Bathsheba's instructions to her son LemuelBathshebaes instructions to her sonne Lemuel

Hereby appeareth, how precious a thing faith is, wherewith all our works are, as it were, perfumed, to be acceptable unto God, and without which, the most glorious works stink, and in their greatest glittering are not withstanding sins.

Hereby appeareth, how precious a thing faith is, wherewith all our workes are, as it were, perfumed, to be acceptable vnto God, and without which, the most glorious workes stinck, and in their greatest glittering are not withstanding sinnes.

In this verse he doth by another argument, from a comparison, set forth her praise, where he preferreth her before a woman, that is exceeding fair and well favoured: where also there seemeth to be a meeting with a secret and privy objection; the objection is drawn from an apparent charge of the Prophet, as if he were not wise and skilful enough in describing and setting forth this woman, never sufficiently praised: as he, which in the reckoning up of her virtues, had forgotten two ornaments, her beauty and comeliness, unto which the Prophet answereth, by an adjunct of the deceit of favour, and vanity of beauty. But vanity and deceit are not of one sort. For first of all they are deceitful and vain; because the beauty and good favour is vanished and painted, whereby the fowlest women have appearance, and go for fair, which upon the feeling of the fire, or any other heat melt away. Furthermore because that beauty and favour, which pleaseth to day, displeaseth to morrow, and that which is now esteemed to be a trace of beauty in the eyes of the lovers, is by and by accounted a wart or a wen. As appeareth by the example of Amon, who being inflamed with the love of his sister Tamar, because ⟨p. 74⟩of her beauty: was as it were in a turning of a hand, in a deadly hatred of her.

In this verse hee doth by another argument, from a comparison, set forth her praise, where he preferreth her before a woman, that is exceeding faire and well fauored: where also there seemeth to be a meeting with a secret and priuie obiection; the obiection is drawne from an apparant charge of the Prophet, as if hee were not wise and skilfull enough in describing and setting forth this woman, neuer sufficiently praised: as he, which in the reckoning vp of her vertues, had forgotten two ornaments, her beauty and comelinesse, vnto which the Prophet answereth, by an adiunct of the deceit of fauour, and vanity of beauty. But vanity and deceit are not of one sort. For first of all they are deceitfull and vaine; because the beauty and good fauour is vanished and painted, whereby the fowlest women haue appearance, and goe for faire, which vpon the feeling of the fire, or any other heate melt away. Furthermore because that beauty and fauour, which pleaseth to day, displeaseth to morrow, and that which is now esteemed to be a trace of beauty in the eies of the louers, is by and by accompted a wart or a wenne. As appeareth by the example of Amon, who being inflamed with the loue of his sister Thamar, because