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<TITLE>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary on the Whole Bible [Proverbs II].</TITLE>
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<center><h1>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary
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on the Whole Bible</h1>
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[<A HREF="MHC00000.HTM">Table of Contents</A>]<BR>
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Matthew Henry<BR><I>Commentary on the Whole Bible</I> (1710)
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<!-- (Begin Body) -->
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<CENTER>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+3><B>P R O V E R B S</B></FONT>
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<BR>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+2>CHAP. II.</FONT>
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<HR SIZE=1 WIDTH=50>
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</CENTER>
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<FONT SIZE=-1>
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<P>
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Solomon, having foretold the destruction of those who are obstinate in
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their impiety, in this chapter applies himself to those who are willing
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to be taught; and,
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I. He shows them that, if they would diligently use the means of
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knowledge and grace, they should obtain of God the knowledge and grace
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which they seek,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+2:1-9">ver. 1-9</A>.
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II. He shows them of what unspeakable advantage it would be to them.
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1. It would preserve them from the snares of evil men
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+2:10-15">ver. 10-15</A>)
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and of evil women,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+2:16-19">ver. 16-19</A>.
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2. It would direct them into, and keep them in, the way of good men,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+2:20-22">ver. 20-22</A>.
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So that in this chapter we are taught both how to get wisdom and how to
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use it when we have it, that we may neither seek it, nor receive it in
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vain.</P>
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</FONT>
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<A NAME="Pr2_1"> </A>
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<A NAME="Pr2_2"> </A>
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<A NAME="Pr2_3"> </A>
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<A NAME="Pr2_4"> </A>
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<A NAME="Pr2_5"> </A>
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<A NAME="Pr2_6"> </A>
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<A NAME="Pr2_7"> </A>
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<A NAME="Pr2_8"> </A>
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<A NAME="Pr2_9"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec1"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>The Search after Wisdom Encouraged.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1> <! -- Date --> </FONT></TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>1 My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my
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commandments with thee;
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2 So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, <I>and</I> apply thine
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heart to understanding;
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3 Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, <I>and</I> liftest up thy
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voice for understanding;
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4 If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as <I>for</I>
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hid treasures;
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5 Then shalt thou understand the fear of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, and find the
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knowledge of God.
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6 For the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> giveth wisdom: out of his mouth <I>cometh</I>
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knowledge and understanding.
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7 He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous: <I>he is</I> a
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buckler to them that walk uprightly.
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8 He keepeth the paths of judgment, and preserveth the way of
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his saints.
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9 Then shalt thou understand righteousness, and judgment, and
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equity; <I>yea,</I> every good path.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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Job had asked, long before this, <I>Where shall wisdom be found? Whence
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cometh wisdom?</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+28:12,20">Job xxviii. 12, 20</A>)
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and he had given this general answer
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+28:23"><I>v.</I> 23</A>),
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<I>God knoweth the place</I> of it; but Solomon here goes further, and
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tells us both where we may find it and how we may get it. We are here
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told,</P>
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<P>
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I. What means we must use that we may obtain wisdom.</P>
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<P>
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1. We must closely attend to the word of God, for that is the word of
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wisdom, <I>which is able to make us wise unto salvation,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+2:1,2"><I>v.</I> 1, 2</A>.
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(1.) We must be convinced that the words of God are the fountain and
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standard of wisdom and understanding, and that we need not desire to be
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wiser than they will make us. We must <I>incline our ear</I> and
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<I>apply our hearts</I> to them, as to <I>wisdom</I> or
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<I>understanding</I> itself. Many wise things may be found in human
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compositions, but divine revelation, and true religion built upon it,
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are all wisdom.
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(2.) We must, accordingly, receive the word of God with all readiness
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of mind, and bid it welcome, even the commandments as well as the
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promises, without murmuring or disputing. <I>Speak, Lord, for thy
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servant hears.</I>
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(3.) We must hide them with us, as we do our treasures, which we are
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afraid of being robbed of. We must not only receive, but retain, the
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word of God, and lodge it in our hearts, that it may be always ready to
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us.
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(4.) We must incline our ear to them; we must lay hold on all
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opportunities of hearing the word of God, and listen to it with
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attention and seriousness, as those that are afraid of letting it slip.
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(5.) We must apply our hearts to them, else inclining the ear to them
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will stand us in no stead.</P>
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<P>
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2. We must be much in prayer,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+2:3"><I>v.</I> 3</A>.
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We must <I>cry after knowledge,</I> as one that is ready to perish for
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hunger begs hard for bread. Faint desires will not prevail; we must be
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importunate, as those that know the worth of knowledge and our own want
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of it. We must cry, as new-born babes, after <I>the sincere milk of the
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word.</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Pe+2:2">1 Pet. ii. 2</A>.
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We must <I>lift our voice for understanding</I> lift it up to heaven;
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thence these good and perfect gifts must be expected,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jam+1:17,Job+38:34">Jam. i. 17; Job xxxviii. 34</A>.
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We must <I>give our voice to understanding</I> (so the word is), speak
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for it, vote for it, submit the tongue to the command of wisdom. We
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must consecrate our voice to it; having applied our heart to it, we
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must employ our voice in seeking for it. Solomon could write
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<I>probatum est--a tried remedy,</I> upon this method; he prayed for
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wisdom and so obtained it.</P>
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<P>
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3. We must be willing to take pains
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+2:4"><I>v.</I> 4</A>);
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we must <I>seek it as silver,</I> preferring it far before all the
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wealth of this world, and labouring in search of it as those who dig in
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the mines, who undergo great toil and run great hazards, with
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indefatigable industry and invincible constancy and resolution, in
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pursuit of the ore; or as those who will be rich rise up early, and sit
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up late, and turn every stone to get money and fill their treasures.
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Thus diligent must we be in the use of the means of knowledge,
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following on to know the Lord.</P>
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<P>
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II. What success we may hope for in the use of these means. Our labour
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shall not be in vain; for,
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1. We shall know how to maintain our acquaintance and communion with
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God: "<I>Thou shalt understand the fear of the Lord</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+2:5"><I>v.</I> 5</A>),
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that is, thou shalt know how to worship him aright, shalt be led into
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the meaning and mystery of every ordinance, and be enabled to answer
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the end of its institution." <I>Thou shalt find the knowledge of
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God,</I> which is necessary to our fearing him aright. It concerns us
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to understand how much it is our interest to know God, and to evidence
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it by agreeable affections towards him and adorations of him.
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2. We shall know how to conduct ourselves aright towards all men
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+2:9"><I>v.</I> 9</A>):
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"<I>Thou shalt understand,</I> by the word of God, <I>righteousness,
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and judgment, and equity,</I> shalt learn those principles of justice,
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and charity, and fair dealing, which shall guide and govern thee in the
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whole course of thy conversation, shall make thee fit for every
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relation, every business, and faithful to every trust. It shall give
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thee not only a right notion of justice, but a disposition to practise
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it, and to render to all their due; for those that do not do justly do
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not rightly understand it." This will lead them in <I>every good
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path,</I> for the scripture will <I>make the man of God perfect.</I>
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Note, Those have the best knowledge who know their duty,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+111:10">Ps. cxi. 10</A>.</P>
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<P>
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III. What ground we have to hope for this success in our pursuits of
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wisdom; we must take our encouragement herein from God only,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+2:6-8"><I>v.</I> 6-8</A>.</P>
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<P>
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1. God has wisdom to bestow,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+2:6"><I>v.</I> 6</A>.
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<I>The Lord</I> not only is wise himself, but he <I>gives wisdom,</I>
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and that is more than the wisest men in the world can do, for it is
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God's prerogative to open the understanding. All the wisdom that is in
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any creature is his gift, his free gift, and he gives it liberally
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jam+1:5">Jam. i. 5</A>),
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has given it to many, and is still giving it; to him therefore let us
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apply for it.</P>
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<P>
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2. He has blessed the world with a revelation of his will. <I>Out of
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his mouth,</I> by the law and the prophets, by the written word and by
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his ministers, both which are his mouth to the children of men, <I>come
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knowledge and understanding,</I> such a discovery of truth and good as,
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if we admit and receive the impressions of it, will make us truly
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knowing and intelligent. It is both an engagement and encouragement to
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search after wisdom that we have the scriptures to search, in which we
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may find it if we seek it diligently.</P>
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<P>
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3. He has particularly provided that good men, who are sincerely
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disposed to do his will, shall have that <I>knowledge and</I> that
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<I>understanding</I> which are necessary for them,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joh+7:17">John vii. 17</A>.
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Let them seek wisdom, and they shall find it; let them ask, and it
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shall be given them,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+2:7,8"><I>v.</I> 7, 8</A>.
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Observe here,
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(1.) Who those are that are thus favoured. They are <I>the
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righteous,</I> on whom the image of God is renewed, which consists in
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righteousness, and those who <I>walk uprightly,</I> who are honest in
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their dealings both with God and man and make conscience of doing their
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duty as far as they know it. They are <I>his saints,</I> devoted to his
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honour, and set apart for his service.
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(2.) What it is that is provided for them.
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[1.] Instruction. The means of wisdom are given to all, but wisdom
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itself, <I>sound wisdom,</I> is laid <I>up for the righteous,</I> laid
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up in Christ their head, in whom <I>are hidden all the treasures of
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wisdom and knowledge,</I> and who <I>is made of God to us wisdom.</I>
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The same that is the Spirit of revelation in the word is a Spirit of
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wisdom in the souls of those that are sanctified, that wisdom of the
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prudent which is to understand his way; and it is sound wisdom, its
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foundations firm, its principles solid, and its products of lasting
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advantage.
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[2.] Satisfaction. Some read it, He <I>lays up substance for the
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righteous,</I> not only substantial knowledge, but substantial
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happiness and comfort,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+8:21">Prov. viii. 21</A>.
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Riches are things that are not, and those that have them only fancy
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themselves happy; but what is laid up in the promises and in heaven for
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the righteous will make them truly, thoroughly, and eternally happy.
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[3.] Protection. Even those who <I>walk uprightly</I> may be brought
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into danger for the trial of their faith, but God is, and will be, <I>a
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buckler to them,</I> so that nothing that happens to them shall do them
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any real hurt, or possess them with any terrific apprehensions; they
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are safe, and they shall think themselves so. <I>Fear not, Abraham; I
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am thy shield.</I> It is their way, the paths of judgment in which they
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walk, that the Lord knows, and owns, and takes care of.
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[4.] Grace to persevere to the end. If we depend upon God, and seek to
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him for wisdom, he will uphold us in our integrity, will enable us to
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<I>keep the paths of judgment,</I> however we may be tempted to turn
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aside out of them; for he <I>preserves the way of his saints,</I> that
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it be not perverted, and so preserves them in it safe and blameless to
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his heavenly kingdom. The assurances God has given us of his grace, if
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duly improved, will excite and quicken our endeavours in doing our
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duty. <I>Work out your salvation,</I> for <I>God works in you.</I></P>
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<A NAME="Pr2_10"> </A>
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<A NAME="Pr2_11"> </A>
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<A NAME="Pr2_12"> </A>
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<A NAME="Pr2_13"> </A>
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<A NAME="Pr2_14"> </A>
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<A NAME="Pr2_15"> </A>
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<A NAME="Pr2_16"> </A>
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<A NAME="Pr2_17"> </A>
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<A NAME="Pr2_18"> </A>
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<A NAME="Pr2_19"> </A>
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<A NAME="Pr2_20"> </A>
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<A NAME="Pr2_21"> </A>
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<A NAME="Pr2_22"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec2"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>The Benefits Conferred by Wisdom.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1> <! -- Date --> </FONT></TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>10 When wisdom entereth into thine heart, and knowledge is
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pleasant unto thy soul;
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11 Discretion shall preserve thee, understanding shall keep
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thee:
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12 To deliver thee from the way of the evil <I>man,</I> from the man
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that speaketh froward things;
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13 Who leave the paths of uprightness, to walk in the ways of
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darkness;
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14 Who rejoice to do evil, <I>and</I> delight in the frowardness of
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the wicked;
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15 Whose ways <I>are</I> crooked, and <I>they</I> froward in their paths:
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16 To deliver thee from the strange woman, <I>even</I> from the
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stranger <I>which</I> flattereth with her words;
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17 Which forsaketh the guide of her youth, and forgetteth the
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covenant of her God.
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18 For her house inclineth unto death, and her paths unto the
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dead.
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19 None that go unto her return again, neither take they hold
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of the paths of life.
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20 That thou mayest walk in the way of good <I>men,</I> and keep the
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paths of the righteous.
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21 For the upright shall dwell in the land, and the perfect
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shall remain in it.
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22 But the wicked shall be cut off from the earth, and the
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transgressors shall be rooted out of it.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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The scope of these verses is to show,
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1. What great advantage true wisdom will be of to us; it will keep us
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from the paths of sin, which lead to ruin, and will therein do us a
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greater kindness than if it enriched us with all the wealth of the
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world.
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2. What good use we should make of the wisdom God gives us; we must
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use it for our own guidance in the paths of virtue, and for the arming
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of us against temptations of every kind.
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3. By what rules we may try ourselves whether we have this wisdom or
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no. This tree will be known by its fruits; if we be truly wise, it
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will appear by our care to avoid all evil company and evil
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practices.</P>
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<P>
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This wisdom will be of use to us,</P>
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<P>
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I. For our preservation from evil, from the evil of sin, and,
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consequently, from the evil of trouble that attends it.</P>
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<P>
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1. In general
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+2:10,11"><I>v.</I> 10, 11</A>),
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"When wisdom has entire possession of thee, it will <I>keep thee.</I>"
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And when has it an entire possession of us?
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(1.) When it has dominion over us. When it not only fills the head with
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notions, but <I>enters into the heart</I> and has a commanding power
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and influence upon that,--when it is upon the throne there, and gives
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law to the affections and passions,--when it <I>enters into the
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heart</I> as the leaven into the dough, to diffuse its relish there,
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and to change it into its own image--then it is likely to do us good.
|
|
|
|
(2.) When we have delight in it, when knowledge becomes <I>pleasant to
|
|
the soul:</I> "When thou beginnest to relish it as the most agreeable
|
|
entertainment, and art subject to its rules, of choice, and with
|
|
satisfaction,--when thou callest the practice of virtue, not a slavery
|
|
and a task, but <I>liberty</I> and <I>pleasure,</I> and a life of
|
|
serious godliness the most comfortable life a man can live in this
|
|
world,--then thou wilt find the benefit of it." Though its restraints
|
|
should be in some respects unpleasant to the body, yet even those must
|
|
be pleasant to the soul. When it has come to this, with us,
|
|
<I>discretion shall preserve</I> us and keep us. God keeps <I>the way
|
|
of his saints</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+2:8"><I>v.</I> 8</A>),
|
|
|
|
by giving them discretion to keep out of harm's way, to keep themselves
|
|
that the wicked one touch them not. Note, A principle of grace
|
|
reigning in the heart will be a powerful preservative both against
|
|
corruptions within and temptations without,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+9:16,18">Eccl. ix. 16, 18</A>.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
2. More particularly, wisdom will preserve us,</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
(1.) From men of corrupt principles, atheistical profane men, who make
|
|
it their business to debauch young men's judgments, and instil into
|
|
their minds prejudices against religion and arguments for vice: "It
|
|
will <I>deliver thee from the way of the evil man</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+2:12"><I>v.</I> 12</A>),
|
|
|
|
and a blessed deliverance it will be, as from the very jaws of death,
|
|
<I>from the way</I> in which he walks, and in which he would persuade
|
|
thee to walk." The enemy is spoken of as one
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+2:12"><I>v.</I> 12</A>),
|
|
|
|
an <I>evil man,</I> but afterwards as many
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+2:13"><I>v.</I> 13</A>);
|
|
|
|
there is a club, a gang of them, that are in confederacy against
|
|
religion, and join hand in hand for the support of the devil's kingdom
|
|
and the interests of it.
|
|
|
|
[1.] They have a spirit of contradiction to that which is good: They
|
|
<I>speak froward things;</I> they say all they can against religion,
|
|
both to show their own enmity to it and to dissuade others from it.
|
|
They are advocates for Satan; they plead for Baal, and <I>pervert the
|
|
right ways of the Lord.</I> How peevishly will profane wits argue for
|
|
sin, and with what frowardness will they carp at the word of God!
|
|
Wisdom will keep us either from conversing with such men or at least
|
|
from being ensnared by them.
|
|
|
|
[2.] They are themselves apostates from that which is good, and such
|
|
are commonly the most malicious and dangerous enemies religion has,
|
|
witness Julian
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+2:13"><I>v.</I> 13</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>They leave the paths of uprightness,</I> which they were trained up
|
|
in and had set out in, shake off the influences of their education, and
|
|
break off the thread of their hopeful beginnings, <I>to walk in the
|
|
ways of darkness,</I> in those wicked ways which hate the light, in
|
|
which men are led blindfold by ignorance and error, and which lead men
|
|
into utter darkness. The ways of sin are ways of darkness,
|
|
uncomfortable and unsafe; what fools are those that leave the plain,
|
|
pleasant, lightsome paths of uprightness, to walk in those ways!
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+82:5,1Jo+2:11">Ps. lxxxii. 5; 1 John ii. 11</A>.
|
|
|
|
[3.] They take a pleasure in sin, both in committing it themselves and
|
|
in seeing others commit it
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+2:14"><I>v.</I> 14</A>):
|
|
|
|
They <I>rejoice</I> in an opportunity <I>to do evil,</I> and in the
|
|
accomplishment and success of any wicked project. It is sport to fools
|
|
to do mischief; nor is any sight more grateful to them than to see
|
|
<I>the frowardness of the wicked,</I> to see those that are hopeful
|
|
drawn into the ways of sin, and then to see them hardened and confirmed
|
|
in those ways. They are pleased if they can discern that the devil's
|
|
kingdom gets ground (see
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ro+1:32">Rom. i. 32</A>),
|
|
|
|
such a height of impiety have they arrived at.
|
|
|
|
[4.] They are resolute in sin
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+2:15"><I>v.</I> 15</A>):
|
|
|
|
Their <I>ways are crooked,</I> a great many windings and turnings to
|
|
escape the pursuit of their convictions and break the force of them;
|
|
some sly excuse, some subtle evasion or other, their deceitful hearts
|
|
furnish them with, for the strengthening of their hands in their
|
|
wickedness; and in the crooked mazes of that labyrinth they secure
|
|
themselves from the arrests of God's word and their own consciences;
|
|
for they are <I>froward in their paths,</I> that is, they are resolved
|
|
to go on in them, whatever is said against it. Every wise man will
|
|
shun the company of such as these.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
(2.) From women of corrupt practices. The former lead to spiritual
|
|
wickednesses, the lusts of the unsanctified mind; these lead to
|
|
<I>fleshly lusts,</I> which defile the body, that living temple, but
|
|
withal <I>war against the soul.</I> The adulteress is here called
|
|
<I>the strange woman,</I> because no man that has any wisdom or
|
|
goodness in him will have any acquaintance with her; she is to be
|
|
shunned by every Israelite as if she were a heathen, and a stranger to
|
|
that sacred commonwealth. A strange woman indeed! utterly estranged
|
|
from all principles of reason, virtue, and honour. It is a great mercy
|
|
to be delivered from the allurements of the adulteress, considering,
|
|
|
|
[1.] How false she is. Who will have any dealings with those that are
|
|
made up of treachery? She is a strange woman; for, <I>First,</I> She is
|
|
false to him whom she entices. She speaks fair, tells him how much she
|
|
admires him above any man, and what a kindness she has for him; but she
|
|
<I>flatters with her words;</I> she has no true affection for him, nor
|
|
any desire of his welfare, any more than Delilah had of Samson's. All
|
|
she designs is to pick his pocket and gratify a base lust of her own.
|
|
<I>Secondly,</I> She is false to her husband, and violates the sacred
|
|
obligation she lies under to him. He was <I>the guide of her youth;</I>
|
|
by marrying him she chose him to be so, and submitted herself to his
|
|
guidance, with a promise to attend him only, and forsake all others.
|
|
But she has <I>forsaken</I> him, and therefore it cannot be thought
|
|
that she should be faithful to any one else; and whoever entertains her
|
|
is partaker with her in her falsehood. <I>Thirdly,</I> She is false to
|
|
God himself: She <I>forgets the covenant of her God,</I> the
|
|
marriage-covenant
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+2:17"><I>v.</I> 17</A>),
|
|
|
|
to which God is not only a witness, but a party, for, he having
|
|
instituted the ordinance, both sides vow to him to be true to each
|
|
other. It is not her husband only that she sins against, but her God,
|
|
who <I>will judge whoremongers and adulterers</I> because they despise
|
|
the oath and break the covenant,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+17:18,Mal+2:14">Ezek. xvii. 18; Mal. ii. 14</A>.
|
|
|
|
[2.] How fatal it will prove to those that fall in league with her,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+2:18,19"><I>v.</I> 18, 19</A>.
|
|
|
|
Let the sufferings of others be our warnings. Take heed of the sin of
|
|
whoredom; for, <I>First,</I> The ruin of those who are guilty of it is
|
|
certain and unavoidable, if they do not repent. It is a sin that has a
|
|
direct tendency to the killing of the soul, the extinguishing of all
|
|
good affections and dispositions in it, and the exposing of it to the
|
|
wrath and curse of God and the sword of his justice. Those that live in
|
|
forbidden pleasures are dead while they live. Let discretion preserve
|
|
every man, not only from the evil woman, but from the evil house, for
|
|
the <I>house inclines to death;</I> it is in the road that leads
|
|
directly to eternal death; <I>and her paths unto Rephaim,</I> to the
|
|
<I>giants</I> (so some read it), the sinners of the old world, who,
|
|
living in luxury and excess of riot, were cut down out of time, and
|
|
their foundation was overthrown with a flood. Our Lord Jesus deters us
|
|
from sinful pleasures with the consideration of everlasting torments
|
|
which follow them. <I>Where the worm dies not, nor is the fire
|
|
quenched.</I> See
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mt+5:28,29">Matt. v. 28, 29</A>.
|
|
|
|
<I>Secondly,</I> Their repentance and recovery are extremely hazardous:
|
|
<I>None,</I> or next to none, <I>that go unto her, return again.</I> It
|
|
is very rare that any who are caught in this snare of the devil recover
|
|
themselves, so much is the heart hardened, and the mind blinded, by the
|
|
deceitfulness of this sin. Having once lost their <I>hold of the paths
|
|
of life,</I> they know not how to take hold of them again, but are
|
|
perfectly besotted and bewitched with those base lusts. Many learned
|
|
interpreters think that this caution against the <I>strange woman,</I>
|
|
besides the literal sense, is to be understood figuratively, as a
|
|
caution,
|
|
|
|
1. Against idolatry, which is spiritual whoredom. Wisdom will keep
|
|
thee from all familiarity with the worshippers of images, and all
|
|
inclination to join with them, which had for many ages been of such
|
|
pernicious consequence to Israel and proved so to Solomon himself.
|
|
|
|
2. Against the debauching of the intellectual powers and faculties of
|
|
the soul by the lusts and appetites of the body. Wisdom will keep thee
|
|
from being captivated by the carnal mind, and from subjecting the
|
|
spirit to the dominion of the flesh, that notorious adulteress which
|
|
<I>forsakes its guide,</I> violates the <I>covenant of our God,</I>
|
|
which <I>inclines to death,</I> and which, when it has got an
|
|
undisturbed dominion, makes the case of the soul desperate.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
II. This wisdom will be of use to guide and direct us in that which is
|
|
good
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+2:20"><I>v.</I> 20</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>That thou mayest walk in the way of good men.</I> We must avoid the
|
|
way of the <I>evil man,</I> and the <I>strange woman,</I> in order that
|
|
we may walk in good ways; we must <I>cease to do evil,</I> in order
|
|
that we may <I>learn to do well.</I> Note,
|
|
|
|
1. There is a way which is peculiarly the way of good men, the way in
|
|
which good men, as such, and as far as they have really been such, have
|
|
always walked.
|
|
|
|
2. It will be our wisdom to walk in that way, to ask for the good old
|
|
way and walk therein,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+6:16,Heb+6:12,12:1">Jer. vi. 16; Heb. vi. 12; xii. 1</A>.
|
|
|
|
And we must not only walk in that way awhile, but we must keep it, keep
|
|
in it, and never turn aside out of it: <I>The paths of the
|
|
righteous</I> are the paths of life, which all that are wise, having
|
|
taken hold of, will keep their hold of. "That thou mayest imitate those
|
|
excellent persons, the patriarchs and prophets (so bishop Patrick
|
|
paraphrases it), and be preserved in <I>the paths of those
|
|
righteous</I> men who followed after them." We must not only choose our
|
|
way in general by the good examples of the saints, but must also take
|
|
directions from them in the choice of our particular paths; observe the
|
|
track, and go forth by the footsteps of the flock. Two reasons are
|
|
here given why we should thus choose:--
|
|
|
|
(1.) Because men's integrity will be their establishment,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+2:21"><I>v.</I> 21</A>.
|
|
|
|
It will be the establishment,
|
|
|
|
[1.] Of their persons: <I>The upright shall dwell in the land,</I>
|
|
peaceably and quietly, as long as they live; and their uprightness will
|
|
contribute to it, as it settles their minds, guides their counsels,
|
|
gains them the good-will of their neighbours, and entitles them to
|
|
God's special favour.
|
|
|
|
[2.] Of their families: <I>The perfect,</I> in their posterity,
|
|
<I>shall remain in it.</I> They shall dwell and remain for ever in the
|
|
heavenly Canaan, of which the earthly one was but a type.
|
|
|
|
(2.) Because men's iniquity will be their destruction,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+2:22"><I>v.</I> 22</A>.
|
|
|
|
See what becomes of <I>the wicked,</I> who choose the way of <I>the
|
|
evil man;</I> they <I>shall be cut off,</I> not only from heaven
|
|
hereafter and all hopes of that, but <I>from the earth</I> now, on
|
|
which they set their affections, and in which they lay up their
|
|
treasure. They think to take root in it, but they and their families
|
|
<I>shall be rooted out of it,</I> in judgment to them, but in mercy to
|
|
the earth. There is a day coming which <I>shall leave them neither root
|
|
nor branch,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mal+4:1">Mal. iv. 1</A>.
|
|
|
|
Let that wisdom then <I>enter into our hearts,</I> and be <I>pleasant
|
|
to our souls,</I> which will keep us out of a way that will end
|
|
thus.</P>
|
|
|
|
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