Commentary on Prov Ecc SoS Isa Jer Lam Eze Dan, Proverbs · Chapter 22
CHAP. XXII. Verſ. 1. A good name is rather to bee choſen]
HEb. A name, as Chap. 18.22. a wife, for a good wife (better no wife than an ill wife, ſo better no name than an ill name.) This good name proceeding from a good conſcience, this honour from vertue, Iſa. 43.4. this perfume of faith and obedience, this ſplendor and ſparkle of the white ſtone, which onelyonly ſhines upon heavenly hearts, is far more deſirable than great riches. For firſt, Theſe oft take away the life of the owners thereof, Prov. 1.19. the greater wealth, the greater ſpoil awaits a man; As a tree with thick and large boughes, every man deſires to lop him. Whereas a good name ſaves a man oft from that danger, as it did Jonathan whom the people reſcued. Secondly, Riches breed and bring their cares and cumbers with them. Qui habet terras, habet guerras, ſaith the Proverb: Many Law-ſutes and other vexations, &c. when a good name, as a precious oyntment powred out, gets loving favour, with which it is therefore fitly coupled in this Text. Thirdly, Riches are enjoyed but till death at utmoſt; but a good name out-lives the man, and is left behinde him for a bleſſing, Iſa. 65.15. See Prov. 10.7. with the Note there. Other people went beyond Gods Iſrael in wealth and riches, but none in fame and renown, 2 Sam. 7.23. Deut. 4.6. Fourthly, Riches are oft gotten by fame; let a mans name bee up, and there will bee great recourſe to him; But let him once crack his credit, and riches cannot repair him: Infamy will not bee bought oft with money. Laſtly, Riches are common to good men with bad men; but a good name (truly ſo called) is proper to Gods peculiar, confined to the Communion of Saints. Hee was therefore a better husband than Divine that firſt called Riches Bona, Goods: And that Heathen was nearer the truth than many profligate profeſſors of it, who ſaid, Ego ſi bonam famam ſervaſſo, Plaut.ſat dives ero. That is, If I may but keep a good name, I have wealth enough.
And loving favour rather than ſilver and gold] Which what is it elſe but white and red earth? And therefore no way fit to come in competition with good repute and report among the beſt, ſuch as Chriſt had, Luke 2.52. and Joſeph, and Daniel, and David, and Demetrius, Joh. 3.12. and they had it as a ſpecial favour from God, who faſhions mens opinions, and hides his people from the ſtrife of tongues, Job 5.
Verſ. 2. The rich and the poor meet together] They have mutual need one of another, and meet many times, as it were, in the mid-way, by an alteration of their condition. They that were full were hired forth for bread, and the hungry are no more hired, 1 Sam. 2.5. The mighty are put down from their ſeats, and thoſe of low degree are exalted, Luk. 1.53.
The Lord is the maker of them all] The maker of the men, the maker of their eſtates, and the maker of that change and alteration which often happeneth; that the one might become grateful, the other humble. See Job 31.15.
Verſ. 3. A prudent man foreſeeth an evil, &c.] Previſion is the beſt means of prevention. A wiſe mans eyes are in his head, Eccleſ. 2.14. his heart is alſo at his right hand, Eccleſ. 10.2. The Chineſes ſay of themſelves, that all other Nations of the world ſee but with one eye, they only with two. The Italians give out, that they only do ſapere ante factum, look before they leap, fore-caſt an evil before it befall them. But theſe are praiſes proper to them that have learned holy and heavenly wiſdome, that by certain ſights and ſigns diſcern a tempeſt in the clouds, and ſeek ſeaſonable ſhelter under the hollow of Gods hand, under the ſhadow of his wings. Such prudent perſons were Noah, Joſeph, Jonadab, Joſiah, the Chriſtians at Pella, &c.
But the fool paſſeth on] Puſheth on without fear or wit, as being reſolved to have his will, what ever it ſtand him in.
And is puniſhed] As a juſt reward of his raſhneſs. Sin ever ends tragically. Flagitium & flagellum, ut acus & filum. Who ever waxed fierce againſt God and proſpered?Job 9.4. With the froward thou wilt wreſtle, ſaith David, Pſal. 18.16. Upon the wicked God ſhall rain ſnares, &c. Pſal. 11.6. And then, ut leo caſſibus irretitus dixit, ſipraeſciviſſem, as the Lion when hee was caught in the Hunters toyl, ſaid, If I had fore-known this miſchief, I would have ſhunned it. So theſe after-wits, theſe poſt-maſters, theſe Epimetheuſſes ſhall come in (but all too late) with their Fools Had-I-wiſt, which they ſhould have timouſly foreſeen and prevented.
Verſ. 4. By humility and the fear of the Lord] Heb. The heel of humility, &c. The humble heart that lyes low, and hearkens what God the Lord will ſay unto it, that follows him trembling, as the people followed Saul, 1 Sam. 13.7. ſhall have hard at the heels of it riches, a ſufficiency, if not a ſuperfluity, and honour, which is to bee choſen before riches v. 1. (See the Note there) and life above the danger of thoſe thorns and ſnares mentioned in the next verſe; not life preſent onelyonly, but length of dayes for ever and ever. Pſal. 21.4. O the foreign, the heaped up happineſs of a man that humbles and trembles before the Lord! Hee that doth the former, cannot but do the latter; Hence that cloſe connexion of theſe two graces in this Text, By humility the fear of the Lord ſo the original runs without the grammatical copulative And, to ſhew, that they go alwayes together, yea, the one is as it were predicated of the other; neither want they their reward. Riches, honour, life; What things bee theſe? Who would not turn ſpiritual purchaſer?
Verſ. 5. Thorns and ſnares are in the way of the froward] In oppoſition to the reward of righteouſneſs, verſ. 4. which is to ſay, The ungodly are not ſo: Or if they have riches, they prove thorns to them to prick and choak their ſouls; If honour, and long life to enjoy it, theſe prove ſnares to them. Of carnal hearts it may bee ſaid as Pharoah ſaid, of the Iſraelites, They are intangled in the Land, the wilderneſs hath ſhut them in, Exod. 14.3. They have treaſures in the field, of Wheat, Barley, and Oyl, as thoſe ten men had, Jer. 41.8. and are therefore loath to dye: And yet before they dye (live they never ſo long in all abundance of riches and honours) God can bring them to that paſs, that Charles the fifth was at, whom of all men the world judged moſt happy; Philip of Mornay reports of him, that he curſed his honours in his old age, his victories, trophies, riches, ſaying, Abite hinc, abite long è. Away, away, get you far away.
He that doth keep his ſoul, ſhall be far from them] As well from the wicked mans miſeries, as his miſdemeanours; hee keeps aloof from both, hee dares not meddle with the hole of the Aſp, leſt hee meet with a ſting. Cuſtos animae elongabit ſe, &c. Moneo te iterumque monebo (ſaith Lactantius to his Demetrian) ne oblectamenta iſta terrae pro magnis aut veris bonis habere te credas: Lactant. de opifici… Dei.quae ſunt non tantum fallacia quia dubia, verum etiam inſidioſa quia dulcia. Set not thine heart upon the Aſſes, ſith thou art in election for a Kingdome, and the hearts of all Iſrael are upon thee.
Verſ. 6. Train up a childe in the way hee ſhould go] Or, according to his meaſure and capacity, dropping good things by degrees into his narrow-mouthed veſſel, and whetting the ſame upon his memory by often repeating,Deut. 6.6. Shanan & Shanah, repetere ſicut in acuendo. as the knife by oft going over the whetſtone (it is Moſes his compariſon) becomes keen and uſeful; This is the way to make them expert and exact, and to ſecure them from Satan, for wee are not ignorant of his wiles. It is reported of the Harts of Scythia, that they teach their young ones to leap from bank to bank from rock to rock, from one turf to another, by leaping before them, which otherwiſe they would never practiſe; by which means when they are hunted, no beaſt can ever take them. So if men exerciſe their children unto godlineſs whiles they are young, Satan that mighty hunter ſhall never have them for his prey: They will not be young Saints, old Devils (as the prophane Proverb hath it) but young Saints, old Angels. Now as all children ſhould bee carefully catechiſed, and well principled; ſo thoſe Timothies eſpecially, that are deſigned to the work of the Miniſtry. Quintilians Oratour muſt from two or three years old bee inured and accuſtomed to the beſt and pureſt words, very well pronounced unto him, by his Nurſes, Parents, Hand-maids, as ſoon as ever hee begins to babble. Quanto id in Theologo futuro expetendum, curandumque magis? Amama in … …ib.How much more (ſaith a learned man) ſhould this bee done by one that is to bee a Divine?
Verſ. 7. The rich ruleth over the poor] And that with rigour, as Pharaoh did over Iſrael; as thoſe imperious Mammoniſts in St. James his time that oppreſſed and ſubjugated their pooreſt brethren, trampling upon them with the feet of intolerable inſolency and cruelty, Jam. 2.6. Yet now our fleſh is as the fleſh of our brethren, our children as their children, ſaid thoſe poor Jews in Nehemiah, who pleads their cauſe moſt effectually, Chap. 5.7, 8, 9. &c. Ubi quot verba, tot tela, quae nimirum animam divitum percellant, fodicent & lancinent, as one ſaith in another caſe; hee ſets upon them with irreſiſtible Rhetorick, and makes them reſtore (which yet rich oppreſſors are very hardly drawn to do.) Every grain of riches hath a vermin of pride and ambition in it, 1 Tim. 6.17. See the Note there. Mens blood riſeth together with their good, and they think that every thing muſt bee as they would have it. But eſpecially if they have drawn the poor into their nets, Pſal. 10.9. that is, into their bonds, debts, morgages, as Chryſoſtome expounds it, then they not onelyonly rob, but raviſh them; to their cruelty they joyn diſhoneſty, there is neither equity or mercy to bee had at their hands.
Verſ. 8. Hee that ſoweth iniquity, ſhall reap vanity] The Uſurer and cruel Creditor ſoweth his money, his mammon of iniquity (that ungain grain) upon his poor debtors; and whether it bee a barren year, or a fruitful, a good ſoil, or a bad, Luna affert menſtruos ſenſus, hee hath his conſtant pay, yea, his uſe upon uſe, according to that Greek verſe, foreign. Now can ſuch increaſe bee bleſt? Shall not thoſe that thus ſow the wind, bee ſure to reap the whirlewind?
And the rod of his anger ſhall fail] That is, that tyrannical power which hee exerciſeth upon others as his underlings, ſhall bee broken. God will take out of his hand the rod wherewith hee hath beaten his fellow ſervants, and waſte it upon his own back to the very ſtump.
Verſ. 9. Hee that hath a bountiful eye ſhall bee bleſſed] How Amalec the licking people (as the name imports) I mean the Nation of Uſurers and proud lenders ſhall ſpeed, hath been ſpoken already. Now on the other ſide, the bountiful eye, the cheerful giver (as the Septuagint, and after them St. Paul, render,foreign. Sept. or rather expound this Text) ſhall bee abundantly bleſſed; for hee gives with all his heart, hee draws out, not his ſheaf onelyonly, but his ſoul to the hungry, Iſa. 58. Dat bene, dat multum, quia dat cum munere vultum, hee ſpares it out of his own belly to give to the hungry, as ſome have here gathered from the word, his bread, that which was appointed for his own eating; hee voluntarily faſteth from a meal now and then, that hee may beſtow it upon the needy, and hee ſhall not loſe his reward.
Verſ. 10. Caſt out the ſcorner] Or the evil Interpreter, that conſtrues every thing to the worſt, and ſo ſows diſſention. This is an evil inſtrument, and muſt bee caſhiered good company; the place where ſuch a Trouble-town lives, longs for a vomit to ſpue him out. There is nothing that may not bee taken with either hand: It is a ſpiritual unmannerlineſs to take it with the leſt (as that proud Phariſee did, Luke 7.34.) and to caſt it as an apple of contention amongſt others. They that do thus, are the peſts of Families, and other ſocieties, and muſt therefore bee carefully caſt out with ſcoffing Iſhmael, as ever wee deſire to avoid ſtrife, ſutes at Law, reproach, and many more miſchiefs.
Verſ. 11. Hee that loveth pureneſs of heart] That is vexed at his inward pollutions, and affecteth (what hee can never fully effect) to be pure as God is pure, 1 Joh. 3.3. Hee that hath gotten that pure lip, Zeph. 3.9. called here the grace of his lips, Prov. 31.26.and elſewhere the Law of grace; Hee that can skill of thoſe good words that do ingratiate with God and man, Gen. 49.21. compared with Deut. 33.23. Hee is fit to make a Courtier, a Favourite; ſuch as was Joſeph, Mordecai, Daniel, who though hee uſed not alwayes verbis byſſinis, ſoft and ſilken words, but delivered heavy meſſages from God to Nebuchadnezzar and Belſhazzar, yet God ſo wrought their hearts (though Tyrants) that they greatly honoured him, and highly preferred him. And when, out of his love to pureneſs of heart, hee choſe rather affliction than ſin, to bee caſt to the Lions, than to bear a Lion in his own boſome by offending his conſcience: God made the Kings heart yearn towards him, &c. So that this plain-dealing Daniel proſpered in the reign of Darius, and in the reign of Cyrus the Perſian, Dan. 6.28.
Verſ. 12. The eyes of the Lord preſerve knowledge] That is, knowing perſons: Thoſe in the former verſe that love truth in the inward parts, and hold this a rule, Truth muſt bee ſpoken, however it bee taken; theſe, howſoever they may ſuffer for a ſeaſon, as Daniel in the den, Micaiah in the ſtock-houſe, yet the watchful providence of God will preſerve them, and provide for them. Hee will clear their innocency, and ſo plead for them in the hearts of greateſt Princes, that they ſhall find the truth of this divine Proverb, and the falſity of that other ſo common amongſt men, Obſequium amicos, veritas odium parit; Flattery gets friends, but truth hatred.
And hee overthroweth the words (or matters) of the tranſgreſſors] That is, of the Court-paraſites, who ſpeak onelyonly pleaſing things, & ſaepe leonum laudibus murem obruunt, flatter abominably, as thoſe Acts 12. did Herod, as the falſe Prophets did Ahab. God will confute and convince their ſoothing words,2 King. 21.13. of ſingular vanity; he will alſo overthrow their matters, attempts, practices, as a man wipeth a diſh, turning it upſide down. See in that claw-back Amalekite, 2 Sam. 1.4, 5, 6. &c. in Ahitophel, Haman, Scianus, &c.
Verſ. 13. The ſloathful man ſaith, There is a Lion, &c.] The Lion is not ſo fiere as is painted, ſaith the Spaniſh Proverb; much leſs this ſluggards Lion, a meer fiction of his own brain to cover and colour over his idleneſs. Hee pretends two Lions for failing; firſt, Leo eſt Foris, There is a Lion abroad, or in the field (where his work lyes, Pſal. 104.23.) and another in the ſtreets: A likely matter, Lions haunt not in ſtreets, but in Woods and Wilderneſſes. Here is no talk of Satan that roaring Lion, that lyes couchant in the ſluggards bed with him, and prompts him to theſe ſenſeleſs excuſes. Not yet of the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, who will one day ſend out ſummons for ſleepers, and tearing the very caul of their hearts in ſunder, ſend them packing to their place in hell, Matth. 10. But to hell never came any yet that had not ſome pretence for their coming thither. The fleſh never wants excuſes. Corrupt nature needs not bee taught to tell her own tale. Sin and ſhifting came into the world together; and as there is no wool ſo coarſe, but will take ſome colour: ſo no ſin ſo groſs, but admits of a defence. Sin and Satan are alike in this, they cannot abide to appear in their own likeneſs. Some deal with their ſouls as others deal with their bodies; when their beauty is decayed, they deſire to hide it from themſelves by falſe glaſſes, and from others by painting; ſo their ſins from themſelves by falſe gloſſes, and from others by idle excuſes.
Verſ. 14. The mouth of a ſtrange woman] Diabolus capite blanditur, venire oblectat, caudâ ligat, ſaith Rupertus. Theſe ſhee-ſinners (as their ſtallions call them) are moſt dangerous. See the Notes on Chap. 2.16. and 5.3. Solomon had the woful experience of it, Eccleſ. 7.26. and Sampſon, Judg. 16. who
Lenam non potuit, potuit ſuperare leaenam,
Quem fera non potuit vincere, vicit hera.
How did David moyl himſelf in this deep pit,Pſal. 57. and there might have ſtuck in the mire, had not God drawn him out by a merciful violenc and pureged him with hyſſop from that abhorred filth?
Hee that in abhorred of the Lord ſhall fall therein] As the Jeſuits (thoſe odious Connubiſanchfugae Commeretricitegae) too often do; though they boaſt that they can talk and dally with the faireſt women without danger, and the people muſt beleeve no otherwiſe, but that when they are kiſſing a woman, they are giving her good counſel. David George, that execrable Heretick, was ſo far from accounting Adulteries, Fornications, Inceſts, &c. for being any ſins,Hiſt. David. Georgii, that hee did recommend them to his moſt perfect Scholars as acts of grace and mortification; and was confident that the whole world would ſubmit to his doctrine. Peccatum peccatum trabit, as the Hebrew Proverb hath it. One ſin draws on another, and the latter is oft a puniſhment of the former; God, by a peculiar kinde of revenge,foreign. delivering up ſuch to a reprobate ſenſe, or a minde diſallowed, or abhorred of God, as the Apoſtles word (Rom. 1.28.) ſignifies.
Verſ. 15. Fooliſhneſs is bound in the heart, &c.] As a pack or fardle is bound to an horſes back. Errour and folly bee the knots of Satan, wherewith hee tyes children to the ſtake to bee burnt in hell. Better ſee their brains daſhed out againſt the ſtones (ſaith one) than ſuffer the ignorance of God to abide in their heads. Therefore that wee may looſe the bands of death, and works of the Devil, Parents muſt bring their ſons in their arms, and their daughters upon their ſhoulders to the houſe of God, that they may learn to know him, Iſa. 49.22. They muſt alſo ſee to their profiting, and exact of them a daily growth, nurturing, as well as nouriſhing them, Eph. 6.4. (the one being as needful as the other) and uſing the rod where words will not do; ſo to chaſe away that evil by chaſtiſement (ſeaſoned with admonition, and ſeconded with prayer) that elſe will prove pernicious to their ſouls. Eli brought up his ſons to bring down his houſe. Davids ſons were undone by their Fathers fondneſs. A fair hand,foreign. wee ſay, makes a foul wound. Correction is a kinde of cure, ſaith Ariſtotle; and God uſually bleſſeth it to that purpoſe. Corrections of inſtructions are the way of life, Prov. 6.23.
Verſ. 16. Hee that oppreſſeth the poor, &c.] By fraud or force, or any indirect means. This man layes his foundation in fire-work, Job 20. hee walks upon a Mine of Gun-powder; brimſtone is ſcattered upon his habitation, Job 18.15. if but a flaſh of Gods lightning light upon it, all will bee on fire, all blown up and brought to nothing.
And hee that giveth to the rich] Either to ingratiate and curry favour for countenancing their oppreſſive practices; or with a mind to get more than they give (for ſo ſaith one, that clauſe, To increaſe their riches, muſt here bee repeated) which is a more artificial kinde of ſelling their gifts, than if they had profeſſedly ſet them to ſale, as the Greek Orator obſerveth. Both theſe take a wrong courſe to bee rich.Iſocr. ad Demon. The way were to give to the poor, and not to oppreſs them,Pſal. 76.11. 1 Tim. 6.17. and to bring preſents to him that ought to bee feared, ſith it is hee alone that giveth us all things richly to injoy.
Verſ. 17. Bow down thine ear and hear] Here begins, ſay ſome Interpreters, the third book of Solomons Proverbs (as the ſecond began at Chap. 10.) And indeed hee here ſeems to aſſume a new kinde of beſpeaking his ſon, different from his diſcourſe in the twelve preceding Chapters; and much like that in the nine firſt.
And apply thy heart, &c.] q. d. Call up the ears of thy minde to the ears of thy body, that one ſound may pierce both at once; otherwiſe thou wilt bee like the Wolf in the fables thou wilt never attain to any more divine learning, than to ſpell Pater, and when thou ſhouldeſt come to put together, and to put thy heart to it (as Solomons phraſe here is) inſtead of Pater thou wilt ſay Agum, thy minde running a madding after profit and pleaſures of the world, as hath been once before noted.
Verſ. 18. For it is a pleaſant thing if thou keep them within thee] Heb. In thy belly, that is, in thine inwards. Truth it is, that St. John found the little book hee ate (whether wee underſtand it of the Revelation only, or of the whole Bible, which Biſhop Bonners Chaplain called in ſcorn his little pretty Gods-book, it much matters not) bitter in his belly, though ſweet in his mouth, Rev. 10.10. becauſe Miniſters finde it grievous, to bee kept from making known the whole counſel of God to their people. But the Word of God attentively heard, and by an after meditation well digeſted and incorporated into the ſoul, is ſweeter than hony, as David felt it; and yeelds more pleaſure than all the taſteleſs fooleries of this preſent world.
They ſhall withall bee fitted in thy lips] Thou ſhalt need no other help to diſcourſe: thou ſhalt get a ſingular dexterity and volubility of holy language, being able to utter thy minde in pure Scripture (Loquamar verba Scripturae, ſaith that incomparable Peter Ramus, Utamur ſermone Spiritus ſancti, &c.) thou ſhalt ſo ſpeak and ſo do, as one that muſt bee judged by that law of liberty, Jam. 2.12.
Verſ. 19. That thy truſt may bee in the Lord] OnelyOnly a divine word can beget a divine faith, and herein the Scripture excells all humane writings, none of which can bring our hearts to the obedience of faith. I can ſpeak it by experience ſaith Eraſmus, that there is little good to bee got by the Scripture,Eraſm. Praef. in Lucam. if a man read it curſorily and careleſly: But if hee exerciſe himſelf therein conſtantly and conſcionably, hee ſhall feel ſuch a force in it,Pet. Mart. Praf. in com. in Ep. ad Rom. as is not to bee found again in any other book whatſoever. I know, ſaith Peter Martyr, that there are many that will never beleeve what wee ſay of the power of Gods word hidden in the heart; and not a few that will jear us, and think wee are mad for ſaying ſo. But O that they would but bee pleaſed to make trial, Malèe mihi ſit (ita enim in tanta cauſa jurare auſim) niſi tandem capiantur. Let it never go well with mee (for ſo I am bold to ſwear in ſo weighty a buſineſs) if they finde not themſelves ſtrangely taken and transformed into the ſame image, if they paſs not into the likeneſs of this heavenly pattern. The Epheſians truſted in God ſo ſoon as they heard the word of truth, they beleeved and were ſealed, Epheſ. 1.13. And the Theſſalonians faith was famous all the Churches over, when once the Goſpel came to them in power, 1 Theſſ. 1.5, 8.
To thee, even to thee] Men muſt read the Scriptures as they do the Statute-books, holding themſelves as much concerned therein as any other, threatning themſelves in every Threat, binding themſelves in every Precept, bleſſing themſelves in every Promiſe, reſolving to obey God in all things: as convinced of this, that theſe are verba vivenda, non legenda, words to bee lived; and not read only.
Verſ. 20. Have not I written to thee excellent things?] Heb. Princely things, Principles for Princes; Rare and Royal ſentences. The word ſignifies (ſay ſome) the third man in the Kingdome for Authority and Dignity. Others read the words thus, Have not I three times written for thee concerning Counſels and Knowledge, meaning his three books, Proverbial, Penitential, Nuptial. Key of the Bible by Mr. Roberts.The Canticles were penned perhaps in his younger years (ſaith one) when his affections were more warm, active and lively in ſpirituals. The Proverbs in his manly ripe age, when his Prudence and parts were at higheſt, moſt grave, ſolid, ſetled. Eccleſiaſtes in his old age, &c.
Verſ. 21. That I might make thee know the certainty] And ſo finde firm footing for thy faith, Luke 1.3, 5. Theſe words of God are true, ſaith the Angel, Rev. 21.9. Theſe words are faithful and true, Rev. 22.24. void of all inſincerity and falſhood. How can it bee otherwiſe, when as they are, as Gregory ſpeaks, Cor & animae, the very heart and ſoul of the God of truth?Greg. in Reg. 3. there muſt needs bee a certainty in theſe words of truth, neither need wee hang in ſuſpence. When ſome took Chriſt for John Baptiſt, ſome for Elias, Mat. 16.ſome for Jeremias; But whom ſay yee that I am? to teach that Chriſt would not have men ſtand doubtful, halt between two, bee in Religion as beggers are in their way, ready to go which way ſoever the ſtaff falleth; but to ſearch the Scriptures, and grounding thereon, to get a certainty, a full aſſurance of underderſtanding, Col. 2.2. ſo as to bee able to ſay, Wee have beleeved, therefore have wee ſpoken, 2 Cor. 4.13.
Verſ. 22. Rob not the poor, &c.] Here ſome Caviller will bee apt to cry out,Object. Quid dignum tanto feret hic promiſſor hidlu? After ſo promiſing a Preface, and ſuch wooing of attention, wee looked for ſome new matter, and that of beſt note too. But behold here is nothing, but what wee had before.Sol. Phil. 3 1. It is truth, ſaith the Wiſe man; and yet I muſt tell you, that to write the ſame things, to mee indeed is not grievous, but for you it is ſafe. See the like, Pſal. 49.1, 2, 3, &c. The ſcope of the Pſalm is to ſhew the happy and ſecure eſtate of the Saints in trouble,Object: Sol. and the ſlippery condition of the wicked when at their height. Now whereas ſome might object and ſay, this is an ordinary argument, we have heard of it an hundred times. The Pſalmiſt anſwers, that yet this is the great wiſdome that hee will ſpeak of, and the dark ſaying that hee will open. And hereunto hee makes a ſolemn Oyez. Hear this all yee people, and give ear all yee Inhabitants of the World, &c.
Becauſe hee is poor] As the greater fiſh devour the leſſer, and as the Maſtiff falls upon the Cur, and worries him, only becauſe hee is bigger than the other. This is a brutiſh ferity. See Pſal. 10. And if thoſe that relieve not the poor ſhall bee damned, ſurely they that rob them ſhall bee double-damned.
Neither oppreſs the afflicted] The poor man muſt needs bee an afflicted man, obnoxious to all manner of injuries and hard uſages. But God who is the poor mans King (more truly ſo called, then James the fourth of Scotland was) takes order here, that no man oppreſs or wrong him, either at the gate of his houſe, whither hee comes a begging, or at the gate of the City, where hee ſues for redreſs of injury;Gel. l. 11. c. 18. let not might ſuppreſs right, leſt ſome Cato complain (as once) and not without cauſe, that poor Theeves ſit in the ſtocks, when greater Theeves ſit on the ſeats of Judicature.
Verſ. 23. For the Lord will plead their cauſe] Without fee, for thoſe that come to him formâ pauperis, and without fear of their oppreſſours, againſt whom hee will plead with peſtilence and with blood, Ezek. 38.22. as hee did againſt the houſe of Saul for the poor Gibeonites, and againſt Ahab for Naboth.
And ſpoil the ſoul (or life) of thoſe that ſpoiled them] A poor mans livelihood is his life, Mark. 12. ult. Luke 8.43. Hee is in his houſe as a Snail in his ſhell, cruſh that, and you kill him quite. God therefore who loves par pari referre, to pay oppreſſors home in their own coyn, will have life for life, if they may eſcape ſo, and not bee caſt to hell among thoſe cruel ones, Prov. 5.9. See the Note. O that theſe Cannibals would think of this, before the cold grave hold their bodies, and hot hell hold their ſouls.
Verſ. 24. Make no friendſhip with an angry man] Anger is a ſhort madneſs, it is a leproſie breaking out of a burning, Lev. 13.5. and renders a man unfit for civil ſociety: for his unruly paſſions cauſe the climate where hee lives to bee like the torrid Zone, too hot for any to live near him. The Dog-dayes continue with him all the year long, hee rageth, and eateth fire-brands, ſo that every man that will provide for his own ſafety, muſt flye from him, as from a netling, dangerous, and unſociable creature, fit to live alone as Dragons and wilde Beaſts, or to bee looked on only through a grate, as they; where, if they will do miſchief,Turk hiſt. they may do it to themſelves only: As Bajazet the great Turk, who being taken by Tamberlain and carried up and down in an iron Cage, beat out his own brains againſt the bars thereof.
Verſ. 25. Leſt thou learn his wayes] As a man is an imitating creature, and eaſily conformed to the company hee keepeth. Sin is alſo very ſpreading, and more infectious than the plague: This of raſh anger eſpecially, whereunto being naturally inclined, wee ſhall eaſily get an habit of frowardneſs. Intireneſs with wicked conſorts is one of the ſtrongeſt chains of hell, and bindes us to a participation both of ſin and puniſhment.
And get a ſnare to thy ſoul] This is all thou art like to get by ſuch mens company. An angry man (a maſter of anger (as the Hebrew here hath it) or rather one that is maſtered by his anger, and enſlaved thereunto) is fitly compared by one to a Cock of the game, that quarrelſome creature, that is ſtill bloody with the blood either of others or of himſelf; he flyes upon his beſt friends ſometimes, as Alexander did, and ſlayes thoſe whom hee would revive again with his own heart blood. Dogs in a chaſe bark oft at their beſt friends.
Verſ. 26. Bee not thou of them] See the Notes on Chap. 6.1, 2, 3.
Verſ. 27. If thou haſt nothing to pay] And yet art gotten into the Uſurers furnace, hee will leave thee at laſt neither metal nor matter.
Verſ. 28. Remove not the ancient land-mark] Unleſs yee covet a curſe, Deut. 27.17.foreign Eccleſ. 10.8. Let Levellers look to it, and know that property is Gods Ordinance, Act. 5.4. Pſal. 17.14. That Magiſtracy is the hedge of a Nation; and that hee that breaks an hedge, a Serpent ſhall bite him: That the Miniſtry is Chriſts own Inſtitution, Eph. 4.11. And that Lay-preachers may look to ſpeed as Nadab and Abihu, as Uzzah and Uzziah, or as other Uſurpers. See the Note on Deut. 1… 14.
Verſ. 29. Seeſt thou a man diligent] God loves nimbleneſs: what thou doſt, do quickly ſaid Chriſt to Judas, though it were ſo ill a buſineſſe that he was about. Princes love ſuch and imploy them, as Pharoah did Joſeph, and thoſe that were men of activity among his brethren. Salomon alſo made uſe of Jeroboam for the ſame reaſon; though that was not the wiſeſt act that ever he did, 1 Kings 11.28. How dear was Daniel to Darius, becauſe though ſick, yet he diſpatched the Kings buſineſs? What Favourites to our Henry 8, were Wolſey, Cromwell, Cranmer, for like reaſon? A diligent man ſhall not fit long in a low place. Or if he do all the days of his life, yet if his diligence proceed out of conſcience, he ſhall ſtand before the King of Kings when he dies. And ſurely if Salomons ſervants were held happy for this: and the greateſt reward Salomon could promiſe the diligent, is this in the text, what an unconceivable honour muſt it needs be to look for ever upon the face of God, and (Angel-like) ſtand in his preſence?