Proverbs 5 commentary

Solomon cautions all young men, as his children, to abstain from fleshly lusts. Some, by the adulterous woman, here understand idolatry, false doctrine, which tends to lead astray men's minds and manners; but the direct view is to warn against seventh-commandment sins. Often these have been, and still are, Satan's method of drawing men from the worship of God into false religion. Consider how fatal the consequences; how bitter the fruit! Take it any way, it wounds. It leads to the torments of hell. The direct tendency of this sin is to the destruction of body and soul. We must carefully avoid every thing which may be a step towards it. Those who would be kept from harm, must keep out of harm's way. If we thrust ourselves into temptation we mock God when we pray, Lead us not into temptation. How many mischiefs attend this sin! It blasts the reputation; it wastes time; it ruins the estate; it is destructive to health; it will fill the mind with horror. Though thou art merry now, yet sooner or later it will bring sorrow. The convinced sinner reproaches himself, and makes no excuse for his folly. By the frequent acts of sin, the habits of it become rooted and confirmed. By a miracle of mercy true repentance may prevent the dreadful consequences of such sins; but this is not often; far more die as they have lived. What can express the case of the self-ruined sinner in the eternal world, enduring the remorse of his conscience!

Lawful marriage is a means God has appointed to keep from these destructive vices. But we are not properly united, except as we attend to God's word, seeking his direction and blessing, and acting with affection. Ever remember, that though secret sins may escape the eyes of our fellow-creatures, yet a man's ways are before the eyes of the Lord, who not only sees, but ponders all his goings. Those who are so foolish as to choose the way of sin, are justly left of God to themselves, to go on in the way to destruction.

CHAPTER 5

Pr 5:1-23. A warning against the seductive arts of wicked women, enforced by considering the advantages of chastity, and the miserable end of the wicked.

1. This connection of wisdom and understanding is frequent (Pr 2:2; 3:7); the first denotes the use of wise means for wise ends; the other, the exercise of a proper discrimination in their discovery.

2. regard--or, "observe."

keep--preserve constantly.

3. (Compare Pr 2:16). Her enticing promises are deceitful.

4. her end--literally, "her future," in sense of reward, what follows (compare Psa 37:37; 73:17). Its nature is evinced by the use of figures, opposite those of Pr 5:3. The physical and moral suffering of the deluded profligate are notoriously terrible.

5. feet ... , steps--that is, course of life ends in death.

6. her ways ... know--Some prefer, "that she may not ponder the path of life," &c.; but perhaps a better sense is, "her ways are varied, so as to prevent your knowledge of her true character, and so of true happiness."

8-9. Avoid the slightest temptation.

10. wealth--literally, "strength," or the result of it.

labours--the fruit of thy painful exertions (Psa 127:2). There may be a reference to slavery, a commuted punishment for death due the adulterer (De 22:22).

11. at the last--the end, or reward (compare Pr 5:4).

mourn--roar in pain.

flesh and ... body--the whole person under incurable disease.

12-14. The ruined sinner vainly laments his neglect of warning and his sad fate in being brought to public disgrace.

15-20. By figures, in which well, cistern, and fountain [Pr 5:15, 18] represent the wife, and rivers of waters [Pr 5:16] the children, men are exhorted to constancy and satisfaction in lawful conjugal enjoyments. In Pr 5:16, fountains (in the plural) rather denote the produce or waters of a spring, literally, "what is from a spring," and corresponds with "rivers of waters."

21. The reason, God's eye is on you,

22-23. and He will cause sin to bring its punishment.

Attend unto my wisdom - Take the following lessons from my own experience.

The lips of a strange woman - One that is not thy own, whether Jewess or heathen.

Drop as a honey-comb - She uses the most deceitful, flattering, and alluring speeches: as the droppings of the honey out of the comb are the sweetest of all.

Bitter as wormwood - כלענה Kelanah, like the detestable herb wormwood, or something analogous to it: something as excessive in its bitterness, as honey is in its sweetness.

Her feet go down to death - She first, like a serpent, infuses her poison, by which the whole constitution of her paramour is infected, which soon or late brings on death.

Her steps take hold on hell - First, the death of the body; and then the damnation of the soul. These are the tendencies of connections with such women.

Lest thou shouldest ponder - To prevent thee from reflecting on thy present conduct, and its consequences, her ways are moveable - she continually varies her allurements.

Thou canst not know them - It is impossible to conceive all her tricks and wiles: to learn these in all their varieties, is a part of the science first taught in that infernal trade.

Hear me - O ye children - בנים banim, sons, young men in general: for these are the most likely to be deceived and led astray.

Come not nigh the door of her house - Where there are generally such exhibitions as have a natural tendency to excite impure thoughts, and irregular passions.

Lest thou give thine honor - The character of a debauchee is universally detested: by this, even those of noble blood lose their honor and respect.

Thy years unto the cruel - Though all the blandishments of love dwell on the tongue, and the excess of fondness appear in the whole demeanor of the harlot and the prostitute; yet cruelty has its throne in their hearts; and they will rob and murder (when it appears to answer their ends) those who give their strength, their wealth, and their years to them. The unfaithful wife has often murdered her own husband for the sake of her paramour, and has given him over to justice in order to save herself. Murders have often taken place in brothels, as well as robberies; for the vice of prostitution is one of the parents of cruelty.

When thy flesh and thy body are consumed - The word שאר shear, which we render body, signifies properly the remains, residue, or remnant of a thing: and is applied here to denote the breathing carcass, putrid with the concomitant disease of debauchery: a public reproach which the justice of God entails on this species of iniquity. The mourning here spoken of is of the most excessive kind: the word נהם naham is often applied to the growling of a lion, and the hoarse incessant murmuring of the sea. In the line of my duty, I have been often called to attend the death-bed of such persons, where groans and shrieks were incessant through the jaculating pains in their bones and flesh. Whoever has witnessed a closing scene like this will at once perceive with what force and propriety the wise man speaks. And How have I hated instruction, and despised the voice of my teachers! is the unavailing cry in that terrific time. Reader, whosoever thou art, lay these things to heart. Do not enter into their sin: once entered, thy return is nearly hopeless.

I was almost in all evil - This vice, like a whirlpool, sweeps all others into its vortex.

In the midst of the congregation and assembly - In the mydel of the Curche and of the Synagoge - Old MS. Bible. Such persons, however sacred the place, carry about with them eyes full of adultery, which cannot cease from sin.

Drink waters out of thine own cistern - Be satisfied with thy own wife; and let the wife see that she reverence her husband; and not tempt him by inattention or unkindness to seek elsewhere what he has a right to expect, but cannot find, at home.

Let thy fountains be dispersed abroad - Let thy children lawfully begotten be numerous.

Let them be only thine own - The off-spring of a legitimate connection; a bastard brood, however numerous, is no credit to any man.

Let thy fountain be blessed - יהי מקורך ברוך yehi mekorecha baruch. Sit vena tua benedicta. Thy vein; that which carries off streams from the fountain of animal life, in order to disperse them abroad, and through the streets. How delicate and correct is the allusion here! But anatomical allusions must not be pressed into detail in a commentary on Scripture.

The loving hind and pleasant roe - By אילת aiyeleth, the deer; by יעלה yaalah, the ibex or mountain goat, may be meant.

Let her breasts satisfy thee - As the infant is satisfied with the breasts of its mother; so shouldst thou be with the wife of thy youth.

For the ways of a man - Whether they are public or private, God sees all the steps thou takest in life.

He shall be holden with the cords of his sins - Most people who follow unlawful pleasures, think they can give them up whenever they please; but sin repeated becomes customary; custom soon engenders habit; and habit in the end assumes the form of necessity; the man becomes bound with his own cords, and so is led captive by the devil at his will.

He shall die without instruction - This is most likely, and it is a general case; but even these may repent and live.

The lips - It concerns thee to get and to use discretion, that thou mayest be able to resist those temptations to which thou art exposed.

But - The effect of that to which she entices men, is destruction.

Feet - Her manner of life.

Lest - To prevent thy serious consideration. Moveable - She transforms herself into several shapes, and has a thousand arts to ensnare. Know - Thou canst not discover all her practice.

Honour - Thy dignity and reputation, the strength of thy body and mind. Years - The flower of thine age. The cruel - To the harlot, who though she pretends love, yet in truth is one of the most cruel creatures in the world, wasting thy estate and body without pity, and damming thy soul for ever.

Strangers - Not only the strange women themselves, but others who are in league with them. Labors - Wealth gotten by thy labours.

A moment - In how little a time am I now come into remediless misery! Assembly - And that in the congregation of Israel, where I was taught better things.

Drink - Content thyself with those delights which God alloweth thee in the sober use of the marriage - bed.

Fountains - Thy children proceeding from thy wife and from thyself. Fountains are here put for rivers flowing from them. Dispersed - They shall in due time appear abroad to thy comfort, and for the good of others.

Fountain - Thy wife. Blessed - With children; for barrenness was esteemed a curse among the Israelites.

Satisfy thee - At all convenient times: for that there may be excess in the marriage - bed is manifest. Ravished - Love her fervently. It is an hyperbolical expression.

Holden - He is in perfect bondage to his lusts, and is neither able nor wiling to set himself at liberty.

Die - He shall die in his sins. Astray - From the way of life, and from eternal salvation.

2. That thou maist regard discretion , and that thy lips may keep knowledge .

Or, keep, i. e. hold fast, as it is in the next clause.

Spiritual Wisdom for the conduct of thy Life, as this word is used, Prov. 1. 4. and elsewhere in this Book.

That by wise and pious discourses thou maist preserve and improve thy Wisdom for thine own and others good.

3. For the lips of a strange woman drop as an hony-comb , and her mouth is smoother than

It concerns thee to get, and to use discretion, that thou maist be able to resist and repel those manifold Temptations to which thou art exposed.

Her words and discourses are sweet, and charming, and prevalent.

Marginal references: Chap. 2. 16. & 6. 24.; Heb. palate. oil.

4 But her end is bitter as wormwood , sharp as a two-edged Sword.

Her design, and the effect of that lewdness to which she enticeth men, is the sinners destruction.

5. Her feet go down to death: her steps take hold on hell.

Her course or manner of Life.

Marginal references: Chap. 7. 27.

6. Lest thou shouldst ponder the path of life , her ways are moveable , that thou canst not know them .

To prevent thy serious consideration of the way and manner of rescuing thy self from this deadly course of Life.

Various and changeable. She transforms her self into several shapes to accommodate her self to the humours of her Lovers, and hath a Thousand Arts and Deceits to enshare them, and hold them fast.

Thou canst not discover all her subtil practices, and much less deliver thy self from them.

8. Remove thy way far from her, and come not nigh the door of her House .

Lest thine eyes affect thine Heart, and her allurements prevail over thee.

Marginal references: Chap. 7. 7, 8, &c.

9. Lest thou give thine honour unto others , and thy years unto the cruel .

Thy Dignity and Reputation, the strength and vigour of thy Body and Mind, which is an honour to a man, and which are commonly wasted by Adulterous practices.

Unto Whores and their Husbands and Children and Friends.

The flower of thine age, thy youthful years.

To the Harlot, who though she pretends ardent Love and kindness to thee, yet in truth is one of the most cruel Creatures in the World, wasting thy Estate and Body without the least pity, and then casting thee off with scorn and contempt, and when her Interest requires it, taking away thy very life, of which there are enumerable examples, and damning thy Soul for ever.

10. Lest strangers be filled with thy wealth, and thy labours be in the house of a stranger,

Not onely the strange women themselves, but Bawds, Panders, and other Adulterers, who are in league with them.

Wealth gotten by thy labours.

Marginal references: Heb. thy strength.

11. And thou mourn at the last , when thy flesh, and thy body are consumed ,

Bitterly bewail thy own madness and misery when it is too late.

Thy Flesh, even thy Body; the particle, and, being put expositively.

By those manifold diseases which filthy and inordinate Lusts bring upon the Body, of which Physicians give a very large and sad Catalogue, and the Bodies of many Adulterers give full

12. And say, how have I hated instruction , and my heart despised reproof !

Oh what a mad beast have I been to hate and sleight the fair warnings which were given me, and against mine own knowledg, to run headlong into this pit of destruction! Which are not the words of a true penitent mourning for, and turning from his sin, but only of a man who is grieved for the sad effects of his delightful Lusts, and tormented with the horrour of his own guilty Conscience.

I did with my whole Heart abhor all admonitions.

13. And have not obeyed the voice of my Teachers , nor enclined mine ear to them that instructed me.

Of my Parents and Friends, and Ministers, who faithfully and seasonably informed me of those mischiefs and miseries which now I feel.

14. I was almost in all evil , in the midst of the congregation and Assembly b.

Oh what a miserable man am I! There is scarce any misery in respect of Estate, or Body, or Soul, into which I am not already plunged. The words also are and may well be rendred thus, In a moment I am come into all evil. In how little a time, and for what short and momentany pleasures am I now come into extream and remediless misery! I who designed and expected to enjoy my Lusts with secrecy, and impunity, am now made a publick example and shameful spectacle to all men, and that in the Congregation of Israel, where I was taught better things, and where such Actions are most infamous and hateful.

15. Drink Waters out of thine own cistern; and running waters out of thine own well .

This Metaphor contained here, and v. 16, 17, 18. is to be understood, either 1. of the free and lawful use of a mans estate, both for his own comfort, and for the good of others. Or rather 2. of the honest use of Matrimony, as the proper Remedy against these filthy practices. This best suits with the whole context both foregoing and following: and thus it is explained in the end of v. 18. So the sense is, Content thy self with those delights which God alloweth thee, with the sober use of the Marriage-Bed. Why shouldst thou ramble hither and thither, trespassing against God and men, to steal their Waters which thou mightst freely take out of thine own Cistern or Well. The ground of the Metaphor is this, that waters were scarce and precious in those Countries, and therefore men used to make Cisterns & Wells for their own private use. And the same Metaphor of Waters, and of a Pit, or Well is applied to things of this nature elsewhere, as Prov. 23. 27. Isa. 48. 1. & 51. 1.

16. Let thy fountains be dispersed abroad , and rivers of Waters in the streets.

Thy Children proceeding from thy Wife, called thy fountain, v. 18. and from thy self, as the Israelites are said to come from the Fountain of Israel, Deut. 33. 28. Psal. 68. 26. Compare Isa. 51. 1. And Fountains are here put for Rivers flowing from them, as it is explained in the next clause, and as it is Psal. 104. 10. by a Metonymy of the Cause for the Effect. And this title may be the more fitly given to Children, because as they are Rivers in respect of their Parents, so when they grow up, they also become Fountains to their Children.

They shall be multiplied, and in due time appear abroad in the World to thy Comfort and Honour, and for the good of others: whereas Whores are commonly barren, and men are ashamed to own the Children of Whoredom.

17. Let them be only thine own, and not strangers with thee .

Hereby thou mayest be secured, that thou dost not father and leave thine Estate to other mens Children, whereas the Parents of Harlots Children are common or uncertain.

18. Let thy fountain be blessed : and rejoice with the wife of thy youth .

Thy Wife, as the next clause explains it.

She shall be blessed with Children, for Barrenness was esteemed a curse and reproach, especially among the Israelites. Or rather, she shall be a Blessing and a Comfort to thee, as it follows, and not a Curse and a Snare, as an Harlot will be.

Seek not to Harlots for that delight which God alloweth thee to take with thy Wife. So here he explains the foregoing Metaphor, and applies it to his present design.

Which thou didst marry in her and thine own youthful days, with whom therefore in all reason and justice thou art still to satisfie thy self, even when she is old. Or he mentions Youth, because that is the season in which men are most prone to unclean practices, against which men are commonly fortified by the Infirmities of Old Age.

19. Let her be as the loving hind , and pleasant roe, let her breasts satisfie thee at all times , and be thou ravisht always with her love.

Or, as the beloved Hind, Heb. the Hind of Loves; as amiable and delightful as the Hinds are, either 1. to their Males, the Harts; or 2. to Princes and great men, who used to make them tame and familiar, and to take great delight in them, as hath been noted by many Writers; of which see my Latine Synopsis.

i. e. Her Loves and Embraces, expressed by lying between the Breasts, Cant. 1. 13. Compare Ezek. 23. 3. 8. 21.

At all convenient times: For that there may be excess in the use of the Marriage-Bed is manifest, not only from many Scriptures, but from the light of Nature, and the consent of wife and sober Heathens, who have laid restraints upon men in this particular. A man may be drunk with his own Wine, and intemperate with his own Wife. Or, in all ages and conditions. Do not only love her when she is young and beautiful, but also when she is old and deformed.

Love her fervently. It is an Hyperbolical Expression.

Marginal references: Heb. water thee.; Heb. err thou always in her ove.

20. And why wilt thou, my son, be ravisht with a strange Woman , and embrace the bosome of a stranger?

Why wilt thou destroy and damn thy self for those delights which thou maist enjoy without sin or danger?

21. For the ways of man are before the eyes of the LORD , and he pondereth all his goings .

God sees all thy filthy actions, though done with all possible cunning and secrecy.

He taketh an exact account of all their doings, that he may recompence them according to the kinds, degrees, numbers, and aggravations of all their unchaste actions.

Marginal references: 2 Chr. 16. 9. Job 31. 4. & 34. 21. Chap. 15. 3. Jer. 16. 17. & 32. 19.

22. His own iniquities shall take the wicked himself, and he shall be holden with the cords of his sins .

In vain doth he think to disentangle himself from his lusts by repenting when he grows in years, and to escape punishments; for he is in perfect bondage to his Lusts and is neither able nor willing to set himself at Liberty. and if he do escape the rage of a jealous Husband, and the sentence of the Magistrate, yet he shall be infallibly overtaken by the righteous Judgment of God.

Marginal references: Chap. 11. 3▪ 5, 6.; Heb. sin.

23. He shall die without instruction , and in the greatness of his folly he shall go astray .

Because he neglected Instruction. Or, without Correction or Amendment. He shall die in his sins, and not repent of them, as he designed and hoped to do before his death.

Through his stupendious Folly, whereby he cheated himself with hopes of Repentance or Impunity, and exposed himself to endless torments for the momentany pleasures of sinful Lusts.

From God and from the way of Life, and from eternal Salvation.

Marginal references: Job. 4. 21. & 36. 12.

Pro 5:1-6

Here a fourth rule of life follows the three already given, Pro 4:24, Pro 4:25, Pro 4:26-27 : 1 My son, attend unto my wisdom,    And incline thine ear to my prudence, 2 To observe discretion,    And that thy lips preserve knowledge. 3 For the lips of the adulteress distil honey,    And smoother than oil is her mouth; 4 But her end is bitter like wormwood,    Sharper than a two-edged sword. 5 Her feet go down to death,    Her steps cleave to Hades. 6 She is far removed from entering the way of life,    Her steps wander without her observing it.

Wisdom and understanding increase with the age of those who earnestly seek after them. It is the father of the youth who here requests a willing ear to his wisdom of life, gained in the way of many years’ experience and observation. In Pro 5:2 the inf. of the object is continued in the finitum, as in Pro 2:2, Pro 2:8. מזמּות (vid., on its etymon under Pro 1:4) are plans, projects, designs, for the most part in a bad sense, intrigues and artifices (vid., Pro 24:8), but also used of well-considered resolutions toward what is good, and hence of the purposes of God, Jer 23:20. This noble sense of the word מזמּה, with its plur., is peculiar to the introductory portion (chap. 1-9) of the Book of Proverbs. The plur. means here and at Pro 8:12 (placing itself with חכמות and תּבוּנות, vid., p. 68) the reflection and deliberation which is the presupposition of well-considered action, and שׁמר is thus not otherwise than at Pro 19:8, and everywhere so meant, where it has that which is obligatory as its object: the youth is summoned to careful observation and persevering exemplification of the quidquid agas, prudenter agas et respice finem. In 2b the Rebia Mugrash forbids the genitive connection of the two words דּעתו שׂפתיך; we translate: et ut scientiam labia tua tueantur. Lips which preserve knowledge are such as permit nothing to escape from them (Psa 17:3) which proceeds not from the knowledge of God, and in Him of that which is good and right, and aims at the working out of this knowledge; vid., Köhler on Mal 2:7. שׂפתיך (from שׂפה, Arab. shafat, edge, lip, properly that against which one rubs, and that which rubs itself) is fem., but the usage of the language presents the word in two genders (cf. 3a with Pro 26:23). Regarding the pausal ינצרוּ for יצּרוּ, vid., under Mal 3:1; Mal 2:11. The lips which distil the honey of enticement stand opposite to the lips which distil knowledge; the object of the admonition is to furnish a protection against the honey-lips.

Pro 5:7-11

The eighth discourse springs out of the conclusion of the seventh, and connects itself by its reflective מעליה so closely with it that it appears as its continuation; but the new beginning and its contents included in it, referring only to social life, secures its relative independence. The poet derives the warning against intercourse with the adulteress from the preceding discourse, and grounds it on the destructive consequences. 7 And now, ye sons, hearken unto me,    And depart not from the words of my mouth. 8 Hold thy path far from her neighbourhood,    And come not to the door of her house! 9 That thou mayest not give the freshness of thy youth to another,    Nor thy years to the cruel one; 10 That strangers may not sate themselves with thy possessions,    And the fruit of thy toils come into the house of a stranger, 11 And thou groanest at the end,    When thy flesh and thy body are consumed.

Neither here nor in the further stages of this discourse is there any reference to the criminal punishment inflicted on the adulterer, which, according to Lev 20:10, consisted in death, according to Eze 16:40, cf. John. Pro 8:5, in stoning, and according to a later traditional law, in strangulation (חנק). Ewald finds in Pro 5:14 a play on this punishment of adultery prescribed by law, and reads from Pro 5:9. that the adulterer who is caught by the injured husband was reduced to the state of a slave, and was usually deprived of his manhood. But that any one should find pleasure in making the destroyer of his wife his slave is a far-fetched idea, and neither the law nor the history of Israel contains any evidence for this punishment by slavery or the mutilation of the adulterer, for which Ewald refers to Grimm’s Deutsche Rechtsaltertümer. The figure which is here sketched by the poet is very different. He who goes into the net of the wanton woman loses his health and his goods. She stands not alone, but has her party with her, who wholly plunder the simpleton who goes into her trap. Nowhere is there any reference to the husband of the adulteress. The poet does not at all think on a married woman. And the word chosen directs our attention rather to a foreigner than to an Israelitish woman, although the author may look upon harlotry as such as heathenish rather than Israelitish, and designate it accordingly. The party of those who make prostitutes of themselves consists of their relations and their older favourites, the companions of their gain, who being in league with her exhaust the life-strength and the resources of the befooled youth (Fl.). This discourse begins with ועתּה, for it is connected by this concluding application (cf. Pro 7:24) with the preceding.

Pro 5:12-14

The poet now tells those whom he warns to hear how the voluptuary, looking back on his life-course, passes sentence against himself. 12 And thou sayest, “Why have I then hated correction,      And my heart despised instruction! 13 And I have not listened to the voice of my teachers,      Nor lent mine ear to my instructors? 14 I had almost fallen into every vice      In the midst of the assembly and the congregation!”

The question 12a (here more an exclamation than a question) is the combination of two: How has it become possible for me? How could it ever come to it that.... Thus also one says in Arab.: Kyf f'alat hadhâ (Fl.). The regimen of איך in 12b is becoming faint, and in 13b has disappeared. The Kal נאץ (as Pro 1:30; Pro 15:5) signifies to despise; the Piel intensively, to contemn and reject (R. נץ, pungere).

Pro 5:15-17

The commendation of true conjugal love in the form of an invitation to a participation in it, is now presented along with the warning against non-conjugal intercourse, heightened by a reference to its evil consequences. 15 Drink water from thine own cistern,      And flowing streams from thine own fountain. 16 Shall thy streams flow abroad,      The water-brooks in the streets! 17 Let them belong to thyself alone,      And not to strangers with thee.

One drinks water to quench his thirst; here drinking is a figure of the satisfaction of conjugal love, of which Paul says, 1Co 7:9, κρεῖσσόν ἐστι γαμῆσαι ἢ πυροῦσθαι, and this comes into view here, in conformity with the prevailing character of the O.T., only as a created inborn natural impulse, without reference to the poisoning of it by sin, which also within the sphere of married life makes government, moderation, and restraint a duty. Warning against this degeneracy of the natural impulse to the πάθος ἐπιθυμίας authorized within divinely prescribed limits, the apostle calls the wife of any one τὸ ἑαυτοῦ σκεῦος (cf. 1Pe 3:7). So here the wife, who is his by covenant (Pro 2:17), is called “cistern” (בור)The lxx translate ἀπὸ σῶν ἀγγείων, i.e., מכּוריך (vid., Lagarde). and “fountain” (בּאר) of the husband to whom she is married. The figure corresponds to the sexual nature of the wife, the expression for which is נקבה; but Isa 51:1 holds to the natural side of the figure, for according to it the wife is a pit, and the children are brought out of it into the light of day. Aben-Ezra on Lev 11:36 rightly distinguishes between בור and באר: the former catches the rain, the latter wells out from within. In the former, as Rashi in Erubin ii. 4 remarks, there are מים מכונסים, in the latter חיים מים. The post-biblical Hebrew observes this distinction less closely (vid., Kimchi’s Book of Roots), but the biblical throughout; so far the Kerı̂, Jer 6:7, rightly changes בור into the form בּיר, corresponding to the Arab. byar. Therefore בור is the cistern, for the making of which חצב, Jer 2:13, and באר the well, for the formation of which חפר, Gen 21:30, and כרה, Gen 26:25, are the respective words usually employed (vid., Malbim, Sifra 117b). The poet shows that he also is aware of this distinction, for he calls the water which one drinks from the בור by the name מים, but on the other hand that out of the באר by the name נוזלים, running waters, fluenta; by this we are at once reminded of Sol 4:15, cf. 12. The בור offers only stagnant water (according to the Sohar, the בור has no water of its own, but only that which is received into it), although coming down into it from above; but the באר has living water, which wells up out of its interior (מתּוך, 15b, intentionally for the mere מן), and is fresh as the streams from Lebanon (נזל, properly labi, to run down, cf. אזל, placide ire, and generally ire; Arab. zâl, loco cedere, desinere; Arab. zll, IV, to cause to glide back, deglutire, of the gourmand). What a valuable possession a well of water is for nomads the history of the patriarchs makes evident, and a cistern is one of the most valuable possessions belonging to every well-furnished house. The figure of the cistern is here surpassed by that of the fountain, but both refer to the seeking and finding satisfaction (cf. the opposite passage, Pro 23:27) with the wife, and that, as the expressive possessive suffixes denote, with his legitimate wife.

Pro 5:18-20

With Pro 5:18 is introduced anew the praise of conjugal love. These three verses, Pro 5:18-21, have the same course of thought as Pro 5:15-17. 18 Let thy fountain be blessed,      And rejoice in the wife of thy youth. 19 The lovely hind and the graceful gazelle -      May her bosom always charm thee;      In her love mayest thou delight thyself evermore. 20 But why wilt thou be fascinated with a stranger,      And embrace the bosom of a foreign woman?

Like בור and באר, מקור is also a figure of the wife; the root-word is קוּר, from קר, כר, the meanings of which, to dig and make round, come together in the primary conception of the round digging out or boring out, not קוּר = קרר, the Hiph. of which means (Jer 6:7) to well out cold (water). It is the fountain of the birth that is meant (cf. מקור of the female ערוה, e.g., Lev 20:18), not the procreation (lxx, ἡ σὴ φλέψ, viz., φλὲψ γονίμη); the blessing wished for by him is the blessing of children, which בּרוּך so much the more distinctly denotes if בּרך, Arab. barak, means to spread out, and בּרך thus to cause a spreading out. The מן, 18b, explains itself from the idea of drawing (water), given with the figure of a fountain; the word בּאשׁת found in certain codices is, on the contrary, prosaic (Fl.). Whilst שׂמח מן is found elsewhere (Ecc 2:20; 2Ch 20:27) as meaning almost the same as שׂמח בּ; the former means rejoicing from some place, the latter in something. In the genitive connection, “wife of thy youth” (cf. Pro 2:17), both of these significations lie: thy youthful wife, and she who was chosen by thee in thy youth, according as we refer the suffix to the whole idea or only to the second member of the chain of words.

Pro 5:21-23

That the intercourse of the sexes out of the married relationship is the commencement of the ruin of a fool is now proved. 21 For the ways of every one are before the eyes of Jahve,      And all his paths He marketh out. 22 His own sins lay hold of him, the evil-doer,      And in the bands of his sins is he held fast. 23 He dies for the want of correction,      And in the fulness of his folly he staggers to ruin.

It is unnecessary to interpret נכח as an adverbial accusative: straight before Jahve’s eyes; it may be the nominative of the predicate; the ways of man (for אישׁ is here an individual, whether man or woman) are an object (properly, fixing) of the eyes of Jahve. With this the thought would suitably connect itself: et onmes orbitas ejus ad amussim examinat; but פּלּס, as the denom. of פּלס, Psa 58:3, is not connected with all the places where the verb is united with the obj. of the way, and Psa 78:50 shows that it has there the meaning to break though, to open a way (from פל, to split, cf. Talmudic מפלּשׁ, opened, accessible, from פלשׁ, Syriac pelaa, perfodere, fodiendo viam, aditum sibi aperire). The opening of the way is here not, as at Isa 26:7, conceived of as the setting aside of the hindrances in the way of him who walks, but generally as making walking in the way possible: man can take no step in any direction without God; and that not only does not exempt him from moral responsibility, but the consciousness of this is rather for the first time rightly quickened by the consciousness of being encompassed on every side by the knowledge and the power of God. The dissuasion of Pro 5:20 is thus in Pro 5:21 grounded in the fact, that man at every stage and step of his journey is observed and encompassed by God: it is impossible for him to escape from the knowledge of God or from dependence on Him. Thus opening all the paths of man, He has also appointed to the way of sin the punishment with which it corrects itself: “his sins lay hold of him, the evil-doer.” The suffix  יו does not refer to אישׁ of Pro 5:21, where every one without exception and without distinction is meant, but it relates to the obj. following, the evil-doer, namely, as the explanatory permutative annexed to the “him” according to the scheme, Exo 2:6; the permutative is distinguished from the apposition by this, that the latter is a forethought explanation which heightens the understanding of the subject, while the former is an explanation afterwards brought in which guards against a misunderstanding. The same construction, Pro 14:13, belonging to the syntaxis ornata in the old Hebrew, has become common in the Aramaic and in the modern Hebrew. Instead of ילכּדוּהוּ (Pro 5:22), the poet uses poetically ילכּדנו; the interposed נ may belong to the emphatic ground-form ילכּדוּן, but is epenthetic if one compares forms such as קבנו (R. קב), Num 23:13 (cf. p. 73). The חמּאתו governed by חבלי, laquei (חבלי, tormina), is either gen. exeg.: bands which consist in his sin, or gen. subj.: bands which his sin unites, or better, gen. possess.: bands which his sin brings with it. By these bands he will be held fast, and so will die: he (הוּא referring to the person described) will die in insubordination (Symm. δι ̓ ἀπαιδευσίαν), or better, since אין and רב are placed in contrast: in want of correction. With the ישׁגּה (Pro 5:23), repeated purposely from Pro 5:20, there is connected the idea of the overthrow which is certain to overtake the infatuated man. In Pro 5:20 the sense of moral error began already to connect itself with this verb. אוּלת is the right name of unrestrained lust of the flesh. אולת is connected with אוּל, the belly; אול, Arab. âl, to draw together, to condense, to thicken (Isaiah, p. 424). Dummheit (stupidity) and the Old-Norse dumba, darkness, are in their roots related to each other. Also in the Semitic the words for blackness and darkness are derived from roots meaning condensation. אויל is the mind made thick, darkened, and become like crude matter.

Parental Instructions; Cautions against Sensuality.

1 My son, attend unto my wisdom, and bow thine ear to my understanding: 2 That thou mayest regard discretion, and that thy lips may keep knowledge. 3 For the lips of a strange woman drop as an honeycomb, and her mouth is smoother than oil: 4 But her end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a twoedged sword. 5 Her feet go down to death; her steps take hold on hell. 6 Lest thou shouldest ponder the path of life, her ways are moveable, that thou canst not know them. 7 Hear me now therefore, O ye children, and depart not from the words of my mouth. 8 Remove thy way far from her, and come not nigh the door of her house: 9 Lest thou give thine honour unto others, and thy years unto the cruel: 10 Lest strangers be filled with thy wealth; and thy labours be in the house of a stranger; 11 And thou mourn at the last, when thy flesh and thy body are consumed, 12 And say, How have I hated instruction, and my heart despised reproof; 13 And have not obeyed the voice of my teachers, nor inclined mine ear to them that instructed me! 14 I was almost in all evil in the midst of the congregation and assembly.

Here we have,

I. A solemn preface, to introduce the caution which follows, v. 1, 2. Solomon here addresses himself to his son, that is, to all young men, as unto his children, whom he has an affection for and some influence upon. In God's name, he demands attention; for he writes by divine inspiration, and is a prophet, though he begins not with, Thus saith the Lord. "Attend, and bow thy ear; not only hear what is said, and read what is written, but apply thy mind to it and consider it diligently." To gain attention he urges, 1. The excellency of his discourse: "It is my wisdom, my understanding; if I undertake to teach thee wisdom I cannot prescribe any thing to be more properly called so; moral philosophy is my philosophy, and that which is to be learned in my school." 2. The usefulness of it: "Attend to what I say," (1.) "That thou mayest act wisely—that thou mayest regard discretion." Solomon's lectures are not designed to fill our heads with notions, with matters of nice speculation, or doubtful disputation, but to guide us in the government of ourselves, that we may act prudently, so as becomes us and so as will be for our true interest. (2.) "That thou mayest speak wisely—that thy lips may keep knowledge, and thou mayest have it ready at thy tongue's end" (as we say), "for the benefit of those with whom thou dost converse." The priest's lips are said to keep knowledge (Mal. ii. 7); but those that are ready and mighty in the scriptures may not only in their devotions, but in their discourses, be spiritual priests.

II. The caution itself, and that is to abstain from fleshly lusts, from adultery, fornication, and all uncleanness. Some apply this figuratively, and by the adulterous woman here understand idolatry, or false doctrine, which tends to debauch men's minds and manners, or the sensual appetite, to which it may as fitly as any thing be applied; but the primary scope of it is plainly to warn us against seventh-commandment sins, which youth is so prone to, the temptations to which are so violent, the examples of which are so many, and which, where admitted, are so destructive to all the seeds of virtue in the soul that it is not strange that Solomon's cautions against it are so very pressing and so often repeated. Solomon here, as a faithful watchman, gives fair warning to all, as they regard their lives and comforts, to dread this sin, for it will certainly be their ruin. Two things we are here warned to take heed of:—

1. That we do not listen to the charms of this sin. It is true the lips of a strange woman drop as a honey-comb (v. 3); the pleasures of fleshly lust are very tempting (like the wine that gives its colour in the cup and moves itself aright); its mouth, the kisses of its mouth, the words of its mouth, are smoother than oil, that the poisonous pill may go down glibly and there may be no suspicion of harm in it. But consider, (1.) How fatal the consequences will be. What fruit will the sinner have of his honey and oil when the end will be, [1.] The terrors of conscience: It is bitter as wormwood, v. 4. What was luscious in the mouth rises in the stomach and turns sour there; it cuts, in the reflection, like a two-edged sword; take it which way you will, it wounds. Solomon could speak by experience, Eccl. vii. 26. [2.] The torments of hell. If some that have been guilty of this sin have repented and been saved, yet the direct tendency of the sin is to destruction of body and soul; the feet of it go down to death, nay, they take hold on hell, to pull it to the sinner, as if the damnations slumbered too long, v. 4. Those that are entangled in this sin should be reminded that there is but a step between them and hell, and that they are ready to drop into it. (2.) Consider how false the charms are. The adulteress flatters and speaks fair, her words are honey and oil, but she will deceive those that hearken to her: Her ways are movable, that thou canst not know them; she often changes her disguise, and puts on a great variety of false colours, because, if she be rightly known, she is certainly hated. Proteus-like, she puts on many shapes, that she may keep in with those whom she has a design upon. And what does she aim at with all this art and management? Nothing but to keep them from pondering the path of life, for she knows that, if they once come to do that, she shall certainly lose them. Those are ignorant of Satan's devices who do not understand that the great thing he drives at in all his temptations is, [1.] To keep them from choosing the path of life, to prevent them from being religious and from going to heaven, that, being himself shut out from happiness, he may keep them out from it. [2.] In order hereunto, to keep them from pondering the path of life, from considering how reasonable it is that they should walk in that path, and how much it will be for their advantage. Be it observed, to the honour of religion, that it certainly gains its point with all those that will but allow themselves the liberty of a serious thought and will weigh things impartially in an even balance, and that the devil has no way of securing men in his interests but by diverting them with continual amusements of one kind or another from the calm and sober consideration of the things that belong to their peace. And uncleanness is a sin that does as much as any thing blind the understanding, sear the conscience, and keep people from pondering the path of life. Whoredom takes away the heart, Hos. iv. 11.

2. That we do not approach the borders of this sin, v. 7, 8.

(1.) This caution is introduced with a solemn preface: "Hear me now therefore, O you children! whoever you are that read or hear these lines, take notice of what I say, and mix faith with it, treasure it up, and depart not from the words of my mouth, as those will do that hearken to the words of the strange woman. Do not only receive what I say, for the present merely, but cleave to it, and let it be ready to thee, and of force with thee, when thou art most violently assaulted by the temptation."

(2.) The caution itself is very pressing: "Remove thy way far from her; if thy way should happen to lie near her, and thou shouldst have a fair pretence of being led by business within the reach of her charms, yet change thy way, and alter the course of it, rather than expose thyself to danger; come not nigh the door of her house; go on the other side of the street, nay, go through some other street, though it be about." This intimates, [1.] That we ought to have a very great dread and detestation of the sin. We must fear it as we would a place infected with the plague; we must loathe it as the odour of carrion, that we will not come near. Then we are likely to preserve our purity when we conceive a rooted antipathy to all fleshly lusts. [2.] That we ought industriously to avoid every thing that may be an occasion of this sin or a step towards it. Those that would be kept from harm must keep out of harm's way. Such tinder there is in the corrupt nature that it is madness, upon any pretence whatsoever, to come near the sparks. If we thrust ourselves into temptation, we mocked God when we prayed, Lead us not into temptation. [3.] That we ought to be jealous over ourselves with a godly jealousy, and not to be so confident of the strength of our own resolutions as to venture upon the brink of sin, with a promise to ourselves that hitherto we will come and no further. [4.] That whatever has become a snare to us and an occasion of sin, though it be as a right eye and a right hand, we must pluck it out, cut it off, and cast it from us, must part with that which is dearest to us rather than hazard our own souls; this is our Saviour's command, Matt. v. 28-30.

(3.) The arguments which Solomon here uses to enforce this caution are taken from the same topic with those before, the many mischiefs which attend this sin. [1.] It blasts the reputation. "Thou wilt give thy honour unto others (v. 9); thou wilt lose it thyself; thou wilt put into the hand of each of thy neighbours a stone to throw at thee, for they will all, with good reason, cry shame on thee, will despise thee, and trample on thee, as a foolish men." Whoredom is a sin that makes men contemptible and base, and no man of sense or virtue will care to keep company with one that keeps company with harlots. [2.] It wastes the time, gives the years, the years of youth, the flower of men's time, unto the cruel, "that base lust of thine, which with the utmost cruelty wars against the soul, that base harlot which pretends an affection for thee, but really hunts for the precious life." Those years that should be given to the honour of a gracious God are spent in the service of a cruel sin. [3.] It ruins the estate (v. 10): "Strangers will be filled with thy wealth, which thou art but entrusted with as a steward for thy family; and the fruit of thy labours, which should be provision for thy own house, will be in the house of a stranger, that neither has right to it nor will ever thank thee for it." [4.] It is destructive to the health, and shortens men's days: Thy flesh and thy body will be consumed by it, v. 11. The lusts of uncleanness not only war against the soul, which the sinner neglects and is in no care about, but they war against the body too, which he is so indulgent of and is in such care to please and pamper, such deceitful, such foolish, such hurtful lusts are they. Those that give themselves to work uncleanness with greediness waste their strength, throw themselves into weakness, and often have their bodies filled with loathsome distempers, by which the number of their months is cut off in the midst and they fall unpitied sacrifices to a cruel lust. [5.] It will fill the mind with horror, if ever conscience be awakened. "Though thou art merry now, sporting thyself in thy own deceivings, yet thou wilt certainly mourn at the last, v. 11. Thou art all this while making work for repentance, and laying up matter for vexation and torment in the reflection, when the sin is set before thee in its own colours." Sooner or later it will bring sorrow, either when the soul is humbled and brought to repentance or when the flesh and body are consumed, either by sickness, when conscience flies in the sinner's face, or by the grave; when the body is rotting there, the soul is racking in the torments of hell, where the worm dies not, and "Son, remember," is the constant peal. Solomon here brings in the convinced sinner reproaching himself, and aggravating his own folly. He will then most bitterly lament it. First, That because he hated to be reformed he therefore hated to be informed, and could not endure either to be taught his duty (How have I hated not only the discipline of being instructed, but the instruction itself, though all true and good!) or to be told of his faults—My heart despised reproof, v. 12. He cannot but own that those who had the charge of him, parents, ministers, had done their part; they had been his teachers; they had instructed him, had given him good counsel and fair warning (v. 13); but to his own shame and confusion does he speak it, and therein justifies God in all the miseries that were brought upon him, he had not obeyed their voice, for indeed he never inclined his ear to those that instructed him, never minded what they said nor admitted the impressions of it. Note, Those who have had a good education and do not live up to it will have a great deal to answer for another day; and those who will not now remember what they were taught, to conform themselves to it, will be made to remember it as an aggravation of their sin, and consequently of their ruin. Secondly, That by the frequent acts of sin the habits of it were so rooted and confirmed that his heart was fully set in him to commit it (v. 14): I was almost in all evil in the midst of the congregation and assembly. When he came into the synagogue, or into the courts of the temple, to worship God with other Israelites, his unclean heart was full of wanton thoughts and desires and his eyes of adultery. Reverence of the place and company, and of the work that was doing, could not restrain him, but he was almost as wicked and vile there as any where. No sin will appear more frightful to an awakened conscience than the profanation of holy things; nor will any aggravation of sin render it more exceedingly sinful than the place we are honoured with in the congregation and assembly, and the advantages we enjoy thereby. Zimri and Cozbi avowed their villany in the sight of Moses and all the congregation (Num. xxv. 6), and heart-adultery is as open to God, and must needs be most offensive to him, when we draw nigh to him in religious exercises. I was in all evil in defiance of the magistrates and judges, and their assemblies; so some understand it. Others refer it to the evil of punishment, not to the evil of sin: "I was made an example, a spectacle to the world. I was under almost all God's sore judgments in the midst of the congregation of Israel, set up for a mark. I stood up and cried in the congregation," Job xxx. 28. Let that be avoided which will be thus rued at last.

Conjugal Fidelity Enjoined.

15 Drink waters out of thine own cistern, and running waters out of thine own well. 16 Let thy fountains be dispersed abroad, and rivers of waters in the streets. 17 Let them be only thine own, and not strangers' with thee. 18 Let thy fountain be blessed: and rejoice with the wife of thy youth. 19 Let her be as the loving hind and pleasant roe; let her breasts satisfy thee at all times; and be thou ravished always with her love. 20 And why wilt thou, my son, be ravished with a strange woman, and embrace the bosom of a stranger? 21 For the ways of man are before the eyes of the Lord , and he pondereth all his goings. 22 His own iniquities shall take the wicked himself, and he shall be holden with the cords of his sins. 23 He shall die without instruction; and in the greatness of his folly he shall go astray.

Solomon, having shown the great evil that there is in adultery and fornication, and all such lewd and filthy courses, here prescribes remedies against them.

I. Enjoy with satisfaction the comforts of lawful marriage, which was ordained for the prevention of uncleanness, and therefore ought to be made use of in time, lest it should not prove effectual for the cure of that which it might have prevented. Let none complain that God has dealt unkindly with them in forbidding them those pleasures which they have a natural desire of, for he has graciously provided for the regular gratification of them. "Thou mayest not indeed eat of every tree of the garden, but choose thee out one, which thou pleasest, and of that thou mayest freely eat; nature will be content with that, but lust with nothing." God, in thus confining men to one, has been so far from putting any hardship upon them that he has really consulted their true interest; for, as Mr. Herbert observes, "If God had laid all common, certainly man would have been the encloser."—Church-porch. Solomon here enlarges much upon this, not only prescribing it as an antidote, but urging it as an argument against fornication, that the allowed pleasures of marriage (however wicked wits may ridicule them, who are factors for the unclean spirit) far transcend all the false forbidden pleasures of whoredom.

1. Let young men marry, marry and not burn. Have a cistern, a well of thy own (v. 15), even the wife of thy youth, v. 18. Wholly abstain, or wed.—Herbert. "The world is wide, and there are varieties of accomplishments, among which thou mayest please thyself."

2. Let him that is married take delight in his wife, and let him be very fond of her, not only because she is the wife that he himself has chosen and he ought to be pleased with his own choice, but because she is the wife that God in his providence appointed for him and he ought much more to be pleased with the divine appointment, pleased with her because she is his own. Let thy fountain be blessed (v. 18); think thyself very happy in her, look upon her as a blessed wife, let her have thy blessing, pray daily for her, and then rejoice with her. Those comforts we are likely to have joy of that are sanctified to us by prayer and the blessing of God. It is not only allowed us, but commanded us, to be pleasant with our relations; and it particularly becomes yoke-fellows to rejoice together and in each other. Mutual delight is the bond of mutual fidelity. It is not only taken for granted that the bridegroom rejoices over his bride (Isa. lxii. 5), but given for law. Eccl. ix. 9, Live joyfully with the wife whom thou lovest all the days of thy life. Those take not their comforts where God has appointed who are jovial and merry with their companions abroad, but sour and morose with their families at home.

3. Let him be fond of his wife and love her dearly (v. 19): Let her be as the loving hind and the pleasant roe, such as great men sometimes kept tame in their houses and played with. Desire no better diversion from severe study and business than the innocent and pleasant conversation of thy own wife; let her lie in thy bosom, as the poor man's ewe-lamb did in his (2 Sam. xii. 3), and do thou repose thy head in hers, and let that satisfy thee at all times; and seek not for pleasure in any other. "Err thou always in her love. If thou wilt suffer thy love to run into an excess, and wilt be dotingly fond of any body, let it be only of thy own wife, where there is least danger of exceeding." This is drinking waters, to quench the thirst of thy appetite, out of thy own cistern, and running waters, which are clear, and sweet, and wholesome, out of thy own well, v. 15. 1 Cor. vii. 2, 3.

4. Let him take delight in his children and look upon them with pleasure (v. 16, 17): "Look upon them as streams from thy own pure fountains" (the Jews are said to come forth out of the waters of Judah, Isa. xlviii. 1), "so that they are parts of thyself, as the streams are of the fountain. Keep to thy own wife, and thou shalt have," (1.) "A numerous offspring, like rivers of water, which run in abundance, and they shall be dispersed abroad, matched into other families, whereas those that commit whoredom shall not increase," Hos. iv. 10. (2.) "A peculiar offspring, which shall be only thy own, whereas the children of whoredom, that are fathered upon thee, are, probably, not so, but, for aught thou knowest, are the offspring of strangers, and yet thou must keep them." (3.) "A creditable offspring, which are an honour to thee, and which thou mayest send abroad, and appear with, in the streets, whereas a spurious brood is thy disgrace, and that which thou art ashamed to own." In this matter, virtue has all the pleasure and honour in it; justly therefore it is called wisdom.

5. Let him then scorn the offer of forbidden pleasures when he is always ravished with the love of a faithful virtuous wife; let him consider what an absurdity it will be for him to be ravished with a strange woman (v. 20), to be in love with a filthy harlot, and embrace the bosom of a stranger, which, if he had any sense of honour or virtue, he would loathe the thoughts of. "Why wilt thou be so sottish, such an enemy to thyself, as to prefer puddle-water, and that poisoned too and stolen, before pure living waters out of thy own well?" Note, If the dictates of reason may be heard, the laws of virtue will be obeyed.

II. "See the eye of God always upon thee and let his fear rule in thy heart," v. 21. Those that live in this sin promise themselves secresy (the eye of the adulterer waits for the twilight, Job xxiv. 15); but to what purpose, when it cannot be hidden from God? For, 1. He sees it. The ways of man, all his motions, all his actions, are before the eyes of the Lord, all the workings of the heart and all the outgoings of the life, that which is done ever so secretly and disguised ever so artfully. God sees it in a true light, and knows it with all its causes, circumstances, and consequences. He does not cast an eye upon men's ways now and then, but they are always actually in his view and under his inspection; and darest thou sin against God in his sight, and do that wickedness under his eye which thou durst not do in the presence of a man like thyself? 2. He will call the sinner to an account for it; for he not only sees, but ponders all his goings, judges concerning them, as one that will shortly judge the sinner for them. Every action is weighed, and shall be brought into judgment (Eccl. xii. 14), which is a good reason why we should ponder the path of our feet (ch. iv. 26), and so judge ourselves that we may not be judged.

III. "Foresee the certain ruin of those that go on still in their trespasses." Those that live in this sin promise themselves impunity, but they deceive themselves; their sin will find them out, v. 22, 23. The apostle gives the sense of these verses in a few words. Heb. xiii. 4, Whoremongers and adulterers God will judge. 1. It is a sin which men with great difficulty shake off the power of. When the sinner is old and weak his lusts are strong and active, in calling to remembrance the days of his youth, Ezek. xxiii. 19. Thus his own iniquities having seized the wicked himself by his own consent, and he having voluntarily surrendered himself a captive to them, he is held in the cords of his own sins, and such full possession they have gained of him that he cannot extricate himself, but in the greatness of his folly (and what greater folly could there be than to yield himself a servant to such cruel task-masters?) he shall go astray, and wander endlessly. Uncleanness is a sin from which, when once men have plunged themselves into it, they very hardly and very rarely recover themselves. 2. It is a sin which, if it be not forsaken, men cannot possibly escape the punishment of; it will unavoidably be their ruin. As their own iniquities do arrest them in the reproaches of conscience and present rebukes (Jer. vii. 19), so their own iniquities shall arrest them and bind them over to the judgments of God. There needs no prison, no chains; they shall be holden in the cords of their own sins, as the fallen angels, being incurably wicked, are thereby reserved in chains of darkness. The sinner, who, having been often reproved, hardens his neck, shall die at length without instruction. Having had general warnings sufficient given him already, he shall have no particular warnings, but he shall die without seeing his danger beforehand, shall die because he would not receive instruction, but in the greatness of his folly would go astray; and so shall his doom be, he shall never find the way home again. Those that are so foolish as to choose the way of sin are justly left of God to themselves to go in it till they come to that destruction which it leads to, which is a good reason why we should guard with watchfulness and resolution against the allurements of the sensual appetite.

CHAP. V. Verſe 1. My Son, attend unto my Wiſdome.]

ARiſtotle could ſay, that young men are but croſs and crooked hearers of moral Philoſophy, and have much need to bee ſtirred up to diligent attendance. Ethic. lib. 7. cap. 3, 4. Fornication is by many of them held a peccadillo: And Ariſtotle ſpareth not to confeſs the diſability of moral wiſdome to rectifie the intemperance of nature: which alſo hee made good in his practice; for hee uſed a common ſtrumpet to ſatisfie his luſt.

Verſ. 2. That thou mayeſt regard diſcretion] Or, that thou mayeſt keep in thy thoughts, as Job did, Chap. 31.1. Why then ſhould I think upon a Maid? Out of the hearts of men proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, &c. ſaith our Saviour, Mark. 7.21. Many mens hearts are no better than ſtews and brothel-houſes,Pſal. 104. by reaſon of baſe and beaſtly thoughts and luſts that muſter and ſwarm there, like the flies of Aegypt. There is that Leviathan, and there are creeping things innumerable. Yea, the hypocrite, who outwardly abſtains from groſs ſins, yet inwardly conſenteth with the theef, and partaketh with the Adulterer, that is, in his heart and fancy, ſuppoſing himſelf with them; and deſiring to do what they do, Pſal. 50.18, 19. This is mental adultery, this is contemplative wickedneſs. So it is alſo to recall former filthineſs with delight, Ezek. 23.21. Shee multiplied her whoredomes in calling to remembrance the daies of her youth, wherein ſhee had plaid the harlot. Surely as a man may dye of an inward bleeding; ſo may hee bee damned for theſe inward boilings of luſt and concupiſcence, if not bewailed and mortified, Jer. 4 14. The thoughts of the wicked are abominable to the Lord. Prov. 15.26. To look and luſt is to commit Adultery, Matth. 5.28. Therefore deſire not her beauty in thy heart. Prov. 6.25.

And that thy lips may keep knowledge] As Joſeph did in anſwering his wanton Miſtreſs, Gen. 39. as hee in St. Auſtin did, that replied to his minions, Ego ſum, It is I, At ego non ſum, but it is not I.

Verſ. 3. For the lips of a ſtrange woman drop] Take heed therefore how thou exchange any words at all with her. But if thou bee firſt ſet upon, Jun in vita ſua. as Joſeph was by his Miſtreſs, and as Franciſcus Junius was by thoſe impudent Queans at Lions in France (whither hee was ſent by his Father for learning-ſake) who night and day ſolicited him; then to keep thee from the bitter-ſweet lips of theſe Enchantreſſes, let thy lips keep knowledge, anſwer them (as Joſeph did) with the words of truth and ſoberneſs, Act. 26.25. with gracious and wholeſome words, 1 Tim. 6.3. ſuch as have a cooling and healing property in them, with Scripture-language, which the Devil and his Agents cannot anſwer or away with. When therefore thou art tempted to this of any like ſin, ſay, No; I may not, I dare not; for it is forbidden in ſuch a place, and again in ſuch a place, How then can I do this great wickedneſs, and ſin againſt God? Gen. 39.9. Lo this is the way, walk in it. Let thy lips keep knowledge, and it ſhall keep thee from the lips of a ſtrange woman, though they drop as an hony-comb, and ſeem to have plenty of pleaſure and ſweetneſs in them.

Drop as an hony-comb] But is like that hony ſpoken of by Pliny, that had poyſon in it, as being ſucked out of poyſonous herbs and flowers. In the Cadiz voyage, at Alvelana three miles from Lisbon, many of our Engliſh Souldiers under the Earle of Eſſex periſhed by eating of hony, purpoſely left in the houſes, and ſpiced with poyſon, as it was thought. Speed. 12.10. How much better is it to bee preſerved in brine, than to rot in hony? to mortifie luſts, than to enjoy them? Rom. 8.13. Voluptatem viciſſe voluptas eſt maxima, ſaith Cyprian, nec ulla major eſt victoria, quam ea, quae è cupiditatibus refertur. De bon[illegible: 1 letter] pudicit. There is no ſuch pleaſure, as to have overcome an offered pleaſure; neither is there any greater conqueſt, than that that is gotten over a mans corruptions.

Verſ. 4. But her end is bitter as wormwood] The pleaſure paſſeth,In amore [illegible: 2 letters]iltum eſt amari. the ſting remaineth; for in the froth of this filthy pleaſure is bred that hell-worm of guilt that never dyeth.

Principium dulce eſt, ſed finis amoris amarus: Laeta venire Venus, triſtis abire ſolet.

Diana of the Epheſians was ſo artificially pourtrayed, that ſhee ſeemed to ſmile moſt pleaſantly upon ſuch as came into her Temple,Dulcis acerbita[illegible: 1 letter] amariſſima voluptas. Tertul. but to frown at thoſe that went out: So doth ſenſual pleaſure. Heus tu ſcholaſtice, dulce & amarum guſtulum carpis, &c. ſaid the Harlot to Apuleius. Hark Scholar, it is but a bitter ſweet that you are ſo fond of. Plus aloes quam mellis habet, knoweſt thou not that there will bee bitterneſs in the end?Speed, Walſing. The Chroniclers have obſerved of our Edward the third, that hee had alwayes fair weather at his paſſage into France, and foul upon his return: Such is the way of the Harlot: The ſin committed with her is as the poyſon of Aſpes. When an Aſp ſtings a man,Plutarch. it doth firſt tickle him ſo as it makes him laugh, till the poyſon by little and little get to the heart, and then it pains him more than ever before it delighted him. See Luke 6.25. & 16.25. Heb. 12.15, 16. Job 13.26. Eccleſ. 7.27, 28.

Verſ. 5. Her feet go down to death] The Romans were wont to have their Funerals at the gates of Venus Temple, to ſignifie that luſt was the harbinger,Plutarch. and haſtener of death, ſaith Plutarch. As for Whores, they were of old ſhut out of the City, and forced to ſeek places among the graves. Lib. Adverſ. 13.19. Hence they were called Maechae buſtuariae; de ſcortis dictum inter buſta prostrantibus, ſaith Turnebus. See the Note on Chap. 2.18.

Her ſteps take hold on hell] Whither ſhee is haſtening, and hurrying with her all her ſtallions and paramours. (See the Note on Chap. 2.18, 19.) and where, by how much more deliciouſly they have lived, by ſo much more they ſhall have of ſorrow and torment, Rev. 18.7.

Verſ. 6. Leſt thou ſhouldeſt ponder] q. d. Leſt thou ſhouldeſt perſwade thy ſelf that thou mayeſt imbrace the boſome of a ſtranger, and yet lay hold upon the paths of life by repenting thee of thy folly (this was Solomons errour ſometimes, Eccleſ. 1.17. and 2.3.) thou art utterly deceived herein, for her wayes are moveable, ſo that thou obſerveſt not whither ſhee tendeth, ſhee wanders here and there (and thou with her) yet not ſo wide as to miſs of hell; lo that is the center whereunto ſhee is rowling, that is the rendezvouz for all her aſſociates in ſin.

Verſ. 7. O yee children] See Chap. 4.1. Shechem though at ripeneſs of age, yet is called a childe, Gen. 39.19. Neque diſtulit puer. And the young man (or the childe) deferred not to do the thing. A childe hee is called, that is, a fool, quia non ratione ſed affectu rapitur, ſaith an Interpreter, becauſe not reaſon, but luſt over-ruld him.Vere[illegible: 1 letter]. As for thee, thou ſhalt bee as one of the fools in Iſrael, ſaid ſhee to her libidinous brother Amnon, 1 Sam. 23.13.

Verſ. 8. Remove thy way far from her] The Jeſuits boaſt (but beleeve them who will) that they can dally with the faireſt women without danger. But hee that would not bee burnt, muſt dread the fire: Hee that would not hear the bell, muſt not meddle with the rope.

Quid facies facies Veneris cum veneris ante? Non ſedeas, ſed eas; ne pereas, per eas.

Rom. 13.13. Exod. 23.7.Chambering and wantonneſs, is a deed of darkneſs and diſhoneſty.

Come not nigh the doors] Keep thee far from an evil matter, ſaith Moſes; The plague (and worſe) is at the Harlots houſe; [non-Latin text not transcribed]. 1 Tim. 6. ſtand off. To venture upon the occaſion of ſin, and then to pray, Lead us not into temptation, is all one, as to thruſt thy finger into the fire, and then to pray that it may not bee burnt. Was not hee a wiſe man that would haunt Taverns, Theatres, and Whore-houſes at London all day,Sheph. Sincere convert. 232. but yet durſt not go forth without private prayer in the morning, and then would ſay at his departure, Now Devil do thy worſt?

Verſ. 9. Leſt thou give thine honour] i. e. Whatſoever within thee, or without thee, may make thee honourable or eſteemed, as the flower of thine age, the comelineſs of thy body, the excellency of thy wit, thy poſſibility of preferment, that good opinion that the better ſort had of thee, &c. How was David ſlighted by his own children and ſervants after hee had thus ſinned? Confer, 1 Sam. 2.30. with 2 Sam. 12.10. Chaſtity is a mans honour, 1 Theſſ. 4.4.

Caſtus quaſi [non-Latin text not transcribed] ornatus. [non-Latin text not transcribed] ab [non-Latin text not transcribed] v[illegible: 2 letters]erabilis. Deut. 32.33. And their years] i. e. according to ſome, thy wealth, that thou haſt been many years in gathering, [non-Latin text not transcribed] quaſi [non-Latin text not transcribed].

To the cruel] That is, to the harlot, and her baſtardly brood, whom thou muſt maintain. The Hebrews expound it of the Devil. To the cruel, i. e. Principi gehennae, ſaith Solomon, Angelo mortis, ſaith another, to the Prince of Hell, to this Angel of Death; Aczar the Hebrew word properly ſignifieth (ſaith one) the poyſon of the Aſp, which paineth not at firſt, but is deadly.

Verſ. 10. Lest ſtrangers bee filled] This ſin is a purgatory to the purſe, though a paradice to the deſires. How ſoon had the Prodigal ([non-Latin text not transcribed] quaſi [non-Latin text not transcribed]) waſted his portion when once hee fell among Harlots (thoſe ſordida poſcinummia, Luke 15. thoſe crumenimulgae?) Ask mee never ſo much gift, and I will give it, ſaid Shechem, Gen. 34.12. what pledge ſhall I give thee? and ſhee ſaid, Thy ſignet, thy bracelets, &c. Gen. 37.18. and if ſhee had asked more, ſhee might have had it. Ask what thou wilt, and it ſhall bee given thee, ſaid Herod to his dancing Damoſel: Nay, hee ſware to her, that whatſoever ſhee ſhould ask, hee would give it her to the half of his Kingdome, Mar. 6.22. ſo ſtrongly was hee inchanted and bewitched with her tripping on the toe, and wanton dancing, This deteſtable ſin is able to deſtroy Kings, as Solomons Mother taught him. Prov. 31.3. [non-Latin text not transcribed] tripudiabat Baccharum m[illegible: 1 letter]re. And ſurely Solomon by the many women that hee kept, was ſo exhauſted in his eſtate (for all his great riches) that hee was forced to oppreſs his ſubjects with heavy taxes and tributes, which occaſioned the revolt of ten Tribes. The whore lyeth in wait for a prey, Prov. 23.20. and by means of a whoriſh woman, a man is brought to a morſel of bread, to extream beggery, Prov. 6.26.

Verſ. 11. And thou mourn at the laſt] Heb. And thou roar, Zeph. 3.5. as being upon the rack of an evil conſcience, and in the ſuburbs of Hell, as it were: whiles the juſt Lord makes thee, even here, poſſeſs the ſins of thy youth, and writes bitter things againſt thee. The word ſignifies to roar as a Lion, or as the Sea, [non-Latin text not transcribed] est m[illegible: 1 letter]rit agitatio. Hom. Iliad. H. vide Euſtath. Venus ab antiquis [non-Latin text not transcribed] dicta. or as the Devil doth. For the Devils beleeve and tremble, or roar, James 2.19. Grecians aſcribe the Original [non-Latin text not transcribed] to the roaring of the Sea.

When thy fleſh and thy body] By the word here rendred body, there are that underſtand the radical humor, the natural moiſture that maintains life: and is much impaired by this ſenſual ſin. Avicenna doubted not to ſay, that the emiſſion of a little ſeed more than the body could well bear, was a great deal more hurtful, than the loſs of forty times ſo much blood; Gouts, Palſies, Epilepſies, &c. oft follow upon this ſin: But the French diſeaſe is the natural fruit of it, ſuch as will ſtick by men when their beſt friends forſake them. Jeſabel is caſt into a bed, and they that commit adultery with her, into great tribulation, Rev. 2.20. The Popiſh libidinous Clergy are ſmitten with ulcers, Rev. 16.11. Their Pope Paul the fourth died, ex nimio Veneris uſu, Runius de vit. Pontif. ſaith the Hiſtorian, by waſting his ſtrength in filthy pleaſure, as the flame conſumeth the candle.

Verſ. 12. And ſay, How have I hated, &c.] When caſt out with the Prodigal, and hath nothing left him but a diſeaſed body, a diſtreſſed ſoul, then all too late, hee fills the air with doleful complaints of his former folly, and cries out as hee did, Totum vitae meae tempus perdidi, quia perditè vixi. Bern. O what a wretch, what a beaſt, what a madded Devil was I, ſo wofully to waſte the fat and marrow of my dear and precious time, the flower of mine age, the ſtrength of my body, the vigour of my ſpirits, the whole of mine eſtate, in ſinful pleaſures, and ſenſual delights, &c. Loe here is a kind of repentance,Nunquam ſero ſi ſerio. which though late, yet if it were true, would bee accepted. The Mole, they ſay, begins to ſee when hee dies, and not till then. Oculos incipit aperire moriendo, quos clauſos habuit vivendo. But it is a rare thing, and ſeldome ſeen,To ſtat. ex Plinio. Eccleſ. 7.28. that any whoremonger doth truly repent. One ſuch man among a thouſand have I found, ſaith Solomon (perhaps hee meant himſelf) but a woman among all thoſe have I not found. And yet Scultetus tells us, that Dr. Speiſer Miniſter of Anſborough in Germany, preached there ſo powerfully, Anno 1523. Scultet. Annal. pag. 118. that the common harlots there tolerated, left their filthy trade of life, and became very honeſt women.

And my heart deſpiſed reproof] Experience ſhews, that they that are once given up to this ſin, are more graceleſs, prophane, and incorrigible than others, deriders and contemners of all good counſel, having loſt even the very light of nature, and ſo ſet in their ſin, and ſo wedded and wedged to their wicked waies, as that they cannot bee removed, but by an extraordinary touch from the hand of Heaven.

Verſ. 13. Nor inclined mine ear] I would not ſo much as hear them, much leſs obey their voice. Intus exiſtens prohibet alienum. The ſongs of thoſe Syrens had ſo enchanted him, that it was paſt time of day to give him counſel. If you ſpeak againſt his ſweet ſin, and diſſwade him from that, hee ſhrinks back into the ſhell, and lets his hood hearken. All that is of Davy Duttons dream, (as the proverb is) and therefore Surdo fabulam, hee will in no wiſe give ear to you.

Verſ. 14. I was almoſt in all evil] Abraham Ben-Hezra reads it in the future tenſe, Brevi ero in omni malo, I ſhall ſhortly bee in all evil: and ſo his repentance here appears to bee poenitentia ſera, Iſcariotica, ſuch as was that of Judas, and of thoſe Popelings, Rev. 18.19. a deſperate repentance, and not toward God, Act. 20.21. not a repentance for ſin, as it is offen ſivum Dei, & averſivum à Deo, an offence againſt God, and a turning away from him. Such a repentance in this man had been,Plut. in Pom (as the Romans ſaid of Pompey) [non-Latin text not transcribed], a fair and happy daughter of an ugly and odious Mother, of his ſin I mean, the ſight whereof had ſent him to Chriſt.

In the midſt of the Congregation] i. e. openly and before all men. And this hee brings as an aggravation of his miſery, that there were ſo many eye-witneſſes thereof. No unclean perſon can have any aſſurance that his ſin ſhall alwaies bee kept ſecret, no not in this life. The Lord hath oft brought ſuch (ſometimes by terrour of conſcience, ſometimes by phrenſie) to that paſs, that themſelves have been the blazers and proclaimers of their own ſecret filthineſs. Hilderſh. on John 4. Yea obſeve this (ſaith One) in them that are the cunningeſt in this ſin, that (though no body peradventure can convince them evidently of the fact) yet every body (through the juſt judgement of God) condemns them for it. As the Lord ſeeth their ſecreteſt villanies, even ſo oft-times hee teſtifieth againſt them, according to that which hee threatneth, Mal. 3.5. I will bee a ſwift witneſs againſt the adulterers.

Verſ. 15. Drink waters out of thine own Ciſtern] After other preſervatives from fornication (as not to think of, or ſpeak with the harlot, not to come near the doors of her houſe, &c. but to conſider of the many miſchiefs that follow upon it, a diſeaſed body, a damned ſoul, a poor purſe, &c.) Here the Wiſe-man preſcribeth wedlock as a remedy properly ordained by God for that end, 1 Cor. 7.2, 9. And becauſe not the having of a wife, but the loving of her keeps a man honeſt; therefore it follows, verſ. 19. Let her [illegible: 1 letter]ee as the loving Hind, &c.

And running waters] Heathen writers alſo ſet forth a wife by waters: as Heſiod bids men not to paſs over a running water without prayers to the Gods; Heſiod. in Ergis. that is, not to render unto their wives due benevolence, till they have ſought God, as Johannes Grammaticus interprets it. A pious Precept, Marriage as well as meats muſt bee ſanctified by the word and prayer: and God bee called in to bleſs this phyſick to the ſoul. Luſt makes the heart hot and thirſty: God therefore ſends men to this Well, to this Ciſtern, Confer Iſa. 65.1. The Hebrews call a woman [non-Latin text not transcribed] i. e. perforata, Gen. 1.27.

Verſ. 16. Let thy fountains bee disperſed.] Thy fountains, that is, thy children: Let thine end in marrying bee, that thou mayeſt have a numerous offſpring, that may bee as an Infantry to the Kingdome of Heaven. Lawful Marriage is uſually bleſſed with many children: and the contrary, Hoſ. 4.10. Eraſmus tells of one Combe, Eraſm. in chiliad. a young woman in Euboea, that being married to one whom ſhee liked, became Mother and Grand-mother to a hundred children. Eraſm. de inſtit. matrim. The ſame Author tells of an Engliſh man, a cripple, that married a blind woman, lived very lovingly with her, and had by her twelve luſty boyes that had no defect or deformity.

Verſ. 17. Let them bee onely thine own] Siut, vel erunt, let them bee, or they ſhall bee: It is both an exhortation and a promiſe; q. d. Far bee it from thee to bee a pander to thine own bed (as the Lituanians, of whom Maginus relates, that they have their connubii adjutores, their coadjutours in wedlock, and prize them far above all their acquaintance:) God alſo will bleſs thee with an honeſt wife, that ſhall bee true to thy bed, and not obtrude upon thee children to keep, that are not thine. Saint Paul gives charge, that no man go beyond,Hieronym. Chryſoſt. Heinſius. or defraud his brother in the matter, that is, in re Venerea, in the matter of the marriage-bed (as ſome expound it) but that every one poſſeſs his veſſel, that is (ſay they) his wife, that weaker veſſel, in ſanctification and honour, 1 Theſ. 4.4, 5, 6.

Verſ. 18. Let thy fountain bee bleſſed] Or thy fountain ſhall bee bleſſed, thy wife ſhall bee fruitful, as Pſal. 128. that Pſalm for Solomon, whoſe many wives brought him but few children. Wee read but of one Son that hee had (who was none of the wiſeſt neither) and two daughters, both of them ſubjects. Our Henry the 8th. (though blame-worthy for women too) was more happy in King Edward his Son (that Orbis deliciae) and his two Daughters, both Soveraigns of an Imperial Crown.

Rejoyce with the wife of thy youth] As Iſaac did, who was the moſt loving husband that wee read of in holy-writ. Ezechiels wife was the delight of his eyes, hee took ſingular complacency in her company. This conjugal joy is the fruit of love, which therefore hee commendeth to all married men, in the next words.

Verſ. 19. Let her bee as the loving Hind, &c.] The Hind and the Roe are the females of the Hart and Roebuck: of which creatures it is noted,Inter utrum que ardor amoris ſummus, ut Oppianus de cervis agens ſcribit. that of all other beaſts they are moſt inamoured (as I may ſo ſpeak) with their mates, and even mad again in their heat, and deſire after them. This being taken in a good ſenſe, may ſet forth the ardent affection that husbands ſhould bear to the wives of their boſomes; ſo they are called too, becauſe they ſhould be as dear to them, as the hearts in their boſomes. A wife is the moſt proper object of love, Col. 3.18. above Parent, Friend, Childe, or any other, though never ſo dear to us.

And bee thou raviſhed alwaies] Heb. Erre thou alwaies in her love: Mercer. velut extra te ſis & rerum aliarum obliviſcare. It implies (ſaith one) a lawful earneſt affection, ſo as, firſt, to overſee ſome blemiſhes and defects! Love is blind. In facie naevus cauſa decoris erit. Secondly, ſo highly to eſteem her,Ovid. and ſo lovingly to comport with her, that others may think him even to dote on her. Howbeit muli[illegible: 1 letter]roſity muſt bee carefully avoided, as a harmful errour: and that ſaying of Hierome duly pondered and beleeved, Quiſquis in uxorem ardentior eſt amator, adulter eſt. As a man may bee drunk with his own drink, and a glutton by exceſſive devouring of his own meat: ſo likewiſe one may bee unclean by the intemperate or intempeſtive abuſe of the marriage-bed: which ought by no means to bee ſtained or diſhonoured with ſenſual exceſſes.

Verſ. 20. And why wilt thou my Son] The premiſes conſidered, there is no reaſon for it, but all againſt it. Nothing is more irrational than irreligion, and yet nothing more uſual with the Devil than to perſwade his vaſſals that there is ſome ſenſe in ſinning, and that they have reaſon to bee mad. And truly, though there were no Devil, yet our corrupt nature would act Satans part againſt it ſelf: it would have a ſupply of wickedneſs (as a Serpent hath of poiſon) from it ſelf, it hath a ſpring within to feed it. Nitimur in vetitum ſemper, petimuſque negata. Nothing would ſerve the rich mans turn, but the poor mans Lamb; if Ahab may not have Naboths Vineyard, hee hath nothing. The more God forbids any ſin, the more wee bid for it, Rom. 7.8. Nay but wee will have a King ſaid they, when they had nothing elſe to ſay why they would.

Verſ. 21. For the waies of man, &c.] Turpe quid acturus te ſine teſte time. Auſ[illegible: 2 letters]. A man that is about any evil, ſhould ſtand in awe of himſelf, how much more of God? ſith hee is [non-Latin text not transcribed], All eye, and beholdeth the ſecreteſt of thine actions: The Proverb is, Si non caſte, ſaltem caute, carry the matter, if not honeſtly, yet ſo cloſely and cleanly, that the world may bee never the wiſer. How cunningly did David art it to hide his ſin? but it would not bee: there is nothing covered that ſhall not bee revealed, Luk. 12.2. If I make my bed in Hell (ſaid hee, Pſal. 139.8. as indeed the places where fornicatours uſe to lodge are little better) Behold thou art there: This God alledgeth as a forcible reaſon againſt this ſin, Jer. 13.27. I have ſeen the lewdneſs of thy whoredomes. And Jer. 29.23. Even I know, and am a witneſs, ſaith the Lord.

Verſ. 22. His own iniquities ſhall take the wicked] As ſo many Serjeants ſet on by God: who will ſurely hamper theſe unruly beaſts (that think to ſhift and ſcape his fingers) with the cords of their own ſins, binding them hand and foot, and bringing them to condign puniſhment. So that, ſay the Adulterer bee not puniſhed by the Magiſtrate, or come off by commutation, yet hee ſhall feel himſelf in the gall of bitterneſs, and bond of perdition, hee ſhall finde that hee hath made a halter to hang himſelf. No body can be ſo torn with ſtripes, as a mind is with the remembrance of wicked actions. Tiberius felt the remorſe of conſcience ſo violent, that hee proteſted to the Senate,Taci. that hee ſuffered death daily.

Verſ. 23. Hee ſhall dye without inſtruction] To ſpend the ſpan of this tranſitory life after the waies of ones own heart, is to periſh for ever. But oh what mad men are they that bereave themſelves of a room in that City of Pearl, for a few dirty delights, and carnal pleaſures!