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1Thessalonians 4:3ff Exposition

Galatians 5:16ff Exposition

1Timothy 4:7ff Exposition

2Corinthians 10:3-5 - Exposition

James 1:13; James 1:14; James 1:15 - Expositions

Proverbs 5:15 Drink water from your own cistern and fresh water from your own well.  (Pr 5:18,19; Hebrews 13:4)

You have your own spring and your own well which flow with clear water. So drink from these sources! (German Common Language Version)

 Do not go to the well of another man. Stay with your own wife and sleep only with her, just as a man drinks water from his own well. (UBS)

In Proverbs 5:15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21 Solomon offers his "remedy" calculated to counter the temptation to commit sexual immorality with a strange woman. His remedy - delight yourself in fidelity to your own wife, your covenant partner, your one flesh. The world ridicules faithfulness, but God honors and blesses it. One wife for one life and one partner to enjoy sex with for all of your days. That is God's "old fashioned" plan!

In context Solomon is speaking in highly metaphorical language, using cistern, well and fountain as pictures of one's wife. Notice that that possessive pronoun precedes each description and that is Solomon's emphasis -- sexual relations with your OWN wife, and no one else's! That is his main point in this section and to heed such sage advice will keep one far from the paths of the adulteress woman.

The best way for a man to avoid sexual misconduct (including indulging in pornography and the fantasizing and self-gratification that naturally accompany this sin) is to (1) have a loving relationship with your Creator and (2) secondly a loving relationship with the wife of your youth.

Explorer the Bible notes adds that...

the institution of holy matrimony has been designed by God as the only place for the expression of sexual love. It is also quite clear that a satisfying and intimate marriage is a powerful safeguard against sexual temptation. Again, from the perspective of the male, the text calls upon the young man to find his fulfillment in his wife alone. With plain, yet appropriate, language the man is exhorted to be thoroughly satisfied with his wife’s sexual intimacy and to ever be exhilarated or, more literally, “intoxicated” with “her love” (Pr 5:19). This command places a holy responsibility upon both partners in the marriage. Each should be sensitive and attentive to the needs of the other so that any temptation to violate the marriage bond is effectively repelled (cf. 1Cor 7:5).  (Be Wise About Sexual Purity)
 

The UBS Handbook on Proverbs observes that...

Pr 5:15-20 use a number of images such as water, cistern, well, springs, fountain, hind, and doe to appeal to the learner to be satisfied with his own wife rather than going after another person’s wife.

A cistern is an underground chamber used to catch rainwater for storing. Cisterns, like wells in the next line, were often dug in the ground and lined with limestone plaster to keep them from leaking. They were also sometimes hollowed out of rock. The scarcity of water made it essential to guard cisterns and wells closely. The emphasis in this verse is on the private use of water from a cistern. The thought expressed here is “Just as you drink water from your own cistern, so you should have sex only with your own wife.” (Reyburn, W. D., & Fry, E. M. New York: United Bible Societies)

W A Criswell comments that...

These verses use frankly erotic language as is found in the Song of Solomon in expressing that sexual delight in marriage is by divine design (Pr 5:15), as is the joy of procreation, in which husband and wife join hands with the Creator God to produce the next generation (Pr. 5:16, 17, 18; Ge 1:28). The wife is compared to a "cistern" and "well" (Pr 5:15; Song 4:12). This figure enhances her value in the eastern world, in which water was scarce and valuable. The terms "fountains" and "streams of water" are references to children who are victims of marital discord. They suffer from lack of a proper home, either abandoned or raised by "strangers" (Pr 5:17). (Criswell, W A. Believer's Study Bible: New King James Version. 1991. Thomas Nelson)
 

Drink water - Drinking is a normal God given desire but even it is to be gratified in an appropriate way. Solomon here uses this normal physical need to picture a man's sexual need which is also God given and is only to be fulfilled by one's spouse. In other words the idea is be faithful to your own wife, just as you drink water from your own cistern and well. Let her be your "cistern" and "well" with her companionship alone will a husband find total satisfaction and the quenching of all his sexual thirst.

Constable agrees writing that...

The figures of a cistern and well refer to one’s wife (cf. Song 4:15) who satisfies desire.

In first Corinthians Paul writes that...

because of immoralities, each man is to have his own wife, and each woman is to have her own husband. The husband must fulfill his duty to his wife, and likewise also the wife to her husband. The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does; and likewise also the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does. Stop depriving one another, except by agreement for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer, and come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control. (1Co 7:2, 3, 4, 5)

Bridges writes that...

Conjugal love is chief among the earthly goods in mercy granted by God to his fallen and rebellious creature. Enjoy then with thankfulness thine own, and desire not thy neighbour's well. (Ex 20:17. 2Sa 11:2, 3)  (Bridges, C. Commentary on Proverbs)

Adam Clarke writes that me are to...

Be satisfied with thy own wife; and let the wife see that she reverence her husband; and not tempt him by inattention or unkindness to seek elsewhere what he has a right to expect, but cannot find, at home.

Proverbs 5:15-21 Reminders for the Married

THERE IS ONE JOINING - Marriage is Exclusive Pr 5:15, 16, 17

THERE IS ONE JOY - Marriage is Ecstasy Pr 5:18, 19

THERE IS ONE JUDGE - Marriage is Evaluated (by God) Pr 5:20, 21 (Ref)
 

Proverbs 5:16 Should your springs be dispersed abroad, streams of water in the streets? (Deut 33:28; Ps 68:26; Is 48:21) (Ge 24:60; Jdg 12:9; Ps 127:3; 128:3)

Your springs dispersed abroad - This metaphor is more difficult to understand. Some understand it as a metaphor for offspring or children (see below). However in context it is at least possible that your springs...not for strangers (Pr 5:16, 17) continues the metaphor of sexual activity and presents a contrast with the water metaphors in Pr 5:15. In that verse the picture is of the husband experiencing the quenching of his sexual appetite the good way, God's way, with the wife of his youth. In Pr 5:16, 17 the word strangers (Hebrew = zur, used in Pr 5:3, 10, 17, 20, 7:5) could certainly be the strange woman with whom one's springs are dispersed. I do not mean to be dogmatic, but offer this as an alternative interpretation of these two difficult verses (Pr 5:16, 17).

Constable does record that

Another view is that the springs and streams in view belong to the man being warned who might share them with a woman of the street.

Ryrie writes that...

The idea is, should you beget children by an adulteress, a woman of the street? (and that) your springs (is) a reference to one's children.

Matthew Poole...

Thy fountains; thy children proceeding from thy wife, called thy fountain, Pr 5:18, and from thyself, as the Israelites are said to come from the fountain of Israel, Deut 33:28; Ps 68:26. Compare Is 51:1. And fountains are here put for rivers flowing from them, as it is explained in the next clause, and as it is Ps 104:10, by a metonymy of the cause for the effect. And this title may be the more fitly given to children, because as they are rivers in respect of their parents, so when they grow up, they also become fountains to their children.

Be dispersed abroad; they shall be multiplied, and in due time appear abroad in the world to thy comfort and honour, and for the good of others; whereas whores are commonly barren, and men are ashamed to own the children of whoredom.

W A Criswell feel that...

The terms springs and streams of water are references to children who are victims of marital discord. They suffer from lack of a proper home, either abandoned or raised by "strangers" (Pr 5:17). (Criswell, W A. Believer's Study Bible: New King James Version. 1991. Thomas Nelson)

John MacArthur feels that...

The euphemism refers to the male procreation capacity with the idea of the foolish as a fountain scattering precious water—a picture of the wastefulness of sexual promiscuity. The result of such indiscriminate sin is called streams of waters in the streets, a graphic description of the illegitimate street children of harlotry. Rather, says Solomon, “let them be only your own” and not the children of such immoral strangers.

Some commentators like Expositor's Bible Commentary feel that...

Channels of water in the street would mean sexual contact with lewd women.

Proverbs 5:17 Let them be yours alone and not for strangers with you.

John MacArthur feels that them relates to children and thus Solomon is saying...

“let them be only your own” and not the children of such immoral strangers.

Adam Clarke agrees writing let them be "the offspring of a legitimate connection."

Proverbs 5:18 Let your fountain be blessed, and rejoice in the wife of your youth. (Eccl 9:9; Mal 2:14,15)

Your fountain be blessed - A metaphor referring to one's wife and continues the idea that sexual pleasure must be fulfilled at home. In an arid land like the Palestine, where water was precious, this aqueous metaphor should be especially powerful to the male readers.

Matthew Poole...

she shall be blessed with children; for barrenness was esteemed a curse and reproach, especially among the Israelites. Or rather, she shall be a blessing and a comfort to thee, as it follows, and not a curse and a snare, as a harlot will be.

A Handbook on Proverbs explains that...

A fountain is not an artificial jet of water, as may be seen in city parks or gardens, but rather a spring of water flowing out of the ground. Your fountain refers to the man’s wife, who is here the source of his pleasure. The sense of blessed is seen in the parallel word in the second line rejoice. Blessed has the sense of joy or happiness. This happiness is to come from the man’s wife. (United Bible Societies)

The NET Bible notes...

That it should be blessed (the passive participle of barak) indicates that sexual delight is God-given; having it blessed would mean that it would be endowed with fruitfulness, that it would fulfill all that God intended it to do.

Rejoice in the wife of your youth - An excellent command indeed! Do not seek strange women but rejoice in the same woman (...that you married).

The Apologetics Study Bible notes that...

Critics sometimes argue that passages extolling the pleasures of sex are inappropriate and should not be in the Bible. The book of Proverbs, though, sees sex as a gift from God that is to be enjoyed in the context of the commitment of marriage. An intimate relationship with one's spouse and the physical delight such a relationship can bring is commended by Proverbs and is seen as a powerful antidote to the temptations that can lead to unfaithfulness and immorality.

Michael Griffiths wrote that

there is no end to the richness that springs out of that exclusive relationship, and the warmth of the welcome that reaches out from his home to bless others. (Take My Life)

As Al Martin says...

God never intended that man could find the true meaning of his sexuality in any other relationship than that of the total self-giving involved in marriage.

Proverbs 5:19 As a loving hind and a graceful doe, let her breasts satisfy you at all times; Be exhilarated always with her love. (Song 2:9; 4:5; 7:3; 8:14) (Be exhilarated - 2Sa 12:4)

This verse if treasured in one's heart ("control center"; cp Ps 119:9, 11) and obeyed under grace (Ro 6:14-note), gives the husband a powerful "aphrodisiac" and a strong shield impeding wandering eyes and "wander-lust"!

Loving hind - Hebrew reads "the hind of loves".

The language in this section is obviously what we might term quite "erotic", and it serves to show that God, the "Inventor" of sex, is not ashamed to speak openly about it, extolling it as a good gift (James 1:17) to be enjoyed with the wife of one's youth. Paul amplifies the goodness of sexuality within the bounds of marriage, emphasizing that in fact it is a prophylactic which serves to protect one (husband and/or wife) against improper sexual dalliances (in thought [fantasy life], word or deed) explaining that...

because of immoralities (porneia), let each man have his own wife, and let each woman have her own husband...Stop depriving (present imperative with a negative = stop something already being practiced!) one another, except by agreement for a time that you may devote yourselves to prayer, and come together again lest Satan tempt (present tense = continually tempt) you because of your lack of self-control. (1Cor 7:2, 5)

Bridges writes...

Regard her as the special gift of thy Father's hand. (Pr 19:14) Cherish her with gentleness and purity (Ge 24:67), as the loving hind and pleasant roe. Whatsoever interrupts the strictest harmony in this delicate relationship, opens the door to imminent temptation. Tender, well-regulated, domestic affection is the best defence against the vagrant desires of unlawful passion. Yea-it is consecrated by the Word of God itself to the high purpose of shadowing out "the great mystery-loving and cherishing our own flesh, even as the Lord the Church." (Ep 5:25, 29)  (Bridges, C. Commentary on Proverbs)

Sexual desire is natural and marriage is provided for its fulfilment. - Norman Hillyer

Hind and...doe - Animals that picture the graceful delicate nature of a man's wife. It is interesting that women were often named for graceful or attractive animals - cp Tabitha, Dorcas.

Matthew Poole on hind...doe...

as amiable and delightful as the hinds are, either, 1. To their males, the harts; Or, 2. To princes and great men, who used to make them tame and familiar, and to take great delight in them, as hath been noted by many writers

Exhilarated (07686) (shagah) primarily meant to stray, go astray or wander. In the present context the verb signifies a staggering gait expressive of the husband's ecstatic joy over his wife's love. Some interpret this verb as indicating that he is "intoxication" by her love.

The Net Bible explains that

The imagery for intimate love in marriage is now employed to stress the beauty of sexual fulfillment as it was intended. The doe and deer, both implied comparisons, exhibit the grace and love of the wife.

Proverbs 5:20 For why should you, my son, be exhilarated with an adulteress and embrace the bosom of a foreigner? (Pr 2:16, 17, 18, 19; 6:24; 7:5; 22:14; 23:27,28,33; 1Ki 11:1)

For - This conjunction introduces Solomon's explanation of why exhilaration with one's own wife is such an important protective mindset to maintain. As men, we must be continually on high alert, for our sexual desire which is God given to be gratified in a God pleasing way in the marriage covenant, will potentially seek gratification outside of this covenantal relationship if we become lax and allow our mind to wander from the path of God's transforming Word of truth.

One wonders what went through Solomon's mind as he penned these words in light of facts documenting his wandering mind in 1Kings 11...

Now King Solomon loved many foreign women along with the daughter of Pharaoh: Moabite, Ammonite, Edomite, Sidonian, and Hittite women,
2 from the nations concerning which the LORD had said to the sons of Israel, "You shall not associate with them, neither shall they associate with you, for they will surely turn your heart away after their gods." Solomon held fast to these in love.
3 And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines, and his wives turned his heart away.
4 For it came about when Solomon was old, his wives turned his heart away after other gods; and his heart was not wholly devoted to the LORD his God, as the heart of David his father had been.
5 For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians and after Milcom the detestable idol of the Ammonites.
6 And Solomon did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, and did not follow the LORD fully, as David his father had done.

Foreigner (05237) (nokri) describes that which foreign or alien and so a stranger or foreigner. The idea is not related to. In context it describes a woman who is not related to the man by the covenant of marriage and with whom any sexual liaison is sinful. The "strange" woman may seem exotic and exciting at the beginning but the end is deadly.

Wiersbe writes that...

When a husband and wife are faithful to the Lord and to each other, and when they obey Scriptures like 1Cor 7:1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and Ep 5:22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, neither of them will look for satisfaction anywhere else. If they love each other and seek to please each other and the Lord, their relationship will be one of deepening joy and satisfaction; they won't look around for "the greener grass."

Proverbs 5:21 For the ways of a man are before the eyes of the LORD, and He watches all his paths. (See passages on the Eyes of the LORD - Pr 15:3; 2Chr 16:9; Job 31:4; 34:21; Ps 11:4; 17:3; 139:1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12; Je 16:17; 17:10; 23:24; 32:19; Ho 7:2; Heb 4:13-note; Rev 2:18,23)

GOD'S
OMNIPRESENCE -
COMFORTING & CONVICTING

As believers we should love the comforting attribute of God's omnipresence, for as Isaac Watts said so poetically...

Within thy circling power I stand;
On every side I find Thy hand;
Awake, asleep, at home, abroad,
I am surrounded still with God.

But this comforting doctrine of divine omnipresence is also a convicting doctrine, as Spurgeon explains...

Where we cannot enjoy God’s company, we will not go. Our motto is, “With God, anywhere. Without God, nowhere...There is no place so well-adapted for the discovery of sin and recovery from its power and guilt as the immediate presence of God. Get into God’s arms, and you will see how to hit at sin. You will gather strength to give the final blow which shall lay the monster in the dust. Job never knew how to get rid of sin half so well as he did when his eye of faith rested on God, and he abhorred himself, and repented in dust and ashes (Job 42:5, 6) (See study of God's omniscience)

Solomon writes in Proverbs 15 that...

The eyes of the LORD are in every place, watching the evil and the good. (Pr 15:3, 2Chr 16:9)

William Arnot wisely observes that...

God announces Himself the witness and the judge of man. The evil-doer can neither elude the all-seeing eye, nor escape from the Almighty hand. Secrecy is the study and the hope of the wicked. The word booms forth like thunder out of heaven into every human heart where evil thoughts are germinating into wickedness, proclaiming that the ways of man are before the eyes of the Lord. A sinner's chief labour is to hide his sin: and his labour is all lost. Darkness hideth not from God. The Maker of the night is not blinded by its covering. (Laws from heaven for life on earth - This Resource is Highly Recommended!) (Laws from heaven for life on earth ... - Google Books)

The Maker of the night
is not blinded by its covering!

Matthew Poole...

God sees all thy filthy actions, though done with all possible cunning and secrecy. He taketh an exact account of all their doings, that he may recompense them according to the kinds, degrees, numbers, and aggravations of all their unchaste actions.

He watches all his paths - As men we delude ourselves into thinking, that if we are just looking and not touching, it is a "small sin" (See Simeon's msg on "The Captivating Power of Sin"), but that is a lie when we understand the meaning of holiness (see 1Thes 4:3 [note] where continually abstaining from sexual immorality equates with holiness). So clearly God's will for every Christian man is holiness, which is manifest by our continual practice of abstaining from sexual immorality in thought, word or deed. There is no such  thing as a "small sin" in the area of sexual impurity, for just as a small crack in the damn can eventually lead to its rupture, so too can "small sins" which are nursed and cultivated like "weeds" in the garden our mind. We deceive ourselves into believing that since the fantasy is only in our mind, no one knows. This verse is a wake up call which should extinguish that sort of empty delusion. God sees it all beloved believer. As such the truth of this verse should serve to motivate all of us to diligently desire to obey the charge to enjoy the wife of one's youth and not to fantasize, flirt or fall prey to strange women.

J C Ryle in his booklet Thoughts For Young Men has this to say about the eyes of God...

RESOLVE NEVER TO FORGET THE EYE OF GOD. - The eye of God! Think of that. Everywhere, in every house, in every field, in every room, in every company, alone or in a crowd, the eye of God is always on you. "The eyes of the Lord are everywhere, keeping watch on the wicked and the good" (Pr 15:3), and they are eyes that read hearts as well as actions.

Endeavor, I beg you, to realize this fact. Remember that you have to deal with an all-seeing God, a God who never sleeps, a God who understands your thoughts, and with whom the night shines as the day. You may leave your father's house, and go away, like the prodigal, into a far country, and think that there is nobody to watch your conduct; but the eye and ear of God are there before you. You may deceive your parents or employers, you may tell them lies, and act one way before their faces, and another behind their backs, but you cannot deceive God. He knows you through and through. He heard what you said as you came here today. He knows what you are thinking of at this minute. He has set your most secret sins in the light of His countenance, and they will one day come out before the world to your shame, except you take heed.

How little is this really felt! How many things are done continually, which men would never do if they thought they were seen! How many matters are transacted in the rooms of imagination, which would never bear the light of day! Yes; men entertain thoughts in private, and say words in private, and do acts in private, which they would be ashamed and blush to have exposed before the world. The sound of a footstep coming has stopped many a deed of wickedness. A knock at the door has caused many an evil work to be hastily suspended, and hurriedly laid aside. But oh, what miserable folly is all this! There is an all-seeing Witness with us wherever we go. Lock the door, pull down the blind, turn out the light; it doesn't matter, it makes no difference; God is everywhere, you cannot shut Him out, or prevent His seeing. "Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account" (Heb 4:13-note). Young Joseph understood this well when his employer's wife tempted him. There was no one in the house to see them, no human eye to witness against him; but Joseph was one who lived as seeing Him that is invisible: "How could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?" (Ge 39:9)

Young men, I ask all of you to read Psalm 139:1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12ff. I advise all of you to learn it by heart. Make it the test of all your dealings in this world's business: say to yourself often, "Do I remember that God sees me?"

Live as in the sight of God. This is what Abraham did, he walked before Him (Ge 17:1). This is what Enoch did, he walked with Him (Ge 5:22, 24, cp Ge 24:40, 48:15, Ps 26:3, 56:13, 116:9). This is what heaven itself will be, the eternal presence of God. Do nothing that you would not like God to see. Say nothing, you would not like God to hear. Write nothing, you would not like God to read. Go no place where you would not like God to find you. Read no book of which you would not like God to say, "Show it to Me." Never spend your time in such a way that you would not like to have God say, "What are you doing?"

Proverbs 5:22 His own iniquities will capture the wicked, and he will be held with the cords of his sin. (Pr 1:18,31; 11:3,5; Ps 7:15,16; 9:15; Je 2:19; Ho 4:11, 12, 13, 14; Gal 6:7,8) (Held - Ec 7:26) (Sin - 1Co 5:9,10, 11, 12, 13; Gal 5:19, 20, 21; Ep 5:5,6; Heb 13:4)

Be sure to read  William Arnot's insightful comment below on this verse.

Beloved, as you meditate on the principles in this verse, note that the foundational issue being addressed is the condition of one's heart. It therefore behooves us to be knowledgeable of what it means to watch over our heart with all diligence. Toward this end let me recommend a work by the esteemed Puritan writer John Flavel, a short book entitled Keeping The Heart (online source)  which has been called one of "the greatest Christian books of all time". The short time you invest (since it is an older work, the English is a bit more laborious to read for most of us) in this endeavor will yield not only temporal but eternal dividends. (Hint: Natural Reader is a great little tool [I get no recompense] for converting any text file to an Mp3. I convert my Memory Verses to Mp3 and sometimes add my own notes and then can ponder while I pedal my bike and listen to my Ipod. I was able to listen to 1/2 of Flavel's book this morning in my 1.5 hour bicycle ride. Some text doesn't not lend itself to listening while you ride or drive but Keeping the Heart was able to keep my attention the entire time. If you want to maximize the use of your time while traveling, running, biking, walking, etc, I encourage you to try Natural Reader Personal Version [I ordered Paul's voice which is excellent. Note that the free version does not have a natural voice.] which sells for about $50 for the PC version and $60 for the Mac version.  Go to Natural Reader. Enjoy!)

As (presumably) an old man Solomon wrote this wise warning (quite possibly based on personal experience [cp 1Ki 11:1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9])....

And I discovered more bitter than death the woman whose heart is snares and nets, whose hands are chains. One who is pleasing to God will escape from her, but the sinner will be captured (lakad = same Hebrew verb as in Pr 5:22; Greek verb is sullambano = seize, apprehend, grasp, used of taking prisoners into custody, catching animals or fish, figuratively of the union of lust conceiving - Jas 1:15-note;) by her. (Ecclesiastes 7:26)

A little sin will add to your trouble,
Subtract from your energy and
Multiply your difficulties.
--Anonymous

His own - Not someone else's. This man is not a passive player in this destructive drama but is rightly reaping the "rewards" of his own godless choice(s).

Sow a thought, and you reap an act;
Sow an act, and you reap a habit;
Sow a habit, and you reap a character;
Sow a character, and you reap a destiny.
—Samuel Smiles

The words of John Owen's famous admonition resonate with those of Solomon...

the choicest believers, who are assuredly freed from the condemning power of sin, ought yet to make it their business all their days to mortify the indwelling power of sin...Do you mortify; do you make it your daily work; be always at it whilst you live; cease not a day from this work; be killing sin or it will be killing you. Your being dead with Christ virtually, your being quickened with him, will not excuse you from this work." (John Owen's - Of the Mortification of Sin) (Index to "Of the Mortification of Sin in Believers" - Although not an easy project, Owen's treatise is a Highly Recommended Read for all believers who seek to wage war with Sin victoriously in Christ!)

All sin hardens the heart,
stupefies the conscience and
shuts out the light of truth.
--William S. Plumer

His own iniquities will capture the wicked - Although the context deals with sexual sin, the principle is universally applicable to all sins (anger, unforgiveness, covetousness, slander, etc). There is an important principle in this verse that is impossible to sin without being captured and bound. One of the deceitful things about Sin (Sin  -- the Sin principle or propensity inherited from Adam) is that it promises freedom but only brings slavery. Peter in his description of the false (and destructive) teachers (2Pe 2:1, 2) said...

For speaking out arrogant words of vanity they entice by fleshly desires, by sensuality, those who barely escape from the ones who live in error, promising them freedom while they themselves are slaves of corruption; (Here is the principle) for by what a man is overcome, by this he is enslaved. (2Pe 2:18, 19-see notes, cp "lusts of deceit" Ep 4:22 -note, Titus 3:3-note)

The sad words captured and held with cords would be a fitting epitaph for the greatly gifted Samson (Read the decadent declension into degeneracy in the life of a greatly gifted Spirit anointed judge -- Jdg 13:24,25-note, Notice the "direction" in Jdg 14:1, 2, 3-note, note "direction" again in Jdg 14:7, 8-note, Jdg 14:18, 19, 20-note, Jdg 15:18, 19, 20-note, Jdg 16:1-note, Jdg 16:4-note, Jdg 16:18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31-note)

It's "little" sins that trip us up
And cause an unexpected fall;
That's why we need to stay alert
To every sin, both large and small.
—Sper

Earlier Solomon had described sinners as those who...

lie in wait for their own blood. They ambush ("booby trap" NLT) their own lives. (Pr 1:18) (Beloved sin is a deceptive trap - cp Heb 3:13- note)

One leak will sink a ship;
And one sin will destroy a sinner.
--John Bunyan

Sin  (Sin principle) is not just something we commit but is a king that desires to reign in our lives and if given full sway will not hesitate to take the throne. Spurgeon described "King Sin" this way -- "Sin will reign if it can: it cannot be satisfied with any place below the throne of the heart." Jesus alluded to the power of sin in John 8 when He answered the unbelieving Jews (who had initially "believed" in Him - compare Jn 8:31 with Jesus' verdict in Jn 8:44, 45 and their actions in Jn 8:58, 59) declaring...

Truly, truly (Amen, Amen - a call to be especially attentive!), I say to you, everyone (who?) who commits (present tense = as their habitual practice) sin is the slave [word study] of sin." (John 8:34, context = Jn 8:31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, cp Ro 6:16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22-note) (Praise God for Jn 8:36 "So if the Son makes you free [word study], you will be free [word study] indeed"!)

Christian, walk carefully, danger is near!
On in your journey with trembling and fear;
Snares from without and temptations within
Seek to entice you once more into sin.
--Anonymous

Capture (03920) (lakad) means to take possession of as by capturing or catching, as of men capturing a town (1Sa 14:47), figuratively of men caught in snares laid by enemies (Jer 5:26, 18:22 Ps 35:8, 9:15 - speaking of the "trap" of divine judgment, as in Ps 59:12, Pr 6:2, 11:6). Lakad was used in Pr 62 of a sinner ensnared (captured) by the words of their own mouth.

Here are some other uses of lakad in the context of sin...

On account of the sin of their mouth and the words of their lips, Let them even be caught (lakad) in their pride, And on account of curses and lies which they utter. (Psalm 59:12)

If you have been snared with the words of your mouth, Have been caught (lakad) with the words of your mouth, (Proverbs 6:2)

The righteousness of the upright will deliver them, But the treacherous will be caught (lakad) by their own greed. (Proverbs 11:6)

Lakad - 113v in the NAS - Num 21:32; 32:39, 41f; Deut 2:34f; 3:4; Josh 6:20; 7:14ff; 8:19, 21; 10:1, 28, 32, 35, 37, 39, 42; 11:10, 12, 17; 15:16f; 19:47; Judg 1:8, 12f, 18; 3:28; 7:24f; 8:12, 14; 9:45, 50; 12:5; 15:4; 1 Sam 10:20f; 14:41f, 47; 2 Sam 5:7; 8:4; 12:26ff; 1 Kgs 9:16; 16:18; 2 Kgs 12:17; 17:6; 18:10; 1 Chr 11:5; 18:4; 2 Chr 12:4; 13:19; 15:8; 17:2; 22:9; 28:18; 32:18; 33:11; Neh 9:25; Job 5:13; 36:8; 38:30; 41:17; Ps 9:15; 35:8; 59:12; Prov 5:22; 6:2; 11:6; 16:32; Eccl 7:26; Isa 8:15; 20:1; 24:18; 28:13; Jer 5:26; 6:11; 8:9; 18:22; 32:3, 24, 28; 34:22; 37:8; 38:3, 28; 39:1; 48:1, 7, 41, 44; 50:2, 9, 24; 51:31, 41, 56; Lam 4:20; Dan 11:15, 18; Amos 3:4f; Hab 1:10; Zech 14:2. NAS = capture(9), captured(57), captures(4), captures at all(1), catch(2), caught(12), clasp(1), imprisoned(1), seized(1), take(6), taken(13), taken captive(2), takes(3), took(8).

Waltke adds that...

Lakad is used more often in warfare for capturing territory from an enemy (cf. Nu 21:32; 32:39, 41, 42; Pr 16:32) or from a person (Jer. 48:7), but the parallel and with the cords (ûbehablê) shows that it has its less frequent use in capturing an animal in a trap (Job 36:8; Ps. 9:6; 35:8; Pr. 6:2; Ec 7:26; Isa 8:5; Jer. 18:22; 48:44; Amos 3:5). (Waltke, B. K. The Book of Proverbs)

The Septuagint (LXX) translates the Hebrew word for "capture" using a rare Greek verb sphiggo, which means literally to tie up in a bundle (as used in 2Ki 12:11) or to be bound tight or fast. Sphiggo is in the present tense which emphasizes that the binding is continual! The passive voice indicates that the person is bound by an outside "force" (Sin  -- the Sin principle or propensity inherited from Adam).

Considering the captivating power of Sin, Puritan Thomas Watson warned that...

There is in Sin a commanding and a condemning power.

It was the renowned Bishop J C Ryle who rightly put it that...  

Sins begin like cobwebs,
but become iron clamps.

John Calvin was correct declaring that...

When the will is enchained as the slave of Sin, it cannot make a movement towards goodness, far less steadily pursue it.

Os Guinness adds that...

Our use of reason itself is not only wounded and weakened but made wilful and wrong by sin.

In Pr 1:18 the wicked person ambushes his own life, whereas in Pr 5:22 iniquity is personified as the agent which sets and springs the trap which leads to death! God does not have to send a bolt of lightning. As discussed above, the moral order of the universe is clearly seen in this verse where one's sowing of iniquity, results in a reaping of enslavement by that same iniquity! Could God have been much clearer!

As John Butler writes...

Sin is so beguiling. It is extremely deceitful. It looks so appealing, but it is simply a trap to ruin, to destroy, and to bring you into captivity for the devil. Notice it is “his own iniquities” that entrap the sinner. It is not the sins of another. He cannot blame others (Ed: He cannot even say "The devil made me do it"!); he must blame himself for playing the fool. This does not mean that our sins do not adversely affect others, but rather that our own sins, not the sins of others, are the main problems in our lives. We like to blame others for our troubles, but this verse says the main blame lies with our own iniquities. (Butler's Daily Bible Reading)

Freedom is not the right to do as you will,
But the power to do as you should!

Held (08551) (tamak) conveys the basic idea of grasping securely and is used most often in the context of moral issues as here in Pr 5:22 (cp Pr 4:4, 3:18, 29:23).

Tamak - 20v in the NAS - Gen 48:17; Ex 17:12; Job 36:17; Ps 16:5; 17:5; 41:12; 63:8; Prov 3:18; 4:4; 5:5, 22; 11:16; 28:17; 29:23; 31:19; Isa 33:15; 41:10; 42:1; Amos 1:5, 8. NAS =  attain(1), attains(1), grasp(1), grasped(1), held(1), held fast(1), hold(1), hold her fast(1), hold fast(1), holds(2), obtain(1), support(2), supported(1), take hold(2), uphold(3), upholds(1).

The Septuagint (LXX) translates tamak with a Greek verb agreuo which was used to describe the hunting of wild animals and thus meant to catch the prey. Figuratively, agreuo meant to take advantage of someone in an unguarded moment so as to catch them in a mistake or to try to get them to make a wrong statement (Mk 12:13). Agreuo was used two other times in Proverbs, both serving to amplify the warning of Pr 5:22...

(1) Proverbs 6:25 Do not desire her beauty in your heart, nor let her capture (Hebrew = laqach = take, grasp, take hold of!!!; Lxx = agrueo) you with her eyelids.

(2) Proverbs 6:26 For on account of a harlot one is reduced to a loaf of bread, and an adulteress hunts (Hebrew = tsud; Lxx = agrueo) for the precious life.
 

In short, agrueo gives us a vivid picture of the power of Sin to "hunt down" and "capture" man like prey, whether "the deadly hunter" be sexual sin or any other sin we continue to practice and from which we refuse to repent. Remember that "Sin is like seed—to cover it is to cultivate it." (Anonymous)
 

Cords (02256) (chebel) carries the most basic meaning of a cord or rope (by which the spies escaped Josh 2:15 - Note the fascinating dichotomy = one cord brought escape while the other brings bondage!) or the cords used to literally bind Jeremiah (Jer 38:11, 12, 13).

Harry Ironside writes that...

Certain retribution will follow the disobedient. The very sins he delights in are the links of the chain that will bind him forever. Having refused instruction in life, he will die without it; he will be left to go astray in the folly his soul loved. Dying in his sins, he goes out into the darkness, where the light he refused will never shine on him again!

Sin will take you further than you ever intended to stray.
It will keep you longer than you ever intended to stay.
And it will cost you more than you ever dreamed you would pay.

Sin (02403) (chattat) describes that which is an offense to God's moral standard. The basic meaning of the root is to miss a mark or a way. In Jdg 20:16 the left-handed slingers of Benjamin are said to have the skill to throw stones at targets and “not miss.”

Sin is a little word with only three letters,
but the biggest is I.
--A S Wood

This picture of a full grown person bound by a tiny sin brings to mind the picture of Gulliver and the Lilliputs who were able to bind him because he fell asleep (cp the repeated NT warnings to "Be sober" - 1Th 5:6, 8; 2Ti 4:5; 1Pe 1:13; 4:7; 5:8). Tiny sins are far more deadly than tiny Lilliputs!

In Acts Peter describes Simon the Sorcerer declaring...

For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and in the bondage (sundesmos = bound together much like a tendon is to the adjacent bone; it is interesting that a related word desmotes = a prisoner, which is a good picture of the captivating power) of iniquity. (Acts 8:23)

Albert Barnes commenting on this description of Simon writes...

Or, that thou art bound by iniquity. That is, that it has the rule over you, and binds you as a slave. Sin is often thus represented as bondage and captivity. Sinners are represented as chained to it, and kept in hard servitude, Ps 116:16; Pr 5:22, "He shall be holden with the cords of his sins;" Ro 7:23,24. These expressions prove conclusively that Simon was a stranger to religion. (Albert Barnes. Barnes NT Commentary) (Comment: While not everyone agrees that Simon was unregenerate, the weight of evidence certainly strongly suggests that conclusion that Simon was "bound by the cords of his iniquities".)

Wiersbe rightly warns us that...

The cords of sin get stronger the more we sin, yet sin deceives (Heb 3:13) us into thinking we're free and can quit sinning whenever we please. As the invisible chains of habit are forged, we discover to our horror that we don't have the strength to break them. Millions of people in our world today are in one kind of bondage or another and are seeking for deliverance, but the only One who can set them free is Jesus Christ. "Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed" (John 8:36, NKJV).

Sin is sovereign
until sovereign grace dethrones it.
C. H. Spurgeon

Capture...held with the cords of sin - The one engaged in sexual sin was given over to that sin so that he was in bondage. We might say he was now "addicted" to this sin. Notice that he has no one else to blame ("his own iniquities"). James teaches that we cannot blame God (James 1:13) and we can't even blame the Devil. We have ourselves to blame because as James says...

each one (Greek hekastos means every single one) is tempted (word study) when he is carried away (word study) (like a fish is drawn out from the safety of the rocks) and enticed (then the fish is lured by the bait which hides the hook!) by his own lust (word study) (In this context the meaning is a strong desire to do evil, this evil disposition emanating from the fallen flesh (word study), which is inherited from Adam [Ro 5:12-note] and which is still present in believers [Gal 5:17-note], albeit it's power to reign has been broken - [Ro 6:6-note]).15 Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death.16 Do not be deceived (present imperative + negative = stop being deceived, implying some were being deceived), my beloved brethren. (James 1:14, 15, 16-see notes)

Alexander Maclaren paints a dismal picture of the indomitable (untamable) nature of indulged sin...

We all know that anything once done becomes easier to do again. That is true about both good and bad actions, but ‘ill weeds grow apace,’ and it is infinitely easier to form a bad habit than a good one. The young shoot is green and flexible at first, but it soon becomes woody and grows high and strikes deep. We can all verify the statement of our text by recalling the tremors of conscience, the self-disgust, the dread of discovery which accompanied the first commission of some evil deed, and the silence of undisturbed, almost unconscious facility, that accompanied later repetitions of it. Sins of sense and animal passion afford the most conspicuous instances of this, but it is by no means confined to these. We have but to look steadily at our own lives to be aware of the working of this solemn law in them, however clear we may be of the grosser forms of evil deeds. For us all it is true that custom presses on us ‘with a weight, heavy as frost and deep almost as life,’ and that it is as hard for the Ethiopian to change his skin or the leopard his spots as for those who ‘are accustomed to do evil’ to ‘do good.’

But experience teaches not only that evil deeds quickly consolidate into evil habits, but that as the habit grips us faster, the poor pleasure for the sake of which the acts are done diminishes. The zest which partially concealed the bitter taste of the once eagerly swallowed morsel is all but gone, but the morsel is still sought and swallowed. Impulses wax as motives wane, the victim is like an ox tempted on the road to the slaughter-house at first by succulent fodder held before it, and at last driven into it by pricking goads and heavy blows. Many a man is so completely wrapped in the net which his own evil deeds have made for him, that he commits the sin once more, not because he finds any pleasure in it, but for no better reason than that he has already committed it often, and the habit is his master....

Whoever steps on to the steeply sloping road to which self-pleasing invites us, soon finds that he is on an inclined plane well greased, and that compulsion is on him to go on, though he may recoil from the descent, and be shudderingly aware of what the end must be. Let no man say,

‘I will do this doubtful thing once only, and never again.’

Sin is like an octopus, and if the loathly thing gets the tip of one slender filament round a man, it will envelop him altogether and drag him down to the cruel beak.

Let us then remember how swiftly deeds become habits, and how the fetters, which were silken at first, rapidly are exchanged for iron chains, and how the craving increases as fast as the pleasure from gratifying it diminishes. Let us remember that there are many kinds of evil which seem to force their own repetition, in order to escape their consequences and to hide the sin. Let us remember that no man can venture to say, ‘This once only will I do this thing.’ Let us remember that acts become habits with dreadful swiftness, and let us beware that we do not forge chains of darkness for ourselves out of our own godless deeds.

The Cords Can Be Loosened

Bitter experience teaches that the imprisoning net clings too tightly to be stripped from our limbs by our own efforts. Nay rather, the net and the captive are one, and he who tries to cast off the oppression which hinders him from following that which is good is trying to cast off himself. The desperate problem that fronts every effort at self-emendation has two bristling impossibilities in it: one, how to annihilate the past; one, how to extirpate the evil that is part of my very self, and yet to keep the self entire. The very terms of the problem show it to be insoluble, and the climax of all honest efforts at making a clean thing of an unclean by means within reach of the unclean thing itself, is the despairing cry, ‘O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me out of the body of this death?’

The Breaker

But to men writhing in the grip of a sinful past, or paralyzed beyond writhing, and indifferent, because hopeless, or because they have come to like their captivity, comes one whose name is ‘the Breaker,’ whose mission it is to proclaim liberty to the captives, and whose hand laid on the cords that bind a soul, causes them to drop harmless from the limbs and sets the bondsman free. Many tongues praise Jesus for many great gifts, but His proper work, and that peculiar to Himself alone, is His work on the sin and the sins of the world. He deals with that which no man can deal with for himself or by his own power. He can cancel our past, so that it shall not govern our future. He can give new power to light the old habits. He can give a new life which owes nothing to the former self, and is free from taint from it. He can break the entail (in logic = that which has a necessary consequence) of sin, the ‘law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus’ can make any of us, even him who is most tied and bound by the chain of his sins, ‘free from the law of sin and death.’ (Ro 8:2-note) We cannot break the chains that fetter us, and our own struggles, like the plungings of a wild beast caught in the toils, but draw the bonds tighter. But the chains that cannot be broken can be melted, and it may befall each of us as it befell the three Hebrews in the furnace, when the king ‘was astonished’ and asked, ‘Did not we east three men bound into the midst of the fire?’ and wonderingly declared, ‘Lo, I see four men loose walking in the midst of the fire, and the aspect of the fourth is like a son of the gods.’ (Da 3:24, 25-note) (The Cords of Sin)

He breaks the power of canceled sin,
He sets the prisoner free;
His blood can make the foulest clean,
His blood availed for me.
(Play Charles Wesley's great hymn
O for a Thousand Tongues to Sing)

William Arnot has a picturesque, poignant and powerful comment on Proverbs 5:22...

The Maker of the night is not blinded by its covering. He who knows evil in its secret source is able to limit the range of its operation; and there is a special method by which this is done. It is a principle of the divine government that sin becomes the instrument of punishing sinners. Both for restraint in this life and final judgment at last, this is the method employed. It is not only true in general that the wicked shall not escape, but also in particular that his own sin is the snare that takes the transgressor, and the scourge that lashes him.

The Maker and Ruler of all things has set in the system of the universe a self acting apparatus, which is constantly going for the encouragement of good and the repression of evil. The providential laws do not, indeed, supply a sufficient remedy for sin and its fruits; another physician undertakes the cure; but these laws, notwithstanding, exert a constant force in opposition to moral evil.

The wind may be blowing steadily up the river, and yet a ship on the river's bosom, though her sails are spread and filled, may not be moving up, but actually dropping down the stream. Why? Because the stream flows so rapidly down, that the breeze in the sails, though a force in the opposite direction, cannot overcome it. The wind does not, in spite of the current, give the ship momentum upward, but it makes the ship's progress downward much more slow. That force does not make the ship move upward, but it prevents the ship from rushing down with such a headlong velocity as to dash itself in pieces.

The providential laws are directed against the current of man's sinful propensities, and tell in force thereon. They do not, however, overcome, and neutralize, and reverse these propensities. They were not so intended. They impede the stream's velocity, and restrain its fury. The providential laws prevent the present system from dashing itself into chaos, but they do not supersede the redemption by Christ, and the renewing by the Spirit.

"His own iniquities shall take the wicked." This is an evident and awful truth. Retribution in the system of nature, set in motion by the act of sin, is like the " Virgin's kiss" in the Romish Inquisition. The step of him who goes forward to kiss the image touches a secret spring, and the statue's marble arms enclose him in a deadly embrace, piercing his body through with a hundred hidden knives. Verily a man under law to God would need to " ponder his path," for the ground he stands on is mined beneath his feet, and the first step from virtue's firm footing aside into the yielding slough of vice, set ; unseen swords in motion which will tear his flesh, and enter the marrow of his bones. "The Lord reigneth, let the earth rejoice." (Ps 97:1-note) Praise Him for his righteousness; hw judgments will go into a song as well as his mercy. (Laws from heaven for life on earth [online] - This Resource is Highly Recommended!) (Laws from heaven for life on earth ... - Google Books)

George Lawson comments...

Sinners will find, when too late, if wonderful mercy prevent not, that the sorrow which springs from self-love, is a very different thing from repentance, and that it is not so easy a matter as the devil told them, to venture their salvation in the hands of a Redeemer. They look upon saints as slaves who live an unpleasant life, but time will convince them, since admonition cannot, that themselves are the slaves, bound in the strongest and most ignominious chains. They are fettered by vicious affections, and they have neither power nor will to assert their liberty. The cords of their own sins shall hold them fast, till they are cast into that prison from whence there is no release. This is a wretched condition, but they may thank themselves. Their own hands forged the chains which are riveted upon them. They refused that glorious liberty proclaimed to them in the word of Christ. (see Jn 8:31, 32, 34, 36, Lk 4:18) The sinner flattered himself that he did not refuse redemption, he only delayed the acceptance of it. But such delays are refusals in God's estimation. To the sinner they are for the most part fraught with ruin. (Exposition of the book of proverbs - enter page #96)

Matthew Poole.

In vain doth he think to disentangle himself from his lusts by repenting when he grows in years, and to escape punishments; for he is in perfect bondage to his lusts, and is neither able nor willing to set himself at liberty; and if he do escape the rage of a jealous husband, and the sentence of the magistrate, yet he shall be infallibly overtaken by the righteous judgment of God.

A W Pink wrote that...

We are ourselves so infected and affected by sin that we are altogether incapable of estimating its due merits.
 

Adam Clarke rightly says that...

Most people who follow unlawful pleasures, think they can give them up whenever they please; but sin repeated becomes customary; custom soon engenders habit; and habit in the end assumes the form of necessity; the man becomes bound with his own cords, and so is led captive by the devil at his will.

Charles Bridges encourages all men to...

Ponder this chapter – ye that know not the poison and corruption of fleshly lusts. Perhaps painful experience (1Ki 11:1-8. Ec 7:26) had given the wise man (Solomon) wisdom and understanding. Therefore attend to it with fear and trembling.

Man's own strength, the restraint of education, or self-discipline, is powerless, as the green withs (willow twigs) to bind the giant. (Jdg 16:9) Engrafted wisdom is the only effectual safeguard. This heavenly influence teaches us, both to regard discretion for the covering of our souls, and to keep knowledge for the warning of our fellow-sinners. (Pr 2:10,11, 16; 6:20, 24; 7:1-5. Ps.17:4; Ps 119:9, 11).

As a very little dust will disorder a clock,
and the least grain of sand will obscure our sight,
so the least grain of sin which is upon the heart
will hinder its right motion toward God.
--John Wesley

><>><>><>

Little sins add up to big trouble.
There is no sin so little as not to kindle an eternal fire!

“That’s it exactly,” he continued. “We get soiled by gazing at a vulgar picture, reading a course book, or allowing ourselves a little indulgence in dishonest or lustful thoughts; and so when the time comes for our character to be appraised, we are greatly reduced in value. Our purity, our strength is gone. We are just part and parcel of the general, shopworn stock of the world.”

It started as a seedling on the slopes of the Colorado Rockies some 500 years ago. For centuries it had stood tall, enduring violent winds, lightning strikes, blizzards, even avalanches. Now, however, the once-towering tree is just a mound of decaying wood. What caused its demise? A horde of beetles had attacked it, gnawing away until that skyscraper of nature surrendered to those tiny pests and toppled over.

That's also the tragic story of many Christians. For long years they stood tall for God. They resisted temptations, weathered crises, and were bold in the strength divinely provided. But little sins began to eat away at their lives--little lies, little compromises with greed or lust, sins that gradually eroded their character. And suddenly they fell.

Song of Solomon 2:15 states,

This colorful Old Testament verse should sound a loud alarm in our consciences. We must not tolerate the little evils that eat away at the roots of our lives. Otherwise, our once-strong witness for Christ will become a silenced casualty of sin. Let's confess those "tiny" evils to God now, before they lead to a big fall. — Vernon C. Grounds (Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved)

VICE SUICIDAL
Pr 5:22, 23

THE END OF AN EVIL COURSE
Pr 5:22, 23

I. An inward tyranny of the most cruel character. (Pr 5:22.)

II. After-consequences yet more calamitous. (Pr 5:23.)

Proverbs 5:23 He will die for lack of instruction, and in the greatness of his folly he will go astray. (Pr 10:21; 14:32; Job 4:21; 36:12) (Pr 14:14; Ps 81:12; 2Pe 2:15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)

God's wounds cure
Sin's kisses kill.
--William Gurnall

Matthew Poole...

In the greatness of his folly; through his stupendous folly, whereby he cheated himself with hopes of repentance or impunity, and exposed himself to endless torments for the momentary pleasures of sinful lusts.

Proverbs 5:22 Sinners Bound With The Cords Of Sin
Delivered on Lord's Day Morning, February 13th, 1870, by
C H SPURGEON
at the Metropolitan Tabernacle, Newington

His own iniquities shall take the wicked himself, and he shall be holden with the cords of his sins. - Proverbs 5:22

The first sentence has reference to a net, in which birds or beasts are taken. The ungodly man first of all finds sin to be a bait, and, charmed by its apparent pleasantness he indulges in it, and then he becomes entangled in its meshes so that he cannot escape. That which first attracted the sinner, afterwards detains him. Evil habits are soon formed, the soul readily becomes accustomed to evil, and then, even if the man should have lingering thoughts of better things, and form frail resolutions to amend, his iniquities hold him captive like a bird in the fowler's snare. You have seen the foolish fly descend into the sweet which is spread to destroy him, he sips, and sips again, and by-and-by he plunges boldly in to feast himself greedily: when satisfied, he attempts to fly, but the sweet holds him by the feet and clogs his wings; he is a victim, and the more he struggles the more surely is he held. Even so is it with the sins of ungodly men, they are at first a tempting bait, and afterwards a snare. Having sinned, they become so bewitched with sin, that the scriptural statement is no exaggeration: "Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? then may ye also do good, that are accustomed to do evil."

The first sentence of the text also may have reference to an arrest by an officer of law. The transgressor's own sins shall take him, shall seize him; they bear a warrant for arresting him, they shall judge him, they shall even execute him. Sin, which at the first bringeth to man a specious pleasure, ere long turneth into bitterness, remorse, and fear. Sin is a dragon, with eyes like stars, but it carrieth a deadly sting in its tail. The cup of sin, with rainbow bubbles on its brim, is black with deep damnation in its dregs. O that men would consider this, and turn from their delusions. To bring torment to the guilty, there is little need that God should, literally in the world to come, pile up Tophet with its wood and much smoke, nor even that the pit should be digged for the ungodly in order to make them miserable; sin shall of itself bring forth death. Leave a man to his own sins, and hell itself surrounds him; only suffer a sinner to do what he wills, and to give his lusts unbridled headway, and you have secured him boundless misery; only allow the seething caldron of his corruptions to boil at its own pleasure, and the man must inevitably become a vessel filled with sorrow. Be assured that sin is the root of bitterness. Gild the pill as you may, iniquity is death. Sweet is an unholy morsel in the mouth, but it will be wormwood in the bowels. Let but man heartily believe this, and surely he will not so readily be led astray. "Surely in vain is the net spread in the sight of any bird," and shall man be more foolish than the fowls of the air? will he wilfully pursue his own destruction? will he wrong his own soul? Sin, then, becomes first a net to hold the sinner by the force of custom and habit, and afterwards, a sheriffs officer to arrest him, and to scourge him with its inevitable results.

The second sentence of our text speaks of the sinner being holden with cords, and a parable may be readily fashioned out of the expression. The lifelong occupation of the ungodly man is to twist ropes of sin. All his sins are as so much twine and cord out of which ropes may be made. His thoughts and his imaginations are so much raw material, and while he thinks of evil, while he contrives transgression, while he lusts after filthiness, while he follows after evil devices, while with head, and hand, and heart he pursues eagerly after mischief, he is still twisting evermore the cords of sin which are afterwards to bind him. The binding meant is that of a culprit pinioned for execution. Iniquity pinions a man, disables him from delivering himself from its power, enchains his soul, and inflicts a bondage on the spirit far worse than chaining of the body. Sin cripples all desires after holiness, damps every aspiration after goodness, and thus, fettering the man hand and foot, delivers him over to the executioner, which executioner shall be the wrath of God, but also sin itself, in the natural consequences which in every case must flow from it. Samson could burst asunder green withes and new ropes, but when at last his darling sin had bound him to his Delilah, that bond he could not snap, though it cost him his eyes. Make a man's will a prisoner, and he is a captive indeed. Determined independence of spirit walks at freedom in a tyrant's Bastille, and defies a despot's hosts; but a mind enslaved by sin builds its own dungeon, forges its own fetters, and rivets on its chains. It is slavery indeed when the iron enters into the soul. Who would not scorn to make himself a slave to his baser passions? and yet the mass of men are such—the cords of their sins bind them.

Thus, having introduced to you the truth which this verse teaches, namely, the captivating, enslaving power of sin, I shall advance to our first point of consideration. This is a solution to a great mystery; but then, secondly, it is itself a greater mystery; and when we have considered these two matters it will be time for us to note what is the practical conclusion from this line of thought.

I. First, then, the doctrine of the text, that iniquity entraps the wicked as in a net, and binds them as with cords is A SOLUTION OF A GREAT MYSTERY.

When you and I first began to do good by telling out the gospel, we labored under the delusion that as soon as our neighbors heard of the blessed way of salvation they would joyfully receive it, and be saved in crowds. We have long ago seen that pleasant delusion dispelled; we find that our position is that of the serpent-charmer with the deaf adder, charm we ever so wisely, men will not hear so as to receive the truth. Like the ardent reformer, we have found out that old Adam is too strong for young Melancthon. We now perceive that for a sinner to receive the gospel involves a work of grace that shall change his heart and renew his nature. Yet none the less is it a great mystery that it should be so. It is one of the prodigies of the god of this world that he makes men love sin, and abide in indifference as if they were fully content to be lost. It is a marvel of marvels that man should be so base as to reject Christ, and abide in wilful and wicked unbelief. I will try and set forth this mystery, in the way in which, I dare say, it has struck many an honest hearted worker for Jesus Christ.

Is it not a mysterious thing that men should be content to abide in a state of imminent peril? Every unconverted man is already condemned. Our Lord has said it: "He that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed on the Son of God." Every unregenerate man is not only liable to the wrath of God in the future, but the wrath of God abideth on him. It is on him now, it always will remain upon him; as long as he is what he is, it abideth on him. And yet in this state men do not start, they are not amazed or alarmed, they are not even anxious. Sabbath after Sabbath they are reminded of their unhappy position: it makes us unhappy to think they should be in such a state, but they are strangely at ease. The sword of vengeance hangs over them by a single hair, yet sit they at their banquets, and they laugh and sport as though there were no God, no wrath to come, no certainty of appearing before the judgment-seat of Christ. See a number of persons in a train that has broken down. The guard has only to intimate that another train is approaching, and that it may perhaps dash into the carriages and mangle the passengers; he has only to give half a hint, and see how the carriage doors fly open, how the travelers rush up the embankment, each one so eager for his own preservation as to forget his fellow's. Yet here are men and women by hundreds and thousands, with the fast-rushing train of divine vengeance close behind them; they may almost hear the sound of its thundering wheels, and, lo, they sit in all quietness, exposed to present peril and in danger of a speedy and overwhelming destruction. "'Tis strange. 'tis passing strange, 'tis wonderful." Here is a mystery indeed, that can only be understood in the light of the fact that these foolish beings are taken by their sing, and bound by the cords of their iniquities.

Be it ever remembered that before very long these unconverted men and women, many of whom are present this morning, will be in a stale whose wretchedness it is not possible for language fully to express. Within four-and-twenty hours their spirits may be summoned before the bar of God; and, according to this book, which partially uplifts the veil of the future, the very least punishment that can fall upon an unconverted soul will cause it "weeping, and wailing, and gnashing of teeth." All they had endured, of whom it is written, that they wept and gnashed their teeth, was to be shut out into outer darkness, nothing more; no stripes had then fallen, they had not yet been shut up in the prison-house of hell, only the gate of heaven was shut, only the light of glory was hid; and straightway there was weeping, and wailing, and gnashing of teeth. What, then, will be the woe of the lost when positive punishment is inflicted? As for what they will endure who have beard the gospel, but have wilfully rejected it, we have some faint notion from the Master's words: "It shall be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for them." We know that it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God, for "our God is a consuming fire." From this platform there rings full often that question, "How shall ye escape if ye neglect so great salvation?" And yet for all this, men are willing to pass on through time into eternity regardless of the escape which God provides, turning aside from the only salvation which can rescue them from enduring "the blackness of darkness for ever." O reason, art thou utterly fled? Is every sinner altogether brutish? If we should meet with a man condemned to die, and tell him that pardon was to be had, would he hear us with indifference? Would he abide in the condemned cell and use no means for obtaining the boon of life and liberty? Yes, there awaits the sinner a more awful doom, and a more terrible sentence, and we are sent to publish a sure pardon from the God of heaven; and yet thousands upon thousands give us no deep heartfelt attention, but turn aside and perish in their sins. O that my head were waters, and mine eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep for the folly of the race to which I belong, and mourn over the destruction of my fellow men!

It often strikes us with wonder that men do not receive the gospel of Jesus Christ, when we recollect that the gospel is so plain. If it were a great mystery one might excuse the illiterate from attending to it. If the plan of salvation could only be discovered by the attentive perusal of a long series of volumes, and if it required a classical training and a thorough education, why then the multitude of the poor and needy, whose time is taken up with earning their bread, might have same excuse; but there is under heaven no truth more plain than this, "He that believeth on the Lord Jesus hath everlasting life;" "He that believeth and is baptised, shall be saved." To believe—that is, simply to trust Christ. How plain! There is no road, though it ran straight as an arrow, that can be more plain than this. Legible only by the light they give, but all so legible that be who runs may read, stand these soul-quickening words, "Believe and live." Trust Christ and your sins are forgiven; you are saved. This is so plain a precept, that I may call it a very A B C for infants, yet men receive it not. Are they not indeed holden by the cords of their sins when they refuse to obey?

Moreover, brethren, there is a wonderful attractiveness in the gospel. If the gospel could possibly be a revelation of horrors piled on horrors, if there were something in it utterly inconsistent with reason, or something that shocked all the sensitive affections of our better part, we might excuse mankind, but the gospel is just this: man is lost, but God becomes man to save him, "The Son of Man is come to seek and to save that which was lost." Out of infinite love to his enemies the Son of God took upon himself human flesh, that he might suffer in the room and stead of men what they ought to have suffered. The doctrine of substitution, while it wondrously magnifies the grace of God and satisfies the justice of God, methinks ought to strike you all with love because of the disinterested affection which it reveals on Jesus Christ's part. O King of Glory, dost thou bleed for me? O Prince of Life, canst thou lie shrouded in the grave for me? Doth God stoop from his glory to be spat upon by sinful lips? Doth he stoop from the splendor of heaven to be "despised and rejected of men," that men may be saved? Why, it ought to win every human ear, it ought to entrance every human heart. Was ever love like this? Go ye to your poets, and see if they have ever imagined anything nobler than the love of Christ the Son of God for the dying sons of men! Go to your philosophers, and see if in all their maxims they have ever taught a diviner philosophy than that of Christ's life, or ever have imagined in their pictures of what men ought to be, an heroic love like that which Christ in very deed displayed! We lift before you no gory banner that might sicken your hearts; we bring before you no rattling chains of a tyrant's domination; but we lift up Jesus crucified, and "Love" is written on the banner that is waved in the forefront of our hosts; we bid you yield to the gentle sway of love, and not to the tyranny of terror. Alas! men must be bound, indeed, and fettered fast by an accursed love to sin, or else the divine attractions of a crucified Redeemer would win their hearts.

Consider, my friends, you who love the souls of your fellow men, how marvellous it is that men should not receive the gospel when the commandment of the gospel is not burdensome! Methinks if it had been written that no man should enter heaven except by the way of martyrdom, it had been wisdom for every one of us to give our bodies to be burned, or to be stretched upon the rack; yea, if there had been no path to escape from the wrath of God, but to be flayed alive with Bartholomew, enduring present but exquisite torture, it would have been but a cheap price for an escape from wrath, and an entrance into heaven. But I find in God's word prescribed as the way of salvation, no such physical agonies. No austerities are commanded; not even the milder law which governed the Pharisee when he "fasted thrice in the week." Only this is written—"Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved;" and the precept of the Christian's life is, "Love thy God with all thy heart, and thy neighbor as thyself." Most pleasant duties these of love! What more sweet? What more delightful than to permit the soul to flow out in streams of affection? The ways of true religion are not irksome, her ways are pleasantness, and all her paths are peace. What, heaven given for believing? What, heaven's gate opened only for knocking, and boons all priceless bestowed for nothing but the asking? Yet they will not ask, they will not knock. Alas, my God, what creatures are men! Alas, O sin, what monsters hast thou made mankind, that they will forget their own interests, and wrong their own souls!

Further, it is clear that men must be fast held by the bondage of their sins when we recollect that, according to the confession of the most of them, the pleasures of sin are by no means great. I have heard them say themselves that they have been satiated after a short season of indulgence We know how true the word is, "Who hath woe? who hath redness of eyes? They that tarry long at the wine; they that go to seek mixed wine." No form of sin has ever been discovered yet that has yielded satisfaction. You shall look at those who have had all that heart could wish, and have without restraint indulged their passions, and you shall find them to be in their latter end amongst the most wretched rather than the most satisfied of mankind. Yet for these pleasures—I think I degrade the word when I call them pleasures—for these pleasures they are willing to pawn their souls and risk everlasting woe; and all this while, be it remembered, to add to the wonder, there are pleasures to be found in godliness; they do not deny this, they cannot without belying their own observation. We who are at least as honest as they are, bear our testimony that we never knew what true happiness was till we gave our hearts to Christ; but since then our peace has been like a river. We have had our afflictions, we have suffered grievous bodily pain, we have endured mental depression, we have been heavily burdened, we have borne many trials; but we can say -

We would not change our blest estate
For all the world calls good or great.