*H Wisdom shall praise her own self, and shall be honoured in God, and shall glory in the midst of her people,
Ver. 1. Wisdom. Gr. title, "the praise of wisdom." Here the book of Ecclesiastes is imitated. H. — See also Prov. viii. and Wisd. vii. 24. and viii. 1. The pagans boasted of their philosophy. But it was not to be compared with the true religion, which the Israelites possessed. — Own self. Lit. "soul." She alone is capable of this office. C. — In God. Referring all the glory to him. M. — This sentence is not in Gr. H. — The second person of the Trinity proclaims his own praises. W.
*H And shall open her mouth in the churches of the most High, and shall glorify herself in the sight of his power,
Ver. 2. Power. The temple, rather than in the schools of Athens. C.
*H And in the midst of her own people she shall be exalted, and shall be admired in the holy assembly.
Ver. 3. And. Gr. (5.) "I came out of the mouth of the Highest, (6.) and as," &c. H. — He alludes to the darkness which covered the earth. Gen. i. 2. Job xxxviii. 9. Many explain this of the uncreated wisdom, born in the womb of the blessed Virgin; and the Church, in her office, applies it to her in a mystical sense. But it seems literally to refer to the wisdom and grace granted to the saints, which enlightens every man, and presides over the creation.
*H I dwelt in the highest places, and my throne is in a pillar of a cloud.
Ver. 7. Cloud. Guiding the Israelites (Ex. xiii. 21.) or near the throne of God. Wisd. ix. 4. C.
*H I alone have compassed the circuit of heaven, and have penetrated into the bottom of the deep, and have walked in the waves of the sea,
Ver. 8. Penetrated. Gr. "walked in."
*H And by my power I have trodden under my feet the hearts of all the high and low: and in all these I sought rest, and I shall abide in the inheritance of the Lord.
Ver. 11. By. Gr. "with all," &c. H. — Lord. Israel was chosen gratuitously. C. — Gr. of whom?
*H Then the creator of all things commanded, and said to me: and he that made me, rested in my tabernacle,
Ver. 12. Rested. Gr. "gave rest to my tent." H. — So Virgil says, requierun. flumina cursus. M. — God offers grace, but forces none to accept of it. W.
*H And he said to me: Let thy dwelling be in Jacob, and thy inheritance in Israel, and take root in my elect.
Ver. 13. And take, &c. is not in Gr. H. — This may be explained of the true religion, or (C.) of the word of the Father. S. Aug. Trin. i. 12. — In the Church only is effectual grace, (W.) or none will receive it, who refuses to hear the Church. H.
*H From the beginning, and before the world, was I created, and unto the world to come I shall not cease to be, and in the holy dwelling place I have ministered before him.
Ver. 14. Created. Or engendered. Prov. viii. 22. — Him. As his priestess, directing all the ministers of the temple. C. — Christ is begotten by the understanding, and the Holy Ghost proceeds from love. Creation is not here taken strictly. W.
* Footnote * Proverbs 8 : 22
The Lord possessed me in the beginning of his ways, before he made any thing from the beginning.*H And I took root in an honourable people, and in the portion of my God his inheritance, and my abode is in the full assembly of saints.
Ver. 16. His. Gr. "of his inheritance, (17.) I," &c. H.
*H I was exalted like a cedar in Libanus, and as a cypress tree on mount Sion.
Ver. 17. Sion. Beyond the Jordan. Gr. "Hermon." Deut. iv. 48.
*H I was exalted like a palm tree in Cades, and as a rose plant in Jericho:
Ver. 18. Cades-barne. Num. xx. 1. Gr. "Engaddi," (C.) or Rom. and Alex. edit. "on the sea shore." H.
*H As a fair olive tree in the plains, and as a plane tree by the water in the streets, was I exalted.
Ver. 19. In the streets, is not in Gr. C. — Grabe inserts, by the waters. H. — These trees flourish most in such situations, and people delighted to walk under them in hot countries.
*H I gave a sweet smell like cinnamon, and aromatical balm: I yielded a sweet odour like the best myrrh:
Ver. 20. Myrrh. Which distils through the bark, without any incision.
*H And I perfumed my dwelling as storax, and galbanum, and onyx, and aloes, and as the frankincense not cut, and my odour is as the purest balm.
Ver. 21. Onyx. A shell-fish in the Indies, which feeds on the spica nardi, and hence becomes odoriferous. — Aloes, (gutta) the finest myrrh. — Not cut. Gr. "in a tent." — And my, &c. is not in Gr. Wisdom is compared to what was most esteemed. C.
*H I have stretched out my branches as the turpentine tree, and my branches are of honour and grace.
Ver. 22. Honour. Rich and pleasant. H.
*H I am the mother of fair love, and of fear, and of knowledge, and of holy hope.
Ver. 24. I, &c. Grabe restores this verse, and, instead of the next, has, "but I am given to all my children, being born myself for ever, to those who are specified by him. (26.) Come," &c. H. — The text seems to be corrupt. C.
*H In me is all grace of the way and of the truth, in me is all hope of life and of virtue.
Ver. 25. Life. Christ declares himself to be, the way, the truth, and the life.
*H For my spirit is sweet above honey, and my inheritance above honey and the honeycomb.
Ver. 27. Spirit. Greek, "remembrance." It has not the following verse.
*H They that eat me, shall yet hunger: and they that drink me, shall yet thirst.
Ver. 29. Thirst. Without being ever disgusted. Jo. iv. 13. C. — Experience of carnal delights is quite the reverse. S. Greg. hom. xxxvi. Ev. — The more grace a person has, the more he desireth and receiveth from God. W.
* Footnote * John 6 : 35
And Jesus said to them: I am the bread of life. He that cometh to me shall not hunger: and he that believeth in me shall never thirst.*H He that hearkeneth to me, shall not be confounded: and they that work by me, shall not sin.
Ver. 30. Sin. Or lose their labour. They shall be directed in the paths of life. C.
*H They that explain me shall have life everlasting.
Ver. 31. They. Gr. "all these things are the book of the covenant of the most high God, the law which Moses gave unto us, an inheritance to the synagogues of Jacob." Grabe puts in a different character from the Compl. "Lose not strength in the Lord, but stick to him, that he may strengthen you. The Lord Almighty is the only God, and there is no other Saviour." Then follows, (v. 35.) "who," &c. H. — Everlasting. Provided his life correspond with his doctrine. No occupation can be more glorious. C. — Let thy Scriptures be my chaste delights: let me not be deceived in them, nor deceive others by them. S. Aug. Conf. xi. 2. C. Dan. xii. M.
*H All these things are the book of life, and the covenant of the most High, and the knowledge of truth.
Ver. 32. Truth. They are equally certain, and no more is required. C. — He that loves has fulfilled the law. H.
*H He appointed to David his servant to raise up of him a most mighty king, and sitting on the throne of glory for ever.
Ver. 34. King. Viz. Christ, who by his gospel, like an overflowing river, hath enriched the earth with heavenly wisdom. Ch. — Ever. The Lord (H.) is a king, (Carriers) who, &c. v. 35. H. — Solomon's wisdom is also praised. C. — The sceptre of David remained till the captivity, and the royal family continued in esteem till Christ. Yet David was only a figure of Christ, the eternal king. W.
*H Who filleth up wisdom as the Phison, and as the Tigris in the days of the new fruits.
Ver. 35. Phison. Or Phase of Colchis, which rises in Armenia, like the Tigris and Euphrates, all which overflow their banks at the beginning of summer, on account of the snow melting.
* Footnote * Genesis 2 : 11
The name of the one is Phison: that is it which compasseth all the land of Hevilath, where gold groweth.*H Who maketh understanding to abound as the Euphrates, who multiplieth it as the Jordan in the time of harvest.
Ver. 36. Harvest. The snow of Libanus makes the Jordan swell at Pentecost. Jos. iii. 15.
* Footnote * Josue 3 : 15
And as soon as they came into the Jordan, and their feet were dipped in part of the water, (now the Jordan, it being harvest time, had filled the banks of its channel,)*H Who sendeth knowledge as the light, and riseth up as Gehon in the time of the vintage.
Ver. 37. Light. Giving to all the light of reason, and to Israel the law. Ps. cxlvii. 20. — Gehon. Or Araxes, which descends from Armenia into the Caspian sea, though some erroneously take it to be the Nile, (C.) which overflows at the same time as the Euphrates. Pliny xviii. 18. Solin xlvi.
*H Who first hath perfect knowledge of her, and a weaker shall not search her out.
Ver. 38. Of her. Christ was the first that had perfect knowledge of heavenly wisdom. Ch. — This is the privilege of God. Gr. "the first hath not perfect," &c.
*H I, wisdom, have poured out rivers.
Ver. 40. Rivers of saving waters, on all, but particularly (H.) on Judea. v. 42. Gr. "and like a ditch (dioryx. C.) from a river, and as an aqueduct, I came into paradise," (H.) like the four rivers aforesaid. Gen. ii.
*H For I make doctrine to shine forth to all as the morning light, and I will declare it afar off.
Ver. 44. Off. He alludes to the conversion of the Gentiles.
*H I will penetrate to all the lower parts of the earth, and will behold all that sleep, and will enlighten all that hope in the Lord.
Ver. 45. I will. Many Fathers explain this of Christ's descent into hell. But as it occurs not in the Gr. if may be considered as the tradition of the first Christians, who gave this version, (C.) or they found it in their copies. H.
*H I will yet pour out doctrine as prophecy, and will leave it to them that seek wisdom, and will not cease to instruct their offspring even to the holy age.
Ver. 46. Prophecy. Of no less authority. The prophets had ceased for some time before Christ. C. — Them. Gr. "to ages of ages. See," &c. H.
*H See ye that I have not laboured myself only, but for all that seek out the truth.
Ver. 47. I. Wisdom, or the author of this book. C. xxxiii. 18. Wisd. vii. 13. C.