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Commentary on Proverbs 5 verses 1–14
Here we have,
I. A solemn preface, to introduce the caution which follows, Pro 5:1, Pro 5:2. Solomon here addresses himself to his son, that is, to all young men, as unto his children, whom he has an affection for and some influence upon. In God's name, he demands attention; for he writes by divine inspiration, and is a prophet, though he begins not with, Thus saith the Lord. "Attend, and bow thy ear; not only hear what is said, and read what is written, but apply thy mind to it and consider it diligently." To gain attention he urges, 1. The excellency of his discourse: "It is my wisdom, my understanding; if I undertake to teach thee wisdom I cannot prescribe any thing to be more properly called so; moral philosophy is my philosophy, and that which is to be learned in my school." 2. The usefulness of it: "Attend to what I say," (1.) "That thou mayest act wisely - that thou mayest regard discretion." Solomon's lectures are not designed to fill our heads with notions, with matters of nice speculation, or doubtful disputation, but to guide us in the government of ourselves, that we may act prudently, so as becomes us and so as will be for our true interest. (2.) "That thou mayest speak wisely - that thy lips may keep knowledge, and thou mayest have it ready at thy tongue's end" (as we say), "for the benefit of those with whom thou dost converse." The priest's lips are said to keep knowledge (Mal 2:7); but those that are ready and mighty in the scriptures may not only in their devotions, but in their discourses, be spiritual priests.
II. The caution itself, and that is to abstain from fleshly lusts, from adultery, fornication, and all uncleanness. Some apply this figuratively, and by the adulterous woman here understand idolatry, or false doctrine, which tends to debauch men's minds and manners, or the sensual appetite, to which it may as fitly as any thing be applied; but the primary scope of it is plainly to warn us against seventh-commandment sins, which youth is so prone to, the temptations to which are so violent, the examples of which are so many, and which, where admitted, are so destructive to all the seeds of virtue in the soul that it is not strange that Solomon's cautions against it are so very pressing and so often repeated. Solomon here, as a faithful watchman, gives fair warning to all, as they regard their lives and comforts, to dread this sin, for it will certainly be their ruin. Two things we are here warned to take heed of: -
1.That we do not listen to the charms of this sin. It is true the lips of a strange woman drop as a honey-comb (Pro 5:3); the pleasures of fleshly lust are very tempting (like the wine that gives its colour in the cup and moves itself aright); its mouth, the kisses of its mouth, the words of its mouth, are smoother than oil, that the poisonous pill may go down glibly and there may be no suspicion of harm in it. But consider, (1.) How fatal the consequences will be. What fruit will the sinner have of his honey and oil when the end will be, [1.] The terrors of conscience: It is bitter as wormwood, Pro 5:4. What was luscious in the mouth rises in the stomach and turns sour there; it cuts, in the reflection, like a two-edged sword; take it which way you will, it wounds. Solomon could speak by experience, Ecc 7:26. [2.] The torments of hell. If some that have been guilty of this sin have repented and been saved, yet the direct tendency of the sin is to destruction of body and soul; the feet of it go down to death, nay, they take hold on hell, to pull it to the sinner, as if the damnations slumbered too long, Pro 5:5. Those that are entangled in this sin should be reminded that there is but a step between them and hell, and that they are ready to drop into it. (2.) Consider how false the charms are. The adulteress flatters and speaks fair, her words are honey and oil, but she will deceive those that hearken to her: Her ways are movable, that thou canst not know them; she often changes her disguise, and puts on a great variety of false colours, because, if she be rightly known, she is certainly hated. Proteus-like, she puts on many shapes, that she may keep in with those whom she has a design upon. And what does she aim at with all this art and management? Nothing but to keep them from pondering the path of life, for she knows that, if they once come to do that, she shall certainly lose them. Those are ignorant of Satan's devices who do not understand that the great thing he drives at in all his temptations is, [1.] To keep them from choosing the path of life, to prevent them from being religious and from going to heaven, that, being himself shut out from happiness, he may keep them out from it. [2.] In order hereunto, to keep them from pondering the path of life, from considering how reasonable it is that they should walk in that path, and how much it will be for their advantage. Be it observed, to the honour of religion, that it certainly gains its point with all those that will but allow themselves the liberty of a serious thought and will weigh things impartially in an even balance, and that the devil has no way of securing men in his interests but by diverting them with continual amusements of one kind or another from the calm and sober consideration of the things that belong to their peace. And uncleanness is a sin that does as much as any thing blind the understanding, sear the conscience, and keep people from pondering the path of life. Whoredom takes away the heart, Hos 4:11.
2.That we do not approach the borders of this sin, Pro 5:7, Pro 5:8.
(1.)This caution is introduced with a solemn preface: "Hear me now therefore, O you children! whoever you are that read or hear these lines, take notice of what I say, and mix faith with it, treasure it up, and depart not from the words of my mouth, as those will do that hearken to the words of the strange woman. Do not only receive what I say, for the present merely, but cleave to it, and let it be ready to thee, and of force with thee, when thou art most violently assaulted by the temptation."
(2.)The caution itself is very pressing: "Remove thy way far from her; if thy way should happen to lie near her, and thou shouldst have a fair pretence of being led by business within the reach of her charms, yet change thy way, and alter the course of it, rather than expose thyself to danger; come not nigh the door of her house; go on the other side of the street, nay, go through some other street, though it be about." This intimates, [1.] That we ought to have a very great dread and detestation of the sin. We must fear it as we would a place infected with the plague; we must loathe it as the odour of carrion, that we will not come near. Then we are likely to preserve our purity when we conceive a rooted antipathy to all fleshly lusts. [2.] That we ought industriously to avoid every thing that may be an occasion of this sin or a step towards it. Those that would be kept from harm must keep out of harm's way. Such tinder there is in the corrupt nature that it is madness, upon any pretence whatsoever, to come near the sparks. If we thrust ourselves into temptation, we mocked God when we prayed, Lead us not into temptation. [3.] That we ought to be jealous over ourselves with a godly jealousy, and not to be so confident of the strength of our own resolutions as to venture upon the brink of sin, with a promise to ourselves that hitherto we will come and no further. [4.] That whatever has become a snare to us and an occasion of sin, though it be as a right eye and a right hand, we must pluck it out, cut it off, and cast it from us, must part with that which is dearest to us rather than hazard our own souls; this is our Saviour's command, Mat 5:28-30.
(3.)The arguments which Solomon here uses to enforce this caution are taken from the same topic with those before, the many mischiefs which attend this sin. [1.] It blasts the reputation. "Thou wilt give thy honour unto others (Pro 5:9); thou wilt lose it thyself; thou wilt put into the hand of each of thy neighbours a stone to throw at thee, for they will all, with good reason, cry shame on thee, will despise thee, and trample on thee, as a foolish men." Whoredom is a sin that makes men contemptible and base, and no man of sense or virtue will care to keep company with one that keeps company with harlots. [2.] It wastes the time, gives the years, the years of youth, the flower of men's time, unto the cruel, "that base lust of thine, which with the utmost cruelty wars against the soul, that base harlot which pretends an affection for thee, but really hunts for the precious life." Those years that should be given to the honour of a gracious God are spent in the service of a cruel sin. [3.] It ruins the estate (Pro 5:10): "Strangers will be filled with thy wealth, which thou art but entrusted with as a steward for thy family; and the fruit of thy labours, which should be provision for thy own house, will be in the house of a stranger, that neither has right to it nor will ever thank thee for it." [4.] It is destructive to the health, and shortens men's days: Thy flesh and thy body will be consumed by it, Pro 5:11. The lusts of uncleanness not only war against the soul, which the sinner neglects and is in no care about, but they war against the body too, which he is so indulgent of and is in such care to please and pamper, such deceitful, such foolish, such hurtful lusts are they. Those that give themselves to work uncleanness with greediness waste their strength, throw themselves into weakness, and often have their bodies filled with loathsome distempers, by which the number of their months is cut off in the midst and they fall unpitied sacrifices to a cruel lust. [5.] It will fill the mind with horror, if ever conscience be awakened. "Though thou art merry now, sporting thyself in thy own deceivings, yet thou wilt certainly mourn at the last, Pro 5:11. Thou art all this while making work for repentance, and laying up matter for vexation and torment in the reflection, when the sin is set before thee in its own colours." Sooner or later it will bring sorrow, either when the soul is humbled and brought to repentance or when the flesh and body are consumed, either by sickness, when conscience flies in the sinner's face, or by the grave; when the body is rotting there, the soul is racking in the torments of hell, where the worm dies not, and "Son, remember," is the constant peal [plea?]. Solomon here brings in the convinced sinner reproaching himself, and aggravating his own folly. He will then most bitterly lament it. First, That because he hated to be reformed he therefore hated to be informed, and could not endure either to be taught his duty (How have I hated not only the discipline of being instructed, but the instruction itself, though all true and good!) or to be told of his faults - My heart despised reproof, Pro 5:12. He cannot but own that those who had the charge of him, parents, ministers, had done their part; they had been his teachers; they had instructed him, had given him good counsel and fair warning (Pro 5:13); but to his own shame and confusion does he speak it, and therein justifies God in all the miseries that were brought upon him, he had not obeyed their voice, for indeed he never inclined his ear to those that instructed him, never minded what they said nor admitted the impressions of it. Note, Those who have had a good education and do not live up to it will have a great deal to answer for another day; and those who will not now remember what they were taught, to conform themselves to it, will be made to remember it as an aggravation of their sin, and consequently of their ruin. Secondly, That by the frequent acts of sin the habits of it were so rooted and confirmed that his heart was fully set in him to commit it (Pro 5:14): I was almost in all evil in the midst of the congregation and assembly. When he came into the synagogue, or into the courts of the temple, to worship God with other Israelites, his unclean heart was full of wanton thoughts and desires and his eyes of adultery. Reverence of the place and company, and of the work that was doing, could not restrain him, but he was almost as wicked and vile there as any where. No sin will appear more frightful to an awakened conscience than the profanation of holy things; nor will any aggravation of sin render it more exceedingly sinful than the place we are honoured with in the congregation and assembly, and the advantages we enjoy thereby. Zimri and Cozbi avowed their villany in the sight of Moses and all the congregation (Num 25:6), and heart-adultery is as open to God, and must needs be most offensive to him, when we draw nigh to him in religious exercises. I was in all evil in defiance of the magistrates and judges, and their assemblies; so some understand it. Others refer it to the evil of punishment, not to the evil of sin: "I was made an example, a spectacle to the world. I was under almost all God's sore judgments in the midst of the congregation of Israel, set up for a mark. I stood up and cried in the congregation," Job 30:28. Let that be avoided which will be thus rued at last.
That you may guard your thoughts, etc. Thoughts, by which you rightly believe; lips, by which you profess the faith itself in simple words, and usual, as well as ecclesiastical ones. But, according to the letter: He who adheres to a harlot defiles even his lips, either by kissing or speaking foul things.
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SUMMARY
Proverbs 5:2 articulates a foundational purpose for heeding wisdom's instruction: to cultivate profound internal discernment and to diligently steward one's verbal expressions. It posits that true wisdom is not merely an intellectual acquisition but an active, disciplined practice of the mind and tongue, serving as an indispensable safeguard against moral compromise. This verse underscores the necessity of prudence and integrity in navigating life's perilous paths, particularly the seductive allure of destructive influences, by ensuring that one's thoughts are discerning and one's speech is aligned with truth.
CONTEXT
EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS
Key Word Analysis
Verse Breakdown
Literary Devices
Proverbs 5:2 masterfully employs Parallelism, a foundational characteristic of Hebrew poetry, specifically Synonymous Parallelism. In this structure, the second line effectively reiterates, reinforces, or expands upon the idea presented in the first line, often utilizing slightly different imagery or phrasing. The phrase "That thou mayest regard discretion" is beautifully paralleled by "and [that] thy lips may keep knowledge," suggesting an intrinsic connection where the internal act of cultivating discretion (a function of the mind and heart) is both manifested and protected by lips that carefully guard knowledge (an external act of speech). This parallelism profoundly emphasizes the holistic nature of wisdom, encompassing both one's inner thought processes and one's outward verbal expressions. Furthermore, there is a subtle yet effective use of Metonymy where "lips" stand in for the broader concept of "speech" or "words," highlighting the physical instrument through which knowledge is preserved, communicated, and applied. The verse's overall grammatical structure also functions as a Purpose Clause, clearly articulating the why behind the preceding exhortation to listen to wisdom, framing the cultivation of discretion and the careful stewardship of knowledge as the intended and vital outcomes of such attentiveness.
THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS
Proverbs 5:2 establishes a profound theological connection between an individual's internal state of wisdom and their external conduct, particularly as expressed through their speech. The "discretion" it calls for is not merely worldly shrewdness or cunning, but a divinely informed prudence that enables one to discern God's will, understand His truth, and apply it effectively to the complexities of life. This verse grounds the practical outworking of wisdom in the very character of God, who is the ultimate source of all true knowledge, understanding, and discernment. It suggests that a life lived in alignment with God's revealed truth will naturally manifest in discerning thoughts and righteous speech, thereby acting as a powerful bulwark against the deceptive allure and destructive consequences of sin. The emphasis on "keeping" knowledge with one's lips implies a steadfast commitment to truth, a resistance to the lies and temptations that pervade the fallen world, and ultimately, reflects a deep-seated reverence for the divine order and the integrity of God's Word.
REFLECTION AND APPLICATION
In an increasingly complex and information-saturated world, where misinformation and constant temptations abound, the ancient call to "regard discretion" and for "lips to keep knowledge" resonates with profound contemporary relevance. This verse challenges us to move beyond being passive consumers of ideas and to become intentional cultivators of discernment. It urges us to develop the internal capacity to critically evaluate what we hear, see, and read, to weigh every choice against the unchanging standard of biblical truth, and to make decisions that truly honor God and lead to flourishing life. Furthermore, Proverbs 5:2 serves as a potent reminder of the immense power inherent in our words. In an age of instant communication, social media, and pervasive digital interaction, the discipline of "keeping knowledge" with our lips means exercising extreme caution and wisdom in what we post, share, and comment on. It calls us to use our speech to build up, to encourage, to inform truthfully, and to share the wisdom of God, diligently refraining from gossip, slander, divisive rhetoric, or thoughtless words that can cause irreparable harm. This principle compels us to ensure that our external expressions are consistently aligned with the internal wisdom and integrity we profess, applying to every facet of our lives, from intimate personal interactions to broad public discourse.
Questions for Reflection
FAQ
What does "regard discretion" mean in a practical sense for believers today?
Answer: To "regard discretion" means to actively cultivate, value, and diligently apply good judgment, prudence, and thoughtful planning in all areas of life. For believers, this implies seeking wisdom that is profoundly rooted in God's Word and empowered by the Holy Spirit. Practically, it means taking the necessary time to pray, reflect, and seek divine guidance before making significant decisions, carefully evaluating all advice and information against the unchanging principles of Scripture, and developing a discerning spirit that can accurately distinguish between truth and error, righteousness and evil. It is about being intentional and deliberate in our choices, rather than impulsive, easily swayed by worldly pressures, or driven by fleeting desires. This is especially crucial when navigating moral dilemmas or facing the seductive temptations, as vividly highlighted in Proverbs 5 itself.
How does "lips may keep knowledge" relate to our communication in the digital age?
Answer: In the digital age, where communication is instantaneous, global, and often unfiltered, the mandate that "lips may keep knowledge" takes on profound and urgent significance. It calls us to exercise extreme caution, wisdom, and responsibility in what we post, share, and comment on across all online platforms. "Keeping knowledge" in this context means using our words to edify, to inform truthfully, to reflect God's wisdom, and to promote understanding, rather than spreading misinformation, engaging in gossip, participating in divisive speech, or contributing to negativity. It implies a steadfast commitment to truth, integrity, and grace in all our online interactions, ensuring that our digital "lips" are diligently guarding and conveying sound knowledge, thereby contributing to a culture of grace, truth, and genuine understanding, as powerfully encouraged in Ephesians 4:29.
CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT
While Proverbs 5:2 directly instructs the individual on cultivating wisdom for moral protection and righteous living, its ultimate fulfillment and deepest theological meaning are found perfectly embodied in the person and work of Jesus Christ. He is not merely a wise man, but the very embodiment of perfect discretion and the living Word of God, in whom "are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge" (Colossians 2:3). Unlike fallen humanity, whose discretion is often flawed and whose lips frequently fail to keep knowledge, Jesus perfectly "regarded discretion" in His every thought, intention, and action, always discerning the Father's will and executing it flawlessly and without deviation (John 5:19). His "lips perfectly kept knowledge," as He spoke only the words of God, teaching with unparalleled authority, grace, and truth, revealing divine reality to a fallen and confused world (John 7:46). He is the ultimate "wise man" to whom the Proverbs ultimately point, offering not just instruction but the divine power to live wisely through His indwelling Spirit. Through saving faith in Him, believers are granted access to His inexhaustible wisdom and are supernaturally empowered to live lives increasingly marked by true discretion and knowledge, reflecting His character and speaking His truth, thus fulfilling the spirit of this proverb in a new covenant reality (1 Corinthians 1:30).