Proverbs 5

The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 5:18

Let thy fountain be blessed: and rejoice with the wife of thy youth . The employment of the ordinary term "wife" in the second hemistich shows in what sense the figure which is used has to be understood. The terms "fountain" and "wife" denote the same person. The wife is here called "thy fountain" (Hebrew, m'kor'ka ) , just as she has been previously "thine own cistern" ( b'or ) and "thine own well" ( b'er ) in Proverbs 5:15 . The Hebrew makor, "fountain," is derived from the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 5:19

Let her be as the loving hind and pleasant roe. The words in italics do not occur in the original. The expression, "the loving hind and pleasant roe," is, therefore, to be attached to the preceding verse, as carrying on the sense and as descriptive of the grace and fascinating charms of the young wife. As combining these attributes, she is to be the object of thy love and devotion,the one in whom thine affections are to find the fulfilment of their desires.Love and grace are her possessions.... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 5:20

And why ; i.e. what inducement is there, what reason can be given, for conjugal infidelity, except the lewd and immoral promptings of the lower nature, except sensuality in its lowest form? Ravished . The verb shagah recurs, but in a lower sense, as indicating "the foolish delirium of the libertine hastening after the harlot" (Zockler). With a strange woman (Hebrew, b'zarah ); i.e. with a harlot. On zarah, see Proverbs 2:16 and Proverbs 7:5 . The be ( בְּ ) localizes... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 5:20-21

The adulterer to be restrained by the fact of God ' s omniscience and the Divine punishment. Proverbs 5:20 and Proverbs 5:21 should apparently be taken together. The teaching assumes a higher tone, and rises from the lower law which regulates fidelity to the wife, based upon personal attractions, to the higher law, which brings the husband's conduct into relation with the duty he owes to Jehovah. Not merely is his conduct to be regulated by love and affection alone, but it is to be... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 5:21

For the ways of man are before the eyes of the Lord. The obvious meaning here is that as "the eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding the evil and the good" ( Proverbs 15:3 ), there is no possibility of any act of immorality escaping God's notice. The consciousness of this fact is to be the restraining motive, inasmuch as he who sees will also punish every transgression. The great truth acknowledged here is the omniscience of God, a truth which is borne witness to in almost... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 5:21

Under the eyes of God I. WE ARE ALWAYS UNDER THE WATCHFUL EYES OF GOD . God is no epicurean Divinity, retreating far above mundane affairs in celestial seclusion. He is not indifferent to what goes on in this little world. He is watchful and observant. This fact may not affect us much while we think of it in the general. But we should observe that God's watchfulness is directed to all particular, individual objects. He looks at each of us, at the smallest of our concerns.... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 5:21

God the all-seeing Judge "Before Jehovah's eyes are man's paths, and all his tracks he surveys." I. CYNICAL PROVERBS CONCERNING SECRECY ARE CONDEMNED . Such as "What the eye sees not, the heart does not grieve over;" "A slice from a cut cake is never missed;" "Never mind so long as you are not found out." II. NOTHING IS REALLY SECRET OR UNKNOWN . We are naked and open to the eyes of him with whom we have to do. The whisper, the inarticulate thought, will... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 5:21

Man in God's view This verse is added as a powerful reason why the worst sins should be avoided. A man under temptation may well address himself thus— "Nor let my weaker passions dare Consent to sin; for God is there." I. THE VARIED ENERGIES AND ACTIONS OF MAN . Many are "the ways of man;" "all his goings" cannot easily be told. There is Or we may consider the variety of his actions by regarding them as The forms of human activity are indefinitely numerous—so... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 5:22

His own iniquities shall take the wicked himself; i.e. his manifold sins shall overtake and arrest him. The imagery is borrowed from the snare of the fowler. The emphatic form of the original, "His sins shall overtake him, the impious man," point conclusively to the adulterer. It is "his" sins that shall overtake him, not those of another, and they shall fall upon his own head; and further, his character is depicted in the condemning clause, "the impious man;" for such he is. Shall take. ... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 5:22

Cords of sin I. THE SINNER IS IN BONDAGE . Such a condition is not expected when a man freely gives the reins to his passions, and weakly yields himself to temptation. On the contrary, he supposes that he is enjoying a larger liberty than they possess who are constrained to walk in the narrow path of righteousness. Moreover, even when this shocking condition is reached, he is slow to admit its existence. He will not confess his bondage; perhaps he scarcely feels it. Thus the Jews... read more

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