Commentary on Prov Ecc SoS Isa Jer Lam Eze Dan, Proverbs · Chapter 31
CHAP. XXXI. Verſ. 1. The words of King Lemuel]
LEmuel's Leſſon, Bathſheba's Catechiſme. Lemuel ſhe calls him, becauſe God had owned him; (2 Sam. 7.14. I will be his Father, and he ſhall bee my Son) and was with him ſo long as he was with God, according to 2 Chron. 15.2. Indeed when he grew diſcinct and diſſolute, then Gods ſoul ſate looſe to him, and was disjoynted from him, Jer. 6.8. and the rather, becauſe he had had the benefit of better education. His father had taught him, and had taken much pains with him,Ariſtippus dictus eſt foreign quod cum mater Are…a do…n…ſſe…. 1 King. 11.9. Prov. 4.4. His mother alſo had counſelled and cautioned him betimes, not to give his ſtrength to Wine and Women. And yet he was moſt inordinate in his love to theſe two, Eccleſ. 2. This was almoſt as great an aggravation of his Sin, that he had been better taught and brought up, as that other, that he forſook the Lord that had appeared unto him twice. The words of King Lemuel they are called, becauſe though compoſed by his Mother, yet for his uſe in the ſame ſenſe, as Pſal. 127. is ſtiled, A ſong of degrees of Salomon, or for Solomon, though made by his Father: who tells him there, that which hee found true by experience. Loe, children are an heritage of the Lord, &c. for by all his Wives, Salomon had none but one Son, and him none of the wiſeſt neither.
Verſ. 2. What, my ſon! and what, the ſon of my wombe!] An abrupt ſpeech, importing abundance of affection; even more than might be uttered. There is an Ocean of love in a Parents heart, a fathomleſs depth of deſire after the Childes welfare, in the mother eſpecially. Some of the Hebrew Doctors hold, that this was Bathſheba's ſpeech to her ſon after his fathers death: when ſhe partly perceived which way his Genius leaned and lead him: that then ſhee ſchooled him in this ſort, q. d. Is it even ſo my ſon, my moſt dear ſon, &c. O doe not give thy ſtrength to women, &c.
Verſ. 3. Give not thy ſtrength to women] Waſte not unworthily the fat and marrow of thy dear and precious time, the ſtrength of thy body, the vigor of thy ſpirits, in ſinful pleaſures, and ſenſual delights. See chap. 5.9.
Nor thy wayes to that which deſtroyeth Kings] Venery is called by one, Deaths beſt Harbinger. It was the deſtruction of Alexander the great, of Otho the Emperour (called for his good parts otherwiſe, Miraculum mundi) of Pope Sextus the fourth, (qui deceſſit tabidus voluptate, ſaith the Hiſtorian, dyed of a wicked waſte) and of Pope Paul the fourth, of whom it paſſed for a Proverb, Eum per candem partem animam profudiſſe per quam acceperat. The Lacedemonian Common-wealth, was by the hand of Divine Juſtice utterly overturned at Leuctra, for a rape committed by their Meſſengers on the two Daughters of Scedoſus. And what befell the Benjamites on a like occaſion, is well known out of Judg. 20. that I ſpeak not of the ſlaughter of the Shechemites, Gen. 34. &c.
Verſ. 4. It is not for Kings to drink wine] i. e. To bee drunk with Wine, wherein is exceſs, Epheſ. 5.18. where the Apoſtle determines exceſſive drinking to bee down-right drunkenneſs, viz. when as Swine do their bellies, ſo men break their heads with filthy quaffing. This, as no man may lawfully doe, ſo leaſt of all Princes: for in maxima libertate minima eſt licentia. Men are therefore the worſe, becauſe they are bound to be better.
Nor for Princes ſtrong drink] Or as ſome read it, where is the ſtrong drink? It is not for Princes to ask ſuch a queſtion. All heady and intoxicating drinks are by ſtatute here forbidden them. Of Bonoſus the Emperour it was ſaid, that he was born, non ut vivat, ſed ut bibat, not to live, but to drink; and when, being overcome by Probus, he afterwards hanged himſelf, it was commonly jeſted, that a tankard hung there, and not a man. But what a Beaſt was Marcus Antonius, foreign. Strabo. Camd. Eliſ.that wrote (or rather ſpued out) a book concerning his own ſtrength, to bear ſtrong drink? And what another was Darius King of Perſia, who commanded this inſcription to bee ſet upon his Sepulcher, I was able to hunt luſtily, to drink wine ſoundly, and to bear it bravely? That Iriſh Rebel Tiroen, Anno 1567. was ſuch a Drunkard, that to cool his body when hee was immoderately inflamed with Wine and Uskabagh, hee would many times bee buried in the earth up to the chin. Theſe were unfit men to bear rule.
Verſ. 5 Leſt they drink and forget the Law] Drunkenneſſe cauſeth forgetfulneſs, (hence the Ancients feigned Bacchus to bee the ſonne of forgetfulneſs) and ſtands in full oppoſition to reaſon and religion: when the Wine is in, the Wit is out.Plutarch. in Sympoſ. Seneca ſaith, that for a man to think to be drunk, and yet to retain his right reaſon, is to think to drink rank poyſon, and yet not to dye by it.
And pervert the judgement, &c.] Pronounce an unrighteous ſentence: which when Philip King of Macedony once did, the poor woman, whoſe cauſe it was, preſently appealed from Philip now drunk, to Philp when hee ſhould be ſober again. The Carthaginians made a Law, that no Magiſtrate of theirs ſhould drink wine. The Perſians permitted their Kings to be drunk one day in a year only. Solon made a Law at Athens, that drunkenneſs in a Prince ſhould be puniſhed with death. See Eccleſ. 10.16, 17.
Verſ. 6. Give ſtrong drink to him, &c.] To thoſe that ſtand at the barre, rather than to them that ſit on the bench. Wine maketh glad the heart of man, Judg. 9.13. Pſal. 104.15. Plato calls Wine and Muſick the foreign: Mitigaters of mens miſeries. Hence that laudable cuſtome among the Jews at Funerals, to invite the friends of the deceaſed to a feaſt, and to give them the cup of conſolation, Jer. 16.7. And hence that not ſo laudable, of giving Wine,Bacchus & afflictis requien… mortalibus affert. Tibul. mingled with Myrrhe, to crucified Malefactors, to make them dye with leſsſenſe. Chriſt did not like the cuſtom ſo well, and therefore refuſed the potion. People ſhould be moſt ſerious and ſober when they are to dye: ſith in Death, as in Warre, non licet bis errare, if a man miſs at all, he miſſes for all and for ever.Vitellius trepidus, d…in tem… lentus Vitellius therefore took a wrong courſe, who looking for the meſſenger Death, made himſelf drunk to drown the fear of it.
And Wine unto thoſe that be of heavie hearts] Heb. bitter of ſpirit, as Naomi was, when ſhe would needs be called Marah, Ruth 1.20. as Hannah was, when ſhe pleaded that ſhe had neither drunk Wine nor ſtrong drink (though at that time ſhe had need enough of it) but was a Woman of a ſorrowful ſpirit, 1 Sam. 1.15. as David was, when his heart was leavened and ſowred with the greatneſs of his grief: and he was pricked in his reins,foreign Pſal. 73.21. This grief was right, becauſe according to God, 2 Cor. 7.11. ſo was that bitter mourning, Zach. 10.12. and Peters weeping bitterly. Theſe waters of Marah, that flow from the eyes of repentance, are turned into wine, they carry comfort in them; there is a clear ſhining after this rain, 2 Sam. 23.4. Such April-ſhowers bring on May-flowers.
Dejicit ut revelet, premit ut ſolatia praeſtet:
Enecat ut poſſit vivificare Deus.
Verſ. 7. Let him drink and forget his Poverty] And yet let him drink moderately too, leſt he increaſe his ſorrows, as Lot did, and not diminiſh them: for drunkenneſſe leaves a ſting behind it, worſe than that of a Serpent, or of a Cockatrice, Prov. 23.32. Wine is a prohibited ware among the Turks: which makes ſome drink with ſcruple, others with danger; The baſer ſort, when taken drunk, are often baſtinadoed upon the bare feet. And I have ſeen ſome, (ſaith mine Author) after a fit of drunkenneſſe, lye a whole night crying, and praying to Mahomet for interceſſion,Blu…t… voyage, p. 105. that I could not ſleep neer them, ſo ſtrong is conſcience, even where the foundation is but imaginary,
Verſ. 8. Open thy mouth for the dumb] i.e. Speak wiſely and freely for thoſe that either cannot, or may not ſpeak for themſelves. Thus Nicodemus ſpoke for our Saviour, Joh. 7.51. Paphnutius in the Council for the married Clergy, Pliny to Trajan for the perſecuted Chriſtians, the Elector of Saxony for Luther, &c. Oecolampadius ſaith, that wiſe men only open their mouthes, for a fools mouth is never but open.Oecolamp. in Job 33. Hence foreign Gapers are put for fools in Lucian and Ariſtophanes.
Verſ. 9. Plead the cauſe of the poor and needy] Theſe are Gods great care, as appears in many texts. Job comforted himſelf in this,Job 29.15, 16 that hee had been eyes to the blind, feet to the lame, a father to the poor, &c. Ebedmelech is renowned for pleading the cauſe of the poor Prophet, and ſo ſhould Pharaohs Butler have been if he had done it ſooner. Maſter Holt who was of Counſel to Maſter Pryn (when ſo unjuſtly cenſured in the Star-chamber) but refuſed, (through cowardiſe) to ſign his anſwer according to promiſe, being over-awed by the Prelates, bewayled his own baſeneſſe to his wife and friends▪ New diſcoveries of the Prelates tyranny. p. 47, 48.And ſoon after falling ſick for conceit only of the miſcarriage of that cauſe, he dyed, never going to the Star-chamber after that bloudy ſentence.
Verſ. 10. Who can find a vertuous woman] Good Wives are rare commodities, and therefore precious and highly to be prized, even above Rubies. The Hebrews put rarum pro charo, foreign. Ariſt. Ethic.as 1 Sam. 3.2. and Prov. 25.7. Let thy feet be precious in thy neighbours houſe, that is, let them ſeldome come there, leſt thou become over-cheap and under-valued. It is eaſie to obſerve that the New-Teſtament affords more ſtore of good Women than the Old. When Paul came firſt to Philippi, few or none came to hear him but women, Acts 6.13. but they drew on their husbands, and it ſoon became a famous Church. What a rare piece was Priſcilla, who better inſtructed Apollo, ventured her life for Paul, Rom. 16.4. and was ſuch a ſingular help to her husband, that ſhe is mentioned before him, as the more forward of the two, Rom. 16.3? Like as was alſo Manoahs wife,Exod. 18.24, 25 and Nazianzens mother. Salomons mother was behind none of them, as appears by this Poem, either compoſed by Salomon as a character of her (as ſome have thought) or elſe by her ſelf, for his direction in the choyce of a good wife, which would bee worthy his pains, though he ſhould fetch her as farre as men doe rubies, Procul prae unionibus precium ejus. What a way ſent Abraham and Iſaac for good Wives for their Sons!
Verſ. 11. The heart of her husband doth ſafely truſt in her] Hee is confident of her love, care, and fidelity: he dare truſt her with his ſoul-ſecrets, &c. hee doubteth not of her chaſtity, ſecreſie, or care to keep his family.
So that he ſhall have no need of ſpoyl] i. e. of neceſſary commodities: for theſe ſhe will provide as plentifully by her induſtry, as if ſhe had ſhared in the ſpoyls of a ſackt and ranſackt City. The Turks, when they took Conſtantinople, were ſo enriched,Turk. Hiſt. fol. 347. that it is a Proverb amongſt them at this day, if any grow ſuddenly rich, to ſay, He hath been at the ſacking of Conſtantinople.
Verſ. 12. She will doe him good and not evil, &c.] She is conſtant in her conjugal affection, and ſticks to him, as Sarah did to Abraham, in all changes and chances whatſoever. She leaves not off her kindneſſe to the living, and to the dead, Ruth 2.20. See that notable example of the Lady Valadaura in Lud. Vives.
Verſ. 13. She ſeeketh wool and flax] This was held no ſhame for Salomons wife. Auguſtus Caeſar taught his Daughters to Spin and Card: hee wore no Garments but what his Wife and Daughters made him. The like is reported of Charls the great. Spinſter they ſay is a term given the greateſt women in our Law. Rebecca was a dainty Cook, ſo was Thamar Davids daughter, 2 Sam. 13. By Mahomets Law, the grand Turk himſelf muſt be of ſome trade.
And worketh willingly with her hands] As if her hands did deſire to doe, what ſhe put them to doe: for ſo the Original ſoundeth; She worketh with the will of her hands. The vulgar renders it, with the counſel of her hands, as if her hands were oculatae. She diſcreetly and cheerfully rids her work, with fervour and fore-caſt.
Verſ. 14. She is like the Merchants ſhips] That is, ſhe gets wealth apace, yea though ſhe ſtirre not off her ſtool, and ſtudies how to buy every thing at beſt hand, though ſhe ſend farre for it. Of the Low-Country-men it is ſaid, Peterent coelum navibus Belgae, ſi navibus peti poſſet. So the good Houſwife would doe any thing to further thrift.
Verſ. 15. Shee riſeth alſo while it is yet night] That is, betime in the morning, a great while before day, as our Saviour alſo did to pray, Mark 1.35.
And a portion to her maids] She neither pines, nor pampers them: but allows them that which is ſufficient. Three things ſaith Ariſtotle a man owes to his Servants,foreign. work, meat, and correction.
Verſ. 16. She conſidereth a field and buyeth it] Here's is the fruit of her pains and providence. The Manus motitans, the ſtirring hand maketh rich, Pro. 10.4. and a wiſe woman buildeth her houſe, Prov. 14.1. See the Notes. She conſiders of the conveniency of this field, and then caſts about how ſhee may compaſs it.
Verſ. 17. She girdeth her loyns with ſtrength] She flyeth about her work, and ſets on it with a courage. Wee have read of women, in whom beſides their Sex, there was nothing woman-like or weak, ſuch were Semiramis, Zenobia, Blandina, that brave Hungarian woman, who in an aſſault at the Siege of Buda, thruſting in among the Souldiers, upon the top of the Fort, with a great Sythe in her hand,Turk. Hiſt. fol. 741. at one blow ſtruck off two of the Turks heads as they were climbing up the rampier. The like is reported of Marulla a Maid of Lemnos, who ſeeing her Father ſlain in the Gates of the City by the Turks, Ibid. 413,which hoped to have ſurprized it, took up the Weapons that lay by him, and like a fierce Amazon notably revenged his death.
Verſ. 18. She perceiveth that her merchandize is good] She feels the ſweet of it: and is heartened to redouble her diligence: as a Draught-horſe feeling his load coming, draws the harder. The good ſoul doth the ſame. For having once taſted how ſweet the Lord is, it can never have enough of him: but is carried after him with ſtrength of deſire, as the Doves to their Columbaries, as the Eagles to the Carcaſes, Pſal. 84.1, 2, 3. No reaſon would ſatisfie Moſes: but when God had done much for him, he muſt ſtill have more, Exod. 33.12, 13, 14, 17, 18, 19. & 34.9.
Verſ. 19. She layeth her hands to the Spindle] Notwithſtanding her late purchaſe, and planting a vine-yard, verſ. 16. and other out-buſineſſes.Lucretia inter ancillas ad Lucernam fila ducebat. Life and Death of Card. Wolſ. p. 69. Act. & Mon. fol. 957. See the Note on verſ. 13. The two Cardinals Wolſie and Campeius coming from King Henry the eighth on a meſſage to Queen Katharine of Spain, a little afore the divorce, found her with a skain of red ſilk about her neck, being at work with her maiden. And Queen Anne of Bullen kept her Maids, and all that were about her, ſo buſied in ſowing and working, that neither was there ſeen any idleneſs then amongſt them, nor any leaſure to follow ſuch paſtimes as are uſually in Princes Courts.
Verſ. 20. She ſtretcheth out her hand to the poor] Shee laboureth with her hands to that purpoſe, Epheſ. 4.28. and findeth by experience, that not getting, but giving is the way to thrive. See my common-place of Almes.
Yea ſhe reacheth forth her hands to the needy] Nittily needy, as one phraſeth it. To thoſe that are extremely poor, ſhe not only ſtretcheth, but reacheth, not her hand only, but both hands; yea ſhe hath her Almoners to give to thoſe that ſhe cannot goe to: as Queen Anne of Bullen had.Ibid. For beſides what ſhe dealt and diſtributed by the hands of others, ſhe carried ever about her a certain little purſe: out of which ſhe was wont to ſcatter about daily ſome almes to the needy; thinking no day well ſpent, wherein ſome man had not fared the better by ſome benefit at her hands. The like is ſtoried of Placilla wife to the Emperour Theodoſius, that for her courteſie and bounty to the poor, ſhe was called foreign, The poor mans friend.
Verſ. 21. She is not afraid of the ſnow] As ſhe is liberal to the poor, ſo her chief care is for thoſe of her own houſe, that they may be accommodated. For ſhe knows that to ſtretch beyond the ſtaple, were to marre all; and not to provide for her own, were to be worſe than an infidel, 1 Tim. 5.8.
Verſ. 22. Her clothing is ſilk and purple] Suitable to her Husbands condition, who is a principal man,Lib. de cultu foem. verſ. 23. That's excellent counſel that Tertullian gives Women, Vestite vos ſerico pietatis, byſſino ſanctitatis, purpurâ pudicitia. Cloath your ſelves with the ſilk of piety, with the ſattin of ſanctity, with the purple of modeſty, &c.
Verſ. 23. Her husband is known in the gates] Is renowned and noted for his wives worth, beſides that he is a ruler in Iſrael.
Verſ. 24. She maketh fine linnen and ſells it] Such ſindons as our Saviours dead Body was wrapt in, and for girdles, read 2 Sam. 18.11. Iſa. 3.24. Jer. 2.32. It was anciently no ſhame for a Queen to make gain of her handy-work.
Verſ. 25. Strength and honour are her clothing] See verſ. 22. She is not of thoſe quae fulgent monilibus, ſordent moribus, that are well-habited, but ill-mannered. No, ſhe is inwardly decked with Spiritual attire, ſuch as rendreth her glorious in the eyes of God and Angels. The joy of the Lord is her ſtrength, ſo that ſhe laugheth at the time to come. This daughter of Sarah, ſo long as ſhee doth well, and hath the E…ge of a good Conſcience, is not afraid with any amazement (as women are apt to be) 1 Pet. 3.6. Gaudebat Criſpina cum tenebatur, Aug. in Pſal. 137.cum audiebatur, cum damnabatur, cum ducebatur. So did Miſtris Anne Askew, Alice Driver, and many other gracious women, that ſuffered for the Truth in Queen Maries days: Strength and honour was their clothing: and they rejoyced at the time to come: they went as merry to dye, as to dine: and cheared up one another with this, That although they had but a bitter break-faſt, yet they ſhould ſup with Chriſt in joy.
Verſ. 26. She openeth her mouth with wiſdome] Her mouth is not alwayes open, but duly ſhut, and diſcreetly opened: her words are few, true, and ponderous; the ſtream and current of her conference tends either to wiſdom or kindneſs, that is, to duties either of piety or charity. The Jeſuites forbid Women to ſpeak of God and his wayes, either in good ſort or in bad: and to meddle only with the diſtaff. But the good Women in both Teſtaments, Abigail, Hannah, Heſter, the Virgin Mary, Priſcilla, Lois, &c. never heard of this new doctrin. Tatianus tells us, that in the Primitive Church every Age and Sex among the Chriſtians, were Chriſtian Philoſophers: yea that the very Virgins and Maids, as they ſate at their work in wool, were wont to ſpeak of Gods Word.Hiſt. Eccleſ. lib. 34 cap. 37. And Nicephorus writes, that the Chriſtians, even as they laboured or journied, were wont to ſing Pſalmes: and that thereby there was at a certain time a Jew converted. It were ſurely a great grace (ſaith Lambert the Martyr) if we might have the Word of God diligently and often ſpoken, and ſung unto us in ſuch wiſe, that women and children might underſtand it. Then ſhould it come to paſſe,Act. & Mon. fol. 1015. that Crafts-men ſhould ſing Spiritual Pſalms ſitting at their work, the Husband-man at his Plow, the good Huſwife at her Wheel, as wiſheth St. Hierome.
And in her tongue is the law of kindneſſe] It is worthy the mark (ſaith the Chronicler) that Edward the firſt, and his Grand-ſon Edward the third, the beſt of our Kings,Daniel 262. had the two beſt Wives: Ladies of excellent vertue, that drew evenly with them in all the courſes of Honour, that appertained to their ſide. The firſt of theſe Edwards being traiterouſly wounded (whiles hee was yet Prince) in the Holy-Land (as they called it) by the poyſoned knife of an Aſſaſſine,Speed 646. Cavid. in Middleſex. f. 432. the Lady Elinor his Wife extracted the Poyſon with her tongue, licking daily, whilſt her Husband ſlept, his rankling wounds, whereby they perfectly cloſed, and yet her ſelf received no hurt. So ſoveraign a medicine is a Wives tongue, annoynted with the vertue of kindneſſe and affection.
Verſ. 27. She looketh well to the wayes of her houſhold] She hath an oar in every boat, an eye in every buſineſſe; She ſpyes and pryes into her Childrens and Servants carriages, and exacts of them ſtrict converſation and growth in godlineſs: She over-looks the whole Family no otherwiſe than if ſhe were in a Watch-tower, Speculatur itinera domus ſuae.
Ariſt. 1. Rhet. lib. 1.And eateth not the bread of idleneſſe] She earns it before ſhe eats it. Ariſtotle alſo commends foreign, laboriouſneſs in a woman, and joyns it with temperance and chaſtity, which are preſerved by it. So is taciturnity and ſober communication, for which ſhe is commended in the former verſe. For as idleneſs is the ſeed of talkativeneſſe, 1 Tim. 5.13. ſo painfulneſs is a ſingular help againſt it. Queen Katharine of Spain, wife to our Henry the eighth, was not more buſie in her calling, than prudent in her carriage. She had been counſelled to it by Ludovicus Vives, who came into England with her, and was Maſter to her Daughter the Lady Mary. See the note on ver. 19. of this Chapter.
Verſ. 28. Her children ariſe up and call her bleſſed] As they grow to any bigneſs, and conſider their beholdingneſs, ſo they bleſs her, and bleſs God for her: they bleſs the time that ever they were born of her, and ſo vertuouſly bred by her: being ready to ſay of her, as once Deborah ſaid of Jael, Judg. 5.24. Bleſſed above women ſhall Jael the wife of Heber be, bleſſed ſhall ſhe be above women in the tent. Bleſſed be the womb that bare us, and the paps that gave us ſuck.
Her husband alſo] whom ſhe commanded by obeying, as Livia did her Husband Auguſtus.
And he ſhall praiſe her] Praiſe is due to vertue. And albeit — laudis non indiga virtus, Illae ſed est proprio plane contenta theatro; Vertue is her own reward, and ſhe is the beſt woman, and beſt to be liked, ſaith Thucidides, Honos alit artes. Virtus laudata creſcit. Omnes laudis ſtudio incenduntur.de cujus laude vel vitu perio minimus ſit ſermo, of whoſe praiſe or diſpraiſe, there is leaſt ſaid abroad: yet for as much as praiſe is a ſpurre, and vertue grows by it, why ſhould it be denied to thoſe that deſerve it? Is not a Garland here made up by the hand of the Holy Ghoſt, and ſet upon the head of this excellent Huſwife? Neither is it any diſparagement, that her own Husband and Children commend her; for her buſineſs lying moſt within doors, who ſo fit to praiſe her as thoſe that were ever preſent with her? and yet neither doe they more praiſe her by their words, than by their lives, formed by her to a right poſture.
Verſ. 29. Many daughters have done vertuouſly] By the benefit of a better nature, or civil education, or for praiſe of men, or for a quiet life: ſure it is, that all unſanctified Women, though never ſo well qualified, have failed, both quoad fontem, & quoad finem, for want of faith for the principle, and Gods glory the aym of their vertuous actions. And therefore though they bee ſuo genere, praiſe-worthy, yet they are farre ſhort of this gracious Matron. The civil life without faith is but a beautiful abomination, a ſmoother way to hell. Melius eſt pallens aurum quam fulgens aurichalcum, Bern.better is pale gold than glittering copper. Say the world what it will, a dram of holineſs is worth a pound of good nature. Preferre that before this (in the choyce of a Wife eſpecially) as yee would doe a piece of gold for weight, rather than for workmanſhip, for value, than for elegancy, like that French coyn in the Hiſtorian, in qua plus formaequam ponderis, wherein there was more neatneſs than weightineſs. Of carnal women, though never ſo witty, well-ſpoken, and well-deeded too, we may ſay, as the Civil Law doth of thoſe mixt beaſts, Elephants and Cammels, operam praeſtant, natura fera eſt, they doe the work of tame Creatures, but they have the nature of wild ones.
But thou excelleſt them all] As the only Paragon of the world, the Female glory, the wonder of Women-kind.
Verſ. 30. Favour is deceitful] Some marry by their eyes, and ſome by their fingers ends; Dos non Deus makes ſuch marriages: but they commonly prove unhappy. There's eſh, eſh, fire, fire of debate and diſcord betwixt that Iſh and Iſhah, that Man and Wife, where Jah is not the Match-maker, as the Cabbaliſts have collected: Favour will fade, and beauty wither; an herd of pox will marre the faireſt face, and of a Nireus make a Therſites. Forma bonum fragile eſt, ſaith one Poet. Res eſt forma fugax, ſaith another.Ovid. Seneca. But better than they both, the Prophet Eſay, All fleſh is graſſe, and the glory thereof as the flower of the field. All theſe outward accoutrements are non tantum fallacia quia dubia, verum etiam inſidioſa quia dulcia, ſaith Lactantius; as there is no truſting to them, ſo there is great danger in them, as Abſolom and his Siſter Tamar found in their beauty.
But a woman that feareth the Lord] That is indeed the crown of all commendation: as that which makes one all glorious within, amiable and admirable beyond belief. Nicoſtratus in Aelian, himſelf being a cunning Artiſan, finding a curious piece of Work, and being wondred at by one, and asked what pleaſure hee could take to ſtand gazing as hee did on the Picture, anſwered; Hadſt thou mine eyes, thou wouldſt not wonder, but rather bee raviſht as I am at the inimitable Art of this rare Piece. So if men had Saints eyes to ſee the beauty of Holineſs, the excellency of the New Creature, they would prize and preferre it before the ſhining rubbiſh of all Earths beauty and bravery. But as Auguſtus in his ſolemn Feaſts gave to ſome Gold, to others Gawdes and Trifles, ſo doth God to ſome give his Fear, to others Beauty, Wealth, Honour, and with theſe they reſt contented. But what ſaith the Pſalmiſt? The Lord that made heaven and earth bleſſe thee out of Sion. q. d. The bleſſings that come out of Sion are choyce bleſſings, even above any that come out of Heaven and Earth.
She ſhall be praiſed] Shall live and dye with honour. The body of Honour is Vertue, the ſoul of it, Humility. Whoſoever riſes without the one, or ſtands without the other, embraces but the ſhadow of a ſhadow, may bee notable or notorious, cannot be truly noble.
Verſ. 31. Give her of the fruit of her hands] God would have deſert dignified, good parts praiſed. Here he ſeals up his approbation and good liking of what her Husband and Children had ſaid of her in the former verſes. Hee takes it well when we ſpeak good of his people, and holds himſelf honoured in their juſt praiſes. Give her her fall due, ſaith God, both within doors and without: let her eat of the Vine-yard that ſhe hath planted, live of the Land that ſhe hath purchaſed, enjoy the fruit of her own labours, have both the comfort and the credit of her worthy parts and practices: ſhe being (as ſhe here ſtands deſcribed) not unlike that precious Stone among the Troglodytes which is therefore called Hexacontalithos, Solin. Poly-hiſt. cap. 44.becauſe within its own little compaſs it hath the radiant colours of threeſcore other ſtones of price.
Deo ſoli Gloria▪