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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)

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", 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 -