Commentary on Prov Ecc SoS Isa Jer Lam Eze Dan, Proverbs · Chapter 27
CHAP. XXVII. Verſ. 1. Boaſt not thy ſelf of to morrow.]
Exod. 13.14.THat is, of what thou wilt doe hereafter, in quovis tempore poſtero. See 1 Sam. 28.19.Petrarch. lib 3. Memurah. ad finem. Jam. 4.14. Hee was a wiſe man, that being invited to a feaſt on the next morrow, anſwered, Ex multis annis craſtinum non habui, for theſe many years I have not had a morrow day to promiſe for any buſineſs. But what luxurious fools were thoſe Sybarites, Aelian.that intending a feaſt, did uſe to invite their gueſts a whole year before?
Neſcis quid ſerus veſper v…hat. Hinc Haebrei eventae appella…t filios temporis.For thou knoweſt not what a day may bring forth] A great-bellied day. Whiles a Woman is yet with child, none can tell what kind of birth it will be, Luk. 12.16, 17. Time travelleth with Gods Decrees, and in their ſeaſon brings them forth; but little doth any man know what is in the wombe of to morrow, till God hath ſignified his will by the event. David in his proſperity ſaid, that hee ſhould never be moved, but he ſoon after found a ſore alteration: God confuted his confidence, Pſal. 30. So the evil which men intend againſt us, may prove abortive, either dye in the wombe, or elſe they may travel with miſchief, and bring forth a lye, that is, ſomewhat contrary to that they intend; but Fata viam invenient — Stat ſua cuique dies. See Judg. 5.28, 29, 30. 1 King. 20.10. Accidit in puncto quod non ſperatur in anno.
Verſ. 2. Let another man praiſe thee, and not thine own mouth] Unleſs it be in defence of thine innocency, as David, Pſal. 7. or when the concealing of thy goodneſſe may turn to the hinderance of the truth, or to the hurt of the Church, or impairing of Gods glory, as Paul, 2 Cor. 11. and 12. Let a man doe worthily in Ephrata, and he ſhall be famous in Bethlehem: he need not bee his own Trumpeter, as Jehu, the proud Phariſee, and other arrogant vain-glorious Bragadochioes. (See my common place of Arrogance) God will take order that thoſe that honour him, be honoured of all, and that fame ſhall attend vertue, as the ſhadow doth the body. Say that wicked men will not ſpeak well but ill of us,3 Joh. 12. yet we have a teſtimony in their Conſciences (as David had in Sauls, Daniel in Dariuso', &c.) Demetrius hath a good report of all good men, and of the truth it ſelf: and that is enough for him; ſith, not he that commendeth himſelf (or hath the worlds applauſe) is approved, but he whom the Lord (and his people) commendeth, 2 Cor. 10.18. Haec ego primus vidi, was a vain-glorious brag that Zabarel had better held in. And haec ego feci, proves men to bee no better than Faeces, ſaith Luther wittily; theſe brags are but dregs; Laus proprio ſordeſcit in ore; Quod magnificum reſciente a…io fuiſſet, ipſo qui geſſerat reconſente vaneſcit. Plin Ep. 8. l. 1That which had been much to a mans commendation, if out of another mans mouth, ſounds very ſlenderly out of his own, ſaith Pliny. Let her works (not her words) praiſe her in the gates, Prov. 31.31. as they did Ruth, All the City of my people knows that thou art a vertuous woman, Ruth 3.11. She was ſo, and ſhe had the credit of it. So had the Virgin Mary, and yet ſhe was troubled when truly praiſed of the Angel. They ſhall be praiſed of Angels in Heaven, who have eſchewed the praiſes of men on earth, and bluſh when but juſtly commended, ſpeaking modeſtly and meanly of their own good parts and practices. Saint Luke ſaith, Levi made a great feaſt, Luke 5.27, 28. But when himſelf ſpeaks of it, Matth. 9.10. he ſaith only, that Chriſt came home and eat bread in Levies houſe, to teach us the truth of this Proverb, that another mans mouth ſhould praiſe us, and not our own. Like as in the Olympick games, thoſe that overcame did not put the Garlands on their own heads, but ſtayed till others did it for them; ſo here.
Verſ. 3. But a fools wrath is heavier than them both] Himſelf cannot rule nor repreſs it, but that hee dyes of the ſullens ſometimes, as that fool Nabal did. Much leſs can others endure it without trouble and regret; eſpecially when ſo peeviſh and paſt grace, as to be angry with thoſe that approve not, applaud not his folly. How angry was Nebuchadnezzar, how much hotter was his heart than his Oven, againſt thoſe three Worthies, for refuſing to fall down before his golden Mawmer? How unſufferable was Herods anger in the Maſſacre at Bethlehem, and the primitive Perſecutors for the two firſt ages after Chriſt? that I come no lower. See my Common-place of Anger.
Verſ. 4. Wrath is cruel, and anger is outragious] Or, over-flowing all the banks, or carrying all before it as an impetuous Land-floud, and therefore moſt intolerable, as verſ. 3. but behold a worſe matter: Envie is an evil that none can ſtand before, for it knows neither end nor meaſure: as appears in the Devil, and his Patriarch Cain; in Saul, the Phariſees, thoſe ſpiteful Jews, Acts 13.45. And to this day they doe antiquum obtinere, bear the old grudge to us Chriſtians, curſing us in their daily Oriſons, calling us Baſtard-gentiles, profeſſing that if their Meſſias were come, rather than wee ſhould have any part in him, or benefit by him, they would Crucifie him an hundred times over. They have a ſaying amongſt them, Optimus qui inter gentes eſt d…gnus cui caput conteratur tanquam Serpenti. The beſt of us Gentiles is worthy of the Serpents puniſhment, viz. to have his head bruiſed, &c. ſo great is their envie ſtill againſt Chriſtians, who pitty them and pray for them: and truly, it is no more than need, ſith by the queſtion here propounded, we may eaſily gueſſe, how potent this quick-ſighted and ſharp-fanged malignity envie is; indeed the venome of all vices is found in it: neither will it bee drawn to embrace that good which it envies to another, as too good for him, Act. 13.44, 45.
Verſ. 5. Open rebuke is better than ſecret love] For after the nature of Pils, Rebuke, though it be not toothſome, yet it is wholſome; and a ſure ſign of a faithful friend, if rightly managed. See my Common-place of Admonition. Secret love, that either ſeeth nothing amiſſe in a friend, or dare not ſay ſo, is little worth in compariſon. Thou ſhalt not hate thy brother in thy heart, Levit. 19.17but (as an Argument of thy love) thou ſhalt reprove him plainly (but wiſely) and not ſuffer ſin upon him, much leſſe further it, and be his broker or pander in it, as Hirah the Adullamite was to his friend Judah, and Jonadab to his Couſin Amnon, 2 Sam. 13.5.
Verſ. 6. Faithful are the wounds of a friend] And are therefore to be prayed for: but the kiſſes of an enemy are deceitful, or to bee deteſted, and therefore prayed againſt: ſo ſome read the words, and make the oppoſition. See this done by David, Pſal. 141.5. Knocks from a righteous man he would take for kindneſſes: but the precious oyles of the wicked (anſwerable to their kiſſes here) he would cry out of, as the breaking of his head; for ſo Mercer, Ainſworth, and others read that text, and the Septuagint accordeth, ſaying, let not the oyl of the ſinner ſupple my head; by oyl meaning flattering words, as Pſal. 55.22. Reproofs and Corrections, though ſharp and unpleaſant, yet if look'd upon as iſſuing from that love that lies hid in the heart, they are faithful, that is, fair and pleaſant, as the Chaldee interprets it.
But the kiſſes of an enemy are deceitfull] i. e. his gloſing and cloſing with us for a further miſchief, (ſuch as were the kiſſes of Joab, Judas, Abſolom and Ahitophel) are not to be fancied, but deprecated and deteſted. See the note on chap. 26.23. Theophrastus hath in his character drawn out theſe kiſſing cut-throats,Cap. foreign. who can be affable to their enemies, and diſguiſe their hatred in commendation, while they privily lay their ſnares: men Italienated, that can ſalute with mortal embracements, and claſp you in thoſe arms which they mean to embrue in your deareſt blood.Camd. Eliſ. Anno. 1591. Theſe treacherous kiſſers are of kin to that mad Hacket, hanged in Queen Elizabeths days, who bit off his honeſt ſchoolmaſters noſe, as he embraced him, under colour of renewing their love, and ear it down before the poor mans face. So, and no better are the kiſſes, that is, the fawnings and flatteries of perfideous perſons.
Verſ. 7. The full ſoul loatheth an hony comb] Heb. treadeth it under feet as dung or dogs-meat. Chryſoſtome reports the ſaying of a certain Philoſopher to the ſame purpoſe. Anima in ſatietate poſita etiam favis illudit. The ſated ſoul rejecteth fineſt fare, and moſt ſweeteſt ſuſtenance. This holds true in ſpirituals too. The hony of Gods holy word, how is it trampled on by thoſe ſtall-fed beaſts, in whom fulneſs hath bred forgetfulneſs, ſaturity ſecurity? Our ſoul loatheth this light meat, ſaid they of their Manna, when once cloyed with it. The Phariſees found no more ſweetneſs or ſavourineſs in our Saviours own Sermons, than in the white of an egge, or a dry chip. Our Nation is alſo ſick of a ſpiritual plethory or plurifie: we begin to ſurfeit on the bread of life. Now when God ſees his mercies lying under Table, 'tis juſt with him to call to the enemy to take away. Behold, therefore I will deliver thee to the men of the Eaſt,—who ſhall eat thy fruit, and drink thy milk, Ezek. 25.4.
But to the hungry ſoul every bitter thing is ſweet] Hunger is the beſt Cook, ſay the Dutch, the beſt ſawce, ſay we, experience proves it ſo: how ſweetly doth it ſeaſon homely cates,Jejunus ſtomachus raro vulgaeria tem…it. Horat. coarſe fare? Artaxerxes Memor being put to flie for his life, fed hungerly on barley-bread, with dried figs, and ſaid, he never made a better meal in all his life. Huniades once driven out of the field by the Turks, and lighting upon a ſhepheard, craved for Gods ſake of him ſomething to eat: who brought him to a poor cottage not farre off, cauſing to be ſet before him bread and water with a few Onions: who in the pleaſant remembrance of that paſſed miſery,Turk Hiſt. fol. 310. would oftentimes after in his greateſt banguers ſay, that he never in his life fared better or more daintily, than when he ſupped with this ſhepheard.
Verſ. 8. As a bird that wandereth from her neſt] Doth it of inconſtancy, and oft meets with miſery: whereas God had taken order that none ſhould moleſt a bird upon her neſt. Deut. 22.6, 7.
So is a man that wandreth from his place] A vagrant, an idleby, or a buſy-body, that keeps not his ſtation, abides not in the calling wherein he was called, 1 Cor. 7.20. expoſed to miſery and miſchief, to ruth and ruine, Numb. 16.32. 2 Sam. 6.6, 7. 2 Chron. 26.19. Jonah 1. Jude 6. Pſal. 107.4. An honeſt mans heart is where his calling is: ſuch an one when he is abroad, is like a fiſh in the ayr, whereinto if it leap for recreation or neceſſity, yet it ſoon returns to its own element.
Verſ. 9. Oyntment and perfume rejoyce the heart] Sweet oyntment ſenſum afficit, spiritum reficit, cerebrum juvat, affects the ſenſe, refreſheth the ſpirit, comforteth the brain.
So doth the ſweetneſs of a mans friend by hearty counſel] It is as a freſh gale of ſweet ayr to him that lives among walking dung-hils, open ſepulchres. It preſerveth the ſoul as a pomander, and refreſheth it more than musk or civet doth the brain. The Counſel of ſuch eſpecially (Miniſters I mean) of whom the Scripture ſaith, that they are unto God a ſweet ſavour of Chriſt unto them that are ſaved, 2 Cor. 2.15. Theſe are they that can ſell us oyl for our lamps, that we may buy for our ſelves, Mat. 25.9. Such a Counſellour may be an Angel, nay a God to another, as Moſes was to Aaron: the comfort given by ſuch (as the bleſſing of Parents) is uſually moſt effectual, becauſe they are in Gods room. See Job 33.23. If there be a meſſenger with him, an interpreter, one among a thouſand, Unus è millibus, not Ʋnus è ſimilibus as the Vulgar reads it falſely, and from the purpoſe.
Verſ. 10. Thine own friend and thy Fathers friend forſake not] To forſake a friend (an old friend eſpecially) is to forſake ones ſelf: for a friend is a ſecond ſelf, and friendſhip (as wine) is commendable from its oldneſs. What a Price ſet Salomon upon Hiram, who had been his fathers friend? 1 King. 5, and how did he ſeek his love, as a precious inheritance left him (as it were) by his father? and how courteouſly for his fathers ſake, likewiſe dealt hee with Abiathar, that had dealt diſloyally with him?
Neither go into thy brothers houſe] Cajetan reads it, (and perhaps better) Thy brothers houſe will not come in the day of thy calamity, When thine old friend will viſit thee and ſtick cloſe to thee; as Jonathan did to David, and Oneſiphorus to Paul. David complains of his carnal kindred; My lovers and my friends ſtand a far off from my ſore, and mine acquaintance ſtand aloof; Pſal. 88.18.as the Prieſt and Levite did from the wounded man, when the Samaritan, a ſtranger, but a neighbour indeed, relieved him.
Verſ. 11. My ſonne, be wiſe, and make my heart glad] See the note on chap. 10.1.
Verſ. 12. A prudent man foreſeeth the evill] See the note on Chap. 22.3.
Verſ. 13. Take his garment that is ſurety] See the note on chap. 20.16.
Verſ. 14. He that bleſſeth his friend with a loud voice] Qui leonum laudibus murem obruit, that extols a man above meaſure, as the falſe Prophets did Ahab, and the People Herod, that praiſeth him to his face:In vita Alphonſ. which when a Court-paraſite did to Sigiſmund the Emperour, he gave him a ſound box on the ear. A Preacher in Conſtantines time, auſus eſt Imperatorem in os beatum dicere, Euſeb. de vit. Conſt. l. 4. c. 4.ſaith Euſebius, preſumed to call the Emperour a Saint to his face: but he went away with a check. When Ariſtobulus the Hiſtorian, preſented to Alexander the great book that he had written of his glorious acts; wherein he had flatteringly made him greater than he was, Alexander (after he had read the book) threw it into the River Hydaſpes, and ſaid to the Authour, It were a good deed to throw thee after it.
Riſing early in the morning] As afraid to be prevented by another, or that he ſhall not have time enough all day after to do it in.
Verſ. 15. A continual dropping] See the note on chap. 19.24.
Verſ. 16. Whoſoever hideth her, hideth the wind] i. e. One may as ſoon hide the wind, or hold it from blowing, as hide her ſhame, or huſh her brawling. The wife ſhould make her husband her covering, (when ſhe is abroad eſpecially) but many wives are ſo intemperate and wilful, that a man may as well hide the wind in his fiſt, or oyl in his clutch-fiſt, as his wives infirmities. Let this be marked by thoſe that venture upon ſhrews, if rich, fair, well-deſcended, in hope to tame them, and make them better.
Verſ. 17. Iron ſharpeneth Iron] One edge-tool ſharpeneth another: ſo doth the face of a man his friend. Ipſe aſpectus viri boni delectat, ſaith Seneca. Let us whet one another to love and good works, ſaith Paul, as boars whet their tusks,Heb. 10.24. foreign. 2 Tim. ….6. foreign. as mowers whet their ſithes. Thus Paul was preſſed in spirit by the coming of Timothy, Acts 18.4. and extimulates Timothy to ſtirre up the gift of God that was in him. Thus Peter rouſed up thoſe to whom he wrote, ex veterno torporis & teporis, out of their ſpiritual lethargy, 2 Pet. 1.13. And thus thoſe good ſouls ſpake often one to another, for mutual quickning in dull and dead times, Mul. 3.10, 17. See my notes on that text. As amber-greece is nothing ſo ſweet in itſelf, as when compounded with other things; So godly and learned men are gainers by communicating themſelves to others. Conference hath incredible profit in all ſciences. Caſt alio renders this text thus: Ut ferrum ferro, Of Jabad unire, adunare.ſic homines alii aliis conjunguntur; as iron is to iron, ſo are men joyned and ſoldred to one another, viz. in a very ſtraight bond of love and friendſhip.
Verſ. 18. Whoſo keepeth the fig tree, ſhall eat, &c.] Of the continually-renewed fruits thereof, for when the ripe figs are pulled off, others ſhortly come in their place. The Aegyptian fig tree is reported by Solinus to bear fruit ſeven times in a year: ſuch as is good both for meat and medicine, as Galen obſerveth, and after him Dioſcorides.
So he that waiteth on his maſter ſhall be honoured] That is, Liberally maintained, and highly promoted; As Joſeph was where-ever he ſerved. The Heathens were very cruel to their ſervants; putting an engine about their necks (called foreign) and it reached down to their hands, that they might not ſo much as lick off the meal when they were ſifting it. Theſe poor ſervants were in worſe caſe than the Jews Oxen, 1 Cor. 9.8. But ſuch as are faithful and ſerviceable, however their Maſters deal with them (they ſhould deal well with them, Deut. 15.12, 13, 14.) God will beſtow upon them a Childs part, even the reward of inheritance,foreign. Col. 3.22, 23, 24. Their Maſters alſo, if faithful and beloved, as they partake of the benefit, viz. of their good ſervice, ſo they will be beneficial to them. Beneficentiae recompenſatores, as Bullinger after Theophilact renders that text, 1 Tim. 6.2.
Verſ. 19. As in water face anſwereth to face, &c.] Mens fancies differ as much as their faces: So the Chaldee interprets it. But they doe better that give this ſenſe, that in regard of natural corruption, all men look with one countenance, and have one viſage: ſith whole evil is in man, and whole man in evil, neither by nature is there ever a better of us. In the heart of the vileſt perſon we may ſee, as in a mirrour, our own evil hearts. For as there were many Marii in one Caeſar, ſo are there many Cains and Judaſſes in the beſt of us. And as that firſt Chaos had the feed of all Creatures, and wanted only the Spirits motion to bring them forth, Gen. 1.1, 2. ſo there is a foreign, a common ſeed-plot of ſin in us all: there wants but the warmth and watering of Satans temptations to make it bud, Ezek. 7.10. And though there were no Devil, yet our naughty nature would act Satans part againſt itſelf: It would have a ſupply of wickedneſs, (as a Serpent hath poyſon) from it ſelf: It hath a ſpring to feed it. Hence our Saviour chargeth his own Diſciples to take heed of ſurfetting, drunkenneſs, and diſtracting carefulneſs, Luke 21.34. (who would ever have ſuſpected ſuch monſters to lurk in ſuch holy boſomes?) And Saint Paul ſaw cauſe to warn ſo pure a ſoul as young Timothy to fly youthly luſts, and to exhort the younger women with chaſtity: 1 Tim. 5.2.thereby intimating, that whiles he was exhorting them to chaſtity, ſome impure motion might ſteal upon him unawares. Corruption in the beſt will have ſome flurts.
Verſ. 20. Hell and deſtruction are never ſatisfied] Hell and the Grave have their name in Hebrew from their unſatisfiableneſſe, being alwayes craving more, and that with aſſiduity and importunity. And this fitly follows upon the former verſe (as Aben-Ezra well obſerveth) that men may be frighted by the remembrance of Hells wide mouth gaping for them, from following the bent of their ſinful natures: and that thoſe that here have never enough, ſhall once have fire enough in the bottome of hell.
So the eyes of men are never ſatisfied] That is, their luſts, their carnal concupiſcence: to ſeek to ſatisfie it is an endleſſe peece of buſineſſe, Quaecunque videt oculus, ea omnia deſiderat avarus, ſaith Baſil, the covetous man hankereth after all that he beholdeth, the curſe of unſatisfiableneſſe lies heavie upon him: His deſire is a fire, riches are fuel, which ſeem to ſlake the fire, but indeed they encreaſe it. He that loveth ſilver ſhall never be ſatisfied with ſilver, Eccleſ. 5.10. No more ſhall he that loveth honour, pleaſure, &c. Earthly things cannot ſo fill the heart, but ſtill it would have more things in number, and otherwiſe for manner.foreign & foreign of foreign. And therefore the particles in the Hebrew that ſignifie And, and Or, come of a word that ſignifies to deſire: becauſe the deſires of a man would have this and that, and that and another; and doth alſo tire it ſelf, not knowing whether to have this, or that, or the other, &c.
Verſ. 21. As the fining pot for ſilver, &c.] Man is naturally apt to bee much taken,foreign. Xenophon. foreign. and even tickled with his own commendation, as Felix was with Tertullus his flatteries; as Demoſthenes was when they poynted at him as hee paſſed by, and ſaid, This is that famous Oratour. But let every man prove his own work, ſaith Paul, Gal. 6.4. and teſtimonium tibi perhibeat conſcientia propria, non lingua aliena, ſaith Auſtin; let thine own Conſcience, and not another mans tongue praiſe thee. Or if needleſly they will doe it, Let it refine us (as here) to more humility, and more care of ſound holineſſe; let it, by the fining-pot, melt us, and make us better. This is the right uſe of it.
Verſ. 22. Though thou ſhouldeſt bray a fool, &c.] The Cypreſſe Tree, the more it is watered, the more it is withered: So it is with the wicked; humbled they are, but not humble; low, but not lowly; wearied in ſin, as Babylon was in the greatneſſe of her way, Iſa. 47.13. but not weary of it. Of theſe Auguſtine, Perdidiſtis, ſaith he, utilitatem calamitatis, miſerrimi factis eſtis, De civ. Dei, lib. 1 cap. 33& peſſimi permanſiſtis, yee have loſt the fruit of your afflictions: yee have ſuffered much, and are never the better. By this the iniquity of Jacob ſhall be purged, and this is all the fruit, the taking away of his ſin. And if this be not done, God will ſay as once, In thy filthineſſe is lewdneſſe: Becauſe I have purged thee, Eſay 27.11.and thou waſt not purged, thou ſhalt have thy will, thou ſhalt not be purged: but then I will have my will to; for I will cauſe my fury to reſt upon thee, Ezek. 24.13. how likeſt thou that?
Verſ. 33. Be thou diligent to know the ſtate, &c.] Hebr. Knowing thou ſhalt know the face of thy flocks: alluding, belike, to thoſe ſhepheards, that know their ſheep aſunder by their viſages, and can call them by name, as Joh. 10.
And look well to thy Herds] Heb. Set thy heart to them. That is, be very inquiſitive and ſollicitous of their welfare. Leave not all to ſervants, though never ſo faithful: but ſuperviſe and over-ſee buſineſſe, as Boaz did. His eyes were in every corner, on the Servants, on the Reapers, on the Gleaners: Hee lodged in the midſt of his husbandry. He was not to learn, that the Maſters eye feeds the Horſe, and the Maſters foot ſoyls the Land;Ariſt. Ocoon. lib. 1. cap. 6. and that Procul à villa ſua diſſitus, jacturae vicinus, as Columella hath it. He that is farre from his Huſbandry, is not farre from poverty. And unleſſe the Maſter be preſent,Lib. 1. Cap. ſaith the ſame Author, (it will be as in an Anmy where the General is abſent) cuncta officia ceſſant, all buſineſſes will be hindered. He muſt be as the great Wheel to ſet all a work, or little will be done.
foreign.
Verſ. 34. For riches endure not for ever] Whether they be riches of inheritance or of purchaſe, they will waſte without good husbandry. The royalty of Salomon could not have conſiſted for all his riches, had hee not been frugal. Our Henry the third merited to be called Regni dilapidator, a waſte-Kingdom. But what a great husband (perhaps too great) was Lewis the eleventh of France, of whom yee ſhall find in the chamber of accounts a reckoning of two ſhillings for new ſleeves to his old dublet, and three half-pence for liquor to greaſe his boots? Anno 1461. Pertinax the Emperour alſo was a ſingular good husband: for the which, as the rich gallants derided him, ſo others of us, Quibus virtus luxuris potior, laudabamus, who prized Vertue aboue Luxury, commended it in him, ſaith Dio the Hiſtorian, who writes his life.Dio in pertinaci
Verſ. 35. The hay appeareth, and the tender graſſe] And the due time muſt be taken to take it in for fodder, in the hard winter. The earth is alma Mater, a bountiful Mother to man and beaſt. It is (as one well ſaith) marſupium Domini, the Lords great Purſe. The Stars alſo are Gods Store-houſes, which he openeth to our profit, Deut. 28.12. Every Star is like a purſe of gold, ſaith one, out of which God throws down riches, which good men gather, bad men ſcramble for. By their influence they make a ſcatter of Corn, Hay, Fruits of all ſorts. And good husbands cut Hay not only in the vallies where there is great ſtore, but upon the mountains too, aſſoon as it is ready, leſt heat or wet marre it. Note here by the way, 1 How good the Lord is, that ſtoops ſo low as to teach us thrift. 2 How perfect the holy Scripture is, that inſtructs us in theſe meaner matters alſo.
Verſ. 36. The Lambs are for thy cloathing] Ad eſum & ad uſum, for food and raiment, a profitable creature. Some Creatures are profitable alive, not dead, as the Dog, Horſe, &c. Some dead, not alive, as the Hog. Some both, as the Oxe; yet none ſo profitable as the Sheep.
And the Goats are the price of thy field] Wherewith thou mayeſt pay thy rent, and beſides hire tillage, or it may be purchaſe Land, and have money in thy purſe to doe thy needs with.
Verſ. 37. And thou ſhalt have Goats milk enough] And this was anciently accounted good chear indeed. By Goats-milk underſtand all manner of Whitmeat, as they call it; and ſee how ſparingly they lived in thoſe daies, content with that they had at hand, and not running every hands-while to the Butchers, or Drapers, as now. Or if the men being harder wrought, had ſtronger meat ſometimes, yet the Maidens were well content with a more ſlender diet. Apelles painted a ſervant with his hands full of tools (to ſhew that hee ſhould bee work-brittle) with broad ſhoulders (to bear hard uſage) with Hindes feet (to run about his buſineſſes) with Aſſes ears, and his mouth ſhut (to ſignifie that he ſhould be ſwift to hear, ſlow to ſpeak) laſtly, with a lean belly, (that he ſhould be content with coarſe fare, ſpare diet, &c.)