- The teacher promises his pupil the highest advantages,
if he will follow the dictates of wisdom, 1-9.
- He shall be happy in its enjoyment, 10,11;
- shall be
saved from wicked men, 12-15;
- and from the snares of
bad women, 16-19;
- be a companion of the good and
upright; and be in safety in the land, when the wicked
shall be rooted out of it, 20-22.
Verse 1. My son
Here the tutor still continues to instruct his
disciple.
Hide my commandments with
thee
Treasure them up in thy heart, and
then act from them through the medium of thy
affections. He who has the rule of his duty only
in his Bible and in his head, is not likely to
be a steady, consistent character; his heart is not engaged,
and his obedience, in any case, can be only forced, or
done from a sense of duty: it is not the obedience of a
loving, dutiful child, to an affectionate
father. But he who has the word of God in his
heart, works from his heart; his heart goes with
him in all things, and he delights to do the will of his
heavenly Father, because his law is in his heart. See
Proverbs
3:3.
Verse 4. If thou seekest her as
silver
How do men seek money? What will
they not do to get rich? Reader, seek the salvation of thy
soul as earnestly as the covetous man seeks wealth; and be
ashamed of thyself, if thou be less in earnest after the
true riches than he is after perishing
wealth.
Hid treasures
The original word signifies property of any kind
concealed in the earth, in caves or such like; and may
also mean treasures, such as the precious metals
or precious stones, which are presumptively known to
exist in such and such mines. And how are these sought?
Learn from the following circumstance: In the Brazils
slaves are employed to scrape up the soil from the bed
of the Rio Janeiro, and wash it carefully, in order to find
particles of gold and diamonds; and it is a law
of the state, that he who finds a diamond of so many carats
shall have his freedom. This causes the greatest ardour
and diligence in searching, washing out the soil, picking,
greatest anxiety for success; so precious is liberty to
the human heart. This method of searching for gold and
precious stones is alluded to in Proverbs
3:13-15. In this way Solomon wishes men to seek for
wisdom, knowledge, and understanding; and he who succeeds
finds the liberty of the children of God, and is saved
from the slavery of sin and the empire of
death.
Verse 7. He layeth up sound
wisdom
tushiyah. We have met with
this word in Job; see Job
5:12;; 6:13;;
11:6;;
12:16.
See especially Clarke's note on "Job 11:6", where the
different acceptations of the word are given. Coverdale
translates, "He preserveth the welfare of the righteous." It
is difficult to find, in any language, a term proper to
express the original meaning of the word; its seems to mean
generally the essence or substance of a thing,
THE thing itself-that which is chief of its
kind. He layeth up WHAT IS ESSENTIAL for the
righteous.
Verse 9. Then shalt thou
understand
He who is taught of God
understands the whole law of justice, mercy,
righteousness, and truth; God has written this on
his heart. He who understands these things by books
only is never likely to practise or profit by them.
Verse 11. Discretion shall preserve
thee
mezimmah. See on Proverbs
1:4. Here the word is taken in a good sense, a good
device. The man invents purposes of good; and all
his schemes, plans, and devices, have for their
object God's glory and the good of man: he deviseth liberal
things, and by liberal things he shall stand. Coverdale
translates, "Then shall COUNSEL preserve thee." A very good
translation, much better than the present.
Verse 12. The man that speaketh
froward things.
tahpuchoth, things
of subversion; from taphach, to turn or
change the course of a thing. Men who wish to
subvert the state of things, whether
civil or religious; who are seditious
themselves, and wish to make others so. These speak much of
liberty and oppression, deal greatly in broad
assertions, and endeavour especially to corrupt the minds
of youth.
Verse 16. The stranger which
flattereth with her words
hechelikah, she that smooths with her words.
The original intimates the glib, oily speeches of a
prostitute. The English lick is supposed to be
derived from the original word.
Verse 17. Which forsaketh the guide
of her youth
Leaves her father's house and
instructions, and abandons herself to the public.
The covenant of her
God.
Renounces the true religion,
and mixes with idolaters; for among them prostitution
was enormous. Or by the covenant may be meant the
matrimonial contract, which is a covenant made in
the presence of God between the contracting
parties, in which they bind themselves to be faithful
to each other.
Verse 18. For her house inclineth
unto death
It is generally in by and
secret places that such women establish themselves.
They go out of the high road to get a residence; and
every step that is taken towards their house is a step towards
death. The path of sin is the path of ruin: the path of
duty is the way of safety. For her paths incline
unto the dead, repheim, the inhabitants of
the invisible world. The woman who abandons herself to
prostitution soon contracts, and generally
communicates, that disease, which, above all
others, signs the speediest and most effectual passport
to the invisible world. Therefore it is said,
Verse 19. None that go unto her
return again
There are very few instances
of prostitutes ever returning to the paths of sobriety and
truth; perhaps not one of such as become prostitutes
through a natural propensity to debauchery.
Among those who have been deceived, debauched, and
abandoned, many have been reclaimed; and to such alone
penitentiaries may be useful; to the others they may
only be incentives to farther sinning. Rakes and
debauchees are sometimes converted: but most of them
never lay hold on the path of life; they have
had their health destroyed, and never recover
it. The original, chaiyim, means lives; not only
the health of the body is destroyed, but the
soul is ruined. Thus the unhappy man may be said
to be doubly slain.
Verse 20. That thou mayest
mark
Therefore thou shalt walk.
Verse 22.
Transgressors
bogedim. The
garment men, the hypocrites; those who act
borrowed characters, who go under a cloak;
dissemblers. All such shall be rooted out of the
land; they shall not be blessed with posterity. In
general it is so: and were it not so, one evil offspring
succeeding another, adding their own to their
predecessors' vices, the earth would become so
exceedingly corrupt that a second flood, or a
fire, would be necessary to purge it.
