mh_parser/vol_split/20 - Proverbs/Chapter 1.xml

<div2 id="Prov.ii" n="ii" next="Prov.iii" prev="Prov.i" progress="72.33%" title="Chapter I">
<h2 id="Prov.ii-p0.1">P R O V E R B S</h2>
<h3 id="Prov.ii-p0.2">CHAP. I.</h3>
<p class="intro" id="Prov.ii-p1">Those who read David's psalms, especially those
towards the latter end, would be tempted to think that religion is
all rapture and consists in nothing but the ecstasies and
transports of devotion; and doubtless there is a time for them, and
if there be a heaven upon earth it is in them: but, while we are on
earth, we cannot be wholly taken up with them; we have a life to
live in the flesh, must have a conversation in the world, and into
that we must now be taught to carry our religion, which is a
rational thing, and very serviceable to the government of human
life, and tends as much to make us discreet as to make us devout,
to make the face shine before men, in a prudent, honest, useful
conversation, as to make the heart burn towards God in holy and
pious affections. In this chapter we have, I. The title of the
book, showing the general scope and design of it, <scripRef id="Prov.ii-p1.1" osisRef="Bible:Prov.1.1-Prov.1.6" parsed="|Prov|1|1|1|6" passage="Pr 1:1-6">ver. 1-6</scripRef>. II. The first principle of
it recommended to our serious consideration, <scripRef id="Prov.ii-p1.2" osisRef="Bible:Prov.1.7-Prov.1.9" parsed="|Prov|1|7|1|9" passage="Pr 1:7-9">ver. 7-9</scripRef>. III. A necessary caution against
bad company, <scripRef id="Prov.ii-p1.3" osisRef="Bible:Prov.1.10-Prov.1.19" parsed="|Prov|1|10|1|19" passage="Pr 1:10-19">ver. 10-19</scripRef>.
IV. A faithful and lively representation of wisdom's reasonings
with the children of men, and the certain ruin of those who turn a
deaf ear to those reasonings, <scripRef id="Prov.ii-p1.4" osisRef="Bible:Prov.1.20-Prov.1.33" parsed="|Prov|1|20|1|33" passage="Pr 1:20-33">ver.
20-33</scripRef>.</p>
<scripCom id="Prov.ii-p1.5" osisRef="Bible:Prov.1" parsed="|Prov|1|0|0|0" passage="Pr 1" type="Commentary"/>
<scripCom id="Prov.ii-p1.6" osisRef="Bible:Prov.1.1-Prov.1.6" parsed="|Prov|1|1|1|6" passage="Pr 1:1-6" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Prov.1.1-Prov.1.6">
<h4 id="Prov.ii-p1.7">The Design of the Proverbs.</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Prov.ii-p2">1 The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king
of Israel;   2 To know wisdom and instruction; to perceive the
words of understanding;   3 To receive the instruction of
wisdom, justice, and judgment, and equity;   4 To give
subtilty to the simple, to the young man knowledge and discretion.
  5 A wise <i>man</i> will hear, and will increase learning;
and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels:  
6 To understand a proverb, and the interpretation; the words of the
wise, and their dark sayings.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Prov.ii-p3">We have here an introduction to this book,
which some think was prefixed by the collector and publisher, as
Ezra; but it is rather supposed to have been penned by Solomon
himself, who, in the beginning of his book, proposes his end in
writing it, that he might keep to his business, and closely pursue
that end. We are here told,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Prov.ii-p4">I. Who wrote these wise sayings, <scripRef id="Prov.ii-p4.1" osisRef="Bible:Prov.1.1" parsed="|Prov|1|1|0|0" passage="Pr 1:1"><i>v.</i> 1</scripRef>. They are <i>the proverbs
of Solomon.</i> 1. His name signifies <i>peaceable,</i> and the
character both of his spirit and of his reign answered to it; both
were peaceable. David, whose life was full of troubles, wrote a
book of devotion; for <i>is any afflicted? let him pray.</i>
Solomon, who lived quietly, wrote a book of instruction; for when
the <i>churches had rest they were edified.</i> In times of peace
we should learn ourselves, and teach others, that which in
troublous times both they and we must practise. 2. He was <i>the
son of David;</i> it was his honour to stand related to that good
man, and he reckoned it so with good reason, for he fared the
better for it, <scripRef id="Prov.ii-p4.2" osisRef="Bible:1Kgs.11.12" parsed="|1Kgs|11|12|0|0" passage="1Ki 11:12">1 Kings xi.
12</scripRef>. He had been blessed with a good education, and many
a good prayer had been put up for him (<scripRef id="Prov.ii-p4.3" osisRef="Bible:Ps.72.1" parsed="|Ps|72|1|0|0" passage="Ps 72:1">Ps. lxxii. 1</scripRef>), the effect of both which
appeared in his wisdom and usefulness. The <i>generation of the
upright</i> are sometimes thus blessed, that they are made
blessings, eminent blessings, in their day. Christ is often called
<i>the Son of David,</i> and Solomon was a type of him in this, as
in other things, that he <i>opened his mouth in parables</i> or
<i>proverbs.</i> 3. He was <i>king of Israel</i>—a king, and yet
it was no disparagement to him to be an instructor of the ignorant,
and a teacher of babes—king of Israel, that people among whom God
was known and his name was great; among them he learned wisdom, and
to them he communicated it. All the earth sought to Solomon <i>to
hear his wisdom,</i> which excelled all men's (<scripRef id="Prov.ii-p4.4" osisRef="Bible:1Kgs.4.30 Bible:1Kgs.10.24" parsed="|1Kgs|4|30|0|0;|1Kgs|10|24|0|0" passage="1Ki 4:30,10:24">1 Kings iv. 30; x. 24</scripRef>); it was an
honour to Israel that their king was such a dictator, such an
oracle. Solomon was famous for apophthegms; every word he said had
weight in it, and something that was surprising and edifying. His
servants who attended him, and heard his wisdom, had, among them,
collected 3000 proverbs of his which they wrote in their day-books;
but these were of his own writing, and do not amount to nearly a
thousand. In these he was divinely inspired. Some think that out of
those other proverbs of his, which were not so inspired, the
apocryphal books of <i>Ecclesiasticus</i> and the <i>Wisdom of
Solomon</i> were compiled, in which are many excellent sayings, and
of great use; but, take altogether, they are far short of this
book. The Roman emperors had each of them his symbol or motto, as
many now have with their coat of arms. But Solomon had many weighty
sayings, not as theirs, borrowed from others, but all the product
of that extraordinary wisdom which God had endued him with.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Prov.ii-p5">II. For what end they were written
(<scripRef id="Prov.ii-p5.1" osisRef="Bible:Prov.1.2-Prov.1.4" parsed="|Prov|1|2|1|4" passage="Pr 1:2-4"><i>v.</i> 2-4</scripRef>), not to
gain a reputation to the author, or strengthen his interest among
his subjects, but for the use and benefit of all that in every age
and place will govern themselves by these dictates and study them
closely. This book will help us, 1. To form right notions of
things, and to possess our minds with clear and distinct ideas of
them, that we may <i>know wisdom and instruction,</i> that wisdom
which is got by instruction, by divine revelation, may know both
how to speak and act wisely ourselves and to give instruction to
others. 2. To distinguish between truth and falsehood, good and
evil—<i>to perceive the words of understanding,</i> to apprehend
them, to judge of them, to guard against mistakes, and to
accommodate what we are taught to ourselves and our own use, that
we may <i>discern things that differ</i> and not be imposed upon,
and may <i>approve things that are excellent</i> and not lose the
benefit of them, as the apostle prays, <scripRef id="Prov.ii-p5.2" osisRef="Bible:Phil.1.10" parsed="|Phil|1|10|0|0" passage="Php 1:10">Phil. i. 10</scripRef>. 3. To order our conversation
aright in every things, <scripRef id="Prov.ii-p5.3" osisRef="Bible:Prov.1.3" parsed="|Prov|1|3|0|0" passage="Pr 1:3"><i>v.</i>
3</scripRef>. This book will give, that we may <i>receive, the
instruction of wisdom,</i> that knowledge which will guide our
practice in <i>justice, judgment, and equity</i> (<scripRef id="Prov.ii-p5.4" osisRef="Bible:Prov.1.3" parsed="|Prov|1|3|0|0" passage="Pr 1:3"><i>v.</i> 3</scripRef>), which will dispose us to
render to all their due, to God the things that are God's, in all
the exercises of religion, and to all men what is due to them,
according to the obligations which by relation, office, contract,
or upon any other account, we lie under to them. Note, Those are
truly wise, and none but those, who are universally conscientious;
and the design of the scripture is to teach us that wisdom,
<i>justice</i> in the duties of the first table, <i>judgment</i> in
those of the second table, <i>and equity</i> (that is sincerity) in
both; so some distinguish them.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Prov.ii-p6">III. For whose use they were written,
<scripRef id="Prov.ii-p6.1" osisRef="Bible:Prov.1.4" parsed="|Prov|1|4|0|0" passage="Pr 1:4"><i>v.</i> 4</scripRef>. They are of use
to all, but are designed especially, 1. For <i>the simple, to give
subtlety to</i> them. The instructions here given are plain and
easy, and level to the meanest capacity, <i>the wayfaring men,
though fools, shall not err therein;</i> and those are likely to
receive benefit by them who are sensible of their own ignorance and
their need to be taught, and are therefore desirous to receive
instruction; and those who receive these instructions in their
light and power, though they be simple, will hereby be made subtle,
graciously crafty to know the sin they should avoid and the duty
they should do, and to escape the tempter's wiles. He that is
<i>harmless as</i> the <i>dove</i> by observing Solomon's rules may
become <i>wise as</i> the <i>serpent;</i> and he that has been
sinfully foolish when he begins to govern himself by the word of
God becomes graciously wise. 2. For young people, to give them
<i>knowledge and discretion.</i> Youth is the learning age, catches
at instructions, receives impressions, and retains what is then
received; it is therefore of great consequence that the mind be
then seasoned well, nor can it receive a better tincture than from
Solomon's proverbs. Youth is rash, and heady, and inconsiderate;
<i>man is born like the wild ass's colt,</i> and therefore needs to
be broken by the restraints and managed by the rules we find here.
And, if young people will but take heed to their ways according to
Solomon's proverbs, they will soon gain the knowledge and
discretion of the ancients. Solomon had an eye to posterity in
writing this book, hoping by it to season the minds of the rising
generation with the generous principles of wisdom and virtue.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Prov.ii-p7">IV. What good use may be made of them,
<scripRef id="Prov.ii-p7.1" osisRef="Bible:Prov.1.5-Prov.1.6" parsed="|Prov|1|5|1|6" passage="Pr 1:5,6"><i>v.</i> 5, 6</scripRef>. Those who
are young and simple may by them be made wise, and are not excluded
from Solomon's school, as they were from Plato's. But is it only
for such? No; here is not only milk for babes, but strong meat for
strong men. This book will not only make the foolish and bad wise
and good, but the wise and good wiser and better; and though the
simple and the young man may perhaps slight those instructions, and
not be the better for them, yet the <i>wise man will hear.</i>
Wisdom will be justified by her own children, though not by the
children sitting in the market-place. Note, Even wise men must
hear, and not think themselves too wise to learn. <i>A wise man</i>
is sensible of his own defects (<i>Plurima ignoro, sed ignorantiam
meam non ignoro</i>—<i>I am ignorant of many things, but not of my
own ignorance</i>), and therefore is still pressing forward, that
he may <i>increase</i> in <i>learning,</i> may know more and know
it better, more clearly and distinctly, and may know better how to
make use of it. As long as we live we should strive to increase in
all useful learning. It was a saying of one of the greatest of the
rabbin, <i>Qui non auget scientiam, amittit de ea—If our stock of
knowledge by not increasing, it is wasting;</i> and those that
would increase in learning must study the scriptures; these
<i>perfect the man of God.</i> A wise man, by increasing in
learning, is not only profitable to himself, but to others also, 1.
As a counsellor. <i>A man of understanding</i> in these precepts of
wisdom, by comparing them with one another and with his own
observations, <i>shall</i> by degrees <i>attain unto wise
counsels;</i> he stands fair for preferment, and will be consulted
as an oracle, and entrusted with the management of public affairs;
he shall come to <i>sit at the helm,</i> so the word signifies.
Note, Industry is the way to honour; and those whom God has blessed
with wisdom must study to do good with it, according as their
sphere is. It is more dignity indeed to be counsellor to the
prince, but it is more charity to be counsellor to the poor, as Job
was with his wisdom. <scripRef id="Prov.ii-p7.2" osisRef="Bible:Job.29.15" parsed="|Job|29|15|0|0" passage="Job 29:15">Job xxix.
15</scripRef>, <i>I was eyes to the blind.</i> 2. As an interpreter
(<scripRef id="Prov.ii-p7.3" osisRef="Bible:Prov.1.6" parsed="|Prov|1|6|0|0" passage="Pr 1:6"><i>v.</i> 6</scripRef>)—<i>to
understand a proverb.</i> Solomon was himself famous for expounding
riddles and resolving hard questions, which was of old the
celebrated entertainment of the eastern princes, witness the
solutions he gave to the enquiries with which the queen of Sheba
thought to puzzle him. Now here he undertakes to furnish his
readers with that talent, as far as would be serviceable to the
best purposes. "They shall <i>understand a proverb,</i> even <i>the
interpretation,</i> without which the proverb is a nut uncracked;
when they hear a wise saying, though it be figurative, they shall
take the sense of it, and know how to make use of it." <i>The words
of the wise</i> are sometimes <i>dark sayings.</i> In St. Paul's
epistles there is that which is <i>hard to be understood;</i> but
to those who, being well-versed in the scriptures, know how to
<i>compare spiritual things with spiritual,</i> they will be easy
and safe; so that, if you ask them, <i>Have you understood all
these things?</i> they may answer, <i>Yea, Lord.</i> Note, It is a
credit to religion when men of honesty are men of sense; all good
people therefore should aim to be intelligent, and <i>run to and
fro,</i> take pains in the use of means, that their <i>knowledge
may be increased.</i></p>
</div><scripCom id="Prov.ii-p7.4" osisRef="Bible:Prov.1.7-Prov.1.9" parsed="|Prov|1|7|1|9" passage="Pr 1:7-9" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Prov.1.7-Prov.1.9">
<h4 id="Prov.ii-p7.5">Parental Admonitions.</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Prov.ii-p8">7 The fear of the <span class="smallcaps" id="Prov.ii-p8.1">Lord</span> <i>is</i> the beginning of knowledge:
<i>but</i> fools despise wisdom and instruction.   8 My son,
hear the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy
mother:   9 For they <i>shall be</i> an ornament of grace unto
thy head, and chains about thy neck.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Prov.ii-p9">Solomon, having undertaken to <i>teach a
young man knowledge and discretion,</i> here lays down two general
rules to be observed in order thereunto, and those are, to fear God
and honour his parents, which two fundamental laws of morality
Pythagoras begins his golden verses with, but the former of them in
a wretchedly corrupted state. <i>Primum, deos immortales cole,
parentesque honora—First worship the immortal gods, and honour
your parents.</i> To make young people such as they should be,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Prov.ii-p10">I. Let them have regard to God as their
supreme.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Prov.ii-p11">1. He lays down this truth, that <i>the
fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge</i> (<scripRef id="Prov.ii-p11.1" osisRef="Bible:Prov.1.7" parsed="|Prov|1|7|0|0" passage="Pr 1:7"><i>v.</i> 7</scripRef>); it is <i>the principal
part of knowledge</i> (so the margin); it is the head of knowledge;
that is, (1.) Of all things that are to be known this is most
evident, that <i>God is to be feared,</i> to be reverenced, served,
and worshipped; this is so the beginning of knowledge that those
know nothing who do not know this. (2.) In order to the attaining
of all useful knowledge this is most necessary, that we fear God;
we are not qualified to profit by the instructions that are given
us unless our minds be possessed with a holy reverence of God, and
every thought within us be brought into obedience to him. <i>If any
man will do his will, he shall know of his doctrine,</i> <scripRef id="Prov.ii-p11.2" osisRef="Bible:John.7.17" parsed="|John|7|17|0|0" passage="Joh 7:17">John vii. 17</scripRef>. (3.) As all our
knowledge must take rise from the fear of God, so it must tend to
it as its perfection and centre. Those know enough who know how to
fear God, who are careful in every thing to please him and fearful
of offending him in any thing; this is the Alpha and Omega of
knowledge.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Prov.ii-p12">2. To confirm this truth, that an eye to
God must both direct and quicken all our pursuits of knowledge, he
<i>observes, Fools</i> (atheists, who have no regard to God)
<i>despise wisdom and instruction;</i> having no dread at all of
God's wrath, nor any desire of his favour, they will not give you
thanks for telling them what they may do to escape his wrath and
obtain his favour. Those who say to the Almighty, <i>Depart from
us,</i> who are so far from fearing him that they set him at
defiance, can excite no surprise if they desire not the knowledge
of his ways, but despise that instruction. Note, Those are fools
who do not fear God and value the scriptures; and though they may
pretend to be admirers of wit they are really strangers and enemies
to wisdom.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Prov.ii-p13">II. Let them have regard to their parents
as their superiors (<scripRef id="Prov.ii-p13.1" osisRef="Bible:Prov.1.8-Prov.1.9" parsed="|Prov|1|8|1|9" passage="Pr 1:8,9"><i>v.</i> 8,
9</scripRef>): <i>My son, hear the instruction of thy father.</i>
He means, not only that he would have his own children to be
observant of him, and of what he said to them, nor only that he
would have his pupils, and those who came to him to be taught, to
look upon him as their father and attend to his precepts with the
disposition of children, but that he would have all children to be
dutiful and respectful to their parents, and to conform to the
virtuous and religious education which they give them, according to
the law of the fifth commandment.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Prov.ii-p14">1. He takes it for granted that parents
will, with all the wisdom they have, instruct their children, and,
with all the authority they have, give law to them for their good.
They are reasonable creatures, and therefore we must not give them
law without instruction; we must draw them with the cords of a man,
and when we tell them what they must do we must tell them why. But
they are corrupt and wilful, and therefore with the instruction
there is need of a law. Abraham will not only catechize, but
command, his household. Both the father and the mother must do all
they can for the good education of their children, and all little
enough.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Prov.ii-p15">2. He charges children both to receive and
to retain the good lessons and laws their parents give them. (1.)
To receive them with readiness: "<i>Hear the instruction of thy
father;</i> hear it and heed it; hear it and bid it welcome, and be
thankful for it, and subscribe to it." (2.) To retain them with
resolution: "<i>Forsake not their law;</i> think not that when thou
art grown up, and no longer under tutors and governors, thou mayest
live at large; no, <i>the law of thy mother</i> was according to
the law of thy God, and therefore it must never be forsaken; thou
wast trained up in the way in which thou shouldst go, and
therefore, when thou art old, thou must not depart from it." Some
observe that whereas the Gentile ethics, and the laws of the
Persians and Romans, provided only that children should pay respect
to their father, the divine law secures the honour of the mother
also.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Prov.ii-p16">3. He recommends this as that which is very
graceful and will put an honour upon us: "The instructions and laws
of thy parents, carefully observed and lived up to, <i>shall be an
ornament of grace unto thy head</i> (<scripRef id="Prov.ii-p16.1" osisRef="Bible:Prov.1.9" parsed="|Prov|1|9|0|0" passage="Pr 1:9"><i>v.</i> 9</scripRef>), such an ornament as is, in the
sight of God, of great price, and shall make thee look as great as
those that wear gold <i>chains about their necks.</i>" Let divine
truths and commands be to us a coronet, or a collar of SS, which
are badges of first-rate honours; let us value them, and be
ambitious of them, and then they shall be so to us. Those are truly
valuable, and shall be valued, who value themselves more by their
virtue and piety than by their worldly wealth and dignity.</p>
</div><scripCom id="Prov.ii-p16.2" osisRef="Bible:Prov.1.10-Prov.1.19" parsed="|Prov|1|10|1|19" passage="Pr 1:10-19" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Prov.1.10-Prov.1.19">
<h4 id="Prov.ii-p16.3">Parental Admonitions.</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Prov.ii-p17">10 My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou
not.   11 If they say, Come with us, let us lay wait for
blood, let us lurk privily for the innocent without cause:  
12 Let us swallow them up alive as the grave; and whole, as those
that go down into the pit:   13 We shall find all precious
substance, we shall fill our houses with spoil:   14 Cast in
thy lot among us; let us all have one purse:   15 My son, walk
not thou in the way with them; refrain thy foot from their path:
  16 For their feet run to evil, and make haste to shed blood.
  17 Surely in vain the net is spread in the sight of any
bird.   18 And they lay wait for their <i>own</i> blood; they
lurk privily for their <i>own</i> lives.   19 So <i>are</i>
the ways of every one that is greedy of gain; <i>which</i> taketh
away the life of the owners thereof.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Prov.ii-p18">Here Solomon gives another general rule to
young people, in order to their finding out, and keeping in, the
paths of wisdom, and that is to take heed of the snare of bad
company. David's psalms begin with this caution, and so do
Solomon's proverbs; for nothing is more destructive, both to a
lively devotion and to a regular conversation (<scripRef id="Prov.ii-p18.1" osisRef="Bible:Prov.1.10" parsed="|Prov|1|10|0|0" passage="Pr 1:10"><i>v.</i> 10</scripRef>): "<i>My son,</i> whom I love,
and have a tender concern for, <i>if sinners entice thee, consent
thou not.</i>" This is good advice for parents to give their
children when they send them abroad into the world; it is the same
that St. Peter gave to his new converts, (<scripRef id="Prov.ii-p18.2" osisRef="Bible:Acts.2.40" parsed="|Acts|2|40|0|0" passage="Ac 2:40">Acts ii. 40</scripRef>), <i>Save yourselves from this
untoward generation.</i> Observe, 1. How industrious wicked people
are to seduce others into the paths of the destroyer: they will
entice. Sinners love company in sin; the angels that fell were
tempters almost as soon as they were sinners. They do not threaten
or argue, but entice with flattery and fair speech; with a bait
they draw the unwary young man to the hook. But they mistake if
they think that by bringing others to partake with them in their
guilt, and to be bound, as it were, in the bond with them, they
shall have the less to pay themselves; for they will have so much
the more to answer for. 2. How cautious young people should be that
they be not seduced by them: "<i>Consent thou not;</i> and then,
though they entice thee, they cannot force thee. Do not say as they
say, nor do as they do or would have thee to do; have no fellowship
with them." To enforce this caution,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Prov.ii-p19">I. He represents the fallacious reasonings
which sinners use in their enticements, and the arts of wheedling
which they have for the beguiling of unstable souls. He specifies
highwaymen, who do what they can to draw others into their gang,
<scripRef id="Prov.ii-p19.1" osisRef="Bible:Prov.1.11-Prov.1.14" parsed="|Prov|1|11|1|14" passage="Pr 1:11-14"><i>v.</i> 11-14</scripRef>. See here
what they would have the young man to do: "<i>Come with us</i>
(<scripRef id="Prov.ii-p19.2" osisRef="Bible:Prov.1.11" parsed="|Prov|1|11|0|0" passage="Pr 1:11"><i>v.</i> 11</scripRef>); let us have
thy company." At first they pretend to ask no more; but the
courtship rises higher (<scripRef id="Prov.ii-p19.3" osisRef="Bible:Prov.1.14" parsed="|Prov|1|14|0|0" passage="Pr 1:14"><i>v.</i>
14</scripRef>): "<i>Cast in thy lot among us;</i> come in partner
with us, join thy force to ours, and let us resolve to live and die
together: thou shalt fare as we fare; and <i>let us all have one
purse,</i> that what we get together we may spend merrily
together," for that is it they aim at. Two unreasonable insatiable
lusts they propose to themselves the gratification of, and
therewith entice their pray into the snare:—1. Their cruelty.
They thirst after blood, and hate those that are innocent and never
gave them any provocation, because by their honesty and industry
they shame and condemn them: "<i>Let us</i> therefore <i>lay wait
for</i> their <i>blood,</i> and <i>lurk privily</i> for them; they
are conscious to themselves of no crime and consequently
apprehensive of no danger, but travel unarmed; therefore we shall
make the more easy prey of them. And, O how sweet it will be to
<i>swallow them up alive!</i>" <scripRef id="Prov.ii-p19.4" osisRef="Bible:Prov.1.12" parsed="|Prov|1|12|0|0" passage="Pr 1:12"><i>v.</i> 12</scripRef>. These bloody men would do this
as greedily as the hungry lion devours the lamb. If it be objected,
"The remains of the murdered will betray the murderers;" they
answer, "No danger of that; we will swallow them whole as those
that are buried." Who could imagine that human nature should
degenerate so far that it should ever be a pleasure to one man to
destroy another! 2. Their covetousness. They hope to get a good
booty by it (<scripRef id="Prov.ii-p19.5" osisRef="Bible:Prov.1.13" parsed="|Prov|1|13|0|0" passage="Pr 1:13"><i>v.</i> 13</scripRef>):
"We shall <i>find all precious substance</i> by following this
trade. What though we venture our necks by it? we shall <i>fill our
houses with spoil.</i>" See here, (1.) The idea they have of
worldly wealth. They call it <i>precious substance;</i> whereas it
is neither substance nor precious; it is a shadow; it is vanity,
especially that which is got by robbery, <scripRef id="Prov.ii-p19.6" osisRef="Bible:Ps.62.10" parsed="|Ps|62|10|0|0" passage="Ps 62:10">Ps. lxii. 10</scripRef>. It is as that which is not,
which will give a man no solid satisfaction. It is cheap, it is
common, yet, in their account, it is precious, and therefore they
will hazard their lives, and perhaps their souls, in pursuit of it.
It is the ruining mistake of thousands that they over-value the
wealth of this world and look on it as <i>precious substance.</i>
(2.) The abundance of it which they promise themselves: We shall
<i>fill our houses with it.</i> Those who trade with sin promise
themselves mighty bargains, and that it will turn to a vast account
(All this will I give thee, says the tempter); but they only
<i>dream that they eat;</i> the housefuls dwindle into scarcely a
handful, like the grass on the house-tops.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Prov.ii-p20">II. He shows the perniciousness of these
ways, as a reason why we should dread them (<scripRef id="Prov.ii-p20.1" osisRef="Bible:Prov.1.15" parsed="|Prov|1|15|0|0" passage="Pr 1:15"><i>v.</i> 15</scripRef>): "<i>My son, walk not thou in
the way with them;</i> do not associate with them; get, and keep,
as far off from them as thou canst; <i>refrain thy foot from their
path;</i> do not take example by them, not do as they do." Such is
the corruption of our nature that our foot is very prone to step
into the path of sin, so that we must use necessary violence upon
ourselves to refrain our foot from it, and check ourselves if at
any time we take the least step towards it. Consider, 1. How
pernicious their way is in its own nature (<scripRef id="Prov.ii-p20.2" osisRef="Bible:Prov.1.16" parsed="|Prov|1|16|0|0" passage="Pr 1:16"><i>v.</i> 16</scripRef>): <i>Their feet run to evil,</i>
to that which is displeasing to God and hurtful to mankind, for
they <i>make haste to shed blood.</i> Note, The way of sin is
down-hill; men not only cannot stop themselves, but, the longer
they continue in it, the faster they run, and make haste in it, as
if they were afraid they should not do mischief enough and were
resolved to lose no time. They said they would proceed leisurely
(Let us <i>lay wait for blood,</i> <scripRef id="Prov.ii-p20.3" osisRef="Bible:Prov.1.11" parsed="|Prov|1|11|0|0" passage="Pr 1:11"><i>v.</i> 11</scripRef>), but thou wilt find they are all
in haste, so much has Satan <i>filled their hearts.</i> 2. How
pernicious the consequences of it will be. They are plainly told
that this wicked way will certainly end in their own destruction,
and yet they persist in it. Herein, (1.) They are like the silly
bird, that sees the net spread to take her, and yet it is in vain;
she is decoyed into it by the bait, and will not take the warning
which her own eyes gave her, <scripRef id="Prov.ii-p20.4" osisRef="Bible:Prov.1.17" parsed="|Prov|1|17|0|0" passage="Pr 1:17"><i>v.</i>
17</scripRef>. But we think ourselves <i>of more value than many
sparrows,</i> and therefore should have more wit, and act with more
caution. God has <i>made us wiser than the fowls of heaven</i>
(<scripRef id="Prov.ii-p20.5" osisRef="Bible:Job.35.11" parsed="|Job|35|11|0|0" passage="Job 35:11">Job xxxv. 11</scripRef>), and shall
we then be as stupid as they? (2.) They are worse than the birds,
and have not the sense which we sometimes perceive them to have;
for the fowler knows it is in vain to lay his snare <i>in the sight
of the bird,</i> and therefore he has arts to conceal it. But the
sinner sees ruin at the end of his way; the murderer, the thief,
see the jail and the gallows before them, nay, they may see hell
before them; their watchmen tell them they shall surely die, but it
is to no purpose; they rush into sin, and rush on in it, like the
horse into the battle. For really the stone they roll will turn
upon themselves, <scripRef id="Prov.ii-p20.6" osisRef="Bible:Prov.1.18-Prov.1.19" parsed="|Prov|1|18|1|19" passage="Pr 1:18,19"><i>v.</i> 18,
19</scripRef>. They lay wait, and lurk privily, for the blood and
lives of others, but it will prove, contrary to their intention, to
be for <i>their own blood, their own lives;</i> they will come, at
length, to a shameful end; and, if they escape the sword of the
magistrate, yet there is a divine Nemesis that pursues them.
<i>Vengeance suffers</i> them <i>not to live.</i> Their greediness
of gain hurries them upon those practices which will not suffer
them to live out half their days, but will cut off the number of
their months in the midst. They have little reason to be proud of
their property in that which <i>takes away the life of the
owners</i> and then passes to other masters; and what is a man
profited, though he gain the world, if he lose his life? For then
he can enjoy the world no longer; much less if he lose his soul,
and that be drowned in destruction and perdition, as multitudes are
by the love of money.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Prov.ii-p21">Now, though Solomon specifies only the
temptation to rob on the highway, yet he intends hereby to warn us
against all other evils which sinners entice men to. Such are the
ways of the drunkards and unclean; they are indulging themselves in
those pleasures which tend to their ruin both here and for ever;
and therefore consent not to them.</p>
</div><scripCom id="Prov.ii-p21.1" osisRef="Bible:Prov.1.20-Prov.1.33" parsed="|Prov|1|20|1|33" passage="Pr 1:20-33" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Prov.1.20-Prov.1.33">
<h4 id="Prov.ii-p21.2">Wisdom's Exhortations; Doom of Obdurate
Sinners.</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Prov.ii-p22">20 Wisdom crieth without; she uttereth her voice
in the streets:   21 She crieth in the chief place of
concourse, in the openings of the gates: in the city she uttereth
her words, <i>saying,</i>   22 How long, ye simple ones, will
ye love simplicity? and the scorners delight in their scorning, and
fools hate knowledge?   23 Turn you at my reproof: behold, I
will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto
you.   24 Because I have called, and ye refused; I have
stretched out my hand, and no man regarded;   25 But ye have
set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof:  
26 I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear
cometh;   27 When your fear cometh as desolation, and your
destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh
upon you.   28 Then shall they call upon me, but I will not
answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me:
  29 For that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the
fear of the <span class="smallcaps" id="Prov.ii-p22.1">Lord</span>:   30 They
would none of my counsel: they despised all my reproof.   31
Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be
filled with their own devices.   32 For the turning away of
the simple shall slay them, and the prosperity of fools shall
destroy them.   33 But whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell
safely, and shall be quiet from fear of evil.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Prov.ii-p23">Solomon, having shown how dangerous it is
to hearken to the temptations of Satan, here shows how dangerous it
is not to hearken to the calls of God, which we shall for ever rue
the neglect of. Observe,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Prov.ii-p24">I. By whom God calls to us—by
<i>wisdom.</i> It is <i>wisdom</i> that <i>crieth without.</i> The
word is plural—<i>wisdoms,</i> for, as there is infinite wisdom in
God, so there is the <i>manifold wisdom of God,</i> <scripRef id="Prov.ii-p24.1" osisRef="Bible:Eph.3.10" parsed="|Eph|3|10|0|0" passage="Eph 3:10">Eph. iii. 10</scripRef>. God speaks to the
children of men by all the kinds of wisdom, and, as in every will,
so in every word, of God there is a counsel. 1. Human understanding
is wisdom, the light and law of nature, the powers and faculties of
reason, and the office of conscience, <scripRef id="Prov.ii-p24.2" osisRef="Bible:Job.38.36" parsed="|Job|38|36|0|0" passage="Job 38:36">Job xxxviii. 36</scripRef>. By these God speaks to the
children of men, and reasons with them. <i>The spirit of a man is
the candle of the Lord;</i> and, wherever men go, they may hear a
voice behind them, saying, <i>This is the way;</i> and the voice of
conscience is the voice of God, and not always a still small voice,
but sometimes it cries. 2. Civil government is wisdom; it is God's
ordinance; magistrates are his vicegerents. God by David had
<i>said to the fools, Deal not foolishly,</i> <scripRef id="Prov.ii-p24.3" osisRef="Bible:Ps.75.4" parsed="|Ps|75|4|0|0" passage="Ps 75:4">Ps. lxxv. 4</scripRef>. <i>In the opening of the
gates,</i> and in the <i>places of concourse,</i> where courts were
kept, the judges, the wisdom of the nation, called to wicked
people, in God's name, to repent and reform. 3. Divine revelation
is wisdom; all its dictates, all its laws, are wise as wisdom
itself. God does, by the written word, by the law of Moses, which
sets before us the blessing and the curse, by the priests' lips
which keep knowledge, by his servants the prophets, and all the
ministers of this word, declare his mind to sinners, and give them
warning as plainly as that which is proclaimed in the streets or
courts of judicature by the criers. God, in his word, not only
opens the case, but argues it with the children of men. <i>Come,
now, and let us reason together,</i> <scripRef id="Prov.ii-p24.4" osisRef="Bible:Isa.1.18" parsed="|Isa|1|18|0|0" passage="Isa 1:18">Isa. i. 18</scripRef>. 4. Christ himself is Wisdom, is
Wisdoms, for <i>in him are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and
knowledge,</i> and he is the centre of all divine revelation, not
only the <i>essential Wisdom,</i> but the <i>eternal Word,</i> by
whom God speaks to us and to whom he has <i>committed all
judgment;</i> he it is therefore who here both pleads with sinners
and passes sentence on them. He calls himself <i>Wisdom,</i>
<scripRef id="Prov.ii-p24.5" osisRef="Bible:Luke.7.35" parsed="|Luke|7|35|0|0" passage="Lu 7:35">Luke vii. 35</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Prov.ii-p25">II. How he calls to us, and in what manner.
1. Very publicly, that whosoever hath ears to hear may hear, since
all are welcome to take the benefit of what is said and all are
concerned to heed it. The rules of wisdom are published <i>without
in the streets,</i> not in the schools only, or in the palaces of
princes, but <i>in the chief places of concourse,</i> among the
common people that pass and repass <i>in the opening of the
gates</i> and <i>in the city.</i> It is comfortable casting the net
of the gospel where there is a multitude of fish, in hopes that
then some will be enclosed. This was fulfilled in our Lord Jesus,
who taught openly in the temple, in crowds of people, and <i>in
secret said nothing</i> (<scripRef id="Prov.ii-p25.1" osisRef="Bible:John.18.20" parsed="|John|18|20|0|0" passage="Joh 18:20">John xviii.
20</scripRef>), and charged his ministers to <i>proclaim</i> his
gospel <i>on the housetop,</i> <scripRef id="Prov.ii-p25.2" osisRef="Bible:Matt.10.27" parsed="|Matt|10|27|0|0" passage="Mt 10:27">Matt.
x. 27</scripRef>. God says (<scripRef id="Prov.ii-p25.3" osisRef="Bible:Isa.45.19" parsed="|Isa|45|19|0|0" passage="Isa 45:19">Isa. xlv.
19</scripRef>), <i>I have not spoken in secret.</i> There is <i>no
speech or language where</i> Wisdom's <i>voice is not heard.</i>
Truth seeks not corners, nor is virtue ashamed of itself. 2. Very
pathetically; she <i>cries,</i> and again she <i>cries,</i> as one
in earnest. <i>Jesus stood and cried.</i> She <i>utters her
voice,</i> she <i>utters her words</i> with all possible clearness
and affection. God is desirous to be heard and heeded.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Prov.ii-p26">III. What the call of God and Christ
is.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Prov.ii-p27">1. He reproves sinners for their folly and
their obstinately persisting in it, <scripRef id="Prov.ii-p27.1" osisRef="Bible:Prov.1.22" parsed="|Prov|1|22|0|0" passage="Pr 1:22"><i>v.</i> 22</scripRef>. Observe, (1.) Who they are that
Wisdom here reproves and expostulates with. In general, they are
such as are <i>simple,</i> and therefore might justly be despised,
such as <i>love simplicity,</i> and therefore might justly be
despaired of; but we must use the means even with those that we
have but little hopes of, because we know not what divine grace may
do. Three sorts of persons are here called to:—[1.] <i>Simple
ones that love simplicity.</i> Sin is simplicity, and sinners are
simple ones; they do foolishly, very foolishly; and the condition
of those is very bad who love simplicity, are fond of their simple
notions of good and evil, their simple prejudices against the ways
of God, and are in their element when they are doing a simple
thing, sporting themselves in their own deceivings and flattering
themselves in their wickedness. [2.] <i>Scorners that delight in
scorning</i>—proud people that take a pleasure in hectoring all
about them, jovial people that banter all mankind, and make a jest
of every thing that comes in their way. But scoffers at religion
are especially meant, the worst of sinners, that scorn to submit to
the truths and laws of Christ, and to the reproofs and admonitions
of his word, and take a pride in running down every thing that is
sacred and serious. [3.] <i>Fools</i> that <i>hate knowledge.</i>
None but fools hate knowledge. Those only are enemies to religion
that do not understand it aright. And those are the worst of fools
that hate to be instructed and reformed, and have a rooted
antipathy to serious godliness. (2.) How the reproof is expressed:
"<i>How long will you</i> do so?" This implies that the God of
heaven desires the conversion and reformation of sinners and not
their ruin, that he is much displeased with their obstinacy and
dilatoriness, that he waits to be gracious, and is willing to
reason the case with them.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Prov.ii-p28">2. He invites them to repent and become
wise, <scripRef id="Prov.ii-p28.1" osisRef="Bible:Prov.1.23" parsed="|Prov|1|23|0|0" passage="Pr 1:23"><i>v.</i> 23</scripRef>. And
here, (1.) The precept is plain: <i>Turn you at my reproof.</i> We
do not make a right use of the reproofs that are given us for that
which is evil if we do not turn from it to that which is good; for
for this end the reproof was given. Turn, that is, return to your
right mind, turn to God, turn to your duty, turn and live. (2.) The
promises are very encouraging. Those that love simplicity find
themselves under a moral impotency to change their own mind and
way; they cannot turn by any power of their own. To this God
answers, "<i>Behold, I will pour out my Spirit unto you;</i> set
yourselves to do what you can, and the grace of God shall set in
with you, and work in you both to will and to do that good which,
without that grace, you could not do." Help thyself, and God will
help thee; <i>stretch forth thy</i> withered <i>hand,</i> and
Christ will strengthen and heal it. [1.] The author of this grace
is the Spirit, and that is promised: <i>I will pour out my Spirit
unto you,</i> as oil, as water; you shall have the Spirit in
abundance, <i>rivers of living water,</i> <scripRef id="Prov.ii-p28.2" osisRef="Bible:John.7.38" parsed="|John|7|38|0|0" passage="Joh 7:38">John vii. 38</scripRef>. Our heavenly Father <i>will
give the Holy Spirit to those that ask him.</i> [2.] The means of
this grace is the word, which, if we take it aright, will turn us;
it is therefore promised, "<i>I will make known my words unto
you,</i> not only speak them to you, but make them known, give you
to understand them." Note, Special grace is necessary to a sincere
conversion. But that grace shall never be denied to any that
honestly seek it and submit to it.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Prov.ii-p29">3. He reads the doom of those that continue
obstinate against all these means and methods of grace. It is large
and very terrible, <scripRef id="Prov.ii-p29.1" osisRef="Bible:Prov.1.24-Prov.1.32" parsed="|Prov|1|24|1|32" passage="Pr 1:24-32"><i>v.</i>
24-32</scripRef>. Wisdom, having called sinners to return, pauses
awhile, to see what effect the call has, <i>hearkens and hears; but
they speak not aright</i> (<scripRef id="Prov.ii-p29.2" osisRef="Bible:Jer.8.6" parsed="|Jer|8|6|0|0" passage="Jer 8:6">Jer. viii.
6</scripRef>), and therefore she goes on to tell them what will be
in the end hereof.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Prov.ii-p30">(1.) The crime is recited and it is highly
provoking. See what it is for which judgment will be given against
impenitent sinners in the great day, and you will say they deserve
it, and the Lord is righteous in it. It is, in short, rejecting
Christ and the offers of his grace, and refusing to submit to the
terms of his gospel, which would have saved them both from the
curse of the <i>law of God</i> and from the dominion of the <i>law
of sin.</i> [1.] Christ called to them, to warn them of their
danger; he <i>stretched out his hand</i> to offer them mercy, nay,
to help them out of their miserable condition, <i>stretched out his
hand</i> for them to <i>take hold of,</i> but they <i>refused</i>
and <i>no man regarded;</i> some were careless and never heeded it,
nor took notice of what was said to them; others were wilful, and,
though they could not avoid hearing the will of Christ, yet they
gave him a flat denial, they refused, <scripRef id="Prov.ii-p30.1" osisRef="Bible:Prov.1.24" parsed="|Prov|1|24|0|0" passage="Pr 1:24"><i>v.</i> 24</scripRef>. They were in love with their
folly, and would not be made wise. They were obstinate to all the
methods that were taken to reclaim them. God <i>stretched out his
hand</i> in mercies bestowed upon them, and, when those would not
work upon them, in corrections, but all were in vain; they regarded
the operations of his hand no more than the declarations of his
mouth. [2.] Christ reproved and counselled them, not only reproved
them for what they did amiss, but counselled them to do better
(those are <i>reproofs of instruction</i> and evidences of love and
good-will), but they <i>set at nought all his counsel</i> as not
worth heeding, and <i>would none of his reproof,</i> as if it were
below them to be reproved by him and as if they had never done any
thing that deserved reproof, <scripRef id="Prov.ii-p30.2" osisRef="Bible:Prov.1.25" parsed="|Prov|1|25|0|0" passage="Pr 1:25"><i>v.</i>
25</scripRef>. This is repeated (<scripRef id="Prov.ii-p30.3" osisRef="Bible:Prov.1.30" parsed="|Prov|1|30|0|0" passage="Pr 1:30"><i>v.</i> 30</scripRef>): "They <i>would none of my
counsel,</i> but rejected it with disdain; they called reproofs
reproaches, and took them as an insult (<scripRef id="Prov.ii-p30.4" osisRef="Bible:Jer.6.10" parsed="|Jer|6|10|0|0" passage="Jer 6:10">Jer. vi. 10</scripRef>); nay, <i>they despised all my
reproof,</i> as if it were all a jest, and not worth taking notice
of." Note, Those are marked for ruin that are deaf to reproof and
good counsel. [3.] They were exhorted to submit to the government
of right reason and religion, but they rebelled against both.
<i>First,</i> Reason should not rule them, for <i>they hated
knowledge</i> (<scripRef id="Prov.ii-p30.5" osisRef="Bible:Prov.1.29" parsed="|Prov|1|29|0|0" passage="Pr 1:29"><i>v.</i>
29</scripRef>), hated the light of divine truth because it
discovered to them the evil of their deeds, <scripRef id="Prov.ii-p30.6" osisRef="Bible:John.3.20" parsed="|John|3|20|0|0" passage="Joh 3:20">John iii. 20</scripRef>. They hated to be told that
which they could not bear to know. <i>Secondly,</i> Religion could
not rule them, for they <i>did not choose the fear of the Lord,</i>
but chose to walk in the way of <i>their heart and in the sight of
their eyes.</i> They were pressed to <i>set God always before
them,</i> but they chose rather to cast him and his fear <i>behind
their backs.</i> Note, Those who do not <i>choose the fear of the
Lord</i> show that they <i>have no knowledge.</i></p>
<p class="indent" id="Prov.ii-p31">(2.) The sentence is pronounced, and it is
certainly ruining. Those that will not submit to God's government
will certainly perish under his wrath and curse, and the gospel
itself will not relieve them. They would not take the benefit of
God's mercy when it was offered them, and therefore justly fall as
victims to his justice, <scripRef id="Prov.ii-p31.1" osisRef="Bible:Prov.29.1" parsed="|Prov|29|1|0|0" passage="Pr 29:1"><i>ch.</i>
xxix. 1</scripRef>. The threatenings here will have their full
accomplishment in the judgment of the great day and the eternal
misery of the impenitent, of which yet there are some earnests in
present judgments. [1.] Now sinners are in prosperity and secure;
they live at ease, and set sorrow at defiance. But, <i>First,</i>
Their <i>calamity will come</i> (<scripRef id="Prov.ii-p31.2" osisRef="Bible:Prov.1.26" parsed="|Prov|1|26|0|0" passage="Pr 1:26"><i>v.</i> 26</scripRef>); sickness will come, and those
diseases which they shall apprehend to be the very arrests and
harbingers of death; other troubles will come, in mind, in estate,
which will convince them of their folly in setting God at a
distance. <i>Secondly,</i> Their calamity will put them into a
great fright. Fear seizes them, and they apprehend that bad will be
worse. When public judgments are abroad the <i>sinners in Zion are
afraid, fearfulness surprises the hypocrites.</i> Death is the
<i>king of terrors</i> to them (<scripRef id="Prov.ii-p31.3" osisRef="Bible:Job.15.21 Bible:Job.18.11" parsed="|Job|15|21|0|0;|Job|18|11|0|0" passage="Job 15:21,18:11">Job xv. 21, &amp;c.; xviii. 11</scripRef>,
&amp;c.); this fear will be their continual torment.
<i>Thirdly,</i> According to their fright will it be to them. Their
<i>fear shall come</i> (the thing they were afraid of shall befal
them); it shall <i>come as desolation,</i> as a mighty deluge
bearing down all before it; it shall be their <i>destruction,</i>
their total and final destruction; and it shall come <i>as a
whirlwind,</i> which suddenly and forcibly drives away all the
chaff. Note, Those that will not admit the fear of God lay
themselves open to all other fears, and their fears will not prove
causeless. <i>Fourthly,</i> Their fright will then be turned into
despair: <i>Distress and anguish shall come upon them,</i> for,
having fallen into the pit they were afraid of, they shall see no
way to escape, <scripRef id="Prov.ii-p31.4" osisRef="Bible:Prov.1.27" parsed="|Prov|1|27|0|0" passage="Pr 1:27"><i>v.</i> 27</scripRef>.
Saul cries out (<scripRef id="Prov.ii-p31.5" osisRef="Bible:2Sam.1.9" parsed="|2Sam|1|9|0|0" passage="2Sa 1:9">2 Sam. i.
9</scripRef>), <i>Anguish has come upon me;</i> and in hell there
is <i>weeping, and wailing, and gnashing of teeth</i> for anguish,
<i>tribulation and anguish to the soul</i> of the sinner, the fruit
of the <i>indignation and wrath of the righteous God,</i> <scripRef id="Prov.ii-p31.6" osisRef="Bible:Rom.2.8-Rom.2.9" parsed="|Rom|2|8|2|9" passage="Ro 2:8,9">Rom. ii. 8, 9</scripRef>. [2.] Now God pities
their folly, but he will then <i>laugh at their calamity</i>
(<scripRef id="Prov.ii-p31.7" osisRef="Bible:Prov.1.26" parsed="|Prov|1|26|0|0" passage="Pr 1:26"><i>v.</i> 26</scripRef>): "I also will
laugh at your distress, even as you laughed at my counsel." Those
that ridicule religion will thereby but make themselves ridiculous
before all the world. The righteous will <i>laugh at them</i>
(<scripRef id="Prov.ii-p31.8" osisRef="Bible:Ps.52.6" parsed="|Ps|52|6|0|0" passage="Ps 52:6">Ps. lii. 6</scripRef>), for God
himself will. It intimates that they shall be for ever shut out of
God's compassions; they have so long sinned against mercy that they
have now quite sinned it away. <i>His eye shall not spare, neither
will he have pity.</i> Nay, his justice being glorified in their
ruin, he will be pleased with it, though now he would rather they
should <i>turn and live. Ah! I will ease me of my adversaries.</i>
[3.] Now God is ready to hear their prayers and to meet them with
mercy, if they would but seek to him for it; but then the door will
be shut, and they shall cry in vain (<scripRef id="Prov.ii-p31.9" osisRef="Bible:Prov.1.28" parsed="|Prov|1|28|0|0" passage="Pr 1:28"><i>v.</i> 28</scripRef>): "<i>Then shall they call upon
me</i> when it is too late, <i>Lord, Lord, open to us.</i> They
would then gladly be beholden to that mercy which now they reject
and make light of; but <i>I will not answer,</i> because, when I
called, they would not answer;" all the answer then will be,
<i>Depart from me, I know you not.</i> This has been the case of
some even in this life, as of Saul, whom God answered not by
<i>Urim</i> or <i>prophets;</i> but, ordinarily, while there is
life there is room for prayer and hope of speeding, and therefore
this must refer to the inexorable justice of the last judgment.
Then those that slighted God will <i>seek him early</i> (that is,
earnestly), but in vain; <i>they shall not find him,</i> because
they sought him not when he might be found, <scripRef id="Prov.ii-p31.10" osisRef="Bible:Isa.55.6" parsed="|Isa|55|6|0|0" passage="Isa 55:6">Isa. lv. 6</scripRef>. The rich man in hell begged, but
was denied. [4.] Now they are eager upon their own way, and fond of
their own devices; but then they will have enough of them
(<scripRef id="Prov.ii-p31.11" osisRef="Bible:Prov.1.31" parsed="|Prov|1|31|0|0" passage="Pr 1:31"><i>v.</i> 31</scripRef>), according to
the proverb, <i>Let men drink as they brew;</i> they shall <i>eat
the fruit of their own way;</i> their wages shall be according to
their work, and, as was their choice, <i>so shall their doom
be,</i> <scripRef id="Prov.ii-p31.12" osisRef="Bible:Gal.6.7-Gal.6.8" parsed="|Gal|6|7|6|8" passage="Ga 6:7,8">Gal. vi. 7, 8</scripRef>.
Note, <i>First,</i> There is a natural tendency in sin to
destruction, <scripRef id="Prov.ii-p31.13" osisRef="Bible:Jas.1.15" parsed="|Jas|1|15|0|0" passage="Jam 1:15">Jam. i. 15</scripRef>.
Sinners are certainly miserable if they do but <i>eat the fruit of
their own way. Secondly,</i> Those that perish must thank
themselves, and can lay no blame upon any other. It is <i>their own
device;</i> let them make their boast of it. God <i>chooses their
delusions,</i> <scripRef id="Prov.ii-p31.14" osisRef="Bible:Isa.66.4" parsed="|Isa|66|4|0|0" passage="Isa 66:4">Isa. lxvi.
4</scripRef>. [5.] Now they value themselves upon their worldly
prosperity; but then that shall help to aggravate their ruin,
<scripRef id="Prov.ii-p31.15" osisRef="Bible:Prov.1.32" parsed="|Prov|1|32|0|0" passage="Pr 1:32"><i>v.</i> 32</scripRef>. <i>First,</i>
They are now proud that they can turn away from God and get clear
of the restraints of religion; but that very thing shall slay them,
the remembrance of it shall cut them to the heart. <i>Secondly,</i>
They are now proud of their own security and sensuality; but <i>the
ease of the simple</i> (so the margin reads it) <i>shall slay
them;</i> the more secure they are the more certain and the more
dreadful will their destruction be, <i>and the prosperity of fools
shall</i> help to <i>destroy them,</i> by puffing them up with
pride, gluing their hearts to the world, furnishing them with fuel
for their lusts, and hardening their hearts in their evil ways.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Prov.ii-p32">4. He concludes with an assurance of safety
and happiness to all those that submit to the instructions of
wisdom ( <scripRef id="Prov.ii-p32.1" osisRef="Bible:Prov.1.33" parsed="|Prov|1|33|0|0" passage="Pr 1:33"><i>v.</i> 33</scripRef>):
"<i>Whoso hearkeneth unto me,</i> and will be ruled by me, he
shall," (1.) "Be safe; he <i>shall dwell</i> under the special
protection of Heaven, so that nothing shall do him any real hurt."
(2.) "He shall be easy, and have no disquieting apprehensions of
danger; he shall not only be safe from evil, but <i>quiet from the
fear of</i> it." <i>Though the earth be removed, yet shall not they
fear.</i> Would we be safe from evil, and quiet from the fear of
it? Let religion always rule us and the word of God be our
counsellor. That is the way to <i>dwell safely</i> in this world,
and to <i>be quiet from the fear of evil</i> in the other
world.</p>
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