Proverbs 3 commentary

In the way of believing obedience to God's commandments health and peace may commonly be enjoyed; and though our days may not be long upon earth, we shall live for ever in heaven. Let not mercy and truth forsake thee; God's mercy in promising, and his truth in performing: live up to them, keep up thine interest in them, and take the comfort of them. We must trust in the Lord with all our hearts, believing he is able and wise to do what is best. Those who know themselves, find their own understandings a broken reed, which, if they lean upon, will fail. Do not design any thing but what is lawful, and beg God to direct thee in every case, though it may seem quite plain. In all our ways that prove pleasant, in which we gain our point, we must acknowledge God with thankfulness. In all our ways that prove uncomfortable, and that are hedged up with thorns, we must acknowledge him with submission. It is promised, He shall direct thy paths; so that thy way shall be safe and good, and happy at last.

There is not a greater enemy to the fear of the Lord in the heart, than self-conceit of our own wisdom. The prudence and sobriety which religion teaches, tend not only to the health of the soul, but to the health of the body. Worldly wealth is but poor substance, yet, such as it is, we must honour God with it; and those that do good with what they have, shall have more to do more good with. Should the Lord visit us with trials and sickness, let us not forget that the exhortation speaks to us as to children, for our good. We must not faint under an affliction, be it ever so heavy and long, not be driven to despair, or use wrong means for relief. The father corrects the son whom he loves, because he loves him, and desires that he may be wise and good. Afflictions are so far from doing God's children any hurt, that, by the grace of God, they promote their holiness.

No precious jewels or earthly treasures are worthy to be compared with true wisdom, whether the concerns of time or eternity be considered. We must make wisdom our business; we must venture all in it, and be willing to part with all for it. This Wisdom is the Lord Jesus Christ and his salvation, sought and obtained by faith and prayer. Were it not for unbelief, remaining sinfulness, and carelessness, we should find all our ways pleasantness, and our paths peace, for his are so; but we too often step aside from them, to our own hurt and grief. Christ is that Wisdom, by whom the worlds were made, and still are in being; happy are those to whom he is made of God wisdom. He has wherewithal to make good all his promises.

Let us not suffer Christ's words to depart from us, but keep sound wisdom and discretion; then shall we walk safely in his ways. The natural life, and all that belongs to it, shall be under the protection of God's providence; the spiritual life, and all its interests, under the protection of his grace, so that we shall be kept from falling into sin or trouble.

Our business is to observe the precepts of Christ, and to copy his example; to do justice, to love mercy, and to beware of covetousness; to be ready for every good work, avoiding needless strife, and bearing evils, if possible, rather than seeking redress by law. It will be found there is little got by striving. Let us not envy prosperous oppressors; far be it from the disciples of Christ to choose any of their ways. These truths may be despised by the covetous and luxurious, but everlasting contempt will be the portion of such scorners, while Divine favour is shown to the humble believer.

CHAPTER 3

Pr 3:1-35. The study of truth commended. God must be feared, honored, and trusted, and filial submission, under chastisement, exhibited. The excellence of wisdom urged and illustrated by its place in the divine counsels. Piety enforced by a contrast of the destiny of the righteous and the wicked.

1. law [and] commandments--all divine instructions (see on Psa 119:1 and Psa 119:4).

let thine heart keep--or sincerely observe (Pr 4:13; 5:2).

2. length ... life--often promised as blessings (Psa 21:4; 91:16).

peace--includes prosperity (Psa 125:5).

add--abound to thee.

3. mercy and truth--God's faithfulness to His promises is often expressed by these terms (Psa 25:10; 57:3). As attributes of men, they express integrity in a wide sense (Pr 16:6; 20:28).

bind ... write ... heart--outwardly adorn and inwardly govern motives.

4. favour--grace, amiability (Pr 22:11; Psa 45:2); united with this,

a good understanding--(Compare Margin), a discrimination, which secures success.

in the sight ... man--such as God and man approve.

5. Trust ... heart--This is the center and marrow of true wisdom (Pr 22:19; 28:25). The positive duty has its corresponding negation in the admonition against self-confidence.

6. ways--(Psa 1:1).

acknowledge--by seeking His wise aid (Pr 16:3; Psa 37:5; Jr 9:23, 24).

direct--literally, "make plain" (compare He 12:13).

7. (Compare Pr 27:2; Ro 12:16).

fear ... evil--reverentially regarding His law.

8. It--This conduct.

health--(Compare Margin).

to thy navel--for all the organs of nourishment.

marrow--(Compare Margin).

bones--frame of body. True piety promotes bodily health.

9-10. (Compare Pr 11:25; Ex 23:19; De 18:4; Is 32:8; 2Co 9:13).

11-12. The true intent of afflictions considered; they do not contradict the assertion of the blessed state of the pious (Job 5:17; He 12:5, 6).

13. findeth--literally, "reaches," or "obtains by seeking."

getteth--literally, "draws out," as metals by digging.

14-15. The figure of Pr 3:13 carried out.

it--that is, wisdom.

merchandise of silver--acquisition by trading.

fine gold--dug gold, solid as a nugget.

16-17. Wisdom personified as bringing the best blessings (compare Mt 6:33; 1Ti 4:8).

18. Wisdom allegorized as

a tree of life--(Ge 2:9; 3:22) whose fruit preserves life, gives all that makes living a blessing.

19-20. The place of wisdom in the economy of creation and providence commends it to men, who, in proportion to their finite powers, may possess this invaluable attribute, and are thus encouraged by the divine example of its use to seek its possession.

21. sound wisdom--(compare Pr 2:7).

let ... eyes--that is, these words of instruction.

22-24. assign reasons in their value for happiness and ornament, guidance and support in dangers, both when waking and sleeping.

25. Be not--or, "You shall not be."

sudden fear--what causes it (Pr 1:27), any unlooked-for evil (Psa 46:3; 91:12; 1Pe 3:14).

desolation--(Pr 1:27).

26. The reason; such as are objects of God's favor.

be thy confidence--literally, "in thy confidence," in the source of thy strength (compare Na 3:9, for the same construction, Hebrew).

27-28. Promptly fulfil all obligations both of justice and charity (compare Jas 2:15, 16).

29-30. Do not abuse confidence and avoid litigation.

31. oppressor--or man of mischief. The destiny of successful evildoers warns against desiring their lot (Psa 37:1, 2, 35, 36).

32-35. Reasons for the warning.

froward--(Pr 2:15).

secret ... righteous--in their communion (Am 3:7).

For length of days - Three eminent blessings are promised here:

1. ארך ימים orech yamim, long days;

2. שנות חיים shenoth chaiyim, years of lives;

3. שלום shalom, prosperity; i.e. health, long life, and abundance.

Let not mercy and truth forsake thee - Let these be thy constant companions through life.

Bind them about thy neck - Keep them constantly in view. Write them upon the table of thine heart - let them be thy moving principles; feel them as well as see them.

So shalt thou find favor - Thou shalt be acceptable to God, and thou shalt enjoy a sense of his approbation.

And good understanding - Men shall weigh thy character and conduct; and by this appreciate thy motives, and give thee credit for sincerity and uprightness. Though religion is frequently persecuted, and religious people suffer at first where they are not fully known; yet a truly religious and benevolent character will in general be prized wherever it is well known. The envy of men is a proof of the excellence of that which they envy.

Trust in the Lord with all thine heart - This is a most important precept:

1. God is the Fountain of all good.

2. He has made his intelligent creatures dependent upon himself.

3. He requires them to be conscious of that dependence.

4. He has promised to communicate what they need.

5. He commands them to believe his promise, and look for its fulfillment.

6. And to do this without doubt, fear, or distrust; "with their whole heart."

Lean not unto thine own understanding - אל תשען al tishshaen, do not prop thyself. It is on God, not on thyself, that thou art commanded to depend. He who trusts in his own heart is a fool.

In all thy ways acknowledge him - Begin, continue, and end every work, purpose, and device, with God. Earnestly pray for his direction at the commencement; look for his continual support in the progress; and so begin and continue that all may terminate in his glory: and then it will certainly be to thy good; for we never honor God, without serving ourselves. This passage is well rendered in my old MS. Bible: Have trost in the Lord of all thin herte and ne lene thou to thi prudence: in all thi weys think hym, and he shal right rulen thi goyuges; ne be thou wiis anentis thiself. Self-suf ficiency and self-dependence have been the ruin of mankind ever since the fall of Adam. The grand sin of the human race is their continual endeavor to live independently of God, i.e., to be without God in the world. True religion consists in considering God the fountain of all good, and expecting all good from him.

It shall be health to thy navel - We need not puzzle ourselves to find out what we may suppose to be a more delicate meaning for the original word שר shor than navel; for I am satisfied a more proper cannot be found. It is well known that it is by the umbilical cord that the fetus receives its nourishment all the time it is in the womb of the mother. It receives nothing by the mouth, nor by any other means: by this alone all nourishment is received, and the circulation of the blood kept up. When, therefore, the wise man says, that "trusting in the Lord with the whole heart, and acknowledging him in all a man's ways, etc., shall be health to the navel, and marrow to the bones;" he in effect says, that this is as essential to the life of God in the soul of man, and to the continual growth in grace, as the umbilical cord is to the life and growth of the fetus in the womb. Without the latter, no human being could ever exist or be born; without the former, no true religion can ever be found. Trust or faith in God is as necessary to derive grace from him to nourish the soul, and cause it to grow up unto eternal life, as the navel string or umbilical cord is to the human being in the first stage of its existence. I need not push this illustration farther: the good sense of the reader will supply what he knows. I might add much on the subject.

And marrow to thy bones - This metaphor is not less proper than the preceding. All the larger bones of the body have either a large cavity, or they are spongious, and full of little cells: in both the one and the other the oleaginous substance, called marrow, is contained in proper vesicles, like the fat. In the larger bones, the fine oil, by the gentle heat of the body, is exhaled through the pores of its small vesicles, and enters some narrow passages which lead to certain fine canals excavated in the substance of the bone, that the marrow may supply the fibres of the bones, and render them less liable to break. Blood-vessels also penetrate the bones to supply this marrow and this blood; and consequently the marrow is supplied in the infant by means of the umbilical cord. From the marrow diffused, as mentioned above, through the bones, they derive their solidity and strength. A simple experiment will cast considerable light on the use of the marrow to the bones: - Calcine a bone, so as to destroy all the marrow from the cells, you will find it exceedingly brittle. Immerse the same bone in oil so that the cells may be all replenished, which will be done in a few minutes; and the bone reacquires a considerable measure of its solidity and strength; and would acquire the whole, if the marrow could be extracted without otherwise injuring the texture of the bone. After the calcination, the bone may be reduced to powder by the hand; after the impregnation with the oil, it becomes hard, compact, and strong. What the marrow is to the support and strength of the bones, and the bones to the support and strength of the body; that, faith in God, is to the support, strength, energy, and salvation of the soul. Behold, then, the force and elegance of the wise man's metaphor. Some have rendered the last clause, a lotion for the bones. What is this? How are the bones washed? What a pitiful destruction of a most beautiful metaphor!

Honor the Lord with thy substance - The מנחה Minchah or gratitude-offering to God, commanded under the law, is of endless obligation. It would be well to give a portion of the produce of every article by which we get our support to God, or to the poor, the representatives of Christ. This might be done either in kind, or by the worth in money. Whatever God sends us in the way of secular prosperity, there is a portion of it always for the poor, and for God's cause. When that portion is thus disposed of, the rest is sanctified; when it is withheld, God's curse is upon the whole. Give to the poor, and God will give to thee.

Despise not the chastening of the Lord - The word מוסר musar signifies correction, discipline, and instruction. Teaching is essentially necessary to show the man the way in which he is to go; discipline is necessary to render that teaching effectual; and, often, correction is requisite in order to bring the mind into submission, without which it cannot acquire knowledge. Do not therefore reject this procedure of God; humble thyself under his mighty hand, and open thy eyes to thy own interest; and then thou wilt learn specially and effectually. It is of no use to rebel; if thou do, thou kickest against the pricks, and every act of rebellion against him is a wound to thine own soul. God will either end thee or mend thee; wilt thou then kick on?

Whom the Lord loveth - To encourage thee to bear correction, know that it is a proof of God's love to thee; and thereby he shows that he treats thee as a father does his son, even that one to whom he bears the fondest affection.

The last clause the Septuagint translate μαστιγοι δε παντα υἱον ὁν παραδεχεται, "and chasteneth every son whom he receiveth;" and the apostle, Heb 12:6, quotes this literatim. Both clauses certainly amount to the same sense. Every son whom he receiveth, and the son in whom he delighteth, have very little difference of meaning.

Happy is the man that findeth wisdom - This refers to the advice given in Pro 2:4 (note); where see the note.

For the merchandise - סחר sachar, the traffic, the trade that is carried on by going through countries and provinces with such articles as they could carry on the backs of camels, etc.; from סחר sachar, to go about, traverse. Chaffarynge; Old MS. Bible.

And the gain thereof - תבואתה tebuathah, its produce; what is gained by the articles after all expenses are paid. The slaves, as we have already seen, got their liberty if they were so lucky as to find a diamond of so many carats' weight; he who finds wisdom - the knowledge and salvation of God - gets a greater prize; for he obtains the liberty of the Gospel, is adopted into the family of God, and made an heir according to the hope of an eternal life.

She is more precious than rubies - מפנינים mippeninim. The word principally means pearls, but may be taken for precious stones in general. The root is פנה panah, he looked, beheld; and as it gives the idea of the eye always being turned towards the observer, Mr. Parkhurst thinks that it means the loadstone; see the note on Job 28:18 (note), where this subject is considered at large. If the oriental ruby, or any other precious stone, be intended here, the word may refer to their being cut and polished, so that they present different faces, and reflect the light to you in whatever direction you may look at them.

All the things thou canst desire - Superior to every thing that can be an object of desire here below. But who believes this?

Length of days is in her right hand - A wicked man shortens his days by excesses; a righteous man prolongs his by temperance.

In her left hand riches and honor - That is, her hands are full of the choicest benefits. There is nothing to be understood here by the right hand in preference to the left.

Her ways are ways of pleasantness - These blessings of true religion require little comment. They are well expressed by the poet in the following elegant verses: - "Wisdom Divine! Who tells the price

Of Wisdom's costly merchandise?

Wisdom to silver we prefer,

And gold is dross compared to her.

Her hands are fill'd with length of days,

True riches, and immortal praise;

Riches of Christ, on all bestow'd,

And honor that descends from God.

To purest joys she all invites,

Chaste, holy, spiritual delights;

Her ways are ways of pleasantness,

And all her flowery paths are peace.

Happy the man that finds the grace,

The blessing of God's chosen race;

The wisdom coming from above,

The faith that sweetly works by love!"

Wesley.

She is a tree of life - עץ חיים ets chaiyim, "the tree of lives," alluding most manifestly to the tree so called which God in the beginning planted in the garden of Paradise, by eating the fruit of which all the wastes of nature might have been continually repaired, so as to prevent death for ever. This is an opinion which appears probable enough. The blessings which wisdom - true religion - gives to men, preserve them in life, comfort them through life, cause them to triumph in death, and ensure them a glorious immortality.

The Lord by wisdom hath founded the earth - Here wisdom is taken in its proper acceptation, for that infinite knowledge and skill which God has manifested in the creation and composition of the earth, and in the structure and economy of the heavens. He has established the order as well as the essence of all things; so that though they vary in their positions, etc., yet they never change either their places, or their properties. Composition and analysis are not essential changes; the original particles, their forms and properties, remain the same.

By his knowledge the depths are broken up - He determined in his wisdom how to break up the fountains of the great deep, so as to bring a flood of waters upon the earth; and by his knowledge those fissures in the earth through which springs of water arise have been appointed and determined; and it is by his skill and influence that vapours are exhaled, suspended in the atmosphere, and afterwards precipitated on the earth in rain, dews, etc. Thus the wisest of men attributes those effects which we suppose to spring from natural causes to the Supreme Being himself.

Let not them depart from thine eyes - Never forget that God, who is the author of nature, directs and governs it in all things; for it is no self-determining agent.

Keep sound wisdom and discretion - תושיה ומזמה tushiyah umezimmah. We have met with both these words before. Tushiyah is the essence or substance of a thing; mezimmah is the resolution or purpose formed in reference to something good or excellent. To acknowledge God as the author of all good, is the tushiyah, the essence, of a godly man's creed; to resolve to act according to the directions of his wisdom, is the mezimmah, the religious purpose, that will bring good to ourselves and glory to God. These bring life to the soul, and are ornamental to the man who acts in this way, Pro 3:22.

When thou liest down - In these verses (Pro 3:23-26) the wise man describes the confidence, security, and safety, which proceed from a consciousness of innocence. Most people are afraid of sleep, lest they should never awake, because they feel they are not prepared to appear before God. They are neither innocent nor pardoned. True believers know that God is their keeper night and day; they have strong confidence in him that he will be their director and not suffer them to take any false step in life, Pro 3:23. They go to rest in perfect confidence that God will watch over them; hence their sleep, being undisturbed with foreboding and evil dreams, is sweet and refreshing, Pro 3:24. They are not apprehensive of any sudden destruction, because they know that all things are under the control of God; and they are satisfied that if sudden destruction should fall upon their wicked neighbor, yet God knows well how to preserve them, Pro 3:25. And all this naturally flows from the Lord being their confidence, Pro 3:26.

Withhold not good from them to whom it is due - מבעליו mibbealaiv, from the lords of it. But who are they? The poor. And what art thou, O rich man? Why, thou art a steward, to whom God has given substance that thou mayest divide with the poor. They are the right owners of every farthing thou hast to spare from thy own support, and that of thy family; and God has given the surplus for their sakes. Dost thou, by hoarding up this treasure, deprive the right owners of their property? If this were a civil case, the law would take thee by the throat, and lay thee up in prison; but it is a case in which God alone judges. And what will he do to thee? Hear! "He shall have judgment without mercy, who hath showed no mercy;" Jam 2:13. Read, feel, tremble, and act justly.

Say not unto thy neighbor - Do not refuse a kindness when it is in thy power to perform it. If thou have the means by thee, and thy neighbor's necessities be pressing, do not put him off till the morrow. Death may take either him or thee before that time.

Strive not with a man - Do not be of a litigious, quarrelsome spirit. Be not under the influence of too nice a sense of honor. If thou must appeal to judicial authority to bring him that wrongs thee to reason, avoid all enmity, and do nothing in a spirit of revenge. But, if he have done thee no harm, why contend with him? May not others in the same way contend with and injure thee!

Envy thou not the oppressor - O how bewitching is power! Every man desires it; and yet all hate tyrants. But query, if all had power, would not the major part be tyrants?

But his secret - סודו sodo, his secret assembly; godly people meet there, and God dwells there.

The curse of the Lord - No godly people meet in such a house; nor is God ever an inmate there.

But he blesseth the habitation of the just - He considers it as his own temple. There he is worshipped in spirit and in truth; and hence God makes it his dwelling-place.

Surely he scorneth the scorners; but he giveth grace unto the lowly - The Septuagint has Κυριος ὑπερηφανοις αντιτασσεται, ταπεινοις δε διδωσι χαριν. The Lord resisteth the proud; but giveth grace to the humble. These words are quoted by St. Peter, 1Pet 5:5, and by St. James, Jam 4:6, just as they stand in the Septuagint, with the change of ὁ Θεος, God, for Κυριος, the Lord.

The wise - The person who follows the dictates of wisdom, as mentioned above, shall inherit glory; because, being one of the heavenly family, a child of God, he has thereby heaven for his inheritance; but fools, such as those mentioned chapters 1 and 2, shall have ignominy for their exaltation. Many such fools as Solomon speaks of are exalted to the gibbet and gallows. The way to prevent this and the like evils, is to attend to the voice of wisdom.

My son - The preceptor continues to deliver his lessons.

Forget not my law - Remember what thou hast heard, and practice what thou dost remember; and let all obedience be from the heart: "Let thy heart keep my commandments."

My law - The law of God, which might be called his law, as the gospel is called Paul's gospel, 2Tim 2:8, because delivered by him.

Mercy - Mercy denotes all benignity, charity, and readiness to do good to others: truth or faithfulness respects all those duties which we owe to God or man, which we have special obligation from the rules of justice. Bind them - Like a chain, wherewith persons adorn their necks. Table - In thy mind and heart, in which all God's commands are to be received and engraven.

Understanding - Whereby to know thy duty, and to discern between good and evil. Of God - Grace or favour with God, and that understanding which is good in God's sight.

Trust - Wholly rely upon God's promises and providences. Lean not - Under this one kind of carnal confidence, he understands all other confidence in bodily strength, wealth, or friends.

Navel - To thy body, which is signified by one part of it. Marrow - Which is the nourishment and strength of the bones.

Substance - Lay out thy estate not to please thyself, but to glorify God. First - fruits - Or, with the chief or best; which answers to the first - fruits under the law.

So - This is not the way to diminish thy estate, but rather to increase it.

Despise not - Either by making light of it, or not being duly affected with it; or by accounting it an unnecessary thing: but rather esteem it a privilege and favour from God. Weary - Neither think it tedious or hard, but endure it with patience and chearfulness.

Findeth - Which supposes his diligent searching for it.

Peace - Procure a blessed tranquility in a man's mind and conscience.

A tree - A pledge of everlasting life. He alludes to the tree of life, and intimates, that this is the only restorer of that life which we have lost by sin.

Wisdom - Either by Christ, or by that Divine perfection of wisdom, which is the fountain of wisdom in man.

The depths - That great abyss contained in the bowels of the earth, breaks forth into fountains and rivers.

Eyes - The eyes of thy mind. Constantly and seriously meditate upon them.

Grace - Like a beautiful chain or ornament.

Be not - Thou shalt not be afraid. Sudden - For sudden and unexpected evils are most frightful. And fear is here put for the evils feared. Desolation - Which cometh upon the wicked.

Shall be - A sure ground of confidence to thee. Taken - In the snares either of sin or mischief.

With - hold not - Do not deny it, but readily and chearfuly impart it. Good - Any thing which is good, either counsel, comfort, reproof, or the good things of the present life. Due - That is, to all men, by that great and sovereign law of love.

Say not - The former verse forbad the denial, and this forbids the delay of this duty.

Securely - Relying upon thine integrity.

Envy not - For his impunity and success.

Abomination - Therefore sooner or later he must be miserable. The righteous - They are God's friends, to whom he imparts the favours and comforts to which other men are strangers.

The house - Not only upon his own person, but also upon his posterity.

Shame - Instead of that glory which they seek.

1. MY son, forget not my law ; but let thine heart keep my commandments :

My doctrine or counsel; or the Law of God, which might be called his Law, as the Gospel is called Paul's Gospel, 2 Tim. 2. 8. because delivered by them.

By diligent meditation and hearty affection.

Marginal references: Deut. 8▪ [illegible: 1+ letters]. & 30. 16, 20.

2. For length of days, and long life, and peace shall they add to thee .

God will add these Blessings which he hath promised to the obedient, Deut. 8. 18. & 30. 20. 1 Tim. 4. 8.

Marginal references: Chap. 4. 10, 22.; Heb. years of life.

3. Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck , write them upon the table of thme heart .

Either, 1. God's Mercy and Truth. So it is a promise, God's Mercy and Truth shall not forsake thee. Or rather, 2. That Mercy and Truth which is Man's duty. So it is a Precept: which seems most probable both from the form of the Hebrew Phrase, and from the following words of this Verse, which are plainly preceptive, and from the promise annex'd to the performance of this Precept in the next Verse. Mercy and Truth are frequently joyned together as they are in God, as Psal. 25. 10. & 57. 3. &c. or in men, as Prov. 16. 6. & 20. 28. Hos. 4. 1. and here. Mercy notes all that benignity, clemency, charity, and readiness to do good freely to others. Truth or Faithfulness respects all those duties which we owe to God or Man to which we have special Obligation from the Rules of Justice.

Like a Chain, wherewith Persons adorn their Necks, as it is expressed, Chap. 1. 9. which is fastned there and not easily lost, which also is continually in ones view.

Either 1. upon those Tablets which the Iews are said to have worn upon their Breasts, which are always in sight. So he alludes to Deut. 6. 8. Or 2. in thy mind and heart, in which all God's commands are to be received and engraven, as is oft required in this Book, and every where. So the Table of the Heart seems to be opposed to the Tables of Stone in which God's Law was written, as it is Ier. 31. 33. 2 Cor. 3. 3.

Marginal references: Exod. 13. 9. Deut. 6. 8. Ch. 6. 21. & 7. 3.

4. So shalt thou find favour and good understanding in the sight of God and man.

i. e. Obtain acceptance, or be gracious and amiable to them.

Whereby to know thy duty, and to discern between good and evil. The serious practice of Religion [illegible: 1 word] an excellent mean to get a solid understanding of it▪ as on the contrary a vitious life doth exceedingly debase and darken the mind, and keep men from the knowledge of Truth, which not onely Scripture but even Heathen Philosophers have oft observed. Others render it, good success. Which seems not to suit well with the following words.

Grace or favour with God, and that understanding which is good in God's sight, i. e. truly and really, as a truly good Man is called good before God, in the Hebrew, Eccls. 7. 26.

Marginal references: Psal. 111. 10.; Or, good success.

5. Trust in the LORD with all thine heart, and lean not unto thine own understanding .

Wholly and securely rely upon God's Promises and Providence for help and relief in all thine affairs and dangers.

Think not to accomplish thy designs by the strength of thine own Wit without God's Blessing. Under this one kind of camal confidence, which is most frequent and most plausible, he understands, and forbids all other considences in bodily strength, wealth, friends, &c.

6. In all thy ways acknowledge him , and he shall direct thy paths .

Designs and undertakings for the things of this Life or of the next.

Heb. know him, to wit, practically; or, own him, his Wisdom in following his counsels, his power and goodness, in expecting success from him, his Soveraignty in managing all thy Affairs so as to please and glorify him.

Assust and bless all thine endeavours, and keep thee from the paths of sin and destruction.

Marginal references: 1 Chr. 28. 9.

7. Be not wise in thine own eyes : fear the LORD and depart from evil.

Be not puffed up with a vain conceit of thine own Wisdom, as if that were sufficient for the conduct of all thine affairs without direction or assistance from God, or without the advice of others.

This he adds because the reverence and dread of the Divine Majesty will make a man, when he compareth himself with God, little and vile in his own eyes. Reverence God's Wisdom, and thou wilt despise thine own.

Marginal references: Rom. 12. 16.

8. It shall be health to thy navel , and marrow to thy bones.

i. e. To thy Body, which is signified by the Navel, which is a noble and useful part of the Body, by which the Infant receives nourishment in the Womb, and which is the ligament or bond by which the bowels, a principal part of the Body, are united together and preserved.

Which is the nourishment and strength of the bones, and a great preserver and prolonger of life, as the decay of it is a chief cause of the weakness and driness and decay of the Body. The sense of the Verse is, This Wisdom or fear of God is not onely useful to the Salvation of the Soul, but also to the health and welfare of the Body, both as it prevents those Diseases and Distempers which are oft procured by sinful Lusts and Passions, and as it giveth us an Interest in all God's promises, and putteth us under the care of his special Providence.

Marginal references: Heb. medicine.; Heb. watering, or moistning.

9. Honour the LORD with thy substance , and with the first-fruits of all thine increase.

Or, with thy Riches. Lay out thy Estate not onely to please and advance thy Self or Family, but also to glorify God; which is done by the payment of all those offerings and dues which God hath required; by giving according to thy Abilities, whatsoever is necessary for the support and advancement of God's Worship and Service in the World; by free and liberal Contributions to those whom God hath made his Deputies, and, as I may say, the Receivers of his Rents, to wit, faithful Ministers and good Christians and all others who need and require thy help. The performance of these Duties is here called an honouring of God, partly because that word is sometimes used for giving of gifts, as 1 Tim. 5. 17. and elsewhere; and partly because it is a Testimony of our respects to God, of our obedience to him as our Soveraign Lord, and that in hard and costly Duties, of our thankfulness to him as our chief Benefactor and the Donor of all that we have, and of our belief of his Promises made to the faithful practices of this duty; which if they were believed, the most covetous Persons would be the most charitable.

Or, with the chief or best, or first, which answers to the first-fruits under the Law.

Marginal references: Exod. 23. 19▪ & 34. 26. Deut. 26. 2. &c. Mal. 3. 10. &c. Luk. 14. 13.

10. So shall thy barns be filled with plenty , and thy presses shall burst out with new wine.

This is not the way to diminish thy estate, as covetous and profane Persons alledge, but rather to increase it.

Shall be so filled, that they would burst out if not carefully prevented.

Marginal references: Deut. 28. 8.

11. My son, despise not the chastning of the LORD: neither be weary of his correction .

Either 1. by making light of it, or not being duly affected with it; and so this is one extream opposed to the other in the next clause. Or rather 2. by accounting it an unnecessary, and useless and troublesome thing, but rather esteem it as a priviledg and favour from God, and a benefit to thy self; for such Negatives do oft imply the contrary Affirmatives by a common figure called Meiosis, as Prov. 17. 21. and oft elsewhere. And this sense seems to agree better both with the following Clause, which repeats the same thing with some aggravation, after the manner; and with the reason used to enforce this and the following command, v. 12. which concerns not such as are insensible, but rather such as had too deep a sense of the evil of affliction.

Neither esteem it tedious and intollerable, but endure it with patience and chearfulness.

Marginal references: Job 5. 17. Psa. 94. 12. 13. Heb. 12. 5. Rev. 3. 19.

12. For whom the LORD loveth, he correcteth , even as a Father the son, in whom he delighteth.

Afflictions are not infelicities but benefits and comforts, because they are Testimonies of God's love, which is infinitely more desirable than any evil can be terrible. They shew God's purpose, and desire, and care to purge us from our sins, and to make us fit for his Presence and Kingdom. This and the former Verse seem to be here inserted in the midst of his commendations of Wisdom to remove an objection against the excellency and happiness of wise or pious men, taken from those many Calamities to which such Persons are frequently exposed, the reason of which Providence he here giveth.

Marginal references: Deut. 8. 5.

13. Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding.

Notwithstanding all his afflictions.

Which supposeth his diligent searching for it, expressed, Chap. 2. 4.

Heb. that draweth out. Which expression implies two things, 1. that Man hath it not naturally in himself but must have it from another, even from God and his word. 2. that men should labour for it, as those do that dig and draw forth Metals out of the Earth.

Marginal references: [illegible: 1 span].

14. For the merchandise of it is better than the merchandise of silver, and the gain thereof than fine gold .

It is more necessary and advantageous, because it is so, not onely for this short life, but also to the future and everlasting life, in which Gold and Silver bear no price.

Marginal references: [illegible: 1+ letters]ob 28. 15. [illegible: 1 word]. [illegible: 1 word]. 19. 10. Chap. 8. 11, 1[illegible: 1+ letters] ▪ & 16. 16.; Heb. revenue. Chap. 8. 19.

15. She is more precious than rubies: and all the things thou canst desire, are not to be compared unto her .

For true worth and usefulness.

16. Length of days is in her right hand: and in her left hand riches and honour .

Wisdom is here represented as a great and generous Princess distributing gifts to her Subjects. She giveth them long life, &c. unless when she foresees that these things would prove snares and mischiefs to them, as they very frequently do to others.

17. Her ways are ways of pleasantness , and all her paths are peace .

Are exceeding delightful, to wit, to those who know them and walk in them. Whose judgment is certainly to be preferred before the contrary opinion of ungodly men who are grosly ignorant of them, and professed enemies to them.

Procure a blessed tranquillity in a Man's Mind and Conscience, prosperity in his undertakings, and eternal rest with God in glory.

18. She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her ; and happy is every one that retaineth her .

She is a certain Pledge and mean of Everlasting life and happiness. He alludes to that Tree of Life, Gen. 2. 9. & 3. 22. which if eaten by Man in Paradise before his Fall should have perpetually preserved him in life and health and vigor; and intimates, that this is the onely restorer of that life which we have lost by sin.

That eagerly pursue after her and when they overtake her do greedily and gladly apprehend and embrace her, as the Hebrew word signifies.

That holdeth her fast and is constantly resolved not to forsake her.

Marginal references: Chap. 11. 30.

19. The LORD by wisdom hath founded the earth , by understanding hath he established the heavens.

Either 1. by Christ, the co-essential and co-eternal Wisdom of God the Father. Or 2. by that Divine perfection of Wisdom, which is the Fountain of that Wisdom that is in Man▪ which Solomon hath hitherto commended; and therefore the commendation of that Wisdom tends to the commendation of this which is a stream flowing from it.

Hath fixed it in the lowest part of the World.

Or, fitted or ordered them, framed them in that exquisite order which now they have.

Marginal references: [illegible: 1 word]. 136. 5. [illegible: 1 word] 8. 22, 27.; [illegible: 1 word], [illegible: 1+ letters]ared.

20. By his knowledge the depths are broken up , and the clouds drop down the dew .

That great Abyss or Depth of Waters which was mixed with and contained in the bowels of the Earth did break forth into Fountains and Rivers for the use of men and beasts. Which is justly remembred here as an illustrious Effect of God's Wisdom, by which the Earth was made habitable, and the Waters serviceable.

Under which the Rain is comprehended as being of the same nature and use.

Marginal references: [illegible: 1+ letters]eb. skies.

21. My son, let them not depart from thine eyes : keep sound wisdom and discretion.

To wit, wisdom and discretion, of which he hath hitherto discoursed, and which are expressed in the end of this Verse, and may be referred hither by a Figure called a Trajection, and the words may be put into this order, Let not sound Wisdom and discretion depart from thine Eyes, but keep them diligently. The like Trajections are found in other Texts of Scripture.

i. e. From the Eyes of thy Mind. Constantly and seriously meditate upon them, and upon those excellent Precepts and Rules which proceed from them.

22. So shall they be life unto thy soul , and grace to thy neck .

Either 1. to thee or thy Person. They shall prolong and perpetuate thy life and make it life indeed, to wit, pleasant and happy; whereas a miserable life is reputed a kind of Death, and is oft so called. Or, 2. to thy Soul properly so called. They shall quicken and delight and save thy Soul.

Like a beautiful Chain or Ornament about thy Neck, as above v. 3. & Chap. 1. 9.

Marginal references: Vers. 2▪

23. Then shalt thou walk in thy way safely ▪ and thy foot shall not stumble .

Manage all thy employments and concerns.

Or, securely or confidently, without danger or fear; casting thy care upon God in the discharge of thy duty.

At those stumbling-blocks and temptations at which heedless Sinners commonly stumble and fall. Thou shalt thereby be kept from falling into sin, and that mischief which generally attends upon it.

Marginal references: Psal. 37. 24▪ & 91. 11, 12.; Heb. confidently, or, securely. So Vers. 29.

24. When thou liest down, thou shalt not be afraid: yea, thou shalt lie down, and thy sleep shall be sweet .

Free from distracting cares and terrours which oft-times haunt Sinners even in their sleep, because thy Mind shall be composed and serene through the sense of God's favour and Providence, and the Conscience of thine own integrity.

Marginal references: Chap. 6. 22. Psal. 3. 5. & 4. 8.

25. Be not afraid of sudden fear , neither of the desolation of the wicked when it cometh.

i. e. Thou shalt not be afraid. For that it is a Promise seems most probable from the Context: onely it is for greater Emphasis delivered in the form of a Precept, I allow thee and require thee not to be afraid, which is both thy duty and priviledge.

For sudden and unexpected evils are most frightful and grievous. And fear is here put for the evils feared, as Prov. 1. 26, 27. and oft elsewhere.

Either 1. actively, which they bring upon thee. Or rather 2. passively, which befals them, when the Lord cometh out of his place to punish the Inhabitants of the Earth for their Iniquity, as it is expressed, Isa. 26. 21. and thou mayest be apt to fear lest thou shouldst be involved in the common calamity; but fear not, for God▪ will then hide thee in his Chambers, as he promised, Isa. 26. 20

Marginal references: Psal. 91. 5▪

26. For the LORD shall be thy confidence , and shall keep thy foot from being taken .

A sufficient and sure ground of confidence to thee.

In the shares either of sin, or of mischief.

27. With-hold not good from them to whom it is due , when it is in the power of thine hand to do it .

Do not deny it, but readily and chearfully impart it, which is implied in the contrary, as above, v. 11. and oft in this Book as we shall see.

Any thing which is good, either Spiritually, as counsel, comfort, reproof, &c. or civilly, the good things of the present life, as good is taken, Psal. 4. 6. called this Worlds good▪ 1 Joh. 3. 17.

Heb. from the Lords or owners of it, from those who have any kind of right to it, either 1. by the Law of Justice and Equity prescribed both by the natural and written Laws of God, and by the civil Laws of men. So this place commands the payment of just debts, and the restitution of things either found or committed to our trust, or taken from others by fraud or violence. Or, 2. (which seems to be chiefly intended by comparing this with the next Verse, though the former is not to be excluded) by that great and soveraign Law of Love or Charity, which God hath written in the Hearts of men by Nature, and frequently and severely injoyned in his word, whereby every Man is obliged according to his ability and opportunity, to pitty and relieve such as are in real want or misery▪ who in that case are here called the Owners of our goods, not in respect of men, as if men in want might seize upon the riches of others, but in respect of God who is the soveraign Lord, and onely true Proprietary of all mens Estates, who giveth them when and to whom he pleaseth, and who doth not give away his right, nor make men absolute Lords of them to dispose them as they will, but onely allowes them the use and comfort of them upon such conditions, and with such reservations and Rent-charges, as I may call them, as he hath appointed, whereof this is one, that men should readily and freely communicate them to other men who need and require their help. And such actions, though they be acts of Charity and Bounty to men, yet, as to God, they are acts of Righteousness as they are called, Prov. 11. 18. 2 Cor. 9. 9. and in many other places.

Either 1. to withold it. Or, 2. to do good. And this Clause may be added, either 1. as a limitation, to intimate that God expects from men according to what they have, and not according to what they have not, as is said, 2 Cor. 8. 12. Or, 2. as an argument to perswade them to take the present season, to perform this duty when they are capable of so doing, because by the changes of this World, and the course of Divine providence they may be disenabled from the performance of this great and necessary duty, and then they will be without excuse.

Marginal references: Heb the owners thereof.

28. Say not unto thy neighbour , Go, and come again, and to morrow I will give : when thou hast it by thee.

The former Verse forbad the denial, and this forbids the delay of this duty.

Unto any Man, as the word Neighbour is commonly used in Scripture, as hath been oft proved.

To wit, what is thy due in manner before expressed, or what thou needest: for this word is generally used concerning free or charitable gifts, and not concerning due debts.

Marginal references: Lev. 19. 13. Deut. 24. 15.

29 Devise not evil against thy neighbor, seeing he dwelleth securely by thee .

Any thing injurious or hurtful. Having commanded doing of good, v. 27, 28. he here forbids doing or designing any evil.

Relying upon thine integrity: do not therefore betray thy trust, which is hateful even to Heathens.

Marginal references: Or, practise no evil.

30. Strive not with a man without cause , if he have done thee no harm .

Either by words before the Magistrate; or otherwise by thine actions.

Without just and necessary cause.

Whereby he clearly implies, that in case of injury a Man may by all lawful means defend himself.

31. Envy thou not the oppressor , and choose none of his ways .

For his impunity and success in his wicked designs, and the Wealth which he gains by his unrighteous practices.

For what men envy in others they seek to obtain for themselves.

Marginal references: Ps. 37. 1.; Heb. a man of violence.

32. For the froward is abomination to the LORD : but his secret is with the righteous .

Or, perverse, who walketh in crooked or sinful paths as the Oppressour last mentioned; opposed to the upright Man, who is called right or straight, as Deut. 32. 4. Prov. 29. 27.

God hates him and therefore sooner or later he must needs be extremely and eternally miserable.

They are God's Friends and Favourites, to whom he familiarly imparts, as men use to do to their Friends, his mind and counsels, or his secret favours and comforts to which other men are strangers. Compare Psal. 25. 14. Ioh. 15. 15. Revel. 2. 17.

Marginal references: Ps. 25. 14.

33. The Curse of the LORD is in the house of the wicked : but he blesseth the habitation of the just.

Not onely upon his own Person, but also upon his Posterity and upon all his domestical concerns.

Marginal references: Levit. 26. 14, &c. Mal. 2. 2.

34. Surely he scorneth the scorners : but he giveth grace unto the lowly.

He will expose them to scorn and contempt.

Proud and insolent Sinners, who make a mock at sin, Prov. 14. 9. and at God and Religion also, and despise all counsels and means of amendment. Comp. Psal. 1. 1. & Prov. 1. 22.

To wit, favour, both with himself and with men, as this Word and Phrase is used, Exod. 3. 21. & 11. 3. & 12. 36. Eccles. 9. 11. Luk. 2. 52. &c.

Marginal references: Jam. 4. 6. 1 Pet. 5. 5.

35. The wise shall inherit glory , but shame shall be the promotion of fools .

Shall enjoy it not onely for a season, as wicked men oft-times do, but as an Inheritance constantly and to perpetuity.

In stead of that glory which they greedily seek they shall meet with nothing but ignominy. Or, as it is in the Margent, shame exalteth or lifteth up fools, i. e. it makes them manifest and notorious, as this very word is used, Prov. 14. 29. Or, as the words lie in the Hebrew Text, fools take or carry away (as this word is here rendred by divers both ancient and modern Translators, and as it is used, Levit. 6. 10. 15. and oft elsewhere) shame, to wit, as his proper Portion or Inheritance; which is here very fitly opposed to the Portion or Inheritance of the Just. And although the Verb be singular, yet it agrees well enough with the Noun plural, because this is taken distributively, such constructions being very usual in the Hebrew Text.

Marginal references: Heb. exalteth the fools.

FOURTH INTRODUCTORY MASHAL DISCOURSE, III. 1-18.

EXHORTATION TO LOVE AND FAITHFULNESS, AND SELF-SACRIFICING DEVOTION TO GOD, AS THE TRUE WISDOM.

The foregoing Mashal discourse seeks to guard youth against ruinous companionship ; this points out to them more particularly the relation toward God and man, which alone can make them truly happy, vers. 1-4. 1 My son, forget not my doctrine, And let thine heart keep my commandments ; 2 For length of days, and years of life, And peace, -will they add to thee. 3 Let not kindness and truth forsake thee : Bind them about thy neck, Write them on the tablet of thy heart, 4 And obtain favour and true prudence In the eyes of God and of men. The admonition takes a new departure, תּוֹרָתִ֣י and וּ֝מִצְוֺתַ֗י refer to the following new discourse and laws of conduct. Here, in the midst of the discourse, we have יִצֹּ֥ר and not יִגְצֹּ֥ר ; the non-assimilated form is found only in the conclusion, e.g. ii. 11, v. 2. The plur. יוֹסִ֥יפוּ (ver. 2) for חּוֹטֵפְנָח (they will bring, add) refers to the doctrine and the precepts ; the synallage has its ground in this, that the fem. construction in Hebrew is not applicable in such a case ; the vulgar Arab, also has set aside the forms jaktubna, taktubna. “Extension of days” is continuance of duration, stretching itself out according to the promise, Ex. 20:12; and “years of life” (9:11) are years — namely, many of them — of a life which is life in the full sense of the word. חַיִּ֑ים has here the pregnant signification vita vitalis, βίος βιωτός (Fl.). שָׁל֗וֹם (R. של) is pure well-being, free from all that disturbs peace or satisfaction, internal and external contentment.

Pro 3:3

With this verse the doctrine begins; אל (not לא) shows the 3a does not continue the promise of Pro 3:2. חסד (R. חם, stringere, afficere) is, according to the prevailing usage of the language, well-affectedness, it may be of God toward men, or of men toward God, or of men toward one another - a loving disposition, of the same meaning as the N.T. ἀγάπη (vid., e.g., Hos 6:6). אמת (from אמנת), continuance, a standing to one’s promises, and not falsifying just expectations; thus fidelity, πίστις, in the interrelated sense of fides and fidelitas. These two states of mind and of conduct are here contemplated as moral powers (Psa 61:8; Psa 43:3), which are of excellent service, and bring precious gain; and 4b shows that their ramification on the side of God and of men, the religious and the moral, remains radically inseparable. The suffix  ם does not refer to the doctrine and the precepts, but to these two cardinal virtues. If the disciple is admonished to bind them about his neck (vid., Pro 1:9, cf. Pro 3:22), so here reference is made, not to ornament, nor yet to protection against evil influences by means of them, as by an amuletFleischer is here reminded of the giraffe in the Jardin des Plantes, the head of which was adorned by its Arabic keeper with strings and jewels, the object of which was to turn aside the ‛ain [the bad, mischievous look] from the precious beast. (for which proofs are wanting), but to the signet which was wont to be constantly carried (Gen 38:18, cf. Sol 8:6) on a string around the neck. The parallel member 3c confirms this; 3b and 3c together put us in mind of the Tephillim (phylacteries), Exo 13:16; Deu 6:8; Deu 11:18, in which what is here a figure is presented in external form, but as the real figure of that which is required in the inward parts. לוּח (from לוּח, Arab. l'ah, to begin to shine, e.g., of a shooting star, gleaming sword; vid., Wetzstein, Deutsch. morgenl. Zeitschr. xxii. 151f.) signifies the tablet prepared for writing by means of polish; to write love and fidelity on the tablet of the heart, is to impress deeply on the heart the duty of both virtues, so that one will be impelled to them from within outward (Jer 31:33).

Pro 3:4

To the admonitory imper. there follows here a second, as Pro 4:4; Pro 20:13; Amo 5:4; 2Ch 20:20, instead of which also the perf. consec. might stand; the counsellor wishes, with the good to which he advises, at the same time to present its good results. שׂכל is (1Sa 25:3) the appearance, for the Arab. shakl means forma, as uniting or binding the lineaments or contours into one figure, σχῆμα, according to which שׂכל טוב may be interpreted of the pleasing and advantageous impression which the well-built external appearance of a man makes, as an image of that which his internal excellence produces; thus, favourable view, friendly judgment, good reputation (Ewald, Hitzig, Zöckler). But everywhere else (Pro 13:15; Psa 111:10; 2Ch 30:22) this phrase means good, i.e., fine, well-becoming insight, or prudence; and שׂכל has in the language of the Mishle no other meaning than intellectus, which proceeds from the inwardly forming activity of the mind. He obtains favour in the eyes of God and man, to whom favour on both sides is shown; he obtains refined prudence, to whom it is on both sides adjudicated. It is unnecessary, with Ewald and Hitzig, to assign the two objects to God and men. In the eyes of both at the same time, he who carries love and faithfulness in his heart appears as one to whom חן and שׂכל טוב must be adjudicated.

Pro 3:5-8

Were “kindness and truth” (Pro 3:3) understood only in relation to men, then the following admonition would not be interposed, since it proceeds from that going before, if there the quality of kindness and truth, not only towards man, but also towards God, is commended: 5 Trust in Jahve with thy whole heart,    And lean not on thine own understanding. 6 In all thy ways acknowledge Him,    And He will make plain thy paths. 7 Be not wise in thine own eyes;    Fear Jahve, and depart from evil. 8 Health will then come to thy navel,    And refreshing to thy bones.

From God alone comes true prosperity, true help. He knows the right way to the right ends. He knows what benefits us. He is able to free us from that which does us harm: therefore it is our duty and our safety to place our confidence wholly in Him, and to trust not to our own judgment. The verb בּטח, Arab. baṭḥ, has the root-meaning expandere, whence perhaps, by a more direct way than that noted under Psa 4:6, it acquires the meaning confidere, to lean with the whole body on something, in order to rest upon it, strengthened by על, if one lean wholly - Fr. se reposer sur quelqu'un; Ital. riposarsi sopra alcuno, - like השּׁען with אל, to lean on anything, so as to be supported by it; with על, to support oneself on anything (Fl.). דעהוּ (the same in form as שׂאהוּ, Num 11:12) is not fully represented by “acknowledge Him;” as in 1Ch 28:9 it is not a mere theoretic acknowledgment that is meant, but earnest penetrating cognizance, engaging the whole man. The practico-mystical דעהוּ, in and of itself full of significance, according to O. and N.T. usage, is yet strengthened by toto corde. The heart is the central seat of all spiritual soul-strength; to love God with the whole heart is to concentrate the whole inner life on the active contemplation of God, and the ready observance of His will. God requites such as show regard to Him, by making plain their path before them, i.e., by leading them directly to the right end, removing all hindrances out of their way. ארחתיך has Cholem in the first syllable (vid., Kimchi’s Lex.).In the st. constr. Pro 2:19, and with the grave suff. Pro 2:15, ǒ instead of ō is in order; but Ben-Asher’s ארחתי, Job 13:27, cf. Job 33:11, is an inconsistency. “Be not wise in thine own eyes” is equivalent to ne tibi sapiens videare; for, as J. H. Michaelis remarks, confidere Deo est sapere, sibi vero ac suae sapientiae, desipere. “Fear God and depart from evil” is the twofold representation of the εὐσέβεια, or practical piety, in the Chokma writings: Pro 16:6, the Mashal Psa 34:10, Psa 34:15, and Job 28:28 cf. Pro 1:2. For סר מרע, the post-biblical expression is ירא חטא.

Pro 3:9-10  Honour Jahve with thy wealth,    And with the first-fruits of all thine increase: 10 Then shall thy barns be filled with plenty,    And thy vats overflow with must.

It may surprise us that the Chokma, being separated from the ceremonial law, here commends the giving of tithes. But in the first place, the consciousness of the duty of giving tithes is older than the Mosaic law, Gen 28:22; in this case, the giving of tithes is here a general ethical expression. עשּׂר and מעשׂר do not occur in the Book of Proverbs; in the post-biblical phraseology the tithes are called חלק הגּבהּ, the portion of the Most High. כּבּד, as the Arab. waḳḳra, to make heavy, then to regard and deal with as weighty and solemn (opp. קלּל, to regard and treat as light, from קלל = Arab. hân, to be light). הון, properly lightness in the sense of aisance, opulency, forms with כּבּד an oxymoron (fac Jovam gravem de levitate tua), but one aimed at by the author neither at Pro 1:13 nor here. מן (in מהונך and 'מר, Pro 3:9) is in both cases partitive, as in the law of the Levitical tenths, Lev 27:30, and of the Challa (heave-offering of dough), Num 15:21, where also ראשׁית (in Heb 7:4, ἀκροθίνια) occurs in a similar sense, cf. Num 18:12 (in the law of the Theruma or wave-offering of the priests), as also תּבוּאה in the law of the second tenths, Deu 14:22, cf. Num 18:30 (in the law of the tenths of the priests).

Pro 3:11-12

The contrast here follows. As God should not be forgotten in days of prosperity, so one should not suffer himself to be estranged from Him by days of adversity. 11 The school of Jahve, my son, despise thou not,      Nor loathe thou His correction; 12 For Jahve correcteth him whom He loveth,      And that as a father his son whom he lovethVid., the original passage Job 5:17. There is not for the Book of Job a more suitable motto than this tetrastich, which expresses its fundamental thought, that there is a being chastened and tried by suffering which has as its motive the love of God, and which does not exclude sonship.Here Procop. rightly distinguishes between παιδεία and τιμωρία.

One may say that Pro 3:11 expresses the problem of the Book of Job, and Pro 3:12 its solution. מוּסר, παιδεία, we have translated “school,” for יסּר, παιδεύειν, means in reality to take one into school. Ahndung [punishment] or Rüge [reproof] is the German word which most corresponds to the Hebr. תּוכחה or תּוכחת. קוּץ ב (whence here the prohibitive תּקץ with אל) means to experience loathing (disgust) at anything, or aversion (vexation) toward anything. The lxx (cited Heb 12:5.), μηδὲ ἐκλύου, nor be faint-hearted, which joins in to the general thought, that we should not be frightened away from God, or let ourselves be estranged from Him by the attitude of anger in which He appears in His determination to inflict suffering. In 12a the accentuation leaves it undefined whether יהוה as subject belongs to the relative or to the principal clause; the traditional succession of accents, certified also by Ben Bileam, is כי את אשׁר יאהב יהוה, for this passage belongs to the few in which more than three servants (viz., Mahpach, Mercha, and three Munachs) go before the Athnach.Vid., Torath Emeth, p. 19; Accentuationssystem, vi. §6; the differences between Ben-Asher and Ben-Naphtali in the Appendixes to Biblia Rabbinica; Dachselt’s Biblia Accentuata, and Pinner’s Prospectus, p. 91 (Odessa, 1845).

The further peculiarity is here to be observed, that את, although without the Makkeph, retains its Segol, besides here only in Psa 47:5; Psa 60:2. 12b is to be interpreted thus (cf. Pro 9:5): “and (that) as a father the son, whom he loves.” The ו is explanatory, as 1Sa 28:3 (Gesenius, §155, 1a), and ירצה (which one may supplement by אתו or בּו) is a defining clause having the force of a clause with אשׁר. The translation et ut pater qui filio bene cupit, is syntactically (cf. Isa 40:11) and accentually (vid., 13b) not less admissible, but translating “and as a father he holds his son dear,” or with Hitzig (after Jer 31:10, a passage not quite syntactically the same), “and holds him dear, as a father his son” (which Zöckler without syntactical authority prefers on account of the 2nd modus, cf. e.g., Psa 51:18), does not seem a right parallel clause, since the giving of correction is the chief point, and the love only the accompanying consideration (Pro 13:24). According to our interpretation, יוכיח is to be carried forward in the mind from 12a. The lxx find the parallel word in יכאב, for they translate μαστιγοῖ δὲ πάντα υἱὸν, ὃν παραδέχεται, and thus have read יכאב or ויכאב.

Pro 3:13-14

Such submission to God, the All-wise, the All-directing, who loves us with fatherly affection, is wisdom, and such wisdom is above all treasures. 13 Blessed is the man who has found wisdom,      And the man who has gained understanding; 14 For better is her acquisition than the acquisition of silver,      And her gain than fine gold. 15 More precious is she than corals;      And all thy jewels do not equal her value.

The imperfect יפיק, which as the Hiph. of פּוּק, exire, has the general meaning educere, interchanges with the perfect מצא. This bringing forth is either a delivering up, i.e., giving out or presenting, Isa 58:10; Psa 140:9; Psa 144:13 (cf. נפק, Arab. nafaḳ, to give out, to pay out), or a fetching out, getting out, receiving, Pro 8:35; Pro 12:2; Pro 18:22. Thus 13a reminds one of the parable of the treasure in the field, and 13b of that of the goodly pearl for which the ἔμπορος who sought the pearl parted with all that he had. Here also is declared the promise of him who trades with a merchant for the possession of wisdom; for סחרהּ and סחר (both, as Isa 23:3, Isa 23:18; Isa 45:15, from סחר, the latter after the forms זרע, נטע, without our needing to assume a second primary form, סחר) go back to the root-word סחר, to trade, go about as a trader, with the fundamental meaning ἐμπορεύεσθαι (lxx); and also the mention of the pearls is not wanting here, for at all events the meaning “pearls” has blended itself with פּנינים, which is a favourite word in the Mashal poetry, though it be not the original meaning of the word. In 14b כּסף is surpassed by חרוּץ (besides in the Proverbs, found only in this meaning in Psa 68:14), which properly means ore found in a mine, from חרץ, to cut in, to dig up, and hence the poetic name of gold, perhaps of gold dug out as distinguished from molten gold. Hitzig regards χρυσός as identical with it; but this word (Sanskr. without the ending hir, Zench. zar) is derived from ghar, to glitter (vid., Curtius). תּבוּאתהּ we have translated “gain,” for it does not mean the profit which wisdom brings, the tribute which it yields, but the gain, the possession of wisdom herself.

Pro 3:15

As regards פּנינים, for which the Kethîb has פּניּים, the following things are in favour of the fundamental meaning “corals,” viz.: (1.) The name itself, which corresponds with the Arab. fann; this word, proceeding from the root-idea of shooting forth, particularly after the manner of plants, means the branch and all that raises or multiplies itself branch-like or twig-like (Fleischer). (2.) The redness attributed to the פנינים, Lam 4:7, in contradistinction to the pure whiteness attributed to snow and milk (vid., at Job 28:18). The meaning of the word may, however, have become generalized in practice (lxx in loc. λίθων πολετελῶν, Graec. Venet. λιθιδίων); the meaning “pearls,” given to it in the Job-Targum by Rashi, and particularly by Bochart, lay so much the nearer as one may have wrought also corals and precious stones, such as the carbuncle, sardius, and sapphire, into the form of pearls. יקרה, in consequence of the retrogression of the tone, has Munach on the penult., and that as an exception, as has been remarked by the Masora, since in substantives and proper names terminating in  ה the נסוג אחור, i.e., the receding of the tone, does not elsewhere appear, e.g., יפה היא, Gen 12:14, בּרה היא, Sol 6:9, צרה היא, Jer 30:7. חפץ is first abstr., a being inclined to something, lust, will, pleasure in anything, then also concr., anything in which one has pleasure, what is beautiful, precious; cf. Arab. nfı̂s,  hyy, hence hjârt nfı̂st, precious stones” (Fleischer). שׁוה with ב means to be an equivalent (purchase-price, exchange) for anything; the most natural construction in Arab. as well as in Hebr. is that with ל, to be the equivalent of a thing (vid., at Job 33:27); the ב is the Beth pretii, as if one said in Arab.: biabi anta thou art in the estimate of my father, I give it for thee. One distinctly perceives in Pro 3:14, Pro 3:15, the echo of Job 28. This tetrastich occurs again with a slight variation at Pro 8:10-11. The Talmud and the Midrash accent it so, that in the former the expression is וכל־חפצים, and in the latter וכל־חפציך, and they explain the latter of precious stones and pearls (אבנים טובות ומרגליות).

Pro 3:16-18

That wisdom is of such incomparable value is here confirmed: 16 Length of days is in her right hand;      In her left, riches and honour. 17 Her ways are pleasant ways,      And all her paths are peace. 18 A tree of life is she to those that lay hold upon her,      And he who always holdeth her fast is blessed.

As in the right hand of Jahve, according to Psa 16:11, are pleasures for evermore, so Wisdom holds in her right hand “length of days,” viz., of the days of life, thus life, the blessing of blessings; in her left, riches and honour (Pro 8:18), the two good things which, it is true, do not condition life, but, received from Wisdom, and thus wisely, elevate the happiness of life-in the right hand is the chief good, in the left the προσθήκη, Mat 6:33. Didymus: Per sapientiae dextram divinarum rerum cognitio, ex qua immortalitatis vita oritur, significatur; per sinistram autem rerum humanarum notitia, ex qua gloria opumque abundantia nascitur. The lxx, as between 15a and 15b, so also here after Pro 3:16, interpolate two lines: “From her mouth proceedeth righteousness; justice and mercy she bears upon her tongue,” - perhaps translated from the Hebr., but certainly added by a reader.

Pro 3:19-20

This place of a mediatrix - the speaker here now continues - she had from the beginning. God’s world-creating work was mediated by her: 19 Jahve hath by wisdom founded the earth,      Established the heavens by understanding. 20 By His knowledge the water-floods broke forth,      And the sky dropped down dew.

That wisdom is meant by which God planned the world-idea, and now also wrought it out; the wisdom in which God conceived the world ere it was framed, and by which also He gave external realization to His thoughts; the wisdom which is indeed an attribute of God and a characteristic of His actions, since she is a property of His nature, and His nature attests itself in her, but not less, as appears, not from this group of tetrastichs, but from all that has hitherto been said, and form the personal testimony, Pro 8:22., of which it is the praeludium, she goes forth as a divine power to which God has given to have life in herself. Considered apart from the connection of these discourses, this group of verses, as little as Jer 10:2; Psa 104:24, determines regarding the attributive interpretation; the Jerusalem Targum, I, when it translates, Gen 1:1, בראשׁית by בּחוּכמא (בּחוּכמתא), combines Pro 8:22 with such passages as this before us. יסד (here with the tone thrown back) properly signifies, like the Arab. wasad, to lay fast, to found, for one gives to a fact the firm basis of its existence. The parallel Pil. of כּוּן (Arab. kân, cogn. כהן, see on Isaiah, p. 691) signifies to set up, to restore; here equivalent to, to give existence.

Pro 3:21-22

From this eminence, in which the work of creation presents wisdom, exhortations are now deduced, since the writer always expresses himself only with an ethical intention regarding the nature of wisdom: 21 My son, may they not depart from thine eyes -      Preserve thoughtfulness and consideration, 22 And they will be life to thy soul      And grace to thy neck.

If we make the synonyms of wisdom which are in 21b the subject per prolepsin to אל־ילזוּ (Hitzig and Zöckler), then Pro 3:19-20 and Pro 3:21-22 clash. The subjects are wisdom, understanding, knowledge, which belong to God, and shall from His become the possession of those who make them their aim. Regarding לוּז, obliquari, deflectere, see under Pro 2:15, cf. Pro 4:21; regarding תּשׁיּה (here defective after the Masora, as rightly in Vened. 1515, 1521, and Nissel, 1662), see at Pro 2:7; ילזוּ for תּלזנה, see at Pro 3:2. The lxx (cf. Heb 2:1) translate without distinctness of reference: υἱὲ μὴ παραῤῥυῂς (παραρυῇς), let it now flow past, i.e., let it not be unobserved, hold it always before thee; the Targ. with the Syr. render לא נזּל, ne vilescat, as if the words were אל־יזוּלוּ. In 22a the synallage generis is continued: ויהיוּ for ותהיינה. Regarding גּרגּרת, see at Pro 1:9. By wisdom the soul gains life, divinely true and blessed, and the external appearance of the man grace, which makes him pleasing and gains for him affection.

Pro 3:23-26

But more than this, wisdom makes its possessor in all situations of life confident in God: 23 Then shalt thou go thy way with confidence,      And thy foot shall not stumble. 24 When thou liest down, thou are not afraid,      But thou layest thyself down and hast sweet sleep. 25 Thou needest not be afraid of sudden alarm,      Nor for the storm of the wicked when it breaketh forth. 26 For Jahve will be thy confidence      And keep thy foot from the snare.

The לבטח (cf. our “bei guter Laune” = in good cheer), with ל of the condition, is of the same meaning as the conditional adverbial accusative בּטח, Pro 10:9; Pro 1:33. Pro 3:23 the lxx translate ὁ δὲ πούς σου οὐ μὴ προσκόψῃ, while, on the contrary, at Psa 91:12 they make the person the subject (μήποτε προσκόψῃς τὸν κ.τ.λ.); here also we retain more surely the subject from 23a, especially since for the intrans. of נגף (to smite, to push) a Hithpa. התנגּף is used Jer 13:16. In Pro 3:24 there is the echo of Job 11:18, and in Pro 3:25 of Job 5:21. Pro 3:24 is altogether the same as Job 5:24 : et decumbes et suavis erit somnus tuus = si decubueris, suavis erit. The hypothetic perf., according to the sense, is both there and at Job 11:18 (cf. Jer 20:9) oxytoned as perf. consec. Similar examples are Pro 6:22; Gen 33:13; 1Sa 25:31, cf. Ewald, §357a. ערבה (of sleep as Jer 31:26) is from ערב, which in Hebr. is used of pleasing impressions, as the Arab. ‛ariba of a lively, free disposition. שׁנה, somnus (nom. actionis from ישׁן, with the ground-form sina preserved in the Arab. lidat, vid., Job, p. 284, note), agrees in inflexion with שׁנה, annus. אל, Pro 3:25, denies, like Psa 121:3, with emphasis: be afraid only not = thou hast altogether nothing to fear. Schultens rightly says: Subest species prohibitionis et tanquam abominationis, ne tale quicquam vel in suspicionem veniat in mentemve cogitando admittatur. פּחד here means terror, as Pro 1:26., the terrific object; פּתאם (with the accus. om) is the virtual genitive, as Pro 26:2 חנּם (with accus. am). Regarding שׁאה, see under Pro 1:27. The genitive רשׁעים may be, after Psa 37:18, the genit. subjecti, but still it lies nearer to say that he who chooses the wisdom of God as his guiding star has no ground to fear punishment as transgressors have reason to fear it; the שׁאה is meant which wisdom threatens against transgressors, Pro 1:27. He needs have no fear of it, for wisdom is a gift of God, and binds him who receives it to the giver: Jahve becomes and is henceforth his confidence. Regarding ב essentiae, which expresses the closest connection of the subject with the predicate which it introduces, see under Psa 35:2. As here, so also at Exo 18:4; Psa 118:7; Psa 146:6, the predicate is a noun with a pronominal suffix. כּסל is, as at Psa 78:7; Job 31:24, cognate to מבטה and מקוה,According to Malbim, תּקוה is the expectation of good, and כּסל, confidence in the presence of evil. the object and ground of confidence. That the word in other connections may mean also fool-hardiness, Psa 49:14, and folly, Ecc 7:25 (cf. regarding כּסיל, which in Arab. as belı̂d denotes the dull, in Hebr. fools, see under Pro 1:22), it follows that it proceeds from the fundamental conception of fulness of flesh and of fat, whence arise the conceptions of dulness and slothfulness, as well as of confidence, whether confidence in self or in God (see Schultens l.c., and Wünsche’s Hosea, p. 207f.). לכד is taking, catching, as in a net or trap or pit, from לכד, to catch (cf. Arab. lakida, to fasten, III, IV to hold fast); another root-meaning, in which Arab. lak connects itself with nak, nk, to strike, to assail (whence al-lakdat, the assault against the enemy, Deutsch. Morgenl. Zeitsch. xxii. 140), is foreign to the Hebr. Regarding the מן of מלכד, Fleischer remarks: “The מן after the verbs of guarding, preserving, like שׁמר and נצר, properly expresses that one by those means holds or seeks to hold a person or thing back from something, like the Lat. defendere, tueri aliquem ab hostibus, a perculo.”Hitzig rejects Pro 3:22-26 as a later interpolation. And why? Because chap. 3, which he regards as a complete discourse, consists of twice ten verses beginning with בּני. In addition to this symmetry other reasons easily reveal themselves to his penetration. But the discourses contained in chap. 1-9 do not all begin with בני (vid., Pro 1:20); and when it stands in the beginning of the discourse, it is not always the first word (vid., Pro 1:8); and when it occurs as the first word or in the first line, it does not always commence a new discourse (vid., Pro 1:15 in the middle of the first, Pro 3:11 in the middle of the fourth); and, moreover, the Hebr. poetry and oratory does not reckon according to verses terminated by Soph Pasuk, which are always accented distichs, but they in reality frequently consist of three or more lines. The rejected verses are in nothing unlike those that remain, and which are undisputed; they show the same structure of stichs, consisting for the most part of three, but sometimes also only of two words (cf. Pro 3:22 with Pro 1:9, Pro 1:10), the same breadth in the course of the thoughts, and the same accord with Job and Deuteronomy.

Pro 3:27-28

The first illustration of neighbourly love which is recommended, is readiness to serve: 27 Refuse no manner of good to him to whom it is due      When it is in thy power to do it. 28 Say not to thy neighbour, “Go, and come again,      To-morrow I will give it,” whilst yet thou hast it.

Regarding the intensive plur. בּעליו with a sing. meaning, see under Pro 1:19. The form of expression without the suffix is not בּעלי but בּעל טוב; and this denotes here, not him who does good (בעל as Arab. dhw or ṣaḥab), but him to whom the good deed is done (cf. Pro 17:8), i.e., as here, him who is worthy of it (בעל as Arab. âhl), him who is the man for it (Jewish interp.: מי שׁהוא ראוי לו). We must refuse nothing good (nothing either legally or morally good) to him who has a right to it (מנע מן as Job 22:7; Job 31:16),Accentuate אל־תמנע טוב, not אל־תמנע־טוב. The doubling of the Makkeph is purposeless, and, on the contrary, the separating of טוב from מבעליו by the Dechi (the separating accent subordinate to Athnach) is proper. It is thus in the best MSS. if we are in a condition to do him this good. The phrase ישׁ־לאל ידי, Gen 31:29, and frequently, signifies: it is belonging to (practicable) the power of my hand, i.e., I have the power and the means of doing it. As זד signifies the haughty, insolent, but may be also used in the neuter of insolent conduct (vid., Psa 19:14), so אל signifies the strong, but also (although only in this phrase) strength. The Keri rejects the plur. ידיך, because elsewhere the hand always follows לאל in the singular. But it rejects the plur. לרעיך (Pro 3:28) because the address following is directed to one person. Neither of these emendations was necessary. The usage of the language permits exceptions, notwithstanding the usus tyrannus, and the plur. לרעיך may be interpreted distributively: to thy fellows, it may be this one or that one. Hitzig also regards לרעיך as a singular; but the masc. of רעיה, the ground-form of which is certainly ra‛j, is רעה, or shorter, רע. לך ושׁוּב does not mean: forth! go home again! but: go, and come again. שׁוּב, to come again, to return to something, to seek it once more.Thus also (Arab.) raj' is used in Thaalebi’s Confidential Companion, p. 24, line 3, of Flügel’s ed. Admission was prevented to one Haschmid, then angry he sought it once more; he was again rejected, then he sought it not again (Arab. flm yraj'), but says, etc. Flügel has misunderstood the passage. Fleischer explains raj', with reference to Pro 3:28, by revenir à la charge.

The ו of ישׁו אתּך is, as 29b, the conditional: quum sit penes te, sc. quod ei des. “To-morrow shall I give” is less a promise than a delay and putting off, because it is difficult for him to alienate himself from him who makes the request. This holding fast by one’s own is unamiable selfishness; this putting off in the fulfilment of one’s duty is a sin of omission - οὐ γὰρ οἶδας, as the lxx adds, τὶ τέξεται ἡ ἐπιοῦσα.

Pro 3:29

A second illustration of neighbourly love is harmlessness:

Devise not evil against thy neighbour,

While he dwelleth securely by thee.

The verb חרשׁ, χαράσσειν, signifies to cut into, and is used of the faber ferrarius as well as of the τιγναριυς (Isaiah, p. 463), who with a cutting instrument (חרשׁ, Gen 4:22) works with metal or wood, and from his profession is called חרשׁ. But the word means as commonly to plough, i.e., to cut with the plough, and חרשׁ is used also of a ploughman, and, without any addition to it, it always has this meaning. It is then a question whether the metaphorical phrase רעה חרשׁ signifies to fabricate evil, cf. dolorum faber, mendacia procudere, ψευδῶν καὶ ἀπατῶν τέκτων, and the Homeric κακὰ φρεὶ βυσσοδομεύειν (Fleischer and most others), or to plough evil (Rashi, Ewald, etc.). The Targ., Syriac, and Jerome translate חשׁב, without deciding the point, by moliri; but the lxx and Graecus Venet. by τεκταίνειν. The correctness of these renderings is not supported by Ezek. 21:36, where חרשׁי משׁחית are not such as fabricate destruction, but smiths who cause destruction; also מחרישׁ, 1Sa 23:9, proves nothing, and probably does not at all appertain to חרשׁ incidere (Keil), but to חרשׁ silere, in the sense of dolose moliri. On the one hand, it is to be observed from Job 4:8; Hos 10:13, cf. Psa 129:3, that the meaning arare malum might connect itself with חרשׁ רעה; and the proverb of Sirach 7:12, μὴ ἀροτρία ψεῦδος ἐπ ̓ ἀδελφῷ σου, places this beyond a doubt. Therefore in this phrase, if one keeps before him a clear perception of the figure, at one time the idea of fabricating, at another that of ploughing, is presented before us. The usage of the language in the case before us is more in favour of the latter than of the former. Whether ישׁב את means to dwell together with, or as Böttcher, to sit together with, after Psa 1:1; Psa 26:4., need not be a matter of dispute. It means in general a continued being together, whether as sitting, Job 2:13, or as dwelling, Jdg 17:11.Accentuate והוא־יושׁב לבטח. It is thus in correct texts. The Rebia Mugrash is transformed, according to the Accentuationssystem, xviii. §2.

To take advantage of the regardlessness of him who imparts to us his confidence is unamiable. Love is doubly owing to him who resigns himself to it because he believes in it.

Pro 3:30

A third illustration of the same principle is peaceableness:

Contend not with a man without a cause,

When he has inflicted no evil upon thee.

Instead of תּרוּב, or as the Kerı̂ has amended it תּריב, the abbreviated form תּרב or תּרב would be more correct after אל; רוּב or ריב (from רב, to be compact) means to fall upon one another, to come to hand-blows, to contend. Contending and quarrelling with a man, whoever he may be, without sufficient reason, ought to be abandoned; but there exists no such reason if he has done me no harm which I have to reproach him with. גּמל רעה with the accus. or dat. of the person signifies to bring evil upon any one, malum inferre, or also referre (Schultens), for גּמל (cogn. גּמר) signifies to execute, to complete, accomplish - both of the initiative and of the requital, both of the anticipative and of the recompensing action; here in the former of these senses.

Pro 3:31-32

These exhortations to neighbourly love in the form of warning against whatever is opposed to it, are followed by the warning against fellowship with the loveless: 31 Be not envious toward the man of violence,      And have no pleasure in all his ways. 32 For an abhorrence to Jahve is the perverse,      But with the upight is His secret.

The conceptions of jealousy and envy lie in קנּא (derived by Schultens from קנא, Arab. ḳanâ, intensius rubere) inseparable from each other. The lxx, which for תקנא reads תקנה (κτήσῃ), brings the envy into 31b, as if the words here were ואל־תּתחר, as in Psa 37:1, Psa 37:7 (there the lxx has μὴ παραζήλου, here μηδὲ ζηλώσῃς). There is no reason for correcting our text in accordance with this (substituting תּתחר for תּבחר as Hitzig does), because בּכל־דּרכיו would be too vague an expression for the object of the envy, while אל־תבחר altogether agrees with it; and the contrary remark, that בּחר בּכּל is fundamentally no בחר, fails since (1) בחר frequently expresses pleasure in anything without the idea of choice, and (2) “have not pleasure in all his ways” is in the Hebrew style equivalent to “in any one of his ways;” Ewald, §323b. He who does “violence to the law” (Zep 3:4) becomes thereby, according to the common course of the world, a person who is feared, whose authority, power, and resources are increased, but one must not therefore envy him, nor on any side take pleasure in his conduct, which in all respects is to be reprobated; for the נלוז, inflexus, tortuosus (vid., Pro 2:15), who swerves from the right way and goes in a crooked false way, is an object of Jahve’s abhorrence, while, on the contrary, the just, who with a right mind walks in the right way, is Jahve’s סוד - an echo of Psa 25:14. סוד (R. סד, to be firm, compressed) means properly the being pressed together, or sitting together (cf. the Arab. wisâd, wisâdt, a cushion, divan, corresponding in form to the Hebr. יסוד) for the purpose of private communication and conversation (הוּסד), and then partly the confidential intercourse, as here (cf. Job 29:4), partly the private communication, the secret (Amo 3:7). lxx, ἐν δὲ δικαίοις [οὐ] συνεδριάζει. Those who are out of the way, who prefer to the simplicity of right-doing all manner of crooked ways, are contrary to God, and He may have nothing to do with them; but the right-minded He makes partakers of His most intimate intercourse, He deals with them as His friends.

Pro 3:33

The prosperity of the godless, far from being worthy of envy, has as its reverse side the curse:

The curse of Jahve is in the house of the godless,

And the dwelling of the just He blesseth. מארה (a curse), like מסלּה (a highway, from סלל), is formed from ארר (cf. Arab. harr, detestari, abhorrere, a word-imitation of an interjection used in disagreeable experiences). The curse is not merely a deprivation of external goods which render life happy, and the blessing is not merely the fulness of external possessions; the central-point of the curse lies in continuous disquiet of conscience, and that of the blessing in the happy consciousness that God is with us, in soul-rest and peace which is certain of the grace and goodness of God. The poetic נוה (from נוה = Arab. nwy, tetendit aliquo) signifies the place of settlement, and may be a word borrowed from a nomad life, since it denotes specially the pasture-ground; cf. Pro 24:15 (Fleischer). While the curse of God rests in the house of the wicked (vid., Köhler on Zec 5:4), He blesses, on the contrary, the dwelling-place of the righteous. The lxx and Jerome read יברך, but יברך is more agreeable, since God continues to be the subject.

Pro 3:34

His relation to men is determined by their relation to Him.

As for the scorners, He scorneth them,

But to the lowly He giveth grace.

Most interpreters render the verse thus: “If the scorner He (even He, in return) scorneth, so He (on the other hand) giveth grace to the lowly.” For the sequence of the words in the consequence, in which the precedence of the verb is usual, e.g., Lev 12:5, we are referred to Pro 23:18, cf. Pro 24:14; but why had the poet placed the two facts in the relation of condition and consequence? The one fact is not the consequence but the reverse of the other, and accordingly they are opposed to each other in coordinated passages, Psa 18:26. The Vav in such antitheses has generally the meaning of “and on the other hand,” e.g., Job 8:20, while the lxx, Targ., Syriac, and Jerome altogether pass over the אם as if it did not exist. Ziegler translates: “Truly! the scorner He scorneth;” but an affirmative אם does not exist, the asseveration after the manner of an oath is negative. Bertheau’s expedient would be more acceptable, by which he makes the whole of Pro 3:34 the protasis to Pro 3:35; but if this were intended, another subject would not enter into Pro 3:35. Thus 34a and 34b are two independent parallel passages; אם־ללּצים is the protasis: if as regards the scorners, i.e., if His conduct is directed to the scorners, so He scorneth. The ל denotes relation, and in this elliptical usage is like the ל of superscription, e.g., Jer 23:9. הוּא is the emphatic αὐτός: He on the contrary, and in a decisive way (Ewald, §314ab). Instead of יליץ fo  there might have been used יליצם (for הליץ, where it occurs as a governing word, has the accusative, Pro 19:28; Psa 119:51), but we do not miss the object: if it relates to scorners (thus also Löwenstein translates), so it is He in return who scorneth. The lxx renders it: κύριος ὑπερηφάνοις ἀντιτάσσεται, ταπεινοῖς δὲ δίδωσι χάριν; cf. Jam 4:6; 1Pe 5:5. הוּא is used as a name of God (Deutsch. Morgenl. Zeitschr. xvi. 400), on which account it is rendered like יהוה by κύριος. A ὑπερήφανος (appearing above others, i.e., overbearing) is the לץ, according to the definition Pro 21:24. the expression of the talio is generalized in ἀντιτάσσεται (resists them). For עניים the Kerı̂ has ענוים: ענו (from ענה, the ground-form ענו, Arab. 'anaw) is the lowly (ταπεινός), or he who bends himself, i.e., the gentle and humble, the patient, and the passive עני, he who is bowed down, the suffering; but the limits of the conception are moveable, since in עני is presupposed the possession of fruit-virtues gained in the school of affliction.

Pro 3:35

This group of the proverbs of wisdom now suitably closes with the fundamental contrast between the wise and fools:

The wise shall inherit honour,

But fools carry away shame.

If we take וּכסילים as the object, then we can scarcely interpret the clause: shame sweeps fools away (Umbreit, Zöckler, Bertheau), for הרים [Hiph. of רוּם] signifies (Isa 57:14; Eze 21:31) “to raise up anything high and far,” not “to sweep away.” Preferable is the rendering: τοὺς δ ̓ ἄφρονας ὑψοῖ ἀτιμία (Graec. Venet., and similarly Jerome), i.e., only to it do they owe their celebrity as warning examples (Ewald), to which Oetinger compares “whose glory is in their shame,” Phi 3:19;Jona Gerundi renders it otherwise: “But shame raises the fools high;” i.e., only the infamous, he who has no sense of honour, makes much advancement out of fools. but קלון is the contrary of כּבוד (glory, Hab 2:16), and therefore is as much an object conception as is the latter, 35a. If it is the object, then if we take מרים from מר after the form of לן, Neh 13:21 = ממירים (Hos 4:7), it might be rendered: Yet fools exchange shame (Löwenstein). But מוּר, like the Arab. mrr, transire, means properly to pass over or to wander over; it is intransitive, and only in Hiph. signifies actively to exchange. מרים thus will be the participle of הרים; the plur. taken distributively (fools = whoever is only always a fool) is connected with the singular of the predicate. This change in the number is here, however, more difficult than at Pro 3:18, and in other places, where the plur. of the part. permits the resolution into a relative clause with quicunque, and more difficult than at Pro 28:1, where the sing. of the predicate is introduced by attraction; wherefore מרים may be an error in transcribing for מרימים or מרימי (Böttcher). J. H. Michaelis (after the Targ. and Syr.) has properly rendered the clause: “stulti tollunt ignominiam tanquam portionem suam,” adding “quae derivato nomine תרומהdicitur.” הרים signifies, in the language of the sacrificial worship and of worship generally, to lift off from anything the best portion, the legitimate portion due to God and the priesthood (vid., at Pro 3:9); for which reason Rashi glosses מרים by מפרישׁ לו, and Ralbag by מגביה לו. See Pro 14:29. Honour is that which the wise inherit, it falls to them unsought as a possession, but fools receive shame as the offal (viz., of their foolish conduct). The fut. and part. are significantly interchanged. The life of the wise ends in glory, but fools inherit shame; the fruit of their conduct is shame and evermore shame.

Communion Conferred by Wisdom.

1 My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments: 2 For length of days, and long life, and peace, shall they add to thee. 3 Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart: 4 So shalt thou find favour and good understanding in the sight of God and man. 5 Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. 6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

We are here taught to live a life of communion with God; and without controversy great is this mystery of godliness, and of great consequence to us, and, as is here shown, will be of unspeakable advantage.

I. We must have a continual regard to God's precepts, v. 1, 2.

1. We must, (1.) Fix God's law, and his commandments, as our rule, by which we will in every thing be ruled and to which we will yield obedience. (2.) We must acquaint ourselves with them; for we cannot be said to forget that which we never knew. (3.) We must remember them so that they may be ready to us whenever we have occasion to use them. (4.) Our wills and affections must be subject to them and must in every thing conform to them. Not only our heads, but our hearts, must keep God's commandments; in them, as in the ark of the testimony, both the tables of the law must be deposited.

2. To encourage us to submit ourselves to all the restraints and injunctions of the divine law, we are assured (v. 2) that it is the certain way to long life and prosperity. (1.) It is the way to be long-lived. God's commandments shall add to us length of days; to a good useful life on earth, they shall add an eternal life in heaven, length of days for ever and ever, Ps. xxi. 4. God shall be our life and the length of our days, and that will be indeed long life, with an addition. But, because length of days may possibly become a burden and a trouble, it is promised, (2.) That it shall prove the way to be easy too, so that even the days of old age shall not be evil days, but days in which thou shalt have pleasure: Peace shall they be continually adding to thee. As grace increases, peace shall increase; and of the increase of Christ's government and peace, in the heart as well as in the world, there shall be no end. Great and growing peace have those that love the law.

II. We must have a continual regard to God's promises, which go along with his precepts, and are to be received, and retained, with them (v. 3): "Let not mercy and truth forsake thee, God's mercy in promising, and his truth in performing. Do not forfeit these, but live up to them, and preserve thy interest in them; do not forget these, but live upon them, and take the comfort of them. Bind them about thy neck, as the most graceful ornament." It is the greatest honour we are capable of in this world to have an interest in the mercy and truth of God. "Write to them upon the table of thy heart, as dear to thee, thy portion, and most delightful entertainment; take a pleasure in applying them and thinking them over." Or it may be meant of the mercy and truth which are our duty, piety and sincerity, charity towards men, fidelity towards God. Let these be fixed and commanding principles in thee. To encourage us to do this we are assured (v. 4) that this is the way to recommend ourselves both to our Creator and fellow-creatures: So shalt thou find favour and good understanding. 1. A good man seeks the favour of God in the first place, is ambitious of the honour of being accepted of the Lord, and he shall find that favour, and with it a good understanding; God will make the best of him, and put a favourable construction upon what he says and does. He shall be owned as one of Wisdom's children, and shall have praise with God, as one having that good understanding which is ascribed to all those that do his commandments. 2. He wishes to have favour with men also (as Christ had, Luke ii. 52), to be accepted of the multitude of his brethren (Esth. x. 3), and that he shall have; they shall understand him aright, and in his dealings with them he shall appear to be prudent, shall act intelligently and with discretion. He shall have good success (so some translate it), the common effect of good understanding.

III. We must have a continual regard to God's providence, must own and depend upon it in all our affairs, both by faith and prayer. 1. By faith. We must repose an entire confidence in the wisdom, power, and goodness of God, assuring ourselves of the extent of his providence to all the creatures and all their actions. We must therefore trust in the Lord with all our hearts (v. 5); we must believe that he is able to do what he will, wise to do what is best, and good, according to his promise, to do what is best for us, if we love him, and serve him. We must, with an entire submission and satisfaction, depend upon him to perform all things for us, and not lean to our own understanding, as if we could, by any forecast of our own, without God, help ourselves, and bring our affairs to a good issue. Those who know themselves cannot but find their own understanding to be a broken reed, which, if they lean to, will certainly fail them. In all our conduct we must be diffident of our own judgment, and confident of God's wisdom, power, and goodness, and therefore must follow Providence and not force it. That often proves best which was least our own doing. 2. By prayer (v. 6): In all thy ways acknowledge God. We must not only in our judgment believe that there is an over-ruling hand of God ordering and disposing of us and all our affairs, but we must solemnly own it, and address ourselves to him accordingly. We must ask his leave, and not design any thing but what we are sure is lawful. We must ask his advice and beg direction from him, not only when the case is difficult (when we know not what to do, no thanks to us that we have our eyes up to him), but in every case, be it ever so plain, We must ask success of him, as those who know the race is not to the swift. We must refer ourselves to him as one from whom our judgment proceeds, and patiently, and with a holy indifferency, wait his award. In all our ways that prove direct, and fair, and pleasant, in which we gain our point to our satisfaction, we must acknowledge God with thankfulness. In all our ways that prove cross and uncomfortable, and that are hedged up with thorns, we must acknowledge God with submission. Our eye must be ever towards God; to him we must, in every thing, make our requests known, as Jephthah uttered all his words before the Lord in Mizpeh, Judg. xi. 11. For our encouragement to do this, it is promised, "He shall direct thy paths, so that thy way shall be safe and good and the issue happy at last." Note, Those that put themselves under a divine guidance shall always have the benefit of it. God will give them that wisdom which is profitable to direct, so that they shall not turn aside into the by-paths of sin, and then will himself so wisely order the event that it shall be to their mind, or (which is equivalent) for their good. Those that faithfully follow the pillar of cloud and fire shall find that though it may lead them about it leads them the right way and will bring them to Canaan at last.

Consecration to God.

7 Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the Lord , and depart from evil. 8 It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones. 9 Honour the Lord with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase: 10 So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine. 11 My son, despise not the chastening of the Lord ; neither be weary of his correction: 12 For whom the Lord loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth.

We have here before us three exhortations, each of them enforced with a good reason:—

I. We must live in a humble and dutiful subjection to God and his government (v. 7): "Fear the Lord, as your sovereign Lord and Master; be ruled in every thing by your religion and subject to the divine will." This must be, 1. A humble subjection: Be not wise in thy own eyes. Note, There is not a greater enemy to the power of religion, and the fear of God in the heart, than conceitedness of our own wisdom. Those that have an opinion of their own sufficiency think it below them, and a disparagement to them, to take their measures from, much more to hamper themselves with, religion's rules. 2. A dutiful subjection: Fear the Lord, and depart from evil; take heed of doing any thing to offend him and to forfeit his care. To fear the Lord, so as to depart from evil, is true wisdom and understanding (Job xxviii. 28); those that have it are truly wise, but self-denyingly so, and not wise in their own eyes. For our encouragement thus to live in the fear of God it is here promised (v. 8) that it shall be as serviceable even to the outward man as our necessary food. It will be nourishing: It shall be health to thy navel. It will be strengthening: It shall be marrow to thy bones. The prudence, temperance, and sobriety, the calmness and composure of mind, and the good government of the appetites and passions, which religion teaches, tend very much not only to the health of the soul, but to a good habit of body, which is very desirable, and without which our other enjoyments in this world are insipid. Envy is the rottenness of the bones; the sorrow of the world dries them; but hope and joy in God are marrow to them.

II. We must make a good use of our estates, and that is the way to increase them, v. 9, 10. Here is,

1. A precept which makes it our duty to serve God with our estates: Honour the Lord with thy substance. It is the end of our creation and redemption to honour God, to be to him for a name and a praise; we are no other way capable of serving him than in his honour. His honour we must show forth and the honour we have for him. We must honour him, not only with our bodies and spirits which are his, but with our estates too, for they also are his: we and all our appurtenances must be devoted to his glory. Worldly wealth is but poor substance, yet, such as it is, we must honour God with it, and then, if ever, it becomes substantial. We must honour God, (1.) With our increase. Where riches increase we are tempted to honour ourselves (Deut. viii. 17) and to set our hearts upon the world (Ps. lxii. 10); but the more God gives us the more we should study to honour him. It is meant of the increase of the earth, for we live upon annual products, to keep us in constant dependence on God. (2.) With all our increase. As God has prospered us in every thing, we must honour him. Our law will allow a prescription for a modus decimandi—a mode of tithing, but none de non decimando—for exemption from paying tithes. (3.) With the first-fruits of all, as Abel, Gen. iv. 4. This was the law (Exod. xxiii. 19), and the prophets, Mal. iii. 10. God, who is the first and best, must have the first and best of every thing; his right is prior to all other, and therefore he must be served first. Note, It is our duty to make our worldly estates serviceable to our religion, to use them and the interest we have by them for the promoting of religion, to do good to the poor with what we have and abound in all works of piety and charity, devising liberal things.

2. A promise, which makes it our interest to serve God with our estates. It is the way to make a little much, and much more; it is the surest and safest method of thriving: So shall thy barns be filled with plenty. He does not say thy bags, but thy barns, not thy wardrobe replenished, but thy presses: "God shall bless thee with an increase of that which is for use, not for show or ornament—for spending and laying out, not for hoarding and laying up." Those that do good with what they have shall have more to do more good with. Note, If we make our worldly estates serviceable to our religion we shall find our religion very serviceable to the prosperity of our worldly affairs. Godliness has the promise of the life that now is and most of the comfort of it. We mistake if we think that giving will undo us and make us poor. No, giving for God's honour will make us rich, Hag. ii. 19. What we gave we have.

III. We must conduct ourselves aright under our afflictions, v. 11, 12. This the apostle quotes (Heb. xii. 5), and calls it an exhortation which speaks unto us as unto children, with the authority and affection of a father. We are here in a world of troubles. Now observe,

1. What must be our care when we are in affliction. We must neither despise it nor be weary of it. His exhortation, before, was to those that are rich and in prosperity, here to those that are poor and in adversity. (1.) We must not despise an affliction, be it ever so light and short, as if it were not worth taking notice of, or as if it were not sent on an errand and therefore required no answer. We must not be stocks, and stones, and stoics, under our afflictions, insensible of them, hardening ourselves under them, and concluding we can easily get through them without God. (2.) We must not be weary of an affliction, be it ever so heavy and long, not faint under it, so the apostle renders it, not be dispirited, dispossessed of our own souls, or driven to despair, or to use any indirect means for our relief and the redress of our grievances. We must not think that the affliction either presses harder or continues longer than is meet, not conclude that deliverance will never come because it does not come so soon as we expect it.

2. What will be our comfort when we are in affliction. (1.) That it is a divine correction; it is the chastening of the Lord, which, as it is a reason why we should submit to it (for it is folly to contend with a God of incontestable sovereignty and irresistible power), so it is a reason why we should be satisfied in it; for we may be sure that a God of unspotted purity does us no wrong and that a God of infinite goodness means us no hurt. It is from God, and therefore must not be despised; for a slight put upon the messenger is an affront to him that sends him. It is from God, and therefore we must not be weary of it, for he knows our frame, both what we need and what we can bear. (2.) That it is a fatherly correction; it comes not from his vindictive justice as a Judge, but his wise affection as a Father. The father corrects the son whom he loves, nay, and because he loves him and desires he may be wise and good. He delights in that in his son which is amiable and agreeable, and therefore corrects him for the prevention and cure of that which would be a deformity to him, and an alloy to his delight in him. Thus God hath said, As many as I love I rebuke and chasten, Rev. iii. 19. This is a great comfort to God's children, under their afflictions, [1.] That they not only consist with, but flow from, covenant-love. [2.] That they are so far from doing them any real hurt that, by the grace of God working with them, they do a great deal of good, and are happy means of their satisfaction.

The Excellency of Wisdom; Happiness of Those Who Find Wisdom.

13 Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding. 14 For the merchandise of it is better than the merchandise of silver, and the gain thereof than fine gold. 15 She is more precious than rubies: and all the things thou canst desire are not to be compared unto her. 16 Length of days is in her right hand; and in her left hand riches and honour. 17 Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace. 18 She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her: and happy is every one that retaineth her. 19 The Lord by wisdom hath founded the earth; by understanding hath he established the heavens. 20 By his knowledge the depths are broken up, and the clouds drop down the dew.

Solomon had pressed us earnestly to seek diligently for wisdom (ch. ii. 1, &c.), and had assured us that we should succeed in our sincere and constant pursuits. But the question is, What shall we get by it when we have found it? Prospect of advantage is the spring and spur of industry; he therefore shows us how much it will be to our profit, laying this down for an unquestionable truth, Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, that true wisdom which consists in the knowledge and love of God, and an entire conformity to all the intentions of his truths, providences, and laws. Now observe,

I. What it is to find wisdom so as to be made happy by it.

1. We must get it. He is the happy man who, having found it, makes it his own, gets both an interest in it and the possession of it, who draws out understanding (so the word it), that is, (1.) Who derives it from God. Having it not in himself, he draws it with the bucket of prayer from the fountain of all wisdom, who gives liberally. (2.) Who takes pains for it, as he does who draws ore out of the mine. It if do not come easily, we must put the more strength to draw it. (3.) Who improves in it, who, having some understanding, draws it out by growing in knowledge and making five talents ten. (4.) Who does good with it, who draws out from the stock he has, as wine from the vessel, and communicates to others, for their instruction, things new and old. That is well got, and to good purpose, that is thus used to good purpose.

2. We must trade for it. We read here of the merchandise of wisdom, which intimates, (1.) That we must make it our business, and not a by-business, as the merchant bestows the main of his thoughts and time upon his merchandise. (2.) That we must venture all in it, as a stock in trade, and be willing to part with all for it. This is that pearl of great price which, when we have found it, we must willingly sell all for the purchase of, Matt. xiii. 45, 46. Buy the truth, (Prov. xxiii. 23); he does not say at what rate, because we must buy it at any rate rather than miss it.

3. We must lay hold on it as we lay hold on a good bargain when it is offered to us, which we do the more carefully if there be danger of having it taken out of our hands. We must apprehend with all our might, and put forth our utmost vigour in the pursuit of it, lay hold on all occasions to improve in it, and catch at the least of its dictates.

4. We must retain it. It is not enough to lay hold on wisdom, but we must keep our hold, hold it fast, with a resolution never to let it go, but to persevere in the ways of wisdom to the end. We must sustain it (so some read it), must embrace it with all our might, as we do that which we would sustain. We must do all we can to support the declining interests of religion in the places where we live.

II. What the happiness of those is who do find it.

1. It is a transcendent happiness, more than can be found in the wealth of this world, if we had ever so much of it, v. 14, 15. It is not only a surer, but a more gainful merchandise to trade for wisdom, for Christ, and grace, and spiritual blessings, than for silver, and gold, and rubies. Suppose a man to have got these in abundance, nay, to have all the things he can desire of this world (and who is it that ever had?), yet, (1.) All this would not purchase heavenly wisdom; no, it would utterly be contemned; it cannot be gotten for gold, Job xxviii. 15, &c. (2.) All this would not countervail the want of heavenly wisdom nor be the ransom of a soul lost by its own folly. (3.) All this would not make a man half so happy, no, not in this world, as those are who have true wisdom, though they have none of all these things. (4.) Heavenly wisdom will procure that for us, and secure that to us, which silver, and gold, and rubies, will not be the purchase of.

2. It is a true happiness; for it is inclusive of, and equivalent to, all those things which are supposed to make men happy, v. 16, 17. Wisdom is here represented as a bright and bountiful queen, reaching forth gifts to her faithful and loving subjects, and offering them to all that will submit to her government. (1.) Is length of days a blessing? Yes, the most valuable; life includes all good, and therefore she offers that in her right hand. Religion puts us into the best methods of prolonging life, entitles us to the promises of it, and, though our days on earth should be no more than our neighbour's, yet it will secure to us everlasting life in a better world. (2.) Are riches and honour accounted blessings? They are so, and them she reaches out with her left hand. For, as she is ready to embrace those that submit to her with both arms, so she is ready to give out to them with both hands. They shall have the wealth of this world as far as Infinite Wisdom sees good for them; while the true riches, by which men are rich towards God, are secured to them. Nor is there any honour, by birth or preferment, comparable to that which attends religion; it makes the righteous more excellent than his neighbour, recommends men to God, commands respect and veneration with all the sober part of mankind, and will in the other world make those that are now buried in obscurity to shine forth as the sun. (3.) Is pleasure courted as much as any thing? It is so, and it is certain that true piety has in it the greatest true pleasure. Her ways are ways of pleasantness; the ways in which she has directed us to walk are such as we shall find abundance of delight and satisfaction in. All the enjoyments and entertainments of sense are not comparable to the pleasure which gracious souls have in communion with God and doing good. That which is the only right way to bring us to our journey's end we must walk in, fair or foul, pleasant or unpleasant; but the way of religion, as it is the right way, so it is a pleasant way; it is smooth and clean, and strewed with roses: All her paths are peace. There is not only peace in the end, but peace in the way; not only in the way of religion in general, but in the particular paths of that way, in all her paths, all the several acts, instances, and duties of it. One does not embitter what the other sweetens, as it is with the allays of this world; but they are all peace, not only sweet, but safe. The saints enter into peace on this side heaven, and enjoy a present sabbatism.

3. It is the happiness of paradise (v. 18): She is a tree of life. True grace is that to the soul which the tree of life would have been, from which our first parents were shut out for eating of the forbidden tree. It is a seed of immortality, a well of living waters, springing up to life eternal. It is an earnest of the New Jerusalem, in the midst of which is the tree of life, Rev. xxii. 2; ii. 7. Those that feed and feast on this heavenly wisdom shall not only be cured by it of every fatal malady, but shall find an antidote against age and death; they shall eat and live for ever.

4. It is a participation of the happiness of God himself, for wisdom is his everlasting glory and blessedness, v. 19, 20. This should make us in love with the wisdom and understanding which God gives, that the Lord by wisdom founded the earth, so that it cannot be removed, nor can ever fail of answering all the ends of its creation, to which it is admirably and unexceptionably fitted. By understanding he has likewise established the heavens and directed all the motions of them in the best manner. The heavenly bodies are vast, yet there is no flaw in them—numerous, yet no disorder in them—the motion rapid, yet no wear or tear; the depths of the sea are broken up, and thence come the waters beneath the firmament, and the clouds drop down the dews, the waters from above the firmament, and all this by the divine wisdom and knowledge; therefore happy is the man that finds wisdom, for he will thereby be thoroughly furnished for every good word and work. Christ is that Wisdom, by whom the worlds were made and still consist; happy therefore are those to whom he is made of God wisdom, for he has wherewithal to make good all the foregoing promises of long life, riches, and honour; for all the wealth of heaven, earth, and seas, is his.

The Excellency of Wisdom.

21 My son, let not them depart from thine eyes: keep sound wisdom and discretion: 22 So shall they be life unto thy soul, and grace to thy neck. 23 Then shalt thou walk in thy way safely, and thy foot shall not stumble. 24 When thou liest down, thou shalt not be afraid: yea, thou shalt lie down, and thy sleep shall be sweet. 25 Be not afraid of sudden fear, neither of the desolation of the wicked, when it cometh. 26 For the Lord shall be thy confidence, and shall keep thy foot from being taken.

Solomon, having pronounced those happy who not only lay hold on wisdom, but retain her, here exhorts us therefore to retain her, assuring us that we ourselves shall have the comfort of doing so.

I. The exhortation is, to have religion's rules always in view and always at heart, v. 21. 1. To have them always in view: "My son, let them not depart from thy eyes; let not thy eyes ever depart from them to wander after vanity. Have them always in mind, and do not forget them; be ever and anon thinking of them, and conversing with them, and never imagine that thou hast looked upon them long enough and that it is time now to lay them by; but, as long as thou livest, keep up and cultivate thy acquaintance with them." He who learns to write must always have his eye upon his copy, and not let that be out of his sight; and to the words of wisdom must those, in like manner, have a constant respect, who will walk circumspectly. 2. To have them always at heart; for it is in that treasury, the hidden man of the heart, that we must keep sound wisdom and discretion, keep to the principles of it and keep in the ways of it. It is wealth that is worth keeping.

II. The argument to enforce this exhortation is taken from the unspeakable advantage which wisdom, thus kept, will be of to us. 1. In respect of strength and satisfaction: "It will be life to thy soul (v. 22); it will quicken thee to thy duty when thou beginnest to be slothful and remiss; it will revive thee under thy troubles when thou beginnest to droop and despond. It will be thy spiritual life, an earnest of life eternal." Life to the soul is life indeed. 2. In respect of honour and reputation: It shall be grace to thy neck, as a chain of gold, or a jewel. Grace to thy jaws (so the word is), grateful to thy taste and relish (so some); it shall infuse grace into all thou sayest (so others), shall furnish thee with acceptable words, which shall gain thee credit. 3. In respect of safety and security. This he insists upon in four verses, the scope of which is to show that the effect of righteousness (which is the same with wisdom here) is quietness and assurance for ever, Isa. xxxii. 17. Good people are taken under God's special protection, and therein they may have an entire satisfaction. They are safe and may be easy, (1.) In their motions by day, v. 23. If our religion be our companion, it will be our convoy: "Then shalt thou walk in thy way safely. The natural life, and all that belongs to it, shall be under the protection of God's providence; the spiritual life, and all its interests, are under the protection of his grace; so that thou shalt be kept from falling into sin or trouble." Wisdom will direct us into, and keep us in, the safe way, as far as may be, from temptation, and will enable us to walk in it with holy security. The way of duty is the way of safety. "We are in danger of falling, but wisdom will keep thee, that thy foot shall not stumble at those things which are an offence and overthrow to many, but which thou shalt know how to get over." (2.) In their rest by night, v. 24. In our retirements we lie exposed and are most subject to frights. "But keep up communion with God, and keep a good conscience, and then when thou liest down thou shalt not be afraid of fire, or thieves, or specters, or any of the terrors of darkness, knowing that when we, and all our friends, are asleep, yet he that keeps Israel and every true-born Israelite neither slumbers nor sleeps, and to him thou hast committed thyself and taken shelter under the shadow of his wings. Thou shalt lie down, and not need to sit up to keep guard; having lain down, thou shalt sleep, and not have thy eyes held waking by care and fear; and thy sleep shall be sweet and refreshing to thee, being not disturbed by any alarms from without or from within," Ps. iv. 8; cxvi. 7. The way to have a good night is to keep a good conscience; and the sleep, as of the labouring man, so of the wise and godly man, is sweet. (3.) In their greatest straits and dangers. Integrity and uprightness will preserve us, so that we need not be afraid of sudden fear, v. 25. The harms that surprise us, unthought of, giving us no time to arm ourselves by consideration, are most likely to put us into confusion. But let not the wise and good man forget himself, and then he will not give way to any fear that has torment, be the alarm ever so sudden. Let him not fear the desolation of the wicked, when it comes, that is, [1.] The desolation which the wicked ones make of religion and the religious; though it comes, and seems to be just at the door, yet be not afraid of it; for, though God may make use of the wicked as instruments of his people's correction, yet he will never suffer them to be the authors of their desolation. Or rather, [2.] The desolation which wicked men will be brought into in a moment. It will come, and timorous saints may be apprehensive that they shall be involved in it; but let this be their comfort, that though judgments lay waste generally, at least promiscuously, yet God knows who are his and how to separate between the precious and the vile. Therefore be not afraid of that which appears most formidable, for (v. 26) "the Lord shall be not only thy protector to keep thee safe, but thy confidence to keep thee secure, so that thy foot shall not be taken by thy enemies nor ensnared by thy own fears." God has engaged to keep the feet of his saints.

Justice and Kindness Recommended; Caution against Envy.

27 Withhold not good from them to whom it is due, when it is in the power of thine hand to do it. 28 Say not unto thy neighbour, Go, and come again, and to morrow I will give; when thou hast it by thee. 29 Devise not evil against thy neighbour, seeing he dwelleth securely by thee. 30 Strive not with a man without cause, if he have done thee no harm. 31 Envy thou not the oppressor, and choose none of his ways. 32 For the froward is abomination to the Lord : but his secret is with the righteous. 33 The curse of the Lord is in the house of the wicked: but he blesseth the habitation of the just. 34 Surely he scorneth the scorners: but he giveth grace unto the lowly. 35 The wise shall inherit glory: but shame shall be the promotion of fools.

True wisdom consists in the due discharge of our duty towards man, as well as towards God, in honesty as well as piety, and therefore we have here divers excellent precepts of wisdom which relate to our neighbour.

I. We must render to all their due, both in justice and charity, and not delay to do it (v. 27, 28): "Withhold not good from those to whom it is due (either for want of love to them or through too much love to thy money) when it is in the power of thy hand to do it, for, if it be not, it cannot be expected; but it was thy great fault if thou didst, by thy extravagances, disable thyself to do justly and show mercy, and it ought to be the greatest of thy griefs if God had disabled thee, not so much that thou art straitened in thy own comforts and conveniences as that thou hast not wherewithal to give to those to whom it is due." Withhold it not; this implies that it is called for and expected, but that the hand is drawn in and the bowels of compassion are shut up. We must not hinder others from doing it, not be ourselves backward to it. "If thou hast it by thee to-day, hast it in the power of thy hand, say not to thy neighbour, Go thy way for this time, and come at a more convenient season, and I will then see what will be done; to-morrow I will give; whereas thou art not sure that thou shalt live till to-morrow, or that to-morrow thou shalt have it by thee. Be not thus loth to part with thy money upon a good account. Make not excuses to shift off a duty that must be done, nor delight to keep thy neighbour in pain and in suspense, nor to show the authority which the giver has over the beggar; but readily and cheerfully, and from a principle of conscience towards God, give good to those to whom it is due," to the lords and owners of it (so the word is), to those who upon any account are entitled to it. This requires us, 1. To pay our just debts without fraud, covin, or delay. 2. To give wages to those who have earned them. 3. To provide for our relations, and those that have dependence on us, for to them it is due. 4. To render dues both to church and state, magistrates and ministers. 5. To be ready to all acts of friendship and humanity, and in every thing to be neighbourly; for these are things that are due by the law of doing as we would be done by. 6. To be charitable to the poor and necessitous. If others want the necessary supports of life, and we have wherewithal to supply them, we must look upon it as due to them and not withhold it. Alms are called righteousness because they are a debt to the poor, and a debt which we must not defer to pay, Bis dat, qui cito dat—He gives twice who gives speedily.

II. We must never design any hurt or harm to any body (v. 29): "Devise not evil against thy neighbour; do not contrive how to do him an ill-turn undiscovered, to prejudice him in his body, goods, or good name, and the rather because he dwells securely by thee, and, having given thee no provocation, entertains no jealousy or suspicion of thee, and therefore is off his guard." It is against the laws both of honour and friendship to do a man an ill-turn and give him no warning. Cursed be he that smites his neighbour secretly. It is a most base ungrateful thing, if our neighbours have a good opinion of us, that we will do them no harm, and we thence take advantage to cheat and injure them.

III. We must not be quarrelsome and litigious (v. 30): "Do not strive with a man without cause; contend not for that which thou hast no title to; resent not that as a provocation which peradventure was but an oversight. Never trouble thy neighbour with frivolous complaints and accusations, or vexatious law-suits, when either there is no harm done thee or none worth speaking of, or thou mightest right thyself in a friendly way." Law must be the last refuge; for it is not only our duty, but our interest, as much as in us lies, to live peaceably with all men. When accounts are balanced, it will be found there is little got by striving.

IV. We must not envy the prosperity of evil-doers, v. 31. This caution is the same with that which is so much insisted on, Ps. xxxvii. "Envy not the oppressor; though he be rich and great, though he live in ease and pleasure, and make all about him to stand in awe of him, yet do not think him a happy man, nor wish thyself in his condition. Choose none of his ways; do not imitate him, nor take the courses he takes to enrich himself. Never think of doing as he does, though thou wert sure to get by it all that he has, for it would be dearly bought." Now, to show what little reason saints have to envy sinners, Solomon here, in the last four verses of the chapter, compares the condition of sinners and saints together (as his father David had done, Ps. xxxvii.), sets the one over against the other, that we may see how happy the saints are, though they be oppressed, and how miserable the wicked are, though they be oppressors. Men are to be judged of as they stand with God, and as he judges of them, not as they stand in the world's books. Those are in the right who are of God's mind; and, if we be of his mind, we shall see, whatever pretence one sinner may have to envy another, that saints are so happy themselves that they have no reason at all to envy any sinner, though his condition be ever so prosperous. For, 1. Sinners are hated of God, but saints are beloved, v. 32. The froward sinners, who are continually going from-ward him, whose lives are a perverse contradiction to his will, are abomination to the Lord. He that hates nothing that he has made yet abhors those who have thus marred themselves; they are not only abominable in his sight, but an abomination. The righteous therefore have no reason to envy them, for they have his secret with them; they are his favourites; he has that communion with them which is a secret to the world and in which they have a joy that a stranger does not intermeddle with; he communicates to them the secret tokens of his love; his covenant is with them; they know his mind, and the meanings and intentions of his providence, better than others can. Shall I hide from Abraham the thing that I do? 2. Sinners are under the curse of God, they and their houses; saints are under his blessing, they and their habitation, v. 33. The wicked has a house, a strong and stately dwelling perhaps, but the curse of the Lord is upon it, it is in it, and, though the affairs of the family may prosper, yet the very blessings are curses, Mal. ii. 2. There is leanness in the soul, when the body is fed to the full, Ps. cvi. 15. The curse may work silently and slowly; but it is as a fretting leprosy; it will consume the timber thereof and the stones thereof, Zech. v. 4; Hab. ii. 11. The just have a habitation, a poor cottage (the word is used for sheep-cotes), a very mean dwelling; but God blesses it; he is continually blessing it, from the beginning of the year to the end of it. The curse or blessing of God is upon the house according as the inhabitants are wicked or godly; and it is certain that a blessed family, though poor, has no reason to envy a cursed family, though rich. 3. God puts contempt upon sinners, but shows respect to saints, v. 34. (1.) Those who exalt themselves shall certainly be abased: Surely he scorns the scorners. Those who scorn to submit to the discipline of religion, scorn to take God's yoke upon them, scorn to be beholden to his grace, who scoff at godliness and godly people, and take a pleasure in bantering and exposing them, God will scorn them, and lay them open to scorn before all the world. He despises their impotent malice, sits in heaven and laughs at them, Ps. ii. 4. He retaliates upon them (Ps. xviii. 26); he resists the proud. (2.) Those who humble themselves shall be exalted, for he gives grace to the lowly; he works that in them which puts honour upon them and for which they are accepted of God and approved of men. Those who patiently bear contempt from scornful men shall have respect from God and all good men, and then they have no reason to envy the scorners or to choose their ways. 4. The end of sinners will be everlasting shame, the end of saints endless honour, v. 35. (1.) Saints are wise men, and act wisely for themselves; for though their religion now wraps them up in obscurity, and lays them open to reproach, yet they are sure to inherit glory at last, the far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. They shall have it, and have it by inheritance, the sweetest and surest tenure. God gives them grace (v. 34), and therefore they shall inherit glory, for grace is glory, 2 Cor. iii. 18. It is glory begun, the earnest of it, Ps. lxxxiv. 11. (2.) Sinners are fools, for they are not only preparing disgrace for themselves, but at the same time flattering themselves with a prospect of honour, as if they only took the way to be great. Their end will manifest their folly: Shame shall be their promotion. And it will be so much the more their punishment as it will come instead of their promotion; it will be all the promotion they must ever expect, that God will be glorified in their everlasting confusion.

CHAP. III. Verſ. 1. My Son forget not]

WEE ſhould bee able to ſay to Wiſdome, as Coenis did to her Lady Antonia, Fruſtra, Domina, juſſiſti: haec enim atque caetera omnia quae mihi imperas, Dio in reſponſ. ita ſemper in memoria habeo ut ex ea deleri non poſsint. You need not, Madam, bid mee do your buſineſs, for I ſo remember your commands, as I need never bee minded of them.

Juſſa ſequi tam velle mihi, quam poſſe, neceſſe eſt, I am ready, to my power, to do your pleaſure.

But let thine heart keep] As the Ark kept the two Tables, as the Pot kept the hidden Manna.

Verſ. 2. For length of dayes] A ſweet mercy, and generally deſired, Pſal. 34.12. Short life is reckoned as a curſe, Pſal. 55.24. yet in ſome caſe, it is a bleſſing, [non-Latin text not transcribed]. Dion. Pruſ. Orat. 28. 1 King. 14.13. Iſa. 57.1. [non-Latin text not transcribed], God taketh away his from the evil to come; as when there is a fire in an houſe or Town, men carry out their Jewels; but then God makes them up in his Cabinet, they do enter into peace, their ſouls go to heaven, they reſt in their beds, their bodies reſt ſweetly and ſafely in the grave till the reſurrection of the Juſt, Iſa. 57.2. And is not this far better than the longeſt life here? Length of dayes may prove a curſe, when it brings ſhame, ſorrow, &c. as it did to Cain, Cham, &c.

And peace ſhall they adde to thee] Without which, to live is nothing elſe but to lye a dying. Rebecca for want of this, was weary of her life; ſo was Elijah when hee ſate under the Juniper tree. All the dayes of the afflicted are evil, Prov. 15.15. [non-Latin text not transcribed], they dwell together, they do not live together, ſaid Themiſtocles of married folk that agree not. Non ille diu vixit, ſed diu fuit, ſaid Seneca of one. And again, Non multum navigavit, ſed multum jactatus eſt. Hee was toſſed much up and down, but ſailed not far, as being driven about by contrary winds.

Shall they adde to thee] Multiplicem pacem ſignificat, ſaith one, Peace, peace, as Iſa. 26.3. that is, a multiplied peace with God, with ones ſelf, with others, or a renewed continued peace, to day, to morrow, and every day: Or a perfect, ſheer, pure peace.

Verſ. 3. Let not mercy and truth forſake thee] That is, true mercy, not that which is natural or moral onely, but that which is right, both quoad fontem, & quoad finem. They that do otherwiſe, as heathens and hypocrites, lay up their treaſure in the eyes and ears of men, which is a cheſt that hath neither lock nor key to keep it.

Binde them] That is, my Commandements. Hee ſeems to allude to Deut. 6.8. See the Note there.

Verſ. 4. So ſhalt thou finde favour] As did Joſeph, Moſes, David, hee was a man after Gods own heart, and whatſoever hee did pleaſed the people. It is God that gives credit, hee faſhioneth mens opinions, and inclineth their hearts, as Ezra oft acknowledges with much thankfulneſs, Chap. 7.27. &c.

Verſ. 5. Truſt in the Lord] To truſt in God is to bee unbottomed of thy ſelf, and of every creature, and ſo to lean upon God, that if hee fail thee thou ſinkeſt. Confidence is the leaſt, and yet the beſt wee can render to the Lord, for hereby wee acknowledge his Soveraignty, and ſet the Crown upon his head, as it were. See Judg. 9.15.

And lean not to thine own underſtanding] Which becauſe men do, hence it is many times, that the faireſt bloſſoms of their endeavours wither, and the unprobableſt things do come to paſs: God loves to confute men in their confidences, as hee did the Philiſtims in their Champion Goliah. Wee muſt not therefore truſt, no not Truſt it ſelf, but God on whom it relies, who is therefore called our Truſt. They truſt not God at all, that do it not alone. He that ſtands with one foot on a rock, and another foot upon a quickſand, will ſink and periſh as certainly, as he that ſtands with both feet on a quickſand. Lord lead mee to a Rock that is higher than I, ſaith David. Whither when hee was once got, then hee ſate and ſang, The Lord is my rock and my ſalvation, &c. Pſal. 27.1. Surely as one ſaid of general Councils, they ſeldome were ſucceſſeful, becauſe men came with confidence, leaning to their own underſtanding, and ſeeking for victory, rather than verity: ſo it holds as true in other like caſes.

Verſ. 6. In all thy waies acknowledge him] Ask counſel at his mouth, aime at his glory, bee evermore in the ſenſe of his preſence, and light of his countenance. It is reported of a worthy Divine of Scotland, Zacheus convert. preface. that hee did even eat and drink, and ſleep eternal life. This is to walk with God, this is to live by Faith, this is to ſee him that is inviſible (Moſes his optick) this is to go the upper way, even that way of life that is above to the wiſe, that hee may depart from Hell beneath, Prov. 15.24. See the Note there.

And hee ſhall direct thy paths] As hee carefully choſe out the Iſraelites way in the wilderneſs; not the ſhorteſt, but yet the ſafeſt for them: So will God do for all that make him their guide. The Athenians had a conceit, that their Goddeſſe Minerva turned all their evil counſels into good unto them. The Romans thought that their Vibilia (another heatheniſh Deity) ſet them again in their right way, when at any time they were out. All this, and more than this, is undoubtedly done by the true God for all that commit their waies unto him, and depend upon him for direction and ſucceſs. Loe this God is our God for ever and ever: hee will bee our guide even unto death. Pſal. 4[illegible: 1 letter].14

Verſ. 7. Bee not wiſe in thine own eyes] Bis deſipit qui ſibi ſ[illegible: 1 letter]pit. Hee is two fools that is wiſe in his own eyes. This [non-Latin text not transcribed] marres all. Socrates his Hoc ſcio quod nihil ſcio, gat him the name of the wiſeſt among men.Arachu[illegible: 1 letter] apud Ovid. Metamor, lib. 6. Conſilii ſati[illegible: 1 letter] in me mihi — is the proud mans poſi[illegible: 1 letter]. Hec that would bee wiſe, muſt bee a fool, that hee may bee wiſe, 1 Cor. 3.18. Intus exiſtens prohibet alienum: A conceit of wiſdome bars out wiſdome.

Fear the Lord] This makes a modeſt opinion of a mans ſelf. Joſeph a man famous for the fear of God, when Pharaoh expected from him an interpretation of his dream, as having heard much of his skill, It is not in m[illegible: 2 letters], ſaid hee,Gen. 41.16. God ſhall give Pharaoh an anſwer of peace. Loe hee extenuates his own gifts, and aſcribes all to God. Wherefore ſuddenly after, as Joſeph had ſaid to Pharaoh, Without mee ſhall God make anſwer to Pharaoh, ſo Pharaoh is heard ſay to Joſeph, Without thee ſhall no man lift up his hand or foot in all the Land of Egypt, verſ. 44. So that here was exemplified that holy Proverb[illegible: 1 letter] Prov. 22.4. By humility and the fear of the Lord, are riches, and honour, and life. The Original runs thus, By humility the fear of the Lord are riches, &c. There is no And in the Hebrew. Humility and the fear of the Lord are ſo near akin (this being the Mother of that) as if the one were predicated of the other, as if they were one and the ſame grace.

And depart from evil] Another effect of this clean fear of God, as David calleth it, Pſal. 19.9. Cave, spectat Ca[illegible: 1 letter]o, was a watch word among the Romans. A reverend and religious man had theſe words following written before him in his ſtudy, Noli peccare: Nam Deus videt, Angeli aſtant, Diabolus accuſabit, Conſcientia teſtabitur, Infernus cruciabit. Take heed of ſin; for God ſeeth thee, Angels ſtand by thee, the Devil will accuſe thee, thy Conſcience will teſtifie againſt thee, and Hell will torture thee.Pſal. 134.4 Hoſ. 3.5. But beſides all this, there is mercy with God that hee may bee feared: and the children of Iſrael ſhall fear the Lord and his goodneſs.

Verſ. 8. It ſhall bee health to thy navel] That is, Thou ſhalt bee in good plight both for the outward and inward man: Thy bones full of marrow, thy breaſts full of milk, thy ſpirit alſo lively and lifted up in the waies of the Lord. And as it is with children in the womb (for to theſe is the alluſion here) that by the navil nouriſhment is miniſtred unto them, yea, even to the ſtrengthening of the inward parts: So the godly in the Church are [illegible: 1 letter]ed and bred by the Faith and fear of God; And as without marrow in the bones,Munſter. Mercer. T.W and others in loc. no part of man, no not that which is of greateſt value and force, is able to do any thing: So the ſtrength that they have from God, is as the marrow which ſtrengtheneth the bones, and maketh them apt to do good things; And as a man that hath his bones filled with marrow, and hath abundance of good blood and freſh ſpirits in his body, hee can indure to go with leſs cloaths than another, becauſe hee is well lined within: So it is with a heart that hath a great deal of grace and peace, hee will go through difficulties and troubles, though outward comforts fail him.Act. & Mon. fol. 1358. It is recorded of Mr. Saunders Martyr, that himſelf ſhould tell the party that lay in the ſame bed with him in priſon, that even in the time of his examination before Steven Gardiner, hee was wonderfully comforted, not onely in ſpirit, but alſo in body hee received a certain taſte of that holy Communion of Saints, whileſt a moſt pleaſant refreſhing did iſſue from every part and member of the body to the ſeat and place of the heart, and from thence did ebbe and flow to and fro unto all the parts again.

Verſ. 9. Honour the Lord with thy ſubſtance] Freely expending it in pious and charitable uſes, Exod. 25.19. Deut. 26.2. See the Notes there. See alſo my common place of Almes.

Verſ. 10. So ſhall thy Barus bee filled] The Jews at this day, though not in their own Country,Godw. Heb. Antiq. 277. Thegualer [illegible: 1 letter]iſchilſhe the guaſher. nor have a Levitical Prieſt-hood, yet thoſe who will bee reputed Religious amongſt them do diſtribute the tenth of their increaſe unto the poor, being perſwaded that God doth bleſs their increaſe the more; for their uſual Proverb is, Decima, ut dives fias. Pay thy Tythes, that thou mayeſt bee rich. See the Note on Mat. 5.7.

Verſ. 11. Despiſe not the chaſtening of the Lord] Slight it not, but ſit alone, Lam. 3.28. and conſider, Eccleſ. 7.14. Some think it a goodly thing to bear out a croſs by head and ſhoulders, and wear it out as they may, never improving it: As a Dog, that getting out of the water into which hee is caſt, ſhakes his cars; or as a man, that coming out of a ſhower of rain, dryes again; and all is as before. Perdidiſtis fructum afflictionis, ſaith Auſtin of ſuch Scapethrifts. Thus the proud Greeks (having loſt two Caſtles in Cherſoneſus, Miſerrimi facti eſtis, & peſſimi permanſiſtis. Aug. de civit. Dei, l. 1. c. 33. Turk Hiſt. fol. 185. taken from them by the Turks) commonly ſaid, that there was but an Hogſty loſt, alluding to the name of that Country: Whereas that was the firſt footing that the Turks got in Europe, and afterwards poſſeſſed themſelves of the Imperial City of Conſtantinople. Shortly after, Anno 1358. Callipolis alſo being loſt, the mad Greeks, to extenuate the matter, when they had any talk thereof, in jeſting-wiſe commonly ſaid, Ibid. 186. that the Turks had but taken from them a bottle of Wine. So Galicum the Roman Emperour, hearing that Aegypt was revolted, ſaid, Quid? fine lino Aegyptio eſſe non poſſumus? What? cannot wee bee without the hemp of Aegypt? So when Callice was taken from us by the French, the Court-Paraſites to eaſe Queen Maries minde (which yet they could not) ſaid,Englands Eliſab. that it was onely a refuge for runnagate Hereticks; and that no true Roman Catholick ought to deplore, but rather rejoyce at the damage.

Virgil.At Regina gravi jam dumdum ſaucia cura Vulnus alit veni[illegible: 1 letter] —

[illegible: 1 letter]eyl. Geog. Monſieur de Cordes uſed to ſay, that hee would bee content with all his heart to lye in hell ſeven years, on condition that Callice were taken from the Engliſh. And a conſiderate Engliſh Captain being asked by a proud Frenchman, When will yee fetch Callice again? Gravely replied, Quando peccata veſtra erunt noſtris graviora, when your ſins ſhall weigh down ours. God is to bee ſeen in every thing wee ſuffer ſith light afflictions not improved, are but as a drop of wrath fore-running the great ſtorms, a crack fore-running the ruine of the whole.

Neither bee weary of his correction] This is the other extream, deſpair and deſpondency of ſpirit.Non quia dura, ſed quia molles patimur. Sen. See my Love-tokens, pag. 44. &c.

Verſ. 12. For whom the Lord loveth] The Saints afflictions proceed oft from love diſpleaſed, offended. And yet wee have ſome now that tell us that God is never diſpleaſed with his people, though they fall into Adultery, or the like ſin, no not with a Fatherly diſpleaſure; that God never chaſtiſeth his people for any ſin, no not with a Fatherly chaſtiſement. But hee (though a Father) doth alter the ſet of his looks towards his childe, who is wanton upon his love, and lets down the diligence of his juſt obſervance and duty.

In whom hee delighteth] Quem unicè diligit, whom hee cockers above the reſt of his children. That Son in whom hee is well pleaſed, ſaith Mercerus, quem approbat, whom hee makes his White-boy, So Theophylact, Qui excipitur à numero flagellatorum, excipitur à numero filiorum. Hee that eſcapes affliction, may well ſuſpect his adoption. See my Love-tokens p. 54, 55.

Verſ. 13. Happy is the man] Though afflicted, if withall inſtructed, Si vexatio det intellectum. Bought wit is ever beſt prized. Bleſſed is the man whom thou chaſteneſt, O Lord, and thereby reachest him out of thy Law, Pſal. 94.12. Schola crucis, ſchola lucis. Gods houſe of correction, is his School of inſtruction. See my Love-tokens, p. 145, 146. &c.

And the man that getteth underſtanding] Heb. That draweth out underſtanding, viz. de theſauro ſuo, out of the good treaſure of his heart, as that good Scribe inſtructed to the Kingdome of Heaven. The Chaldee hath it, ja[illegible: 1 letter]iang, Matth. 13.5[illegible: 1 letter]. ſcaturire facit, that hath ſo profited in ſpiritual underſtanding, that hee can readily bring it forth to the benefit of others.

Verſ. 14. For the Merchandize of] That is, the profit that is gotten by making uſe of it. [non-Latin text not transcribed], ſaith a Father. Seldome is any man weary of taking money. Sing a Song of Utile, and men will lend their ears to it. The Jaſſians in Strabo, delighted with the Muſick of an excellent Harper, ran all away, as ſoon as the Market-bell rang, ſave a deaf old man, and hee too, as ſoon as hee heard of it. Now Godlineſs is profitable to all things, as having the Promiſes of both lives, and the Promiſes are exceeding great and precious things, 2 Pet. 1.4. even the unſearchable riches of Chriſt, Eph. 3.8. who brings gold tried in the fire, and that which is better, Rev. 3.18. For one grain of Grace is far beyond all the gold of Ophir, and one hours enjoyment of God to bee much preferred before all the King of Spains annual Entradoes. What is Gold and Silver but the guts and garbage of the earth? And what is all the pomp and glory of the world, but dung and dogs-meat? Phil. 3.7, 8. I eſteem them no better (ſurely) that I may win Chriſt, ſaid St. Paul, that great trader both by Land and Sea, 2 Cor. 11.23.25, 26. Let mee bee put to any pain,Phil. 3. to any loſs, tantundum ut Jeſum nanciſcar, ſo I may get my Jeſus, ſaid Ignatius. This gold wee cannot buy too dear, what ever wee pay for it. The wiſe Merchant ſells all to purchaſe it, Matth. 13.44, 46. Every true Son of Jacob will bee content to part with his broth for the birth-right, to purchaſe ſpiritual favours with earthly, Pſal. 134.3. The Lord that made heaven and earth, bleſs thee out of Sion, which is to ſay, the bleſſings that come out of Sion, are choice, peculiar, precious, even above any that come out of heaven and earth. Hag. 2.7. When God is ſhaking all Nations, the Saints ſhall come with their deſirable things (ſo ſome read the words) Colligent omnes theſauros ſu[illegible: 1 letter]s, ſaith Calvin, they ſhall gather up all their treaſures.

Verſ. 15. Shee is more precious than Rubies] Or, Pearls, Principium cul[illegible: 1 letter]enque omnium rerum precii Margarita teneus. Plin. Geſner. hist. de Aquat. lib. 4. Card. ſu[illegible: 1 letter]t. lib. 7. which of old were moſt highly eſteemed, as Pliny teſtifieth; Noſtra aetate mult is aliis gemmis poſt ponuntur. Now adayes there are many other gems of greater price, as Rubies, Carbuncles, &c. Cardan tells us, that every precious ſtone hath an egregious vertue in it: Every ſpiritual grace hath wee are ſure, and is of more value than large demains, ſtately buildings, and ten thouſand rivers of Oyl. If the Mountains were Pearl, the huge Rocks Rubies, and the whole Globe a ſhining Chryſolite, yet all this were not to bee named in the ſame day with wiſdome.

Verſ. 16. Length of dayes is in her right hand] This is the ſame in effect with verſ. 2. See the Note there, [non-Latin text not transcribed], ſaid Socrates, the ſame again may bee profitably ſaid over; Solomon wanted neither matter, nor words, and yet hee repeats and inculcates (for his Readers greater benefit) the ſame matter in the ſelf-ſame words almoſt.Seneca. Nunquam ſatis dicitur quod nunquam ſatis diſcitur. As to the Text, health and long life is that which every man covets. Now, Non domus & fundus, He[illegible: 3 letters]. non aris acerv[illegible: 1 letter] & auri Aegroto domini deducant corpore febres. Riches avail not in the day of wrath, but righteouſneſs delivereth from death, Prov. 10.2. The honourable garter cannot cure the Gout, nor the chair of eſtate eaſe the Colick, nor a Crown remove the head-ach. Nugas the Scythian deſpiſing the rich preſents and ornaments, that were ſent unto him by Michael Paleologus Emperour of Conſtantinople, Pachymer. Hiſt. lib. 5. asked, whether thoſe things could drive away calamities, diſeaſes, or death? No; this they cannot do; as Henry Beauford (that rich and wretched Cardinal) found by woful experience in the reign of Henry the ſixth. For perceiving death at hand, hee asked, Wherefore ſhould I dye being ſo rich? If the whole Realm would ſave my life, I am able either by policy to get it, or by riches to buy it. Fox Martyrol. vol. 1. p. 925. Fye, quoth hee, will not death bee hired? will mony do nothing? No; mony in this caſe bears no maſtery. Death (as the jealous man) will not regard any ranſome, neither will hee reſt content though thou offer many gifts, Prov. 6.35.

Aug. de civit. Dei. l. 5. c. 25. And in her left hand riches and honour] Bonus Deus Conſtantinum Magnum tantis terrenis implevit muneribus, quant[illegible: 1 letter] optare nullus auderet. The good Lord heaped ſo much outward happineſs upon his faithful Servant Conſtantine the Great, as no man ever durſt to have wiſhed more, ſaith Auſtin. If God give his People a Crown, hee will not deny them a cruſt: If they have bona throni, the good things of a Throne, they ſhall bee ſure of bona ſcabelli, the good things of the footſtool.

Verſ. 17. Her waies are waies of pleaſantneſſe] Such as were thoſe of Adam before his fall, ſtrawed with Roſes, paved with Peace. Some degree of comfort follows every good action, as heat accompanies fire, as beams and influences iſſue from the Sun. Which is ſo true, that very Heathens, upon the diſcharge of a good conſcience, have found comfort and peace anſwerable. This (ſaith One) is praemium ante praemium, a fore-reward of well-doing. In doing thereof (not onely for doing thereof) there is great reward, Pſal. 19.11.

Verſ. 18. Shee is a tree of life] A tree that giveth life, and quickeneth: or (as one interprets it) a mo[illegible: 2 letters] aſſured ſign of eternal life: whatſoever it is, hee alludeth, no doubt, to the tree mentioned, Gen. 2.9. & 3.22. See the Notes there.

And happy is every one that retains her] Though deſpiſed by the world as a poor Sneak, a contemptible caytiff. We uſually call a poor man, a poor ſoul: a poor ſoul may be a rich Chriſtian: as Roger ſirnamed Paupere cenſu was Son to Roger Biſhop of Salisbury, Goodwins Catal. p. 338. who made him Chancellour of England.

Verſ. 19. The Lord by wiſdome] By his eſſential wiſdome, by his eternal word, Prov. 8.30. the Lord Chriſt, who is the beginning of the Creation of God, Rev. 3.14. See the Note on John 1.3. In the beginning God created the Heaven and the Earth, Gen. 1.1. that is, In his Son, as ſome interpret it, Heb. 1.2. Col. 1.16. This interpretation is grounded upon the Jeruſalimy Targum, who tranſlates that, Gen. 1.1. bechochmatha, in ſapientia. So doth Auguſtine and others: and for confirmation they bring Joh. 8.25. but that is a miſtake, as Beza ſhews in his Annotations there.

Hee eſtabliſhed the Heaven] Heb. Hee aptly and trimly framed and formed them in that comelineſs that wee now ſee. The Heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament ſheweth his handy-work, (Pſal. 19.1.) Upon the third Heaven hee hath beſtowed a great deal of curious skill and cunning workmanſhip, [non-Latin text not transcribed]. Heb. 11.10. But of that no natural knowledge can be had, nor any help by humane arts, Geometry, Opticks, &c. For it neither is aſpectable, nor moveable. The Viſible Heavens are (for the many varieties therein, and the wonderful motion of the ſeveral ſphears) fitly called [non-Latin text not transcribed].Coelum maximè co nomine intelligunt Graci. Mercer. The Original word here uſed, ratione conjugationis plus aliquid ſignificat quam paravit, vel ſtabilivit. Conen, Mirum in modum dispoſuit. Hee hath cunningly contrived. And hence haply our antient Engliſh word Koning, and by contraction King, comming of the Verb Con, which ſignifies (as Becanus noteth) Poſſum, Scio, Andeo, I can, I wot, I dare do it.

Verſ. 20. The depths are broken up] viz. Thoſe great chanels and hollow places made in the earth, to hold the waters, Gen. 1.9. that they may not overflow the earth; and this the very Philoſophers are forced to confeſs to bee a work of divine wiſdome. Others by depths here underſtand fountains and floods breaking out, and as it were flowing from the nethermoſt parts of the earth, even as though the earth did cleave it ſelf in ſunder, to give them paſſage.

And the clouds drop down the dews] Clouds (the bottles of rain and dew) are veſſels as thin as the liquor that is contained in them; there they hang, move, though weighty with their burden. How they are upheld, and why they fall here, and now, wee know not, and wonder.

Verſ. 21. Let not them depart] Ne effluant haec ab oculis tuis, ſaith the Vulgar: Ne haec à tuis oculis deflectant in obliquum huc & illuc. So Mercer. Let thy eyes look right on, Chap. 4.25. look wiſhly and intently on theſe great works of God, and his wiſdome therein ſet forth and conſpicuous, as on a theatre. Eye theſe things, as the Steerſman doth the Load-ſtar, [non-Latin text not transcribed]. as the Archer doth the mark hee ſhoots at, 2 Cor. 4.18. or as the Paſſenger doth his way, which hee findes hard to hit, and dangerous to miſs. Yea let them bee the delight of thine eyes, with the ſight whereof thou canſt not bee ſated or ſurfeited.

Verſ. 22. So ſhall they bee life unto thy ſoul] For by theſe, men live, and this is the ſpirit of my life, ſaith Hezekiah, Iſa. 38.16. Even what God hath ſpoken, and done, verſ. 15. A godly man differs from a wicked, as much as a living man from a dead carkaſs. The wicked are ſtark dead, and ſtone cold. The Saints alſo want heat ſometimes, but they are ſoon made hot again; becauſe there is life of ſoul in them, as Charcoal is quickly kindled, becauſe it hath been in the fire.

And grace unto thy neck] Or to thy throat, that is, to thy words uttered through the throat. See the Note on chap. 1.9.

Verſ. 23. Then ſhalt thou walk in thy way ſafely] Fidneialiter, ſaith the Vulgar, confidently and ſecurely. Every Malvoy ſhall bee a Salvoy to thee: thou ſhalt ever go under a double guard, the Peace of God within thee, Phil. 4.7. and the Power of God without thee, 1 Pet. 1.5. Thou ſhalt bee in league alſo with the ſtones of the field, and the beaſts of the field ſhall bee at peace with thee, Job 5.23.

Verſ. 24. Thou ſhalt not bee afraid] See this exemplified in David, Pſal. 3.5, 6. Peter, Act. 12.6. and Mr. Rogers our late Protomartyr,Act. & Mon. fol. 1356. who when hee was warned ſuddenly to prepare for the fire, hee then being ſound aſleep in the priſon, ſcarce with much ſhogging could bee awaked.

Thy ſleep ſhall bee ſweet] As knowing that God (thy Keeper, Pſal. 121.4, 5.) doth wake and watch for thee, Pſal. 120.1. Wicked mens ſleep is often troubleſome, through the workings of their evil conſciences; Daniel[illegible: 1 letter] Hiſt. of Eng. as our Richard the third (after the murther of his own two innocent Nephews) had fearful dreams, inſomuch that hee did often leap out of his bed in the dark, and catching his ſword (which alway naked ſtuck by his ſide) hee would go diſtractedly about the Chamber, every where ſeeking to finde out the cauſe of his own-occaſioned diſquiet. So Charles the ninth of France, after that bloody Maſſacre of Paris, was ſo inwardly terrified, that hee was every night laid to ſleep, Thu[illegible: 1 letter]n. lib. 57. and wakened again with a ſet of Muſicians.

Verſ. 25. Bee not afraid] Or, thou ſhalt not bee afraid. Nec ſi fractus illabatur orbis. Sudden evils do commonly diſ-ſpirit people, and expectorate their abilities, they be at their wits end. But let a David walk through the vale of the ſhadow of death (that is, the darkeſt ſide of death, death in its moſt horrid and hideous repreſentations) hee will not fear, no though hee ſhould go back again the ſame way: for thou art with mee, ſaith hee. Hee had God by the hand, and ſo long hee feared no colours, Pſal. 23.4.

Verſ. 26. For the Lord ſhall bee thy confidence] The Hebrew word here uſed, ſignifies both unconſtant folly, Eccleſ. 7.27. and conſtant hope, Pſal. 78.7. And Rabbi Solomon ſaith, that hee had found in the Jeruſalem-Targum this Text, thus cenſured and expounded, The Lord ſhall bee with thee in thy folly; that is, hee ſhall turn to thy good, even thine inconſiderate and raſh enterprizes, if thou addict thy ſelf to the ſtudy of wiſdome.

And ſhall keep thy foot from being taken] In the ſnare which thou waſt near unto, by chuſing, rather to bee held temerarious, than timorous.

Verſ. 27. With-hold not good from them to whom it is due] Either by the Law of equity, or of charity: For there is a debt of love, Rom. 13.8. that wee muſt ever bee owing, and ever pay. And as wee ſay of thanks, Gratiae habendae & agendae, Thanks muſt bee given and held as ſtill due, ſo muſt this debt of love. Quicquid Clerici habent, pauperum eſt, ſaith Hierome; Its true (in a ſenſe) of others, as well as of Miniſters. The poor (Gods poor) are the owners of that wee have, wee are but ſtewards and diſpenſers of Gods bounty to his neceſſitous ſervants: Now if our receits bee found great, and our layings out ſmall, God will caſt ſuch bills back in our faces, and turn us out of our ſtewardſhip. They are fools that fear to loſe their wealth by giving, but fear not to loſe themſelves by keeping it.

When it is in the power of thy hand] When thou haſt opportunity and ability; for wee muſt not ſtretch beyond the ſtaple, that were to marre all: Neither when a price is put into our hands, may wee play the fools and neglect it: But whereſoever God ſets us up an Altar,Prov. 17.16 wee muſt bee ready with our Sacrifice of Alms: for with ſuch Sacrifices God is well-pleaſed, Heb. 13. See my common place of Alms.

Verſ. 28. To morrow] Bis dat qui cito dat, while yee have time, do good to all: your beneficence muſt bee prompt and preſent; who can tell what a great-bellyed day may bring forth? Ethiopia ſhall ſoon ſtretch out her hands unto God, Weo[illegible: 1 letter]ſ[illegible: 1 letter]. Pſal. 58.32. currere faciet manus ſuas ad Dominum, to note their ſpeedineſs in giving,Iſa. 23.18. ſaith one. Tyrus alſo, when converted once, makes haſte to feed and cloathe Gods poor Saints with the money and Merchandiſe ſhee was wont to heap up and hoard.

Verſ. 29. Deviſe not evil againſt thy neighbour] Heb. Plow not evil, i. e. plot not. One of the Rabbines renders it, Suſpect not, ſhun evil ſurmiſes, 1 Tim. 6.4. Moſt unkindneſſes among friends grow upon miſtakes, miſpriſions; charity is candid, and takes every thing in the beſt ſenſe, and by the right handle. 1 Cor. 13.

Verſ. 30. Strive not with a man without cauſe] If mens hearts were not bigger than their ſutes, there would not bee half ſo many. It is a fault to go lightly to Law, but eſpecially with ſuch as have done thee no harm. Zuinglius renders this Text thus: Ne temere litem cum quoquam ſuſcipias, quo minus ſuperior factus, malum tibi retribuat. Others, ſim mendax, niſi rependat tibi malum. Life of Card. Wolſey. How Cardinal Wolſey, when hee became Lord Chancellour, paid home Sir James Paulet, for ſetting him by the heels, when as yet hee was but a poor School-maſter, is well known. How much better Arch-biſhop Cranmer, of whom the proverb paſſed, Do my Lord of Canterbury a ſhrewd turn, and you ſhall have him your friend for ever after: Act. & Mon. And Robert Holgat Arch-biſhop of York, of whom it is recorded, that in the year 1541. hee obtained a benefice in a place where one Sir Francis Askew of Lincolnſhire dwelt, by whom hee was much troubled and moleſted in Law; Upon occaſion of theſe ſutes, hee was fain to repair to London, where being, hee found means to become the Kings Chaplain, and by him was made Arch-biſhop of York, and Preſident of the Kings Council for the North. The Knight before-mentioned, happened to have a ſute before the Council there, and doubted much of hard meaſure from the Archbiſhop, whoſe adverſary hee had been. But hee, remembring the rule of the Goſpel, Godw. Catalog. 625. to do good for evil, yeelded him all favour, that with juſtice he might; ſaying afterwards merrily to his friends, hee was much beholden to Sir Francis Askew: for that had not hee been, hee muſt have lived a hedge-Prieſt all the daies of his life.

Verſ. 31. Envy not the oppreſſor] That grows rich by unjuſt quarrels and vexatious Law-ſutes. It is not for nothing ſurely that our Saviour, Luke 12.15. after, Who made mee a Judge? adds, Take heed and beware of covetouſneſs: Implying, that moſt men go to Law with a covetous o[illegible: 1 letter] a vindictive mind: whereas if they will needs wage Law, they ſhould do it as Charles the French King made war with our Henry the ſeventh, more deſiring peace, than profit or victory. It ſhould bee with men in this caſe, as it was with St. Auſtin and Hierom in their Diſputations; It was no matter who gained the day, they would both win by underſtanding their errours.

Verſ. 32. For the froward is abomination] The Vitilitigator, the Wrangler, the Common-barreter, though hee may proſper in the world, yet God cannot abide him, his money will periſh with him. Hee will one day ſay to his curſed heaps of evil-gotten goods, as Charles the fifth, Emperour,Phil. Morn. in his old age did of his victories, trophees, riches, honours; hee curſed them all, ſaying, Abite hinc, abite longe. Avaunt, bee packing, hence, away.

But his ſecret] They ſhall bee of his Cabinet-councel, that chuſe rather to lye in the duſt, than to riſe by evil arts, by wicked principles; ſuch were Joſeph, Micaiah, Daniel, &c.

Verſ. 33. In the houſe of the wicked] His wife, children, family, poſſeſſions; all are accurſed; his fine cloaths have the plague in them: Or his houſe, which is his Caſtle, the flying roul of Curſes (that is ten yards long, and five yards broad) ſhall remain in the midſt of it, and conſume it, Zach. 5.4.

But hee bleſſeth the habitation of the juſt] [illegible: 1 letter]abvenaki, caſam expouit & tuguriolum egregio ſenſu, ſaith Mercer. The poor little cottage or tenement of the righteous, there is a bleſſing in it, there is contented godlineſs which is greateſt gain; the beſſing of God which maketh rich, [non-Latin text not transcribed]. Here are the gods (could the Philoſopher ſay of his poor habitation, meaning his heatheniſh houſhold gods) what ever elſe is wanting to mee. How much more may a Saint ſay ſo of his God, who will awake for him, and make the habitation of his righteouſneſs proſperous? Job 8.6.

Verſ. 34. Surely hee ſcorneth the ſcorner] Thoſe proud haughty ſcorners (Prov. 21.24. with 1 Pet. 5.5.) who jeer at this Doctrine,Facit ut aliis ſiut ludibrio, ubi in calamitatem incider[illegible: 1 letter]nt, Rab. Levi. and at thoſe that beleeve it. Surely God ſcorneth theſe ſcorners (for hee loves to retaliate) hee that ſitteth in heaven laughs a good at them, Pſal. 2.4. hee makes them alſo (in his juſt judgement) a deriſion to others, and puniſheth them with the common hatred of all; Contempt being a thing that mans nature is moſt impatient of, and in carnal reaſon, Tallying of injuries is but juſtice.

But hee giveth grace to the lowly] Though oppreſſed by ſcorners, yet ſhall they bee no loſers, for God will give grace, and hee will give glory, verſ. 25. (grace and glory? what things bee theſe!) and no good thing will hee withhold from them that walk uprightly, Pſal. 84.11. Humility is both a grace and a veſſel to receive grace. And as hee that goeth into a Pond or River to take up water, puts the mouth of his veſſel downward, and ſo takes it up: In like ſort, hee that looks for any good from God, muſt put his mouth in the duſt, and cry out, Lord, I am not worthy, &c: Non ſum digniis, at ſum indigens. Pſal. 70.5. I am poor and needy, make haſte unto mee, O God, &c.

Verſ. 35. The wiſe ſhall inherit glory] Not have it onely, but inherit it, Hoc eſt proprio, perfecto & perpetuo jure poſſidebunt, as Pellican, they ſhall have it as their proper, perfect, and perpetual right.

But ſhame ſhall bee the promotion of fools] A fair promotion they come to, but good enough for them, unleſs they were better. If they attain to high places and preferments, theſe prove but as high Gibbets to bring them to more diſgrace in this world, and torment in the next. Some there bee that read the Text thus, But ſhame taketh away the fooliſh; that is, it carrieth both them and their hope away in a pinch of time, or twinkling of the eye, as it were.