r All forts of bleſſings are wiſhed to them by Men,and confer- red upon them by God. He fairh, «por their head, either to ſhew chat theſe Bleſſings come from above : and that openly in the fight of the World, ſo that he can confidently ſpeak of them to God's Praiſe, and to his own comfort and honour ; or becauſe Bleflings were commonly pronounced by Men with this Cerem-ny,by lay- ing their hands upon rhe head «cf the party biefled. 5 Yolence ( et- ther. 1. Their own Viclence or unjuitice, which may be here pur
KVer. 43.
nent of Iniquity. Or 2.V iolence,or the violent and injurious, and miſchievous pra&ices of others againſt them, deſerved by their own Violence committed againſt others, and inflicted upon them: by the curſe and Righteous Judgmcnt of God ) ſba# cover che mouth of cha wicked, 5. e. ſhall fall upon them. This Phraſe of covering their Mouth, is uſed either, «. With alluſion ro the ancient cuſtom of covering the Mouths and Faces of condemned Maletactors ; of which ſee Efth. 7. 8. Job 9.24. : and jade of God m_ them {ſhould be ſo manifeſtly juſt, thar their Mouths ſhould be ſtopped,and they nor be able ro ſpeak a word againſt God, or for themſelves. Or, 3, To intimate that Gods judg- ment upon them ſhould be publick and evident to all that behold them, as any covering put upon a mans Mouth or Face 15, as for the ſame Reaſon the Bleſſings of the Juſt were ſaid to be upon their Heads. And the Mouth may be pur for the Face, or Conntenance, by a Synecdoche : Bur this Clauſe 1s otherways rendred by divers lear- ned Interpreters, the mouth of the wicked covereth ( z. e. concealeth or ſmothererh within it ſelf. and doth not utter that ) violence or Injury, which he medirateth in his Heart, and deligneth ro doto others, and therefore ſhall be accurfed and miſerable. Bur this ſuits not ſo well with theformer Clauſe, wherein the Bleſſmgs of the
'2 * The LORD will not ſuffer the ſoul ofthe righ- reous to famitlh ; : but he caſteth away || the ſubſtance &
or # Will preſerve them from Famine, according to his Promiſes, thir Wie Pſal. 34. :0. and elſewhere, which, as other temporal Promiſes, is
for the fruit or puniſhment of it, as Þ:quiry is oft put for the punuth- |
Or, 2. To ſignifie that the curſe |
Providence for his prote&tion, and being ſupportted by the Teſti- mony ofa good Conſcience, and theretore not fearing nor caring who knows or obſerves his Actions, which he endeavours to 2pprove both to God and ro men. c That wa'ks perverſely, or fro- wardly, or in crooked and finful paths ; that dealeth hypocriti- cally and deceitfully with God, or with men, uſing all pcflible crafts to conceal his wickedneſs. d His wickedneſs fball be pub-
keanelse not to be underſtood ſimply and univerſally, but with this limitati- lickly diſcovered, and ſo he ſhall be expolecd ro all that ſhame and on, except this be neceilary for Gods Glory, which in all reaſon | Puniſhment which his fins deſerve, and which he thought by his ſhould over-rule the Creatures good, and for their own greater be- | cunning practices to avoid. ] _ For ” ur nothing wrtary 6 Fey inns ep m_ P o * He that winketh with the eye e cauſeth ſorrow kn, - good mans death, it 1s Certainly 1N me times and Cales, a lets * bu * a MK erl. | evil for men to be killed with amine, than to ſurvive to ſee and |! . T_— Fr " 7, fool b | Lo Fall. [|Or,ſhak feel thoſe miſeries which are coming upon them, and upon the NO Pei = ecretly and cunningly deſigns miſchiefs againſt others,as beaten, Land where they live. &k As this word is uled, Pſal. 52: 7. orthe ws, a mY uſed, Pſal; 35. 19. Prov. 6.13. f To others, and after- i Wickedneſs, i, e. the wealth gotten by wickedneſs, as Righteouſneſs, wv. : ards to himlelf. g Or, ana, as It 15 1n the Hebrew : for vice is not 2. is by divers underſtood of an Ettate got with Righteouſneſs. "cre oppolcdto vertue, as it is in many other Proverbs, bur 16 oh pin } Who by that incans ſhal be expoſed to wantarud Famine iS Compared with another. 4 Who is ſo far from ſuch deceits, thar
« pf vr = 4 none”. ths Seals £ "8 he runs into the other extream, and attererk all kis mind, as is ſaid of
ed - < & DECOMETN POOrT, " the Fool, Prov. 29. 11. and thereby ſpeaks many things offenſive ,
to others, and m ſchievousto himſelf. Ir * The mouth of che righteous man is a well of ife 3. Z : but * violence covereth the mouth of ths wicked &. z; Continually ſending furth waters of Life, or ſuch good and wholſom words, as are very refreſhing and uſeful both ro themſelves and others, for the preſerving of their natural Lite, and for the pro moting of their ſpiritual and eternal Lite. We have the ſame Phraſe, Pſal: 6: 9. k The fame words were uſed before, wv. 6. where ſee the Notes; and they may be underſtood in the ſame ſenſe here,and the oppoſition of this clauſe to the former, may be conceived thus: As the mouth of a g20d man ſpeaketh thoſe things which are good & beneficial to himielf and others,ſo the Mouth of'the wicked ut. tereth violence, or injury, or things 1-jurious to others, which at Jaſt fall upon himſelf, Burt it is no new thing for the ſame words and Phrates to be taken in different ſenſes in rhe ſameChaprer,and ſomerimes in the ſame verſe, as Marth. 8. 22. and eliewhere ; and therefore theſe words may here be, and are, by many tranſlated and interpreted thus, the mouth ef the wicked coverethy( i. e. concealeth ) violence or miſchief which he plotteth againſt ethers. And ſo here is a double oppolirion between the Righteous and the wicked ; firſt in the contrary effects, the former cauſeth life, tke latter mifchief . and death ; and 1tecondly in the manner of producing them, the Righteous doth it by uttering his words, and the wicked doth it by concealing his mind.
F
all ſins 9. DS «= I Upon every flightoccafion, by filling men with ſuſpicions and Per. ſurmilzs, whereby they imagine faults where there are none, and aggravate every {mall offence. m Either doth not ſeverely obſerve,
or doth willingly torgert and forgive the Offences or Injuries of o= + thers, and ſo preventeth contention and miſchief.
13 Inthe lips of him that hath underſtanding wiſdom is found » : but * a rod 3s for the back of him o that is
void of f underſtanding p. BS » His Wiſdom ſkeweth it felf in his prudent ſpeeches, by wh'ch : | he eſcapeth that Rod which fools meet with, and gainerh that Re- putation and Advantage to himſelf which Fools loſe» 0 He may ex-