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<center><h1>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary
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on the Whole Bible</h1>
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[<A HREF="MHC00000.HTM">Table of Contents</A>]<BR>
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Matthew Henry<BR><I>Commentary on the Whole Bible</I> (1710)
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<!-- (Begin Body) -->
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<CENTER>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+3><B>E C C L E S I A S T E S</B></FONT>
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<BR>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+2>CHAP. X.</FONT>
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<HR SIZE=1 WIDTH=50>
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</CENTER>
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<FONT SIZE=-1>
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<P>
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This chapter seems to be like Solomon's proverbs, a collection of wise
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sayings and observations, rather than a part of his sermon; but the
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preacher studied to be sententious, and "set in order many proverbs,"
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to be brought in in his preaching. Yet the general scope of all the
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observations in this chapter is to recommend wisdom to us, and its
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precepts and rules, as of great use for the right ordering of our
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conversation and to caution us against folly.
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I. He recommends wisdom to private persons, who are in an inferior
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station.
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1. It is our wisdom to preserve our reputation, in managing our affairs
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dexterously,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+10:1-3">ver. 1-3</A>.
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2. To be submissive to our superiors if at any time we have offended
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them,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+10:4">ver. 4</A>.
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3. To live quiet and peaceable lives, and not to meddle with those that
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are factious and seditious, and are endeavouring to disturb the
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government and the public repose, the folly and danger of which
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disloyal and turbulent practices he shows,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+10:8-11">ver. 8-11</A>.
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4. To govern our tongues well,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+10:12-15">ver. 12-15</A>.
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5. To be diligent in our business and provide well for our families,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+10:18-19">ver. 18, 19</A>.
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6. Not to speak ill of our rulers, no, not in secret,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+10:20">ver. 20</A>.
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II. He recommends wisdom to rulers; let them not think that, because
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their subjects must be quiet under them, therefore they may do what
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they please; no, but,
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1. Let them be careful whom they prefer to places of trust and power,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+10:5-7">ver. 5-7</A>.
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2. Let them manage themselves discreetly, be generous and not childish,
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temperate and not luxurious,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+10:16,17">ver. 16, 17</A>.
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Happy the nation when princes and people make conscience of their duty
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according to these rules.</P>
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</FONT>
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<A NAME="Ec10_1"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ec10_2"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ec10_3"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec1"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>The Advantages of Wisdom.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1> <! -- Date --> </FONT></TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>1 Dead flies cause the ointment of the apothecary to send forth
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a stinking savour: <I>so doth</I> a little folly him that is in
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reputation for wisdom <I>and</I> honour.
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2 A wise man's heart <I>is</I> at his right hand; but a fool's heart
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at his left.
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3 Yea also, when he that is a fool walketh by the way, his
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wisdom faileth <I>him,</I> and he saith to every one <I>that</I> he <I>is</I> a
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fool.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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In these verses Solomon shows,</P>
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<P>
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I. What great need wise men have to take heed of being guilty of any
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instance of folly; for <I>a little folly</I> is a great blemish to him
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that <I>is in reputation for wisdom and honour,</I> and is as hurtful
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to his good name as <I>dead flies</I> are to a sweet perfume, not only
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spoiling the sweetness of it, but making it <I>to send forth a stinking
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savour.</I> Note,
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1. True wisdom is true honour, and will gain a man a reputation, which
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is like a box of precious ointment, pleasing and very valuable.
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2. The reputation that is got with difficulty, and by a great deal of
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wisdom, may be easily lost, and by a <I>little folly,</I> because envy
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fastens upon eminency, and makes the worst of the mistakes and
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miscarriages of those who are cried up for wisdom, and improves them to
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their disadvantage; so that the folly which in another would not be
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taken notice of in them is severely censured. Those who make a great
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profession of religion have need to walk very circumspectly, to
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<I>abstain from all appearances of evil,</I> and approaches towards it,
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because many eyes are upon them, that watch for their halting; their
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character is soon sullied, and they have a great deal of reputation to
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lose.</P>
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<P>
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II. What a deal of advantage a wise man has above a fool in the
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management of business
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+10:2"><I>v.</I> 2</A>):
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<I>A wise man's heart is at his right hand,</I> so that he goes about
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his business with dexterity, turns his hand readily to it, and goes
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through it with despatch; his counsel and courage are ready to him,
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whenever he has occasion for them. But a <I>fool's heart is at his left
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hand;</I> it is always to seek when he has any thing to do that is of
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importance, and therefore he goes awkwardly about it, like a man that
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is left-handed; he is soon at a loss and at his wits' end.</P>
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<P>
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III. How apt fools are at every turn to proclaim their own folly, and
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expose themselves; he that is either witless or graceless, either silly
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or wicked, if he be ever so little from under the check, and left to
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himself, if he but <I>walk by the way,</I> soon shows what he is; his
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<I>wisdom fails him,</I> and, by some impropriety or other, <I>he says
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to every one he meets that he is a fool</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+10:3"><I>v.</I> 3</A>),
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that is, he discovers his folly as plainly as if he had told them so.
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He cannot conceal it, and he is not ashamed of it. Sin is the reproach
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of sinners wherever they go.</P>
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<A NAME="Ec10_4"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ec10_5"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ec10_6"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ec10_7"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ec10_8"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ec10_9"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ec10_10"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ec10_11"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec2"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Mutual Duties of Princes and Subjects.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1> <! -- Date --> </FONT></TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>4 If the spirit of the ruler rise up against thee, leave not
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thy place; for yielding pacifieth great offences.
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5 There is an evil <I>which</I> I have seen under the sun, as an
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error <I>which</I> proceedeth from the ruler:
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6 Folly is set in great dignity, and the rich sit in low place.
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7 I have seen servants upon horses, and princes walking as
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servants upon the earth.
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8 He that diggeth a pit shall fall into it; and whoso breaketh
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a hedge, a serpent shall bite him.
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9 Whoso removeth stones shall be hurt therewith; <I>and</I> he that
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cleaveth wood shall be endangered thereby.
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10 If the iron be blunt, and he do not whet the edge, then must
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he put to more strength: but wisdom <I>is</I> profitable to direct.
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11 Surely the serpent will bite without enchantment; and a
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babbler is no better.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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The scope of these verses is to keep subjects loyal and dutiful to the
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government. In Solomon's reign the people were very rich, and lived in
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prosperity, which perhaps made them proud and petulant, and when the
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taxes were high, though they had enough to pay them with, it is
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probable that many conducted themselves insolently towards the
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government and threatened to rebel. To such Solomon here gives some
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necessary cautions.</P>
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<P>
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I. Let not subjects carry on a quarrel with their prince upon any
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private personal disgust
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+10:4"><I>v.</I> 4</A>):
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"<I>If the spirit of the ruler rise up against thee,</I> if upon some
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misinformation given him, or some mismanagement of thine, he is
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displeased at thee, and threaten thee, yet <I>leave not thy place,</I>
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forget not the duty of a subject, revolt not from thy allegiance, do
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not, in a passion, quit thy post in his service and throw up thy
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commission, as despairing ever to regain his favour. No, wait awhile,
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and thou wilt find he is not implacable, but that <I>yielding pacifies
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great offences.</I>" Solomon speaks for himself, and for every wise and
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good man that is a master, or a magistrate, that he could easily
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forgive those, upon their submission, whom yet, upon their provocation,
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he had been very angry with. It is safer and better to yield to an
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angry prince than to contend with him.</P>
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<P>
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II. Let not subjects commence a quarrel with their prince, though the
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public administration be not in every thing as they would have it. He
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grants <I>there is an evil often seen under the sun,</I> and it is a
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king's-evil, an evil which the king only can cure, for <I>it is an
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error which proceeds from the ruler</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+10:5"><I>v.</I> 5</A>);
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it is a mistake which rulers, consulting their personal affections more
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than the public interests, are too often guilty of, that men are not
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preferred according to their merit, but <I>folly is set in great
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dignity,</I> men of shattered brains, and broken fortunes, are put in
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places of power and trust, while the rich men of good sense and good
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estates, whose interest would oblige them to be true to the public, and
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whose abundance would be likely to set them above temptations to
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bribery and extortion, yet sit in low places, and can get no preferment
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+10:6"><I>v.</I> 6</A>),
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either the ruler knows not how to value them or the terms of preferment
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are such as they cannot in conscience comply with. It is ill with a
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people when vicious men are advanced and men of worth are kept under
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hatches. This is illustrated
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+10:7"><I>v.</I> 7</A>.
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"<I>I have seen servants upon horses,</I> men not so much of mean
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extraction and education (if that were all, it were the more excusable,
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nay, there is many a wise servant who with good reason <I>has rule over
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a son that causes shame</I>), but of sordid, servile, mercenary
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dispositions. I have seen these riding in pomp and state as princes,
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while princes, men of noble birth and qualities, fit to rule a kingdom,
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have been forced to <I>walk as servants upon the earth,</I> poor and
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despised." Thus God, in his providence, punishes a wicked people; but,
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as far as it is the ruler's act and deed, it is certainly his
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<I>error,</I> and a <I>great evil,</I> a grievance to the subject and
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very provoking; but it is <I>an error under the sun,</I> which will
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certainly be rectified above the sun, and when it shall shine no more,
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for in heaven it is only wisdom and holiness that are set in great
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dignity. But, if the prince be guilty of his error, yet let not the
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subjects <I>leave their place,</I> nor rise up against the government,
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nor form any project for the alteration of it; nor let the prince carry
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on the humour too far, nor set such servants, such beggars, on
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horseback, as will ride furiously over the ancient land-marks of the
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constitution, and threaten the subversion of it.</P>
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<P>
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1. Let neither prince nor people violently attempt any changes, nor
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make a forcible entry upon a national settlement, for they will both
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find it of dangerous consequence, which he shows here by four
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similitudes, the scope of which is to give us a caution not to meddle
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to our own hurt. Let not princes invade the rights and liberties of
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their subjects; let not subjects mutiny and rebel against their
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princes; for,
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(1.) <I>He that digs a pit</I> for another, it is ten to one but he
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<I>falls into it</I> himself, and his violent dealing returns upon his
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own head. If princes become tyrants, or subjects become rebels, all
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histories will tell both what is likely to be their fate and that it is
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at their utmost peril, and it were better for both to be content within
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their own bounds.
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(2.) <I>Whoso breaks a hedge,</I> an old hedge, that has long been a
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land-mark, let him expect that a <I>serpent,</I> or <I>adder,</I> such
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as harbour in rotten hedges, will <I>bite him;</I> some viper or other
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will fasten upon his hand,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+28:3">Acts xxviii. 3</A>.
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God, by his ordinance, as by a hedge, has inclosed the prerogatives and
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powers of princes; their persons are under his special protection;
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those therefore that form any treasonable designs against their peace,
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their crown, and dignity, are but twisting halters for themselves.
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(3.) <I>Whoso removes stones,</I> to pull down a wall or building, does
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but pluck them upon himself; he shall be <I>hurt therewith,</I> and
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will wish that he had let them alone. Those that go about to alter a
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well-modelled well-settled government, under colour of redressing some
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grievances and correcting some faults in it, will quickly perceive not
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only that it is easier to find fault than to mend, to demolish that
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which is good than to build up that which is better, but that they
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thrust their own fingers into the fire and overwhelm themselves in the
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ruin they occasion.
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(4.) <I>He that cleaves the wood,</I> especially if, as it follows, he
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has sorry tools
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+10:10"><I>v.</I> 10</A>),
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<I>shall be endangered thereby;</I> the chips, or his own axe-head,
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will fly in his face. If we meet with knotty pieces of timber, and we
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think to master them by force and violence, and hew them to pieces,
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they may not only prove too hard for us, but the attempt may turn to
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our own damage.</P>
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<P>
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2. Rather let both prince and people act towards each other with
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prudence, mildness, and good temper: <I>Wisdom is profitable to
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direct</I> the ruler how to manage a people that are inclined to be
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turbulent, so as neither, on the one hand, by a supine negligence to
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embolden and encourage them, nor, on the other hand, by rigour and
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severity to exasperate and provoke them to any seditious practices. It
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is likewise profitable to direct the subjects how to act towards a
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prince that is inclined to bear hard upon them, so as not to alienate
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his affections from them, but to win upon him by humble remonstrances
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(not insolent demands, such as the people made upon Rehoboam), by
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patient submissions and peaceable expedients. The same rule is to be
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observed in all relations, for the preserving of the comfort of them.
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Let wisdom direct to gentle methods and forbear violent ones.
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(1.) Wisdom will teach us to whet the tool we are to make use of,
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rather than, by leaving it blunt, oblige ourselves to exert so much the
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<I>more strength,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+10:10"><I>v.</I> 10</A>.
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We might save ourselves a great deal of labour, and prevent a great
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deal of danger, if we did whet before we cut, that is, consider and
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premeditate what is fit to be said and done in every difficult case,
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that we may accommodate ourselves to it and may do our work smoothly
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and easily both to others and to ourselves. Wisdom will direct how to
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sharpen and put an edge upon both ourselves and those we employ, not to
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<I>work deceitfully</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+52:2">Ps. lii. 2</A>),
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but to work cleanly and cleverly. The mower loses no time when he is
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whetting his scythe.
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(2.) Wisdom will teach us to enchant the serpent we are to contend
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with, rather than think to out-hiss it
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+10:11"><I>v.</I> 11</A>):
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<I>The serpent will bite</I> if he be not by singing and music charmed
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and enchanted, against which therefore he <I>stops his ears</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+58:4,5">Ps. lviii. 4, 5</A>);
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<I>and a babbler is no better</I> to all those who enter the lists with
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him, who therefore must not think by dint of words to out-talk him, but
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be prudent management to enchant him. <I>He that is lord of the
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tongue</I> (so the phrase is), a ruler that has liberty of speech and
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may say what he will, it is as dangerous dealing with him as with a
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serpent uncharmed; but, if you use the enchantment of a mild and humble
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submission, you may be safe and out of danger; herein <I>wisdom,</I>
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the meekness of wisdom, <I>is profitable to direct. By long forbearing
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is a prince persuaded,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+25:15">Prov. xxv. 15</A>.
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Jacob enchanted Esau with a present and Abigail David. To those that
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may say any thing it is wisdom to say nothing that is provoking.</P>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Ec10_12"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ec10_13"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ec10_14"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ec10_15"> </A>
|
|
|
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<A NAME="Sec3"> </A>
|
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
|
|
<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>The Contemptibleness of Folly.</I></FONT></TD>
|
|
<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1> <! -- Date --> </FONT></TD></TR>
|
|
<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
|
|
</TABLE>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>12 The words of a wise man's mouth <I>are</I> gracious; but the lips
|
|
of a fool will swallow up himself.
|
|
13 The beginning of the words of his mouth <I>is</I> foolishness:
|
|
and the end of his talk <I>is</I> mischievous madness.
|
|
14 A fool also is full of words: a man cannot tell what shall
|
|
be; and what shall be after him, who can tell him?
|
|
15 The labour of the foolish wearieth every one of them,
|
|
because he knoweth not how to go to the city.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
Solomon, having shown the benefit of wisdom, and of what great
|
|
advantage it is to us in the management of our affairs, here shows the
|
|
mischief of folly and how it exposes men, which perhaps comes in as a
|
|
reflection upon those rulers who <I>set folly in great dignity.</I></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
I. Fools talk a great deal to no purpose, and they show their folly as
|
|
much by the multitude, impertinence, and mischievousness of their
|
|
words, as by any thing; whereas <I>the words of a wise man's mouth are
|
|
gracious,</I> are grace, manifest grace in his heart and minister grace
|
|
to the hearers, are good, and such as become him, and do good to all
|
|
about him, <I>the lips of a fool</I> not only expose him to reproach
|
|
and make him ridiculous, but <I>will swallow up himself</I> and bring
|
|
him to ruin, by provoking the government to take cognizance of his
|
|
seditious talk and call him to an account for it. Adonijah foolishly
|
|
<I>spoke against his own life,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Ki+2:23">1 Kings ii. 23</A>.
|
|
|
|
Many a man has been sunk by having <I>his own tongue fall upon him,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+64:8">Ps. lxiv. 8</A>.
|
|
|
|
See what a fool's talk is.
|
|
|
|
1. It takes rise from his own weakness and wickedness: <I>The beginning
|
|
of the words of his mouth is foolishness,</I> the foolishness bound up
|
|
in his heart, that is the corrupt spring out of which all these
|
|
polluted streams flow, the evil treasure out of which evil things are
|
|
brought. As soon as he begins to speak you may perceive his folly; at
|
|
the very first he talks idly, and passionately, and like himself.
|
|
|
|
2. It rises up to fury, and tends to the hurt and injury of others:
|
|
<I>The end of his talk,</I> the end it comes to, <I>is madness.</I> He
|
|
will presently talk himself into an indecent heat, and break out into
|
|
the wild extravagancies of a distracted man. The end he aims at is
|
|
mischief; as, at first, he appeared to have little government of
|
|
himself, so, at last, it appears he has a great deal of malice to his
|
|
neighbours; that root of bitterness bears gall and wormwood. Note, It
|
|
is not strange if those that begin foolishly end madly; for an
|
|
ungoverned tongue, the more liberty is allowed, grows the more violent.
|
|
|
|
3. It is all the same over and over
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+10:14"><I>v.</I> 14</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>A fool also is full of words,</I> a passionate fool especially, that
|
|
runs on endlessly and never knows when to leave off. He will have the
|
|
last word, though it be but the same with that which was the first.
|
|
What is wanting in the weight and strength of his words he endeavours
|
|
in vain to make up in the number of them; and they must be repeated,
|
|
because otherwise there is nothing in them to make them regarded. Note,
|
|
Many who are empty of sense are <I>full of words;</I> and the least
|
|
solid are the most noisy. The following words may be taken either,
|
|
|
|
(1.) As checking him for his vainglorious boasting in the multitude of
|
|
his words, what he will do and what he will have, not considering that
|
|
which every body knows that <I>a man cannot tell what shall be</I> in
|
|
his own time, while he lives
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+27:1">Prov. xxvii. 1</A>),
|
|
|
|
much less can one tell <I>what shall be after him,</I> when he is dead
|
|
and gone. Would we duly consider our own ignorance of, and uncertainty
|
|
about, future events, it would cut off a great many of the idle words
|
|
we foolishly multiply. Or,
|
|
|
|
(2.) As mocking him for his tautologies. He is <I>full of words,</I>
|
|
for if he do but speak the most trite and common thing, <I>a man cannot
|
|
tell what shall be,</I> because he loves to hear himself talk, he will
|
|
say it again, <I>what shall be after him who can tell him?</I> like
|
|
Battus in Ovid:</P>
|
|
|
|
<CENTER>
|
|
<TABLE BORDER=0>
|
|
<TR><TD ALIGN=CENTER>------------Sub illis
|
|
<BR>Montibus (inquit) erant, et erant sub montibus illis--</TD></TR>
|
|
<TR><TD><BR>Under those mountains were they,
|
|
<BR>They were under those mountains, I say--</TD></TR>
|
|
</TABLE>
|
|
</CENTER>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
whence vain repetitions are called <I>Battologies,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mt+6:7">Matt. vi. 7</A>.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
II. Fools toil a great deal to no purpose
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+10:15"><I>v.</I> 15</A>);
|
|
|
|
<I>The labour of the foolish,</I> to accomplish their designs,
|
|
<I>wearies every one of them.</I>
|
|
|
|
1. They weary themselves in that labour which is very foolish and
|
|
absurd. All their labour is for the world and the body, and the meat
|
|
that perishes, and in this labour they spend their strength, and
|
|
exhaust their spirits, and <I>weary themselves for very vanity,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Hab+2:13,Isa+55:2">Hab. ii. 13; Isa. lv. 2</A>.
|
|
|
|
They choose that service which is perfect drudgery rather than that
|
|
which is perfect liberty.
|
|
|
|
2. That labour which is necessary, and would be profitable, and might
|
|
be gone through with ease, wearies them, because they go about it
|
|
awkwardly and foolishly, and so make their business a toil to them,
|
|
which, if they applied themselves to it prudently, would be a pleasure
|
|
to them. Many complain of the labours of religion as grievous, which
|
|
they would have no reason to complain of if the exercises of Christian
|
|
piety were always under the direction of Christian prudence. The
|
|
foolish tire themselves in endless pursuits, and never bring any thing
|
|
to pass, <I>because they know not how to go to the city,</I> that is,
|
|
because they have not capacity to apprehend the plainest thing, such as
|
|
the entrance into a great city is, where one would think it were
|
|
impossible for a man to miss his road. Men's imprudent management of
|
|
their business robs them both of the comfort and of the benefit of it.
|
|
But it is the excellency of the way to the heavenly city that it is a
|
|
high-way, in which the <I>wayfaring men, though fools, shall not
|
|
err</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+35:8">Isa. xxxv. 8</A>);
|
|
|
|
yet sinful folly makes men miss that way.</P>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Ec10_16"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ec10_17"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ec10_18"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ec10_19"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ec10_20"> </A>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Sec4"> </A>
|
|
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
|
|
<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Mutual Duties of Princes and Subjects.</I></FONT></TD>
|
|
<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1> <! -- Date --> </FONT></TD></TR>
|
|
<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
|
|
</TABLE>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>16 Woe to thee, O land, when thy king <I>is</I> a child, and thy
|
|
princes eat in the morning!
|
|
17 Blessed <I>art</I> thou, O land, when thy king <I>is</I> the son of
|
|
nobles, and thy princes eat in due season, for strength, and not
|
|
for drunkenness!
|
|
18 By much slothfulness the building decayeth; and through
|
|
idleness of the hands the house droppeth through.
|
|
19 A feast is made for laughter, and wine maketh merry: but
|
|
money answereth all <I>things.</I>
|
|
20 Curse not the king, no not in thy thought; and curse not the
|
|
rich in thy bedchamber: for a bird of the air shall carry the
|
|
voice, and that which hath wings shall tell the matter.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
Solomon here observes,</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
I. How much the happiness of a land depends upon the character of its
|
|
rulers; it is well or ill with the people according as the princes are
|
|
good or bad.
|
|
|
|
1. The people cannot be happy when their princes are childish and
|
|
voluptuous
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+10:16"><I>v.</I> 16</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>Woe unto thee, O land!</I> even the land of Canaan itself, though
|
|
otherwise the glory of all lands, when <I>thy king is a child,</I> not
|
|
so much in age (Solomon himself was young when his kingdom was happy in
|
|
him) as in understanding; when the prince is weak and foolish as a
|
|
child, fickle and fond of changes, fretful and humoursome, easily
|
|
imposed upon, and hardly brought to business, it is ill with the
|
|
people. The body staggers if the head be giddy. Perhaps Solomon wrote
|
|
this with a foresight of his son Rehoboam's ill conduct
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ch+13:7">2 Chron. xiii. 7</A>);
|
|
|
|
he was a child all the days of his life and his family and kingdom
|
|
fared the worse for it. Nor is it much better with a people when their
|
|
princes <I>eat in the morning,</I> that is, make a god of their belly
|
|
and make themselves slaves to their appetites. If the king himself be a
|
|
child, yet if the princes and privy-counsellors are wise and faithful,
|
|
and apply themselves to business, the land may do the better; but if
|
|
they addict themselves to their pleasures, and prefer the
|
|
gratifications of the flesh before the despatch of the public business,
|
|
which they disfit themselves for by eating and drinking <I>in a
|
|
morning,</I> when judges are epicures, and do not eat to live, but live
|
|
to eat, what good can a nation expect!
|
|
|
|
2. The people cannot but be happy when their rulers are generous and
|
|
active, sober and temperate, and men of business,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+10:17"><I>v.</I> 17</A>.
|
|
|
|
The land is then blessed,
|
|
|
|
(1.) When the sovereign is governed by principles of honour, <I>when
|
|
the king is the son of nobles,</I> actuated and animated by a noble
|
|
spirit, which scorns to do any thing base and unbecoming so high a
|
|
character, which is solicitous for the public welfare, and prefers that
|
|
before any private interests. Wisdom, virtue, and the fear of God,
|
|
beneficence, and a readiness to do good to all mankind, these ennoble
|
|
the royal blood.
|
|
|
|
2. When the subordinate magistrates are more in care to discharge their
|
|
trusts than to gratify their appetites; when they <I>eat in due
|
|
season</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+145:15">Ps. cxlv. 15</A>);
|
|
|
|
let us not take ours unseasonable, lest we lose the comfort of seeing
|
|
God give it to us. Magistrates should <I>eat for strength,</I> that
|
|
their bodies may be fitted to serve their souls in the service of God
|
|
and their country, <I>and not for drunkenness,</I> to make themselves
|
|
unfit to do any thing either for God or man, and particularly to <I>sit
|
|
in judgment,</I> for they will <I>err through wine</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+28:7">Isa. xxviii. 7</A>),
|
|
|
|
will <I>drink and forget the law,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+31:5">Prov. xxxi. 5</A>.
|
|
|
|
It is well with a people when their princes are examples of temperance,
|
|
when those that have most to spend upon themselves know how to deny
|
|
themselves.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
II. Of what ill consequence slothfulness is both to private and public
|
|
affairs
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+10:18"><I>v.</I> 18</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>By much slothfulness and idleness of the hands,</I> the neglect of
|
|
business, and the love of ease and pleasure, <I>the building decays,
|
|
drops through</I> first, and by degrees drops down. If it be not kept
|
|
well covered, and care be not taken to repair the breaches, as any
|
|
happen, it will rain in, and the timber will rot, and the house will
|
|
become unfit to dwell in. It is so with the family and the affairs of
|
|
it; if men cannot find in their hearts to take pains in their callings,
|
|
to tend their shops and look after their own business, they will soon
|
|
run in debt and go behind-hand, and, instead of making what they have
|
|
more for their children, will make it less. It is so with the public;
|
|
if the king be <I>a child</I> and will take no care, if the <I>princes
|
|
eat in the morning</I> and will take no pains, the affairs of the
|
|
nation suffer loss, and its interests are prejudiced, its honour is
|
|
sullied, its power is weakened, its borders are encroached upon, the
|
|
course of justice is obstructed, the treasure is exhausted, and all its
|
|
foundations are out of course, and all this through the slothfulness of
|
|
self-seeking of those that should be the <I>repairers of its breaches
|
|
and the restorers of paths to dwell in,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+58:12">Isa. lviii. 12</A>.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
III. How industrious generally all are, both princes and people, to get
|
|
money, because that serves for all purposes,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+10:19"><I>v.</I> 19</A>.
|
|
|
|
He seems to prefer money before mirth: <I>A feast is made for
|
|
laughter,</I> not merely for eating, but chiefly for pleasant
|
|
conversation and the society of friends, not the laughter of the fool,
|
|
which is madness, but that of wise men, by which they fit themselves
|
|
for business and severe studies. Spiritual feasts are made for
|
|
spiritual laughter, holy joy in God. <I>Wine makes merry, makes glad
|
|
the</I> life, <I>but money</I> is the measure of all things and
|
|
<I>answers all things. Pecuniæ obediunt omnia--Money commands all
|
|
things.</I> Though <I>wine make merry,</I> it will not be a house for
|
|
us, nor a bed, nor clothing, nor provisions and portions for children;
|
|
<I>but money,</I> if men have enough of it, will be all these. The
|
|
feast cannot be made without money, and, though men have wine, they are
|
|
not so much disposed to be merry unless they have money for the
|
|
necessary supports of life. Money of itself answers nothing; it will
|
|
neither feed nor clothe; but, as it is the instrument of commerce, it
|
|
answers all the occasions of this present life. What is to be had may
|
|
be had for money. But it answers nothing to the soul; it will not
|
|
procure the pardon of sin, the favour of God, the peace of conscience;
|
|
the soul, as it is not redeemed, so it is not maintained, with
|
|
<I>corruptible things as silver and gold.</I> Some refer this to
|
|
rulers; it is ill with the people when they give up themselves to
|
|
luxury and riot, feasting and making merry, not only because their
|
|
business is neglected, but because money must be had to <I>answer
|
|
all</I> these <I>things,</I> and, in order to that, the people squeezed
|
|
by heavy taxes.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
IV. How cautious subjects have need to be that they harbour not any
|
|
disloyal purposes in their minds, nor keep up any factious cabals or
|
|
consultations against the government, because it is ten to one that
|
|
they are discovered and brought to light,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+10:20"><I>v.</I> 20</A>.
|
|
|
|
"Though rulers should be guilty of some errors, yet be not, upon all
|
|
occasions, arraigning their administration and running them down, but
|
|
make the best of them." Here,
|
|
|
|
1. The command teaches us our duty "<I>Curse not the king, no, not in
|
|
thy thought,</I> do not wish ill to the government in thy mind." All
|
|
sin begins there, and therefore the first risings of it must be curbed
|
|
and suppressed, and particularly that of treason and sedition.
|
|
"<I>Curse not the rich,</I> the princes and governors, <I>in thy
|
|
bed-chamber,</I> in a conclave or club of persons disaffected to the
|
|
government; associate not with such; <I>come not into their secret;</I>
|
|
join not with them in speaking ill of the government or plotting
|
|
against it."
|
|
|
|
2. The reason consults our safety. "Though the design be carried on
|
|
ever so closely, <I>a bird of the air shall carry the voice</I> to the
|
|
king, who has more spies about than thou art aware of, <I>and that
|
|
which has wings shall tell the matter,</I> to thy confusion and ruin."
|
|
God sees what men do, and hears what they say, in secret; and, when he
|
|
pleases, he can bring it to light by strange and unsuspected ways.
|
|
Wouldst <I>thou then not be</I> hurt by <I>the powers</I> that be, nor
|
|
<I>be afraid of</I> them? <I>Do that which is good and thou shalt have
|
|
praise of the same; but, if thou do that which is evil, be afraid,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ro+13:3,4">Rom. xiii. 3, 4</A>.</P>
|
|
|
|
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