Commentary on Prov Ecc SoS Isa Jer Lam Eze Dan, Proverbs · Chapter 7
CHAP. VII. Verſ. 1. My Son, keep my words]
ARiſtotle hath obſerved, and daily experience makes it good, that man ſhews his weakneſs no way more than about moderating the pleaſure of his Taſting and Touching; For as much as they belong to him, not as a man, but as a living creature.Turpe eſt ſeneſcere atatem, non tamen ſeneſcere laſciv…am. Nazianz. Now therefore as where the hedge is loweſt, there the beaſt leaps over ſooneſt: So Satan will bee ſure to aſſault us, where wee are leaſt able to withſtand him. And whereas old men have no cauſe to bee ſecure (David was old, when hee went in to Bathſheba, and Lot not young when hee defloured his two daughters: Of the Brabants it is ſaid, that quo magis ſeneſcunt, to magis ſt…l…eſcunt, Contra foreign & foreign: & Sen…c quaſi Semint….the elder the fooliſher: And the Heathen Sages ſay, Metuendam …ſſe ſenectam, quod non veniat ſola, that old age is to bee feared, as that which comes not alone, but being it ſelf a diſeaſe…, it comes accompained with many diſeaſes both of body and minde) young men eſpecially whom the Greeks call foreign of foreign to bee hot, and foreign of foreign to boyl, and who think they have a licence helluari, ſcortari, fores effringere, to drink and drab, which they count and call a trick of youth, have but more than need to bee conſtantly and carefully cautioned and called upon (as here they are) to fly fornication, 1 Cor. 6.8. to fly youthful luſts, 2 Tim. 2.22. with poſt-haſte to flee them, to abſtain from fleſhly luſts (Tanquam à mellito veneno) which war againſt the ſoul, 1 Pet. 2.11. The body cannot bee ſo wounded with weapons, as the ſoul is with luſts. Holy Timothy (ſo temperate a young man,1 Tim. 5.23. that Saint Paul was fain to preſcribe him phyſick, bidding him no longer to drink water, but a little wine for his ſtomacks ſake, and his often infirmities, contracted happily by his too much abſtinence, for the better keeping under his body, and bringing it into ſubjection) is in the ſame Chapter by the ſame Apoſtle exhorted,1 Tim. 5.2 to exhort the younger women with all Purity: Whereby is intimated, that through the deceit of his heart, and the ſlipperineſs of his age, even while hee was preſſing thoſe young women to purity, ſome impure motion might preſs in upon him; Which though but a ſtranger to Timothy (as Peter Martyr and others obſerve out of that paſſage in Nathans parable, 2 Sam. 12.5. that luſt was to David) yet might prove a troubleſome inmate if not ſuddenly ejected. It is no marvel therefore that the Wiſeman is ſo exceeding earneſt with his Son about the buſineſs of abhorring harlotry, the hatefulneſs whereof hee now paints out in a parable, ſetting it forth in livelieſt colours.
Verſ. 2. Keep my Commandements and live] i. e. Live happily, Iſa. 48.17. I am the Lord that teacheth thee to profit; therefore keep my Commandements; as if God ſhould ſay, it is for thy profit that I command thee, and not for mine own. In doing thereof there is great reward, ſaith David, Pſal. 19.and preſent reward, ſaith Solomon here; Do it and live. In the Courts of earthly Princes, there is foreign, delaies and changes. Men are off and on in their promiſes: they are alſo ſlow and ſlack in their performances. But it is otherwiſe here: The very entrance of thy word giveth light, Pſal. 119.130. And the very onſet of obedience giveth life. It is but Hear, and your ſouls ſhall live, Iſa. 55.3. Behold I come quickly, and my reward is with mee, Rev. 22.12.
And my Law as the apple of thine eye] With all charineſs and circumſpection. The leaſt mote offends the eye, and the leaſt deviation violates the Law. Sin is homogeneal, all of a kind, though not all of the ſame degree: as the leaſt pibble is a ſtone, as well as the hugeſt rock, and as the drop of a bucket is water, as well as the main Ocean. Hence the leaſt ſins are in Scripture reproached by the names of the greateſt; Malice is called man-ſlaughter: Luſt, Adultery, &c. concupiſcence is condemned by the Law, even the firſt motions of ſin, though they never come to conſent, Rom. 7.7. Inward bleeding may kill a man. De minutis non curat lex, ſaith the Civilian: But the Law of God is Spiritual, though wee bee carnal. And as the Sunſhine ſhews us atomes and motes, that till then wee diſcerned not, ſo doth the Law diſcover and cenſure ſmalleſt failings. It muſt therefore bee kept curiouſly, even as the apple of the eye: as that little man in the eye that cannot bee touched,foreign ab but hee will bee diſtempered. Careful wee muſt bee, even in the minutula legis, the punctilios of duty. Men will not lightly loſe the leaſt ends of gold.foreign Nequa enim auri tantum maſſas toll…nt, ſed & bractcol…s.
Verſ. 3. Binde them upon thy fingers] That thou mayeſt have them alwaies in ſight: as God hath his people, Iſa. 49.16. Behold I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands: thy walls are continually before mee. The Hebrews here refer fingers to action, heart to meditation and retention. Men ſhould have the Law of God at their fingers ends. (Any of us Jews, ſaith Joſephus, being asked of any point of the Law, anſwereth it as readily as if hee had been asked his own name) they ſhould alſo bee doers of the word, and not hearers onelyonly. The hand is foreign, the inſtrument of action.Ariſtot. David lifted up both his hands to the word, as if hee would pull it to him with both hands, as if hee would do the deed in good earneſt.Pſal. 119.48 The Heavens are the work of Gods fingers, Pſal. 8.3. The Law ſhould bee of ours.
Verſ. 4. Say unto wiſdome, thou art my Siſter] q. d. If thou muſt needs have a Lady to ſet thy love upon, Let mee commend a Miſtreſs to thee more amiable and affable than any that thou canſt meet with; and that is Heavenly Wiſdome. Say unto her, thou art my Siſter, &c. Chriſt oft wooes his Spouſe by this title, My Siſter, my Spouſe. As the neareſt affinity is Spouſe, ſo the neareſt conſanguinty in Siſter. There are all bonds to knit us to Chriſt, there ſhall be all to knit Chriſt to us, if wee fall in with Wiſdome: this is to become a kin to Chriſt, Mat. 12.56. And that is the trueſt nobility, where God himſelf is top of the kin, and Religion the root, in regard whereof all the reſt (riches, retinue, &c.) are but ſhadows and ſhapes of nobleneſs.
Call underſtanding thy kinſwoman] i. e. Bee throughly and familiarly acquainted with her. Surely as in nature hee is accounted a ſingular Idiot, that knows not his own ſiſters or near kinsfolk: ſo in Religion, hee is ſtrangely ſimple and ſtupid, that is not acquainted with the grounds of behaviour▪ and comfort, as they are contained in the word.
Verſ. 5. That they may keep thee] The wiſdome from above can and will preſerve a man from hankering after ſtrange fleſh. The worlds wiſards have been moſt of them tackt and tainted with this vice, and that by a juſt hand of God upon them, for the contempt of Religion, Rom. 1.28. which is indeed the moſt excellent preſervative. Hence when the Apoſtle had ſaid, 1 Tim. 4.7. exerciſe godlineſs, hee adds (as a motive) Godlineſs is profitable to all things, verſ. 8. See further for this, Prov. 23.26, 27. and 2.16. and 6.23, 24. with the Notes there.
Verſ. 6. I looked through my caſement] Little did this young fool think whoſe eye was upon him: leſs did hee heed the all-ſeeing eye of Heaven. Solomon was obſerving his ſubjects carriages, and found a miſcarriage. Magiſtrates, as they have many eyes upon them (whence alſo they have their name in the Hebrew tongue) ſo they are to have their eyes upon many,Nagid a Neged, quod in eam omnes conjiciam oculos. watching when other men ſleep, and obſerving what other men ſlight. The Poets feign, that Jupiter over-looks the world, and that Somnus or Sleep durſt never come a neer him. A King that ſitteth in the Throne of Judgement, ſcattereth away all evil with his eyes, Prov. 20.8.
Verſ. 7. Among the ſimple ones] The word ſignifieth ſuch a one as may bee ſoon perſwaded, eaſily drawn any way by a twined threed, with a wet finger. Fatuellus, Cor ejus in virium flecti.ſuch as whom it is no hard matter to couzen, and collude with.
Verſ. 8. Neer her corner] Which hee ſhould have balked, according to Chap. 5.8. See the Note there. Mens own inconſideration, ſecurity and dallying with the beginnings of ſin, or with the occaſion, doth uſually tempt the Devil to tempt them; and hee feeling their pulſe thereby which way it beats, fits them a penny-worth, provides them of mates, ſets one Delilah or other to binde them (as ſhee did Sampſon) with the green withs of fleſhly pleaſure. But let a man divorce the fleſh from the world, and the Devil can do him no hurt.
Verſ. 9. In the black and dark night] Thinking to obſcure himſelf: but Solomon ſaw him, how much more God, cui obſcura patent, muta reſpondent, ſilentium confitetur, before whom night will convert it ſelf into noon, and ſilence prove a ſpeaking evidence? Fooliſh men think to hide themſelves from God, by hiding God from themſelves. See Pſal. 139.11, 12.
Verſ. 10▪ And behold there met him a woman] Fit Lettice for ſuch lips; a fit helve for ſuch a hatchet. Every corner is full of ſuch duſt-heaps, the Land is even darkened with them, as Egypt once was with the locuſts, Exod. 10.15.
With the attire of an Harlot] See the Note on Chap. 6.25. The Hebrew word here ſignifies a ſet habit or ornament finely fitted to the body: veſtitus in quo plicae, ſaith Lavater, pleated garments, plaited hair, &c. let ſuch take heed of the plica polonica, foreign pro foreign qua…i nudato pudendo, ut cum ad concubitum accenderet.that dreadful diſeaſe.
And ſubtile of heart] Or, Truſſed up about the breaſts, with her upper-parts naked: So Leus Ben. Gerſom. Erat nudo collo & pectore, corde tenus, &c. Shee met him with her naked-breaſts (at this day too commonly uſed by ſuch as would bee held no Harlots) yea, with ſomething elſe naked (as ſome ſenſe this text) which modeſty forbids to name.
Verſ. 11. Her feet abide not in her houſe] As the modeſt womans do, Tit. 2.5. who is therefore called domiporta, ſet forth by the ſnail, which carries her houſe on her back, and compared to the Vine, that grows by the houſe ſide, Pſal. 128. The Egyptian women ware no ſhooes, that they might the better keep home. Of the Italian women, it is ſaid, that they are Magpyes at the door, Heylins Geog.Saints in the Church, Goats in the Garden, Devils in the Houſe, Angels in the Streets, and Sirens in the Windows.
Verſ. 12. Now ſhee is without] See the Note on verſ. 11. and further obſerve, that the former faults, loudneſs of language, ſtubbornneſs againſt an husbands lawful commands and reſtraints, and this of gadding up and down to ſee and to bee ſeen, albeit they bee not certain ſigns, yet they are ſtrong preſumptions of a whoriſh diſpoſition.
Verſ. 13. So ſhee caught him and kiſſed him] Strange impudency in this ſtrange woman, who hath not her name for nought. Potiphars wife was ſuch a beaſt: ſo was Meſſalina the Empreſs, wife to Claudius, Joane Queen of Naples, and other prodigious ſtrumpets, of the kind of thoſe whom they call Borboritae. Wee have heard (ſaith a grave Divine) of Virgins,D. Hall. which at firſt ſeemed modeſt, bluſhing at the motions of an honeſt love; who being once corrupt and debauched, have grown flexible to eaſie intreaties to unchaſtity; and from thence boldly laſcivious ſo as to ſollicite others,Martin. Vivald. in candelabro. cap. de confeſ. Mercer. ſo as to proſtitute themſelves to all commers, yea, (as our Caſuiſts complain of ſome Spaniſh ſtewes) to an unnatural filthineſs.
Verſ. 14. I have peace-offerings] Sacris abutitur ut ſcoleratis mos eſt, ſhee pretends Religion to her filthy practices: So did thoſe wicked women that lay with Elies ſons at the door of the Tabernacle, 1 Sam. 2.22. So did King Edward the fourth, his holy whore, as hee uſed to call her,Speed. that came to him out of a Nunnery when hee liſt to call for her. And ſuch were thoſe Kedeſhoth, or common whores, ſo called in Hebrew, becauſe ſuch abomination was committed under a pretext of Religion, Gen. 38.21. Deut. 23.17. But what an odde thing was that of David, that would not lye with Bathſheba till purified? Doth hee make conſcience of ceremonial, and none of moral purity?
This day have I paid my vows] A votary then ſhee was (by all means) and ſo more than ordinarily religious. So was Doeg, why elſe was hee deteined before the Lord? 1 Sam. 21.7. A Doeg may ſet his foot as far into Gods Sanctuary as a David. That many Popiſh Votaries are no better than this huſwife in the text, ſee the Lisbon-Nunnery, &c. beſides thoſe thouſands of Infants skulls found in the fiſh-pools by Gregory the Great.
Verſ. 15. Therefore came I forth] As having much good chear at home;Sine Cerere & Libero frig…t Ven…. as at all peace-offerings they had. Gluttony is the gallery that libidinouſneſs walks through.
Diligently to ſeek thy face] Or thy perſon, not thy purſe, thee, not thine do I ſeek. Quis credit?
And I have found thee] By a providence no doubt, God muſt have a hand in it, or elſe 'tis marvel. God hath given mee my hire (ſaid Leah) becauſe I have given my Maid to my Husband, Gen. 30.18. See 1 Sam. 23.7. Zach. 11.5.
Verſ. 16. I have decked my bed] Leſt haply by being abroad ſo late, hee ſhould queſtion where to have a bed, ſhee aſſures him of a dainty one, with curious curtains.
Verſ. 17. With Myrrhe, Aloes, &c.] This might have minded the young man, that hee was going to his grave; for the bodies of the dead were ſo perfumed. Such a meditation would have much rebated his edge, cooled his courage. Jeruſalems filthineſs was in her skirts: and why? ſhee remembred not her latter end, Lam. 1.9. As the ſtroaking of a dead hand (they ſay) cureth a tympany; and as the aſhes of a viper applied to the part that is ſtung, draws the venome out of it: ſo the ſerious thought of death will prove a death to fleſhly luſts.Mr. Wards Sermons. I meet with a ſtory of one that gave a looſe young man a Ring with a deaths-head, with this condition, that hee ſhould one hour daily (for ſeven daies together) look and think upon it; which bred a ſtrange alteration in his life.
Verſ. 18. Until the morning] But what if death draw the curtains, and look in the while? If death do not, yet guilt will. And here beaſts are more happy in carnal contentments, than ſenſual voluptuaries; for in their delights they ſeldome ſurfeit, but never ſin; and ſo never finde any cauſe or uſe for pangs of repentance, as Epicures do, whoſe pleaſure paſſeth, but a ſting ſtaies behinde. Job calleth ſparks the ſons of fire, being ingendred by it upon fuel; as pleaſures are the ſons of mens luſts, when the object and they lye and couple together: And they are not long-lived; they are but as ſparks, they dye as ſoon as begotten.
Verſ. 19. For the good man is not at home] Heb. The man, not my man, or my husband, &c. the very mention (how much more the preſence?) of ſuch a man might have marred the mirth.
Verſ. 20. Hee hath taken a bag of mony] And ſo will not return in haſte. Let not the children of this world bee wiſer than wee: Lay up treaſure in Heaven; provide your ſelves baggs that wax not old, Luk. 12.33. Do as Merchants, that being to travel into a far Country, deliver their mony here upon the Exchange, that there they may receive it. Evagrius in Cedrenus bequeathed three hundred pound to the poor in his will; but took a bond beforehand of Syneſius the Biſhop for the re-payment of this in another life, according to the promiſe of our Saviour of an hundred fold advantage.
Verſ. 21. With much fair ſpeech] Fair words make fools fain. This Circe ſo enchanted the yonker with her fine language, that now ſhee may do what ſhe will with him, for hee is wholly at her devotion.
Verſ. 22. Hee goeth after her ſtraightway] Without any conſideration of the ſad conſequents. Luſt had blinded and beſotted him, and even transformed him into a brute. Nos animas etiam incarnavimus, ſaith one. Many men have made their very ſpirit a lump of fleſh, and are hurried on to Hell with greateſt violence. Chide them, you do but give phyſick in a fit; counſel them, you do but give advice to a man that is running a race; bee your counſel never ſo good, hee cannot ſtay to hear you, but will bee ready to anſwer, as Antipater did when one preſented him with a book treating of happineſs, he rejected it, and ſaid foreign, I have no leaſure to read ſuch diſcourſes.
As an Oxe goeth to the ſlaughter] When hee thinks hee goeth to the paſture; or as thoſe Oxen brought forth by Jupiters Prieſt, with garlands unto the gates, but it was for a ſlain-ſacrifice, Acts 14.13. Fatted ware are but fitted for the ſhambles.
Numella. Beza in loc.Or as a fool to the correction of the Stocks] Such ſtocks as Paul and Silas (yet no fools) were thruſt into, feet and neck alſo, as the word there ſignifieth, Acts 14.24. This the fool fears not till hee feels; till his head bee cooled, and his heels too, till hee hath ſlept out his drunkenneſs, and then hee findes where hee is, and muſt ſtick by it. See this exemplified, Prov. 5.11. How many ſuch fools have wee now adaies (Mori morantur quocunque ſub axe morantur) that rejoyce in their ſpiritual bondage, and dance to Hell in their bolts (as one ſaith) nay, are weary of deliverance? They ſit in the ſtocks when they are at prayers, and come out of the Church when the tedious Sermon runs ſomewhat beyond the hour, like priſoners out of a Gaol. The Devil is at I…ne with ſuch (ſaith Maſter Bradford) and the Devil will keep holy-day, as it were in Hell, in reſpect of ſuch, ſaith another.
Verſ. 23. Till a dart ſtrike thorow his liver] i. e. Filthy luſt, that fiery dart of the Devil,Plato in hepate foreign ponit. Horat Ode 1. lib. 4. & Ode 25. lib. 5. Ovid. Triſt. pointed and poiſoned (as the Sythian darts are ſaid to bee) with the gall of Aſps and Vipers. Philoſophers place luſt in the liver. Mathematicians ſubject the liver to Venus, the Poets complain of Cupids wounding them in that part.
Cor ſapit, & pulmo loquitur, fel commovit iras:
Splen ridere facit, cogit amare jecor.
Or (as ſome ſenſe it) till the Adulterer bee, by the Whores husband or friends, or by the hand of juſtice, deprived of life, perhaps in the very act, as Zimri and Cozbi were by Phineas in the very flagrancy of their luſt.
Verſ. 24. Hearken now therefore] Call up the ears of thy minde, to the ears of thy body, that one ſound may pierce both. Solomon knew well how hard it was to get ground of a raging luſt, even as hard as to get ground of the Sea. Hence hee ſo ſets on his exhortation.
Verſ. 25. Let not thine heart] Think not of her, luſt not after her. Thoughts and affections are ſibi mutuo cauſae. Whileſt I muſed the fire burned,Pſal. 39. ſo that thoughts kindle affections, and theſe cauſe thoughts to boyl. (See Job 31.1.) See therefore that evil thoughts, though they ruſh into the heart, yet they reſt not in it.
Verſ. 26. For ſhee hath caſt down many] That have let in death at thoſe windows of wickedneſs, thoſe loop-holes of luſt, that have dyed of the wound in the eye. Aliorum perditio tua ſit cautio. Seeſt thou another man ſhipwrackt, look well to thy tacklings.
Yea, many ſtrong men have been ſlain by her] The valour of man hath oft been ſlaved by the wyſes of a woman. Witneſs many of your greateſt Martialiſts, who conquered Countries, and were vanquiſhed of vices, being captivarum ſuarum captivi. The Perſian Kings commanded the whole world, and were commanded by their concubines. So was Alexander, Sampſon, Hercules, whom ſome make to bee the ſame with Sampſon.
Lenam non potuit, potuit ſuperare leaenam:
Quem fera non potuit vincere, vicit hera.
Verſ. 27. Her houſe is the way to hell] The ſhorteſt cut to utter deſtruction. This, if well beleeved, would make the young man ſtop or ſtep back, as if hee had trod upon a ſerpent.
Sed vivunt homines tanquam mors nulla ſequatur:
Aut velut infernus fabula vana foret.
Going down to the Chambers of death] Both temporal and eternal. Lo thoſe Hoaſts that welcome men into their Inne with ſmiling countenance, will cut their throats in their beds. The Syrens are ſaid to live in green meadows,Natal. Comes. and to have by them ever an heap of dead mens bones.