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<TITLE>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary on the Whole Bible [Ecclesiastes XI].</TITLE>
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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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<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. XI.</FONT>
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<FONT SIZE=-1>
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<P>
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In this chapter we have,
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I. A pressing exhortation to works of charity and bounty to the poor,
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as the best cure of the vanity which our worldly riches are subject to
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and the only way of making them turn to a substantial good account,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+11:1-6">ver. 1-6</A>.
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II. A serious admonition to prepare for death and judgment, and to
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begin betimes, even in the days of our youth, to do so,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+11:7-10">ver. 7-10</A>.</P>
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</FONT>
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<A NAME="Ec11_1"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ec11_2"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ec11_3"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ec11_4"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ec11_5"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ec11_6"> </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 Obligations to Be Liberal; Answers to Objections against Liberality.</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 Cast thy bread upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after
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many days.
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2 Give a portion to seven, and also to eight; for thou knowest
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not what evil shall be upon the earth.
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3 If the clouds be full of rain, they empty <I>themselves</I> upon
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the earth: and if the tree fall toward the south, or toward the
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north, in the place where the tree falleth, there it shall be.
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4 He that observeth the wind shall not sow; and he that
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regardeth the clouds shall not reap.
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5 As thou knowest not what <I>is</I> the way of the spirit, <I>nor</I>
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how the bones <I>do grow</I> in the womb of her that is with child:
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even so thou knowest not the works of God who maketh all.
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6 In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not
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thine hand: for thou knowest not whether shall prosper, either
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this or that, or whether they both <I>shall be</I> alike good.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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Solomon had often, in this book, pressed it upon rich people to take
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the comfort of their riches themselves; here he presses it upon them to
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do good to others with them and to abound in liberality to the poor,
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which will, another day, abound to their account. Observe,</P>
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<P>
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I. How the duty itself is recommended to us,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+11:1"><I>v.</I> 1</A>.
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1. <I>Cast thy bread upon the waters,</I> thy <I>bread-corn upon the
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low places</I> (so some understand it), alluding to the husbandman, who
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<I>goes forth, bearing precious seed,</I> sparing bread-corn from his
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family for the seedness, knowing that without that he can have no
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harvest another year; thus the charitable man takes from his bread-corn
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for seed-corn, abridges himself to supply the poor, that he may <I>sow
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beside all waters</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+32:20">Isa. xxxii. 20</A>),
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because as he sows so he must <I>reap,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ga+6:7">Gal. vi. 7</A>.
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We read of the <I>harvest of the river,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+23:3">Isa. xxiii. 3</A>.
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Waters, in scripture, are put for multitudes
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Re+16:5">Rev. xvi. 5</A>),
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and there are multitudes of poor (we do not want objects of charity);
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waters are put also for mourners: the poor are men of sorrows. Thou
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must give <I>bread,</I> the necessary supports of life, not only give
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good words but <I>good things,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+58:7">Isa. lviii. 7</A>.
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It must be <I>thy</I> bread, that which is honestly got; it is no
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charity, but injury, to give that which is none of our own to give;
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first <I>do justly,</I> and then <I>love mercy. "Thy bread,</I> which
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thou didst design for thyself, let the poor have a share with thee, as
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they had with Job,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+31:17"><I>ch.</I> xxxi. 17</A>.
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Give freely to the poor, as that which is <I>cast upon the waters.</I>
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Send it a voyage, send it as a venture, as merchants that trade by sea.
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Trust it <I>upon the waters;</I> it shall not sink."</P>
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<P>
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2. "<I>Give a portion to seven and also to eight,</I> that is, be free
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and liberal in works of charity."
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(1.) "Give much if thou hast much to give, not a pittance, but <I>a
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portion,</I> not a bit or two, but a mess, a meal; give a large dole,
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not a paltry one; give <I>good measure</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Lu+6:38">Luke vi. 38</A>);
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be generous in giving, as those were when, on festival days, they
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<I>sent portions to those for whom nothing was prepared</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ne+8:10">Neh. viii. 10</A>),
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worthy portions."
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(2.) "Give to many, <I>to seven, and also to eight;</I> if thou meet
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with seven objects of charity, give to them all, and then, if thou meet
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with an eighth, give to that, and if with eight more, give to them all
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too. Excuse not thyself with the good thou hast done from the good thou
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hast further to do, but hold on, and mend. In hard times, when the
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number of the poor increases, let thy charity be proportionably
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enlarged." God is rich in mercy to all, to us, though unworthy; he
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<I>gives liberally, and upbraids not</I> with former gifts, and we must
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be merciful as our heavenly Father is.</P>
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<P>
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II. The reasons with which it is pressed upon us. Consider,</P>
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<P>
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1. Our reward for well-doing is very certain. "Though thou <I>cast it
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upon the waters,</I> and it seem lost, thou thinkest thou hast given
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thy good word with it and art likely never to hear of it again, yet
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<I>thou shalt find it after many days,</I> as the husbandman finds his
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seed again in a plentiful harvest and the merchant his venture in a
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rich return. It is not lost, but well laid out, and well laid up; it
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brings in full interest in the present gifts of God's providence, and
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graces and comforts of his Spirit; and the principal is sure, laid up
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in heaven, for it is <I>lent to the Lord.</I>" Seneca, a heathen, could
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say, <I>Nihil magis possidere me credam, quam bene donata--I possess
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nothing so completely as that which I have given away. Hochabeo
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quodcunque dedi; hæ sunt divitiæ certæ in quacunque sortis humanæ
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levitate--Whatever I have imparted I still possess; these riches remain
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with me through all the vicissitudes of life. "Thou shalt find it,</I>
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perhaps not quickly, <I>but after many days;</I> the return may be
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slow, but it is sure and will be so much the more plentiful." Wheat,
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the most valuable grain, lies longest in the ground. Long voyages make
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the best returns.</P>
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<P>
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2. Our opportunity for well-doing is very uncertain: "<I>Thou knowest
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not what evil may be upon the earth,</I> which may deprive thee of thy
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estate, and put thee out of a capacity to do good, and therefore, while
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thou hast wherewithal, be liberal with it, improve the present season,
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as the husbandman in sowing his ground, before the frost comes." We
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have reason to expect <I>evil upon the earth,</I> for we are born to
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trouble; what the evil may be we <I>know not,</I> but that we may be
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ready for it, whatever it is, it is our wisdom, in the day of
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prosperity, to be in good, to be doing good. Many make use of this as
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an argument against giving to the poor, because they know not what hard
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times may come when they may want themselves; whereas we should
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therefore the rather be charitable, that, when <I>evil days come,</I>
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we may have the comfort of having done good while we were able; we
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would then hope to find mercy both with God and man, and therefore
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should now show mercy. If by charity we trust God with what we have, we
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put it into good hands against bad times.</P>
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<P>
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III. How he obviates the objections which might be made against this
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duty and the excuses of the uncharitable.</P>
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<P>
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1. Some will say that what they have is their own and they have it for
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their own use, and will ask, Why should we <I>cast</I> it thus <I>upon
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the waters?</I> Why should <I>I take my bread, and my flesh, and give
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it to I know not</I> whom? So Nabal pleaded,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+25:11">1 Sam. xxv. 11</A>.
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"Look up, man, and consider how soon thou wouldest be starved in a
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barren ground, <I>if the clouds</I> over thy head should plead thus,
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that they have their waters for themselves; but thou seest, when they
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are <I>full of rain, they empty themselves upon the earth,</I> to make
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it fruitful, till they are wearied and spent with watering it,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+37:11">Job xxxvii. 11</A>.
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Are the heavens thus bountiful to the poor earth, that is so far below
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them, and wilt thou grudge thy bounty to thy poor brother, who is
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<I>bone of thy bone?</I> Or thus: some will say, Though we give but
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little to the poor, yet, thank God, we have as charitable a heart as
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any." Nay, says Solomon, <I>if the clouds be full of rain, they will
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empty themselves;</I> if there be charity in the heart, it will show
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itself,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jam+2:15,16">Jam. ii. 15, 16</A>.
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He that <I>draws out his soul to the hungry</I> will reach forth his
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hand to them, as he has ability.</P>
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<P>
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2. Some will say that their sphere of usefulness is low and narrow;
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they cannot do the good that they see others can, who are in more
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public stations, and therefore they will sit still and do nothing. Nay,
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says he, <I>in the place where the tree falls,</I> or happens to be,
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<I>there it shall be,</I> for the benefit of those to whom it belongs;
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every man must labour to be a blessing to that place, whatever it is,
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where the providence of God casts him; wherever we are we may find good
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work to do if we have but hearts to do it. Or thus: some will say,
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"Many present themselves as objects of charity who are unworthy, and I
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do not know whom it is fit to give it to." "Trouble not thyself about
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that" (says Solomon); "give as discreetly as thou canst, and then be
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satisfied that, though the person should prove undeserving of thy
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charity, yet, if thou give it with an honest heart, thou shalt not lose
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thy reward; which way soever the charity is directed, <I>north</I> or
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<I>south,</I> thine shall be the benefit of it." This is commonly
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applied to death; <I>therefore</I> let us do good, and, as good trees,
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<I>bring forth the fruits of righteousness,</I> because death will
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shortly come and cut us down, and we shall then be determined to an
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unchangeable state of happiness or misery according to what was done in
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the body. As the tree falls at death, so it is likely to lie to all
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eternity.</P>
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<P>
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3. Some will object the many discouragements they have met with in
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their charity. They have been reproached for it as proud and
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pharisaical; they have but little to give, and they shall be despised
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if they do not give as others do; they know not but their children may
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come to want it, and they had better lay it up for them; they have
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taxes to pay and purchases to make; they know not what use will be made
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of their charity, nor what construction will be put upon it; these, and
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a hundred such objections, he answers, in one word
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+11:4"><I>v.</I> 4</A>):
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<I>He that observes the wind shall not sow,</I> which signifies doing
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good; <I>and he that regards the clouds shall not reap,</I> which
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signifies getting good. If we stand thus magnifying every little
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difficulty and making the worst of it, starting objections and fancying
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hardship and danger where there is none, we shall never go on, much
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less go through with our work, nor make any thing of it. If the
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husbandman should decline, or leave off, sowing for the sake of every
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flying cloud, and reaping for the sake of every blast of wind, he would
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make but an ill account of his husbandry at the year's end. The duties
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of religion are as necessary as sowing and reaping, and will turn as
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much to our own advantage. The discouragements we meet with in these
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duties are but as winds and clouds, which will do us no harm, and which
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those that put on a little courage and resolution will despise and
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easily break through. Note, Those that will be deterred and driven off
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by small and seeming difficulties from great and real duties will never
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bring any thing to pass in religion, for there will always arise some
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wind, some cloud or other, at least in our imagination, to discourage
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us. Winds and clouds are in God's hands, are designed to try us, and
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our Christianity obliges us to endure hardness.</P>
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<P>
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4. Some will say, "We do not see in which way what we expend in charity
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should ever be made up to us; we do not find ourselves ever the richer;
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why should we depend upon the general promise of a blessing on the
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charitable, unless we saw which way to expect the operation of it?" To
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this he answers, "<I>Thou knowest not the work of God,</I> nor is it
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fit thou shouldst. Thou mayest be sure he will make good his word of
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promise, though he does not tell thee how, or which way, and though he
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works in a way by himself, according to the counsels of his
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unsearchable wisdom. He will work, and none shall hinder; but then he
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will work and none shall direct or prescribe to him. The blessing shall
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work insensibly but irresistibly. God's work shall certainly agree with
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his word, whether we see it or no." Our ignorance of the work of God he
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shows, in two instances:--
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(1.) We <I>know not what is the way of the Spirit, of the wind</I> (so
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some), we <I>know not whence it comes, or whither it goes,</I> or when
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it will turn; yet the seamen lie ready waiting for it, till it turns
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about in favour of them; so we must do our duty, in expectation of the
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time appointed for the blessing. Or it may be understood of the human
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soul; we know that God made us, and gave us these souls, but how they
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entered into these bodies, are united to them, animate them, and
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operate upon them, we know not; the soul is a mystery to itself, no
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marvel then that <I>the work of God</I> is so to us.
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(2.) We know not <I>how the bones are fashioned in the womb of her that
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is with child.</I> We cannot describe the manner either of the
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formation of the body or of its information with a soul; both, we know,
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are <I>the work of God,</I> and we acquiesce in his work, but cannot,
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in either, trace the process of the operation. We doubt not of the
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birth of the child that is conceived, though we know not how it is
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formed; nor need we doubt of the performance of the promise, though we
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perceive not how things work towards it. And we may well trust God to
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provide for us that which is convenient, without our anxious
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disquieting cares, and therein to recompense us for our charity, since
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it was without any knowledge or forecast of ours that our bodies were
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curiously wrought in secret and our souls found the way into them; and
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so the argument is the same, and urged to the same intent, with that of
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our Saviour
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mt+6:25">Matt. vi. 25</A>),
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<I>The life,</I> the living soul that God has given us, <I>is more than
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meat; the body,</I> that God has made us, <I>is more than raiment;</I>
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let him therefore that has done the greater for us be cheerfully
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depended upon to do the less.</P>
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<P>
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5. Some say, "We have been charitable, have given a great deal to the
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poor, and never yet saw any return for it; many days are past, and we
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have not <I>found it again,</I>" to which he answers
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+11:6"><I>v.</I> 6</A>),
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"Yet go on, proceed and persevere in well-doing; let slip no
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opportunity. <I>In the morning sow thy seed</I> upon the objects of
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charity that offer themselves early, <I>and in the evening do not
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withhold thy hand,</I> under pretence that thou art weary; as thou hast
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opportunity, be doing good, some way or other, all the day long, as the
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husbandman follows his seedness from morning till night. <I>In the
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morning</I> of youth lay out thyself to do good; give out of the little
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thou hast to begin the world with; <I>and in the evening</I> of old age
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yield not to the common temptation old people are in to be penurious;
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even then <I>withhold not thy hand,</I> and think not to excuse thyself
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from charitable works by purposing to make a charitable will, but do
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good to the last, <I>for thou knowest not</I> which work of charity and
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piety <I>shall prosper,</I> both as to others and as to thyself,
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<I>this or that,</I> but hast reason to hope that <I>both shall be
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alike good. Be not weary of well-doing, for in due season,</I> in God's
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time and that is the best time, <I>you shall reap,</I>"
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ga+6:9">Gal. vi. 9</A>.
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This is applicable to spiritual charity, our pious endeavours for the
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good of the souls of others; let us continue them, for, though we have
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long laboured in vain, we may at length see the success of them. Let
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ministers, in the days of their seedness, sow both morning and evening;
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<I>for who</I> can tell <I>which shall prosper?</I></P>
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<A NAME="Ec11_7"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ec11_8"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ec11_9"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ec11_10"> </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>A Caution to the Young; Exhortation to Early Piety.</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>7 Truly the light <I>is</I> sweet, and a pleasant <I>thing it is</I> for
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the eyes to behold the sun:
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8 But if a man live many years, <I>and</I> rejoice in them all; yet
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let him remember the days of darkness; for they shall be many.
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All that cometh <I>is</I> vanity.
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9 Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth; and let thy heart cheer
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thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thine
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heart, and in the sight of thine eyes: but know thou, that for
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all these <I>things</I> God will bring thee into judgment.
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10 Therefore remove sorrow from thy heart, and put away evil
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from thy flesh: for childhood and youth <I>are</I> vanity.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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Here is an admonition both to old people and to young people, to think
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of dying, and get ready for it. Having by many excellent precepts
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taught us how to live well, the preacher comes now, towards the close
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of his discourse, to teach us how to die well and to put us in mind of
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our latter end.</P>
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<P>
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I. He applies himself to the aged, writes to them as fathers, to awaken
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them to think of death,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+11:7,8"><I>v.</I> 7, 8</A>.
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Here is,
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1. A rational concession of the sweetness of life, which old people
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find by experience: <I>Truly the light is sweet;</I> the light of
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<I>the sun</I> is so; it is <I>a pleasant thing for the eyes to
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behold</I> it. Light was the first thing made in the formation of the
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great world, as the eye is one of the first in the formation of the
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body, the little world. It is pleasant to see the light; the heathen
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were so charmed with the pleasure of it that they worshipped the sun.
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It is pleasant by it to see other things, the many agreeable prospects
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this world gives us. The light of life is so. Light is put for life,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+3:20,23">Job iii. 20, 23</A>.
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It cannot be denied that life is sweet. It is sweet to bad men because
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they have <I>their portion in this life;</I> it is sweet to good men
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because they have this life as the time of their preparation for a
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|
better life; it is sweet to all men; nature says it is so, and there is
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no disputing against it; nor can death be desired for its own sake, but
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dreaded, unless as a period to present evils or a passage to future
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|
good. Life is sweet, and therefore we have need to double a guard upon
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ourselves, lest we love it too well.
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2. A caution to think of death, even in the midst of life, and of life
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when it is most sweet and we are most apt to forget death: <I>If a man
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live many years, yet let him remember the days of darkness</I> are
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|
coming. Here is,
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(1.) A summer's day supposed to be enjoyed--that life may continue
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|
long, even many years, and that, by the goodness of God, it may be made
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comfortable and a man may <I>rejoice in them all.</I> There are those
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that <I>live many years</I> in this world, escape many dangers, receive
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many mercies, and therefore are secure that they shall want no good,
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and that no evil shall befal them, that the pitcher which has come so
|
|
often from the well safe and sound shall never come home broken. But
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who are those that <I>live many years and rejoice in them all?</I>
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Alas! none; we have but hours of joy for months of sorrow. However,
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|
some rejoice in their years, their many years, more than others; if
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these two things meet, a prosperous state and a cheerful spirit, these
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two indeed may do much towards enabling a man to <I>rejoice in them
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|
all,</I> and yet the most prosperous state has its alloys and the most
|
|
cheerful spirit has its damps; jovial sinners have their melancholy
|
|
qualms, and cheerful saints have their gracious sorrows; so that it is
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|
but a supposition, not a case in fact, that a man should <I>live many
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|
years and rejoice in them all.</I> But,
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(2.) Here is a winter's night proposed to be expected after this
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summer's day: <I>Yet let</I> this hearty old man <I>remember the days
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of darkness, for they shall be many.</I> Note,
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[1.] There are <I>days of darkness</I> coming, the days of our lying in
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|
the grave; there the body will lie in the dark; there the eyes see not,
|
|
the sun shines not. The darkness of death is opposed to the light of
|
|
life; the grave is a <I>land of darkness,</I>
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|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+10:21">Job x. 21</A>.
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[2.] Those <I>days of darkness</I> will <I>be many;</I> the days of our
|
|
lying under ground will be more than the days of our living above
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|
ground. They are many, but they are not infinite; many as they are,
|
|
they will be numbered and finished when <I>the heavens are no more,</I>
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|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+14:12">Job xiv. 12</A>.
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|
As the longest day will have its night, so the longest night will have
|
|
its morning.
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|
|
[3.] It is good for us often to remember those <I>days of darkness,</I>
|
|
that we may not be lifted up with pride, nor lulled asleep in carnal
|
|
security, nor even transported into indecencies by vain mirth.
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|
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[4.] Notwithstanding the long continuance of life, and the many
|
|
comforts of it, <I>yet</I> we must <I>remember the days of
|
|
darkness,</I> because those will certainly come, and they will come
|
|
with much the less terror if we have thought of them before.</P>
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|
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|
<P>
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|
|
|
II. He applies himself to the young, and writes to them as children, to
|
|
awaken them to think of death
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+11:9,10"><I>v.</I> 9, 10</A>);
|
|
|
|
here we have,</P>
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|
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|
<P>
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|
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|
1. An ironical concession to the vanities and pleasures of youth:
|
|
<I>Rejoice, O young man! in thy youth.</I> Some make this to be the
|
|
counsel which the atheist and the epicure give to the young man, the
|
|
poisonous suggestions against which Solomon, in the close of the verse,
|
|
prescribes a powerful antidote. But it is more emphatic if we take it,
|
|
as it is commonly understood, by way of irony, like that of Elijah to
|
|
the priests of Baal (<I>Cry aloud, for he is a god</I>), or of Micaiah
|
|
to Ahab (<I>Go to Ramoth-Gilead, and prosper</I>), or of Christ to his
|
|
disciples, <I>Sleep on now. "Rejoice, O young man! in thy youth,</I>
|
|
live a merry life, follow thy sports, and take thy pleasures; <I>let
|
|
thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth,</I> cheer thee with its
|
|
fancies and foolish hopes; entertain thyself with thy pleasing dreams;
|
|
<I>walk in the ways of thy heart;</I> do whatever thou hast a mind to
|
|
do, and stick at nothing that may gratify the sensual appetite.
|
|
<I>Quicquid libet, licet</I>--<I>Make thy will thy law. Walk in the
|
|
ways of thy heart, and</I> let thy heart walk after <I>thy eyes,</I> a
|
|
rambling heart after a roving eye; what is pleasing in thy own eyes do
|
|
it, whether it be pleasing in the eyes of God or no." Solomon speaks
|
|
thus ironically to the young man to intimate,
|
|
|
|
(1.) That this is that which he would do, and which he would fain have
|
|
leave to do, in which he places his happiness and on which he sets his
|
|
heart.
|
|
|
|
(2.) That he wishes all about him would give him this counsel, would
|
|
prophesy to him such smooth things as these, and cannot brook any
|
|
advice to the contrary, but reckons those his enemies that bid him be
|
|
sober and serious.
|
|
|
|
(3.) To expose his folly, and the great absurdity of a voluptuous
|
|
vicious course of life. The very description of it, if men would see
|
|
things entirely, and judge of them impartially, is enough to show how
|
|
contrary to reason those act that live such a life. The very opening of
|
|
the cause is enough to determine it, without any argument.
|
|
|
|
(4.) To show that if men give themselves to such a course of life as
|
|
this it is just with God to give them up to it, to abandon them to
|
|
their own heart's lusts, that they may <I>walk in their own
|
|
counsels,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ho+4:7">Hos. iv. 7</A>.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
2. A powerful check given to these vanities and pleasures: "<I>Know
|
|
thou that for all these things God shall bring thee into judgment,</I>
|
|
and duly consider that, and then live such a luxurious life if thou
|
|
canst, if thou darest." This is a <B><I>kolasterion</I></B>--<I>a
|
|
corrective</I> to the foregoing concession, and plucks in the reins he
|
|
had laid on the neck of the young man's lust. "<I>Know then,</I> for a
|
|
certainty, that, if thou dost take such a liberty as this, it will be
|
|
thy everlasting ruin; thou hast to do with a God who will not let it go
|
|
unpunished." Note,
|
|
|
|
(1.) There is a judgment to come.
|
|
|
|
(2.) We must every one of us be brought into judgment, however we may
|
|
now put far from us that evil day.
|
|
|
|
(3.) We shall be reckoned with for all our carnal mirth and sensual
|
|
pleasures in that day.
|
|
|
|
(4.) It is good for all, but especially for young people, to know and
|
|
consider this, that they may not, by the indulgence of their youthful
|
|
lusts, <I>treasure up unto themselves wrath against that day of
|
|
wrath,</I> the wrath of the Lamb.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
3. A word of caution and exhortation inferred from all this,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+11:10"><I>v.</I> 10</A>.
|
|
|
|
Let young people look to themselves and manage well both their souls
|
|
and their bodies, their heart and their flesh.
|
|
|
|
(1.) Let them take care that their minds be not lifted up with pride,
|
|
nor disturbed with anger, or any sinful passion: <I>Remove sorrow,</I>
|
|
or anger, <I>from thy heart;</I> the word signifies any disorder or
|
|
perturbation of the mind. Young people are apt to be impatient of
|
|
check and control, to vex and fret at any thing that is humbling and
|
|
mortifying to them, and their proud hearts rise against every thing
|
|
that crosses and contradicts them. They are so set upon that which is
|
|
pleasing to sense that they cannot bear any thing that is displeasing,
|
|
but it goes with sorrow to their heart. Their pride often disquiets
|
|
them, and makes them uneasy. "Put that away, and the love of the
|
|
world, and lay thy expectations low from the creature, and then
|
|
disappointments will not be occasions of sorrow and anger to thee."
|
|
Some by sorrow here understand that carnal mirth described
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+11:9"><I>v.</I> 9</A>,
|
|
|
|
the end of which will be bitterness and sorrow. Let them keep at a
|
|
distance from every thing which will be sorrow in the reflection.
|
|
|
|
(2.) Let them take care that their bodies be not defiled by
|
|
intemperance, uncleanness, or any fleshly lusts: "<I>Put away evil from
|
|
the flesh,</I> and let not the members of thy body be instruments of
|
|
unrighteousness. The evil of sin will be the evil of punishment, and
|
|
that which thou art fond of, as good for the flesh, because it
|
|
gratifies the appetites of it, will prove evil, and hurtful to it, and
|
|
therefore put it far from thee, the further the better."</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
III. The preacher, to enforce his admonition both to old and young,
|
|
urges, as an effectual argument, that which is the great argument of
|
|
his discourse, the vanity of all present things, their uncertainty and
|
|
insufficiency.
|
|
|
|
1. He reminds old people of this
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+11:8"><I>v.</I> 8</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>All that comes is vanity;</I> yea, though <I>a man live many years
|
|
and rejoice in them all,</I> All that has come already, and all that is
|
|
yet to come, how much soever men promise themselves from the concluding
|
|
scenes, it is all <I>vanity.</I> What will be will do no more to make
|
|
men happy than what has been. <I>All that come</I> into the world are
|
|
<I>vanity;</I> they are altogether so, at their best estate.
|
|
|
|
2. He reminds young people of this: <I>Childhood and youth are
|
|
vanity.</I> The dispositions and actions of childhood and youth have in
|
|
them a great deal of impertinence and iniquity, sinful vanity, which
|
|
young people have need to watch against and get cured. The pleasures
|
|
and advantages of childhood and youth have in them no certainty,
|
|
satisfaction, nor continuance. They are passing away; these flowers
|
|
will soon wither, and these blossoms fall; let them therefore be knit
|
|
into good fruit, which will continue and abound to a good account.</P>
|
|
|
|
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