Admonitions To His Heart[219] O my heart, draw nigh, I pray thee; keep silence, and hearken; consider my meditation; know and discern the coming out of my words; give ear to my sayings. Shalt thou never observe the covenant? shalt thou be like an adamant harder than flint? and shalt thou not take the flint of the testimony to cut off thy foreskin and to remove thy reproach?[220] If in the days of delight and in the time of good will thy ways are unstable, what will happen when the end is come upon thee? The days of evil shall rise against thee to destroy thee; thou shalt be driven forth from the midst of men; in solitude shalt thou dwell, deserted and forsaken. What will become of thy dreams? Thou wilt be grieved for the former days that were better, and wilt groan at thy latter end. O my heart, consider, hearken unto this. Knowest thou not that youth lasts not forever, and that the end of man is to die? A brother cannot redeem, none has power, and the riches of the gold of Sheba and the heights of the mountains profit not. Even if I ascend up into the heaven, and make my bed in Sheol, I shall never be able to redeem my life from destruction. Behold, a day is coming, a day of vengeance and a year of recompense, in which He will fill me with bitterness. There is no escape, for the snares of death will overtake me within the straits. As for Him who tries the hearts, His eyelids will on that day try the open and secret deeds of the children of men. O my heart, turn round, and seek thy God within thee. It is enough for thee to reveal thyself as one of the vain fellows. Turn behind thee, for there is still hope now. Thou shalt again dwell in tents as in the days of the solemn feast, settled in a pleasant place. Fear God, and keep His commandments which are enjoined upon thee. If thou seekest Him, God will be gracious unto thee; it is from Him that thy fruit is found, the fruit which He gives according to thy deeds. Perform good deeds while thy mind is at ease, thy body fresh, and thy constitution, not lacking the right proportion, abides under the shadow of good health. It is within thy power to lift up the curtain, so that the cloud may be consumed. Look upon thy weapons wherewith thou doest thy work, thy quiver and thy bow; the strength and the blood of the body are thy rod and thy staff; in them lies the stability of thy fortune; thou shalt find them when thou seekest them; none among them is perverse or crooked.