Commentary on Prov Ecc SoS Isa Jer Lam Eze Dan, Proverbs · Chapter 30
CHAP. XXX. Verſ. 1. The words of Agur the ſon of Jakeh]
THe Vulgar renders it, Verba Congregantis filii Vomentis, taking theſe proper Names for appellatives: as if the Pen-man of this Chapter meant to tell us,Aelian. Hiſt. var. that he would here give us his ſacred Collectanies, or Miſcellanies, ſuch as he had taken up from the mouthes of wiſeſt men, who had vomited or caſt them up, in a like ſenſe as that Painter in Aelian drew Homer vomiting, and all the other Poets licking it up. This Agur (whether he lived in Salomon's days, or Hezekiah's) was an excellent man (as the word Gheber here uſed imports) Vir bonus & prudens, minus tamen clarus (as one ſaith of Jeſſe, Davids father) a godly wiſe man, though nothing be elſewhere ſpoken of him in Scripture. Some think, that being requeſted by Ithiel and Ucal, two of his Diſciples, to give them a leſſon, Socrates-like, he anſwered, Hoc unum ſcio, quod nihil ſcio. This one thing I know, that I know nothing: Surely I am more brutiſh than any man, ſc. of my ſelf, further than taught of God: for every man is a brute by his own underſtanding, as Jeremy hath it.Jer. 10. But I rather incline to thoſe that take Ithiel and Ucal for Chriſt; whoſe goodneſs and power (thoſe two pillars of a Chriſtians faith, as Jachin and Boaz were of Salomons Temple) is by theſe two names deciphered: and whom hee propounds as the matter of his Prophecy. Now becauſe ſenſe of miſery muſt precede ſenſe of mercy: neither can any be welcome to Chriſt, but the weary and heavie laden, therefore he firſt bewails his own brutiſhneſs (fetching it up as low as Adam fallen, verſ. 2. and aggravating it in that he had not yet acquired better abilities, verſ. 3.) Next hee flyes to Ithiel and Ucal by the force of a particular faith (Ithiel God with me, and Ucal God Almighty, through whom I can do all things.) This, this was the right ready way of coming to Chriſt: and him that thus cometh, hee will in no wiſe caſt out, Joh. 6.37. There is a good Interpreter that paralelling this text with Jer. 9.23, 24, reads it thus.Muffet. A gathering together of the words of Agur the Son of Jakeh; Let the excellent man ſay, Let God be with me, let God bee with me, and I ſhall prevail.
Verſ. 2. Surely I am more brutiſh than any man] Or, Surely I have been brutiſh ſince I was a man. See how this good man vilifies, yea nullifies himſelf to the utmoſt. This was true humility, that like true Balm ever ſinks to the bottom; when Hypocritical, as Oyl, ſwims on the top. Humilit as ab humo, becauſe it layes a man flat on the ground. Agur had ſeen Ithiel and Ʋcal; hence hee ſeeth ſo little by himſelf, Job 42.5. Now mine eyes have ſeen thee: wherefore I abhorre my ſelf &c. Woe is me for I am undone, ſaith Eſay, for mine eyes have ſeen the King the Lord of Hoſts, chap. 6.5. Hee that looks intently upon the Sun, hath his eyes dazeled: ſo he that beholds the infinite excellencies of God, conſiders the diſtance, cannot but be ſenſible of his own naughtineſs, nothingneſs. It is fit the foundation ſhould be laid deep, where the building is ſo high. Agurs humility was not more low, than his aymes lofty: Who hath aſcended up into heaven, &c. It is an high pitch that he flyes, for he knew well, that godlineſs as it begins in the right knowledge of our ſelves, ſo it ends in the right knowledge of God.
And have not the underſtanding of a man] Or, Neither is there in me the underſtanding that was in Adam. Man when hee came firſt out of Gods Mint,Tanta fuit Adami recens conditi ſtupiditas, ut major in infantes cadere non poſſit. Socin. ſhone moſt glorious in knowledge, righteouſneſs, and holineſs. Socinians feign him ſilly, and therein betray their own ſillineſs. He had a large meaſure of objective knowledge, both in Natural things, and Supernatural; which we have loſt in him, 1 Cor. 2.14. This we ſhould with Agur here ſit down and bewayl, as thoſe in Ezra did the burnt Temple, chap. 3.12.
Verſ. 3. I neither learned wiſdome] As he had it nor by nature,Nemo naſcitur artifex. ſo neither had he attained unto it by any pains or skill of his own. There is a ſpirit indeed in man (a reaſonable ſoul and a faculty of reaſoning) But the inſpiration of the Almighty giveth underſtanding, Job 32.8. Not that Agur neglected the means of knowledge, or put off the ſtudy of it (as Salomons fool, Prov. 24.7.) from a conceit of the impoſſibility of reaching to it. Neither yet was hee of their mind of whom Auſtine makes mention, that they caſt off the care of knowledge, becauſe knowledge puffeth up; and ſo would bee ignorant that they might be humble, and want knowledge that they might want pride. This was to doe as the Philoſopher that pluckt out his eyes, to avoyd the danger of uncleanneſs.In Apolog. Sed nihil aliud egit quàm quod fatuitatem ſuam urbi manifeſtam fecit, ſaith Tertullian, wherein he proclaimed his own folly to all the country. But holy Agur here aſſures us, that fleſh and bloud never revealed theſe high things that follow unto him, but as Paul was an Apoſtle, ſo was he a Prophet not of men, neither by man, but by Jeſus Chriſt and God the Father, Gal. 1.1. even the Father of light, Jam. 1.17. In Natures School nothing is to be learned concerning Ithiel and Ʋcal. Confeſſ. lib. 3.Saint Auguſtine though much taken with Cicero's Hortenſius, yet becauſe hee found not the name of Chriſt in it, hee could not ſo heartily affect it. The Philoſophers much magnifie the mind of man as full of Divine light and perſpicacy; when the truth tells us that it is Meus oblita Dei, vitiorumque oblita caeno.
There is nothing great in the earth but man, nothing in man but his mind: Si conſque ſcandis, caelum tranſcendis (ſaid Fav…rinus the Philoſopher) if you get up thither, you aſcend beyond heaven. But Agur had not ſo learned Chriſt. He talks of natural blindneſs and other evils born with him. Erras ſi tecum vitia naſci putes; ſupervenere, ingeſta ſunt. You are out Agur (ſaith Seneca) if you talk on that manner: blindneſs is not natural to you, but adventitious.Quia ſibi quiſque virtutem acquirit, …inem è ſapientibus unquam de ea gratias Deo egiſſe. Lib. 3. de nat. Deor. Deorum quidem munus eſt quod vivimus, &c. Sen. Agur bewails his loſs in Adam: This Natures eye never ſaw, and therefore heart never rued. Thoſe that were born in hell, knew none other heaven, as the Proverb is. Agur tells us here, that he never learned true wiſdom from any man, but muſt thank God for that meaſure thereof that hee had attained to. On the contrary, Tully tells us, that inaſmuch as every man acquires to himſelf that vertue that he hath, no wiſe man ever yet gave God thanks for it. And Seneca ſaith, It is of the gods that wee live, but of our ſelves that wee live well and honeſtly. How different are the Saints in Scripture from the worlds wiſards?
Nor have the knowledge of the holy] That is, of the Angels; as Dan. 4.13, 17. & 8.13. whom Jacob ſaw aſcending and deſcending (Gen. 28.12. compared with the next verſe of this Chapter, and with John 1.51.) Moſes made them looking intently into the Mercy Seat. Exod. 25.18, 19. Peter ſets them forth as ſtooping down to look wiſhtly and earneſtly into the Myſtery of Chriſt,foreign. 1 Pet. 1.12. which was hid from them till the diſcovery, and ever ſince, that they are great ſtudents in it, Epheſ. 3.10. But how ſhould Agur or any man elſe due cannot tell the form and the quinteſſence of things, that cannot enter into the depth of the Flower, or the Graſs he treads on, that cannot underſtand the nature and properties of ſo ſmall a Creature as an Ant or Bee, (Pliny tells of one that ſpent eight and fifty years in learning out the nature of the Bee, Lib. 11. cap. 9.and yet had not fully attained unto it) How is it poſſible, I ſay, that the wiſeſt Naturaliſt ſhould have the wit to enter into the deep things of God? Eye hath not ſeen, nor ear heard, &c. 1 Cor. 2.9.
Verſ. 4. Who hath aſcended up into heaven, or deſcended?] Who, but the Son of man which is in heaven, 1 Joh. 3.13? who, but the holy Angels upon that Son of man, the Ladder of life, Joh. 1.51? Who, but thoſe that have (in ſome meaſure) the knowledge of thoſe holy ones, verſ. 3. the knowledge of God in Chriſt, which is life eternal, Joh. 17.3. Heaven aforehand? Holy Agur holds it out to us here, that to know heavenly things, is to aſcend into heaven. Even Ariſtotle ſaith, that a little knowledge, (though but conjectural) about heavenly things, is to be preferred above much knowledge, though certain, about inferiour things:De …lo t…m. 99 and yet he knew no heaven beyond the moveable heavens, neither acknowledged any body, or time, or place, or vacuum there. The truth is, no natural knowledge can be had of the third heaven, nor any help by Human Arts: for it is neither aſpectable nor moveable. As no man hath ſeen God at any time, ſo, nor Heaven, the Throne of God: only the only begotten Son of God which is in the boſome of the Father, hee hath declared both him and Heaven, Joh. 1.18. as that, there are many Manſions, Crowns, Scepters, Kingdoms, Glories, Beauties, Angelical entertainments, beatifical Viſions, ſweeteſt varieties, felicities, eternities. And yet all this, or whatſoever more can be ſaid of Heavens happineſs, is not the one half (as ſhee ſaid of Salomons Magnificence) of what we ſhall finde in that City of Pearl. To expreſſe it, is as impoſſible, as to compaſs the Heavens with a ſpan, or contain the Ocean in a Nut-ſhel. Let there be continual aſcenſions thither in our hearts: let us lift up hearts and hands to God in the Heavens, and hee will ſhortly ſend his Chariots for us, as Joſeph did for his Father: fetch us riding upon the Clouds, convoy us by his Angels thorow the ayr, as thorow the enemies Country, and puts us into that Panegyris, that General Aſſembly, and ſolemn celebrity of holy and happy ſouls, Heb. 12.23. As in the mean ſpace, how ſhould we every day take a turn or two with Chriſt upon Mount Tabor? get up to the top of Piſgah with Moſes, and take a proſpect of Heaven? turn every ſolemnity into a School of Divinity? Say, as Fulgentius, when hee ſaw the Nobility of Rome ſit mounted in their bravery, Si talis eſt Roma terreſtris, qualis eſt Roma caeleſtis? If Rome bee ſuch a glorious place, what is Heaven? What Muſick may we think there is in Heaven, ſaid another good ſoul, when he ſate and heard a good Conſort of Muſick. This, this is the principal end, and moſt profitable uſe of all Creatures! Cum ſcalae nobis & alae fiant, when they become Ladders and Wings to us, to mount up to Heaven.
Who hath gathered the Wind in his fiſts, &c.] None but God the great Wonder-worker, the right Aeolus, that bringeth the winds out of his treaſures, Pſal. 135. and bids them at his pleaſure Peace and be ſtill. We read of a Whirlwind raiſed by the Devil, Job 1.19. and of a Tempeſt laid by the Magicians. Herodotus in Poly…nia. But it cannot bee ſaid, as 1 King. 19.11. that God was not in that Wind: for hee hath the royalty of all the Creatures, though hee ſuffer the Devil to play Rex ſometimes, for ends beſt known to himſelf.
Who hath bound the waters in a garment] Thoſe above the Firmament, in Clouds (thorow which they diſtill and drop down, as water would doe if bound up in a garment) thoſe below in Chanels and Bottles, as the Pſalmiſt hath it. Water is naturally above the earth, as the garment above the body: and would (but for the providence of God) prove as the ſhirt made for the murthering of Agamemnon, where the head had no iſſue out, &c. See my notes on Gen. 1.
What is his name] God is above all name (to ſpeak properly.) When Manoah enquires after his name, the anſwer is, 'Tis Wonderful: that is, I am called as I am called; but ſuch is thy weakneſs that it paſſeth thy conception: this Ocean will not be meaſured by thy Muſcle-ſhel. Multa nomina & lumina ſibi finxerunt Infideles. The Heathens had many names for their Dunghil-deities: but the Africans called an unknown God whom they worſhipped,Lib. de Iſid. & Oſirid. Amon, that is, Heus tu quis est? Heark, who art thou? as Plutarch relateth.
And what is his Sons name?] Chriſt hath many names in holy Scripture, as Iſa. 9.6, 7. So Jehovah our righteouſneſſe, Meſſiah the Prince, Dan. 9. whereunto anſwereth in the New-Teſtament, the Lord Chriſt: but who can declare his generation? Iſa. 53.8. whether that eternal generation, or that in the fulneſs of time, the myſtery whereof was beyond words? Our ſafeſt eloquence here will be our ſilence, our greateſt knowledge a learned ignorance. Only wee have here a clear teſtimony of the diſtinction of the Perſons; and that the Son is co-equal and con-ſubſtantial with the Father, ſith Hee is alſo (as the Father) above all name and notion.
If thou canſt tell] But ſo can none: No man knoweth the Son but the Father, neither doth any man know the Father but the Son, and he to whom the Son will reveal him, Matth. 11.27. The Son is ſo like the Father here, that if you know the one, yee cannot but know the other, Joh. 14.7, 8, 9. Milk is not ſo like milk. Non tam ovum ovo ſimile. He is the brightneſs of his Fathers glory, and the expreſs Image of his Perſon, Heb. 1.3. See the Note there. And if wee deſire a glaſs wherein to behold the face of God the Father, and of his Son, here is one held forth in the next verſe.
Verſ. 5. Every word of God is pure: Oda ſeptima Pind. tanta fuit admirationis apud Rhodios ut fuerit ſcripta in templo aure is literis, &c. Joh. Manl. loc. Com. 414.he is a ſhield] Albeit all the ſacred ſentences contain'd in this bleſſed book are pure, precious, and profitable, yet as one ſtar in Heaven out-ſhineth another, ſo doth one Proverb another, and this is among the reſt, velut inter ſtellas, luna minores, an eminent ſentence often recorded in Scripture, and far better worthy than ever Pindarus his ſeventh Ode was, to be written in letters of gold. Every word of God is pure, purer than gold tried in the fire, Rev. 3.17. purer than ſilver tried in a furnace, and ſeven times purified, Pſal. 12.6. Julian (therefore that odious Apoſtate) is not to be hearkened to, who ſaid, there was as good ſtuff in Phocillides, as in Salomon, in Pindarus his Odes, as in Davids Pſalms. Nor is that brawling dog Porphyry to be regarded, who blaſphemouſly accuſeth Daniel the Prophet, and Matthew the Evangeliſt,Spec. Europae. as writers of lies. Os durum! The Jeſuits (ſome of them) ſay little leſs of Saint Pauls Epiſtles; which they could wiſh by ſome means cenſured and reformed, as dangerous to be read, and ſavouring of hereſie in ſome places. Traditions they commonly account the touch-ſtone of doctrine, and foundation of faith; the Scriptures to be rather a Commonitorium (as Bellarmine calls it) a kind of ſtore-houſe for advice,Greg. in 3. Reg. then Cor & animam Dei, the heart and ſoul of God, as Gregory calls them, a Fortreſs againſt Errours,Firmamentum contra errores. Aug. in Johan. 1. Tract. 2. Poſſevin. Appar. ſac. verbo Pat. Antiq as Auguſtine. The Apoſtle calleth concupiſcence ſin; at non licet nobis ita loqui: but we may not call it ſo, ſaith Poſſevine the Jeſuit. The Author to the Hebrews ſaith, Marriage is honourable among all men: but the Rhemiſts on 1 Cor. 7.9. ſay, that the marriage of Prieſts is the worſt ſort of incontinency. Chriſt ſaith, the Sin againſt the Holy Ghoſt hath no remiſſion. Bellarmine ſaith, that it may be forgiven. The Council of Conſtance comes in with a non-obſtance againſt Chriſts inſtitution;Lib. 2. de Pae…it. cap. 16. Montan. in 1 Cor. 14. withholding the Cup from the People at the Sacrament. And a Pariſian Doctor tells us, that although the Apoſtle would have ſermons and ſervice celebrated in a known tongue, yet the Church for very good cauſe hath otherwiſe ordered it. Biſhop Bonners Chaplain called the Bible in ſcorn, his little pretty Gods book, and judged it worthy to be burnt, tanquam doctrina peregrina, as ſtrange doctrine. Gilford and Raynolds ſaid it contained ſome things prophane and apocryphal. Others have ſtiled it the mother of hereſie, and therefore not fit to be read by the common people, leſt they ſuck poyſon out of it. Prodigious blaſphemy! Of the purity and perennity of the holy Scriptures, See more in my True treaſure, pag. 85.139.
He is a ſhield to them that put their truſt in him] See Gen. 15.1. with the note, and Prov. 29.25.
Buxtorf. Tiberias.Verſ. 6. Adde thou not unto his words] As the Jews at this day do by their traditions, which they arrogantly call Maſhlamnutha, Completio, perfectio, becauſe they think that thereby the Law is compleated and perfected, as the Artemonites,Brightm. upon Rev. p. 292. (and after them the ſchool-men) corrupted the Scripture out of Aristotle and Theophraſtus, turning all into queſtions and quillets. As Mahomet joyned his Alfurta, his ſervice book, an horrible heap of all blaſphemies, to the three parts of holy Scripture (as he divides them) the Law, Pſalmes, and Goſpel: As the Papiſts adde their humane inventions, and unwritten verities, which they equallize unto, if not prefer before the book of God, as appears by that Heatheniſh decree of the Council of Trent. And when at the Council of Baſil, the Huſſites denied to receive any doctrine that could not be proved by Scripture;Jacob Revius hiſt. Pontif. p. 235. Cardinal Cuſan anſwered that Scriptures were not of the being of the Church, but of the well-being, and that they were to be expounded, according to the current rite of the Church; which if it change its mind, the judgement of God is alſo changed. Laſtly, ſuch adde to Gods Word, as wreſt it, and rack it, making it ſpeak that which it never thought: cauſing it to go two miles where it would go but one; gnawing and tawing it to their own purpoſes, as the Shoo-maker taws his upper-leather with his teeth. Tertullian calls Marcion the heretick, Mus Ponticus, of his arroding and gnawing the Scripture, to make it ſerviceable to his errours.
Leſt he reprove thee] Both verbally and penally; both with words and blows. Leſt he ſeverely puniſh thee, as one that addes to his will, or imbaſeth his coyn.
And thou be found a lier] As all Popiſh forgers and foyſters at this day are found to be. God hath ever raiſed up ſuch as have detected their impoſtures, and vindicated the purity and perfection of the ſacred Scriptures.
Verſ. 7. Two things have I required of thee] Two ſpecial requeſts he had among many: for our preſent condition is a condition of ſingular vanity and indigency; we get our living by begging; and are never without ſomewhat to bee required of God; never without out wants and aylments, and ſutes for ſupplies.
Deny me them not] See here both his familiarity with God in Prayer, and his importunity: for a lazie Sut…r beggs a denial: Agur therefore re-enforceth his requeſt: it was honeſt, elſe he would never have begun it: but being ſo, he is reſolved to follow it. So doth David with his one thing which hee did deſire, and he would deſire, Pſal. 27.4. he would never give it over. So Jacob would have a bleſſing, and therefore wraſtles with might and ſlight: and this he doth in the night and alone, and when God was leaving him, and upon one legge. He had a hard pull of it, and yet he prevailed. Let me goe, ſaith God: No, thou ſhalt not goe, ſaith Jacob, till I have my requeſt. It is not unlawful for us to be unmannerly in Prayer, to be importunate, and after a ſort impudent,foreign Luke 11.8. Propter improbitatem. Luke 18.8. Was not the Woman of Canaan ſo? Matth. 15.22. Shee came for a Cure, and a Cure ſhe would have: and had it too, with an high commendation of her heroical faith. Chriſt, he was no Penny-father, he had more bleſſings than one, even the abundance of Spirit for them that ask it. When poor men make requeſts to us, we uſually anſwer them as the Eccho doth the voyce, the anſwer cuts off half the Petition: if they ask us two things, we think we deal well if we grant them one. Few Naamans, that when you beg one talent, will force you to take two. But God heaps mercies upon his Suppliants: and blames them for their modeſty in asking. Hitherto you have asked me nothing. Nothing to what you might have done, and ſhould have had. Ask that your joy may be full. Thou ſhouldſt have ſmitten five or ſix times (ſaid the Prophet to the King of Iſrael, 2 King. 14, 18.19.that ſmote thrice only) then hadſt thou ſmitten Syria till thou hadſt conſumed it.
Before I dye] q. d. I intend to be a daily Suter for them whilſt I live: and when I dye, I ſhall have no more to doe in this kind. Every one as hee hath ſome ſpecial grace or gift above others, and as he is dogged with ſome ſpecial temptation or violent corruption, ſo he hath ſome great requeſt. And God holds him haply in hand about it all his life-long, that he may daily hear from him, and that a conſtant entercourſe may bee maintained. Thus it was with David, Pſal. 27.4. and with Paul, 2 Cor. 12.8, 9. In this caſe wee muſt reſolve to give God no reſt, never to ſtand before him, but ply this Petition: and yet take heed of preſcribing to him, of limiting the holy one of Iſrael: ſay with Luther, Fiat voluntas mea: Let my will be done: but then he ſweetly falls off, with Mea voluntas, Domine, quia tua. My will Lord, but becauſe it is, and no further than it is thy will too.
Verſ. 8. Remove farre from me vanity and lyes] i. e. All ſorts of ſins, thoſe lying vanities that promiſe much happineſs to thoſe that purſue them, but perform little enough: ſhame at the beſt, but uſually death, Rom. 6.21, 23. Free me both from the damning, and from the domineering power of ſin, both from the ſting and ſtaine of it, from the guilt and filth, from the crime and curſe, from the power and puniſhment. Let my perſon be juſtified, and my luſts mortified. Forgive me my treſpaſſes, and deliver me from evil.
Give me neither Poverty nor Riches] So that God muſt give to be poor as well as to be rich. He makes holes in the Money-bag, Hag. 1.6. and hee ſtops the ſecret iſſues and drains of expence, at which mens eſtates run out, they know not how nor when. Agur would have neither Poverty (for the many inconveniences and diſcomforts that attend it) nor yet riches, (for the many cares, cumbers, and other evils not a few that follow them) but a mediocrity, a competency, a ſufficiency without ſuperfluity. A ſtate too big (hee knew) is troubleſome, as well as a ſhooe too bigge for the foot. They ſay, it is not the great Cage that makes the Bird ſing: ſure we are, it is not the great eſtate that brings alwayes the inward joy, the cordial contentment. Glaſs keeps out wind and rain, but lets in the light, and is therefore uſeful in building. A moderate eſtate is neither ſo mean, as to expoſe a man to the injuries, nor ſo great, as to exclude a man from the influence of heaven. A ſtaff may help a Traveller, but a bundle of ſta…es may be a burden to him: ſo may too great an eſtate to a godly man.
Feed me with food convenient for me] Heb. with food of mine allowance, or which thou ſeeſt fit to allow me: ſo much as my demenſum comes to, the piece that thou haſt cut for me, the portion that belongs unto me, the bread of the day for the day; Give me daily bread, that I may in diem vivere, as Quintilian ſaith the Birds doe, the little Birds, that have their meat brought in every day by their Dams without defeatment. And hereunto the original here ſeems to allude. Pomponius Atticus thus defineth riches, Divitiae ſunt, ad legem naturae compoſita paupertas. Riches are ſuch a Poverty or Mediocrity, as hath enough for Natures uſes. If I may have but offam & aquam, a morſel of meat, a mouthful of water, and convenient cloathing, I ſhall not envie the richeſt Craeſus or Craſſus upon earth. See the notes on Matth. 6.11. and 1 Tim. 6.8.
Verſ. 9. Leſt I be full and deny thee, &c.] Fulneſs breeds forgetfulneſs, ſaturity ſecurity, Deut. 32.15. See the note there, and 1 Tim. 6.17. with the note; Every grain of riches hath a vermin of pride and ambition in it. A man may deſire them, as one deſires a ſhip to paſſe over the Sea, from one Country to another. But to many they prove hinderances to Heaven, remora's to religious practices. Many in their low eſtate could ſerve God, but now reſemble the Moon, which never ſuffers eclipſe but at her full; and that is by the earths interpoſition between the Sun and her ſelf. Even an Agur full fed may grow wanton, and bee dipping his fingers in the Devils ſauce: yea ſo farre may he forget himſelf, as to deny the Lord (or as the Hebrew hath it, belye him) diſgrace his houſe-keeping, and caſt a ſlur upon his work and wages by his ſhameful apoſtacy; yea (as Pharaoh-like) to ask, who is the Lord? as if ſuch were petty-gods within themſelves, and could by the help of their Mammon doe well enough without him. Salomons wealth did him more hurt than his wiſdome did him good, Eccleſ. 2. It was his abundance that drew out his ſpirits, and diſſolved him, and brought him to ſo low an ebbe in grace.
Or, leſt I be poor and ſteal] Neceſſity is an hard weapon; wee uſe to ſay, Hunger is an evil Counſellour; Neceſſitas durum telum. Fames maleſuada, audax paupertas.and Poverty is bold or daring, as Horace calls it. The baſer ſort of people in Swethland doe alwayes break the Sabbath, ſaying, that it is only for Gentlemen to keep that day. And the poorer ſort amongſt us (ſome of them I mean that have learned no better) hold theft in them, Petrilarceny at leaſt, a peccadillo, an excuſable evil; for either we muſt ſteal, ſay they, or ſtarve: the belly hath no ears, our poor children muſt not pine and periſh, &c. And truly men doe not deſpiſe (i. e. not ſo much deſpiſe) a Thief, if he ſteal to ſatisfie his ſoul when he is hungry, ſaith Salomon (Prov. 6.30.) in his argument that an Adulterer is worſe than a Thief: though a Thief be bad enough, ſhut out of Heaven, 1 Cor. 6.9. But if he ſteal for neceſſity (foreign, ſaith the Greek Proverb, there is no remedy but a barking ſtomack muſt be quieted) men doe the more excuſe him,Job 36.21. à tanto, though not à toto. But God ſaith flat and plain, Thou ſhalt in no caſe ſteal. Let him that ſtole ſteal no more, but let him labour with his hands, and depend upon Gods Providence: let him preferre affliction before ſin, and rather dye than doe wickedly. But want is a ſore temptation, as Agur feared, and that good man felt, mentioned by Maſter Perkins, who being ready to ſtarve, ſtole a Lamb: and being about to eat of it with his poor Children, and (as his manner was afore-meat) to crave a bleſſing, durſt not doe it: but fell into a great perplexity of conſcience, acknowledged his fault to the Owner, and promiſed reſtitution; if ever able to make it.
And take the name of my God in vain] Hee ſaith not, leſt I being poor, ſteal and be fined, burnt in the hand, whipped, &c. No; but leſt I take thy name in vain; that is, cauſe thy name to ſtink among the ungodly, open their mouths, break down the banks of blaſphemy, by ſuch a baſe ſin committed by ſuch a forward Profeſſor. Good men take Gods Name in vain, no way ſo much, as by confuting and ſhaming their Profeſſion, by a ſcandalous converſation, ſuch as becometh not the Goſpel of Chriſt; Moreover, they count ſin to bee the greateſt ſmart in ſin; as being more ſenſible of the wound they therein give the glory of God, than of any perſonal puniſhment.
Verſ. 10. Accu…e not a ſervant unto his Maſter] Unleſs it be in an Ordinance, for the benefit of both. Much leſſe may we falſly accuſe Wives to their Huſbands (as Stephen Gardiner and other Court-paraſites did King Henry the eighth his Wives to him, of Adultery, Hereſie, Conſpiracy, &c.) Children to their Parents (as the Jeſuits, the Popes Bloud-hounds did Charls, eldeſt Son of Philip King of Spain, for ſuſpicion of Hereſie: whereupon he was murdered by the cruel Inquiſition) one friend to another, a ſin that David could not endure, Pſal. 101. and Chriſt the Son of David as deeply diſliked it in the Phariſees, thoſe make-bates, that by accuſing his Diſciples to him one while, and him to his Diſciples another while, ſought to make a breach in his Family, by ſetting off the one from the other.
Leſt he curſe thee, and thou be found guilty] Leſt to cry quittance with thee, he rip up thy faults, ſuch as it will be for thy ſhame, Et dici potuiſſe, & non potuiſſe r…f…lli.
He that ſpeaketh what he ſhould not, ſhall hear of what he would not. Put them in mind to ſpeak evil of no man, falſly and raſhly, without cauſe and neceſſity. And why? For we our ſelves alſo (even I, Paul, and thou Titus) were ſometimes fooliſh, diſobedient, &c. Tit. 3.1, 2, 3. and may haply hear of it to our ſhame and ſorrow, (if wee irritate others thereunto) by way of recrimination.
Verſ. 11. There is a generation that curſeth their father] An evil and an adulterous generation doubtleſs, a baſtardly brood, as were thoſe in the Goſpel:foreign. Mat. 12. foreign. Mat. 3. a generation of Vipers that make their way into the world by their Dammes death. Theſe monſters of men are doomed to deſtruction, Levit. 20. Hell gapes for them, as alſo it doth for ſuch as revile or denigrate their Maſters, Magiſtrates, Miniſters, Benefactours, Ancients. There is a certain Plant which our Herbaliſts call Herbam impiam, or wicked endweed, whoſe younger branches ſtill yeeld flowers to over-top the elder. Such weeds grow too rife abroad: It is an ill ſoyl that produceth them. But of this, before.
Verſ. 12. There are a generation that are pure, &c.] As the ancient Puritans the Novatians, Donatiſts, Cathariſts, Illuminates. Non habeo Domine cui ignoſcas, ſaid one Juſtitiary, I have done nothing Lord that needs thy pardon. Yee are thoſe that juſtifie your ſelves, ſaith Chriſt to the Phariſees. All theſe things have I done from my youth, what want I yet? ſaid one of them, that farre over-weened his own worth, and ra…ed himſelf above the market. In all my labours they ſhall finde none iniquity in me: (ſaith guilty Ephraim) that were ſin, Hoſ. 12.8. that were a foul buſineſſe to find iniquity in Ephraim, whoſe iniquities were (yet) grown over his head, as appears throughout that whole Prophecy. That Man of Sin the Pope, will needs be held ſinleſs, and ſundry of his Votaries ſay, they can ſupererrogate. And are there not amongſt us even amongſt us, ſuch Sinners before the Lord, that ſtand upon their Pantofles, and proudly ask, who can ſay, black is their eye? There is a generation of theſe, that is, a continual ſucceſſion of them. Such duſt-heaps you may finde in every corner.
And yet is not waſhed from their filthineſſe] Either of fleſh or ſpirit; 2 Cor. 7.1.they wallow in ſin like Swine, and welter in wickedneſſe, which is filth and bloud, Iſa. 4.4. the vomit of a Dog, 2 Pet. 2.22. the excrement of the Devil, the ſuperfluity or garbage of naughtineſſe, and the ſtinking filth of a peſtilent Ulcer, as the Greek words uſed by St. James, chap. 1.21. doe ſignifie.foreign. The whole world lyeth in wickedneſſe, 1 Joh. 5.19. as a Lubber in a Lake, as a Carcaſe in its ſlime. Nil mundum in mundo: and yet who ſo forward to boaſt or their good hearts to God-ward?
Verſ. 13. Oh how lofty are their eyes] The eyes are the ſeat of pride and diſdain, which peep out at theſe windows. The Hebrews have a ſaying, that a mans minde is ſooneſt ſeen in oculis, in loculis, in piculis, in his eyes, expences, cups. See chap. 6.17.
Verſ 14. There is a generation whoſe teeth, &c.] Theſe are ſycophants, and greedy gripers,Speed. of whom before, often, in this book. In the year 1235. there were ſpread through England certain Roman uſurers, called Caurſin… quaſi capientes urſi, devouring bears (quoth Paris) who had intangled the King, Nobles, and all that had to do with them. Theſe were called the Popes Merchants.
Sanguiſuga. Hirudo ab haerendo. Non miſſura cutem niſi plena cruoris hirudo. foreign.Verſ. 15. The Horſe-leech hath two daughters] That is, two forks in her tongue, whereby ſhe firſt pricketh the fleſh, and then ſucketh the blood. Hereunto Salomon ſeemeth to reſemble thoſe cruel cormorants ſpoken of in the former verſe. By the horſe-leech ſome underſtand the devil, that great red Dragon, red with the blood of ſouls, which he hath ſucked and ſwallowed, 1 Pet. 5.8. (ſeeking whom he may let down his wide gullet, whiles he glut-gluts their blood, as the young Eaglets are ſaid to do (Joh. 39.30.) by a word made from the ſound.) By the horſe-leeches two daughters they underſtand, Covetouſneſs and Luxury: whom the devil hath long ſince eſpouſed to the Romiſh Clergy.Jegna legundum.
Cujus avaritiae totus non ſufficit orbis,
Cujus luxuriae meretrix non ſufficit omnis.
Verſ. 16. The grave] Which in Hebrew hath its name of craving. It is a Sarcophagus, feeds on fleſh, and it as little appears as once in Pharaohs lean kine; or as in thoſe that having a flux, take in much, but are neither fuller nor fatter. The word here uſed, may be rendered Hell, called by the Latins, Infernus ab Inferendo, from the devils continual carrying in ſouls to that place of torment.
And the barren womb] Barren women are moſt deſirous of children, which yet are certain cares, but uncertain comforts. How impatient was Rachel? how importunate was Hannah? One hath well obſerved, that the barren women in Scripture had the beſt children, as being the fruit of their faith, and the product of their prayers. The Vulgar renders it, Os vulva, and Mercer Orificium matricis, referring it not to barren, but to incontinent women; ſuch as was Meſſala, and other inſariate punks, quarum libido non expletur virili ſemine vel coitu.
The earth that is not filled with water] That can never have enough at one time, to ſerve at all times. That is a ſtrange earth or country that Pliny ſpeaks of, ub ſiccit as dat lutum, imbres pulverem, where drought makes dirt, and rain cauſeth duſt. And yet ſo it is with us (ſaith a Divine.) The plentiful ſhowers of Gods bleſſings rained down upon us, are anſwered with the duſty barrenneſs of our lives. The ſweet dews of Hermon have made the hill of Sion more barren. Oh I how inexcuſable ſhall we be? &c.
And the fire that ſaith not, It is enough] Fire is known to be a great devourer, turning all combuſtibles into the ſame nature with it ſelf. How many ſtately Cities hath this untamable element turned into aſhes? It is an excellent obſervation of Herodotus, that the ſparks and cinders of Troy are purpoſely ſet before the eyes of all men, that they might be an example of this Rule; That great ſinnes bring great puniſhments from God upon the ſonnes of men. Scipio having ſet Carthage on fire,foreign and beholding the burning, foreſaw and bewailed the deſtiny of Rome: which as it hath been often burnt already, ſo it ſhall be ſhortly to purpoſe: the Kings, mariners, and merchants, ſtanding aloof and beholding the ſmoke of her burning, Rev. 17.16. and 18.8, 9. God will caſt this rod of his wrath into the fire, burn this old whore, that hath ſo long burnt the Saints for Hereticks, and refuſed to be purged by any other nitre or means whatſoever: therefore all her droſs and traſh ſhall paſs the fire. This is ſo plain a truth, that even the Papiſts themſelves ſubſcribe to it. Hear what Ribera a learned Jeſuite ſaith,Ri… in loc. Roma… non ſolum o… priſtinam impietatem, &c. That Rome as well for its ancient impiety, as for its late iniquity, ſhall be deſtroyed with an horrible fire, it is ſo plain and evident, that he muſt needs be a fool that doth but go about to deny it.
Verſ. 17. The eye that mocketh at his Father] As Ham did at Noah. And deſpiſeth to obey his mother, or, despiſeth the wrinkles of his mother, as ſome read it, that looks upon her with diſdain, as an old withered fool.
The Ravens of the valley ſhall pick it out] God takes notice of the offending member, and appoints puniſhments for it:Horat. paſcere in cruce corvo… pro ſuspendi poſſuit. Ep 7. foreign By the Law ſuch a childe was to be put to death, and here is ſet down what kind of death, hanging upon a tree, which the Greeks alſo call a being caſt to the crows or ravens. Thus the Scripture is both Text and gloſs: one place opens another; the Prophets explain the Law, they unfold and draw out that Arras that was folded together before. The ravens of the valleys or brooks are ſaid to be moſt ravenous;Corvi fluviatiles. and the young Eagles or Vultures ſmell out carcaſes, and the firſt thing they do to them, is to pick out their eyes. Effoſſos oculos voret atro guiture corvus. Will…t on Levis.They are curſed with a witneſs whom the holy Ghoſt thus curſeth in ſuch emphatical manner, in ſuch exquiſite terms. Let wicked children look to it, and know, that Vultu ſaepe laeditur pietas, as the very Heathens obſerved: that a proud or paltry look caſt upon a parent, is a breach of piety puniſhable with death, yea with a ſhameful and ignominious death. Let them alſo think of thoſe infernal ravens and vultures, &c.
Verſ. 18. There be three things which are too wonderful] The wiſeſt man that is, cannot give a reaſon of all things: as of the ebbing and flowing of the ſea, of the colours in the rain-bow, of the ſtrength of the nether chappe, and of the heat in the ſtomack, which conſumeth all other things, and yet not the parts about it. Agur here confeſſeth himſelf gravelled in four things at leaſt, and benighted.
Verſ. 19. And the way of a man with a maid] That is, either with a cloſe and chaſt virgin, that is kept cloſe from the acceſs of ſtrangers, and goes covered with a veyl; or elſe with a maid, that though defloured, yet would paſs for a pure virgin, and is ſo taken to be till her lewdneſs is diſcovered. It is expreſly noted of Rebecca to her commendation, that though fair to look upon, yet ſhee was a virgin, neither had any man known her, Gen. 24.16. there are that paſs for virgins, and yet it cannot be ſaid of them, that man never knew them.
The ſaurum cum virgo tuum vas fictile ſervet,
Ʋt fugias quae ſunt noxia, tuta time.
Verſ. 20. So is the way of an adulterous woman] The ſtrumpet when ſhe hath eaten ſtolen bread, hath ſuch dexterity in wiping her lips, that not the leaſt crumme ſhall ſtick to them, for diſcovery. So that Agur here ſhews it to be as hard to find it out, as the way of an Eagle in the air, the way of a ſerpent on a rock, &c. Unleſs taken in the manner, ſhe ſtoutly denyes the action. And if ſo taken, yet
—nihil eſt audacins illis,Juvenal Saty…. 6.
Deprenſis, iram atque animos a crimine ſumunt.
Verſ. 21. For three things the earth is diſquieted] Such trouble-towns are odious creatures, the places where they live, long for a vomit to ſp…e them out. As they live wickedly, ſo they dye wiſhedly, there is a good worlds-riddance of them, as there was of Nabai, and of thoſe in Job 27.23. with 15. who were buried before half-dead; being hiſſed and kickt off the ſtage of the world, as Phocas was by Heraclius.
And for four which it cannot bear] The very axle-tree of the world is even ready to crack under them, the earth to open and ſwallow them up.
Verſ. 22. For a ſervant when he reigneth] As Jeroboam, Saul, Zimri, Herod, Heliogabalus, Phocas. See the Note on chap. 19.10. Veſpaſian only of all the Emperours, is ſaid to have been better for his advancement.
For a fool when he is filled with meat] When his belly is filled with Gods hid treaſure, Pſal 17.14. when he proſpers and hath what he will. Proſperity is hard meat to fools,Luxuriant animi rebus plerunque ſecundis. Ovid. they cannot digeſt it. They grow giddy (as weak heads doe after a cup of generous wine) and lay about them like mad-men: the folly of theſe rich fools, is fooliſhneſſe with a witneſſe, Prov. 14.24. See the Note there.
1 Sam. 1.6.Verſ. 23. For an odious woman when ſhe is married] Such an one was Peninnah, who vexed good Hannah, to make her to thunder, as the Original hath it. Such was Jeſabel, Herodias, Meſſalina Wife to the Emperour Claudius, who was her Agent to effect her ſinful purpoſes, and her Patient to ſuſtain her lewd conditions.Dio in Claudio. She compelled alſo other Roman Ladies to bee as lewd as her ſelf, and thoſe that would not, ſhe hated, and baniſhed them from the Court
And an hand-maid that is heir to her miſtris] That ſucceeds her in the Marriage-bed: her good and her bloud will riſe together, as we ſee in Hagar. Hence that counſel of the Greek Poet:
foreign.
Never make thy Maid thy Miſtreſſe.
Such Hens will bee apt to crow, ſuch Wives to breed diſturbance in the Family.
Verſ. 24. There be four things] made up thus in quaternions (as the 119. Pſalm is in octonaries, and thoſe in an Alphabetical order) for help of memory.
Which are little upon the earth, but exceeding wiſe] God is maximus in minimis, very much ſeen in the ſmalleſt Creatures. In formicis major anima quàm in Elephantis, in nanis quàm in gigantibus. The ſoul is more active in Ants than Elephants, in Dwarfes than in Giants. Who hath deſpiſed the day of ſmall things? Zech. 4.10.
Ovid.A can… non magno ſaepè tenetur aper.
The Creatures, next to the Scriptures, are the beſt Lay-mans-Books; whereby we may learn to know God and our ſelves ſavingly. Ask now the beaſts, and they ſhall teach thee; and the Fowls of the Heaven, and they ſhall tell thee, Job 12.1.
Verſ. 25. The Ants are a people not ſtrong] A feeble folk, but notable for their fore-caſt. See chap. 6.6, 7. Let us be ſo, but ſpecially in Spirituals.
Verſ. 26. The Conies are but a feeble folk] But what they want in ſtrength, they have in wiſdome, whiles they work themſelves holes and burroughs in the earth,Martial. Gaudet in effoſſis habitare cuniculus antris, ſecures her ſelf in the rocks and ſtony places; It ſhall bee our wiſdome to work our ſelves into the rock Chriſt Jeſus, where we ſhall be ſafe from helliſh hunters.
Verſ. 27. The Locuſts have no King] They are all belly, which is joyned to their mouthes, and endeth at their tayls: hence they make ſuch havock where they come in thoſe Eaſtern-countries. See Joel 2. where they are called Gods great army. For though they have no King to command them, yet they goe forth by bands, and march all in a company, to teach men concord and combination in lawful affairs and attempts. For, Conjuncti pollent etiam vehementer inertes.
Thoſe Locuſts in the Revelation (whereby is meant the Popiſh Clergie) have their King Ahaddon, the Pope, Revel. 9.11. to whom they appeal from their lawful Soveraign; yea the rebellion of a Clergie-man againſt his Prince, is not treaſon ſaith Sa the Jeſuite, quia non eſt Principi ſubjectus, becauſe he is the Popes ſubject. And when the Engliſh Clergie whipped King Henry the ſecond for a Penance for Beckets death, one of the Popes Legats ſaid unto him, Domine, noli minari, &c. Sir, never threaten us,Jacob. Revin. de vit. Pontif. for wee fear no menaces of men, as being of ſuch a Court as uſeth to command Kings and Emperours.
Verſ. 28. The Spider taketh hold with her hands] Some render it the Ape: and the Hebrew Semamith is ſomewhat like the Latine Simia, a Creature that is very witty, active, and imitative, taking hold with his hands (ſuch as they are) and doing ſtrange feats; being therefore much in Kings Palaces, who delight to look upon them, as Salomon did for recreation. If wee take it for the Spider, ſhe doth her work painfully and curiouſly, ſpins a finer thread than any woman can doe, builds a finer houſe than any man can doe, in manner and form like to the tent of an Emperour. This baſe Creature may teach us this wiſdome, ſaith one, not to be bunglers or ſlubberers in our works, but to bee exact in our Trades, and labour ſo to excel therein, that our doings may bee commendable and admirable.
Verſ. 29. There be three things that goe well] And all for our learning, to teach us in our ſeveral ſtations to deport our ſelves in all gravity, maintain our dignity, and ſhew our magnanimity. Only let your converſation bee as becometh the Goſpel of Chriſt, ſaith Paul, Phil. 1.27. There is a foreign, a comlineſſe and ſuitableneſſe of carriage belongs to every calling, and this muſt be carefully kept. Vellem ſi non eſſem Imperator, ſaid Scipio to one that offered him an Harlot, I would, if I were not a General. And remember that thou art a Kings Son, ſaid Menedemus to Antigonus: that will be a retentive to thee from unſeemly practices. Should ſuch a man as I fly? Neh. 6.11. — & Turnum fugientem haec terra videbit? It is a puſilanimity to yeeld ſo much to men: The Lion will not alter his gate, though he dye for it. We ſhould learn regnum in pectore gerere, to be of noble reſolutions. It is a common ſaying amongſt us, Such a man underſtands himſelf well, that is, hee underſtands his place, worth, dignity, and carries himſelf accordingly.
Verſ. 32. Lay thy hand upon thy mouth] That is, better bethink thy ſelf, commune with thine own heart, and be ſtill. Repent thee, as Job did in like caſe, chap. 39.37, 38. Quem paenitet peccaſſe, penè eſt innocens. Senec. Agram.It is not the falling into the water that drowns one, but the lying in it.
Verſ. 33. So the forcing of wrath] Too much ſtirring in an offenſive matter bringeth forth brawling, lawing, warring, fighting. Patientia laeſa fit furor. The moſt patient that is may bee put beyond all patience if much provoked. Abner bare long with Aſahel, but ſped him at length. Abuſed mercy turns into fury. See Prov. 15.1.