Commentary on Prov Ecc SoS Isa Jer Lam Eze Dan, Proverbs · Chapter 1
CHAP. I. Verſ. 1. The Proverbs.]
OR, Maſter-ſentences, Maximes, Axiomes, Speeches of ſpecial precellency and prodominancy:foreign Dominari, quae vita dominae & moderatices eſſe debent. foreign. Received Rules that muſt over-rule matters, and mightily prevail in the minds of men. The principal (no doubt) they are of thoſe three thouſand, mentioned, 1 King. 4.32. and far beyond thoſe golden layings of Phocylides (prophanely preferred before theſe holy parables by that Apoſtate Julian, De Euripide Cicero pronu…ciavit plures eſſe in eo ſententias quam verba.anſu nefario) as having in them more ſentences than words, and being ſo farre above all humane praiſe for weight and worth, that (as Salaſt writeth of Carthage) I had better ſpeak nothing of them, than too little, ſith too much is too little.
Of Salomon] who better (a deal) deſerves to bee ſtiled Maſter of the Sentences, than Peter Lombard; and to bee eſteemed foreign, as one ſaith of Homer; or as another ſaith of Hierome, Zenophon.that hee was a man quem nullum ſcibile latuit, that knew all that was knowable by a man.foreign. Euripid. foreign. Demoſt. foreign. Thucyd. & Diodor.
King of Iſrael] Eccleſ. 1.1. King of Jeruſalem, which was now the Iſrael of Iſrael, as Athens was (in its flouriſh) ſaid to bee the Greece of Greece, yea, the Soul, and Sun, and eye of Greece; yea the common School of all mankind. For King Solomon exceeded all the Kings of the Earth, both in Riches, and in Wiſdome. And all the world ſought to ſee Solomon, to hear his Wiſdome which God had put into his heart, 1 King. 10.23, 24. For the more wiſe the Preacher was, the more hee taught the people knowledge, and cauſe them to hear, and ſearched forth many Parables, Eccleſ. 12.9. Even words of delight, verſ. 10. See the Note there.
Verſ. 2. To know Wiſdome] That is, to give others to know, to wiſe them, as Dan. 12.3. to give the knowledge of ſalvation, Luk. 1.77. to ſhew men great and mighty things which they know not, Jer. 33.3. but may here hence bee taught, better than out of Lipſius his Bee-hive, or Machiavels Spiderweb.
Verſ: 3. To receive the inſtruction] Tertullian calls the Bible (and the Proverbs by a ſpecialty) Noſtra digeſta, from the Lawyers; and others our Pundects, from them alſo. Is there not a thin veil laid over them, which is more rarified by reading, and at laſt wholly worn away▪ Surely as by much reading the Statute-book men grow worldly-wiſe; And as a friend (it is Chryſoſtomes compariſon) that is acquainted with his friend, will get out the meaning of a letter or phraſe, which another could not that is a ſtranger; ſo it is in Scripture. And herein (as one well obſerveth) the pooreſt Ideot being a ſound Chriſtian, goeth beyond the profoundeſt Clarks that are not ſanctified, that hee hath his own heart inſtead of a Commentary to help him to underſtand even the moſt needful points of the Scripture.
Verſ. 4. To give ſubtilty] Serpentine ſubtilty, Gen. 3.1. ſacred ſagacity, a ſharp wit, a deep reach, a Spirit that ſearcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God, 1 Cor. 2.10. …nd transformeth a man into the …ame Image from glory to glory,Pet. Mar…. in Rom. Ep. dedicat. … Cor. ….1… Equidem ſc… m…tos eſſ… qui h…c non redan… & non p… cos qui ea rideant, noſque inf…nire arbit…ntur, faith Peter Martyre … velim, &c. that is, I wot well there bee many that will not beleeve it, and not a few that will deride it, and think wee are …ad in aſcribing ſo much to the Scriptures. But oh that they would bee entreated to make trial a while, and to take to the reading of the Bible! Male mihi ſit … eum in … cauſa jure au…im) niſi …andem capiantur ſentient dentiqua quamtum divina hac ab humanis diſtent, &c. Let mee never bee beleeved, if they perceive not a plain and palpable difference betwixt theſe and all humane writings whatſoever. And to the ſame purpoſe Eraſmus, Eraſm. Praefat. in Lucam.expertus ſum in …cipſo, ſaith hee, I can ſpeak it by experience, that there is little good to bee gotten by reading the Bible curſorily and careleſly: But do it duly and diligently, with attention and affection, and you ſhall finde … an efficacy, as is … bee found in no other Book that can bee named.
To the ſimple] …atuo foreign fatuello (Lipſius this diminutive) to the ſilly-ſimple, whoſe learning hangs not in his light, who holds not … wiſe to bee taught, that is not uncounſellable, unperſwad…le. … qui ſibi ſapit, Chytra…s.hee is two fools that it wiſe in his own eyes, Pr… 3. … … noro, ſed ignorantiam meam non ignoro. Little though it …, …et this I know, that I know but little.
Ariſt. Ethic. lib. 1. Job 1….12. Eccleſ. 11.10.To the young man Though rude and raſh, …ead-long and …ead long …ntameable and untractable, as a wilde-aſſe-colt; though … luſts, 2 Tim. 2.22. and madly ſet upon ſin, yet hee may cleanſe his waies, by cleaving to Gods Word, Pſal. 119.9. and become a young Saint, an old Angel whereas otherwiſe, like young Lapwings, hee is apt to bee ſnatched up by every Buzzard.
Verſ. 5. A wiſe man will hear] Hearing and ſeeing are by Ariſtotle called the learned ſenſes, becauſe by theſe doores, learning, yea life entreth into the ſoul, Iſa. 55.3. David Chytrous, when hee lay a dying, lift up himſelf to hear the diſcourſes of his friends that ſate by him, and ſaid, that hee ſhould dye with better cheer, if hee might dye learning ſomething.
Si mori…und… etiam ſi quid …idic …ſſet Meich. Adam.And will encreaſe learning] Take heed what you hear: unto you that hear, ſhall more bee given, Mark. 4.24. See the Note there; OnelyOnly ponder, and apply what you hear. For they that do otherwiſe, are like the Wolf, who never attain to any more divine learning than to ſpell Pater; but when they ſhould come to put together, and to apply it to their ſouls, they ſay Agnus, their minds running a madding after the profits and pleaſures of the world, and they thinking thoſe little leſs than mad, tha… run to and fro to encreaſe knowledge, Dan. 12.4.
Verſ. 6. To underſtand a Proverb, and the Interpretation] Or, the ſweetneſs thereof, there being nothing ſo ſweet to a good ſoul, as the knowledge of dark and deep myſteries; Pſal. 119.103.Heb. Me…it …a… unde. fortaſſe Graecum foreign & Lati…um Mel. Rivet. where the ſame word is uſed. The little Book of the Revelation was in Johns mouth ſweet as hony, Rev. 10.9, 10. See the Note there.
And their dark ſayings] Dark to thoſe that are acute obtuſi, that have not their ſenſes exerciſed to diſcern both good and evil, Heb. 5.14. Legum obſcuritates non aſſignemus culpae ſcribentium ſed inſcitiae non aſſe quentium, ſaith hee in Gellius. If the Law bee dark to any, the fault is not in the Law-giver, but in thoſe that ſhould better underſtand it.
Verſ. 7. The fear of the Lord is the beginning] Or the chief and principal point*The head or firſt-fruits; the head and heigh. of wiſdome (as the word here ſignifieth) yea, wiſdome it ſelf, Job 28.28. This Solomon had learned by the inſtruction of his Father (as it is in the next verſe) who had taught it him of a childe. Prov. 4.4. with Pſal. 111.10. and therefore ſets it here in the beginning of his works, as the beginning of all:Hoc eſt enim totus homo. As in the end hee makes it the end of all, Eccleſ. 12.13. yea, the All of man, without which hee counts him not a compleat man, though never ſo wiſe to the world-ward. Heathen Sages, as Seneca, Socrates, &c. were wiſe in their Generation, and had many excellent gifts, but they miſſed of the main; there was no fear of God before their eyes: Being herein as Alchimiſts, who miſs of their end, but yet finde many excellent things by the way. Theſe Merchants found goodly pearls, but the pearl of price they failed of, Mat. 13.45, 46. The Prophet calls the fear of God our treaſure, Iſa. 33.6.
But fools deſpiſe] Fools; ſo are all ſuch as fear not God, being abominable, diſobedient, and to every good work reprobate, or injudicious, Tit. 1.16. Evil is Hebrew for a fool; Nebul… of Nabal, Fool of foreign. When one highly commended the Cardinal Julian to Sigiſmund, hee anſwered, Tamen Romanus eſt, Yet hee is a Popeling; So, yet hee is a Fool, becauſe void of Gods true fear. Behold they have rejected the word of the Lord,foreign. Ariſt. Rhe…. and what wiſdome is in them? Jer. 8.9.
Verſ. 8. Hear the instruction of thy Father, &c.] It is not fit to diſobey God, thy Father, nor thy Teacher, ſaith Ariſtotle. Our Parents, ſaid Hierocles, are foreign, our houſhold-gods: and their words ſhould bee received as Oracles; This is a principal fruit of the fear of God, which it here fitly followeth: like as in the decalogue, the Commandement for honouring of Parents, is ſet next of all to thoſe of the firſt Table, nay, is indeed (as Philo ſaith of it) foreign, a mixt Commandement.
Verſ. 9. For they ſhall bee an ornament] Virgil. Plato.A mans wiſdome maketh his face to ſhine, Eccleſ. 8.1. Tum pietate gravem, &c. foreign. Neither gold, nor precious ſtone ſo gliſtereth, ſaith Plato, as the prudent mind of a pious perſon. Nothing ſo beautifies as grace doth; Moſes and Joſeph were fair to God, and favoured of all men. A Crown of Gold, a Chain of Pearl, are no ſuch Ornaments as are here commended.
Verſ. 10. If ſinners entice thee] To an ill bargain, to a match of miſchief, as Ahab did Jehoſaphat, as Potiphers wife would have done Joſeph: and truly, that hee yeelded not, was no leſs a wonder, than that thoſe three Worthies burnt not in the midſt of the fiery furnace. But as the Sun-ſhine puts out fire, ſo did the fear of God the fire of luſt.
Conſent thou not] But carry a ſevere rebuke in thy countena…ce, as God doth, Pſal. 80.16. To rebuke them is the ready way to bee rid of them.
Verſ. 11. If they ſay] The Dragon bites the Elephants …ar, and thence ſucks his blood; becauſe hee knows that to bee the onelyonly place that hee cannot reach with his trunck to defend. So deal the red Dragon and his Angels; with good words and fair ſpeeches they deceive the hearts of the ſimple, …om. 16.18. With much fair ſpeech ſhee cauſed him to yeeld, with the flattering of her lips ſhee forced him, Prov. 7.21.
Come with mee] If ſinners have their Come, ſhould not Saints much more▪ Come let us go to the houſe of the Lord, Iſa. 2.3. Come, let us walk in the light of the Lord, Verſ. 5. Let us go speedily to pray before the Lord, and to ſeek the Lord of Hoſts: I will go alſo, Zech. 8.21. ſhould wee not incite, intice, whe…, and provoke one another?foreign. Heb. 10.24. ſharpen and extimulate, as Prov, 27.17. rouſe and ſtir up each other to love and good works, 2 Pet. 1.13.
Verſ. 12. Let us ſwallow them up alive] As the Devil doth, 1 Pet. 5.8. 2 Tim. 2.26. Homo homini daemon. The poor Indians have been heard to ſay, It had been better that their Countrey had been given to the Devils of Hell, than to the Spaniards: and that if the cruel Spaniards go to Heaven when they dye, they (for their parts) deſire not to come there.
Verſ. 13. Wee ſhall finde all precious ſubſtance] But thoſe that rake together, rem, rem, quocunque modo rem, that count all good fiſh that comes to net, will in the end catch the Devil and all.
Fill our houſes with ſpoil] Not conſidering, that they conſult ſhame to their houſes by cutting off many people, and ſinning againſt their own ſouls, Hab. 2.10. Hee that brings home a pack of plaguy cloaths, hath no ſuch great booty of it.
Verſ. 14. Let us all have one purſe] How much better were a wallet to beg from door to door, than ſuch a curſed hoard of evil-gotten goods?
Verſ. 15. Walk not thou in the way with them] God will not take the wicked by the hand,Pſal. 26. Job 8.20. Why then ſhould wee? Gather not my ſoul with ſinners, ſaith David. O Lord let mee not go to Hell where the wicked are: for Lord, thou knoweſt I never loved their company here, ſaid a good Gentlewoman when ſhee was to dye, being in much trouble of conſcience.
Verſ. 16. For their feet run to evil] By the abuſe of their locomotive faculty, given them to a better purpoſe. They run, as if they ſhould not come time enough, they take long ſtrides toward the burning lake, which is now but a little before them.
Verſ. 17. Surely in vain the net] Which is to ſay, Silly birds pick up the meat, but ſee not the net, and ſo become a prey to the fowler. If the fruits of the fleſh grow out of the trees of your hearts (ſaith bleſſed Bradford) ſurely,Sermon of Repent. pag. 70. ſurely, the Devil is at Inne with you; you are his birds, whom when hee hath well fed, hee will broach you, and eat you, chaw you, and champ you world without end, in eternal woe and miſery.
Verſ. 18. And they lay wait] Their ſin will ſurely finde them out. No doubt this man is a Murderer,Nemo nequitiam gorit in pect…re, qui non idem Nemeſin in tergo. ſaid thoſe Barbarians, Act. 28.4. whom though hee had eſcaped the Sea, yet vengeance ſuffereth not to live. Surely I have ſeen yeſterday the blood of Naboth, 1 King. 9.26. Murder ever bleeds freſh in the eye of God: to him many years, yea, that eternity that is paſt, is but yeſterday.
Verſ. 19. Which taketh away the life] The greater wealth, the greater ſpoil awaits a man: As a tree with thick and large …oughs, every man deſires to lop him. Trithemius writeth, that the Templars at the requeſt of Philip King of France, were put down, and extinct upon pretext of hereſie, but indeed, becauſe they were rich, and Philip ſore longed after their poſſeſſions. Cyprus for its great wealth,Sixtus Rufus. Virgil. Iſidor. became a ſpoil to the Romans. Auri ſacra fames, &c. foreign. Covetouſneſs is daring and deſperate: it rides without reins, as Balaam did after the wages of wickedneſs, the Mammon of iniquity, Luk. 16.9.
Verſ. 20. Wiſdome] Hebrew, Wiſdomes: That is, the moſt abſolute and ſoveraign wiſdome, the Lord Jeſus, in whom are bid all the treaſures of wiſdome and knowledge, Col. 2. who alſo is made unto us of God wiſdome, righteouſneſs, &c. 1 Cor. 1.30.
Cryeth without] The Hebrew word ſignifies oft, to ſhout for joy, as Pſal. 81.2. Levit. 9. ult. Chriſt ſurely cryed ſweetly, the roof of his mouth was like the beſt Wine that goeth down ſweetly, Cant. 7.9. with a deſire did hee deſire our ſalvation, though hee well knew it ſhould coſt him ſo very dear, Luk. 22.15.
Shee uttereth her voice] Verbis non ſolum deſerti…, ſed & exertis. In the laſt day, that great day of the feaſt Jeſus ſtood and cried, ſaying. If any man thirſt, let him come unto mee end drink, John 7.37.&c.
Verſ. 21. In the cheef place of concourſe] Veritas non quaerit angulos. Chriſt as his manner was, preached in the Synagogues. Paul diſputed in the market, with whomſoever hee met, and preached in the midſt of Mars-hill, Act. 17.17.22. And at Rome his bonds in Chriſt were manifeſt in all Caeſars Court, Phil. 1.13.and in all other places.
Verſ. 22. How long yee ſimple ones] The fatuelli that are eaſily perſwaded into a fools Paradiſe. Theſe are the beſt ſort of bad men: The Apoſtle calls them foreign, Rom. 16.18. Optimi putantur Pointifices, (ſaith Papirius Maſſonius a Popiſh Writer) ſi vel lenitèr mali ſint; In vita Pauli. 3.vel minus honi quàm caeteri mortale eſſe ſalent. Thoſe are thought to be very good Popes, that are not ſtark naught, or that have any good at all in them. Theſe Simplicians are much better than ſcorners, that delight in their ſcorning, but far beyond thoſe fools that hate knowledge. See a like gradation, Pſal. 1.1. with the Note there. Peccata non ſunt paria Nemo repentè fit turpiſſimus. All ſins are not alike ſinful: and wicked men grow worſe and worſe.
Verſ. 23. Turn you at my reproof] Hee that reproves, and then directs not how to do better, is as hee that ſnuffs a Lamp, but poures not in oyl to maintain it.
Behold I will poure out my spirit] Now if men make their hearts as an Adamant, leſt they ſhould hear, &c. and wilfully withſtand the Spirit, let them read their neck-verſe in the following words, and in that parallel Text, Zach. 7.11, 12, 13. Reſiſting the Spirit is a ſtep to the unpardonable ſin.
Verſ. 24. Becauſe I have called, and yee refuſed] If any ask, why did God ſuffer them to refuſe, and not make them yeeld? I anſwer with Auguſtin, Doctiorem quarat, qui hanc quaeſtionem ei explicet. Let him look one that can tell him, for I cannot.
Verſ. 25. But yee have ſet at naugh…] As thoſe recuſant gueſts in the Goſpel, that pretended they therefore came not, becauſe they had bought Farms and Oxen, but indeed it was becauſe their Farms and Oxen had bought them. They had either ſo much to do, or ſo little to do, that they could not make uſe of ſo fair an offer, ſo ſweet advice and advantage.
And would none of my reproof] Ruinam praecedunt ſtillicidi…. It is a ſure preſage and deſert of ruine, when men will not bee ruled. The Cypreſs,Prov. 29.1. the more it is watered, the more it is withered. The tree that is not for fruit, is for the fire. The earth that beareth thorns and briars onelyonly, is rejected, &c. Heb. 6.8.
Verſ. 26. I will alſo laugh] Quod Deus loquitur cum riſu, tu legas cum fletu. If God laugh, thou haſt good cauſe to cry.Auguſtin. Note here the venemous nature of ſin, which is ſo offenſive to God, as it makes him (againſt his ordinary wont) merry at his Creatures miſery, who otherwiſe delights in mercy, Mich. 7.18.
When your fear cometh] That terrible tempeſt,Lactan. Inſtit. S…luſt. Job 15.21, 22. Pſal. 11.6, Tullus Hoſtilius (a prophane Prince) ſet up and worſhiped at Rome two new Gods, viz. Pavor and Pallor▪ as Lactantius teſtifieth. Cataline was wont to bee afraid at any ſudden noiſe, as being haunted with the furies of his own evil conſcience:Daniel. Thua…. So was our Richard the third after the murther of his two innocent Nephews, and Charles the ninth of France after the Pariſtan Maſſacre: Theſe Tyrants became more terrible to themſelves, than ever they had been to others.
Verſ. 27. When your fear cometh as deſolation] Scilicet, of war, which laies heaps upon heaps; and leaves not a ſtone upon a ſtone, A…at. 24.
As a whirlewind] Suddenly and irreſiſtibly, and with a terrible noiſe and fragor.
Verſ. 28. Then ſhall they call, &c. This was Sauls miſery, The Philiſtims are upon mee, and God will not anſwer mee. This was Moa…s curſe, Iſa. 10.12. This was the caſe of Davids enemies, Pſal. 18.41. A doleful caſe it is ſurely, when a man ſhall loſe his prayers, and ſhall nor be a button the better for all his pretended oriſons and devotions.Prov. 28.9. Hee that turneth away his ear from hearing of the Law, even his prayer ſhall bee abominable. If God anſwer him at all, it is according to the Idols of his heart, Ezek. 14.3. with bitter anſwers. as Judg. 10.13, 14. Or if better, yet it is but as hee anſwered the Iſraelites for Quails, and afterwards for a King, better have been without Deus ſaepe dat iratus quod negat propitius. Giftleſs gifts God gives ſometimes, Joſh. 24.20. Hee will conſume you after that hee hath done you good.
Verſ. 29. For that they hated knowledge] Theſe are the worſt ſort of ſinners, verſ. 22. that not onelyonly ſlight knowledge, but hate it, as theeves do a torch in the night;Herodot. curſe it, as Ethiopians do the ſcorching Sun; flie againſt it, as Batts do againſt the light. This is the condemnation, this is Hell afore-hand, John 3.20.
And did not chuſe] foreign. Refuſe the evil,Iſa. 7. and chuſe the good: chuſe the things that pleaſe God, Iſa. 56.4. that wherein hee delights, Iſa. 65.12. Such a choiſe made Moſes, Heb. 11.25. and Joſhuah, ch. 24.15. and Mary, Luk. 10.42.
Verſ. 30. They would none of my Counſel] Theſe are condemned and menaced, as well as thoſe that deſpiſed or execrated Gods reproof. So alſo in the precedent verſe, not onelyonly they that hated knowledge, but that did not chuſe the fear of the Lord.
They despiſed all my reproof] Hebrew, They execrated, blaſphemed it.
Verſ. 31. Therefore ſhall they eat of the fruit] Eat as they baked, drink as they brewed. They that ſow the wind of iniquity, ſhall reap the whirlewind of miſery. Aequum eſt ut faber quas fecit compedes ipſe geſt it.
And bee filled with their own devices] Their Never-enough ſhall bee quit with fire enough in the bottome of Hell.
Verſ. 32. For the turning away] Whereas it might bee objected, that mean-while wicked men live at eaſe and proſper. It is granted, but withal aſſerted, that theſe fatted Oxen are but fitted for the ſlaughter. The Sunſhine of proſperity ripens the ſin of the wicked apace. Bernard calls it miſericordiam omni indignatione crudeliorem, a mercy that hee had no mind to. What good is there in having a fine ſute with the plague in it? As ſoon may a man miſcarry upon the ſoft ſands, as upon the hard rocks.
Horat. Pſal. 112.Verſ. 33. ſhall bee quiet from the fear] Impavidum ferient ruinae. Hee ſhall not bee afraid of evil tidings. His Ark is pitched within and without; toſſed it may bee, but not drowned, ſhaken, but not ſhivered, &c.