Proverbs 7:1 Commentary

The scope of this chapter is, as of several before, to warn young men against the lusts of the flesh. Solomon remembered of what ill consequence it was to his father, perhaps found himself, and perceived his son, addicted to it, or at least had observed how many hopeful young men among his subjects had been ruined by those lusts; and therefore he thought he could never say enough to dissuade men from them, that "every one may possess his vessel in sanctification and honour, and not in the lusts of uncleanness." In this chapter we have, I. A general exhortation to get our minds principled and governed by the world of God, as a sovereign antidote against this sin (Pro 7:1-5). II. A particular representation of the great danger which unwary young men are in of being inveigled into this snare (v. 6-23). III. A serious caution inferred thence, in the close, to take heed of all approaches towards this sin (Pro 7:24-27). We should all pray, "Lord, lead us not into this temptation."

These verses are an introduction to his warning against fleshly lusts, much the same with that, Pro 6:20, etc., and ending (Pro 7:5) as that did (Pro 6:24), To keep thee from the strange woman; that is it he aims at; only there he had said, Keep thy father's commandment, here (which comes all to one), Keep my commandments, for he speaks to us as unto sons. He speaks in God's name; for it is God's commandments that we are to keep, his words, his law. The word of God must be to us, 1. As that which we are most careful of. We must keep it as our treasure; we must lay up God's commandments with us, lay them up safely, that we may not be robbed of them by the wicked one, Pro 7:1. We must keep it as our life: Keep my commandments and live (Pro 7:2), not only, "Keep them, and you shall live;" but, "Keep them as you would your life, as those that cannot live without them." It would be death to a good man to be deprived of the word of God, for by it he lives, and not by bread alone. 2. As that which we are most tender of: Keep my law as the apple of thy eye. A little thing offends the eye, and therefore nature has so well guarded it. We pray, with David, that God would keep us as the apple of his eye (Psa 17:8), that our lives and comforts may be precious in his sight; and they shall be so (Zac 2:8) if we be in like manner tender of his law and afraid of the least violation of it. Those who reproach strict and circumspect walking, as needless preciseness, consider not that the law is to be kept as the apple of the eye, for indeed it is the apple of our eye; the law is light; the law in the heart is the eye of the soul. 3. As that which we are proud of and would be ever mindful of (Pro 7:3): "Bind them upon thy fingers; let them be precious to thee; look upon them as an ornament, as a diamond-ring, as the signet on thy right hand; wear them continually as thy wedding-ring, the badge of thy espousals to God. Look upon the word of God as putting an honour upon thee, as an ensign of thy dignity. Bind them on thy fingers, that they may be constant memorandums to thee of thy duty, that thou mayest have them always in view, as that which is graven upon the palms of thy hands." 4. As that which we are fond of and are ever thinking of: Write them upon the table of thy heart, as the names of the friends we dearly love, we say, are written in our hearts. let the word of God dwell richly in us, and be written there where it will be always at hand to be read. Where sin was written (Jer 17:1) let the word of God be written. It is the matter of a promise (Heb 8:10, I will write my law in their hearts), which makes the precept practicable and easy. 5. As that which we are intimately acquainted and conversant with (Pro 7:4): "Say unto wisdom, Thou art my sister, whom I dearly love and take delight in; and call understanding thy kinswoman, to whom thou art nearly allied, and for whom thou hast a pure affection; call her thy friend, whom thou courtest." We must make the word of God familiar to us, consult it, and consult its honour, and take a pleasure in conversing with it. 6. As that which we make use of for our defence and armour, to keep us from the strange woman, from sin, that flattering but destroying thing, that adulteress; particularly from the sin of uncleanness, Pro 7:5. Let the word of God confirm our dread of that sin and our resolutions against it; let it discover to us its fallacies and suggest to us answers to all its flatteries.

INTRODUCTION TO PROVERBS 7 The sum of this chapter is to exhort men to attend to the doctrines and precepts of Wisdom, in order to avoid the adulterous woman; the exhortation to keep them with care, affection, and delight, in order to answer the end, is in Pro 7:1. A story is told, of Solomon's own knowledge, of a young man ensnared and ruined by a lewd woman; it begins Pro 7:6. The young man is described as foolish, and as throwing himself in the way of temptation, Pro 7:7; the harlot that met him is described by her attire, her subtlety, her voice, her inconstancy, her impudence, and pretensions to piety, Pro 7:10. The arguments she made use of to prevail upon him to go with her are taken partly from the elegance of her bed, the softness of it, and its sweet perfume, and satiety of love to be enjoyed in it, Pro 7:15; and partly from the absence of her husband, who was gone a long journey, and had made provision for it for a certain time, Pro 7:19. By which arguments she prevailed upon him to his utter ruin: which is illustrated by the similes of an ox going to the slaughter, a fool to the stocks, and a bird to the snare, Pro 7:21. And the chapter is concluded with an exhortation to hearken to the words of Wisdom, and to avoid the ways and paths of the harlot, by which many and mighty persons have been ruined; they being the direct road to hell and death, Pro 7:24.

My son, keep my words,.... Doctrines and instructions; which, as a father to a son, or a master to his scholars, he had delivered; these he would have him observe and attend to; and lay up my commandments with thee: as a treasure in his heart, to be brought out upon occasion; to be kept as valuable, and made use of as an antidote against and a preservative from sinning; see Psa 119:11. The Septuagint and Arabic versions add, what is not in the Hebrew text, "son, honour the Lord, and thou shalt be strong;'' the Arabic adds, "and he shall strengthen thee; and fear none besides him.''

My son, keep my words, etc. And this section is the same as previously explained more fully under the person of the harlot.

The subject continued, by a delineation of the arts of strange women, as a caution to the unwary. (Pro. 7:1-27) Similar calls (Pro 3:1-3; Pro 4:10, &c.).

The introduction first counsels in general to a true appreciation of these well-considered life-rules of wisdom. 1 My son, keep my words, And treasure up my commandments with thee. 2 Keep my commandments, and thou shalt live; And my instruction as the apple of thine eye. 3 Wind them about thy fingers, Write them on the tablet of thy heart. The lxx has after Pro 7:1 another distich; but it here disturbs the connection. Regarding צפן, vid., at Pro 2:1; אתּך refers, as there, to the sphere of one's own character, and that subjectively. Regarding the imper. וחיה, which must here be translated according to its sense as a conclusion, because it comes in between the objects governed by שׁמר, vid., at Pro 4:4. There וחיה is punctuated with Silluk; here, according to Kimchi (Michlol 125a), with Segol-Athnach, וחיה, as in the Cod. Erfurt. 2 and 3, and in the editions of Athias and Clodius, so that the word belongs to the class פתחין באתנח (with short instead of long vowel by the pausal accent): no reason for this is to be perceived, especially as (Pro 4:4) the Tsere (ê from aj) which is characteristic of the imper. remains unchanged. Regarding אישׁון העין, Arab. insân el-'ain, the little man of the eye, i.e., the apple of the eye, named from the miniature portrait of him who looks into it being reflected from it, vid., at Psa 17:8; the ending ôn is here diminutive, like Syr. achuno, little brother, beruno, little son, and the like. On Pro 7:3, vid., at Pro 6:21; Pro 3:3. The תפילין שׁל יד (Note: תפילין, prayer-fillets, phylacteries.) were wound seven times round the left arm and seven times round the middle finger. The writing on the table of the heart may be regarded as referring to Deu 6:9 (the Mezuzoth). (Note: = the door-posts, afterwards used by the Jews to denote the passages of Scripture written on the door-posts.)