The Pulpit Commentary — Proverbs — Section 104

each one of thoe~ who receive tho precepts is conveyed to the remotest extremities of of wisdom. •'fhe all implies the cowplete- the body. And as the bodily health de- ness of the restorntion ; it is not confined to pends on the healthy action of the heart, so one part, but pervo.des the whole body. the moral health depends on and is in- Ver. 23.-Keep thy he11.rt with 11.ll dili- fluenced by the state in which this sprin"" genoe ; properly, above all things that ha1Je of all action is preserved. Issues; tottl a6th.. to be guarded, keep or guard thy heart. So from yatsiir, "to go forth," are the place from Mercerue, Geeenius, Delitzscb, Zockler. which anything goes forth, and hence a Thie seeinFJ to be the right menning of the fountain. For "the issues of life," the phrase, mildcol-mish'mar, rendered in the LXX. reads, l!oBo, (~•. the Vnlgate, ezitus Authorized Version "with o.11 diligence," tJitre. With this passage compare our Lord's mish'mar, from. sh~miir, "to guard," being teaching (Matt. xv. HI; Mark vii. 21-23; the object of guarding; tho.t which is to be Luke vi. 43--45). guarded. It is o.s if the tee.eh er snid, "Guo.rd Ver. 24.-The following admonitions of riches, property, heo.lth, body, everything, in this chapter bear reference to the outward short, in which you he.ve e. legitimo.te in- conduct of life. They continue the subject terest, or which is advo.ntageoua; but before of ver. 23 by showing how the guarding of and above everything else, keep e. guo.rd on the heart is to be done. There is the most your heart. The rabbins Jo.rcbi, Ben Ezro., intimate connection between the heart as Rashi, however, give a different rendering, the fountain of the moral life and of the con- : "From everything which is to be avoided duct of life, which, though determined by (ab omni re· cavenda) gnard thy heart;" but the condition of the heart, in its turn reacts ' the objection to this is that it ignores the upon the heart as the moral centre, and radical meaning of the verb shamiir, from keeps it pure. Thus the subject is treated which mish'mar is derived, as stated above, from its two sides. On vers. 24 e.nd 25 which is not that of avoiding, but of guard- Hitzig remarks that they "warn against an ing. A third rendering is," Keep thy heart arbitrary perverting of the moral judgment with o.11 keeping;" so the Vulgate, omni into which evil passions so easily betray, custodia serva cor tuum; and the LXX., and atlmonieh not to give misdirection to 1rd11r, ,pv>..a,cff .,.~P" 11¾," Ka.p6!a.,; on which thought within the department of morality." , the Authorized Version seems to be based. A froward month, 8lld perverse lips; lite- ' Another rendering, similar to the first, ex- rally,peroerseness of mouth and ,cay,oardness cept that it gives mish'mar the active signi- of lips (ikk'ehuth peh 1Julzulh •'phalhiiy,m). fication of guarding instead of the passive "Perversity of mouth" is fre.ndulent, deceit- one of being kept or gunrded, is, "Keep ful speech; that which twists, distorts, per- thy heart more than any other keeping verts, or misrepresent.I what is true, and (prre omni cUBtodia)." Ori gen, •Hex.;' Fie!cl. hence falsehood (eh. iv. 24; vi. 12; xi.x. 1). Age.in, Aquila o.nd Theodotion render, The 111<0>..,o" 11.,-&µa. of the LXX., i.e. the "Keep thy bee.rt by reason of every com- "tortuous mouth," in a metaphorical sense. mo.ndment (d,ro 1ra.,.,-os ,pu>..&:yµa..,-os)," thus The phrase is very similnr in meaning with bringing into prominence the occasion and the parallel "waywardness of lips." which the obligation of keeping the heart, which means speeoh which turns aside froru what is that we are so commanded. Heart (lev); is true and right, the noun lazuth being here the affections and the moro.l conscious- rlerived from lazah, or luz, "to bend nside." ness. For out of it 11re the issues of life. The tongue is the unruly member (Jns. iii The conjunction · "for" introduces the 2). Speech is the index of the mind(Lapide). reason. The foct here stated is that the Vigilance over the bee.rt is vigilrrnce over moral conduct of life, its actions 11nd pro- the mouth, ino.smuch as "out of the abun- ceedings, are determined by the condition dance of the heart the mouth spea.keth " of the heort. If the heort is pure, the life (Matt. xii. 84). The admonition moy have will be pure ; H the bee.rt is corrupt, the life a twofold application, and may mean either will be corrupt. The heart is here com- do not indulge in this kind of speech your- pored with a fountain. The same idee. self, exeroise an unremitting jealousy over which is affixed to it in its physical sense every propensity to it; or have no dell1ings is also assigned to it in its ethical or moral with those who a.re guilty of it, 11s in Pa. sense. Physice.lly, it is tho centrol organ of ci. 5. the body; morally, it is the seot of the offec- Ver. 25.-Let thine eyes lcok right on, tions o.nd the centre of the moral conscious- and let thine eyelids look straight before ness. From this moro.l centre flow forth thee. "To look right 011 " and " to look "the issues of life; " i.e. the currents of the straight before one " is to fix the eyes moml life take their rise in oud flow forth steo.dily and unswervingly upon an object from it, just as from the heart, physically before them, not to allow the gaze to deflect considered, the blood is propelled ond flows either to the right hand or to the left. As forth into the arteriol system, by whioh it a noun, the word nukiikh, l"endered "right 93 THE PROVERBS. [oH, IV, 1-27,