31 of the world. Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his colour in the cup, [when] it moveth itself aright. A moft lively and beautiful paffage, in which the wine is compared to a wicked woman, who puts on her most graceful and attractive airs to allure the un32 wary. At the last it biteth like a ferpent, and ftingeth like an adder; it will be rank poifon in thy veins, destroy 33 thy peace, and ruin thy foul. Thine eyes fhall behold ftrange women, and thine heart fhall utter perverse things; thy lustful defires will be inflamed, and thine heart or tongue utter filthy, fcurrilous, blafphemous words, with34 out prudence, and without decency. Yea, thou fhalt be as he that lieth down in the midft of the fea, or as he that lieth upon the top of a maft, who falls asleep where he was fet to watch, he is liable to be toffed off every moment, and perish without remedy, yet thinks himself fecure, and 35 Jeeps foundly. They have ftricken me, [fhalt thou say, and] I was not fick; they have beaten me, [and] I felt [it] not: when fhall I awake? I will feek it yet again; notwithstanding all the dangers which the fot runs thro', and the indignities and injuries he fuffers in his drink, no fooner doth he awake but he runs the fame round of folly and extravagance. This beautifully expreffes the confidence and obftinacy of drunkards, whofe fenfes and understanding are fo Stupified that they fear no danger. An awful warning to us all, to take heed, left at any time our hearts be overcharged with furfeiting and drunkenness; for we may foon go from bad to worse, and never be roufed, till we fall into the lake that burneth with fire and brimstone, which is the fecond death, and which the word of God affures us fhall be the •portion of all drunkards; therefore let us ftand in awe and fin not.

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CHA P. XXIV.

E not thou envious against evil men, neither defire to be with them; do not think them so happy 2 as to wish thyself in their circumstances. For their heart studieth destruction, and their lips talk of mischief. 3 Through

3 Through wisdom is an houfe builded; and by undertanding it is eftablished: that is, by prudence and difcretion families are fupported and handsomely maintained: And by knowledge fhall the chambers be filled with all precious and pleasant riches; all things neceffary for con5 venience and ornament. A wife man [is] ftrong; yea, a man of knowledge increaseth ftrength; he knows how to defend and fecure himself, and is not expofed to fo many dan6gers and perplexities as others. For by wife counfel thou fhalt make thy war: and in multitude of counsellers [there is] fafety; it is prudent to think of important matters frequently and clofely, and to take the advice of others. 7 Wisdom [is] too high for a fool: he openeth not his mouth in the gate; he may be loud and noify enough among his vain companions, but when he comes among the judges, or to the places where wife men refort, he has nothing to say, or, if he fpeaks, he is treated with contempt. What an idea does this fcripture give us of a great many of thofe gay fluttering creatures, who think themselves fo very confiderable! 8 He that devifeth to do evil fhall be called a mischievous perfon; a malignant wretch, who breaks in upon the comforts of human life, and fhall become odious and hateful to 9 mankind. The thought of foolishness [is] fin; it is finful to harbour evil thoughts, and will expofe men to the condemnation of an heart fearching God: and the fcorner, who openly makes a jest of fin, [is] an abomination to 10 men. [If] thou faint in the day of adverfity, thy ftrength [is] fmall; if thou fink into defpair and melancholy, and art difcouraged from thy duty, it shows the mind to be weak and unfortified. Great pains therefore fhould be taken to keep up the firmness of the mind, and not to fink 11 under little difficulties and troubles. If thou forbear to do thy utmost to deliver [them that are] drawn unto death, and [thofe that are] ready to be flain, who are unjustly 12 condemned, or violently affaulted; If thou fayeft, Behold, we knew it not, either his danger, or innocence, or the way to deliver him; doth not he that pondereth the heart confider [it?] and he that keepeth, or preferveth, thy foul, doth [not] he know [it?] how far thy excufes and reafons are well grounded': and fhall [not] he render to [every]

[every] man according to his works? Sins of omiffion are charged to our account, especially a negle of doing good to others, and much more of delivering their fouls from de13 ftruction. My fon, eat thou honey, because [it is] good; and the honeycomb [which is] fweet to thy tafte; you are determined in your choice of diet, by its being 14 agreeable to your taste: So [fhall] the knowledge of wif dom [be] unto thy foul: when thou haft found [it,] then there fhall be a reward, and thy expectation fhall not be cut off; it is not only delightful at prefent, but 15 fhall be abundantly rewarded. Lay not wait, O wicked [man,] fecretly, against the dwelling of the righteous; 16 fpoil not openly his refting place: For a juft [man] falleth feven times, and rifeth up again; he falleth into trouble many times, and God delivereth him: but the wicked fhall fall into mischief, into irrecoverable deftruc17 tion. Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth into a calamitous condition, and let not thine heart be glad 18 when he stumbleth: Left the LORD fee [it,] and it dif

please him, and he turn away his wrath from him, and 19 turn it upon thee, for thy malicious, wicked joy. Fret not thyself because of evil [men,] neither be thou envious 20 at the wicked; For there fhall be no reward to the evil

i

[man;] the candle of the wicked fhall be put out; all 21 his comfort and hopes fhall be loft at once. My fon, fear thou the LORD and the king: [and] meddle not with 22 them that are given to change: For their calamity fhall rife fuddenly, by precipitate measures men may ruin themfelves and thofe about them: and who knoweth the ruin of them both? of thofe that fear not God and the king. 23 Thefe [things] alfo [belong] to the wife, who may receive further inftruction. [It is] not good to have refpect of perfons in judgment; it is enormously wicked to confider their relation, wealth, greatness, friendship, connections, or 24 any thing but the merits of the cafe. He that faith unto the wicked, Thou [art] righteous; him fhall the people

curfe,

i We are not here forbidden to attempt a change in a bad government when providence gives an opportunity; it is only a general intimation of the imprudence of attempting it without juft grounds and reasonable expectation of faccess.

curfe, nations fhall abhor him; his countrymen and other 25 nations that hear of his crime, fhall abhor him: But to them that rebuke [him] fhall be delight, a faithful re. prover shall be honoured, and a good bleffing, the bleffing of a good man, or the bleffing of the wicked who become good, 26 fhall come upon them. [Every man] fhall kifs [his] lips that giveth a right answer; he will be greatly esteem27 ed for his prudence and good understanding. Prepare thy work without, and make it fit for thyfelf in the field; and afterwards build thine houfe; this is capable of two fenfes, and both very important. Prepare for thy work a booth or hut in the field, and afterwards build a house; begin low and live fparingly, and afterwards build. An important maxim which few attend to, tho' they fee others ruined for want of regarding it. Or it may refer to prudence in undertaking any great work, and be a caution not to begin a great, expenfive undertaking, till there be fubStance to compleat it, and the neceffary materials be prepared. 28 Be not a witness against thy neighbour without caufe; and deceive [not] with thy lips; do not endeavour by crafty infinuations to draw others into an ill opinion of him, 29 tho' he has injured thee. Say not, I will do fo to him as he hath done to me: I will render to the man according to his work; our having been injured or deceived by others, gives us no toleration to injure and deceive them. The rest of the chapter is a beautiful and inftructive para30 ble. I went by the field of the flothful, and by the

vineyard of the man void of understanding; thefe are 31 fynonymous terms; And, lo, it was all grown over with thorns, [and] nettles had covered the face thereof, and the ftone wall thereof was broken down: we fee many people's fields and gardens in this condition, and we often fee the like within doors as well as without; many perfons are 32 in a continual litter and confufion thro' mere idleness. Then I faw, [and] confidered [it] well: I looked upon [it, and] received inftruction; the wifeft men may and ought to learn inftruction from impertinent, idle, ufelefs creatures; if we will confider their example and conduct well, we may 33 learn to avoid their errors, and do better ourselves. [Yet] a little fleep, a little flumber, a little folding of the

hands

hands to fleep a little longer, and then I will put my good 34 refolutions into practice: So fhall thy poverty come [as] one that travelleth, filently, infenfibly, and unexpectedly, and thy want as an armed man; at length it shall feize thee in a powerful, irresistible manner. We have too many fuch inftances as this before our eyes: let us look upon them; confider them well; and receive instruction: God intends that we should do fo. Industry is a duty we owe to God, to ourselves, to our families, and to fociety. As we defire to fecure our fubftance, our comfort, our credit, our usefulnefs, and the favour of God, let us not be flothful in bufinefs, but fervent in fpirit, ferving the Lord.

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CHA P. XXV.

k

HESE [are] alfo proverbs of Solomon, which the men of Hezekiah king of Judah copied 2 out. [It is] the glory of God to conceal a thing, the reafons of his judgments and decrees: but the honour of kings [is] to fearch out a matter; to fearch out fecret contri3 vances and intricate cafes. The heaven for height, and the earth for depth, and the heart of kings [is] unfearchable to vulgar minds, and prudently concealed from others. These two verfes are an important leffon to princes not to indulge themselves in an idle life, but to enquire diligently into things, and make necessary remarks upon them, 4 and yet maintain a prudent referve. Take away the drofs from the filver, and there fhall come forth a beautifu 5 veffel for the finer. Take away the wicked [from] before the king, and his throne fhall be established in righteousness; remove wicked minifters, and then the pub6 lick affairs will go on profperously. Put not forth thy felf in the presence of the king, and ftand not in the place of great [men;] do not appear too fplendid for one of thy

rank,

These were probably fome prophets that Hezekiah felected out of the publick fchools, to attend in his court as domeftick chaplains; they copied thefe proverbs out of fome private collections, and published them for general inftruction. A ufeful defign, as many of them contain as much important fenfe and folidity as any that were before made publick.