Proverbs 28 commentary

Sin makes men cowards. Whatever difficulties the righteous meet in the way of duty, they are not daunted.

National sins disturb the public repose.

If needy persons get opportunities of oppressing, their extortion will be more severe than that of the more wealthy.

Wicked people strengthen one another in wicked ways.

If a man seeks the Lord, it is a good sign that he understands much, and it is a good means of understanding more.

An honest, godly, poor man, is better than a wicked, ungodly, rich man; has more comfort in himself, and is a greater blessing to the world.

Companions of riotous men not only grieve their parents, but shame them.

That which is ill got, though it may increase much, will not last long. Thus the poor are repaid, and God is glorified.

The sinner at whose prayers God is angry, is one who obstinately refuses to obey God's commands.

The success of ungodly men is their own misery.

Rich men are so flattered, that they think themselves superior to others.

There is glory in the land when the righteous have liberty.

It is folly to indulge sin, and excuse it. He who covers his sins, shall not have any true peace. He who humbly confesses his sins, with true repentance and faith, shall find mercy from God. The Son of God is our great atonement. Under a deep sense of our guilt and danger, we may claim salvation from that mercy which reigns through righteousness unto eternal life, by Jesus Christ our Lord.

There is a fear which causes happiness. Faith and love will deliver from the fear of eternal misery; but we should always fear offending God, and fear sinning against him.

A wicked ruler, whatever we may call him, this scripture calls a roaring lion, and a ranging bear.

Oppressors want understanding; they do not consult their own honour, ease, and safety.

The murderer shall be haunted with terrors. None shall desire to save him from deserved punishment, nor pity him.

Uprightness will give men holy security in the worst times; but the false and dishonest are never safe.

Those who are diligent, take the way to live comfortably.

The true way to be happy, is to be holy and honest; not to raise an estate suddenly, without regard to right or wrong.

Judgment is perverted, when any thing but pure right is considered.

He that hastens to be rich, never seriously thinks how quickly God may take his wealth from him, and leave him in poverty.

Upon reflection, most will have a better opinion of a faithful reprover than of a soothing flatterer.

Here is the wickedness of those who think it no sin to rob their parents, by wheedling them or threatening them, or by wasting what they have, and running into debt.

Those make themselves always easy, that live in continual dependence upon God and his grace, and live by faith.

A fool trusts to his own strength, merit, and righteousness. And trusts to his own heart, which is not only deceitful above all things, but which has often deceived him.

A selfish man not only will not look out for objects of compassion, but will look off from those that call for his attention.

When power is put into the hands of the wicked, wise men decline public business. If the reader will go diligently over this and the other chapters, in many places where at first he may suppose there is least of Christ, still he will find what will lead to him.

CHAPTER 28

Pr 28:1-28.

1. A bad conscience makes men timid; the righteous are alone truly bold (Pr 14:26; Psa 27:1).

2. Anarchy producing contending rulers shortens the reign of each.

but by a man ... prolonged--or, "by a man of understanding--that is, a good ruler--he who knows or regards the right, that is, a good citizen, shall prolong (his days)." Good rulers are a blessing to the people. Bad government as a punishment for evil is contrasted with good as blessing to the good.

3. A poor man, &c.--Such, in power, exact more severely, and so leave subjects bare.

4. They that forsake ... wicked--Wrongdoers encourage one another.

5. (Compare Joh 7:17). Ignorance of moral truth is due to unwillingness to know it.

6. (Compare Pr 10:6). Riches cannot compensate for sin, nor the want of them affect integrity.

7. (Compare Pr 17:25).

riotous men--or, "gluttons" (Pr 23:20, 21).

8. usury ... unjust gain--(Compare Margin). The two terms, meaning nearly the same, may denote excessive interest. God's providence directs the proper use of wealth.

9. (Compare Pr 15:8; 21:27).

hearing--that is, obeying. God requires sincere worshippers (Psa 66:18; Joh 4:24).

10. (Compare Pr 26:27).

11. A poor but wise man can discover (and expose) the rich and self-conceited.

12. great glory--or, cause for it to a people, for the righteous rejoice in good, and righteousness exalts a nation (Pr 14:34).

a man ... hidden--that is, the good retire, or all kinds try to escape a wicked rule.

13. (Compare Psa 32:3-5). Concealment of sin delivers none from God's wrath, but He shows mercy to the humble penitent (Psa 51:4).

14. feareth--that is, God, and so repents.

hardeneth his heart--makes himself insensible to sin, and so will not repent (Pr 14:16; 29:1).

15. The rapacity and cruelty of such beasts well represent some wicked men (compare Psa 7:2; 17:12).

16. The prince ... understanding--that is, He does not perceive that oppression jeopards his success. Covetousness often produces oppression, hence the contrast.

17. doeth violence ... blood, &c.--or, that is oppressed by the blood of life (Ge 9:6), which he has taken.

to the pit--the grave or destruction (Pr 1:12; Job 33:18-24; Psa 143:7).

stay him--sustain or deliver him.

18. (Compare Pr 10:9; 17:20). Double dealing is eventually fatal.

19. (Compare Pr 10:4; 20:4).

vain persons--idle, useless drones, implying that they are also wicked (Pr 12:11; Psa 26:4).

20. maketh haste ... rich--implying deceit or fraud (Pr 20:21), and so opposed to "faithful" or reliable.

21. respect of persons--(Pr 24:23). Such are led to evil by the slightest motive.

22. (Compare Pr 28:20).

evil eye--in the general sense of Pr 23:6, here more specific for covetousness (compare Pr 22:9; Mt 20:15).

poverty ... him--by God's providence.

23. (Compare Pr 9:8, 9; 27:5). Those benefited by reproof will love their monitors.

24. (Compare Mt 15:4-6). Such, though heirs, are virtually thieves, to be ranked with highwaymen.

25. of a proud heart--literally, "puffed up of soul"--that is, self-confident, and hence overbearing and litigious.

made fat--or, "prosperous" (Pr 11:25; 16:20).

26. (Compare Pr 3:6-8).

walketh wisely--that is, trusting in God (Pr 22:17-19).

27. (Compare Pr 11:24-26).

hideth his eyes--as the face (Psa 27:9; 69:17), denotes inattention.

28. The elevation of the wicked to power drives men to seek refuge from tyranny (compare Pr 28:12; 11:10; Psa 12:8).

The wicked flee - Every wicked man, however bold he may appear, is full of dreary apprehensions relative to both worlds. But the righteous has true courage, being conscious of his own innocence, and the approbation of his God. The unpitious fleeith - Old MS. Bible. This word is often used for impious, wicked, ungodly; hence it appears that our word pity anciently meant piety or godliness.

Many are the princes - Nations, as nations, cannot be judged in a future world; therefore, God judges them here. And where the people are very wicked, and the constitution very bad, the succession of princes is frequent - they are generally taken off by an untimely death. Where the people know that the constitution is in their favor, they seldom disturb the prince, as they consider him the guardian of their privileges.

But by a man of understanding - Whether he be a king, or the king's prime minister, the prosperity of the state is advanced by his counsels.

A poor man that oppresseth the poor - Our Lord illustrates this proverb most beautifully, by the parable of the two debtors, Mat 18:23. One owed ten thousand talents, was insolvent, begged for time, was forgiven. A fellow servant owed this one a hundred pence: he was insolvent; but prayed his fellow servant to give him a little time, and he would pay it all. He would not, took him by the throat, and cast him into prison till he should pay that debt. Here the poor oppressed the poor; and what was the consequence? The oppressing poor was delivered to the tormentors; and the forgiven debt charged to his amount, because he showed no mercy. The comparatively poor are often shockingly uncharitable and unfeeling towards the real poor.

Like a sweeping rain - These are frequent in the East; and sometimes carry flocks, crops, and houses, away with them.

They that forsake the law - He that transgresses says, in fact, that it is right to transgress; and thus other wicked persons are encouraged.

They that seek the Lord understand all things - They are wise unto salvation; they "have the unction from the Holy One, and they know all things," 1Jn 2:20, every thing that is essentially needful for them to know, in reference to both worlds.

He that by usury - increaseth his substance - By taking unlawful interest for his money; lending to a man in great distress, money, for the use of which he requires an exorbitant sum. O that the names of all those unfeeling, hard-hearted, consummate villains in the nation, who thus take advantage of their neighbour's necessities to enrich themselves, were published at every market cross; and then the delinquents all sent to their brother savages in New Zealand. It would be a happy riddance to the country.

He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law - Many suppose, if they do not know their duty, they shall not be accountable for their transgressions; and therefore avoid every thing that is calculated to enlighten them. They will not read the Bible, lest they should know the will of Good; and they will not attend Divine ordinances for the same reason. But this pretense will avail them nothing; as he that might have known his master's will, but would not, shall be treated as he shall be who did know it, and disobeyed it. Even the prayers of such a person as this are reputed sin before God.

Whoso causeth the righteous to go astray - He who strives to pervert one really converted to God, in order that he may pour contempt on religion, shall fall into that hell to which he has endeavored to lead the other.

When righteous men do rejoice - When true religion is no longer persecuted, and the word of God duly esteemed, there is great glory; for the word of the Lord has then free course, runs, and is glorified: but when the wicked rise - when they are elevated to places of trust, and put at the head of civil affairs, then the righteous man is obliged to hide himself; the word of the Lord becomes scarce, and there is no open vision. The first was the case in this country, in the days of Edward VI.; the second in the days of his successor, Mary I: Popery, cruelty, and knavery, under her, nearly destroyed the Church and the State in these islands.

He that covereth his sins - Here is a general direction relative to conversion.

1. If the sinner do not acknowledge his sins; if he cover and excuse them, and refuse to come to the light of God's word and Spirit, lest his deeds should be reproved, he shall find no salvation. God will never admit a sinful, unhumbled soul, into his kingdom.

2. But if he confess his sin, with a penitent and broken heart, and, by forsaking every evil way, give this proof that he feels his own sore, and the plague of his heart, then he shall have mercy. Here is a doctrine of vital importance to the salvation of the soul, which the weakest may understand.

Happy is the man that feareth alway - That ever carries about with him that reverential and filial fear of God, which will lead him to avoid sin, and labor to do that which is lawful and right in the sight of God his Savior.

The prince that wanteth understanding - A weak prince will generally have wicked ministers, for his weakness prevents him from making a proper choice; and he is apt to prefer them who flatter him, and minister most to his pleasures. The quantum of the king's intellect may be always appreciated by the mildness or oppressiveness of his government. He who plunges his people into expensive wars, to support which they are burdened with taxes, is a prince without understanding. He does not know his own interest, and does not regard that of his people. But these things, though general truths, apply more particularly to those despotic governments which prevail in Asiatic countries.

That doeth violence to the blood - He who either slays the innocent, or procures his destruction, may flee to hide himself: but let none give him protection. The law demands his life, because he is a murderer; and let none deprive justice of its claim. Murder is the most horrid crime in the sight of God and man; it scarcely ever goes unpunished, and is universally execrated.

Shall fall at once - Shall fall without resource, altogether.

He that tilleth his land - See Pro 12:11.

He that maketh haste to be rich - See Pro 13:11; Pro 20:21.

Whoso robbeth his father - The father's property is as much his own, in reference to the child, as that of the merest stronger. He who robs his parents is worse than a common robber; to the act of dishonesty and rapine he adds ingratitude, cruelty, and disobedience. Such a person is the compatriot of a destroyer; he may be considered as a murderer.

Shall be made fat - Shall be prosperous.

He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool - For his heart, which is deceitful and desperately wicked, will infallibly deceive him.

Be that giveth unto the poor - See the notes on Deu 15:7 (note), Detueronomy Deu 19:17 (note), Deu 22:9 (note).

But - By a wise and good prince.

It like - Is like a violent rain or flood, which washes away the very seeds in the earth. He is the worst of all oppressors.

Contend - Are so far from praising them, that they severely reprove them.

Judgment - What is just and right. All things - Which are necessary to be known by them.

Better - In a much happier condition.

Causeth - That by evil counsel, or example, or artifice, draws them into evil.

Rejoice - Are promoted. Glory - In that common - wealth. Rise - Are advanced to authority. Hidden - Wise and good men, who only are worthy of the name of men, withdraw themselves into obscure places.

Alway - In all times, companies, and conditions.

Oppressor - The tyranny of a prince, is a manifest sign of folly. Prolong - By God's favour, the peace and satisfaction of his own mind, and the hearty love of his people.

Violence - That sheddeth any man's blood. Shall flee - Shall speedily be destroyed. Shall slay - None should desire or endeavour to save him from his deserved punishment.

At once - Once for all; so he shall never rise more.

Faithful - Who deals truly and justly in all his transactions.

For - When a man hath once accustomed himself to take bribes, a very small advantage will make him sell justice.

Evil eye - Is uncharitable to persons in want, and envious to those who get any thing besides him. Poverty - And consequently that he shall need the pity and help of others.

The same - Is a thief and robber.

Fat - Shall live happily and comfortably.

Wisely - Distrusting his own judgment, and seeking the advice of others, and especially of God.

Men - Righteous men are afraid to appear publickly.

1 THe wicked flee when no man pursueth : but the righteous are bold as a lion.

Because the Conscience of their own guilt puts them into a continual expectation and dread of Gods judgments.

Are couragious and resolute, having the witness of a good Conscience, and the assurance of Divine Favour and Protection, and the supports and consolations of the Holy Ghost.

Marginal references: Lev. 26. 17, 36.

2 For the transgression of a land, many are the princes thereof: but by a man of understanding and knowledg the state thereof shall be prolonged

Either 1. Together, contending for Supremacy. Or rather 2. Successively, as appears from the following clause. Their Princes are soon cut off, and other persons, and oft times persons of other Families come in their stead, which is justly threatned as a curse, because such frequent changes are seldom for the better, and commonly for the worse, and are frequently attended with Blood and slaughter, with the change▪ and subversion of Laws, with heavy Taxes and Charges, with the ruine of many Families, and with many other mischiefs.

By a wise and good man. Which may be understood either 1. Collectively for men of understanding, &c. as it is rendred in the margent; i. e. when the men or people of a Land are wise and good. Or rather 2. Singularly, and that either 1. Of a wise and righteous Prince, who by the good government of himself, and his Family, and Kingdom, by punishing and preventing the transgressions of the People, turns away Gods wrath and saves himself and People. Or 2. Of any other man of eminent Wisdom or Piety, who prevents this judgment, either by his good Counsels given to the Prince and People, and entertained by them, or by his Intercession to God; for God hath somtimes spared a People for the sake of one man, as he did Zoar for Lot, Gen. 19. 20, 21. and the Israelites for Moses, Psal. 106. 23.

The Land shall enjoy its former State and Tranquillity, and the Life of their good Prince shall be prolonged.

Marginal references: Or, by [illegible: 1 word] of [illegible: 1 word] and wisdom shall they like [illegible: 1+ letters]ise be prolonged.

3 A poor man that oppresseth the poor , is like a sweeping rain which leaveth no food .

When a poor man being advanced into a place of▪ Authority, abuseth it to oppress those that are poor and unable to resist him.

Is like a violent Rain or Flood, which washeth away the very seeds which are in the Earth, and spoileth the Corn and Fruits which are upon it. He is the worst of all oppressors, because as he is of a base mind, which also is made much worse by a sudden change and elevation into an high condition, so his own necessities inflame his desires, and make him greedy to take all, yea, even the small advantages of enriching himself. Which the ancients expressed by the similitude of an empty Horseleach, which sucketh much more strongly than that which is already filled; and of a dry sponge, which licks up far more water than that which was wet before.

Marginal references: Heb. [illegible: 1 word] food.

4 They that forsake the law praise the wicked : but such as keep the law contend with them .

That live in the contempt of, and disobedience to Gods law.

Honour their persons, contrary to Psal. 15. 4. freely and familiarly associate themselves with them, and approve of their sinful courses; all which proceeds from their great likeness to them.

Are so far from praising or applauding them, that they severely rebuke them, and to the utmost of their power oppose them in their wicked enterprises.

Marginal references: Ps. 10. 3. Rom. 1. 32.

5 Evil men understand not judgment : but they that seek the LORD , understand all things .

Because their minds are naturally blind, and are further blinded by their own prejudices, and passions, and by the God of this world who rules in and over them.

i. e. What is just and right, what is their duty in all cases and conditions, as Iudgment is frequently understood.

By diligent study of his word, and by servent Prayers to him for advice.

Which are necessary to be known by them, either for the discharge of all their present duties to God and Men, or for their everlasting Happiness.

Marginal references: 1 Cor. 2. 1[illegible: 1+ letters] 1 Joh. 2. 20▪ 27.

6 Better is the poor that walketh in his uprightness, than he that is perverse in his ways , though he be rich.

In a much safer and happier condition.

Heb. in two ways, halting between two ways, pretending to Virtue, but practising Vice; or, covering his wicked designs with good pretences; or somtimes erring on one hand, and somtimes on the other, as wicked men commonly do.

Marginal references: Ch. 19. 1▪; Heb. [illegible: 1 word] ways.

7 Whoso keepeth the law, is a wise son : but he that is a companion of riotous men , shameth his father .

And consequently a credit and comfort to his Father, as hath been oft noted before.

Which is both a manifest violation of Gods Law, which forbids this Society, and is the ready way to a total and final Apostacy from God, and from his Law.

Because he is a foolish Son.

Marginal references: Cup. 29. 3.; O[illegible: 1+ letters], [illegible: 1 word] [illegible: 1 word].

8 He that by usury and unjust gain increaseth his substance, he shall gather it for him that will pity the poor .

Heb. By usury and (or, or) encrease, i. e. by any kind of Usury, whereby the poor are oppressed, as is implied from the opposite clause; or by any unrighteous practices. See more of these words and of this thing on Exod. 22. 25. Lev. 25. 35, 36. Psal. 15. 5. Ezek. 18. 8.

It shall not long continue with him or his, but shall by Gods righteous and powerful Providence be disposed into more just and merciful hands.

Marginal references: Ch. 13. 22. [illegible: 1 word]. 2. 26.; Heb. by in [illegible: 1+ letters].

9 He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law , even his prayer shall be abomination .

That obstinately refuseth to yield Audience or Obedience to Gods Commands.

To God, whose Law he despised. God will abhor and reject his person, and all his services.

Marginal references: P[illegible: 1+ letters]. 66. 18.

10 Whoso causeth the righteous to go astray in an evil way , he shall fall himself into his own pit: but the upright shall have good things in possession .

That by evil Counsel, or Example, or Artifice, draws them into such practices as expose them to great danger and mischief.

Shall by Gods good Providence towards him, both keep the good of which the wicked seeks to deprive him, and escape that mischief which he plotteth against him.

Marginal references: Ch. 26. 27.

11 The rich man is wise in his own conceit : but the poor that hath understanding searcheth him out .

Thinks himself to be wise when he is not, being puffed up with the opinion of his Riches, which also he imputes to his own Wisdom, and with the admirations and applauses of Flatterers, which commonly attend upon them.

Knoweth him better than he knoweth himself, and, looking through all his pomp and vain shew, he sees him to be what indeed he is, a foolish and miserable man, notwithstanding all his Riches, and discovers the folly of his words and actions.

Marginal references: Heb. in his [illegible: 1 word].

12 When righteous men do rejoice , there is great glory , but when the wicked rise , a man is hidden .

Are encouraged and promoted to places of Trust and Power.

In that Common-wealth. The state of that Kingdom is honourable, and comfortable, and safe, so as good men can shew their faces with courage and confidence.

Are advanced to Honour and Authority.

The state of that Nation is so shameful and dangerous, that wise and good men, who only are worthy of the name of men, with-draw themselves, or run into corners and obscure places, partly out of grief and shame to behold the wickedness which is publickly and impudently committed, and partly to avoid the rage and injuries of wicked Oppressors, and the judgments of God, which commonly follow such persons and their confederates in sin. Or, as others, both ancient and later Interpreters render it, a man is sought out. Sober and good men who had retired themselves, are searched for, and brought forth like sheep to the slaughter, as being most suspected, and hated, and feared by bloody Tyrants.

Marginal references: Ver. 28. Ch. 11. 10. [illegible: 1 word]. 10. 6.; Or, sought [illegible: 1 word].

13 He that covereth his sins shall not prosper : but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy .

That doth not confess them (as appears by the opposite clause) to God, and to Men too, when occasion requires it. That being convinced or admonished of his sins, either justifieth, ordenieth, or excuseth them.

Shall not succeed in his design of avoiding punishment by the concealment of his sins, shall not find mercy, as is implied from the next clause.

By hearty dislike and hatred of all his sins, and by a resolved cessation from a sinful course of Life. This is added to shew that although the dissembling or hiding ones sins is sufficient for his damnation, yet meer confession without forsaking of sin is not sufficient for Salvation.

Both from God who hath promised, and from Men who are ready to grant pardon and favour to such persons.

Marginal references: Ps. 32. 3, 5. 1 Joh. 1. 9, 10.

14 Happy is the man that feareth alway : but he that hardeneth his heart shall fall into mischief.

Because he shall thereby avoid that mischief which besals fearless sinners, which is expressed in the next clause, and procure that eternal Salvation which they lose.

To wit, the offence and judgments of God. Who having confessed and forsaken his sins, as was now said, is afraid to return to them again, and careful to avoid them, and all occasions of them.

In all times, companies, and conditions, not only in the time of great trouble, when even Hypocrites will in some sort be afraid of sinning, but in times of outward Peace and Prosperity.

That goeth on obstinately and securely in sinful courses, casting off due reverence to God, and just fear of his threatnings and judgments.

Marginal references: Rom. 11. 20.

15 As a roaring lion, and a ranging bear , so is a wicked ruler over the poor people .

The Lion and Bear are always cruel and greedy in their natures, and especially when they are hungry and want Prey, in which case the Lions roar, Psal. 104. 21. Isa. 31. 4. and Bears range about for it.

Instead of being a nursing Father, and a faithful and tender Shepheard, as he ought to be, he is a cruel and insatiable Oppressor and Devourer of them.

Whom he particularly mentions, either to note his policy in oppressing them only who were unable to withstand him, or to revenge themselves of him, or to aggravate his sin in devouring them, whom the Laws of God, and common Humanity bound him to relieve and protect; or to express the effect of his ill government, in making his people poor by his frauds and rapines.

16 The prince that wanteth understanding, is also a great oppressor ; but he that hateth covetousness , shall prolong his days .

The Tyranny or Oppression of a Prince, though by some accounted Wisdom, is in truth a manifest act and sign of great folly, because it alienateth from him the Hearts of his People, in which his Honour, and Safety, and Riches consist, and oft times causeth the shortning of his days, either from God who cuts him off by some sudden judgment, or from men who are injured by him, and exasperated against him.

Which is the chief cause of all oppressions and unjust practices.

By Gods favour, the peace and satisfaction of his own mind, and the hearty love of his people, which makes them careful to preserve his Life by their servent Prayers to God for him, by willingly hazarding their own Estates and Lives for him, when occasion requires it, and by all other possible means.

17 A man that doeth violence to the blood of any person , shall flee to the pit , let no man stay him .

That sheddeth any mans Blood, or taketh away his Life unjustly.

Shall speedily be destroyed, being pursued by divine Vengeance▪ and the Horrours of a guilty Conscience, and the Avengers of Blood.

So it is a prohibition that no man should endeavour to save the Life of a wilful Murderer, either by intercession, or by offering satisfaction, or any other way. Of which see Gen. 9. 6. Exod. 21. 14. Numb. 35. 31. Or, as the ancient and many other Interpreters render it, no man shall stay him: None shall desire or endeavour to save him from his deserved punishment: He shall die without pity, being an object of publick hatred.

18 Whoso walketh uprightly, shall be saved : but he that is preverfe in his ways , shall fall at once .

To wit, from destruction, because God hath undertaken, and promised to protect him.

Heb. in two ways, of which Phrase see above on v. 6.

Once for all, so as he shall not need a second thrust, 1 Sam. 26. 8. and so as he shall never rise more. Or, in one, to wit, of his ways. Though he hath various ways and arts to secure himself, yet none of them shall save him, but he shall perish in one or other of them, and shall be given up by God to the mistake of his way, that he shall chuse that course which will be most pernicious to him.

Marginal references: Ch. 10. 25.

19 He that tilleth his land, shall have plenty of bread: but he that followeth after vain persons , shall have poverty enough.

Chusing their company, and imitating their Example, who gives up himself to vanity and idleness, and so is fitly opposed to the diligent man in the former clause.

Marginal references: Ch. 12. 11.

20 A faithful man shall abound with blessings; but he that maketh haste to be rich, shall not be innocent .

Heb. A man of truth, or truths, who deals truly and justly in all his b[illegible: 1+ letters]rgains and transactions with men.

More than God alloweth him, that taketh the nearest and readiest way to Riches, whether it be right or▪ wrong, that is unfaithful and unjust in his dealings.

Shall not obtain the blessings which be seeks, but shall bring curses and miseries upon him instead of them.

Marginal references: Ch. 13. 11. & 20. 21. & 23. 4. 1 Tim. 6. 9.; Ch. 13. 11. & 20. 21. & 23. 4. 1 Tim. 6. 9.; Or, [illegible: 1 word].

21 To have respect of persons, is not good: for, for a piece of bread that man will transgress .

When a Man hath once vitiated his Conscience, and accustemed himself to take Bribes, a very small advantage will make him sell Justice, and his own Soul into the Bargain. The design of the Proverb is to warn men to take heed of the beginnings of that sin, and consequently of other sins.

Marginal references: Ch. 18. 5. 24. 23.

22 He that hasteth to be rich, hath an evil eye , and considereth not that poverty shall come upon him .

Is uncharitable to Persons in want, envious towards those who get any thing, besides him, and covetous or greedy of getting Riches by all ways possible, whether just or unjust. Thus an evil Eye is taken, Prov. 23. 6. Mat. 20. 15. as a good Eye notes the contrary disposition, Prov. 22. 9.

And consequently that he shall need the pity and help of others, which he cannot expect either from God or men, who hath so hardned himself against others in misery.

Marginal references: Or, he that hath▪ an evil eye, hasteth to be rich. Vers. 20. Ch. 28. 20.

23 He that rebuketh a man, afterwards shall find more favour than he that flattereth with the tongue.

When he comes calmly to consider the fidelity of the reprover, and the benefit coming to himself by the reproof, and withal the baseness and mischief of flattery.

Marginal references: Ch. 27. 6.

24 Whoso robbeth his father or his mother, and saith , It is no transgression; the same is the companion of a destroyer .

In his Heart, supposing that he hath a right to his Fathers goods

Either 1. he hereby sheweth that he is fallen into such wicked Society, from whom he had such counsel or example. Or 2. he is no less guilty than a Thief who robs and destroys men upon the High-way, he is a Thief and Robber, because he hath no right to the actual possession of his Fathers goods before his Death or without his consent.

Marginal references: Heb. a Man destroying.

25 He that is of a proud heart stirreth up strife : but he that putteth his trust in the LORD , shall be made fat .

Whose property it is to overvalue himself, and to trust to himself and his own Wit, or Wealth, or Strength.

Because he makes it his great business to advance and please himself, and hateth and opposeth all that stand in his way, and despiseth other men, and is very jealous of his honour and impatient of the least slighting, or affront, or injury, and indulgeth his own passions; and therefore shall not be fat, but lean and miserable, as is implyed from the opposite clause.

Which is mentioned as a plain and certain evidence of an humble Man, who is mean and vile in his own Eyes, and therefore trusts not to himself, but to God onely, making God's will, and not his own will, and passion, and interest, the rule of all his actions, and can easily deny himself, and yield to others, all which are excellent preventives of strife.

Shall live happily and comfortably, because he avoids that strife which makes mens lives miserable.

Marginal references: Ch. 13. 10.

26 He that trusteth in his own heart , is a fool : but whoso walketh wisely , he shall be delivered .

Who trusts to his own wit, neglecting or slighting the advice of others, and the counsel of God himself.

And shall receive the fruit of his folly, to wit, destruction.

Distrusting his own judgment, and seeking the advice of others, and especially of God, as all truly wise men do.

From those dangers and mischiefs which fools bring upon themselves; whereby he sheweth himself to be a wise Man.

27 He that giveth unto the poor, shall not lack : but he that hideth his eyes , shall have many a curse .

Shall not impoverish himself by it, as covetous men imagine or pretend, but shall be inriched, which is implied.

Lest he should see poor and miserable men, and thereby be moved to pity or obliged to relieve them. So he cunningly avoids the beginnings and occasions, and provocations to Charity, teaching us to use the same caution against sin.

Partly from the Poor, whose Curses being not causless shall come upon him, and partly from God, who will curse his very Blessings, and bring him to extream want and misery.

Marginal references: Deut. 15. 8. Ch. 22. 9.

28 VVhen the wicked rise, men hide themselve : but when they perish, the righteous increase .

Men, i. e. righteous men, as appears from the following clause, are ashamed and afraid to appear publickly; of which see on v. 12.

They who were righteous do now again appear in publick, and being advanced to that power which the wicked Rulers have lost, they use their Authority to encourage and promote Righteousness, and to punish Unrighteousness, whereby the number of wicked men is diminished, and the righteous are multiplied.

Marginal references: Ver. 12. Ch. 29. 2.

Pro 28:1 1 The godless flee without any one pursuing them;    But the righteous are bold like a lion.

We would misinterpret the sequence of the accents if we supposed that it denoted רשׁע as obj.; it by no means takes ואין־רדף as a parenthesis. רשׁע belongs thus to נסוּ as collective sing. (cf. e.g., Isa 16:4);The Targum of Pro 28:1 is, in Bereschith rabba, c. 84, ערק רשּׁיעא ולא רריפין להּ; that lying before us is formed after the Peshito. in 1b, יבטח, as comprehensive or distributive (individualizing) singular, follows the plur. subject. One cannot, because the word is vocalized כּכפיר and not כּכּפיר, regard יבטח as an attributive clause thereto (Ewald, like Jerome, quasi leo confidens); but the article, denoting the idea of kind, does not certainly always follow כ. We say, indifferently, כּארי or כּארי, כּלּביא or כּלביא, and always כּאריה, not כּאריה. In itself, indeed, יבטח may be used absolutely: he is confident, undismayed, of the lion as well as of the leviathan, Job 40:23. But it is suitable thus without any addition for the righteous, and נסו and יבטח correspond to each other as predicates, in accordance with the parallelism; the accentuation is also here correct. The perf. נסו denotes that which is uncaused, and yet follows: the godless flee, pursued by the terrible images that arise in their own wicked consciences, even when no external danger threatens. The fut. יבטח denotes that which continually happens: the righteous remains, even where external danger really threatens, bold and courageous, after the manner of a young, vigorous lion, because feeling himself strong in God, and assured of his safety through Him.

Pro 28:2

There now follows a royal proverb, whose key-note is the same as that struck at Pro 25:2, which states how a country falls into the οὐκ ἀγαθόν of the rule of the many:

Through the wickedness of a land the rulers become many;

And through a man of wisdom, of knowledge, authority continues.

If the text presented בּפשׁע as Hitzig corrects, then one might think of a political revolt, according to the usage of the word, 1Ki 12:19, etc.; but the word is בּפּשׁע,Thus to be written with Gaja here and at Pro 29:6, after the rule of Metheg-Setzung, §42. and פּשׁע (from פּשׁע, dirumpere) is the breaking through of limits fixed by God, apostasy, irreligion, e.g., Mic 1:5. But that many rulers for a land arise from such a cause, shows a glance into the Book of Hosea, e.g., Hos 7:16 : “They return, but not to the Most High (sursum); they are become like a deceitful bow; their princes shall then fall by the sword;” and Hos 8:4 : “They set up kings, but not by me; they have made princes, and I knew it not.” The history of the kingdom of Israel shows that a land which apostatizes from revealed religion becomes at once the victim of party spirit, and a subject of contention to many would-be rulers, whether the fate of the king whom it has rejected be merited or not. But what is now the contrast which 2b brings forward? The translation by Bertheau and also by Zöckler is impossible: “but through intelligent, prudent men, he (the prince) continueth long.” For 2a does not mean a frequent changing of the throne, which in itself may not be a punishment for the sins of the people, but the appearance at the same time of many pretenders to the throne, as was the case in the kingdom of Israel during the interregnum after the death of Jeroboam II, or in Rome at the time of the thirty tyrants; יאריך must thus refer to one of these “many” who usurp for a time the throne. בּאדם may also mean, Pro 23:28, inter homines; but אדם, with the adjective following, e.g., Pro 11:7; Pro 12:23; Pro 17:18; Pro 21:16, always denotes one; and that translation also changes the כּן into a “so,” “then” introducing the concluding clause, which it altogether disregards as untranslatable. But equally impossible is Böttcher's: “among intelligent, prudent people, one continues (in the government),” for then the subject-conception on which it depends would be slurred over. Without doubt כּן is here a substantive, and just this subject-conception. That it may be a substantive has been already shown at Pro 11:19. There it denoted integrity (properly that which is right or genuine); and accordingly it means here, not the status quo (Fleischer: idem rerum status), but continuance, and that in a full sense: the jurisdiction (properly that which is upright and right), i.e., this, that right continues and is carried on in the land. Similarly Heidenheim, for he glosses כן by מכון הארץ; and Umbreit, who, however, unwarned by the accent, subordinates this כן [in the sense of “right”] to ידע as its object. Zöckler, with Bertheau, finds a difficulty in the asyndeton מבין ידע. But these words also, Neh 10:29, stand together as a formula; and that this formula is in the spirit and style of the Book of Proverbs, passages such as Pro 19:25; Pro 29:7The three connected words ובאדם מבין ידע have, in Löwenstein, the accents Mercha, Mercha, Mugrash; but the Venetian, 1515, 20, Athias, v. d. Hooght, and Hahn, have rightly Tarcha, Mercha, Mugrash, - to place two Merchas in Ben-Naphtali’s manner. show. A practical man, and one who is at the same time furnished with thorough knowledge, is thus spoken of, and prudence and knowledge of religious moral character and worth are meant. What a single man may do under certain circumstances is shown in Pro 21:22; Ecc 9:15. Here one has to think of a man of understanding and spirit at the helm of the State, perhaps as the nearest counsellor of the king. By means of such an one, right continues long (we do not need to supply להיות after “continues long”). If, on the one side, the State falls asunder by the evil conduct of the inhabitants of the land, on the other hand a single man who unites in himself sound understanding and higher knowledge, for a long time holds it together.

Pro 28:3

A proverb of a tyrant here connects itself with that of usurpers:

A poor man and an oppressor of the lowly -

A sweeping rain without bringing bread.

Thus it is to be translated according to the accents. Fleischer otherwise, but also in conformity with the accents: Quales sunt vir pauper et oppressor miserorum, tales sunt pluvia omnia secum abripiens et qui panem non habent, i.e., the relation between a poor man and an oppressor of the needy is the same as that between a rain carrying all away with it and a people robbed thereby of their sustenance; in other words: a prince or potentate who robs the poor of their possessions is like a pouring rain which floods the fruitful fields - the separate members of the sentence would then correspond with each other after the scheme of the chiasmus. But the comparison would be faulty, for גּבר רשׁ and אין לחם fall together, and then the explanation would be idem per idem. A “sweeping rain” is one which has only that which is bad, and not that which is good in rain, for it only destroys instead of promoting the growth of the corn; and as the Arab, according to a proverb compared by Hitzig, says of an unjust sultan, that he is a stream without water, so an oppressor of the helpless is appropriately compared to a rain which floods the land and brings no bread. But then the words, “a poor man and an oppressor of the lowly,” must designate one person, and in that case the Heb. words must be accentuated, גבר רשׁ ועשׁק דלים (cf. Pro 29:4). For, that the oppressor of the helpless deports himself toward the poor man like a sweeping rain which brings no bread, is a saying not intended to be here used, since this is altogether too obvious, that the poor man has nothing to hope for from such an extortioner. But the comparison would be appropriate if 3a referred to an oppressive master; for one who belongs to a master, or who is in any way subordinated to him, has before all to expect from him that which is good, as a requital for his services, and as a proof of his master’s condescending sympathy. It is thus asked whether “a poor man and an oppressor of the lowly” may be two properties united in the person of one master. This is certainly possible, for he may be primarily a poor official or an upstart (Zöckler), such as were the Roman proconsuls and procurators, who enriched themselves by impoverishing their provinces (cf. lxx Pro 28:15); or a hereditary proprietor, who seeks to regain what he has lost by extorting it from his relatives and workmen. But רשׁ (poor) is not sufficient to give this definite feature to the figure of the master; and what does this feature in the figure of the master at all mean? What the comparison 3b says is appropriate to any oppressive ruler, and one does not think of an oppressor of the poor as himself poor; he may find himself in the midst of shattered possessions, but he is not poor; much rather the oppressor and the poor are, as e.g., at Pro 29:13, contrasted with each other. Therefore we hold, with Hitzig, that רשׁ of the text is to be read rosh, whether we have to change it into ראשׁ, or to suppose that the Jewish transcriber has here for once slipped into the Phoenician writing of the word;The Phoen. writes רש (i.e., רשׁ, rus); vid., Schröder’s Phönizische Gram. p. 133; cf. Gesen. Thes. under ראשׁ. we do not interpret, with Hitzig, גּבר ראשׁ in the sense of ἄνθρωπος δυνάστης, Sir. 8:1, but explain: a man (or master = גּביר) is the head (cf. e.g., Jdg 11:8), and oppresses the helpless. This rendering is probable, because גּבר רשׁ, a poor man, is a combination of words without a parallel; the Book of Proverbs does not once use the expression אישׁ רשׁ, but always simply רשׁ (e.g., Pro 28:6; Pro 29:13); and גּבר is compatible with חכם and the like, but not with רשׁ. If we stumble at the isolated position of ראשׁ, we should consider that it is in a certain measure covered by דלים; for one has to think of the גבר, who is the ראשׁ, also as the ראשׁ of these דלים, as one placed in a high station who numbers poor people among his subordinates. The lxx translates ἀνδρεῖος ἐν ἀσεβείαις as if the words of the text were גּבּור רשׁע (cf. the interchange of גּבר and גּבּור in both texts of Psa 18:26), but what the lxx read must have been גּבּור להרשׁיע (Isa 5:22); and what can גּבּור here mean? The statement here made refers to the ruinous conduct of a גּבר, a man of standing, or גּביר, a high lord, a “wicked ruler,” Pro 28:15. On the contrary, what kind of rain the rule of an ideal governor is compared to, Psa 72:1-8 tells.

Pro 28:4 4 They who forsake the law praise the godless;    But they who keep the law become angry with them, viz. the godless, for רשׁע is to be thought of collectively, as at Pro 28:1. They who praise the godless turn away from the revealed word of God (Psa 73:11-15); those, on the contrary, who are true to God’s word (Pro 28:18) are aroused against them (vid., regarding גרה, Pro 15:18), they are deeply moved by their conduct, they cannot remain silent and let their wickedness go unpunished; התגּרה is zeal (excitement) always expressing itself, passing over into actions (syn. התעורר, Job 17:8).

Pro 28:5

A similar antithetic distich:

Wicked men understand not what is right;

But they who seek Jahve understand all.

Regarding the gen. expression אנשׁי־רע, vid., under Pro 2:14. He who makes wickedness his element, falls into the confusion of the moral conception; but he whose end is the one living God, gains from that, in every situation of life, even amid the greatest difficulties, the knowledge of that which is morally right. Similarly the Apostle John (1Jo 2:20): “ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things” (οἴδατε πάντα): i.e., ye need to seek that knowledge which ye require, and which ye long after, not without yourselves, but in the new divine foundation of your personal life; from thence all that ye need for the growth of your spiritual life, and for the turning away from you of hostile influences, will come into your consciences. It is a potential knowledge, all-comprehensive in its character, and obviously a human relative knowledge, that is here meant.

Pro 28:6

What is stated in this proverb is a conclusion from the preceding, with which it is also externally connected, for רשׁ (= ראשׁ), רשׁע, רע, and now רשׁ, follow each other:

Better a poor man who walketh in his innocence,

Than a double-going deceiver who is rich thereby.

A variation of Pro 19:1. Stainlessness, integritas vitae, as a consequence of unreserved devotion to God, gives to a man with poverty a higher worth and nobility than riches connected with falsehood which “halts between two opinions” (1Ki 18:21), and appears to go one way, while in reality it goes another. The two ways דּדכים (cf. Sir. 2:12, οὐαί ἁμαρτωλῷ ... ἐπιβαίνοντι ἐπὶ δύο τρίβους) are, as Pro 28:18, not ways going aside to the right or to the left of the right way, but the evil way which the deceiver truly walks in, and the good way which he pretends to walk in (Fleischer); the two ways of action placed over against one another, by one of which he masks the other.

Pro 28:7 7 He who keepeth instruction is a wise son;    But he that is a companion of profligates bringeth his father into shame.

We have translated תורה at Pro 28:4 by “law;” here it includes the father’s instruction regarding the right way of life. נוצר תּורה, according to the nearest lying syntax, has to be taken as pred. זוללים are such as squander their means and destroy their health, vid., under Pro 23:20. רעה signifies, as frequently from the idea of (cf. Pro 29:3) pasturing, or properly of tending, to take care of, and to have fellowship with. יכלים shall put to shame denotes both that he himself does disgrace to him, and that he brings disgrace to him on the part of others.

Pro 28:8

This verse continues a series of proverbs (commencing in Pro 28:7) beginning with a participle:

He who increaseth his wealth by interest and usury,

Gathereth it for one who is benevolent toward the lowly.

Wealth increased by covetous plundering of a neighbour does not remain with him who has scraped it together in so relentless a manner, and without considering his own advantage; but it goes finally into the possession of one who is merciful towards the poor, and thus it is bestowed in a manner that is pleasing to God (cf. Pro 13:22; Job 22:16.). The Kerı̂, which drops the second ב, appears to wish to mitigate the sharpness of the distinction of the second idea supposed in its repetition. But Lev 25:35-37, where an Israelite is forbidden to take usury and interest from his brother, the two are distinguished; and Fleischer rightly remarks that there נשׁך means usury or interest taken in money, and תרבית usury or interest taken in kind; i.e., of that which one has received in loan, such as grain, or oil, etc., he gives back more than he has received. In other words: נשׁך is the name of the interest for the capital that is lent, and מרבּית, or, as it is here called תרבית, the more, the addition thereto, the increase (Luther: ubersatz). This meaning of gain by means of lending on interest remains in נשׁך; but תרבית, according to the later usus loq., signifies gain by means of commerce, thus business-profit, vid., Baba Mezîa, v. 1. Instead of יקבּצנּוּ, more recent texts have the KalIf, as Hitzig, after J. H. Michaelis, remarks, the word were Ben-Asher’s יקבּצנּוּ, then it would be thus rightly punctuated by Clodius and the moderns. Kimchi, in the Wörterbuch under קבץ, adduces this word as Ben-Asher's. But the Masora knows nothing of it. It marks יקבּצנּוּ, Jer 31:10, with לית as unicum, and thus supposes for the passages before us יקבּצנּוּ, which certainly is found in MSS, and is also marked on the margin with לית as unicum. יקבּצנּוּ. לחונן also is, as Pro 14:31; Pro 19:17, part. Kal, not inf. Poel: ad largiendum pauperibus (Merc., Ewald, Bertheau), for there the person of him who presents the gift is undefined; but just this, that it is another and better-disposed, for whom, without having it in view, the collector gathers his stores, is the very point of the thought.

Pro 28:9 9 He who turneth away his ear not to hear of the law,    Even his prayer is an abomination.

Cf. Pro 15:8 and the argument 1Sa 15:22. Not only the evil which such an one does, but also the apparent good is an abomination, an abomination to God, and eo ipso also in itself: morally hollow and corrupt; for it is not truth and sincerity, for the whole soul, the whole will of the suppliant, is not present: he is not that for which he gives himself out in his prayer, and does not earnestly seek that which he presents and expresses a wish for in prayer.

Pro 28:10

A tristich beginning with a participle:

He who misleads the upright into an evil way,

He shall fall into his own pit;

But the innocent shall inherit that which is good.

In the first case, Pro 26:27 is fulfilled: the deceiver who leads astray falls himself into the destruction which he prepared for others, whether he misleads them into sin, and thus mediately prepares destruction for them, or that he does this immediately by enticing them into this or that danger; for בּדרך רע may be understood of the way of wicked conduct, as well as of the experience of evil, of being betrayed, robbed, or even murdered. That those who are misled are called ישׁרים, explains itself in the latter case: that they are such as he ought to show respect towards, and such as deserved better treatment, heightens the measure of his guilt. If we understand being morally led astray, yet may we not with Hitzig here find the “theory” which removes the punishment from the just and lays it on the wicked. The clause Pro 11:8 is not here applicable. The first pages of the Scripture teach that the deceiver does not by any means escape punishment; but certainly the deceiver of the upright does not gain his object, for his diabolical joy at the destruction of such an one is vain, because God again helps him with the right way, but casts the deceiver so much the deeper down. As the idea of דרך רע has a twofold direction, so the connections of the words may be genitival (via mali) as well as adjectival (via mala). בּשׁחוּתו is not incorrectly written for בּשׁוּחתו, for שׁחית occurs (only here) with שׁחוּת as its warrant both from שׁחה, to bend, to sink; cf. לזוּת under Pro 4:24. In line third, opposite to “he who misleads,” stand “the innocent” (pious), who, far from seeking to entice others into the evil way and bring them to ruin, are unreservedly and honestly devoted to God and to that which is good; these shall inherit good (cf. Pro 3:35); even the consciousness of having made no man unhappy makes them happy; but even in their external relations there falls to them the possession of all good, which is the divinely ordained reward of the good.

Pro 28:11 11 A rich man deems himself wise;      But a poor man that hath understanding searcheth him out, or, as we have translated, Pro 18:17, goes to the bottom of him, whereby is probably thought of the case that he seeks to use him as a means to an ignoble end. The rich man appears in his own eyes to be a wise man, i.e., in his self-delusion he thinks that he is so; but if he has anything to do with a poor man who has intelligence, then he is seen through by him. Wisdom is a gift not depending on any earthly possession.

Pro 28:12

We take Pro 28:12-20 together. A proverb regarding riches closes this group, as also the foregoing is closed, and its commencement is related in form and in its contents to Pro 28:2 : 12 When righteous men triumph, the glory is great;      And when the godless rise, the people are searched for.

The first line of this distich is parallel with Pro 29:2; cf. Pro 11:10, Pro 11:11 : when the righteous rejoice, viz., as conquerors (cf. e.g., Psa 60:8), who have the upper hand, then תּפארת, bright prosperity, is increased; or as Fleischer, by comparison of the Arab. yawm alazynt (day of ornament = festival day), explains: so is there much festival adornment, i.e., one puts on festival clothes, signum pro re signata: thus all appears festal and joyous, for prosperity and happiness then show themselves forth. רבּה is adj. and pred. of the substantival clause; Hitzig regards it as the attribute: “then is there great glory;” this supposition is possible (vid., Pro 7:26, and under Psa 89:51), but here it is purely arbitrary. 28a is parallel with 12b: “if the godless arise, attain to power and prominence, these men are spied out, i.e., as we say, after Zep 1:12, they are searched for as with lamps. יחפּשׂ אדם is to be understood after Obadiah, Oba 1:6, cf. Pro 2:4 : men are searched out, i.e., are plundered (in which sense Heidenheim regards חפשׂ as here a transposition from חשׂף), or, with reference to the secret police of despotism: they are subjected to espionage. But a better gloss is יסּתר אדם 28a: the people let themselves be sought for, they keep themselves concealed in the inside of their houses, they venture not out into the streets and public places (Fleischer), for mistrust and suspicion oppress them all; one regards his person and property nowhere safer than within the four walls of his house; the lively, noisy, variegated life which elsewhere rules without, is as if it were dead.

Pro 28:13 13 He that denieth his sin shall not prosper;      But he that acknowledgeth and forsaketh it shall obtain mercy.

Thus is this proverb translated by Luther, and thus it lives in the mouth of the Christian people. He who falsely disowns, or with self-deception excuses, if he does not altogether justify his sins, which are discernible as פּשׁעים, has no success; he remains, after Psa 32:1-11, in his conscience and life burdened with a secret ban; but he who acknowledges (the lxx has ἐξηγούμενος instead of ἐξομολογούμενος, as it ought to be) and forsakes (for the remissio does not follow the confessio, if there is not the accompaniment of nova obedientia) will find mercy (ירחם, as Hos 14:4). In close connection therewith stands the thought that man has to work out his salvation “with fear and trembling” (Phi 2:12).

Pro 28:14 14 Well is it with the man who feareth always;      But he that is stiff-necked shall fall into mischief.

The Piel פּחד occurs elsewhere only at Isa 51:13, where it is used of the fear and dread of men; here it denotes the anxious concern with which one has to guard against the danger of evil coming upon his soul. Aben Ezra makes God the object; but rather we are to regard sin as the object, for while the truly pious is one that “fears God,” he is at the same time one that “feareth evil.” The antithesis extends beyond the nearest lying contrast of fleshly security; this is at the same time more or less one who hardens or steels his heart (מקשׁה לבּו), viz., against the word of God, against the sons of God in his heart, and against the affectionate concern of others about his soul, and as such rushes on to his own destruction (יפּול בּרעה, as at Pro 17:20).

Pro 28:15

This general ethical proverb is now followed by one concerning the king: 15 A roaring lion and a ravening bear      Is a foolish ruler over a poor people,i.e., a people without riches and possessions, without lasting sources of help - a people brought low by the events of war and by calamities. To such a people a tyrant is a twofold terror, like a ravenous monster. The lxx translate מושׁל רשׁע by ὃς τυραννεῖ πτωχὸς ὤν, as if רשׁ had been transferred to this place from Pro 28:3. But their translation of רשׁע, Pro 29:7, wavers between ἀσεβής and πτωχός, and of the bear they make a wolf זאב, dialectical דּיב. שׁוקק designates a bear as lingering about, running hither and thither, impelled by extreme hunger (Venet. ἐπιοῦσα), from שׁקק = שׁוּק, to drive, which is said of nimble running, as well as of urging impulses (cf. under Gen 3:16), viz., hunger.

Pro 28:16

Another proverb of the king:

O prince devoid of understanding and rich in oppression!

He that hateth unrighteous gain continueth long.

The old interpreters from the lxx interpret מעשׁקּות רבו as pred. (as also Fleischer: princeps qui intelligentiae habet parum idem oppressionis exercet multum); but why did not the author use the word הוּא or והוּא instead of this ambiguous inconvenient ו? Hitzig regards the first term as a nominative absolute, which does not assume a suffix in the second line. But examples such as 27a, Pro 27:7, are altogether of a different sort; there occurs a reference that is in reality latent, and only finds not expression; the clause following the nominative is related to it as its natural predicate, but here 15b is an independent clause standing outside of any syntactical relation to 15a. Heidenheim has acknowledged that here there lies before us a proverb not in the form of a mere declaration, but of a warning address, and thus also it is understood by Ewald, Bertheau, Elster, and Zöckler. The accentuation seems to proceed on the same supposition. It is the only passage in the Book of Proverbs where נגיד, of the supreme ruler of the people, and where the plur. תּבוּנות, occur; it is not therefore at all strange if the proverb also has something strange in its formation. Often enough, proverbs are in the form of an address to a son, and generally to their reader; why not also one at least to the king? It is a proverb as when I say: Oh thou reckless, merry fellow! he who laughs much will sometimes weep long. Thus here the address is directed to the prince who is devoid of all wisdom and intelligence, which are necessary for a prince; but on this account the more earnest in exhortation to say to him that only one who hates defrauding the people attains an old age; thus that a prince who plunders the people wantonly shortens his life as a man, and his position as a ruler (cf. שׁניהם, Pro 24:22). The Kerı̂ שׂנא has the tone thrown back on the penult., as the Chethı̂b שׂנאי would also have it, cf. למצאי, Pro 8:9. The relation of a plur. subj. to a sing. pred. is as at Pro 27:16. Regarding בּצע, vid., under Pro 1:19. A confirmation of this proverb directing itself to princes if found in Jer 22:13-19, the woe pronounced upon Jehoiakim. And a glance at the woe pronounced in Hab 2:12, shows how easily Pro 28:17 presents itself in connection.

Pro 28:17 17 A man burdened with the guilt of blood upon his soul      Fleeth to the pit; let no one detain him.

Luther translates: “A man that doeth violence to the blood of any one,” as if he had read the word עשׁק. Löwenstein persuades himself that עשׁק may mean “having oppressed,” and for this refers to לבוּשׁ, having clothed, in the Mishna נשׁוּי, רבוּב, Lat. coenatus, juratus; but none of all these cases are of the same nature, for always the conduct designated is interpreted as a suffering of that which is done, e.g., the drawing on, as a being clothed; the riding, as a being ridden, etc. Of עשׁק, in the sense of the oppression of another, there is no such part. pass. as throws the action as a condition back upon the subject. This is valid also against Aben Ezra, who supposes that עשׁק means oppressing after the forms אנוּר, שׁדוּד, שׁכוּן, for of שׁכוּן, settled = dwelling, that which has just been said is true; that אנוּר is equivalent to אגר, cf. regarding it under Pro 30:1, and that שׁדוּד, Psa 137:8, is equivalent to שׁדד, is not true. Kimchi adds, under the name of his father (Joseph Kimchi), also שׁחוּט, Jer 9:7 = שׁוחט; but that “slaughtered” can be equivalent to slaughtering is impossible. Some MSS have the word עשׂק, which is not inadmissible, but not in the sense of “accused” (Löwenstein), but: persecuted, exposed to war; for עשׁק signifies to treat hostilely, and post-bibl. generally to aspire after or pursue anything, e.g., עסוק בּדברי תורה, R. עשׂ (whence Piel contrectare, cf. Isa 23:2, according to which עשׁק appears to be an intensifying of this עשׂה). However, there is no ground for regarding עשׁקBöttcher supposes much rather עשּׁק = מעשּׁק; also, Pro 25:11, דבּר = מדבּר; but that does not follow from the defectiva scriptio, nor from anything else. as not original, nor in the sense of “hard pressed;” for it is not used of avenging persecution, but: inwardly pressed, for Isa 38:14 עשׁקה also signifies the anguish of a guilty conscience. Whoever is inwardly bowed down by the blood of a man whom he has murdered, betakes himself to a ceaseless flight to escape the avenger of blood, the punishment of his guilt, and his own inward torment; he flees and finds no rest, till at last the grave (בור according to the Eastern, i.e., the Babylonian, mode of writing בּר) receives him, and death accomplishes the only possible propitiation of the murderer. The exhortation, “let no one detain him,” does not mean that one should not lay hold on the fugitive; but, since תּמך בּ does not mean merely to hold fast, but to hold right, that one should not afford him any support, any refuge, any covering or security against the vengeance which pursues him; that one should not rescue him from the arm of justice, and thereby invade and disturb the public administration of justice, which rests on moral foundations; on the other side, the Book of Prov; Pro 24:11., has uttered its exhortation to save a human life whenever it is possible to do so. The proverb lying before us cannot thus mean anything else than that no one should give to the murderer, as such, any assistance; that no one should save him clandestinely, and thereby make himself a partaker of his sin. Grace cannot come into the place of justice till justice has been fully recognised. Human sympathy, human forbearance, under the false title of grace, do not stand in contrast to this justice. We must, however, render אל־יתמכו־בו not directly as an admonition against that which is immoral; it may also be a declaration of that which is impossible: only let no one support him, let no one seek to deliver him from the unrest which drives him from place to place. This is, however, in vain; he is unceasingly driven about to fulfil his lot. But the translation: nemine eum sustinente (Fleischer), is inadmissible; a mere declaration of a fact without any subjective colouring is never אל reven si g seq. fut.

Pro 28:18 18 He who walketh blamelessly is helped,      And he who is perverse in a double way suddenly perisheth.

The lxx translate תמים by δικαίως (as the accusative of manner), Aquila and Theodotion by τέλειος; but it may also be translated τέλειον or τελειότητα, as the object accus. of Pro 2:7. Instead of עקּשׁ דּרכים, Pro 28:6, there is here נעקּשׁ דּרכים, obliquely directed in a double way, or reflex bending himself. At Pro 28:6 we have interpreted the dual דּרכים rightly, thus בּאחת cannot refer back to one of these two ways; besides, דּרך as fem. is an anomaly, if not a solecism. בּאחת signifies, like the Aram. כּחרא, either all at once (for which the Mish. כּאחת, Aram. כּחרא), or once (= בּפּעם אחת), and it signifies in the passage before us, not: once, aliquando, as Nolde, with Flacius, explains, but: all at once, i.e., as Geier explains: penitus, sic ut pluribus casibus porro non sit opus. Schultens compares:

“Procubuit moriens et humum semel ore momordit.”Aeneid, xi. 418.

Rightly Fleischer: repente totus concidet.

Pro 28:19 19 He who cultivateth his land is satisfied with bread,      And he that graspeth after vanities is satisfied with poverty.

A variation of Pro 12:11. The pred. here corresponds to its contrast. On רישׁ (here and at Pro 31:7), instead of the more frequent ראשׁ, cf. Pro 10:4.

Pro 28:20

To this proverb of the cultivation of the land as the sure source of support, the next following stands related, its contents being cognate: 20 A strong, upright man is enriched with blessings;      But he that hastens to become rich remains not unpunished.      אישׁ אמוּנים, Pro 20:6, as well as אמוּנות 'א, denotes a man bonae fidei; but the former expression refers the description to a constancy and certainty in the relations of favour and of friendship, here to rectitude or integrity in walk and conduct; the plur. refers to the all-sidedness and the ceaselessness of the activity. בּרכות is related, as at Pro 10:6 : the idea comprehends blessings on the side of God and of man, thus benedictio rei and benedictio voti. On the contrary, he who, without being careful as to the means, is in haste to become rich, remains not only unblessed, but also is not guiltless, and thus not without punishment; also this לא ינּקה (e.g., Pro 6:29), frequently met in the Mishle, is, like ברכות, the union of two ideas, for generally the bibl. mode of conception and language comprehends in one, sin, guilt, and punishment.

Pro 28:21

With a proverb, in the first half of which is repeated the beginning of the second appendix, Pro 24:23, a new group commences: 21 Respect of persons is not good;      And for a morsel of bread a man may become a transgressor.

Line first refers to the administration of justice, and line second - the special generalized - to social life generally. The “morsel of bread,” as example of a bribe by means of which the favour of the judge is purchased, is too low a conception. Hitzig well: “even a trifle, a morsel of bread (1Sa 2:36), may, as it awakens favour and dislike within us, thus in general call forth in the will an inclination tending to draw one aside from the line of strict rectitude.” Geier compares A Gellius’ Noct. Att. i. 15, where Cato says of the Tribune Coelius: Frusto panis conduci potest vel ut taceat vel ut loquatur.

Pro 28:22 22 The man of an evil eye hasteneth after riches,      And knoweth not that want shall come upon him.

Hitzig renders 'אישׁ וגו the man of an evil eye as apos. of the subject; but in that case the phrase would have been אישׁ רע עין נבהל להון (cf. e.g., Pro 29:1). רע עין (Pro 23:6) is the jealous, envious, grudging, and at the same time covetous man. It is certainly possible that an envious man consumes himself in ill-humour without quietness, as Hitzig objects; but as a rule there is connected with envy a passionate endeavour to raise oneself to an equal height of prosperity with the one who is the object of envy; and this zeal, proceeding from an impure motive, makes men blind to the fact that thereby they do not advance, but rather degrade themselves, for no blessing can rest on it; discontentedness loses, with that which God has assigned to us, deservedly also that which it has. The pret. נבחל, the expression of a fact; the part. נבהל, the expression of an habitual characteristic action; the word signifies praeceps (qui praeceps fertur), with the root-idea of one who is unbridled, who is not master of himself (vid., under Psa 2:5, and above at Pro 20:21). The phrase wavers between נבהל (Kimchi, under בהל; and Norzi, after Codd. and old editions) and נבהל (thus, e.g., Cod. Jaman); only at Psa 30:8 נבהל stands unquestioned. חסר [want] is recognised by Symmachus, Syr., and Jerome. To this, as the authentic reading, cf. its ingenious rendering of Bereschith Rabba, c. 58, to Gen 23:14. The lxx reads, from 22b, that a חסיד, ἐλεήμων, will finally seize the same riches, according to which Hitzig reads חסד, disgrace, shame (cf. Pro 25:10).

Pro 28:23 23 He that reproveth a man who is going backwards,      Findeth more thanks than the flatterer.

It is impossible that aj can be the suffix of אחרי; the Talmud, Tamid 28a, refers it to God; but that it signifies: after my (Solomon’s) example or precedence (Aben Ezra, Ahron b. Josef, Venet., J. H. Michaelis), is untenable - such a name given by the teacher here to himself is altogether aimless. Others translate, with Jerome: Qui corripit hominem gratiam postea inveniet apud eum magis, quam ille qui per linguae blandimenta decipit, for they partly purpose to read אחרי־כן, partly to give to 'אח the meaning of postea. אחרי, Ewald says, is a notable example of an adverb. Hitzig seeks to correct this adv. as at Neh 3:30., but where, with Keil, אחרו is to be read; at Jos 2:7, where אחרי is to be erased; and at Deu 2:30, where the traditional text is accountable. This אחרי may be formed like אזי and מתי; but if it had existed, it would not be a ἅπαξ λεγ. The accentuation also, in the passage before us, does not recognise it; but it takes אחרי and אדם together, and how otherwise than that it appears, as Ibn-Jachja in his Grammar, and ImmanuelAbulwalîd (Rikma, p. 69) also rightly explains אחרי, as a characterizing epithet, by אחרני (turned backwards). have recognised it, to be a noun terminating in aj. It is a formation, like לפני, 1Ki 6:10 (cf. Olshausen’s Lehrb. p. 428f.), of the same termination as שׁדּי, חגּי, and in the later Aram.-Heb. זכּי, and the like. The variant אחרי, noticed by Heidenheim, confirms it; and the distinction between different classes of men (vid., vol. i. p. 39) which prevails in the Book of Proverbs favours it. A אדם אחרי is defined, after the manner of Jeremiah (Jer 7:24): a man who is directed backwards, and not לפנים, forwards. Not the renegade - for מוכיח, opp. מחליק לשׁון, does not lead to so strong a conception - but the retrograder is thus called in German: Rückläufige one who runs backwards or Rückwendige one who turns backwards, who turns away from the good, the right, and the true, and always departs the farther away from them (Immanuel: going backwards in his nature or his moral relations). This centrifugal direction, leading to estrangement from the fear of Jahve, or, what is the same thing, from the religion of revelation, would lead to entire ruin if unreserved and fearless denunciation did not interpose and seek to restrain it; and he who speaksLöwenstein writes מוכיח, after Metheg-Setzung, §43, not incorrectly; for the following word, although toned on the first syllable, begins with guttural having the same sound. so truly, openly, and earnestly home to the conscience of one who is on the downward course, gains for himself thereby, on the part of him whom he has directed aright, and on the part of all who are well disposed, better thanks (and also, on the part of God, a better reward, Jam 5:19.) than he who, speaking to him, smooths his tongue to say to him who is rich, or in a high position, only that which is agreeable. Laudat adulator, sed non est verus amator. The second half of the verse consists, as often (Psa 73:8; Job 33:1; cf. Thorath Emeth, p. 51), of only two words, with Mercha Silluk.

Pro 28:24 24 He who robbeth his father and mother, and saith:      It is no wrong, Is a companion of the destroyer.

The second line is related to Pro 18:9. Instead of dominus perditionis there found, there is here אישׁ משׁחית, vir perdens (perditor); the word thus denotes a man who destroys, not from revenge, but from lust, and for the sake of the life of men, and that which is valuable for men; thus the spoiler, the incendiary, etc. Instead of אח there, here we have חבר in the same sense. He who robs his parents, i.e., takes to himself what belongs to them, and regards his doing so as no particular sin,Accentuate ואמר אין פשׁע without Makkeph, as in Codd. 1294 and old editions. because he will at last come to inherit it all (cf. Pro 20:21 with Pro 19:26), to to be likened to a man who allows himself in all offences against the life and property of his neighbour; for what the deed of such a son wants in external violence, it makes up in its wickedness, because it is a rude violation of the tenderest and holiest demands of duty.

Pro 28:25 25 The covetous stirreth up strife;      But he that trusteth in Jahve is richly comforted.

Line first is a variation of Pro 15:18; רחב־נפשׁ is not to be interchanged with רחב־לב, Pro 21:4. He is of a wide heart who haughtily puffs himself up, of a wide soul (cf. with Schultens הרחיב נפשׁו, of the opening up of the throat, or of revenge, Isa 5:14; Hab 2:5) who is insatiably covetous; for לב is the spiritual, and נפשׁ the natural, heart of man, according to which the widening of the heart is the overstraining of self-consciousness, and the widening of the soul the overstraining of passion. Rightly the lxx, according to its original text: ἄπληστος ἀνὴρ κινεῖ (thus with Hitzig for κρινεῖ) νείκη. Line second is a variation of Pro 16:20; Pro 29:25. Over against the insatiable is he who trusts in God (וּב טח, with Gaja to the vocal, concluding the word, for it follows a word accented on the first syllable, and beginning with a guttural; cf. יא, Pro 29:2; יףּ, Pro 29:18), that He will bestow upon him what is necessary and good for him. One thus contented is easily satisfied (compare with the word Pro 11:25; Pro 13:4, and with the matter, Pro 10:3; Pro 13:24), is externally as well as internally appeased; while that other, never contented, has no peace, and creates dispeace around him.

Pro 28:26

The following proverb assumes the בטח of the foregoing:We take the opportunity of remarking that the tendency to form together certain proverbs after one catchword is found also in German books of proverbs; vid., Paul, Ueber die urspr. Anord. von Friedanks Bescheidenheit (1870), p. 12. 26 He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool;      But he that walketh in wisdom shall escape.

From the promise in the second line, Hitzig concludes that a courageous heart is meant, but when by itself לב never bears this meaning. He who trusteth in his own heart is not merely one who is guided solely “by his own inconsiderate, defiant impulse to act” (Zöckler). The proverb is directed against a false subjectivity. The heart is that fabricator of thoughts, of which, as of man by nature, nothing good can be said, Gen 6:5; Gen 8:21. But wisdom is a gift from above, and consists in the knowledge of that which is objectively true, that which is normatively godlike. הלך בּחכמה is he who so walks that he has in wisdom a secure authority, and has not then for the first time, when he requires to walk, need to consider, to reckon, to experiment. Thus walking in the way of wisdom, he escapes dangers to which one is exposed who walks in foolish confidence in his own heart and its changeful feelings, thoughts, imaginations, delusions. One who thoughtlessly boasts, who vainly dreams of victory before the time, is such a person; but confidence in one’s own heart takes also a hundred other forms. Essentially similar to this proverb are the words of Jer 9:22., for the wisdom meant in 26b is there defined at Jer 9:23.

Pro 28:27 27 He that giveth to the poor suffereth no want;      But he that covereth his eyes meeteth many curses.

In the first line the pronoun לּו, referring back to the subject noun, is to be supplied, as at Pro 27:7 להּ. He who gives to the poor has no want (מחסּור), for God’s blessing reimburses him richly for what he bestows. He, on the other hand, who veils (מעלּים( sl, cf. the Hithpa., Isa 58:7) his eyes so as not to see the misery which calls forth compassion, or as if he did not see the misery which has a claim on his compassion; he is (becomes) rich in curses, i.e., is laden with the curses of those whose wants he cared not for; curses which, because they are deserved, change by virtue of a divine requital (vid., Sir. 4:5f.; Tob. 4:7) into all kinds of misfortunes (opp. רב־בּרכות, 20a). מארה is constructed after the form מגרה, מקרה from ארר.

Pro 28:28

The following proverb resembles the beginnings Pro 28:2, Pro 28:12. The proverbs Pro 28:28; Pro 29:1-3, form a beautiful square grasp, in which the first and third, and the second and fourth, correspond to one another. 28 When the godless rise up, men hide themselves;      And when they perish, the righteous increase.

Line first is a variation of 12b. Since they who hide themselves are merely called men, people, the meaning of ירבּוּ is probably not this, that the righteous then from all sides come out into the foreground (Hitzig), but that they prosper, multiply, and increase as do plants, when the worms, caterpillars, and the like are destroyed (Fleischer); Löwenstein glosses ירבּוּ by יגדלו, they become great = powerful, but that would be Elihu’s style, Job 33:12, which is not in common use; the names of masters and of those in authority, רב, רבּי, רבּן, רבּנוּת, are all derived from רבב, not from רבה. The increase is to be understood of the prosperous growth (to become great = to increase, as perhaps also Gen 21:10) of the congregation of the righteous, which gains in the overthrow of the godless an accession to its numbers; cf. Pro 29:2, and especially Pro 29:16.

Miscellaneous Maxims.

1 The wicked flee when no man pursueth: but the righteous are bold as a lion.

See here, 1. What continual frights those are subject to that go on in wicked ways. Guilt in the conscience makes men a terror to themselves, so that they are ready to flee when none pursues; like one that absconds for debt, who thinks every one he meets a bailiff. Though they pretend to be easy, there are secret fears which haunt them wherever they go, so that they fear where no present or imminent danger is, Ps. liii. 5. Those that have made God their enemy, and know it, cannot but see the whole creation at war with them, and therefore can have no true enjoyment of themselves, no confidence, no courage, but a fearful looking for of judgment. Sin makes men cowards. Degeneres animos timor arguit— Fear argues a degenerate soul. Virgil. Quos diri conscia facti mens habet attonitos— The consciousness of atrocious crimes astonishes and confounds. Juvenal . If they flee when none pursues, what will they do when they shall see God himself pursuing them with his armies? Job xx. 24; xv. 24. See Deut. xxviii. 25; Lev. xxvi. 36. 2. What a holy security and serenity of mind those enjoy who keep conscience void of offence and so keep themselves in the love of God: The righteous are bold as a lion, as a young lion; in the greatest dangers they have a God of almighty power to trust to. Therefore will not we fear though the earth be removed. Whatever difficulties they meet with in the way of their duty, they are not daunted by them. None of those things move me. Hic murus aheneus esto, nil conscire sibi— Be this thy brazen bulwark of defence, Still to preserve thy conscious innocence. Hor.

2 For the transgression of a land many are the princes thereof: but by a man of understanding and knowledge the state thereof shall be prolonged.

Note, 1. National sins bring national disorders and the disturbance of the public repose: For the transgression of a land, and a general defection from God and religion to idolatry, profaneness, or immorality, many are the princes thereof, many at the same time pretending to the sovereignty and contending for it, by which the people are crumbled into parties and factions, biting and devouring one another, or many successively, in a little time, one cutting off another, as 1 Kings xvi. 8, &c., or soon cut off by the hand of God or of a foreign enemy, as 2 Kings xxiv. 5, &c. As the people suffer for the sins of the prince, Delirant reges, plectuntur Achivi— Kings play the madmen, and their people suffer for it,

3 A poor man that oppresseth the poor is like a sweeping rain which leaveth no food.

See here, 1. How hard-hearted poor people frequently are to one another, not only not doing such good offices as they might do one to another, but imposing upon and over-reaching one another. Those who know by experience the miseries of poverty should be compassionate to those who suffer the like, but they are inexcusably barbarous if they be injurious to them. 2. How imperious and griping those commonly are who, being indigent and necessitous, get into power. If a prince prefer a poor man, he forgets that ever he was poor, and none shall be so oppressive to the poor as he, nor squeeze them so cruelly. The hungry leech and the dry sponge suck most. Set a beggar on horseback, and he will ride without mercy. He is like a sweeping rain, which washes away the corn in the ground, and lays and beats out that which has grown, so that it leaves no food. Princes therefore ought not to put those into places of trust who are poor, and in debt, and behind-hand in the world, nor any who make it their main business to enrich themselves.

4 They that forsake the law praise the wicked: but such as keep the law contend with them.

Note, 1. Those that praise the wicked make it to appear that they do themselves forsake the law, and go contrary to it, for that curses and condemns the wicked. Wicked people will speak well of one another, and so strengthen one another's hands in their wicked ways, hoping thereby to silence the clamours of their own consciences and to serve the interests of the devil's kingdom, which is not done by any thing so effectually as by keeping vice in reputation. 2. Those that do indeed make conscience of the law of God themselves will, in their places, vigorously oppose sin, and bear their testimony against it, and do what they can to shame and suppress it. They will reprove the works of darkness, and silence the excuses which are made for those works, and do what they can to bring gross offenders to punishment, that others may hear and fear.

5 Evil men understand not judgment: but they that seek the Lord understand all things.

Note, I. As the prevalency of men's lusts is owing to the darkness of their understandings, so the darkness of their understandings is very much owing to the dominion of their lusts: Men understand not judgment, discern not between truth and falsehood, right and wrong; they understand not the law of God as the rule either of their duty or of their doom; and, 1. Therefore it is that they are evil men; their wickedness is the effect of their ignorance and error, Eph. iv. 18. 2. Therefore they understand not judgment, because they are evil men; their corruptions blind their eyes, and fill them with prejudices, and because they do evil they hate the light. It is just with God also to give them up to strong delusions.

II. As men's seeking the Lord is a good sign that they do understand much, so it is a good means of their understanding more, even of their understanding all things needful for them. Those that set God's glory before them as their end, his favour as their felicity, and his word as their rule, and apply to him upon all occasions by prayer, they seek the Lord, and he will give them the spirit of wisdom. If a man do his will, he shall know his doctrine, John vii. 17. A good understanding those have, and a better they shall have, that do his commandments, Ps. cxi. 10; 1 Cor. ii. 12, 15.

6 Better is the poor that walketh in his uprightness, than he that is perverse in his ways, though he be rich.

Here, 1. It is supposed that a man may walk in his uprightness and yet be poor in this world, which is a temptation to dishonesty, and yet may resist the temptation and continue to walk in his uprightness—also that a man may be perverse in his ways, injurious to God and man, and yet be rich, and prosper in the world, for a while, may be rich, and so lie under great obligations and have great opportunities to do good, and yet be perverse in his ways and do a great deal of hurt. 2. It is maintained as a paradox to a blind world that an honest, godly, poor man, is better than a wicked, ungodly, rich man, has a better character, is in a better condition, has more comfort in himself, is a greater blessing to the world, and is worthy of much more honour and respect. It is not only certain that his case will be better at death, but it is better in life. When Aristides was by a rich man upbraided with his poverty he answered, Thy riches do thee more hurt than my poverty does me.

7 Whoso keepeth the law is a wise son: but he that is a companion of riotous men shameth his father.

Note, 1. Religion is true wisdom, and it makes men wise in every relation. He that conscientiously keeps the law is wise, and he will be particularly a wise son, that is, will act discreetly towards his parents, for the law of God teaches him to do so. 2. Bad company is a great hindrance to religion. Those that are companions of riotous men, that choose such for their companions and delight in their conversation, will certainly be drawn from keeping the law of God and drawn to transgress it, Ps. cxix. 115. 3. Wickedness is not only a reproach to the sinner himself, but to all that are akin to him. He that keeps rakish company, and spends his time and money with them, not only grieves his parents, but shames them; it turns to their disrepute, as if they had not done their duty to him. They are ashamed that a child of theirs should be scandalous and abusive to their neighbours.

8 He that by usury and unjust gain increaseth his substance, he shall gather it for him that will pity the poor.

Note, 1. That which is ill-got, though it may increase much, will not last long. A man may perhaps raise a great estate, in a little time, by usury and extortion, fraud, and oppression of the poor, but it will not continue; he gathers it for himself, but it shall prove to have been gathered for somebody else that he has no kindness for. His estate shall go to decay, and another man's shall be raised out of the ruins of it. 2. Sometimes God in his providence so orders it that that which one got unjustly another uses charitably; it is strangely turned into the hands of one that will pity the poor and do good with it, and so cut off the entail of the curse which he brought upon it who got it by deceit and violence. Thus the same Providence that punishes the cruel, and disables them to do any more hurt, rewards the merciful, and enables them to do so much the more good. To him that has the ten pounds give the pound which the wicked servant hid in the napkin; for to him that has, and uses it well, more shall be given, Luke xix. 24. Thus the poor are repaid, the charitable are encouraged, and God is glorified.

9 He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be abomination.

Note, 1. It is by the word and prayer that our communion with God is kept up. God speaks to us by his law, and expects we should hear him and heed him; we speak to him by prayer, to which we wait for an answer of peace. How reverent and serious should we be, whenever we are hearing from and speaking to the Lord of glory! 2. If God's word be not regarded by us, our prayers shall not only not be accepted of God, but they shall be an abomination to him, not only our sacrifices, which were ceremonial appointments, but even our prayers, which are moral duties, and which, when they are put up by the upright, are so much his delight. See Isa. i. 11, 15. The sinner whose prayers God is thus angry at is one who wilfully and obstinately refuses to obey God's commandments, who will not so much as give them the hearing, but causes his ear to decline the law, and refuses when God calls; God will therefore justly refuse him when he calls. See Prov. i. 24, 28.

10 Whoso causeth the righteous to go astray in an evil way, he shall fall himself into his own pit: but the upright shall have good things in possession.

Here is, 1. The doom of seducers, who attempt to draw good people, or those who profess to be such, into sin and mischief, who take pride in causing the righteous to go astray in an evil way, in drawing them into a snare, that they may insult over them. They shall not gain their point; it is impossible to deceive the elect. But they shall fall themselves into their own pit; and having been not only sinners, but tempters, not only unrighteous, but enemies to the righteous, their condemnation will be so much the greater, Matt. xxiii. 14, 15. 2. The happiness of the sincere. They shall not only be preserved from the evil way which the wicked would decoy them into, but they shall have good things, the best things, in possession, the graces and comforts of God's Spirit, besides what they have in reversion.

11 The rich man is wise in his own conceit; but the poor that hath understanding searcheth him out.

Note, 1. Those that are rich are apt to think themselves wise, because, whatever else they are ignorant of, they know how to get and save; and those that are purse-proud expect that all they say should be regarded as an oracle and a law, and that none should dare to contradict them, but every sheaf bow to theirs; this humour is fed by flatterers, who, because (like Jezebel's prophets) they are fed at their table, cry up their wisdom. 2. Those that are poor often prove themselves wiser than they: A poor man, who has taken pains to get wisdom, having no other way (as the rich man has) to get a reputation, searches him out, and makes it to appear that he is not such a scholar, nor such a politician, as he is taken to be. See how variously God dispenses his gifts; to some he gives wealth, to others wisdom, and it is easy to say which of these is the better gift, which we should covet more earnestly.

12 When righteous men do rejoice, there is great glory: but when the wicked rise, a man is hidden.

Note, 1. The comfort of the people of God is the honour of the nation in which they live. There is a great glory dwelling in the land when the righteous do rejoice, when they have their liberty, the free exercise of their religion, and are not persecuted, when the government countenances them and speaks comfortably to them, when they prosper and grow rich, and, much more, when they are preferred and employed and have power put into their hands. 2. The advancement of the wicked is the eclipsing of the beauty of a nation: When the wicked rise and get head they make head against all that is sacred, and then a man is hidden, a good man is thrust into obscurity, is necessitated to abscond for his own safety; corruptions prevail so generally that, as in Elijah's time, there seem to be no good men left, the wicked walk so thickly on every side.

13 He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.

Here is, 1. The folly of indulging sin, of palliating and excusing it, denying or extenuating it, diminishing it, dissembling it, or throwing the blame of it upon others: He that thus covers his sins shall not prosper, let him never expect it. He shall not succeed in his endeavour to cover his sin, for it will be discovered, sooner or later. There is nothing hid which shall not be revealed. A bird of the air shall carry the voice. Murder will out, and so will other sins. He shall not prosper, that is, he shall not obtain the pardon of his sin, nor can he have any true peace of conscience. David owns himself to have been in a constant agitation while he covered his sins, Ps. xxxii. 3, 4. While the patient conceals his distemper he cannot expect a cure. 2. The benefit of parting with it, both by a penitent confession and a universal reformation: He that confesses his guilt to God, and is careful not to return to sin again, shall find mercy with God, and shall have the comfort of it in his own bosom. His conscience shall be eased and his ruin prevented. See 1 John i. 9; Jer. iii. 12, 13. When we set sin before our face (as David, My sin is ever before me) God casts it behind his back.

14 Happy is the man that feareth alway: but he that hardeneth his heart shall fall into mischief.

Here is, 1. The benefit of a holy caution. It sounds strangely, but it is very true: Happy is the man that feareth always. Most people think that those are happy who never fear; but there is a fear which is so far from having torment in it that it has in it the greatest satisfaction. Happy is the man who always keeps up in his mind a holy awe and reverence of God, his glory, goodness, and government, who is always afraid of offending God and incurring his displeasure, who keeps conscience tender and has a dread of the appearance of evil, who is always jealous of himself, distrustful of his own sufficiency, and lives in expectation of troubles and changes, so that, whenever they come, they are no surprise to him. He who keeps up such a fear as this will live a life of faith and watchfulness, and therefore happy is he, blessed and holy. 2. The danger of a sinful presumption: He that hardens his heart, that mocks at fear, and sets God and his judgments at defiance, and receives not the impressions of his word or rod, shall fall into mischief; his presumption will be his ruin, and whatever sin (which is the greatest mischief) he falls into it is owing to the hardness of his heart.

15 As a roaring lion, and a ranging bear; so is a wicked ruler over the poor people.

It is written indeed, Thou shalt not speak evil of the ruler of thy people; but if he be a wicked ruler, that oppresses the people, especially the poor people, robbing them of the little they have and making a prey of them, whatever we may call him, this scripture calls him a roaring lion and a ranging bear. 1. In respect of his character. He is brutish, barbarous, and blood-thirsty; he is rather to be put among the beasts of prey, the wildest and most savage, than to be reckoned of that noble rank of beings whose glory is reason and humanity. 2. In respect of the mischief he does to his subjects. He is dreadful as the roaring lion, who makes the forest tremble; he is devouring as a hungry bear, and the more necessitous he is the more mischief he does and the more greedy of gain he is.

16 The prince that wanteth understanding is also a great oppressor: but he that hateth covetousness shall prolong his days.

Two things are here intimated to be the causes of the mal-administration of princes:—1. The love of money, that root of all evil; for hating covetousness here stands opposed to oppression, according to Moses's character of good magistrates, men fearing God and hating covetousness (Exod. xviii. 21), not only not being covetous, but hating it, and shaking the hands from the holding of bribes. A ruler that is covetous will neither do justly nor love mercy, but the people under him shall be bought and sold. 2. Want of consideration: He that hates covetousness shall prolong his government and peace, shall be happy in the affections of his people and the blessing of his God. It is as much the interest as the duty of princes to reign in righteousness. Oppressors therefore and tyrants are the greatest fools in the world; they want understanding; they do not consult their own honour, ease, and safety, but sacrifice all to their ambition of an absolute and arbitrary power. They might be much happier in the hearts of their subjects than in their necks or estates.

17 A man that doeth violence to the blood of any person shall flee to the pit; let no man stay him.

This agrees with that ancient law, Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed (Gen. ix. 6), and proclaims, 1. The doom of the shedder of blood. He that has committed murder, though he flees for his life, shall be continually haunted with terrors, shall himself flee to the pit, betray himself, and torment himself, like Cain, who, when he had killed his brother, became a fugitive and a vagabond, and trembled continually. 2. The duty of the avenger of blood, whether the magistrate or the next of kin, or whoever are concerned in making inquisition for blood, let them be close and vigorous in the prosecution, and let it not be bought off. Those that acquit the murderer, or do any thing to help him off, come in sharers in the guilt of blood; nor can the land be purged from blood but by the blood of him that shed it, Num. xxxv. 33.

18 Whoso walketh uprightly shall be saved: but he that is perverse in his ways shall fall at once.

Note, 1. Those that are honest are always safe. He that acts with sincerity, that speaks as he thinks, has a single eye, in every thing, to the glory of God and the good of his brethren, that would not, for a world, do an unjust thing if he knew it, that in all manner of conversation walks uprightly, he shall be saved hereafter. We find a glorious company of those in whose mouth was found no guile, Rev. xiv. 5. They shall be safe now. Integrity and uprightness will preserve men, will give them a holy security in the worst of times; for it will preserve their comfort, their reputation, and all their interests. They may be injured, but they cannot be hurt. 2. Those that are false and dishonest are never safe: He that is perverse in his ways, that thinks to secure himself by fraudulent practices, by dissimulation and treachery, or by an estate ill-got, he shall fall, nay, he shall fall at once, not gradually, and with warning given, but suddenly, without previous notice, for he is least safe when he is most secure. He falls at once, and so has neither time to guard against his ruin nor to provide for it; and, being a surprise upon him, it will be so much the greater terror to him.

19 He that tilleth his land shall have plenty of bread: but he that followeth after vain persons shall have poverty enough.

Note, 1. Those that are diligent in their callings take the way to live comfortably: He that tills his land, and tends his shop, and minds his business, whatever it is, he shall have plenty of bread, of that which is necessary for himself and his family and with which he may be charitable to the poor; he shall eat the labour of his hands. 2. Those that are idle, and careless, and company-keepers, though they indulge themselves in living (as they think) easily and pleasantly, they take the way to live miserably. He that has land and values himself upon that, but does not till it, but follows after vain persons, drinks with them, joins with them in their frolics and vain sports, and idles away his time with him, he shall have poverty enough, shall be satiated or replenished with poverty (so the word is); he takes those courses which lead so directly to it that he seems to court it, and he shall have his fill of it.

20 A faithful man shall abound with blessings: but he that maketh haste to be rich shall not be innocent.

Here, 1. We are directed in the true way to be happy, and that is to be holy and honest. He that is faithful to God and man shall be blessed of the Lord, and he shall abound with blessings of the upper and nether springs. Men shall praise him, and pray for him, and be ready to do him any kindness. He shall abound in doing good, and shall himself be a blessing to the place where he lives. Usefulness shall be the reward of faithfulness, and it is a good reward. 2. We are cautioned against a false and deceitful way to happiness, and that is, right or wrong, raising an estate suddenly. Say not, This is the way to abound with blessings, for he that makes haste to be rich, more haste than good speed, shall not be innocent; and, if he be not, he shall not be blessed of God, but rather bring a curse upon what he has; nor, if he be not innocent, can he long be easy to himself; he shall not be accounted innocent by his neighbours, but shall have their ill will and ill word. He does not say that he cannot be innocent, but there is all the probability in the world that he will not prove so: He that hasteth with his feet sinneth, stumbleth, falleth. Sed quæ reverentia legum, quis metus, aut pudor, est unquam properantis avari?—What reverence for law, what fear, what shame, was ever indicated by an avaricious man hasting to be rich?

21 To have respect of persons is not good: for for a piece of bread that man will transgress.

Note, 1. It is a fundamental error in the administration of justice, and that which cannot but lead men to abundance of transgression, to consider the parties concerned more than the merits of the cause, so as to favour one because he is a gentleman, a scholar, my countryman, my old acquaintance, has formerly done me a kindness, or may do me one, or is of my party and persuasion, and to bear hard on the other party because he is a stranger, a poor man, has done me an ill turn, is or has been my rival, or is not of my mind, or has voted against me. Judgment is perverted when any consideration of this kind is admitted into the scale, any thing but pure right. 2. Those that are partial will be paltry. Those that have once broken through the bonds of equity, though, at first, it must be some great bribe, some noble present, that would bias them, yet, when they have debauched their consciences, they will, at length, be so sordid that for a piece of bread they will give judgment against their consciences; they will rather play at small game than sit out.

22 He that hasteth to be rich hath an evil eye, and considereth not that poverty shall come upon him.

Here again Solomon shows the sin and folly of those that will be rich; they are resolved that they will be so, per fas, per nefas—right or wrong; they will be so with all speed; they are getting hastily an estate. 1. They have no comfort in it: They have an evil eye, that is, they are always grieving at those that have more than they, and always grudging their necessary expenses, because they think the former keep them from seeming rich, the latter from being so, and between both they must needs be perpetually uneasy. 2. They have no assurance of the continuance of it, and yet take no thought to provide against the loss of it: Poverty shall come upon them, and the riches which they made wings for, that they might fly to them, will make themselves wings to fly from them; but they are secure and improvident, and do not consider this, that while they are making haste to be rich they are really making haste to be poor, else they would not trust to uncertain riches.

23 He that rebuketh a man afterwards shall find more favour than he that flattereth with the tongue.

Note, 1. Flatterers may please those for a time who, upon second thoughts, will detest and despise them. If ever they come to be convinced of the evil of those sinful courses they were flattered in, and to be ashamed of the pride and vanity which were humoured and gratified by those flatteries, they will hate the fawning flatterers as having had an ill design upon them, and the fulsome flatteries as having had an ill effect upon them and become nauseous. 2. Reprovers may displease those at first who yet afterwards, when the passion is over and the bitter physic begins to work well, will love and respect them. He that deals faithfully with his friend, in telling him of his faults, though he may put him into some heat for the present, and perhaps have hard words, instead of thanks, for his pains, yet afterwards he will not only have the comfort in his own bosom of having done his duty, but he also whom he reproved will acknowledge that it was a kindness, will entertain a high opinion of his wisdom and faithfulness, and look upon him as fit to be a friend. He that cries out against his surgeon for hurting him when he is searching his wound will yet pay him well, and thank him too, when he has cured it.

24 Whoso robbeth his father or his mother, and saith, It is no transgression; the same is the companion of a destroyer.

As Christ shows the absurdity and wickedness of those children who think it is no duty, in some cases, to maintain their parents (Matt. xv. 5), so Solomon here shows the absurdity and wickedness of those who think it is no sin to rob their parents, either by force or secretly, by wheedling them or threatening them, or by wasting what they have, and (which is no better than robbing them) running into debt and leaving them to pay it. Now, 1. This is commonly made light of by untoward children; they say, "It is no transgression, for it will be our own shortly, our parents can well enough spare it, we have occasion for it, we cannot live as gentlemen upon the allowance our parents give us, it is too strait for us." With such excuses as these they endeavour to shift off the conviction. But, 2. How lightly soever an ungoverned youth makes of it, it is really a very great sin; he that does it is the companion of a destroyer, no better than a robber on the highway. What wickedness will he scruple to commit who will rob his own parents?

25 He that is of a proud heart stirreth up strife: but he that putteth his trust in the Lord shall be made fat.

Note, 1. Those make themselves lean, and continually unquiet, that are haughty and quarrelsome, for they are opposed to those that shall be made fat: He that is of a proud heart, that is conceited of himself and looks with a contempt upon all about him, that cannot bear either competition or contradiction, he stirs up strife, makes mischief, and creates disturbance to himself and every body else. 2. Those make themselves fat, and always easy, that live in a continual dependence upon God and his grace: He who puts his trust in the Lord, who, instead of struggling for himself, commits his cause to God, shall be made fat. He saves the money which others spend upon their pride and contentiousness; he enjoys himself, and has abundant satisfaction in his God; and thus his soul dwells at ease, and he is most likely to have plenty of outward good things. None live so easily, so pleasantly, as those who live by faith.

26 He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool: but whoso walketh wisely, he shall be delivered.

Here is, 1. The character of a fool: He trusts to his own heart, to his own wisdom and counsels, his own strength and sufficiency, his own merit and righteousness, and the good opinion he has of himself; he that does so is a fool, for he trusts to that, not only which is deceitful above all things (Jer. xvii. 9), but which has often deceived him. This implies that it is the character of a wise man (as before, v. 25) to put his trust in the Lord, and in his power and promise, and to follow his guidance, Prov. iii. 5, 6. 2. The comfort of a wise man: He that walks wisely, that trusts not to his own heart, but is humble and self-diffident, and goes on in the strength of the Lord God, he shall be delivered; when the fool, that trusts in his own heart, shall be destroyed.

27 He that giveth unto the poor shall not lack: but he that hideth his eyes shall have many a curse.

Here is, 1. A promise to the charitable: He that gives to the poor shall himself be never the poorer for so doing; he shall not lack. If he have but little, and so be in danger of lacking, let him give out of his little, and that will prevent it from coming to nothing; as the bounty of the widow of Sarepta to Elijah (for whom she made a little cake first) saved what she had, when it was reduced to a handful of meal. If he have much, let him give much out of it, and that will prevent its growing less; he and his shall not want what is given in pious charity. What we gave we have. 2. A threatening to the uncharitable: He that hides his eyes, that he may not see the miseries of the poor nor read their petitions, lest his eye should affect his heart and extort some relief from him, he shall have many a curse, both from God and man, and neither causeless, and therefore they shall come. Woeful is the condition of that man who has the word of God and the prayers of the poor against him.

28 When the wicked rise, men hide themselves: but when they perish, the righteous increase.

This is to the same purport with what we had, v. 12. 1. When bad men are preferred, that which is good is clouded and run down. When power is put into the hands of the wicked, men hide themselves; wise men retire into privacy, and decline public business, not caring to be employed under them; rich men get out of the way, for fear of being squeezed for what they have; and, which is worst of all, good men abscond, despairing to do good and fearing to be persecuted and ill-treated. 2. When bad men are disgraced, degraded, and their power taken from them, then that which is good revives again, then the righteous increase; for, when they perish, good men will be put in their room, who will, by their example and interest, countenance religion and righteousness. It is well with a land when the number of good people increases in it; and it is therefore the policy of all princes, states, and potentates, to encourage them and to take special care of the good education of youth.

CHAP. XXVIII. Verſ. 1. The wicked fly when none purſueth.]

NOne but their own Conſciences; Facti ſunt à corde ſuo fugitivi, as Tertullian hath it. Such a fearful Fugitive was bloudy Cain, who cried out, when there were yet few or none to purſue him,Gen. 4. Joſh. 24.12 Every man that meets me, ſhall kill me. Such were thoſe curſed Canaanites, that were chaſed by Gods Hornet ſent amongſt them, that is, by the bloud-hounds of their own conſciences. Such were thoſe Syrians, that ſtruck with a Panick terrour, fled for their lives, and left their rich Camp for a booty to the Iſraelites, Deut. 28. 2 King. 7.7. The ſhadow of the Mountains ſeemed armed men to guilty Gaal. Judg. 9.36. The Burgundians expecting a battel, thought long thiſtles were launces. God ſends a faintneſſe into the hearts of the wicked, and the ſound of a ſhaken leaf frights them. In Arithmetick, of nothing comes nothing, yet they fear where no fear is: As Cardinal Creſcentius feared a fancied devil walking in his Chamber like a great Maſtiff,Act. & Mon. and couching under his table as he was writing Letters to Rome againſt the Proteſtants: As Richard the third thought he ſaw in his ſleep divers Images like terrible Devils,Polyd. Virgil. pulling and haling at him, after he had, Joab-like, ſlain two men more righteous than him, his two innocent Nephews: As Charls the ninth of France, Thuan. after the cruel Maſſacre, could neither ſleep nor wake without Muſick to divert his ſelf-accuſing thoughts; ſo hotly was hee haunted and followed with the furies of his own Conſcience: As the Spaniſh Fleet in eighty eight, Venit, vidit, fugit, as the Zelanders thereupon ſtamped their new coyn.Carltons Remembrancer. Speed. 1206. The Hollanders alſo ſtamped new monies with this invincible Armado (as the Spaniards in their pride had ſtiled it) having this Motto, Impius fugit, nemine ſequente, The wicked fly when no man purſueth. I pitty the loſſe of their ſouls (ſaith a reverend man) that ſerve themſelves as the Jeſuite in Lancaſhire, followed by one that found his Glove, with a deſire to reſtore it him,Mr. Sam. Ward but purſued inwardly with a guilty conſcience, leaps over a hedge, plunges into a Marle-pit behind it unſeen and unthought of, wherein he was drowned.

But the righteous is bold as a Lion] Conſcientia pura ſemper ſecura, a good Conſcience hath ſure confidence; and he that hath it, ſits, Noah like, Medius tranquillus in undis, quiet in the greateſt combuſtions, freed, if not from the common deſtruction, yet from the common diſtraction; for he knows whom hee hath truſted, and is ſure, that neither life nor death, nor things preſent, nor things to come,Rom. 8.38. can ever ſunder him from Gods love in Chriſt. He is bold as a Lion, ſaith the Text: yea as a young Lion, that is in his hot bloud, and therefore fears no other creature; yea when he is fiercely purſued, hee will never once alter his gate, though he dye for it. No more will the righteous man his reſolution againſt ſin, ſuch is his Chriſtian courage. Daniel choſe rather to be caſt to the lyons, than to bear a lyon in his own boſome, to violate his conſcience. The primitive Chriſtians choſe rather to be abandoned, ad leones, quam ad lenones, they preferred affliction before ſin. And this their perſecutors counted not courage and magnanimity, but wilfulneſs and obſtinacy;Tertul. in Apolog. But they knew not the power of the Spirit: nor the privy armour of proof, that the righteous have about their hearts, that inſuperable faith whereby ſome have ſtopped the mouths of lyons, quenched the violence of fire, &c. Heb. 11.33.34. and whereby they do all daily encounter, and conquer that roaring lyon, the devil, quenching his fiery darts, &c. Eph. 6.

Verſ. 2. For the tranſgreſſion of a land, many are the Princes] Either many at once, or many ejecting and ſucceeding one another, to the great calamity and utter undoing of the People; as may be ſeen in the books of Judges and Kings, as in the Roman ſtate after Nero's death, by the ſucceſſion of Galba, Otho, and Vitellius. What a deal of trouble was here in the time of the Heptarchy? and in the diſſenſions of the two houſes of York and Lancaſter? cauſing the death of twice as many natives of England, Daniels hiſt. 249. as were loſt in the two conqueſts of France: beſides 80 Princes of the blood royal ſlain. And all this is ſaid to be for the tranſgreſſion of a land, thus chaſtiſed by the LORD. Elihu tells Job, that the hypocrite is ſet to reign for the peoples ſin, Job. 34. and Levit. 26. it is threatned as an heavy curſe: If yee ſtill treſpaſs againſt mee, I will ſet Princes over you that ſhall hate you; miſchievous, odious Princes, odious to God, malignant to the People. And Iſa. 3.4. I will give children to be their Princes, and babes ſhall rule over them. How many Kings had the ten Tribes after their defection from the houſe of David, and not one good one amongſt them all? And what got moſt of the Roman Ceſars by their haſty honours, niſi ut citius interficorentur (ſaith one) but to be ſlain the ſooner? Very few of them till Conſtantine, but died unnatural deaths. If ye do wickedly, ye ſhall periſh, both you and your King, 1 Sam. 12.25.

But by a man of underſtanding and knowledge] As one ſinner may deſtroy much good, Eccleſ. 9.18. ſo one excellently wiſe man (called here a man of underſtanding knowledge, there is no copulative in the Original) the ſtate may be prolonged, there may be a lengthening of its tranquillity, it may be delivered by the pureneſs of thine hands, Job 22.30. See 2 Sam. 20.16. &c. Eccleſ. 9.13. &c. Jer. 5.1. Religious and prudent Princes eſpecially, may do much in this caſe, 2 King. 22.20.

Verſ. 3. A poor man that oppreſſeth the poor, &c. Such an oppreſſour bites hard (as a lean louſe doth) makes clean work, plunders to the life, as they ſay omnia corradit & converret. Poor men ſhould pitty poor men, as knowing the miſery of poverty: but to oppreſs or defraud their comperes, is greateſt inhumanity, as that mercileſs fellow ſervant did, Matth. 18.28. &c. A Weeſel is a ravenous beaſt as well as a Lyon, a Sparrow-hauk as greedy as an Eagle, and more mercy is to be expected from thoſe more noble creatures, than from the baſe and abject.

Verſ. 4. They that forſake the Law, praiſe the wicked] As Machiavel doth Ceſar Borgia, that bipedum nequiſſimum, propoſing him for a pattern to all Chriſtian Princes; as Onuphrius (the Popes Biographer) doth Hildebrand or Gregory 7th in five books written of his noble acts, and great virtues; whom Cardinal Benno truly deſcribeth to have been a murtherer, an adulterer,Epiphan. barc[illegible: 1 letter]. 38. a conjurer, a Schiſmatick, an heretick, and every way as bad as might be. Epiphanius tells us that there were a ſort of brain-ſick hereticks that cried up Cain, and were therefore called Cainites. They alſo commended the Sodomites, Korah, Judas the traitour, &c. In the book of Judith, the act of Simeon and Levi upon the Shechemites is extolled, and there was one Bruno that wrote an Oration in commendation of the devil.

But they that keep the law, contend with them] Moved with a zeal of God, they cannot be ſilent: As Craeſus his dumb ſon, they cry out, Wilt thou [illegible: 1 letter]ill my father, diſhonour my God, &c? Good blood will never belye it ſelf, good metal will appear. How did young David briſtle againſt black-mouthed Goliah, and enter the liſts with him? Do not I hate them that hate thee? ſaith he,Pſal. 139. Yea, I hate them with a perfe[illegible: 2 letters] hatred, I caſt down the gauntlet of defiance againſt them, I count them mine enemies. Aſa cannot bear with Idolatry, no not in his own mother. Our Edward the ſixth would by no means yield to a toleration for his ſiſter Mary, though ſolicited thereunto by Cranmer and Ridley, for politick reſpects. Mihi qu[illegible: 1 letter]dem Auxentius non alius erit quam diabolus, quamdiu Arrianus, ſaid Hilary, I ſhall look upon Auxentius as a devil, ſo long as he is an Arrian. It was the ſpeech of bleſſed Luther, who though he was very earneſt to have the Communion adminiſtred in both kinds, contrary to the doctrine and cuſtome of Rome, yet if the Pope (ſaith he) as Pope, commanded me to receive it in both kinds, I would but receive it in one kind: ſith to obey what he commands as Pope, is a receiving of the mark of the beaſt.

Verſ. 5. Evill men underſtand not judgement] They are wiſe to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge: their wits work not that way, they are bard and brutiſh as horſe and aſſe, Pſal. 32. Yea they fall beneath the ſtirrup of reaſon, and know not their owner, which yet the ox and aſſe doth, Eſa. 1.3. no wiſer at 70 years old, than at ſeven. Ut liberius peccent, libenter ignorant, not willing to know what they are, not minded to practice.

But they that ſeek the Lord underſtand all things] Not all that is poſſible to be known,De Baldo dice [illegible: 1 letter]e ſolebant nihil unquam cum ignoraſſe. as Averroes ſaith, Ariſtotle did, as the Civilians ſay their Baldus did, as the Papiſts ſay Toſtatus did: but they underſtand all things needful to ſalvation, and they often meditate on the laſt judgement.

Verſ. 6. Better is the poor, &c.] See chap. 19.1.

Verſ. 7. He that keepeth the law, is a wiſe ſon] It is neither good nature, nor good nurture, or breeding that can prove a man to be truly wiſe: but obedience to Gods ſtatutes, Deut. 4.6. Alphonſus King of Spain, ſirnamed the Wiſe, was a rank fool, and an arrant Atheiſt: ſo are all the worlds Wiſards.

But he that is a companion to riotous men] Or, that feedeth gluttons, whoſe belly hath no bottom.

Ingluvies & tempeſtas, barathrumque macelli.

They ſay the Locuſt is all belly, which is joyned to his mouth, and endeth at his tail, ſuch are riotous belly-gods: to feed ſuch, is to caſt away all and bring an indeleble infamy upon the family.

Verſ. 8. He that by uſury and unjuſt gain, &c.] Uſury is condemned by the very Heathens, Ariſtot. Ethic. lib. 4. c. 1. The ancient Law of the Romans make the uſurer a thief and worſe, the Hebrews make him a biting thief, who gnaweth the debtor to the very bones: yea the moſt toothleſſe uſury (that uſual plea) hath ſharp gummes, which bite as ſore as an old dogge, or an hungry fly: and under ſhew of licking whole, ſucks out the heart blood. Let thoſe who plead for it conſider, that God diſpenſeth with no uſury (Ezek. 18.8.) whether neſhec or tarbith, biting or toothleſs; that the lender deals not as he would be dealt withall, that the Goſpel makes theſe ſinners worſe than other ſinners, when it ſaith, Sinners lend to ſinners to receive the like, Luk. 6.34. but theſe to receive more, that at Rome (this day) all uſurers are excommunicated monthly; that the Canon-law drives them from the Sacrament, denies them burial, makes their will no will, as though their goods were not their own; that no man of note in all antiquity (Jews and Manichees excepted) for 1500 years after Chriſt, hath ever undertaken the defence of uſury: that Chryſoſtome is very fierce againſt it, comparing it to the ſtinging of an aſp, which caſts a man into a ſleep, whereof he dyes, &c.

He ſhall gather it for him that will pitty the poor] God will provide him an executor never mentioned in his will: or his heir (being a better man) ſhall freely diſtribute what hee hath wrongfully raked together, Eccleſ. 2.21. Job 27.16,

Verſ. 9. He that turneth away his ear from hearing, &c.] Heb. that cauſeth his ear to decline the Law, that wilfully ſlights the opportunities of hearing, and frames excuſe, truſting to his good prayers (as they call it) and conceits that he can better beſtow his time at home: this man prayes for a curſe, and ſhall have it, as Saul had; He would not hear Samuel; God will not hear nor anſwer him in his diſtreſſe. This was (as the Hebrews call it) Menſuram contra menſuram, to pay him home in his own coyn.Prov. 14.2[illegible: 1 letter] The back-ſlider in heart ſhall be filled with his own wayes. See the Note on chap. 1.28.

Even his prayer ſhall be abominable] See Chap. 15.8.

Verſ. 10. Who ſo cauſeth the righteous to goe aſtray, &c.] This follows fitly upon the former. Seducers and Sectaries diſſwade men from hearing the Law in publick aſſemblies, and carry them into by corners, under a pretence of prayer: like Moals they doe all their miſchief by working under ground, as Epiphanius obſerveth: they ſhall therefore periſh in their own pit. If the blind lead the blinde, &c. See the Note on chap. 26.27.

But the upright ſhall have good things in poſſeſſion] They ſhall not be ſo led away with the errour of the wicked, as to fall from their own ſtedfaſtneſſe, 2 Pet. 3.17. or to forfeit their hereditary right to the Kingdome, becauſe both the deceived and the deceiver are with the Lord, Job 12.13, 16. and it is impoſſible for the elect to be fundamentally and finally ſeduced, Mat. 24.24. ſith they are kept by the power of God through faith unto ſalvation:1 Pet. 1.5. heaven is kept for them and they for heaven; how then ſhould they miſſe of it?

Verſ. 11. The rich man is wiſe in his own conceit] He ſacrificeth to himſelf, as Scianus did; to his drag and net, as the Babylonians did;Scianus ſihi ſacrificabat. Dio. Hab[illegible: 1 letter]k. 1.16 hee thanks his wit for his wealth, and takes upon him as if there were none ſuch. (See 1 Tim. 6.17. with the note there) Like Iſis her Aſſe, that had gone ſo oft to the temple of that Goddeſſe, that at length ſhe thought her ſelf worſhipful. Every grain of riches hath a vermine of pride and ſelf conceit in it, and a very ſmall wind will blow up a bubble.

But the poor that hath underſtanding] That is well verſed in the bigger volume of Gods Word, and in the leſſer volume of his own heart, (which is better to him than any Expoſitor, for the right underſtanding of the Scriptures) this poor wiſe-man ſearcheth him out, finds the rich mans folly, and if need be, tells him of it, giving him a right character of himſelf. Sed divitibus ferè ideo talis amicus deeſt, quia nihil deeſt.

Verſ. 12. When righteous men doe rejoyce, there is great glory] That is, there is cauſe of common joy to all: for they have publick ſpirits, and rectified judgements, neither can they bee merry at heart when it goes ill with the Church. All comforts are but Icabods to them, if the Ark bee taken; all places but Hadadrimmons, if the Church be in heavineſſe. Terentius under Valens the Arrian Emperour, asked nothing but that the Church might be freed from Arrians: And when the Emperour tore his Petition, he ſaid, that he would never ask any thing for himſelf, if he might not prevail for the Church; for that, his happineſſe was laid up in hers.

But when the wicked riſe, a man is hidden] That is, when Tyrants are ſet up, a man, that is, a good man (for God reckons of men by their righteouſneſſe, Jer. 5.1.) is hidden, lies cloſe, and hath no heart to ſhew himſelf, leſt hee ſhould ſuffer either in his own perſon, or in his poſſeſſion. Thus the man Moſes fled and hid himſelf from Pharaoh, David from Saul, Eliah from Ahab, Obadiahs clients from Jezabel, Jeremiah from Jehojakim, Joſeph and the Child JESVS from Herod, thoſe Worthies, of whom the world was not worthy, (Heb. 11.38.) from Antiochus (that little Antichriſt) and other Perſecutors, and the Chriſtian Church from the greater Antichriſt, Revel. 12. ſo that ſhe was not to be ſought in tectis & exteriori pompa, ſed potius in carceribus & ſpeluncis, in Palaces of worldly pomp, but in Dens and Dungeons, as Hilary hath it: She fled into the Wilderneſſe, into her place, from the face of the Serpent, Rev. 12.14.

Verſ. 13. He that covereth his ſins, ſhall not proſper] Sin is a Traytor, and muſt not be hid: for if ſo, now it ſucks a mans breaſt, ſhortly it will ſuck his bloud. Sin is a ſore, and muſt be opend; a ſickneſſe, and muſt be declared to the Phyſician; the concealing of one circumſtance may endanger all. Sin is a deformity that muſt be uncovered, or God will never cover it: ſee it wee muſt to confeſſion, or ſee it we ſhall to our confuſion. If Job had covered his tranſgreſſion as Adam (or after the manner of men) hee had undone himſelf, Job 31.33. It is the manner of men (and they have it from Adam) to palliate their ſins, and plead for them, to eleviate and extenuate them, to mince and excuſe them. Sin and Shifting came into the world together. Sin and Satan are alike in this, they cannot abide to appear in their own colour. Some deal with their ſouls, as others doe with their bodies: when their beauty is decayed, they deſire to hide it from themſelves by falſe glaſſes, and from others by painting: ſo their ſins,3 Joh. 2. from themſelves by falſe gloſſes, and from others by excuſes. Theſe muſt not look for Gaius's proſperity. The Sun-ſhine alſo of their outward proſperity ripens their ſin apace, and ſo fits them for deſtruction. Never was Ephraims caſe ſo deſperate,Hoſea 4. as when God ſaid. Ephraim is joyned with Idols, let him alone. Nor Jeruſalem ſo neer deſtruction as when God ſaid, My fury ſhall depart from thee, I will bee quiet, and no more angry, Ezek. 16.42. To proſper in ſin, is the greateſt unhappineſſe that can befall a man, out of Hell.

But whoſo confeſſeth and forſaketh them, &c.] Confeſſion of ſin muſt be joyned with confuſion of ſin, or all is loſt. Papiſts uſe confeſſion as Drunkards uſe Vomiting, that they may adde drunkenneſſe to thirſt. Profane people uſe it as Lewis the eleventh of France did his Crucifix; he would ſwear an oath and then kiſs it, and ſwear again and then kiſſe it again: So they ſin, and confeſſe they doe not well, nor will they ſtrive to doe better. As they ſorrow not to a tranſmentation with thoſe Corinthians, ſo they confeſſe not to an utter abandoning of their wicked courſes. They confeſſe, as thoſe Iſraelites did, Numb. 14.40. Wee have ſinned, we will goe up. They might as well have ſaid, Wee have ſinned, wee will ſin, for God had flatly forbidden them to goe up at that time. They confeſſe as Saul did, I have ſinned, viz. in humouring the people, yet honour mee, ſaid he, before the people. As the Philiſtians confeſſed Gods hand, yet ſent away the Ark ſo doe theſe. They that confeſſe and forſake not, are only dog-ſick: when they have diſgorged their ſtomacks, they will return to their vomit.

Shall have mercy] Confeſſe the debt, and God will croſſe the book: he will draw the red lines of Chriſts bloud over the black lines of our ſins, and cancel the hand-writing that was againſt us. No ſooner could David cry peccavi, I have ſinned, but Nathan ſaid, Tranſtulit peccatum tuum Dominus, God hath taken away thy ſin: yea, tranſtulit, He hath tranſlated it, he hath cauſed thy ſin to paſſe over from thee to Chriſt, Iſa. 53.6. Rom. 4.8. Confeſſion is the Souls vomit, and thoſe that uſe it, ſhall not only have eaſe of conſcience, but Gods beſt comforts and cordials to reſtore them again. Cum homo agnoſcit, Deus ignoſcit, ſaith Auguſtine. It is not here, Confeſſe and be hanged, but Confeſſe and be ſaved. In the Courts of men it is ſafeſt to ſay, Non feci, (quoth Quintilian) I did it not,Per Miſerere mei tollitur ira Dei. to plead Not guilty. Not ſo here, Ego feci, is the beſt plea, I did it, I have done very fooliſhly. Have mercy upon me, O Lord, &c. Judah (that is Confeſſion) got the Kingdome from Reuben: it is the way to the Kingdom. No man was ever kept out of Heaven for his confeſſed badneſſe; many are, for their ſuppoſed goodneſs.

Verſ. 14. Bleſſed is the man that feareth alwayes] That is in the fear of the Lord all day long, chap. 23.17. Duo ſunt timores Dei, ſervilis & amicalis, ſaith Bede. There is a two-fold fear of God, Servile and Filial, perfect love caſts out the former, breeds and feeds the latter. By this fear of the Lord it is that men depart from evil, that they ſhake off ſecurity, that they abound in Gods work, that they may abide in his love, that they ſet a jealous eye upon their own hearts, and ſuſpect a Snake under every Flower, a ſnare in every Creature, and doe therefore feed with fear, and rejoyce in fear, paſſe the whole time of their ſojourning herein fear, yea work out their whole ſalvation with fear and trembling. O the bleſſedneſſe of ſuch!

But he that hardneth his heart] As a perfect ſtranger to Gods holy fear (the contrite heart ever trembles at Gods Word, Iſa. 57.17.) Why haſt thou hardened our hearts from thy fear, (Iſa. 63.17.) which (as Fire doth Iron) mollifies the hardeſt heart, and makes it malleable. Fear is a fruit of repentance, (2 Cor. 7.11. yea what fear) which intenerates the heart, and makes it capable of Divine impreſſions, as Joſiah. On the other ſide, the Jews feared not God becauſe of a rebellious heart, Jer. 5.22, 23.

Shall fall into miſchief] Manifold miſchief, ruine without remedy, chap. 29.1. The inceſtuous perſon, though delivered up to Satan, repented and recovered: but he that is delivered up to an hard heart, to a dead and dedolent diſpoſition, is in a manner deſperate and deplored; he heaps up wrath againſt the day of wrath, Rom. 2. This made a reverent man once ſay; If I muſt bee put to my choyce, I had rather be in Hell with a ſenſible heart, than on earth with a reprobate mind. A hard heart is, in ſome reſpect, worſe than Hell: ſith one of the greateſt ſins is farre greater in evil, than any of the greateſt puniſhments, as one hath well obſerved.

Verſ. 15. As a roaring Lion, Latrocinium cum privilegio. and a ranging Bear] Regiment without righteouſneſs turns into tyranny; and becomes no better than robbery by authority. Look how the Lion frayes the poor beaſts with his roaring, ſo that they have no power to ſtirre, and then preys upon them with his teeth; And as the Bear ſearches them out and tears them limb-meal: So deal Tyrants with their poor Subjects, Zeph. 3.3. Her Princes within her are roaring Lions, her Judges evening Wolves, they gnaw not the bones till the morrow. Such were thoſe Cannibals in Davids dayes, that eat up Gods people as they eat bread, Pſal. 14.4. ſuch thoſe miſcreants in Micah, who did eat the fleſh of Gods people, and flayd their skin, that brake their bones, and chopt them in peeces as for the pot, chap. 3.3. Much like thoſe American Cannibals, who when they take a Priſoner, feed upon him alive, and by degrees: cutting off from his body now a meal and then a meal, which they roaſt before his eyes, ſearing up the wounded place with a fire-brand, to ſtaunch the bloud, to the unutterable aggravation of his horrour and torment. Such a Lion Rampant was Nero, 2 Tim. 4.17. I was delivered, ſaith St. Paul, out of the mouth of the Lion. Tertullian calls him, The Dedicator of the condemnation of the Chriſtians; whom he uſed as bad almoſt as the Spaniards at this day doe the poor Indians, under pretence of converting them to the faith. Their own Writers tell us, that within the ſpace of forty years twenty ſeven millions of people were deſtroyed, and that with ſuch cruelties as never were heard of before. Let every good man bleſſe himſelf out of the pawes and jaws of theſe bloudy Catholicks, more ſavage and fierce than the wild beaſts, as they ſoon ſhew when armed with power, as were eaſie to inſtance. See the Babylonian cruelty Graphically deſcribed, Jerem. 51.34. and ſee whether it be not matched and overmatched by myſtical Babylon. The ranging Lion, and ravening Bear is nothing to that Man of Sin, that hath dyed all Chriſtendome with the bloud of Gods Saints, and dunged it with their carcaſes. This Oſtrich can digeſt any metal, eſpecially money: witneſſe his incredible exactions, here in England, anciently called the Popes Aſſe. This Cannibal is a Pickrel in a Pond, or Shark in the Sea, devours the poorer, as they the leſſer Fiſhes: Not unlike that cruel Prince mentioned by Melanchton, who to get money of his miſerable Subjects, uſed to ſend for them, and if they refuſed to furniſh him with ſuch ſums of money as he demanded, he would firſt knock out one of their teeth, and then another, threatning to leave them none at all.

Verſ. 16. The Prince that wanteth underſtanding] As every Tyrant doth, Pſal. 14.4. (though they think they deal wiſely, as Pharaoh, Exod. 1.10.) for they uſually come to untimely ends, as moſt of the Caeſars till Conſtantine: Ad generum Cereris ſine caede, &c. and as our Richard the third, and Queen Mary, whoſe reigns are the ſhorteſt of all the Kings ſince the Conqueſt. Bloudy and deceitful men live not half their daies: or if they doe, it is for a further evil unto them, Iſa. 65.20.

But he that hateth Covetouſneſſe] Covetouſneſſe in the original hath its name from peircing or wounding: and fitly, both in reſpect of others, Prov. 1.19. and himſelf, 1 Tim 6.10.

Verſ. 17. A man that doth violence unto the bloud] The Hebrew word Adam, here rendred Man, Baxt[illegible: 1 letter]rf. hath one letter in the Original leſs than the reſt: to ſhew, that a bloud-ſhedder is not worthy to be called a man.

Shall flee to the pit, let no man ſtay him] i. e. Let him dye without mercy, let no man mediate for him, leſt he pay down, as Ahab did, life for life, People for People, 1 King. 20.42. leſt he draw upon the Land guilt of bloud, Numb. 35.33, 34. and hinder the Man-ſlayer from repentance to ſalvation never to bee repented of. To blame then are the Papiſts that open Sanctuaries to ſuch; and if a Cardinal put his red hat upon the head of a murderer going to execution, he is delivered from death. See Deut. 19.13. with the note there.

Verſ. 18. Who ſo walketh uprightly ſhall bee ſaved] See the Note on chap. 10.9. Shall be ſaved; A little word, but of large extent. It properly noteth the privative part of a mans happineſs, deliverance from evil: but is put here, and every where almoſt, for the poſitive part too: fruition of good as well as freedom from evil: it comprehendeth 1 Malorum ademptionem. 2 Bonorum adeptionem.

But he that is perverſe in his wayes] Heb. In his two wayes, ſhall fall in one of them. Evil ſhall hunt the wicked man to deſtroy him; and albeit hee may ſhuffle for a ſeaſon from ſide to ſide, as Balaams Aſſe did, to avoyd the Angels ſword, yet he ſhall not eſcape miſchief. Let our Politick Profeſſors look to it, that can tune their Fiddle to the baſe of the times, that can ſhift their ſayls to the ſitting of every wind, that like the Planet Mercury, can be good in conjunction with good, and bad with bad.

Verſ. 19. He that tilleth his land ſhall have plenty] At fugiens molam fugit farinam; Men muſt earn it ere they eat it: and not think that bread and other good things will drop out of the clouds to them, as Towns were ſaid to come in to Timotheus his toyls while he ſlept.Plut. in Sylla. See chap. 12.11.

Shall have poverty enough] As the Prodigal had, Luk. 15. and Pythias, who in a bravery entertained Xerxes his whole Army, but was ſo poor at length, that he periſhed through want of meat.

Verſ. 20. A faithful man ſhall abound in bleſſings] God will bleſſe him, and all that bleſſe him, Gen. 12.3. See the note there. Men alſo ſhall riſe up and call him bleſſed, ſaying, as Deut. 33.29. Happy art thou O Iſrael; who is like unto thee O People, ſaved by the Lord, the ſhield of thy help, &c. Stars, though we ſee them ſometimes in a puddle, in the bottom of a Well, nay in a ſtinking Ditch, though they reflect there, I ſay, yet they have their ſituation in Heaven: So Gods faithful ſervants, though in a low condition, yet are they fixed in the region of happineſſe. See Lev. 26. and Deut. 28.

But he that maketh haſte to bee rich, ſhall not bee innocent] Neveſſan (a better Lawyer than good Chriſtian) was wont to ſay, He that will not venture his body ſhall never be valiant, he that will not venture his ſoul ſhall never bee rich. But let their money periſh with them, that (Shimei-like) by ſeeking their ſervants, loſe their ſouls; or (Jonas-like) care not to bee caſt over ſhipboard, ſo the ſhip of their worldly wealth may be in ſafety. Francis Xaverius counſelled John the third King of Portugal, to meditate every day a quarter of an hour on that Divine ſentence, What ſhall it profit a man to win the whole world, and loſe his own ſoul? See 1 Tim. 6.9. with the note. What a woful Will was that of rich, but wretched Hubertus, I yeeld, ſaid hee, my goods to the King, my body to the Grave, my ſoul to the Devil?

Verſ. 21. To have reſpect of perſons is not good] See the note on Chap. 24.23.

For, for a piece of bread] For a trifle, he will tranſgreſſe, and ſell his ſoul dog-cheap for a groat, or leſſe money. Cato in Gellius hits M. Caelius in the teeth with his baſeneſs, that for a morſel of bread hee would ſell either his tongue or his ſilence. And the falſe Prophets in Ezekiels days would doe the like, Ezek. 13.19.

Verſ. 22. He that haſteth to be rich hath an evil eye] He is ſick of the luſt of the eye, 1 John 2.16. (for all ſinful luſts are [non-Latin text not transcribed] ſickneſſes) coveting his neighbours goods, envying his proſperity, and begrudging him every bit he eats at his table, chap. 23.6, 7. See the note there.

And conſidereth not that poverty ſhall come upon him] Etiamſi per mare pauperiem fugiat, per ſaxa, per ignes. Though hee run as faſt from beggery as he can hye, yet it will overtake him and catch him by the back, Job 27.16.17. Surely as the ſtarres that went before the wiſe-men; went when they went, and ſtaied when they ſtaied: ſo riches fly the faſter from a man the more eagerly he follows them; but then ſtay when a mans winde is ſtaied. In the fulneſs of his ſufficiency he ſhall be in ſtraights, ſaith Zophar, concerning the minde, Job 20.22. He is poor in the midſt of his riches: but God will ſtrip him of all, and make a poor fool of him, Jer. 17.11.

Verſ. 23. He that rebuketh a man ſhall find, &c.] He that binds a mad man, or rouſeth up one in a lethargy, hath but little thank for preſent: ſo here. In the ſweating-ſickneſs, they that were kept awake eſcaped: but the ſickneſſe was deadly to them that were ſuffered to ſleep. Let us keep one another awake (ſaith a Reverend man) an unpleaſing work on both ſides:Dr. Sibbes. but we ſhall one day thank ſuch. See how well Maſter Gilpins plain-dealing with the Biſhop of Durham ſucceeded, in his life written by B. Carlton. p. 58.

Verſ. 24. He that robbeth his father or his mother] As that idolatrous Micah did his mother of her gold, as Rachel did her father of his gods,Judg. 17.2. as Abſolom did David of his Crown. Thus though it may ſeem a light ſinne, it is as much greater than ſtealing from another, as paricide is than man-ſlaughter, or as Reubens inceſt was, than another mans defiling his neighbours wife.Egone patri ſur ripere quicquam poſſim? Terent. Our Parents are our houſhold gods, as that Heathen could ſay: and to give them cauſe of grief, muſt needs be an offence of a deep dye, of a crimſon colour, condemned by the very Pagans.

Verſ. 25. He that is of a proud heart, &c.] Latus animo. He that through pride and ambition, cannot keep within bounds of his calling or condition, but thinks great thoughts of himſelf, and therefore ſeeks great things for himſelf, this man, if croſſed, is eaſily kindled, and ſhall be made lean; God will tame him, and take him a link lower, as we ſay, Iſa. 2.11, 12, 13. See chap. 13.10. with the note. This bigneſs of heart, is but as the bigneſs of a blown bladder, &c.

But he that putteth his truſt in the Lord, ſhall be fat] He ſhall laugh and be fat, as the ſaying is, he ſhall live at a great deal of hearts eaſe, and others ſhall live quietly by him. That which would break a proud mans heart, will not break an humble mans ſleep. He is content with his preſent condition, be it better or worſe, hath a ſelf-ſufficiency, 1 Tim. 6.6. ſtudies to be quiet, ſeeks peace and enſues it, depends upon God for direction, and ſucceſs in all buſineſſes; and what ſhould ayl this man, but that he may grow fat? the Iriſh would ask him, (if they knew his wealth) what he meant to dye?

Verſ. 26. He that truſteth to his own heart is a fool] He that ſaith, Conſilii ſatis eſt in me mihi, I am wiſe enough to order my own buſineſs, and need no advice of others, ſeek no ſucceſs from above (Ajax acknowledged no other God but his ſword, Polyphemus but his belly) this man is a fool, a proud fool, and he ſhall be ſure to be hampered.

But whoſe walketh wiſely] Taking others into counſel, and God above all, as David, I will hearken, ſaith he, what the Lord God ſaith unto mee: He ſhall be delivered, either from trouble, or in it: either with an outward or an inward deliverance. He ſhall enjoy a bleſſed compoſedneſs, a ſweet Sabbath of ſpirit howſoever, being mediis tranquillus in undis, as Noah was, &c.

Verſ. 27. He that giveth unto the poor ſhall not lack] Eleemoſyna ars omnium queſtuoſiſſima, ſaith Chryſoſtome. Not getting but giving is the way to wealth. God will bleſſe the bountiful mans ſtock and ſtore, his barn and his basket, Deut. 15.10. his righteouſneſs and his riches together ſhall endure for ever, Pſal. 112.

But he that hideth his eyes] i. e. that when he hath a fit object and opportunity of ſhewing mercy offered him, frameth excuſe, and pretendeth this thing, and that, to his worldly and wicked retentions; that uſeth his wits to ſave his half-peny, but will not uſe his eyes to affect his heart with pitty, Iſ. 58.7.

Shall have many a curſe] Men ſhall curſe him, and call him a Pamphagus, a churl, a hog in a trough, a fellow of no faſhion, &c. God ſhall alſo curſe him, and ſet off all hearts from him, as he did from Haman; in his neceſſity, he will ſhut his ears to ſuch a mans moans in miſery, and hide his eyes from his ſupplication, Pſal. 55.1. Iſa. 1.15. Finally, he ſhall have judgement without mercy, that hath ſhewed no mercy, Jam. 2.13. an evil, an onely evil ſhall befall him; Ezek. 7.5. his puniſhments ſhall come cloſe together, and God ſhall ſo ſet them on, as no creature ſhall be able to take them off.

Verſ. 28. When the wicked riſe, men hide themſelves] They are glad to skulk and ſhelter themſelves from that fierce ſtorm. See the note on verſe 12.

But when they periſh, the righteous increaſe] When either they dye, or are depoſed from their dignities, the righteous ſwarm as an hive of bees in a warm ſunny day: as they did when Conſtantine came to the Crown, and here, when Queen Elizabeth came as a freſh ſpring after a ſharp winter, and brought the ſhip of England from a tempeſtuous ſea to a ſafe harbour.