g The sense is either 1. This admonition I now give you that you may know it in time and for your good that you may seriously consider and prevent it Or 2. This judgment will come upon you that you may be taught by your own sad and costly Experience what you would not learn without it that there is a judgment h i. e. That there will be a time of judgment when God will call men to an account for all their hard speeches and miscarriages and particularly for their rash and uncharitable censures of their brethren Matth. 7. 1. Rom. 14. 4. Iam. 4. 11. either in this life or at that last and dreadful Day of the general Resurrâ—…tion of which he sâ—…ke v. 25 c. and judgment God sees and observes and will judge all your words and actions and therefore do not flatter your selves with vain hopes of Impunity CHAP. XX. 1. THen answered Zophar the Naamathite and said 2. Therefore a For this thy severe sentence and denunciation of God's judgments against ut Chap. 19. 29. which much more justly belongs to thy self and is actually executed upon thee and because of thy reproaches as it followeth v. 3. do my thoughts cause me to answer b I thought to have troubled my self and thee with no further discourses considering how exceptious and incorrigible thou art but my thoughts or consideration of thy reproachful words force me to break silence and to answer thee as the matter requires and for this I make hast c I speak sooner than I intended because I am not able to contain my self longer and fear lest I should forget what is in my mind Possibly he interrupted Iob when he was proceeding further in his discourse Or he prevented some of his brethren who made an offer to speak 3. I have heard d From thy mouth Or shall I hear to wit with patience and without a reply Who can endure it the check of my reproach e i. e. Thy shameful and opprobrious reproofs of us as if we and all thy Friends were void of all humanity and natural affection towards thee and were haters and cruel Persecuters and even Devourers of thee Chap. 19. 19 22. and as if we were guilty of most hainous Crimes and might expect God's Vengeance upon us and the spirit f i. e. My Soul or Mind out of my understanding g Or because of for so the Hebrew Mem oft signifies my understanding i. e. Out of or because of that certain knowledge which I have of this matter from study and experience I have not spoken and I shall not speak out of ignorance or prejudice or passion and rage against Iob as he asperseth us but only what I evidently know and yet hope that I can and shall convince thee of causeth me to answer h i. e. Forceth me to speak Or answereth for me i. e. either vindicates me against thy Calumnies or suggesteth an answer to me 4. Knowest thou not this i i. e. This which I am now about to say How canst thou thou I say who pretendest to such an exact and universal knowledge of men and things be ignorant of so notorious a thing which wicked men sensibly feel and good men diligently observe and all men are forced to acknowledge one time or other of old k i. e. From the experience of all former ages since man was placed upon earth l i. e. Since the World was made and there were any men to observe God's Government of it 5. * Psal. 37. 35 36. That the triumphing of the wicked is †Heb. from near short m Heb. is from near i. e. from or for a little time They have not long enjoyed it and it will shortly vanish and the joy of the hypocrite n This he adds by way of reflection upon Iob who though he did clear himself from gross wickedness yet might be guilty of deep hypocrisie but for a moment 6. * Isa. 14. 13 14. Obad. 3 4. Though his excellency mount up to the heavens o Though he be advanced to great Dignity and Authority in the World and his head reach unto the †Heb. cloud clouds 7. Yet he shall perish for ever like his own dung p Which men cast away with contempt and abhorrency Compare 1 Kings 14. 10. 2 Kings 9. 37. they which have seen him q With admiration at his felicity shall say where is he r i. e. He is no where to be found he is utterly lost and gone 8. He shall fly away * Psa. 73. 20. as a dream s Which for the present makes a great shew and noise and highly affects the Fancy but hath nothing solid nor permanent in it for as soon as the man awakes all vanisheth and the remembrance of it is quickly lost and shall not be found t The man will be utterly lost and gone together with all his riches and glory yea he shall he chased away as a vision of the night u Which appears to a man in the night and in his sleep 9. * Ch. 7. 8 10. Psal. 37. 36. 103. 16. The eye also which saw him shall see him no more neither shall his place any more behold him x i. e. It shall not acknowledge nor contain him A figure called Prosopopeia as Iob 7. 10. Or neither shall it i. e. the Eye last mentioned behold him any more in his place 10. ‖ Or the pâ—… shall oppress 〈◊〉 children His children shall seek to please the poor y Either 1. to get some small relief from them in their extream necessity Or rather 2. lest they should revenge themselves of them for the great and many Injuries which their Father did them or seek to the Magistrate for reparations and his hands shall restore their goods z By the sentence of the Judge to whom the oppressed poor will appeal notwithstanding all their entreaties and endeavours to disswade them from so doing 11. His bones a i. e. His whole Body even the strongest parts of it which may seem most remote from danger are full of the sin of his youth b Heb. of his youth i. e. of his youthful pleasures and lusts by a Metonymy of the subject And this may be understood either 1. of the sins themselves that he shall persevere in his youthful lusts even in old age and shall die without repentance Or rather 2. of the punishment of his sins of which he is speaking both in the foregoing and following Verses He shall feel the sad effects of those sins in his riper years as riotous sinners commonly do and as it follows attended him to his grave Or with his secret ways or sins as others render it Whereby he possibly intimates that Iob though he appeared righteous before others yet was guilty of some secret wickedness for which God was
do I desire you should at all concern your selves in it but wholly leave it to me to do what I think fit ye sons of Zeruiah so let him curse because the LORD hath said unto him o Not that God commanded it by his Word for that severely forbids it Exod. 22. 28. or moved him to it by his Spirit for neither was that necessary nor possible because God tempteth no man Jam. 1. 13. but that the secret Providence of God did order and over-rule him in it God did not put any Wickedness into Shimei's heart for he had of himself an heart full of Malignity and Venome against David but only left him to his own Wickedness took away that common Prudence which would have kept him from so foolish and dangerous an Action directed his Malice that it should be Exercised against David rather than another man at when God gives up one Traveller into the hands of a Robber rather than another inclined him to be at home and then to come out of his doors at that time when David passed by him and brought David into so distressed a condition that he might seem a proper Object of his Scorn and Contempt And this is ground enough for this Expression the Lord said not by the Word of his Precept but by the Word of his Providence in respect whereof he is said to command the Ravens 1 King 17. 4. and to send forth his Word and Commandment to senceless Creatures Psal. 147. 15 18. Curse David Who shall then say p Not unto Shimei for it was justly said so to him afterwards 1 King 2. 9. but unto the Lord who shall reproach Gods Providence for permitting this Or who shall by Words or Actions restrain him from executing Gods just Judgment against me Wherefore hast thou done ‖ Or 〈◊〉 thou so 11 And David said to Abishai and to all his servants Behold my son which came forth of my bowels seeketh my life q Which is a greater Mischief than to Reproach me with Words Of that Tribe and Family from which God hath taken away the Kingdom and given it to me which was likely to stir up his Rage and Hatred against me how much more now may this Benjamite ‖ do it let him alone and let him curse r Do not now hinder him violently from it nor punish him for it It is meet I should bear the Indignation of the Lord manifested herein and submit to his Pleasure and possess my Soul with Patience and by bearing these lesser Evils prepare my self for greater which are coming towards me for the LORD hath bidden him 12 It may be s He speaks doubtfully because he was conscious that by his Sins he had forfeited all his Claim to God's Promises that the LORD will look on mine ‖ Or 〈◊〉 ‡ Heb. 〈◊〉 affliction t With an Eye of Commiseration and that the LORD will requite me good for his cursing this day 13 And as David and his men went by the way Shimei went along on the hills side over against him and cursed as he went and threw stones at him and ‡ Heb. 〈◊〉 him 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 cast dust u Not that he could reach or hurt him with it but onely as an expression of Contempt And the like is to be thought concerning the Stones wherewith he could not think to reach David when he was Encamped with his Men on every side 14 And the king and all the people that were with him came x To the City of Bahurim v. 5. weary and refreshed themselves there 15 And Absalom and all the people the men of Israel came to Jerusalem and Ahithophel with them 16 And it came to pass when Hushai the Archite Davids friend was come unto Absalom that Hushai said unto Absalom ‡ Heb. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 King live God save the king y To wit Absalom whom he pretends to own for his King and Liege Lord. God save the king 17 And Absalom said to Hushai Is this thy kindness to thy friend why wentest thou not with thy friend z Doth this Action answer that Profession of greatest Friendship which thou hast hitherto made to him Dost thou thus requite his Favour and true Friendship to thee He speaks thus onely to try him And he saith thy Friend by way of Reflection upon David as one who was a Friend to Hushai and to Strangers but not to his own Son whom by his Severity and Design to give away his Right to Solomon he provoked to this Course and therefore he doth not vouchsafe to call him his Father 18 And Hushai said unto Absalom Nay but whom the LORD and this people and all the men of Israel chuse a Though as a private person I owed and payed Friendship to David whilest he was King yet I must make all my Obligations give place to the Authority of God who putteth down and setteth up Kings at his pleasure and to the common Sence and Decree of the whole Body of the Nation But Hushai expresseth himself very cautiously for though he would be thought to understand Absalom yet in truth this Character did not agree to him whom neither God nor all the People had chosen but onely a part and that the worst part of them his will I be and with him will I abide 19. And again whom should I serve should I not serve in the presence of his son b Thou art his Son and Heir and Successor and now in his place and stead whereby my Friendship which was due to him is devolved upon thee by Right of Inheritance and I reckon that my Friendship is not wholly alienated from him when it is transferred upon one that came out of his Bowels as I have served in thy fathers presence so will I be in thy presence 20 Then said Absalom to Ahitophel Give counsel among you what we shall do 21 And Ahitophel said unto Absalom Go in unto thy fathers concubines c This Counsel he gave partly to Revenge the Injury done to Bathsheba who was the Daughter of Eliam 2 Sam. 11. 3. who was the Son of Ahitophel Chap. 23. 34. and principally for his own and the Peoples safety that the Breach between David and Absalom might be made wide and irreparable by so Vile an Action which must needs provoke David in the highest Degree both for the Sin and shame of it as the like Action had done Iacob Gen. 49. 3 4. and cut off all hopes of Reconciliation which otherwise might have been expected by some Treaty between Absalom and his render-hearted Father in which Case his Followers and especially Ahitophel himself had been left to David's Mercy which he hath left to keep the house and all Israel shall hear that thou ‡ Heb. stinkest with thy father art abhorred of thy father d And therefore obliged by thy own Interest to Prosecute the War with all possible Vigor and to abandon all
2. he afforded her no help or advice or comfort in her Distresses And so he intimateth the greatness of Omission sins and that the common neglect or contempt of plain and positive Duties whether of Piety to God or of Charity to men is to be reckoned among high and hainous Crimes to the widow 22. He draweth e Either into his Neâ—… as Psalm 10. 9. or to his Party to assist and serve him in his Enterprizes also the mighty f Who are mighty in place or wealth or power He practiseth upon these as well as upon the poor with his power g Which being greater than theirs the soon forceth them to comply with his desires and demands he riseth up h To wit against any man as this phrase is used Psalm 18. 38. 44. 5. When he sets himself against a man and resolves to destroy him and ‖ Or he trusteth not his own life no man is sure of life i i. e. None of them whom he so opposeth can be secure or confident of holding his life but all such give up themselves for lost men as knowing they cannot resist his greater might Compare Deut. 28. 26. 23. Though it be given him to be in safety whereon he resteth yet ‖ That is God's Eyes his eyes are upon their ways k Heb. He giveth to him to be in safety or all things necessary for his safety c. This Verse is understood either 1. of the Oppressor If the Oppressor give a man his hand or promise that he shall live in safety by him or If the Oppressed give Gifts to the Oppressor to purchase his quiet and safety and as it follows he resteth upon that assurance given him yet his i. e. the Oppressors eyes are upon their ways he watcheth for their halting and seeks for all occasions to quarrel with them and to destroy them Or rather 2. of God and so the words are fitly rendred thus He i. e. God giveth or granteth to him i. e. to the Oppressor to be in safety i. e. to live a quiet and comfortable life and he resteth secure or he resteth or leaneth upon him i. e. upon God his former experience of God's Favour makes him confident of the continuance of it So he is not only happy in his present enjoyments but also in his freedom from distracting fears of future miseries and his i. e. God's Eyes are upon their ways i. e. God blesseth and prospereth him in all his undertakings as this phrase most commonly signifies as Deut. 11. 12. Ezra 5. 5. Psalm 33. 18. Or yet his eyes are upon their ways i. e. although God giveth them such strange successes this doth not proceed from his ignorance or regardlesness of their wicked actions for he sees and observes them all and will in due time punish them though not always in this life nor as soon as their sins are committed but in such time and way as he in deep wisdom seeth most â—…it 24. They are exalted for a little while l They live in honour and happiness but not for ever but only at best during this short and mortal life which lasteth but for a very little time and therefore their present happiness is not to be envied nor is it any reproach to God's Providence which hath time enough to reckon with them hereafter but †Heb. are not are gone m Heb. are not to wit in this World they die and brought low n As low as their graves Or after as the Particle Vau is elsewhere used as hath been observed before they have been brought low to wit by pining sickness or other grievous judgments they are †Heb. closed up taken out of the way o i. e Out of this World and way of living by death Or are restrained or shut up to wit in the grave the place of silence and impotency as all other p They can no more prevent or delay their death than the meanest men in the world and cut off q By Death's Sickle or by a violent Hand as the tops of the ears of corn r To wit in his greatest height and maturity when he is arrived at his perfect stature of worldly power and glory then God cuts him off and that suddenly and violently 25. And if it be not so now s To wit as I have discoursed if God doth not suffer wicked men to live long and prosperously in the World before he punisheth them and if good men be not sometimes sorely afflicted here if all things do not fall alike to all men in these matters who will make me a liar and make my speech nothing worth CHAP. XXV 1. THen answered Bildad a Not to that which Iob spake last but to that which stuck most in Bildad's mind and which seemed most reprovable in all his discourses to wit his bold censure of God's proceedings with him and his avowed and oft repeated desire of disputing the matter with him the Shuhite and said 2. Dominion b i. e. Absolute and sovereign power over all persons and things with whom to contend is both rebellion and madness and fear c Actively understood or terrour i. e. that which justly makes him dreadfull to all men and especially to all that shall undertake to dispute with him awful Majesty infinite knowledge whereby he knows men's hearts and ways far better than they know themselves and sees much sâ—…n in them which themselves do not discover and exact purity and justice which renders him formidable to sinners are with him d Emphatically spoken with him whom thou challengest with him who is not lightly and irreverently to be named much less to be contended with And therefore it is thy duty to humble thy self for thy presumptuous words and carriages towards him and quietly and modestly to submit thy self and thy cause to his pleasure This Clause as well as the following Verse seems to be added to prove what he last said of God's dominion and dreadfulness He keepeth and ruleth all persons and things in Heaven in peace and harmony and the order which he hath established among them The Angels though they be very numerous and differing in orders and ministeries do all own his Soveraignty and acquiesce in his Pleasure without any disputing and murmuring The Stars and heavenly Bodies though vaâ—…t in their bulk and various in their motions yet exactly keep their courses and the order which God hath appointed them And therefore it is great folly and impudence to exempt thy self from God's jurisdiction or to quarrel with the methods of God's dealings with thee he maketh peace in his high places 3. Is there any number of his armies e Of the Angels and Stars and other Creatures all which are his Hosts wholly submitting themselves to his Will to be and do what God would have them And therefore how insolent and unreasonable a thing is it for thee
thy mind fixed upon that way which leads to it and neither look nor turn aside to the right hand nor to the left as it follows v. 27. and let thine eye-lids look straight before thee 26. Ponder the path of thy feet o Consider thine actions before thou doest them and see that they agree with the Rule and ‖ Or all thy 〈◊〉 shall be â—…red aright let all thy ways be established p Let thine Actions be uniformly and constantly good in spight of all temptations to the contrary Or Let thy ways be directed or disposed aright as this Hebrew word signifies Or thy ways shall be established So this is a promise to confirm the foregoing Precept If thou doest ponder them thou mayest expect God's blessing and good success in them 27 * Deut. 5. 32. â—… 28. 14. Turn not to the right hand nor to the left q Fly all extreams and neither add to God's commands nor take from them remove thy foot from evil CHAP. V. 1. MY son attend unto my wisdom and bow thine ear to my understanding 2. That thou maist regard a Or keep i. e. hold fast as it is in the next clause discretion b Spiritual Wisdom for the conduct of thy Life as this word is used Prov. 1. 4. and elsewhere in this Book and that thy lips may keep knowledge c That by wise and pious discourses thou maist preserve and improve thy Wisdom for thine own and others good 3. * Chap. 2. 16. 6. 24. For d It concerns thee to get and to use discretion that thou maist be able to resist and repel those manifold Temptations to which thou art exposed the lips of a strange woman drop as an hony-comb e Her words and discourses are sweet and charming and prevalent and her †Heb. palate oil mouth is smoother than 4 But her end is bitter as wormwood f Her design and the effect of that lewdness to which she enticeth men is the sinners destruction sharp as a two-edged Sword 5. * Chap. 7. 27. Her feet g Her course or manner of Life go down to death her steps take hold on hell 6. Lest thou shouldst ponder the path of life h To prevent thy serious consideration of the way and manner of rescuing thy self from this deadly course of Life her ways are moveable i Various and changeable She transforms her self into several shapes to accommodate her self to the humours of her Lovers and hath a Thousand Arts and Deceits to enshare them and hold them fast that thou canst not know them k Thou canst not discover all her subtil practices and much less deliver thy self from them 7. Hear me now therefore O ye Children and depart not from the words of my mouth 8. * Chap. 7. 7 8 c. Remove thy way far from her and come not nigh the door of her House l Lest thine eyes affect thine Heart and her allurements prevail over thee 9. Lest thou give thine honour m Thy Dignity and Reputation the strength and vigour of thy Body and Mind which is an honour to a man and which are commonly wasted by Adulterous practices unto others n Unto Whores and their Husbands and Children and Friends and thy years o The flower of thine age thy youthful years unto the cruel p To the Harlot who though she pretends ardent Love and kindness to thee yet in truth is one of the most cruel Creatures in the World wasting thy Estate and Body without the least pity and then casting thee off with scorn and contempt and when her Interest requires it taking away thy very life of which there are enumerable examples and damning thy Soul for ever 10. Lest strangers q Not onely the strange women themselves but Bawds Panders and other Adulterers who are in league with them be filled with †Heb. thy strength thy wealth and thy labours r Wealth gotten by thy labours be in the house of a stranger 11. And thou mourn at the last s Bitterly bewail thy own madness and misery when it is too late when thy flesh and thy body t Thy Flesh even thy Body the particle and being put expositively are consumed u By those manifold diseases which filthy and inordinate Lusts bring upon the Body of which Physicians give a very large and sad Catalogue and the Bodies of many Adulterers give full 12. And say how have I hated instruction x Oh what a mad beast have I been to hate and sleight the fair warnings which were given me and against mine own knowledg to run headlong into this pit of destruction Which are not the words of a true penitent mourning for and turning from his sin but only of a man who is grieved for the sad effects of his delightful Lusts and tormented with the horrour of his own guilty Conscience and my heart despised reproof y I did with my whole Heart abhor all admonitions 13. And have not obeyed the voice of my Teachers z Of my Parents and Friends and Ministers who faithfully and seasonably informed me of those mischiefs and miseries which now I feel nor enclined mine ear to them that instructed me 14. I was almost in all evil a Oh what a miserable man am I There is scarce any misery in respect of Estate or Body or Soul into which I am not already plunged The words also are and may well be rendred thus In a moment I am come into all evil In how little a time and for what short and momentany pleasures am I now come into extream and remediless misery I who designed and expected to enjoy my Lusts with secrecy and impunity am now made a publick example and shameful spectacle to all men and that in the Congregation of Israel where I was taught better things and where such Actions are most infamous and hateful in the midst of the congregation and Assembly b. 15. Drink Waters out of thine own cistern and running waters out of thine own well c This Metaphor contained here and v. 16 17 18. is to be understood either 1. of the free and lawful use of a mans estate both for his own comfort and for the good of others Or rather 2. of the honest use of Matrimony as the proper Remedy against these filthy practices This best suits with the whole context both foregoing and following and thus it is explained in the end of v. 18. So the sense is Content thy self with those delights which God alloweth thee with the sober use of the Marriage-Bed Why shouldst thou ramble hither and thither trespassing against God and men to steal their Waters which thou mightst freely take out of thine own Cistern or Well The ground of the Metaphor is this that waters were scarce and precious in those Countries and therefore men used to
the Corn out of them Isa. 28. 27 28. He punisheth them severely as their Offences deserve This or such like punishments were not unusual among the Eastern Nations as we may gather from 2 Sam. 8. 2. 12. 31 Amos 1. 3. 27 The spirit t i. e. The reasonable Soul of a man is the ‖ Or lamp candle u Is a clear and glorious light set up in Man for his information and direction of the LORD x So called partly because it comes from God in a more immediate and peculiar manner than the Body doth Eccles. 12. 7. and partly because it is in Gods stead to observe and judge all a Man's actions searching all the inward parts of the belly y Discerning not onely his outward actions which are visible to others but his most inward and secret thoughts and affections which no other Man can see 1 Cor. 2. 11. The Belly is here put for the Heart as it is frequently The Soul can reflect upon and judge of its own dispositions and actions Which plainly sheweth that the Heart is not so deceitful but that a Man by diligent study of it and the use of the means appointed by God may arrive at a certain knowledge of its state and condition in reference to God and to Salvation 28 * Ps. 101. 1. Ch. 29. 14. Mercy z Clemency to Offenders and bounty to worthy and to indigent Persons and truth a Faithfulness in keeping his Word and Promises inviolably preserve the king b Because they engage God to guard him and gain him the reverence and affections of his People which is a Kings greatest safety and happiness and his throne is upheld by mercy c Which is again mentioned to shew that although it be an act of Grace and therefore in some sort free yet Princes are obliged to it both by their duty and by their Interest because it is a singular means of their preservation 29 The glory of young men d That wherein they glory as their Priviledge above old men is their strength and * Ch. 16. 31. the beauty of old men is the gray head e i. e. Their old Age expressed by the outward sign of it wherein they glory as their peculiar Priviledge as a Testimony of their Piety and God's Blessing and as a token of their great experience and wisdom The design of this Proverb is to declare the several advantages of several Ages and the mutual need they have one of another and thereby to engage them to mutual love and assistance and to friendly converse and to make every one contented with his own Age and Condition and not to envy nor yet despise his Brother or the difference of their Ages as is very usual among men 30 The blueness of a wound f Grievous wounds which make men black and blew or severe punishments †Heb. is a 〈◊〉 Mediâ—… against 〈◊〉 cleanseth away evil g Are the most effectual means to reclaim a wicked Man and to purge out his corruption so do stripes the inward parts of the belly h Heb. and stripes which answer to the wounds in the former Clause i Either 1. Which pierce even to the inward parts of the Belly and so we are to understand out of the former Branch cleanse away evil Or 2. They cleanse the inward parts of the Belly i. e. of the Heart So this is an addition to the former Clause and the sense of the whole is Grievous wounds or stripes do cleanse not only the outward Man by keeping it from evil actions but even the inward Man by expelling or subduing vile affections Which is mentioned as a great and blessed benefit of afflictions CHAP. XXI 1 THe kings heart a His very inward purposes and inclinations which seem to be most in a Man 's own power and out of the reach of all others and much more his Tongue and Hand and all his outward actions He names Kings hot to exclude other men but because they are more arbitrary and uncontrollable than other men is in the hand of the LORD as the rivers of water b Which Husbandmen or Gardiners can draw by little Channels into the adjacent grounds as they please and as their occasions require he turneth it c Directeth and boweth partly by suggesting those things to their Minds which have a commanding influence upon their wills and partly by a direct and immediate motion of their wills and affections which being God's Creatures must needs be as subject to his power and pleasure as either mens Minds or Bodies are and which he moves sweetly and suitably to their own Nature though strongly and effectually whithersoever he will d So as they shall fulfil his counsels and designs either of Mercy or of Correction to themselves or to their People 2 Every way of a man is right in his own eyes but the LORD pondereth the hearts e This was said Ch. 16. 2. where it is explained and is here repeated either for the great importance and usefulness of it or because he perceived that the Israelites were very prone to self-deceit 3 * 1 Sam. 15. 22. Ch. 15. 8. Isa. 1. 11 c. Hos. 6. 6. Mic. 6. 7 8. To do justice and judgment f The conscientious performance of all our duties to men is more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice g Than the most costly outward services offered to God joyned with the neglect of our Moral duties to God or men The same thing is affirmed 1 Sam. 15. 22. Hos. 6. 6. Mic. 6. 7 8 c. 4 * Ch. 6. 17. †Heb. haughtiness of eyes An high look h One gesture or sign of Pride put for all the rest Prov. 6. 17. and a proud heart i Pride lurking and reigning in the Heart though it do not discover it self to men by outward actions but be disguised with a shew of humility as it is frequently and ‖ Or the light of the wicked the plowing k Either 1. strictly and properly so called even their civil or natural actions which in themselves are lawful and good are made sinful as they are managed by ungodly men without any regard to the service and glory of God which ought to be the great end of all our actions 1 Cor. 10. 31. and with a design of serving their own wicked lusts by it Or 2. Metaphorically their designs and endeavours which are said to be sin because they are wholly and fully set upon sin and they make sin their trade or business which is called Plowing wickedness Job 4. 8. But all the ancient Interpreters and divers others render the word the Lamp or Light as this Hebrew word even thus pointed is rendred 1 Kings 11. 36. 15. 4. 2 Kings 8. 19. 2 Chron. 21. 7. and the Lamp of the wicked is a Phrase used in this
of thy youth c For then thou art most able to do it and thou owest the best of thy Time and Strength to God then thou hast opportunity to do it and thou maist not live till Old-age then it will be most acceptable to God and most comfortable to thy self as the best evidence of thy sincerity and the best provision for Old-age and Death and then it is most necessary for the conquering those impetuous Lusts and Passions which drown so many Thousands of young Men in perdition both in this Life and in thaâ—… to come while the evil days d The time of Old-age which is evil i. e. burdensome and calamitous in itself and far more grievous and terrible when it is loaded with the sad remembrance of a mans youthful Follies and Lusts and with the dreadful prospect of approaching Death and Judgment which makes him see that he cannot live and yet dare not die and with the consideration and experience of the hardness of his heart which in that age is rarely brought to true Repentance and so generally expires either in vain presumption or in hellish desperation come not nor the years draw nigh * See 2 Sam. 19. 35. when thou shalt say I have no pleasure in them e My Life is now bitter and burdensome to me and worse than death which is frequently the condition of Old-age 2 While the sun or the light or the moon or the stars be not darkned f Heb. While the sun and the light and the moon c. That clause and the light seems to be added to signifie that he speaks of the darkning of the Sun and Moon and Stars not in themselves or in their own Bodies but only in respect of that light which they afford to men And therefore the same clause which is expressed after the Sun is to be understood after the Moon and Stars as is very usual in Scripture in like cases And those Expressions are to be understood either 1. Literally of the dimsightedness of old men by reason whereof the light of the Sun c. seems dark to them Which seems not to agree with the Context partly because the dimness of their sight is expressed in the next verse and partly because both this and the following verses are wholly Allegorical Or rather 2. Figuratively and that either 1. Of the outward parts of the Body and especially of the Face the Beauty of the Countenance the lightsom and pleasant complexion of the Cheeks the liveliness of the Eyes which are compared to the Sun and Moon and Stars and which are obscured in Old-age as the Chaldee Paraphrast understands it Or 2. Of the inward parts of the mind the Understanding Phancy Memory which may not unfitly be resembled to the Sun and Moon and Stars and all which are sensibly decayed in most old Men. For it may seem improbable that Solomon in his description of the infirmities of Old-age should omit the decays of the most noble part of Man which are commonly incident to Old age And yet with submission to those worthy persons who think otherwise it seems not necessary that he should here speak of those inward decays partly because they are not so general in old Men as the decays of the Body are partly because he here directeth his Speech to sensual men who are more affected with corporal than with intellectual maladies and partly because both the foregoing and following passages concern the state of Mens Bodies and their outward condition Or rather 3. Of external things and of the great change of their joy and prosperity which they had in their youthful time into sorrow and manifold calamities which are usually the companions of Old-age For this interpretation seems best to agree both with the foregoing verse in which he describes the miseries of Old-age and with the following clause which is added to explain and determine those otherwise ambiguous Expressions and with the Scripture use of this Phrase which is the best key for the understanding of Scripture for a state of Comfort and Happiness is oft described by the Light of the Sun c. as Iudg. 5. 31. 2 Sam. 23. 4. Isa. 30. 26. 60. 20. and a time and state of great trouble is set forth by the darkning of the Light of the Sun c. as Isa. 13. 9 c. 24. 23. Ioel 2. 10. 3. 15. Mat. 24. 29. and oft elsewhere nor the clouds return after the rain g This Phrase notes a perpetual Succession and Reciprocation of Rain and Clouds bringing Rain and then Rain and Clouds again and so without end Whereby he expresseth either 1. The Rheums or Defluxions which do abundantly and incessantly flow in and from old Men for want of natural heat and strength to prevent or remove them Or rather 2. The continual vicissitude of Infirmities Diseases and Grieâ—…s in old Men one deep calling upon another and one Affliction beginning at the end of another whereas in young Men after Rain the Clouds are dispersed and fair weather succeeds 3 In the day when the keepers of the house h i. e. Of the Body which is oft and fitly compared to an house as Iob 4. 19. Psal. 119. 54. 2 Cor. 5. 1. Whose keepers here are either 1. The Ribs and Bones into which they are fastened which are the Guardians of the inward and vital parts which also are much weakned and shaken by Old-age Or rather 2. The Hands and Arms which are mans best instruments to defend his Body from the assaults of Men or Beasts and which in a special manner are subject to this trembling by paralitical or other like distempers that are most incident to old Men. shall tremble and the strong men i Either the Back or the Thighs and Legs in which the main strength of the Body doth consist which in old Men are very seeble and unable both for the support of the Body and for motion shall bow themselves and ‖ Or 〈◊〉 â—…ders 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 they grind little the grinders k The Teeth those especially which are commonly so called because they grind the Meat which we eat cease l To wit to perform their Office because they are few m Heb. because they are diminished either 1. In strength Or 2. In number being here one and there another and not united together and one directly against another and consequently unfit for their work and those that look out of the windows n The Eyes By windows he understands either 1. The holes in which the Eyes are fixed Zech. 14. 12. Or 2. The Eye-lids which like windows are either opened or shut Or 3. Those Humours and Coats of the Eyes noted by Anatomists which are the chief Instruments by which the Eye sees be darkened 4 And the doors be shut in the streets o Or towardâ—… the streets which lead into the streets This is understood either 1. Literally because men