Online Bible 1995 March/ROM-1025.iso/olb/gill/4_600.lzh/4_616.TXT

Text File | 1994-09-23 | 7KB | 130 lines

far as can with truth be said: and a truly good and
gracious man, who is Solomon's wise man, in opposi-
tion to a fool and wicked man; his discourse will run
upon the grace of God, upon the doctrines of grace,
and upon the experience of the truth of grace on his
heart: upon the grace of God the Father, in loving and
choosing men; in contriving their salvation; in making
a covenant of grace with them in Christ; in. sending
him to die for them, and in accepting his satisfaction
and righteousness for them: and on the grace of the
Son, in becoming their surety; assuming their nature,
dying in their room and stead, interceding for them,
taking care of them, and supplying them with grace
out of his fulness: and on the grace of the Spirit, in
regeneration and sanctification; working in them faith,
hope, and love; applying precious promises to them,
and. sealing them up to the day of redemption: of these
things they speak often one to another, and cannot but
talk of the things they have felt and seen: and such
words and discourses are gracious, graceful, and grate-
ful to truly pious souls, and minister grace unto them;
and are also well-pleasing and acceptable to God and
Christ, as well as gain them favour among men; s/ee
Prov. xxii. 11. Ephes. iv. 29. But the lips of a fool
swallow up himself; his words are not only
able and displeasing to others, but bring rui, fi upon
himself; by talking too freely of rulers and others, he
brings himself into trouble, and plunges himself into
difficulties, out of which he cannot easily get; yea, is
swallowed up in them, and destroyed. Or, his lips
swallow up him {w}; the wise man, whose words are
gracious; and, by his calumny and detraction, his
deceit and lies, brings him into disgrace and danger:
or, swallows it up, or that {x}; the grace of the wise man,
or his gracious words; and hinders the edification of
others by them, and the good effects of them. Though
the first sense seems best.
Ver.. 13. The beginning of the words of his mouth is
foolishness, &c.] As soon as ever he opens his mouth,
e betrays Iris folly; the first word he speaks is a fool-
ish one; or it is fi'om the abundant folly in his heart
that he speaks, which is the source and spring of all
his foolish talk. And the end o.f his talk is mischievous
madaess; to himself and others; as he goes on, he ap-
pears more and more foolish, and yet more confident
of his own wisdom; and is resolutely set on having
his own way and will; grows warm, and is violently
hot, to have his own words regarded; and, if contra-
dicted, is like a madman, scattering arrows, firebrands,
and death; his talk from first tolast is a circle of folly;
and, though it begins with something weak, and may
seem innoceht, yet it ends and issues in wickedness
and madness, in rage and wrath, in oaths and curses.
Vet. 14. A fool also is full of words, &c.] Or, multi-
plies words {y}. Is very talkative, says the same thing
over and over again; uses an abundance of waste
words, that have no meaning in them; utters every
thing that comes uppermost, without any order or
judgment; affects to talk on every subject, whether he
knows any thing of it or no; and will engross all the
conversation to himself, though of all in company the
most unfit for it. A man cannot tell what shall be; and.
what shall be after him who can. tell him ? what the
fool is talking of; what is the drift of his discourse;
or where it will .end, and what he will bring it to, it is
so noisy, confused, and incoherent: or no man can tell.
future things, or what will come to pass; nor can any
man inform another of future events; arid yet a fool
boasts and brags of what he shall do, and what he shall
have, as if he was master of futurity, and knew for
certain what would come to pass, which the wisest of
men do not.
Ver. 15. The labour of the foolish wearieth every one
of them, &c.] The labour of fools, both in speaking
and doing, weary those who have any concern with
them, and themselves likewise, since all their labour is
vain and fruitless. Because he knoweth not how to go.
to the city; to any city, the road to whictl is usually
broad, and plain and easy to be found, and yet cannot
be found by the tbolish man; shewing, that lie that
talks of abstruse things, things too high and wonder-
fui for him, which he affects to know, must needs be a
stranger to them, since things the most easy to be un-
derstood he is ignorant of, and wearies himself to find;
or he does not know how to behave himself in a city,
among citizens, in a civil and polite manner. The
Targum is," he learns not to go to the city, where
"wise men dwell, to learn instruction from it." Some
interpret it of the city of Jerusalem, where were the tem-
ple, sanhedrim, synagogues, schools, &c. but it may be
better applied tothe heavenly city, the New Jerusalem,
which fools or wicked men know not the way unto,
nor do they seek after it; see Psal. evil. 7. Matt. vii.
13, 14. so A!shech interprets it of heaven.
Ver. 16. Woe to thee, 0 land, when thy king is a child,
&c.] Not so much in age; though it is sometimes an
unhappiness to a nation to be governed by a minor,
especially if the young king has not good tutors, guar-
dians, ministers, and counsellors, about him; but, if
otherwise, a nation may be very happy under a mino-
rity, or the government of a young prince; such were
Solomon, Joash, Uzziah, Josiah, and our Edward the
Vlth: but it rather respects one that is a child in un-
derstanding and judgment, in manners and conduct;
that minds Iris pleasures, as children their play; is
fickle and chiangeable, passionate and self-willed, un-
skilful in government, and yet will not be advised.
The Targum applies this to the land of Israel, and
instances in wicked Jeroboam, who !nade the morning-
sacrifice to cease; see Isa. iii. 12. From considering the
bad effects of folly in metl in general, in private per-
sons and in subjects, the wise mail proceeds to observe.
the ill consequences of it to a nation, in kings and
princes, in civil magistrates: Jerom or Bede interprets
this allegoi'ically; .Woe to the land whose king is the
devil, who is always desirous of new things, 2 Cur. iv.
4. And thy princes eat bt the mornng ; as soon as they
are up, chiltlren-like; and not only eat, which may be
convenient and lawful to do; but eat to excess, in a
riotous and intemperate manner, slid so unfit them-


{w} \^wnelbx\^ deglutiet eum, Montanus; absorbent eum, Piscator, Ram-
bachius.
{x} Illam, Munster, Cocceius; quam labia stulti velut absorbendo
suferunt, Tigurine version.
{y} \^hbry\^ multiplicabit, Pagninus, Montanus; multiplicat, Va-
tablus, Mercerus, Drusius, Amama, Gejerus, Rambachius, Coc-
ceius.