ning waters out of thine own well c. d. Cc. is Meyaphor contained here, and v. 16, 17, 18. is to be unde ;. either, 1. of the free and lawful uſe of a mans eſtate,
ed to own the Children of Whoredom.
ed with Children; for Barrenneis was eſteemed a curſe and re-
$*Remove thy way far from her, and come not nigh
the door of her houſe /. I Leſt thine eyes affe& thine Heart, and her allurments prevail
over thee. :
9 Leſt thou give thine honour # unro others », and
thy years ounto the cruel p.
w Thy Digoity and Repuration the ſtrength and vigour of thy Body and Mind, which isan honour to a man,and which are com- monly waſted by Adulterous practices. » Unto Whores and their Husbands and,Children and Friends. o The flour of thine age, thy youthful years. p To the Harlor, who thotigh ſhe pretends ar» dent Love and kindneſs to thee, yet in truth is one of the moſt cru- el Creatures in the World, waſting thy Eſtate and Body without che leaſt pity, and rhen caſting thee off with ſcorn and contempt, and when ber Intereſt requires it, taking away thy very life, of which there are innumerable examples, and damning thy Soul for EVer.
x0 Leſt ſtrangers 9 be filled with + thy wealth, and thy labours r be in the houſe of a ſtranger,
1 ot only the ſtrange women themſelves, but Bawds, Panders, an Adulterers, who are in league with them. r Wealth got- ten by thy labours.
11 And thou mourn at the laſt 5, when thy fleſh, and
body t are conſumed s.
5 Bitterly bewailthy own madneſs and miſery when it is too late. # Thy. Fleſh, even thy Body 3 the particle, and, being put expoſt- tively, s By thoſe manifold diſeaſes which filthy and inordinate Lufts bring upon the oy, of which Phyſicians give a very large and ſad Catalogue,and the Bodies of many Adulterers give full proof, 22 And fay, How have I hated inſtruction x, and my heart deſpiſed reproof j?
'x Oh what a mad beaſt have | been to hate and fleight the fair watnings which were given me,and againſt mine own knowledge, to run headlong into. this pit of deſtruction! Which are not the words of a true penitent mourning for, and turning from his fin, buit only of a man who is grived for the ſad effe&s of his delightful Luſts, and tormented with the horour ofhis own guilty Conſcience. 7 I did with my whole heart abhor all admonirions: |.
13And have not obeyed the voice of my Teachers z,
nor enclined mine ear to them that.inſtructed me.
& Of my Parents and Friends, and Miniſters, who faithfully and
; ol + ol informed me of thoſe miſchicfs and miſeries which now
14 I was almoſt in all evil a, in the midft of the
congregation and Aſſembly 6.
s Oh what a miſerable man am I! There is ſcarce any miſery in re- ſpet of Eſtate, or Body, or Soul, into which I am not already plunged. The words alſoare and may well be rendred thus. In s moment 1 am come into all' evil. la how little a time, and for what ſhort and momentany pleaſures am I now come into extream and re- medileſsmiſery ! 5 I who deſigned and expeQed to enjoy my Luſts with ſecrecy, and impunity, am now made a publick example and
meful ſpectacle to all men,and that in the Congregation of 1ſreel, where I was taught better things, and where ſuch Attions are moſt
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 praftices: This beſt ſuits with the whole context both foregoing and following : and thus it is explained'in the end of wv. t8." Sothe ſenſe is, Content thy ſelf with thoſe delights which Gol alleweth thee, with the ſober uſe of the Marriage Bed. Why ſtheufdſt rhou ramble hither and thither, treſpaſſing againſt God and tenjito-fteal their Waters which thou mighteſt freely take out of thine own Ciſternn or Wel); The ground of the Metaphor us ig that raters were ſcarce and precious inthoſe Countries,and
re men uſed to make Ciſterns and Wells for their own pri- vate uſe.. And the ſame Metaphor of Waters, and of a Pit, or Wel AS 4 wro things of this nature elſewhere, as Prov: 23: 27: Iſs:
po os x
{1,03 t.” x | x6 Le: thy fountains 4 be diſperſed abroad e, and r1-
atersin the ſtreets.
&- -- {> 5 Us Wa, 22 PE = " | >] "+6 Q © 9 i] © - D wy > - A.
given to Children, becauſe as they are Rivers in reſpe& of their arents,ſo when they grow up, they alſo beceme Fountains to their Children. e They fhall be multiplied, and in due time appear abroad In the World to thy Comfort and Honour, and for the good of o- thiers: whereas Whores are commonly: barren, and men are aſham«
17 Let thembeonly thine own, and not ftrangers
with thee ff EY
f Hereby thou miyeſt be ſecyred, that thou doſt not father and leave thine Eſtate to other mens Children ; whereas the Parents of Harlots Children are common or uncertain
' 48 Let thy fountain g bebleſſed b, and rejoyce with the wife 5.of thy. youth &,
£ Thy Wife, as the next clauſe explains it. þ She ſhall be bleſ-
35m eſpecially among the Iſraelites. Or, rather, ſhe ſhall be a lefling and a Comfort to thee, asit follows,and not a Curſe and a Snare, as an Harlot will be. # Seek not to Harlots for thar delight which God alloweth thee to take with thy Wife. So here he ex- Plains the foregoing Metaphor, and applies it to his preſent deſign.
PROT E RB 8:
|
with whom therefore in all reaſon and juſtice thou art fill to fa- tisfy thy ſelf, even when ſhe is old. Or he mentions Nouth, becauſe that is the ſeaſon 3n which men are moſt prone to unclean practices, _ which men are commonly fortified by the infirmities of Md Age.
thou raviſht o always with her love.
2. to Princes and great men, who uſed to make them, tame and fa- miliar, and to take great delight in them. as hath been noted by many Writers ; of which ſee my Latine Synopſis. mn 7. e. Her Loves and Embraces, expreſſed by lying between the Breaſts, Cant. 1+ 13: Compare Exzek:23:3,8.2i-nAt all convenient times: For that there may be exceſs in the uſe of the Marriage- Bed is manifeſt, not on- ly from many Scriptures, but from the light of Nature, and thu conſent of wile and ſober Heathens, who have laid reſtraints upon men in this peculiar. A man may be drunk with his own Wine and intemperate with his own Wife. Or, inall ages and conditi» ons. Do not only love her when ſhe is young and beautiful, but alſo when ſhe is 01d and deformed. 0 Love herfervently. Ir is an HypcrbolicalExpreſfſion.
. 20 And why wilt thou, my ſon, be raviſht with a ſtrange Woman p,and embrace the boſom of a ſtranger?