Annotations Upon the Books of Poetry, Proverbs · Chapter 3
CHAP. III.
Verſ. 1. MY ſon, &c.] See the Notes chap. 1.8. and 2.1: forget not my law; that is, neither let my doctrine ſlip out of thy memory, neither be unmindfull to put it in practiſe: but let thine heart keep my commandements; that is, get ſound knowledge of them, love them, & delight in them, let thine heart be ever thinking of them, and fully ſet upon the keeping of them.
Verſ. 2. For length of daies and long life shall they adde to thee.] That is, My commandements kept & obeyed ſhall bring thee to enjoy theſe bleſſings. For length of daies & long life, ſee the Note Pſal. 91.16; & for peace, ſee the Note Pſal. 119.165. It is as if he had ſaid, For the lengthening out of thy life, this ſhall be in ſtead of diet & phyſick, &c. and for procuring thee peace, this ſhall be in ſtead of all endeavours & policy of thine own: and for that expreſſion, shall they adde to thee, I conceive it may particularly imply, that hereby theſe bleſſings ſhould be renewed and continued to him day after day; or elſe the joynt conferring of both theſe bleſſings upon him.
Verſ. 3. Let not mercy and truth forſake thee, &c.] If we underſtand this of Gods mercy and faithfulneſſe, (for which ſee the Note Pſal. 57.3.) it is as if he had ſaid, By keeping my laws make ſure that thou mayeſt never fail of finding God mercifull and faithfull to thee; and ſo the words do alſo covertly imply a promiſe, that thus it ſhall ſurely be with thoſe that conſcionably obſerve Gods commandements. But I rather underſtand it of mercy & truth which Solomon commends to us to practiſe. And accordingly by mercy may be meant all acts of mercy and compaſſion and free grace towards thoſe that ſtand in need of our help; and by truth, all the duties which in juſtice we owe to God or man, and without which we do not deal faithfully with them. And indeed mercy & truth are often thus joyned together for mercifull & faithfull dealing; ſee the Notes 2 Sam. 15.20. and Pſal. 85.10. Or by mercy and truth may be meant ſhewing mercy to men, when it is done with a true & ſincere heart; or mercy in deeds, & truth in words. But I rather conceive that by mercy here may be meant all the good offices that we are to perform towards men, & by truth or faithfulneſſe all the duties of Gods worſhip and ſervice preſcribed in his law; and that becauſe ſo, this will be a generall precept including all the particulars afterwards mentioned; & becauſe thus the promiſe annexed in the following verſe will the more fitly anſwer this precept, if here the duties be enjoyned that we owe both to God & man, & then thereupon that promiſe followeth, that hereby we ſhall find favour both in the ſight of God and man. As for that expreſſion, Let not mercy and truth forſake thee, firſt it enjoyns a conſtant care to remember & practiſe our duty herein, as if he had ſaid, Be ever mercifull to men, and true and faithfull in performing the duty you owe to God; & 2. it implyes, that mercy and truth not being naturall to men, through our corruption we are prone, even after we have gotten theſe graces, to looſe them again, & therefore there had need to be the more care taken conſtantly to keep & practiſe them. All which is again preſſed in the following words with figurative tearms, bind them about thy neck; to wit, as a chain or jewell, (ſee the Notes chap. 1.9. & Exod. 13.9.) that is, mind them continually & keep them faſt and ſafe: write them upon the table of thine heart; to wit, as God wrote the precepts hereof on tables of ſtone, that is, let them be imprinted on your heart; or think often on them to practiſe them, as men do often remember thoſe things which they have ſet down in writings or table-books. I know ſome underſtand it thus, write them on the table of thine heart, that is, on the tablet which thou weareſt on thy heart; for, they ſay, in thoſe times they uſed to wear hanging down upon their breaſts certain jewels or tablets▪ (and ſome adde too, that they were made after the faſhion of a heart) whereon they were wont to have engraven the pictures or names of thoſe they loved moſt dearly, to the end they might have them ſtill in mind; & that in alluſion thereto this expreſſion is here uſed, write them on the table of thine heart. And indeed if there were any ſuch cuſtome, it may the rather ſeem probable that Solomon doth in theſe words allude thereto, becauſe in another place, where he ſeems plainly to allude to ſome ſuch engravings that they uſed to have on the rings they wore upon their fingers, chap. 7.3. this clauſe is there again added, Bind them upon thy fingers, write them upon the table of thine heart: to which purpoſe alſo obſervable is that which follows verſ. 4. Say unto wiſedome, Thou art my ſiſter, &c.
Verſ. 4. So shalt thou find favour & good understanding in the ſight of God & man.] That is, ſay ſome Expoſitours, God will cauſe thy good eſtate to teſtify thy good underſtanding; & accordingly ſome tranſlate the words thus, So shalt thou find favour & good ſucceſſe, &c. But reading the words as they are in our tranſlation, either the meaning muſt be this, So ſhalt thou know how to behave thy ſelf with good underſtanding in all thine actions, whether thou haſt to deal with God or man; or rather this, So ſhall thy good underſtanding be taken notice of, and thou ſhalt be commended for a wiſe & underſtanding man both by God and man.
Verſ. 6. In all thy waies acknowledge him, &c.] To wit, 1. that he is thy God & thy Lord, whom therefore thou art bound to honour & obey, that ſo thou maieſt conſider what he requires to be done, not what ſeems good in thine own eyes, & to that end maieſt ſtill ask counſell at his word, and when thou knoweſt his will, maieſt doe it, leaving the ſucceſſe of all to God, and aiming at his glory in all thy doings; 2. that he is the fountain of all thy bleſſings, & of all thy abilities to do any thing as it ought to be done, & of all the ſucceſſe thou doſt at anm time find in any of thy affairs, & hereupon call upon him by prayer, truſt in him, & be thankfull to him upon all occaſions; & 3. that he is an omniſcient God, that ſees thee at all times, & all that thou doeſt, that ſo thou maieſt be the more fearfull to offend him, & the more confident of his protection & bleſſing: and he shall direct thy paths; to wit, by informing thee what to doe, by enclining thy heart thereto, and aſſiſting thee in it.
Verſ. 7. Be not wiſe in thine own eyes, &c.] This may be here inſerted both with reſpect to the foregoing direction that was given concerning truſting in God, becauſe ſelf-conceit doth uſually make men truſt in their own wiſdome, with neglect of God, thinking that they can well enough order their waies without direction from the word & wiſdome of God: or elſe with reſpect to the following words, fear the Lord, and depart from evil; for becauſe ſelf-conceit makes men think they doe well when they ſin greatly, & ſo to run on ſecurely, yea to defend themſelves in their evil waies, therefore firſt he gives this advice, be not wiſe in thine own eyes, which will make you follow your own corrupt reaſon, both in matters of Gods worſhip, and in the ordering of your life and converſation, and then he addes, fear the Lord, and depart from evil.
Verſ. 8. It shall be health to thy navel, & marrow to thy bones.] That is, It ſhall be the health & ſtrength of thy whole body: ſee the Note chap. 4.22. By this word It may be meant wiſdome, or rather that which was mentioned in the laſt words of the foregoing verſe, fear the Lord, & depart from evil, (which is indeed the only true wiſdome;) or it may be referred to all the foregoing precepts. And the navel & bones are mentioned in ſtead of the whole body, either as comprehending the outward parts of the body under the navel, & the inward under the bones; or elſe as putting the navel for the belly & the inwards, and all the tender vitall parts which have no bones in them, & the bones for all the ſeverall bony limbs of the body. Or elſe rather, to expreſſe that the whole body ſhall be in health, the navel is only mentioned, either becauſe the navel is the center of the whole body, & is as it were the button or knot, whereby the ſinews of the upper & lower part of the body are knit together; or becauſe the health of the whole body doth chiefly depend on the ſoundneſſe of the entralls & vital parts, which are here all comprehended under the navel, becauſe they are all, as it were, knit up within the belly by the navel, and are together faſtened by certain arteries to the navel: ſee the Note Job 40.16. And then to expreſſe that the body ſhould be ſtrong, the marrow in the bones is only mentioned, becauſe the bones are the main ſtrength of the body, & bones full of marrow are a ſign of a ſtrong and vigorous body: ſee Job 21.4. I know that ſome Expoſitours conceive that this promiſe is chiefly meant of reſtoring health to thoſe that are ſick, and accordingly that there is in theſe words, It shall be health to thy navel, an alluſion to the fomentations, plaiſters and unctions uſually applyed to the navel for the healing of divers infirmities. But the firſt expoſition is clearly the beſt.
Verſ. 9. Honour the Lord with thy ſubſtance, &c.] To wit, by giving freely & chearfully to charitable & pious uſes; for hereby we acknowledge Gods Soveraignty over all, and with thankfulneſſe confeſſe that all we have we have received from him, & profeſſe the reverent & high account which we have of him; yea & hereby his publick worſhip by his miniſters, which is the Lords chief glory in this world, is maintained. Only ſtill we muſt remember that what we give in this kind muſt be of that which is juſtly our own, Honour the Lord with thy ſubſtance; & it muſt not be given out of vain-glory, but with a ſincere aim at Gods glory alone. As for the next clauſe, and with the firſt-fruits of all thine encreaſe, ſee the Note Deut. 26.2.
Verſ. 10. So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy preſſes shall burſt out with new wine.] This may be ſpoken with reference to the wine-preſſes running over. But I rather take it to be an hyperbolicall expreſſion.
Verſ. 11. My ſon, deſpiſe not the chaſtening of the Lord, &c.] That is, ſlight it not; as thoſe do that aſcribe it to chance or fortune, or that otherwiſe hardening their hearts againſt it, are never troubled at it: neither be weary of his correction; that is, be not impatient, and diſcontented, ſo as to be faint under it.
Verſ. 12. For whom the Lord loveth, he correcteth, even as a father the ſon in whom he delighteth.] See the Note Deut. 8.5.
Verſ. 13. Happy is the man that findeth wiſedome, &c.] To wit, upon diligent ſearch made for it, according to the direction formerly given, chap. 2.3, 4: and the man that getteth underſtanding; it is in the Hebrew, that draweth out underſtanding, to wit, as ſilver is drawn up out of a mine, whereto he had alluded before, chap. 2.4. If thou ſeekeſt her as ſilver, &c. Yet ſome underſtand this of mens bringing out the wiſdome they have gotten, for the inſtruction and good of others.
Verſ. 14. For the merchandiſe of it is better then the merchandiſe of ſilver, &c.] As if he had ſaid, By making uſe of wiſdome there is more to be gotten, then by trading with any merchandiſe whatſoever; or rather, that wiſdome is a more precious commodity then ſilver or fine gold, & that there is more to be gotten by trading for wiſdome, then by trading for any other commodity whatſoever.
Verſ. 16. Length of daies is in her right hand, &c.] See the Note above verſ. 2. wiſedome is here ſet forth as ſome great Lady, that doth plentifully, as it were with both hands, beſtow rewards upon her favourites & followers: and in her left hand riches and honour; that is, wealth & great preferments; or at leaſt an honourable eſteem amongſt thoſe with whom they live.
Verſ. 17. Her waies are waies of pleaſantneſſe, &c.] As if he had ſaid, Though men do uſually judge wiſdomes waies ſowre & bitter, yet they do indeed yield great joy & pleaſure to thoſe that walk in them: & all her paths are peace; that is, they yield unconceivable peace of conſcience, yea all kind of peace & proſperity to thoſe that frequent them. See the Note above verſ. 2.
Verſ. 18. She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her, &c.] To wit, never parting from her when they have gotten her, but perſevering in her waies unto the end, as is expreſſed in the following words, and happy is every one that retaineth her. There is an alluſion in the words to the tree of life which was in the midſt of Paradiſe Gen. 2.9. for which ſee the Note there. And the meaning thereof is, that wiſdome doth reſtore men to that life and happineſſe, which they loſt in Adam; it is a ſure means to preſerve life here, and to bring them to life eternall hereafter.
Verſ. 19. The Lord by wiſdome hath founded the earth, &c.] To wit, by his word and Son, who is indeed the coeternall wiſdome of God the Father; ſee the Note chap. 1.20. Nor may we think that Solomon ſpeaks here impertinently, in that having ſpoken of the wiſdome that is in men, conſiſting in their obedience and conformity to the word & law of God, whereby they attain length of daies, &c. he ſhould now come to ſpeak of the wiſdome of God, whereby the world was created; for this wiſdome that is in man flows from that, Chriſt is the authour of it, & it is indeed a kind of participation of that divine wiſdome. And accordingly the ſcope of Solomon in inſerting this here may be either 1. the more to endear that wiſedome to us, which is here preſſed upon us; if the ſon of God be the authour of it, if it flows from that wiſdome whereby the world was created, have we not cauſe to prize it the more? or 2. to aſſure us that all the bleſſings here promiſed to them that ſeek after wiſdome ſhall be made good to them, ſeeing by that wiſdome that invites us hereto the world was created.
Verſ. 20. By his knowledge the depths are broken up.] This may be meant of the great channels & hollow places in the earth made for the receiving of the waters, when God ſeparated them from the earth in the creation, Gen 1.9. for which ſee the Note there, as likewiſe Job 38.8. or elſe of the fountains & flouds breaking out from the nethermoſt parts of the earth, even as if the earth did cleave it ſelf aſunder to give them a paſſage. And indeed theſe are called depths Deut. 8.7. a land of brooks of water, of fountains and depths, that ſpring out of valleys and hils.
Verſ. 21. My ſon, let not them depart from thine eyes, &c.] That is, wiſdome & diſcretion, which are mentioned in the next clauſe, keep ſound wiſdome & diſcretion: yea this word them may comprehend all the precepts and inſtructions here given for the gaining of wiſdome, with all the reaſons given to move them to ſeek it, and particularly that which was before ſaid concerning the Lords creating the world. As for that expreſſion, let them not depart from thine eyes, it is doubtleſſe uſed with reſpect to that above verſ. 3. Bind them about thy neck, &c. & implyes that we ſhould never forget them, yea that they ſhould be the delight of our eyes.
Verſ. 22. So shall they be life unto thy ſoul, &c.] That is, wiſdome and diſcretion ſhall make thy ſoul active & lively in the works thereof; or rather they ſhall quicken thee in the inward man, animating thy ſoul, which otherwiſe is but a ſpiritual carcaſe, as thy ſoul doth animate thy body. This I take to be the plain meaning of theſe words: yet this word they, ſo shall they be life, may comprehend all that is comprehended in that clauſe in the foregoing verſe, let them not depart from thine eyes. And becauſe ſoul is uſually taken for the whole man in the Scripture, ſome take theſe words, ſo shall they be life unto thy ſoul, as a promiſe of long life here, & eternall life hereafter. As for the ſecond clauſe, & grace to thy neck, ſee the Note chap. 1.9.
Verſ. 23. Then shalt thou walk in thy way ſafely, &c.] That is, thou ſhalt walk in the way of wiſdome without danger of erring: and thy foot shall not ſtumble; that is, being freed by wiſdome from mans naturall blindneſſe, & weakneſſe, & careleſſeneſs, there ſhall be nothing to make thee ſtumble; or rather, Then shalt thou walk in thy way ſafely, that is, thou ſhalt proſper & be ſafe whereever thou goeſt, & in all thine affairs thou ſhalt walk without danger, or fear of danger: and thy foot shall not ſtumble; to wit, neither into ſin, nor any evil whatſoever.
Verſ. 25. Be not afraid of ſudden fear, &c.] Which is all one as if he had ſaid, Thou ſhalt not be afraid of ſudden fear: neither of the deſolation of the wicked when it cometh; that is, the havock and deſolation which wicked men ſhall make, when in an hoſtile manner they ſhall break in upon the place where thou liveſt; or rather, of the deſolation which God ſhall bring upon wicked men.
Verſ. 26. For the Lord shall be thy confidence, and shall keep thy foot from being taken.] To wit, either in the ſnares of ſin or miſery.
Verſ. 27. Withhold not good, &c.] That is, Withhold not any good thing from them to whom it is due, whether by the laws of juſtice, equity, or charity; as juſt debts where they are owing, the hirelings wages, any thing that hath been loſt, or committed to a mans truſt, or the alms we are bound to give to them that want, or any other act of charity whatſoever. And accordingly we muſt underſtand the following clauſe: for if we underſtand the firſt words of withholding any thing that is in juſtice due, then the meaning of the following clauſe may be this, when it is in the power of thine hand to doe it, that is, though thou haſt power to withhold it, and to bear thy ſelf out in the doing of it. But if we underſtand the firſt clauſe of withholding any act of charity from thoſe that ſtand in need of our help, then the meaning is clear, that we muſt not withhold doing them good when we have power to doe it: & there may be alſo a reaſon hinted in the words, to wit, leſt afterwards we become unable to doe it, though we would. And indeed it ſeems the more probable that the words are, at leaſt chiefly, meant of withholding alms from the poor, becauſe the following verſe ſpeaks alſo of giving, Say not unto thy neighbour, Go and come again, and to morrow I will give, when thou haſt it by thee: though I know that ſome do extend that alſo to deferring payment of what is in juſtice due.
Verſ. 31. Envy thou not the oppreſſor, and chuſe none of his waies.] See the Notes Pſal. 37.1.8.
Verſ. 32. For the froward is abomination to the Lord, &c.] Becauſe of that before v. 30. Strive not with a man without cauſe, &c. ſome by the froward here underſtand ſuch as are contentious & quarrelſome with men; but I rather conceive that thereby is meant ſuch ſtubborn men, as will by no means be wonne from carrying themſelves perverſly towards God; ſee the Notes 2 Sam. 22.27. & Job 5.13: but his ſecret is with the righteous; that is, he is to them an intimate friend, & as ſuch revealeth to them his ſecret counſell, ſee the Note Pſal. 25.14. & his fatherly affection to them, which is hidden from the world. Yea ſome do underſtand this particularly of Gods making known to them, what torments are reſerved for thoſe that by wickedneſſe do flouriſh in this world.
Verſ. 33. The curſe of the Lord is in the houſe of the wicked, but he bleſseth the habitation of the iuſt.] To wit, though it be never ſo poor a cottage.
Verſ. 24. Surely he ſcorneth the ſcorners, &c.] Who they are that are here called ſcorners, ſee in the Notes chap. 1.22. & Pſal. 1.1. It may be here more particularly meant of thoſe that being in great proſperity do ſcoffe at the poor. And what is meant by Gods ſcorning them, ſee in the Notes chap. 1.26. & Pſal. 2.4. to wit, that God ſhall pull them down from their great proſperity; ſee Jam. 4.6. But he giveth grace unto the lowly; that is, favour amongſt men, yea all good bleſſings, but eſpecially the graces of his ſpirit.
Verſ. 35. The wiſe shall inherit glory, &c.] That is, They ſhall have it as due to them, & continue in it, both here, being honoured both of God & man, and hereafter eternally in heaven: but shame shall be the promotion of fools; that is, that ſhall be all the promotion they ſhall have; or, if they be at any time promoted, it ſhall turn to their greater ſhame.