THE RICH AND POOR MEET TOGETHER— The world does not consist all of
rich, nor all of poor; but they are mixed together, and have need one
of another, and will properly harmonise if they consider that there is
one Lord who is the creator of both, who hath by his providence
ordered this inequality for... [ Continue Reading ]
BY HUMILITY AND THE FEAR OF THE LORD— _The reward of meekness, which
is the fear of the Lord, is wealth,_ &c. Schultens. Houbigant renders
it, _The rewards of modesty and the fear of the Lord, are,_ &c. Or it
may be rendered, _The fruit of humility._ &c.... [ Continue Reading ]
TRAIN UP A CHILD— _Initiate, instruct, catechise; lay down the first
rudiments._ Houbigant. Horace says remarkably, (considering him as
under the Heathen dispensation,)
_———Nunc adbibe puro,_ &c. Ephesians 2 lib. 1: ad fin.
———Now pliantly inure Your mind to virtue, while your heart is
pure; Now s... [ Continue Reading ]
HE THAT SOWETH INIQUITY, &C.— Houbigant renders this, _He that
soweth iniquity shall reap vanity: the rod shall disperse and
dissipate his labour:_ and he supposes the idea to be taken from
sowing and harvest. See Isaiah 28:27. Schultens says the meaning is,
that, "He who soweth iniquity, when he th... [ Continue Reading ]
HE THAT LOVETH PURENESS OF HEART— The LXX and Arabic read, _The Lord
loveth pure hearts, and all those who are free from sin are acceptable
to him._ They who insist upon the Hebrew reading as perfect, must
imagine the sense to be, "The Lord loveth purity of heart: the king is
a friend to the grace o... [ Continue Reading ]
THE MOUTH OF STRANGE WOMEN IS A DEEP PIT— Maundrell, describing the
passage out of the jurisdiction of the Basha of Aleppo into that of
the Basha of Tripoli, tells us, that the road was rocky and uneven,
but attended with variety. "Sometimes it led us under the cool shade
of thick trees; sometimes t... [ Continue Reading ]
FOOLISHNESS IS BOUND, &C.— Ignorance, weakness, inclination to evil,
corruption of heart, are maladies which accompany all men from their
birth: education, instruction, correction, under the influence of
Divine grace, cure them, or diminish very much their ill effects.
Calmet. Dr. Taylor's gloss is,... [ Continue Reading ]
HE THAT OPPRESSETH THE POOR, &C.— _He who spoileth the poor that he
may abound in riches, shall himself give to the rich, and want._
Houbigant. From this verse, there is scarcely any interpreter but has
observed that another form of speech, very different from the
preceding, begins and continues to... [ Continue Reading ]
HAVE NOT I WRITTEN TO THEE EXCELLENT THINGS— Many of the ancient
versions read _threefold things,_ in which they are followed by
Schultens and Grotius. The Jews distinguished philosophy under three
branches; morality, physics, and divinity. Solomon wrote in all these
branches, as appears from 1 King... [ Continue Reading ]
MAKE NO FRIENDSHIP WITH AN ANGRY MAN— "By how much the more devoutly
the laws of friendship among good men are to be observed, by so much
the more it stands us upon to use all caution, even at the very first,
in the prudent election of friends; and, let the dispositions and
humours of our friends be... [ Continue Reading ]
REMOVE NOT THE ANCIENT LAND-MARK— The plain meaning of this seems to
be, "Be content with thy paternal estate, and endeavour not to
increase it by unjust means." See chap. Proverbs 23:10.... [ Continue Reading ]
SEEST THOU A MAN DILIGENT IN HIS BUSINESS— Solomon does not merely
commend industry and diligence, as some understand it; but something
more, which the Hebrew word מהיר _mahir,_ plainly imports; namely,
speed, swiftness, readiness, and cheerfulness in the dispatch of
business; to which is required a... [ Continue Reading ]