philosophy, and preserving such only as were divine and moral; and in this collection some observe that special regard was had to those observations which concern kings and their administration.

Prudential Maxims.

2 It is the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the honour of kings is to search out a matter. 3 The heaven for height, and the earth for depth, and the heart of kings is unsearchable.

Here is, 1. An instance given of the honour of God: It is his glory to conceal a matter. He needs not search into any thing, for he perfectly knows every thing by a clear and certain view, and nothing can be hidden from him; and yet his own way is in the sea and his path in the great waters. There is an unfathomable depth in his counsels, Rom. xi. 33. It is but a little portion that is heard of him. Clouds and darkness are round about him. We see what he does, but we know not the reasons. Some refer it to the sins of men; it is his glory to pardon sin, which is covering it, not remembering it, not mentioning it; his forbearance, which he exercises towards sinners, is likewise his honour, in which he seems to keep silence and take no notice of the matter. 2. A double instance of the honour of kings:—(1.) It is God's glory that he needs not search into a matter, because he knows it without search; but it is the honour of kings, with a close application of mind, and by all the methods of enquiry, to search out the matters that are brought before them, to take pains in examining offenders, that they may discover their designs and bring to light the hidden works of darkness, not to give judgment hastily or till they have weighed things, nor to leave it wholly to others to examine things, but to see with their own eyes. (2.) It is God's glory that he cannot himself be found out by searching, and some of that honour is devolved upon kings, wise kings, that search out matters; their hearts are unsearchable, like the height of heaven or the depth of the earth, which we may guess at, but cannot measure. Princes have their arcana imperii—state secrets, designs which are kept private, and reasons of state, which private persons are not competent judges of, and therefore ought not to pry into. Wise princes, when they search into a matter, have reaches which one would not think of, as Solomon, when he called of a sword to divide the living child with, designing thereby to discover the true mother.

4 Take away the dross from the silver, and there shall come forth a vessel for the finer. 5 Take away the wicked from before the king, and his throne shall be established in righteousness.

This shows that the vigorous endeavour of a prince to suppress vice, and reform the manners of his people, is the most effectual way to support his government. Observe, 1. What the duty of magistrates is: To take away the wicked, to use their power for the terror of evil works and evil workers, not only to banish those that are vicious and profane from their presence, and forbid them the court, but so to frighten them and restrain them that they may not spread the infection of their wickedness among their subjects. This is called taking away the dross from the silver, which is done by the force of fire. Wicked people are the dross of a nation, the scum of the country, and, as such, to be taken away. If men will not take them away, God will, Ps. cxix. 119. If the wicked be taken away from before the king, if he abandon them and show his detestation of their wicked courses, it will go far towards the disabling of them to do mischief. The reformation of the court will promote the reformation of the kingdom, Ps. ci. 3, 8. 2. What the advantage will be of their doing this duty. (1.) It will be the bettering of the subjects; they shall be made like silver refined, fit to be made vessels of honour. (2.) It will be the settling of the prince. His throne shall be established in this righteousness, for God will bless his government, the people will be pliable to it, and so it will become durable.

6 Put not forth thyself in the presence of the king, and stand not in the place of great men: 7 For better it is that it be said unto thee, Come up hither; than that thou shouldest be put lower in the presence of the prince whom thine eyes have seen.

Here we see, 1. That religion is so far from destroying good manners that it reaches us to behave ourselves lowly and reverently towards our superiors, to keep our distance, and give place to those to whom it belongs "Put not forth thyself rudely and carelessly in the king's presence, or in the presence of great men; do not compare with them" (so some understand it); "do not vie with them in apparel, furniture, gardens, house-keeping, or retinue, for that is an affront to them and will waste thy own estate." 2. That religion teaches us humility and self-denial, which is a better lesson than that of good manners: "Deny thyself the place thou art entitled to; covet not to make a fair show, nor air at preferment, nor thrust thyself into the company of those that are above thee; be content in a low sphere if that is it which God has allotted to thee." The reason he gives is because this is really the way to advancement, as our Saviour shows in a parable that seems to be borrowed from this, Luke xiv. 9. Not that we must therefore pretend modesty and humility, and make a stratagem of it, for the courting of honour, but therefore we must really be modest and humble, because God will put honour on such and so will men too. It is better, more for a man's satisfaction and reputation, to be advanced above his pretensions and expectations, than to be thrust down below them, in the presence of the prince, whom it was a great piece of honour to be admitted to the sight of and a great piece of presumption to look upon without leave.

8 Go not forth hastily to strive, lest thou know not what to do in the end thereof, when thy neighbour hath put thee to shame. 9 Debate thy cause with thy neighbour himself; and discover not a secret to another: 10 Lest he that heareth it put thee to shame, and thine infamy turn not away.

I. Here is good counsel given about going to law:—1. "Be not hasty in bringing an action, before thou hast thyself considered it, and consulted with thy friends about it: Go not forth hastily to strive; do not send for a writ in a passion, or upon the first appearance of right on thy side, but weigh the matter deliberately, because we are apt to be partial in our own cause; consider the certainty of the expenses and the uncertainty of the success, how much care and vexation it will be the occasion of, and, after all, the cause may go against thee; surely then thou shouldst not go forth hastily to strive." 2. "Bring not an action before thou hast tried to end the matter amicably ( v. 9): Debate thy cause with thy neighbour privately, and perhaps you will understand one another better and see that there is no occasion to go to law." In public quarrels the war that must at length end might better have been prevented by a treaty of peace, and a great deal of blood and treasure spared. It is so in private quarrels: "Sue not thy neighbour as a heathen man and a publican until thou hast told him his fault between thee and him alone, and he has refused to refer the matter, or to come to an accommodation. Perhaps the matter in variance is a secret, not fit to be divulged to any, much less to be brought upon the stage before the country; and therefore end it privately, that it may not be discovered." Reveal not the secret of another, so some read it. "Do not, in revenge, to disgrace thy adversary, disclose that which should be kept private and which does not at all belong to the cause."

II. Two reasons he gives why we should be thus cautious in going to law:—1. "Because otherwise the cause will be in danger of going against thee, and thou wilt not know what to do when the defendant has justified himself in what thou didst charge upon him, and made it out that thy complaint was frivolous and vexatious and that thou hadst no just cause of action, and so put thee to shame, non-suit thee, and force thee to pay costs, all which might have been prevented by a little consideration." 2. "Because it will turn very much to thy reproach if thou fall under the character of being litigious. Not only the defendant himself (v. 8), but he that hears the cause tried will put thee to shame, will expose thee as a man of no principle, and thy infamy will not turn away; thou wilt never retrieve thy reputation."

Instructive Similes.

11 A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver. 12 As an earring of gold, and an ornament of fine gold, so is a wise reprover upon an obedient ear.

Solomon here shows how much it becomes a man, 1. To speak pertinently: A word upon the wheels, that runs well, is well-circumstanced, in proper time and place—instruction, advice, or comfort, given seasonably, and in apt expressions, adapted to the case of the person spoken to and agreeing with the character of the person speaking—is like golden balls resembling apples, or like true apples of a golden colour (golden rennets), or perhaps gilded, as sometimes we have gilded laurels, and those embossed in pictures of silver, or rather brought to table in a silver network basket, or in a silver box of that which we call filigree—work, through which the golden apples might be seen. Doubtless in was some ornament of the table, then well known. As that was very pleasing to the eye, so is a word fitly spoken to the ear. 2. Especially to give a reproof with discretion, and so as to make it acceptable. If it be well given, by a wise reprover, and well taken, by an obedient ear, it is an earring of gold and an ornament of fine gold, very graceful and well becoming both the reprover and the reproved; both will have their praise, the reprover for giving it so prudently and the reproved for taking it so patiently and making a good use of it. Others will commend them both, and they will have satisfaction in each other; he who gave the reproof is pleased that it had the desired effect, and he to whom it was given has reason to be thankful for it as a kindness. That is well given, we say, that is well taken; yet it does not always prove that that is well taken which is well given. It were to be wished that a wise reprover should always meet with an obedient ear, but often it is not so.

13 As the cold of snow in the time of harvest, so is a faithful messenger to them that send him: for he refresheth the soul of his masters.

See here, 1. What ought to be the care of a servant, the meanest that is sent on an errand and entrusted with any business, much more the greatest, the agent and ambassador of a prince; he ought to be faithful to him that sends him, and to see to it that he do not, by mistake or with design, falsify his trust, and that he be in nothing that lies in his power wanting to his master's interest. Those that act as factors, by commission, ought to act as carefully as for themselves. 2. How much this will be the satisfaction of the master; it will refresh his soul as much as ever the cold of snow (which is hot countries they preserve by art all the year round) refreshed the labourers in the harvest, that bore the burden and heat of the day. The more important the affair was, and the more fear of its miscarrying, the more acceptable is the messenger, if he have managed it successfully and well. A faithful minister, Christ's messenger, should be thus acceptable to us (Job xxxiii. 23); however, he will be a sweet savour to God, 2 Cor. ii. 15.

14 Whoso boasteth himself of a false gift is like clouds and wind without rain.

He may be said to boast of a false gift, 1. Who pretends to have received or given that which he never had, which he never gave, makes a noise of his great accomplishments and his good services, but it is all false; he is not what he pretends to be. Or, 2. Who promises what he will give and what he will do, but performs nothing, who raises people's expectations of the mighty things he will do for his country, for his friends, what noble legacies he will leave, but either he has not wherewithal to do what he says or he never designs it. Such a one is like the morning-cloud, that passes away, and disappoints those who looked for rain from it to water the parched ground (Jude 12), clouds without water.

Miscellaneous Maxims.

15 By long forbearing is a prince persuaded, and a soft tongue breaketh the bone.

Two things are here recommended to us, in dealing with others, as likely means to gain our point:—1. Patience, to bear a present heat without being put into a heat by it, and to wait for a fit opportunity to offer our reasons and to give persons time to consider them. By this means even a prince may be persuaded to do a thing which he seemed very averse to, much more a common person. That which is justice and reason now will be so another time, and therefore we need not urge them with violence now, but wait for a more convenient season. 2. Mildness, to speak without passion or provocation: A soft tongue breaks the bone; it mollifies the roughest spirits and overcomes those that are most morose, like lightning, which, they say, has sometimes broken the bone, and yet not pierced the flesh. Gideon with a soft tongue pacified the Ephraimites and Abigail turned away David's wrath. Hard words, we say, break no bones, and therefore we should bear them patiently; but, it seems, soft words do, and therefore we should, on all occasions, give them prudently.

16 Hast thou found honey? eat so much as is sufficient for thee, lest thou be filled therewith, and vomit it.

Here, 1. We are allowed a sober and moderate use of the delights of sense: Hast thou found honey? It is not forbidden fruit to thee, as it was to Jonathan; thou mayest eat of it with thanksgiving to God, who, having created things grateful to our senses, has given us leave to make use of them. Eat as much as is sufficient, and no more. Enough is as good as a feast. 2. We are cautioned to take heed of excess. We must use all pleasures as we do honey, with a check upon our appetite, lest we take more than does us good and make ourselves sick with it. We are most in danger of surfeiting upon that which is most sweet, and therefore those that fare sumptuously every day have need to watch over themselves, lest their hearts be at any time overcharged. The pleasures of sense lose their sweetness by the excessive use of them and become nauseous, as honey, which turns sour in the stomach; it is therefore our interest, as well as our duty, to use them with sobriety.

17 Withdraw thy foot from thy neighbour's house; lest he be weary of thee, and so hate thee.

Here he mentions another pleasure which we must not take too much of, that of visiting our friends, the former for fear of surfeiting ourselves, this for fear of surfeiting our neighbour. 1. It is a piece of civility to visit our neighbours sometimes, to show our respect to them and concern for them, and to cultivate and improve mutual acquaintance and love, and that we may have both the satisfaction and advantage of their conversation. 2. It is wisdom, as well as good manners, not to be troublesome to our friends in our visiting them, not to visit too often, nor stay too long, nor contrive to come at meal-time, nor make ourselves busy in the affairs of their families; hereby we make ourselves cheap, mean, and burdensome. Thy neighbour, who is thus plagued and haunted with thy visits, will be weary of thee and hate thee, and that will be the destruction of friendship which should have been the improvement of it. Post tres sæpe dies piscis vilescit et hospes—After the third day fish and company become distasteful. Familiarity breeds contempt. Nulli te facias nimis sodalem—Be not too intimate with any. He that sponges upon his friend loses him. How much better a friend then is God than any other friend; for we need not withdraw our foot from his house, the throne of his grace (ch. viii. 34); the oftener we come to him the better and the more welcome.

18 A man that beareth false witness against his neighbour is a maul, and a sword, and a sharp arrow.

Here, 1. The sin condemned is bearing false witness against our neighbour, either in judgment or in common conversation, contrary to the law of the ninth commandment. 2. That which it is here condemned for is the mischievousness of it; it is in its power to ruin not only men's reputation, but their lives, estates, families, all that is dear to them. A false testimony is every thing that is dangerous; it is a maul (or club to knock a man's brains out with), a flail, which there is no fence against; it is a sword to wound near at hand and a sharp arrow to wound at a distance; we have therefore need to pray, Deliver my soul, O Lord! from lying lips, Ps. cxx. 2.

19 Confidence in an unfaithful man in time of trouble is like a broken tooth, and a foot out of joint.

1. The confidence of an unfaithful man (so some read it) will be like a broken tooth; his policy, his power, his interest, all that which he trusted in to support him in his wickedness, will fail him in time of trouble, Ps. lii. 7. 2. Confidence in an unfaithful man (so we read it), in a man whom we thought trusty and therefore depended on, but who proves otherwise; it proves not only unserviceable, but painful and vexatious, like a broken tooth, or a foot out of joint, which, when we put any stress upon it, not only fails us, but makes us feel from it, especially in time of trouble, when we most expect help from it; it is like a broken reed, Isa. xxxvi. 6. Confidence in a faithful God, in time of trouble, will not prove thus; on him we may rest and in him dwell at ease.

20 As he that taketh away a garment in cold weather, and as vinegar upon nitre, so is he that singeth songs to an heavy heart.

1. The absurdity here censured is singing songs to a heavy heart. Those that are in great sorrow are to be comforted by sympathizing with them, condoling with them, and concurring in their lamentation. If we take that method, the moving of our lips may assuage their grief (Job xvi. 5); but we take a wrong course with them if we think to relieve them by being merry with them, and endeavouring to make them merry; for it adds to their grief to see their friends so little concerned for them; it puts them upon ripping up the causes of their grief, and aggravating them, and makes them harden themselves in sorrow against the assaults of mirth. 2. The absurdities this is compared to are, taking away a garment from a man in cold weather, which makes him colder, and pouring vinegar upon nitre, which, like water upon lime, puts it into a ferment; so improper, so incongruous, is it to sing pleasant songs to one that is of a sorrowful spirit. Some read it in a contrary sense: As he that puts on a garment in cold weather warms the body, or as vinegar upon nitre dissolves it, so he that sings songs of comfort to a person in sorrow refreshes him and dispels his grief.

Forgiveness of Enemies.

21 If thine enemy be hungry, give him bread to eat; and if he be thirsty, give him water to drink: 22 For thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his head, and the Lord shall reward thee.

By this it appears that, however the scribes and Pharisees had corrupted the law, not only the commandment of loving our brethren, but even that of loving our enemies, was not only a new, but also an old commandment, an Old-Testament commandment, though our Saviour has given it to us with the new enforcement of his own great example in loving us when we were enemies. Observe, 1. How we must express our love to our enemies by the real offices of kindness, even those that are expensive to ourselves and most acceptable to them: "If they be hungry and thirsty, instead of pleasing thyself with their distress and contriving how to cut off supplies from them, relieve them, as Elisha did the Syrians that came to apprehend him," 2 King vi. 22. 2. What encouragement we have to do so. (1.) It will be a likely means to win upon them, and bring them over to be reconciled to us; we shall mollify them as the refiner melts the metal in the crucible, not only by putting it over the fire, but by heaping coals of fire upon it. The way to turn an enemy into a friend is, to act towards him in a friendly manner. If it do not gain him, it will aggravate his sin and punishment, and heap the burning coals of God's wrath upon his head, as rejoicing in his calamity may be an occasion of God's turning his wrath from him, ch. xxiv. 17. (2.) However, we shall be no losers by our self-denial: "Whether he relent towards thee or no, the Lord shall reward thee; he shall forgive thee who thus showest thyself to be of a forgiving spirit. He shall provide for thee when thou art in distress (though thou hast been evil and ungrateful), as thou dost for thy enemy; at least it shall be recompensed in the resurrection of the just, when kindnesses done to our enemies shall be remembered as well as those shown to God's friends."

Miscellaneous Maxims.

23 The north wind driveth away rain: so doth an angry countenance a backbiting tongue.

Here see, 1. How we must discourage sin and witness against it, and particularly the sin of slandering and backbiting; we must frown upon it, and, by giving it an angry countenance, endeavour to put it out of countenance. Slanders would not be so readily spoken as they are if they were not readily heard; but good manners would silence the slanderer if he saw that his tales displeased the company. We should show ourselves uneasy if we heard a dear friend, whom we value, evil-spoken of; the same dislike we should show of evil-speaking in general. If we cannot otherwise reprove, we may do it by our looks. 2. The good effect which this might probably have; who knows but it may silence and drive away a backbiting tongue? Sin, if it be countenanced, becomes daring, but, if it receive any check, it is so conscious of its own shame that it becomes cowardly, and this sin in particular, for many abuse those they speak of only in hopes to curry favour with those they speak to.

24 It is better to dwell in the corner of the housetop, than with a brawling woman and in a wide house.

This is the same with what he had said, ch. xxi. 9. Observe, 1. How those are to be pitied that are unequally yoked, especially with such as are brawling and contentious, whether husband or wife; for it is equally true of both. It is better to be alone than to be joined to one who, instead of being a meet-help, is a great hindrance to the comfort of life. 2. How those may sometimes be envied that live in solitude; as they want the comfort of society, so they are free from the vexation of it. And as there are cases which give occasion to say, "Blessed is the womb that has not borne," so there are which give occasion to say, "Blessed is the man who was never married, but who lies like a servant in a corner of the house-top."

25 As cold waters to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far country.

See here, 1. How natural it is to us to desire to hear good news from our friends, and concerning our affairs at a distance. It is sometimes with impatience that we expect to hear from abroad; our souls thirst after it. But we should check the inordinateness of that desire; if it be bad news, it will come too soon, if good, it will be welcome at any time. 2. How acceptable such good news will be when it does come, as refreshing as cold water to one that is thirsty. Solomon himself had much trading abroad, as well as correspondence by his ambassadors with foreign courts; and how pleasant it was to hear of the good success of his negotiations abroad he well knew by experience. Heaven is a country afar off; how refreshing is it to hear good news thence, both in the everlasting gospel, which signified glad tidings, and in the witness of the Spirit with our spirits that we are God's children.

26 A righteous man falling down before the wicked is as a troubled fountain, and a corrupt spring.

It is here represented as a very lamentable thing, and a public grievance, and of ill consequence to many, like the troubling of a fountain and the corrupting of a spring, for the righteous to fall down before the wicked, that is, 1. For the righteous to fall into sin in the sight of the wicked—for them to do any thing unbecoming their profession, which is told in Gath, and published in the streets of Ashkelon, and in which the daughters of the Philistines rejoice. For those that have been in reputation for wisdom and honour to fall from their excellency, this troubles the fountains by grieving some, and corrupts the springs by infecting others and emboldening them to do likewise. 2. For the righteous to be oppressed, and run down, and trampled upon, by the violence or subtlety of evil men, to be displaced and thrust into obscurity, this is the troubling of the fountains of justice and corrupting the very springs of government, ch. xxviii. 12, 28; xxix. 2. 3. For the righteous to be cowardly, to truckle to the wicked, to be afraid of opposing his wickedness and basely to yield to him, this is a reflection upon religion, a discouragement to good men, and strengthens the hands of sinners in their sins, and so is like a troubled fountain and a corrupt spring.

27 It is not good to eat much honey: so for men to search their own glory is not glory.

I. Two things we must be graciously dead to:—1. To the pleasures of sense, for it is not good to eat much honey; though it pleases the taste, and, if eaten with moderation, is very wholesome, yet, if eaten to excess, it becomes nauseous, creates bile, and is the occasion of many diseases. It is true of all the delights of the children of men that they will surfeit, but never satisfy, and they are dangerous to those that allow themselves the liberal use of them. 2. To the praise of man. We must not be greedy of that any more than of pleasure, because, for men to search their own glory, to court applause and covet to make themselves popular, is not their glory, but their shame; every one will laugh at them for it; and the glory which is so courted is not glory when it is got, for it is really no true honour to a man.

II. Some give another sense of this verse: To eat much honey is not good, but to search into glorious and excellent things is a great commendation, it is true glory; we cannot therein offend by excess. Others thus: "As honey, though pleasant to the taste, if used immoderately, oppresses the stomach, so an over-curious search into things sublime and glorious, though pleasant to us, if we pry too far, will overwhelm our capacities with a greater glory and lustre than they can bear." Or thus: "You may be surfeited with eating too much honey, but the last of glory, of their glory, the glory of the blessed, is glory; it will be ever fresh, and never pall the appetite."

28 He that hath no rule over his own spirit is like a city that is broken down, and without walls.

Here is, 1. The good character of a wise and virtuous man implied. He is one that has rule over his own spirit; he maintains the government of himself, and of his own appetites and passions, and does not suffer them to rebel against reason and conscience. He has the rule of his own thoughts, his desires, his inclinations, his resentments, and keeps them all in good order. 2. The bad case of a vicious man, who has not this rule over his own spirit, who, when temptations to excess in eating or drinking are before him, has no government of himself, when he is provoked breaks out into exorbitant passions, such a one is like a city that is broken down and without walls. All that is good goes out, and forsakes him; all that is evil breaks in upon him. He lies exposed to all the temptations of Satan and becomes an easy prey to that enemy; he is also liable to many troubles and vexations; it is likewise as much a reproach to him as it is to a city to have its walls ruined, Neh. i. 3.

CHAP. XXV. Verſ. 1. Theſe alſo are Proverbs of Solomon, which the men]

SAlomon hath his thouſand out of this his Vine-yard of three thouſand Proverbs (1 King. 4.32.) and theſe men of Hezekiah that kept (and yet communicated) the fruit thereof,Prima ſequmtem boneſtum eſt in ſecundi[illegible: 1 letter] tertiiſque confiſtere. Gic. de Orat. their two hundred, Cant. 8.12. It is good for men to be doing what they are able for the glory of God, and good of others: If it be but to Copy out another mans Work, and prepare it for the Preſs: Them that any way honour God he will honour: that is a bargain of his own making, and we may truſt to it.

Verſ. 2. It is the glory of God to conceal a thing] That what we conceive not, we may admire (mirari non rimari) and cry out with Paul, O the depth! Rom. 11.33. as the Romans dedicated to their Goddeſſe Victoria a certain Lake, the depth whereof they could not dive into. God is much to be magnified for what hee hath revealed unto his people in the holy Scriptures, for their eternal good. But thoſe unſearchable ſecrets of his (ſuch as are the union of the three Perſons into one Nature, and of two Natures into one Perſon, his wonderful Decrees, and the no leſſe wonderful execution thereof &c.) theſe make exceeding much to the glory of his infinite Wiſdom, and ſurpaſſing greatneſſe;Ariſtot. in ſpeaking whereof our ſafeſt eloquence is our ſilence, ſith tantum recedit quantum capitur, ſaith Nazianzen, much like that Pool ſpoken of by Polycritus, which in compaſſe at the firſt, ſcarce ſeemed to exceed the breadth of a ſhield; but if any went in to waſh, it extended it ſelf more and more.

But the honour of Kings is to ſearch out a matter] As Salomon did that of the two Harlots, 1 King. 3.Job 29.16. There are that divide this Book of Proverbs into three parts. In the nine firſt Chapters things of a lower nature, and fit for inſtruction of youth, are ſet down and deſcribed. Next, From thence to this five and twentieth Chapter the wiſe man diſcourſeth of all ſorts of virtues and vices, ſutable to all ſorts of People. Laſtly, From this Chapter to the end he treateth (for the moſt part) of higher matters, as of King-craft, and State-buſineſs.

Verſ. 3. The Heaven for height, &c.] It is a wonder that we can look up to ſo admirable an height, and that the very eye is not tired in the way. If this aſcending line could be drawn right forwards, ſome that have calculated curiouſly, have found it 500 years journey to the ſtarry sky. Other Mathematicians ſay, that if a ſtone ſhould fall from the 8th Sphere, and ſhould paſs every hour 100 miles, it would be 65. years or more before it would come to ground. I ſuppoſe there is as little credit to be given to theſe,Aug de Civit. Dei. l. 16. as to Aratus the Aſtrologer, who boaſted that he had found out and ſet down the whole number of the ſtars in heaven: or as to Archimedes the Mathematician, that ſaid,Sphinx Philoſoph. that he could by his Art caſt up the juſt number of all the ſands both in the habitable and inhabitable parts of the world.

And the earth for depth] From the ſurface to the center, how far it is cannot be known exactly, as neither whether hell be there: but that it is ſomewhere below may be gathered from Rev. 14.11. and other places: Ubi ſit ſentient, qui curioſius quaerunt.

And the heart of Kings is unſearchable] Profundum ſine fundo. God gave Salomon a large heart, even as the ſand that is on the Sea-ſhore, 1 Kings 4.29. A vaſt capacity, an extraordinary judgement, and wiſdome to reſerve himſelf. No bad cauſe was too hard for him to detect, no practices which he did not ſmell out, no complotter which he did not ſpeedily intrap in their wiles, as Adonijah.

Verſ. 4. Take away the droſſe from the ſilver] The holy Prophets were not onely moſt exactly ſeen in the peerleſs skill of Divinity, but moſt exquiſitely alſo furniſhed with the entire knowledge of all things natural. Hence their many Similies wherewith they learnedly beautifie their matter, and deck out their terms, words, and ſentences, giving thereunto a certain kind of lively geſture, attiring the ſame with light, perſpicuity, eaſineſs, eſtimation, and dignity: ſtirring up thereby mens drowſie minds to the acknowledgement of the truth, and purſute of godlineſs.

Verſ. 5. Take away the wicked] Who are compared elſewhere alſo to droſs, Ezek. 22.19. and fitly: for as droſs is a kind of unprofitable earth, and hath no good metal in it; ſo in the wicked is no good to be found but pride, worldlineſs, &c. Forbiſher in his voyage to diſcover the Straits, being toſſed up and down with foul weather, ſnows, and unconſtant winds, returned home, having gathered a great quantity of ſtones, which he thought to be minerals, from which when there could be drawn neither gold nor ſilver, nor any other metal, we have ſeen them (ſaith Maſter Camden) caſt forth to mend the high ways. Evill Counſellours about a Prince,Camd. Eliſah. fol. 189. are means of a great deal of miſchief, as were Do[illegible: 1 letter]g, Haman, Rheoboams and Herods flatterers, Pharoahs ſorcerers, &c. Of a certain Prince of Germany it was ſaid, Eſſet alius, ſi eſſet apud alios; He would be another man, if he were but amongſt other men. Say they be not ſo droſſie, but that ſome good oar is to be found in them, yet all is not good that hath ſome good in it. It is Scaligers Note, Malum non eſt niſi in bono. The original nature of the Devil is good, wherein all his wickedneſs ſubſiſteth. When one highly commended the Cardinal Julian to Sigiſmund; hee anſwered, Tamen Romanus eſt, yet he is a Roman, and therefore not to bee truſted. Thoſe Cardinals and Popiſh Biſhops being much about Princes, have greatly impoyſoned them, and hindered the Reformation. Zuinglius fitly compares them to that wakeful Dragon that kept the golden fleece, as the Poets have feigned. They get the royalty of their ear, and then doe with them whatſoever they liſt. David therefore vows, as a good Finer, to quit the Court of ſuch droſſe, Pſal. 101.4. and gives order upon his death-bed to his Son Salomon, to take out of the way thoſe men of bloud, 1 King. 1. that his throne might be eſtabliſhed in righteouſneſſe.

Verſ. 6. Put not forth thy ſelf in the preſence of the King] Ne te ornes coram rege. Compare not, vye not with him in apparel, furniture, houſe-keeping, &c. as the Hebrews ſenſe it. This was the ruine of Cardinal Wolſey, and of Viſcount Verulam.

And ſtand not in the place of great men] Exalt not thy ſelf, but wait till God ſhall reach out the hand from Heaven and raiſe thee, Pſal. 75.5, 6, 7, 8. Adonijah is branded for this, that he exalted himſelf, ſaying, I will be King, 1 King. 1.5. When none elſe would lift Hildebrand up into Peters Chair, he gat up himſelf:Quintil. lib. 9. cap. 2. For who (ſaid he) can better judge of my worth than I can? Harden thy fore-head (ſaid Calvus to Vatinius) and ſay boldly, that thou deſerveſt the Praetorſhip better than Cato. Ambition rides without reigns, as Tullia did over the dead body of her own father, to bee made a Queen. See my common-place of Ambition.

Verſ. 7. For better it is that it be ſaid unto thee] From this Text our Saviour takes that Parable of his, put forth to thoſe that were bidden to a feaſt, Luk. 14.10. Now, if before an earthly Prince, men ſhould carry themſelves thus modeſtly and humbly, how much more before the King of heaven? And if among gueſts at a feaſt, how much more among the Saints and Angels in the holy aſſemblies? That is an excellent ſaying of Bernard, Omnino oportet nos orationis tempore curiam intrare coeleſtem, in qua Rex regum ſtellato ſedet ſolio, circumdante innumerabili & ineffabili beatorum Spirituam exercitu. Quantâ ergo cum reverentiâ, quanto timore, Bern. de diverſ. quantâ illuc humilitate accedere debet è palude ſua procedens & repens vilis ranuncula? At prayer-time we ſhould enter into the Court of heaven, where ſitteth the King of Kings with a guard of innumerable bleſſed Spirits. With how great reverence then, with how great fear and ſelf-abaſement ſhould wee come, like ſo many vile Vermine creeping and crawling out of ſome ſorry pool or puddle?

Verſ. 8. Goe not forth haſtily to ſtrive] Contention is the Daughter of Arrogance and Ambition, Jam. 4.1. Hence Salomon (whoſe very name imports peace) perſwades to peaceableneſſe very oft in this Book; and ſets forth the miſchief or ſtrife and diſſention. Stir not ſtrife (ſaith he) but make haſte to ſtint it, [non-Latin text not transcribed]. Heredot. (ſo the words may be rendred) you may doe that in your haſte that you may repent by leaſure. Haſty men, wee ſay, never want woe. If every man were a law to himſelf (as the Thracians are ſaid to be) there would not bee ſo much lawing, warbling and warring as there is. There is a curſe upon thoſe that delight in War, (as King Pyrrhus did) Pſal. 68.30. but a bleſſing for all the children of peace, Mat. 10. who ſhall alſo bee called the Children of God, Mat. 5. Paul and Barnabas had a ſharp, [non-Latin text not transcribed]. but ſhort fit of falling out, Acts 15.39. Hierom and Auſtine had their bickerings in their Diſputations, but it was no great matter who gained the day; for they would both win by underſtanding their errours.

When thy Neighbour hath put thee to ſhame] That is, when thine Adverſary hath got the upper hand, and foyled thee. Thoſe are ignoble quarrels, ſaith one, Ʋbi vincere inglorium eſt, atteri ſordidum; wherein whether a man get the better or the worſe, he is ſure to go by the worſe, to ſit down with loſs in his name, ſtate, or both.

Verſ. 9. Debate thy cauſe with thy Neighbour, &c.] What ſhall I do then (may ſome ſay) if I may not right my ſelf by law? You may, ſaith he, ſo you do it deliberately: and have firſt privately debated the cauſe out of deſire of agreement, and moved for a compremiſe. See Mat. 18.15.

And diſcover not the ſecret of another] Meerly to be revenged on him for ſome ſuppoſed injury. There are that in their rage care not what they diſcloſe to the prejudice of another. Charity chargeth the contrary, 1 Cor. 13. It claps a plaiſter on the ſore, and then covers it with her hand, as Chirurgions uſe to do, that the world may be never the wiſer.

Verſ. 10. Leſt hee that heareth it put thee to ſhame] Repute thee and report thee an evill-conditioned fellow, a back-biter, and a tale-bearer, one not fit to be truſted with ſecrets, &c. True it is, that deareſt friends are in ſome caſes to be accuſed and complained of to thoſe that may do good upon them; as Joſeph brought his brethrens evil report to his father, and as the houſhold of Chloe told Paul of the Corinthian contentions. But this muſt be done wiſely and regularly, with due obſervation of circumſtances, as Salomon elegantly ſets forth in the following Proverb.

Verſ. 11. A word fitly ſpoken] Hebrew, ſpoken upon his weels, that is, rightly ordered and circumſtantiated, ſpoken with a grace, and in due place. It is an excellent skill to be able to time a word, Iſa. 50.4. to ſet it upon the wheels, as here. How good are ſuch words? Prov. 15.23. how forcible? Job 6.25. How pleaſant? even like apples of gold in pictures, or lattices, of ſilver, not onely precious for matter, Eccleſ. 12.10. but detectable for order, as gold put in a caſe of ſilver cut-work.

Verſ. 12. As an ear-ring of gold, &c.] Ut inauris aurea, &c. A ſeaſonable word falling upon a tractable ear, hath a redoubled grace with it; as an ear-ring of gold, and as an ornament of fine gold, or as a diamond in a diadem. It is an hard and happy thing to ſuffer the words of exhortation, to digeſt a reproof,In vit. Jo. Gerſ. to ſay with David, Let the righteous ſmite me, &c. to be of Gerſons diſpoſition, of whom it is recorded, that he rejoyced in nothing more, quam ſi ab aliquo fraterne & charitative redargueretur, than if he were friendly and freely reproved by any one. Every vice doth now go armed: touch it never ſo gently, yet like the nettle, it will ſting you. If you deal with it roughly and roundly, it ſwaggereth, as the Hebrew did with Moſes, who made thee a man of authority? &c. Exod. 2.14. Ear-rings and ornaments are ill beſtowed upon ſuch uncircumciſed ears.

Verſ. 13. As the cold of ſnow in the time of harveſt] Harveſt men of all men, beat the heat of the day: being far from ſhade or ſhelter, far from ſprings of water, parched and ſcorched with heat and drought, in thoſe hotter countries eſpecially. Now as the cold of ſnow or ice (which in thoſe countries they kept under ground all the year about to mix with their wines) would be moſt welcome to ſuch; ſo is a truſty and ſpeedy meſſenger: for by his good news he greatly reviveth the longing and languiſhing minds of thoſe that ſent him: who during the time of his abſence, through fear and doubt, were almoſt half dead. This is much more true of Gods faithfull meſſengers, Job 33.23. whoſe very feet are therefore beautifull, and meſſage moſt comfortable, to thoſe that labour and languiſh under the ſenſe of ſin, and fear of wrath.

Verſ. 14. Whoſo boaſteth himſelf of a falſe gift] as Ptolomy ſirnamed [non-Latin text not transcribed], from his fair promiſes, ſlack performances: As Sertorius the Roman, that fed his creditours and clients with fair words, but did nothing for them, (Pollicitis dives quilibet eſſe poteſt) As that Pope and his Nephew, of whom it is recorded, that the one never ſpake as he thought, the other never performed what he ſpake. Laſtly, as the Devill who promiſed Chriſt, excelſa in excelſis, Matth. 4. mountains on a mountain, and ſaid, All this will I give thee, when as that All, was juſt nothing, more than a ſhew, a repreſentation, a ſemblance, or if it had been ſomething, yet it was not his to give: for the earth is the Lords, and the fulneſs thereof. Phyſicians call their drugs [non-Latin text not transcribed] gifts, and yet we pay dear for them. Apothecaries ſet fair titles upon their boxes and gally-pots, but there is oftentimes aliud in titulo, aliud in pyxide, nothing but a bare title. Such are vain boaſters, pompous Preachers, Painted hypocrites, Popiſh prieſts: ſuch as was Tecelius, that ſold indulgences in Germany, and thoſe other Maſſemongers in Gerſons time, that preached publiquely to the people, that if any man would hear a maſs, he ſhould not on that day be ſmitten with blindneſs, nor dye a ſudden death, nor want ſufficient ſuſtenance, &c. Theſe were clouds without rain, that anſwer not expectation, Jude 12.

Verſ. 15. By long forbearing is a Prince perſwaded] If he be not over-haſty, his wrath may be appeaſed, and his mind altered. Our Henry the third gave commandment for the apprehending of Hubert de Burgo, Earl of Kent: who having ſudden notice thereof at mid-night, got him up and fled into a Church in Eſſex. They to whom the buſineſs was committed, finding him upon his knees before the high-altar, with the Sacrament in one hand, and a croſs in the other, carried him away nevertheleſs unto the Tower of London. Roger Biſhop of London taking this to be a great violence, and wrong offered unto the holy Church, Godw. Catal. pag. 194. would never leave the King untill he had cauſed the Earl to be carried unto the place whence he was fetcht. And this it is thought, was a means of ſaving the Earls life. For though order was taken he ſhould not ſcape thence, yet it gave the Kings wrath a time to cool, and himſelf leiſure to make his Apology: by reaſon whereof, he was afterwards reſtored to the Kings favour, and former places of honour. So true is that of the Philoſopher, Maximum irae remediumeſt dilatio; Sen. de ira. And that of the Poet.

Ovid.Ut fragilis glacies, interit ira morâ.

There are that read and ſenſe the words thus: By meekneſs a Prince is appeaſed, that is, when he ſeeth that he is not oppoſed, that his Subjects repine not, rebell not againſt him. An old Courtier of Nero's being asked how he had eſcaped that Lions mouth? anſwered, Injurias ferendo, & gratias agendo, by taking ſhrewd turns, and being thankfull.

A ſoft tongue breaketh the bones] Though it be fleſh and no bones, yet it breaketh the bones: that is, ſtout and ſtern ſpirits, that otherwiſe would not yeeld. Thus Gideon broke the rage of the Ephraimites, Judg. 8.1. &c. and Abigail Davids, by her humble and dutifull oration, 1 Sam. 25. See the Note on Prov. 15.1.

Verſ. 16. Haſt thou found hony? eat ſo much as is ſufficient] i. e. Be moderate in the uſe of all lawful comforts and contentments. [non-Latin text not transcribed], ſaith the Oratour,Iſac. for there is a ſatiety of all things, and by exceſs the ſweeteſt comforts will be diſ-ſweetned; as Epictetus alſo obſerved. It is therefore excellent counſel that the holy Apoſtle giveth, 1 Cor. 7.29. that thoſe that have wives be as if they had none, &c. that we hang looſe to all creature comforts, and be weanedly affected towards them; conſidering that Licitis perimus omnes. We generally moſt of all over-ſhoot our ſelves in the uſe of things lawfull; as thoſe recuſant gueſts did, Matth. 22. and the old world, Luke 17.26.27.

Hebraei ponunt rarum pro ca[illegible: 1 letter]o, ut 1 Sam. 3. Verſ. 17. Withdraw thy foot from thy Neighbours houſe] This is an honey that thou mayeſt ſurfeit on, therefore make thy foot precious or rare (ſo the Original hath it) at thy Neighbours houſe, by too-oft frequenting whereof thou maieſt become cheap, nay burdenſome. At firſt thou mayeſt be Oreach (as the Hebrew proverb hath it) i. e. welcome as a Traveller that ſtays for a day. At length thou wilt be Toreach, a charge, a burden. And laſtly by long tarrying, thou ſhalt be Boreach, an out-caſt, hunted out of the houſe, that thou haſt ſo immodeſtly haunted. It is a very great fault among many, (ſaith one) that when they have found a kind and ſweet friend, they care not how they overlay him, or abuſe his courteſie. But as we ſay in our common proverb, it is not good to take too much of a frank horſe.

Verſ. 18. Is a Maul, and a Sword, and a ſharp Arrow] A Maul, Hammer, or Club to knock out his brains, and make them fly about the room, as the Hebrew word imports. A Sword, or Murthering weapon, Pſal. 42.10. and 57.5. to run him thorow and let out his bowels. And a ſharp Arrow, to pierce his fleſh, and ſtrike thorow his very heart. Loe here the miſchief of an evil tongue, thin, broad, and long, like a Sword to let out the Life-bloud of the poor innocent; nay, to deſtroy his ſoul too, as ſeducers doe, that bear falſe witneſſe againſt the truth of God, and by their cunning lyes, deceive the hearts of the ſimple.

Verſ. 19. Confidence in an unfaithful man, &c.] In a Prevaricator, a Covenant-breaker, a perfidious Perſon, ſuch as Ahitophel was to David, Jobs miſerable comforters to him. (He compares them to the brooks of Tema, chap. 6.16, 17. in a moyſture they ſwelled, in a drought they failed) Egypt to Iſrael, a ſtaff or broken reed, whereon if a man lean, it will goe into his hand and pierce it, Iſa. 36.6. the Roman Senate to Julius Caeſar, whom they killed in the Council-chamber with twenty three wounds, and this was done à pluribus amicis quam inimicis quorum non expleverat ſpes inexplebiles (ſaith Seneca) by moſt of his pretended friends, whoſe unreaſonable hopes he had not ſatisfied.Sen. li. 3. de ira. How good is it therefore to try before we truſt, yea to truſt none that are not true to God? David durſt not repoſe upon Sauls fair promiſes, whom he knew to be moody and ſlippery. The French ſay in their Proverb, When the Spaniard comes to parl of peace, then double-bolt the door. The Hollanders make no conditions with the Spaniard (whom they know to hold that Machiavellian hereſie, Fides tam diù ſervanda eſt quamdiú expediat,) but ſuch as are made at Sea, and ſealed with great Ordnance. Calvin and other Proteſtant Divines were called to the Council of Trent, but durſt not venture thither, quia me veſtigia terrent, as the Fox in the Fable ſaid: they had not forgot how John Hus, and Hierome of Prague ſped at the Council of Conſtance, although they had the Emperours ſafe conduct. They knew that Turks and Papiſts concur in this, as they doe in many other Tenets, That there is no faith to be kept with doggs, that is, with Chriſtians, as Turks underſtand it, with Hereticks, as Papiſts.

Verſ. 20. As he that taketh away a garment in cold weather] Muſick in mourning is held moſt unſeaſonable: that was an Heatheniſh cuſtom that the Jewes had taken up, Matth. 9.23. Cantabat moeſtis tibia funeribus, ſaith Ovid. Faſt. lib. 4. Wee ſhould rejoyce with thoſe that rejoyce, and weep with thoſe that weep. Nabla & lyra lugentibus ingrata, ſaith Plutarch. Muſick and mourning agree like Harp and Harrow, like thin cloathing and cold weather, or like Nitre and Vinegar, ſaith Salomon. There are that read the words otherwiſe, and accordingly ſenſe them. Thus: As he that putteth on a garment in the cold ſeaſon, or Vinegar on Nitre; ſo is he that ſingeth ſongs to a ſad heart. That is,Junius. Triſtitiam diſſolvit cantus, ut veſtes diſcutiunt frigus, & acetum diſſolvit nitrum. As a garment warmeth the body, and Vinegar diſſolveth Nitre, ſo a ſweet ſinger, by his delightſome ditty, cheareth up the penſive ſoul, and driveth ſorrow out of it. See 1 Sam. 16.24. 2 King. 3.15. Dan. 6.19.

Verſ. 21. If thine enemy be hungry] Eliſha did ſo: he feaſted his Perſecutours, (2 King. 6.) by a noble revenge; and provided a table for thoſe who had provided a grave for him. Thoſe Syrians came to Dothan full of bloudy purpoſes to Eliſha: he ſends them from Samaria full of good chear and jollity. Thus,Dr. Hall's contempt. thus ſhould a Chriſtian puniſh his purſuers: no vengeance but this is Heroical and fit for imitation.

Verſ. 22. For thou ſhalt heap coals of fire] By heaping courteſies upon him, thou ſhalt win him over to thy ſelf: as the King of Iſrael did thoſe Syrians hee feaſted. They came no more after that by way of ambuſh or incurſion into the bounds of Iſrael. In doing ſome good to our enemies, wee doe moſt to our ſelves.

And the Lord ſhall reward thee] However men deal with thee. It may bee they may prove droſs that will not bee melted, dirt that will not bee mollified, but moulter to nothing, crumble to crattle as ſtones, &c. as having no metal of ingenuity or good nature in them. But deſiſt not, deſpond not, God will reward thee, and his retributions are more than bountiful. Or (as the words may be read) God will pacifie for thee, as he did Saul for David. Never did a charitable act goe away without a bleſſing: God cannot but love in us this imitation of his mercy, who bids his Sun to ſhine upon the evil and unthankful: and that love is never fruitleſs.

Caecias nubes attrahit.Verſ. 23. The North-wind drives away raine] Hence Homer calls it [non-Latin text not transcribed], the fair-weather-maker, and Hierom, the ayres Beeſome. There is a Southerly wind, that attracts clouds, and ingenders rain.

So doth an angry countenance, a back-biting tongue] The ready way to be rid of Tale-bearers, is to brow-beat them: for like Whelps, if we ſtroke them, they leap upon us and defile us with fawning; but give them a rap, and they are gone: ſo here. Carry therefore in this caſe a ſevere rebuke in thy countenance, as God doth, Pſal. 80.16. Be not a re-ſetter to theſe privie Theeves, a receptacle for theſe mures nominis, as one calls them: the Tale-hearer is as blame-worthy as the Tale-bearer, and he that loves a lye, as he that makes it. Revel. 22. See Pſal. 15.3. Rom. 1.31.

Verſ. 24. It is better to dwell, &c.] See the note on chap. 21.9. and 19.13.

Verſ. 25. As cold waters to a thirſty ſoul, ſo is good news] This and many more of theſe Proverbs Salomon might well utter out of his own experience: for he ſent out into farre Countries for Gold, Horſes, and other Commodities, 1 King. 9.26. beſides Ambaſſies of ſtate, and enquiries into the natures and qualities of forein parts and peoples. Of the Converſion of other Countries to the faith, he could not then hear, as wee now may, and lately have good news from New-England. Neither had he the happineſs to hear that, which we have not only heard, but ſeen and handled of the Word of life, 1 Joh. 1.1. He had [non-Latin text not transcribed] the Promiſe, but we have [non-Latin text not transcribed] the joyful tidings, the ſum of all the good newes in the World, as the Angels, thoſe firſt Meſſengers cleped it, Luk. 2.10. Jeſus is a ſhort Goſpel, and the good newes of him ſhould drown all diſcontents, yea make our very hearts dance Levaltoes within us: as Abrahams did, though hee heard of him only by the hearing or the ear, or ſaw him afarre off. Heaven is called a farre Country, Matth. 25.14. good news from thence brought in by the hand of the Holy Ghoſt, witneſſing with our ſpirits that we are the Sons of God, and if Sons, then Heirs of that farre Country, of that fair City, whoſe maker and builder is God, how welcome ſhould that be to us, and how inexpreſſibly comfortable? See 1 Pet. 1.8.

Verſ. 26. A righteous man falling down before the wicked] i. e. Doing any thing (though by meer frailty) unbeſeeming his Profeſſion, or that redounds not to the ſcandal of the weak only (as Gal. 2.11.) but to the ſcorn of the wicked (as 2 Sam. 12.14.) is as a troubled fountain, &c. is greatly diſgraced and prejudiced. What a blemiſh was it for Abraham to fall under the reproof of Abimelech? for Sampſon to be taken by the Philiſtims in an Whore-houſe? for Joſiah to be in-minded of his duty by Pharaoh Necho? for Peter to be drawn by a ſilly Wench to forſwear his Maſter, &c? was not the Fountain here troubled, when trampled by the feet of theſe beaſts? the Spring corrupted, when Conſcience is thus defiled and gaſhed? Let it be our care to cleanſe this ſpring of all pollutions of fleſh and ſpirit: as a troubled fountaine will clear it ſelf, and as ſweet water made brackiſh by the coming in of the ſalt, yet if naturally it bee ſweet, at length it will work it out.

Verſ. 27. It is not good to eat too much honey] For it breeds choler, and brings diſeaſes.

So for men to ſearch their own glory] i. e. To be deſirous of vain-glory, Gal. 5.26. to ſeek the praiſe of men, to hunt after the worlds plaudite, to ſay to it, as Tiberius once anſwered Juſtinus, Situ volueris ego ſum, Si tu non vis ego non ſum, I am wholly thine, I am only thy Clay and Wax; this is baſe and in-glorious; this is to be Gloriae animal, popularis aurae vile mancipium, the creature of vaine-glory,Hier. ep. ad Julian. Conſolater. a baſe ſlave to popular applauſe, as Hierome calls Crates the Philoſopher, who caſt his goods into the Sea, meerly for a name. Some doe all for a name, as Jehu and the Phariſees; like Kites they flutter up a little, but their eye is upon the carrion. The Chaldee Paraphraſt by their glory, underſtands the Majeſty of the Scriptures, (which to David were ſweeter than honey) Theſe wee muſt ſearch, but not over-curiouſly: Ne qui ſcrutatur majeſtatem, opprimatur aegloria, as the vulgar here hath it, leſt prying into Gods Majeſty, we be oppreſſed by his glory.

Verſ. 28. He that hath no rule over his own ſpirit] Cui non eſt cohibitio in ſpiritum ſuum, that reigns not in his unruly affections, but ſuffers them to run riot in ſin, as ſo many head-ſtrong Horſes, or to ride upon the backs one of another, like Kine in a ſtraight. This man being not fenced with the wall of Gods fear, lies open to all aſſaults of Satan and other enemies, Epheſ. 4.26, 27. Jam. 4.7. as Laiſh, Judg. 18. or Hazor, that had neither gates nor bars, Jer. 49.31. or the Hague in Holland, which the inhabitants will not wall,Heyl. Geog. as deſiring to have it counted rather the principal Village of Europe, than a leſſer City.