Works Volume 4, Chapter 9
CHAP. IX.
1. WIſedom hath builded her a houſe, ſhe hath hewen out her ſeven pillars.
2. She hath killed her beaſts, ſhe hath mingled her wine, ſhe hath alſo furniſhed her table;
3. She hath ſent forth her maidens, ſhe crieth upon the *battlements of the walls or high places. foreignhigheſt places of the city;
4. Whoſo is ſimple, let him turn in hither; as for him that wanteth underſtanding, ſhe ſaith to him,
5. Come eat of my bread and drink of the wine which I have mingled.
6. Forſake the fooliſh and live, and go in the way of underſtanding.
Paraphrase. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. This eternal ſon, and word and wiſedom of God, ſo begotten by, as to be co-eternal and co-eval with the Father, (ſet down in the former chapter as the great Artificer of the world and Counſellour both in the framing and managing of it) was by the eternal decree of God, before the creation of the world, deſigned, and ſoon after Adam's fall, promiſed, that in the fulneſs of time he ſhould prepare him a place of reſidence in the Virgin's Womb, be incarnate in our humane Nature, pitch his Tabernacle in our fleſh, Joh. 1.14. and ſo abide and continue in it, as in an houſe firmly and fitly built on pillars, as the manner of ancient building was, and the number of thoſe pillars is here ſpecified to be ſeven, thereby perhaps denoting the ſeven graces of the ſpirit of God, with all which, in all abundance, he ſhould be repleniſh'd; perhaps, no more than the perfectneſs of his humane nature, that was thus framed, (the number of ſeven being the perfect number) perhaps the Church, which was to have to him the relation of inferiour members to an head, and ſo of this complete number of pillars to an houſe. And having taken up this place of reſidence, and ſo converſing familiarly with men, he was to make proviſion for the entertainment of the whole world, inviting all both Jews and Gentiles, but eſpecially the humble contrite hearts, (the weak and fooliſh things of this world to confound the mighty) to a magnificent ſpiritual feaſt, ſending out Apoſtles (ſee Matt. 21.4.) into all quarters, to proclaim this invitation made to all, and to doe it in the Synagogues of the Jews, and every where, in places of greateſt concourſe, ſo as might be to the greateſt advantage to its coming to the ears of all. For this feaſt of his, it was neceſſary ſome Victims ſhould be ſlain, ſome drink-offerings prepared, ſuch was his own death, ſaith S. Cyprian, Ep. lxxiii. ſuch the blood-ſhedding, the piety and patience of the primitive Martyrs (ſaith S. ‖ibid.Auguſtin) in which this feſtival entertainment, this copious coming into the Church was founded. And the form of this invitation ſhould be an earneſt exhortation to faith and repentance; as that denotes an uniform reformation, and change of the mind and actions; and to all that would humbly and obediently come in to this call of his, the promiſe of a free and hoſpitable reception, pardon of all that was paſt, and ſufficient, if not abundant degrees of grace for the future, to enable them for the ſervice of God here, and acceptation and reward (to be received from his mercy) to all eternity. As a Symbol and pledge of this, he ſhould inſtitute and ordein the *See S. Cyprian, Ep. lxiii. ad Caecilium & Teſtim. adv. Jud l. 11. c. 1.Sacrament of the Lord's Supper, ſo called as a feſtival by him provided for all that obey his call, the elements whereof were to be bread and wine, (in correſpondence with the Prieſthood of Melchizedeck, who brought forth bread and wine unto Abraham and bleſſed him) but the myſtical interpretation and importance thereof, the offering up his body on the croſs for us, the onelyonly ſacrifice, that under the New Teſtament, was to ſucceed all thoſe of the Old, and ſuperſede them, and thereby obteining for us grace and pardon, ſtrength and refreſhment, which are exhibited by this Sacrament, and ſo ſecured to us, on condition we utterly forſake our ſins and folly, and be docible and patient of being made wiſe by him, i. e. in an honeſt heart receive and obſerve his inſtructions ſincerely, and ſo live and perſevere in the ways of vertue and piety, that true and divine wiſedom, which alone tends to render this life of ours a life indeed, or worthy any man's enjoying, (the courſe of ſin being but a continual death) and to qualifie us for eternal never fading life and bliſs to all eternity.
7. He that reproveth a ſcorner getteth himſelf ſhame, and he that rebuketh a wicked man, getteth himſelf a blot.
8. Reprove not a ſcorner, leſt he hate thee; rebuke a wiſe man, and he will love thee.
9. †Teach a—Give inſtruction to a wiſe man, and he will be yet wiſer, teach a juſt man, and he will encreaſe in learning.
Paraphrase. 7, 8, 9. And when this eternal wiſedom ſhould come on this errand of ſovereign mercy, 'tis ſad to think what uſe of it ſhould be made by the proud and obdurate ſinners of the world, the obſtinate imperſuaſible Jews; They ſhould be ſo far from reforming on his advice, that they ſhould deſpiſe and reproach, and put him to a contumelious death, ſet themſelves in moſt hoſtile terms of oppoſition and mortal hatred againſt him: OnelyOnly the meek and humble, (the onelyonly temper for true wiſedom to be rooted in) ſuch as are convinced of their ſins, and ſincerely obey his call, to repentance, lay it up in an honeſt heart, they ſhould come in to him, enter in his diſcipleſhip, and there improve in all ſpiritual ſolid wiſedom, to the greateſt height of ſanctity and purity, mortifying all their earthy and ſenſual affections, contemning the world and even life it ſelf, ſo they may approve themſelves unto him. So that though by his coming ſome men ſhould become much worſe, adding their pride and ſelf-conceit, the greateſt impiety and ſacrilege, yet many others, even a multitude both of Jews and Gentile Idolaters, ſhould eminently reform by the coming and revealing his Goſpel to them.
10. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wiſedom, and the knowledge of the Holy is underſtanding .
11. For by me thy days ſhall be multiplied, and the years of thy life ſhall be encreaſed.
12. If thou be wiſe, thou ſhalt be wiſe for thy ſelf, but if thou ſcorneſt, thou alone ſhalt bear it.
Paraphrase. 10, 11, 12. And to receive this benefit from the Goſpel, to be of the number of thoſe who are thereby made truly wiſe unto ſalvation, there is no ſo proper preparative as humility and docibleneſs, a readineſs to receive and lay up the dictates of this eternal wiſedom of God, in a lowly, and honeſt, and obedient heart, (ſee ch. 1.3. and Note d.) there being no true knowledge, or which deſerves that title, but the practical, which as it hath the promiſes of another life, an eternal reward attending it, ſo hath it alſo the promiſes of this life, all manner of felicity in this world, length of days, and that in a Canaan. So that the pious man ſhall himſelf have the fruit of his piety, and the wicked be puniſh'd in his very ſin, if there were no other arere of puniſhment behind for him in another world. The end of Chriſt's coming into the world being on no deſign of advantage to himſelf, but onelyonly to ſhew us the way of true wiſedom and durable happineſs, that if we will be his diſciples, and doe what he directs us, it may be well with us here and to all eternity. If we will not, we ſhall have the ſmart of it our ſelves, as being the onelyonly authours and obſtinate contrivers of our own miſery.
13. A fooliſh woman is ‖tumultuo…s, troubleſome foreignclamorous, ſhe is *ſimpleneſs.ſimple, and knoweth nothing.
14. For ſhe ſitteth at the door of her houſe, on a ſeat, in the high places of the city,
15. To call paſſengers, who go right on their ways,
16. Whoſo is ſimple, let him turn in hither; and as for him that wanteth underſtanding, ſhe ſaith to him,
17. Stoln waters are ſweet, and †the bread of thieves, or thoſe that conceal foreignbread eaten in ſecret is pleaſant;
18. But he knoweth not that the dead are there, and that her gueſts are in the depths of hell.
Paraphrase. 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18. But now as Chriſt (this wiſedom) hath his calls and invitations on one ſide, ſo hath folly, ſin, and carnality on the other; you may diſcern it by an ordinary emblem an unchaſte woman, earneſt and importunate to call in as many paſſengers as ſhe can, promiſes them great advantages, but if ſhe prevail, enſnaring them to their ruine; Juſt ſo, many allurements and temptations there are, to circumvent ſeducible perſons, but all directly contrary to true wiſedom, and the care but of our own ſafety and well-being, and ſuch as betray both the ſeducer and ſeduced to utter ruine; The whore indeed, that is ſet upon this ſin (ſo frequently ſtyled folly, being ſo eminently ſuch) is very bold and buſie, never quiet at home, but ſtill running abroad (ſee ch. 7.11, 12.) incited by her own impatient luſt; Her whole behaviour is moſt extremely ſenſleſs and impudent, ſhe is folly in the abſtract, moſt ſcandalouſly removed from all that is ſober or decent. She ſetteth herſelf like a ſhameleſs proſtitute perſon, in ſome place of greateſt advantage, to ſeduce and invite paſſengers, even thoſe that are otherwiſe imploy'd, and come not with any evil deſign, and by her cunning and flatteries, and eſpecially by that enhancement of the unlawfull pleaſure, which the phancies of wicked men ſet upon it, becauſe it is gotten by ſtealth and deceit, and ſo gratifies their pride as well as their luſt, by the cunning and ſubtlety of compaſſing it; by theſe, I ſay, and other the like means, ſhe gains on fools, ſuch as have not the laws of true wiſedom inſcribed on their hearts (for thoſe would competently avert them from the leaſt beginning of this ſin, and infuſe into them the utmoſt averſion to it) and ſo leads them blindfold into utter perdition and irreverſible deſtruction. (And thus is it in all other ſinfull courſes, to which men are ſeduced by ſome fallacious bait, which hath ſome kind of gratefulneſs to the phancy, but really carries a barbed hook under it, the ſmart and danger of which is ſoon felt by them that ſwallow it, but then 'tis too late to prevent it.) This ſhews the infinite mercy of God in Chriſt, whom he ſent from heaven on purpoſe to teach us true wiſedom betimes (abſteining from all beginnings of ſin, all purity of the very heart) and calling to ſpeedy repentance all thoſe that have need of it.)
Annotations on Chap. IX.
foreignV. 9. Give inſtruction] The notion of foreign, to give, and foreign, to receive, are in this verſe very obſervable. The former is here rendred by the Chaldee foreign, teach, from a notion of it not for giving ſimply, but giving, as a maſter gives leſſons, inſtruction, i. e. teaching; This is imitated by Latin Authours, Da, ſi grave non eſt, Give, i. e. tell me if it be not troubleſome to you, in Horace, l. ii. Sat. 8. Iſte Deus qui ſit, da Tityre nobis, Tell us what God that is, in Virgil's Bucol. For this the LXXII. here reade foreign, give an occaſion, not obſerving the propriety of this idiome, but uſing the liberty of this paraphraſe, to ſupply the conceited Ellipſis. So foreign,foreign from a parallel notion of that verb, denotes not receiving ſimply, but receiving as a diſciple receives lecture, i. e. perceiving, apprehending. So Prov. 1.3. foreign is rendred by the LXXII. foreign, to receive, but by the Chaldee foreign, to accept or learn, (as 1 Tim. 1.15.) the foreign, all acceptation, of which the faithfull ſaying is there ſaid to be worthy, ſignifies being learnt and conſidered by all) and Job 22.22. foreign is by the Chaldee rendred foreign, learn, (by the LXXII. foreign, apprehend) as here foreign is foreign, ſcience, but by the LXXII. ſimply foreign, 1 Cor. 11.14. the animal man, foreign, apprehends not, underſtands not the things of the ſpirit, for ſo it there follows, neither can he know them, becauſe they are ſpiritually diſcerned; where by that of knowing and diſcerning, it is evident what he meant before by foreign, receiving, i. e. perceiving.
V. 3. For foreign, ſhe calls upon the wings, i. e. battlements, of the high places, or walls of the city, the LXXII. reade foreign, calling together or aſſembling with an high proclamation or loud voice unto the cup or goblet, miſtaking foreign, the city, in the cloſe, as if it were from foreign, to call or cry out, for then foreign, high, being ſo applied, muſt ſignifie high or loud calling. Then for foreign, from foreign, clauſit, complexus eſt, it ſignifies a wing, as that which incloſeth the body, and (applied to a building) a battlement, or ſept, becauſe as the wing incompaſſeth the body, ſo doth the battlement the wall or houſe-top; but they (having otherwiſe underſtood the word foreign, city) transform by conſequence the interpretation of foreign, to that of a cup or goblet, in reſpect of the cavity of it, and ſo render foreign, unto the cup, (it is but a miſtake of the learned Conradus Kirkerus, Concordant. to. 2. to affix foreign, as the rendring of foreign, city). In all which, though they recede much from the words, yet they vary not the ſenſe: For if we apply the cup to that wherein the wine is mixt, (for ſo they reade foreign, mingled into the cup) that ſo [calling to the cup] may be inviting to drink of it (and thus S. Auguſtine reads it, de Civ. l. xvii. c. 20. miſcuit in cratere, & miſit ſervos convocans ad craterem, and ſo the following verſe admits, drink of the wine which I have mingled for you, viz. in the cup or goblet) it is then evident that the reſt of the period in their rendring is no unfit paraphraſe of the Original, the calling on the battlements of the walls or high places of the city, being very well explicated by calling together or aſſembling with a loud voice or proclamation.
V. 6. For foreign, and live, the LXXII. reads foreign, that ye may reign to eternity, to which is added by way of ſcholion, foreign, and ſeek prudence, to which ſome Copies add foreign, and live, the literal rendring of foreign. In the end of the verſe for foreign, and go in the way of underſtanding, they reade foreign, and make ſtrait prudence in or by knowledge, reading, it ſeems, foreign, as from foreign, in Hiphil, rectificare, to make ſtrait, or plain, and then not unfitly rendring the way of underſtanding by foreign, prudence, onelyonly adding foreign, by knowledge, as the means by which prudence is directed or conducted.
V. 7. For foreign, his blot, they reade foreign, ſhall reproach himſelf, as if foreign were a verb. No ill paraphraſe.
At the end of verſe 10. they add foreign, for to know the Law is a part of a good underſtanding, merely as a ſcholion, to prove what preceded, that the knowledge of the holy is underſtanding.
V. 12. When the Copies of the LXXII. reade foreign, if thou beeſt wiſe to thy ſelf, thou ſhalt be wiſe alſo to thy neighbours; It is moſt likely that it was cauſed by ſome Scribe, which made a ſtop after foreign, which ſhould have been before it, for by that means it ſeemed neceſſary to ſupply in the latter part, ſomewhat which ſeemed wanting, which was done by adding foreign, to thy neighbours alſo. But the Interpretation being left out, and the comma ſet after foreign, it is then moſt exactly agreeable to the Hebrew, and all other Interpreters, thus, foreign, if thou become wiſe, thou ſhalt be wiſe to thy ſelf, i. e. thou ſhalt have the benefit of thy wiſedom. After the end of this twelfth verſe there is in ſome Editions a very large inſertion, foreign, He that truſts in lies, feeds on the winds, and the ſame ſtill purſues the birds flying (this paſſage is in the Latin inſerted at the end of the fourth verſe of the next Chapter) for he hath forſaken the ways of his own Vineyard, and wandred out of the paths of his own Field, and travelleth by a waterleſs deſart, and a land placed in thirſty places, and with his hands he gathereth together fruitleſneſs. But this is manifeſtly an inſertion, and is not owned by the Complute Edition, though ſome other Editions add yet more, and prefix before this addition foreign, a ſon that is inſtructed ſhall be wiſe, and ſhall uſe the fool for his ſervant, i. e. the fool ſhall ſerve the wiſe, which words the Roman LXXII. inſerts at the end of the fourth verſe, of the next Chapter.
V. 13. For foreign, ſimple or ſimplicity in the abſtract, they reade foreign, ſhe becomes to want a piece of bread, by this paraphraſing her ſimplicity, that her courſe of idleneſs and impudence brought her to extreme want, and in the end of the verſe, for foreign, ſhe knows not what, or any thing, they reade foreign, ſhe underſtands not ſhame, merely as a ſcholion of what elſe ſeemed obſcure or imperfect, for which the Chaldee reade foreign, goodneſs.
V. 14. For foreign, in the high places of the city, they reade foreign, viſibly in the ſtreets, merely by way of paraphraſe, to expreſs the ſenſe, not the words.
V. 17. They invert the order of the words, without any conſiderable change, paraphraſtically, foreign, take the ſecret loaves pleaſantly, and the ſweet waters of ſtealth.
V. 18. For foreign, the dead or carcaſes, (ſee Note on Pſal. 88. d) are there, they reade foreign, the giants or thoſe that are born of the earth, periſh by her, referring to the double notion of foreign, for thoſe that are in the earth, as the dead are, or thoſe that come out of the earth, as giants were believed to do. In the end, for foreign, her gueſts, they reade foreign, he meets, as if it were foreign, which ſignifies ſo. And this alſo without any conſiderable change of the ſenſe, for this ſimple one being one of her gueſts, her gueſts being in the depths of ſcheol, and his meeting or going to meet her foreign, to the depth of hades, are equivalent. After this comes a very large inſertion, merely as a ſcholion of ſome learned man, (an exhortation to avoid the forementioned danger) which in ſome (but not in the Complute) Editions is crept into the Text, and retein'd alſo by the Syriack and Arabick, but neither in the Chaldee nor Latin, foreign, But leap back, ſtay not in the place, nor caſt thine eye upon her; for ſo thou ſhalt paſs over the ſtrange water. But abſtein thou from the water of another's fountain, that thou mayſt have a long time, and that the years of life may be added to thee.