A plain and familiar exposition of the ninth and tenth chapters of the Proverbs…A plaine and familiar exposition of the ninth and tenth chapters of the Prouerbs…

To the Christian Reader.

The wisdom of God, who best knoweth every mans affections, doth testify, that such as are full do loath an honey ¹comb: but to them that are hungry even bitter things become sweet. That which is very good, yea precious, and desired of the best, is distasted of such as regard not instruction: but that which is good at all, though mean, and despised of the most, is savoury to such as soundly seek salvation. The persuasion whereof hath encouraged us to bring forth our provision, and to set before thee such food as God hath enabled us to prepare. We rest assured of thy Christian love towards us, & providence for thine own soul, that thou wilt be more affected with the matter of this treatise, being, as we hope, sound, and without corruption, then offended with the manner thereof, being homely, and without elegance. As in expounding this Scripture to our own flocks, we respected the capacity of our unlearned hearers, so in publishing the same to others, we tender the profit of the simplest readers. And as for them that are judicious, and Godly learned, we presume that their own knowledge, & the reading of more excellent discourses, will minister wisdom, to make their use of this slender work, as this work will give them occasion to esteem the better of more excellent discourses. We have thought good to choose these two Chapters to begin with, though almost in the middest of the book, that we might propose to thee a pattern of the exposition of both sorts of parables, aswell of such as are set down in form of a treatise, and continued discourse, as of those which are for the most part single sentences. If thou shalt judge, that there may be any fruit of these travels, ⟨image 4⟩we are minded, if God will, to explicate the rest; but by parts, and at several times, and not all entirely together. Now in reading of this, observe that the reasons and uses of the points, are not inferred upon the allegations, or amplifications, immediately going before, but depend upon the propositions which are the doctrines raised out of the several verses: And into them are we compelled to enter abruptly without any precedent introduction to lead us, least we should either weary our selves in seeking variety of preambles, or weary thee with innumerable tautologies and repetitions.