mh_parser/vol_split/21 - Ecclesiastes/Chapter 5.xml

<div2 id="Ec.vi" n="vi" next="Ec.vii" prev="Ec.v" progress="91.28%" title="Chapter V">
<h2 id="Ec.vi-p0.1">E C C L E S I A S T E S</h2>
<h3 id="Ec.vi-p0.2">CHAP. V.</h3>
<p class="intro" id="Ec.vi-p1">Solomon, in this chapter, discourses, I.
Concerning the worship of God, prescribing that as a remedy against
all those vanities which he had already observed to be in wisdom,
learning, pleasure, honour, power, and business. That we may not be
deceived by those things, nor have our spirits vexed with the
disappointments we meet with in them, let us make conscience of our
duty to God and keep up our communion with him; but, withal, he
gives a necessary caution against the vanities which are too often
found in religious exercises, which deprive them of their
excellency and render them unable to help against other vanities.
If our religion be a vain religion, how great is that vanity! Let
us therefore take heed of vanity, 1. In hearing the word, and
offering sacrifice, <scripRef id="Ec.vi-p1.1" osisRef="Bible:Eccl.5.1" parsed="|Eccl|5|1|0|0" passage="Ec 5:1">ver. 1</scripRef>.
2. In prayer, <scripRef id="Ec.vi-p1.2" osisRef="Bible:Eccl.5.2-Eccl.5.3" parsed="|Eccl|5|2|5|3" passage="Ec 5:2,3">ver. 2, 3</scripRef>. 3.
In making vows, <scripRef id="Ec.vi-p1.3" osisRef="Bible:Eccl.5.4-Eccl.5.6" parsed="|Eccl|5|4|5|6" passage="Ec 5:4-6">ver. 4-6</scripRef>.
4. In pretending to divine dreams, <scripRef id="Ec.vi-p1.4" osisRef="Bible:Eccl.5.7" parsed="|Eccl|5|7|0|0" passage="Ec 5:7">ver.
7</scripRef>. Now, (1.) For a remedy against those vanities, he
prescribes the fear of God, <scripRef id="Ec.vi-p1.5" osisRef="Bible:Eccl.5.7" parsed="|Eccl|5|7|0|0" passage="Ec 5:7">ver.
7</scripRef>. (2.) To prevent the offence that might arise from the
present sufferings of good people, he directs us to look up to God,
<scripRef id="Ec.vi-p1.6" osisRef="Bible:Eccl.5.8" parsed="|Eccl|5|8|0|0" passage="Ec 5:8">ver. 8</scripRef>. II. Concerning the
wealth of this world and the vanity and vexation that attend it.
The fruits of the earth indeed are necessary to the support of life
(<scripRef id="Ec.vi-p1.7" osisRef="Bible:Eccl.5.9" parsed="|Eccl|5|9|0|0" passage="Ec 5:9">ver. 9</scripRef>), but as for silver,
and gold, and riches, 1. They are unsatisfying, <scripRef id="Ec.vi-p1.8" osisRef="Bible:Eccl.5.10" parsed="|Eccl|5|10|0|0" passage="Ec 5:10">ver. 10</scripRef>. 2. They are unprofitable, <scripRef id="Ec.vi-p1.9" osisRef="Bible:Eccl.5.11" parsed="|Eccl|5|11|0|0" passage="Ec 5:11">ver. 11</scripRef>. 3. They are disquieting,
<scripRef id="Ec.vi-p1.10" osisRef="Bible:Eccl.5.12" parsed="|Eccl|5|12|0|0" passage="Ec 5:12">ver. 12</scripRef>. 4. They often prove
hurtful and destroying, <scripRef id="Ec.vi-p1.11" osisRef="Bible:Eccl.5.13" parsed="|Eccl|5|13|0|0" passage="Ec 5:13">ver.
13</scripRef>. 5. They are perishing, <scripRef id="Ec.vi-p1.12" osisRef="Bible:Eccl.5.14" parsed="|Eccl|5|14|0|0" passage="Ec 5:14">ver. 14</scripRef>. 6. They must be left behind when we
die, <scripRef id="Ec.vi-p1.13" osisRef="Bible:Eccl.5.15-Eccl.5.16" parsed="|Eccl|5|15|5|16" passage="Ec 5:15,16">ver. 15, 16</scripRef>. 7. If
we have not a heart to make use of them, they occasion a great deal
of uneasiness, <scripRef id="Ec.vi-p1.14" osisRef="Bible:Eccl.5.17" parsed="|Eccl|5|17|0|0" passage="Ec 5:17">ver. 17</scripRef>. And
therefore he recommends to us the comfortable use of that which God
has given us, with an eye to him that is the giver, as the best way
both to answer the end of our having it and to obviate the
mischiefs that commonly attend great estates, <scripRef id="Ec.vi-p1.15" osisRef="Bible:Eccl.5.18-Eccl.5.20" parsed="|Eccl|5|18|5|20" passage="Ec 5:18-20">ver. 18-20</scripRef>. So that if we can but learn out
of this chapter how to manage the business of religion, and the
business of this world (which two take up most of our time), so
that both may turn to a good account, and neither our sabbath days
nor our week-days may be lost, we shall have reason to say, We have
learned two good lessons.</p>
<scripCom id="Ec.vi-p1.16" osisRef="Bible:Eccl.5" parsed="|Eccl|5|0|0|0" passage="Ec 5" type="Commentary"/>
<scripCom id="Ec.vi-p1.17" osisRef="Bible:Eccl.5.1-Eccl.5.3" parsed="|Eccl|5|1|5|3" passage="Ec 5:1-3" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Eccl.5.1-Eccl.5.3">
<h4 id="Ec.vi-p1.18">A Caution to Worshippers.</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Ec.vi-p2">1 Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of
God, and be more ready to hear, than to give the sacrifice of
fools: for they consider not that they do evil.   2 Be not
rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter
<i>any</i> thing before God: for God <i>is</i> in heaven, and thou
upon earth: therefore let thy words be few.   3 For a dream
cometh through the multitude of business; and a fool's voice <i>is
known</i> by multitude of words.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ec.vi-p3">Solomon's design, in driving us off from
the world, by showing us its vanity, is to drive us to God and to
our duty, that we may not walk in the way of the world, but by
religious rules, nor depend upon the wealth of the world, but on
religious advantages; and therefore,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ec.vi-p4">I. He here sends us to <i>the house of
God,</i> to the place of public worship, to the temple, which he
himself had built at a vast expense. When he reflected with regret
on all his other works (<scripRef id="Ec.vi-p4.1" osisRef="Bible:Eccl.2.4" parsed="|Eccl|2|4|0|0" passage="Ec 2:4"><i>ch.</i> ii.
4</scripRef>), he did not repent of that, but reflected on it with
pleasure, yet mentions it not, lest he should seem to reflect on it
with pride; but he here sends those to it that would know more of
the vanity of the world and would find that happiness which is in
vain sought for in the creature. David, when he was perplexed,
<i>went into the sanctuary of God,</i> <scripRef id="Ec.vi-p4.2" osisRef="Bible:Ps.73.17" parsed="|Ps|73|17|0|0" passage="Ps 73:17">Ps. lxxiii. 17</scripRef>. Let our disappointments in
the creature turn our eyes to the Creator; let us have recourse to
the word of God's grace and consult that, to the throne of his
grace and solicit that. In the word and prayer there is a balm for
every wound.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ec.vi-p5">II. He charges us to behave ourselves well
there, that we may not miss of our end in coming thither. Religious
exercises are not vain things, but, if we mismanage them, they
become vain to us. And therefore,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ec.vi-p6">1. We must address ourselves to them with
all possible seriousness and care: "<i>Keep thy foot,</i> not keep
it back from the house of God (as <scripRef id="Ec.vi-p6.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.25.17" parsed="|Ps|25|17|0|0" passage="Ps 25:17">Prov. xxv. 17</scripRef>), nor go slowly thither, as one
unwilling to draw nigh to God, but <i>look well to thy goings,
ponder the path of thy feet,</i> lest thou take a false step.
Address thyself to the worship of God with a solemn pause, and take
time to compose thyself for it, not going about it with
precipitation, which is called <i>hasting with the feet,</i>
<scripRef id="Ec.vi-p6.2" osisRef="Bible:Prov.19.2" parsed="|Prov|19|2|0|0" passage="Pr 19:2">Prov. xix. 2</scripRef>. Keep thy
thoughts from roving and wandering from the work; keep thy
affections from running out towards wrong objects, for in the
business of God's house there is work enough for the whole man, and
all too little to be employed." Some think it alludes to the charge
given to Moses and Joshua to <i>put off their shoes</i> (<scripRef id="Ec.vi-p6.3" osisRef="Bible:Exod.3.5 Bible:Josh.5.15" parsed="|Exod|3|5|0|0;|Josh|5|15|0|0" passage="Ex 3:5,Jos 5:15">Exod. iii. 5, Josh. v. 15,</scripRef>) in
token of subjection and reverence. <i>Keep thy feet</i> clean,
<scripRef id="Ec.vi-p6.4" osisRef="Bible:Exod.30.19" parsed="|Exod|30|19|0|0" passage="Ex 30:19">Exod. xxx. 19</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ec.vi-p7">2. We must take heed that the sacrifice we
bring be not <i>the sacrifice of fools</i> (of wicked men), for
they are fools and their <i>sacrifice is an abomination to the
Lord,</i> <scripRef id="Ec.vi-p7.1" osisRef="Bible:Prov.15.8" parsed="|Prov|15|8|0|0" passage="Pr 15:8">Prov. xv. 8</scripRef>), that
we bring not <i>the torn, and the lame, and the sick for
sacrifice,</i> for we are plainly told that it will not be
accepted, and therefore it is folly to bring it,—that we rest not
in the sign and ceremony, and the outside of the performance,
without regarding the sense and meaning of it, for that is the
<i>sacrifice of fools.</i> Bodily exercise, if that be all, is a
jest; none but fools will think thus to please him who is a Spirit
and requires the heart, and they will see their folly when they
find what a great deal of pains they have taken to no purpose for
want of sincerity. They are <i>fools,</i> for they <i>consider not
that they do evil;</i> they think they are doing God and themselves
good service when really they are putting a great affront upon God
and a great cheat upon their own souls by their hypocritical
devotions. Men may be doing evil even when they profess to be doing
good, and even when they do not know it, when they do not consider
it. <i>They know not but to do evil,</i> so some read it. Wicked
minds cannot choose but sin, even in the acts of devotion. Or, They
<i>consider not that they do evil;</i> they act at a venture, right
or wrong, pleasing to God or not, it is all one to them.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ec.vi-p8">3. That we may not bring <i>the sacrifice
of fools,</i> we must come to God's house with hearts disposed to
know and do our duty. We must be <i>ready to hear,</i> that is,
(1.) We must diligently <i>attend</i> to the word of God read and
preached. "<i>Be swift to hear</i> the exposition which the priests
give of the sacrifices, declaring the intent and meaning of them,
and do not think it enough to gaze upon what they do, for it must
be <i>a reasonable service,</i> otherwise it is <i>the sacrifice of
fools.</i>" (2.) We must resolve to comply with the will of God as
it is made known to us. <i>Hearing</i> is often put for
<i>obeying,</i> and that is it that is <i>better than
sacrifice,</i> <scripRef id="Ec.vi-p8.1" osisRef="Bible:1Sam.15.22 Bible:Isa.1.15-Isa.1.16" parsed="|1Sam|15|22|0|0;|Isa|1|15|1|16" passage="1Sa 15:22,Isa 1:15,16">1 Sam. xv.
22; Isa. i. 15, 16</scripRef>. We come in a right frame to holy
duties when we come with this upon our heart, <i>Speak, Lord, for
thy servant hears. Let the word of the Lord come</i> (said a good
man), <i>and if I had 600 necks I would bow them all to the
authority of it.</i></p>
<p class="indent" id="Ec.vi-p9">4. We must be very cautious and considerate
in all our approaches and addresses to God (<scripRef id="Ec.vi-p9.1" osisRef="Bible:Eccl.5.2" parsed="|Eccl|5|2|0|0" passage="Ec 5:2"><i>v.</i> 2</scripRef>): <i>Be not rash with thy
mouth,</i> in making prayers, or protestations, or promises; <i>let
not thy heart be hasty to utter any thing before God.</i> Note,
(1.) When we are in the <i>house of God,</i> in solemn assemblies
for religious worship, we are in a special manner before God and in
his presence, there where he has promised to meet his people, where
his eye is upon us and ours ought to be unto him. (2.) We have
something to say, something to utter before God, when we <i>draw
nigh to him</i> in holy duties; he is one <i>with whom we have to
do,</i> with whom we have business of vast importance. If we come
without an errand, we shall go away without any advantage. (3.)
What we <i>utter before God</i> must come from <i>the heart,</i>
and therefore we must not be <i>rash with our mouth,</i> never let
our tongue outrun our thoughts in our devotions; the <i>words of
our mouth,</i> must always be the product of the <i>meditation of
our hearts.</i> Thoughts are words to God, and words are but wind
if they be not copied from the thoughts. Lip-labour, though ever so
well laboured, if that be all, is but lost labour in religion,
<scripRef id="Ec.vi-p9.2" osisRef="Bible:Matt.15.8-Matt.15.9" parsed="|Matt|15|8|15|9" passage="Mt 15:8,9">Matt. xv. 8, 9</scripRef>. (4.) It is
not enough that what we say comes from the heart, but it must come
from a composed heart, and not from a sudden heat or passion. As
the mouth must not be rash, so the heart must not be hasty; we must
not only think, but think twice, before we speak, when we are to
speak either from God in preaching or to God in prayer, and not
utter any thing indecent and undigested, <scripRef id="Ec.vi-p9.3" osisRef="Bible:1Cor.14.15" parsed="|1Cor|14|15|0|0" passage="1Co 14:15">1 Cor. xiv. 15</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ec.vi-p10">5. We must be sparing of our words in the
presence of God, that is, we must be reverent and deliberate, not
talk to God as boldly and carelessly as we do to one another, not
speak what comes uppermost, not repeat things over and over, as we
do to one another, that what we say may be understood and
remembered and may make impression; no, when we speak to God we
must consider, (1.) That between him and us there is an infinite
distance: <i>God is in heaven,</i> where he reigns in glory over us
and all the children of men, where he is attended with an
innumerable company of holy angels and is <i>far exalted above all
our blessing and praise. We are on earth,</i> the footstool of his
throne; we are mean and vile, unlike God, and utterly unworthy to
receive any favour from him or to have any communion with him.
Therefore we must be very grave, humble, and serious, and be
reverent in speaking to him, as we are when we speak to a great man
that is much our superior; and, in token of this, <i>let our words
be few,</i> that they may be <i>well chosen,</i> <scripRef id="Ec.vi-p10.1" osisRef="Bible:Job.9.14" parsed="|Job|9|14|0|0" passage="Job 9:14">Job ix. 14</scripRef>. This does not condemn all long
prayers; were they not good, the Pharisees would not have used them
for a pretence; Christ prayed all night; and we are directed to
<i>continue in prayer.</i> But it condemns careless heartless
praying, <i>vain repetitions</i> (<scripRef id="Ec.vi-p10.2" osisRef="Bible:Matt.6.7" parsed="|Matt|6|7|0|0" passage="Mt 6:7">Matt.
vi. 7</scripRef>), repeating <i>Pater-nosters</i> by tale. Let us
speak to God, and of him, in his own words, words which the
scripture teaches; and let our words, words of our own invention,
be few, lest, not speaking by rule, we speak amiss. (2.) That the
multiplying of words in our devotions will make them <i>the
sacrifices of fools,</i> <scripRef id="Ec.vi-p10.3" osisRef="Bible:Eccl.5.3" parsed="|Eccl|5|3|0|0" passage="Ec 5:3"><i>v.</i>
3</scripRef>. As confused dreams, frightful and perplexed, and such
as disturb the sleep, are an evidence of a hurry of business which
fills our head, so many words and hasty ones, used in prayer, are
an evidence of folly reigning in the heart, ignorance of and
unacquaintedness with both God and ourselves, low thoughts of God,
and careless thoughts of our own souls. Even in common conversation
<i>a fool is known by the multitude of words;</i> those that know
least talk most (<scripRef id="Ec.vi-p10.4" osisRef="Bible:Eccl.10.11" parsed="|Eccl|10|11|0|0" passage="Ec 10:11"><i>ch.</i> x.
11</scripRef>), particularly in devotion; there, no doubt, <i>a
prating fool shall fall</i> (<scripRef id="Ec.vi-p10.5" osisRef="Bible:Prov.10.8 Bible:Prov.10.10" parsed="|Prov|10|8|0|0;|Prov|10|10|0|0" passage="Pr 10:8,10">Prov.
x. 8, 10</scripRef>), shall fall short of acceptance. Those are
fools indeed who think they <i>shall be heard,</i> in prayer,
<i>for their much speaking.</i></p>
</div><scripCom id="Ec.vi-p10.6" osisRef="Bible:Eccl.5.4-Eccl.5.8" parsed="|Eccl|5|4|5|8" passage="Ec 5:4-8" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Eccl.5.4-Eccl.5.8">
<h4 id="Ec.vi-p10.7">The Obligation of a Vow.</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Ec.vi-p11">4 When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to
pay it; for <i>he hath</i> no pleasure in fools: pay that which
thou hast vowed.   5 Better <i>is it</i> that thou shouldest
not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay.   6 Suffer
not thy mouth to cause thy flesh to sin; neither say thou before
the angel, that it <i>was</i> an error: wherefore should God be
angry at thy voice, and destroy the work of thine hands?   7
For in the multitude of dreams and many words <i>there are</i> also
<i>divers</i> vanities: but fear thou God.   8 If thou seest
the oppression of the poor, and violent perverting of judgment and
justice in a province, marvel not at the matter: for <i>he that
is</i> higher than the highest regardeth; and <i>there be</i>
higher than they.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ec.vi-p12">Four things we are exhorted to in these
verses:—</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ec.vi-p13">I. To be conscientious in paying our
vows.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ec.vi-p14">1. A vow is a bond upon the soul (<scripRef id="Ec.vi-p14.1" osisRef="Bible:Num.30.2" parsed="|Num|30|2|0|0" passage="Nu 30:2">Num. xxx. 2</scripRef>), by which we solemnly
oblige ourselves, not only, in general, to do that which we are
already bound to do, but, in some particular instances, to do that
to do which we were not under any antecedent obligation, whether it
respects honouring God or serving the interests of his kingdom
among men. When, under the sense of some affliction (<scripRef id="Ec.vi-p14.2" osisRef="Bible:Ps.66.14" parsed="|Ps|66|14|0|0" passage="Ps 66:14">Ps. lxvi. 14</scripRef>), or in the pursuit of
some mercy (<scripRef id="Ec.vi-p14.3" osisRef="Bible:1Sam.1.11" parsed="|1Sam|1|11|0|0" passage="1Sa 1:11">1 Sam. i. 11</scripRef>),
thou hast vowed such a vow as this <i>unto God,</i> know that
<i>thou hast opened thy mouth unto the Lord and thou canst not go
back;</i> therefore, (1.) Pay it; perform what thou hast promised;
bring to God what thou hast dedicated and devoted to him: <i>Pay
that which thou hast vowed;</i> pay it in full and <i>keep not back
any part of the price;</i> pay it in kind, do not <i>alter it or
change it,</i> so the law was, <scripRef id="Ec.vi-p14.4" osisRef="Bible:Lev.27.10" parsed="|Lev|27|10|0|0" passage="Le 27:10">Lev.
xxvii. 10</scripRef>. Have we vowed to <i>give our own selves unto
the Lord?</i> Let us then be as good as our word, act in his
service, to his glory, and not sacrilegiously alienate ourselves.
(2.) <i>Defer not to pay it.</i> If it be in the power of thy hands
to pay it to-day, leave it not till to-morrow; do not <i>beg a
day,</i> nor put it off to a more convenient season. By delay the
sense of the obligation slackens and cools, and is in danger of
wearing off; we thereby discover a loathness and backwardness to
perform our vow; and <i>qui non est hodie cras minus aptus erit—he
who is not inclined to-day will be averse to-morrow.</i> The longer
it is put off the more difficult it will be to bring ourselves to
it; death may not only prevent the payment, but fetch thee to
judgment, under the guilt of a broken vow, <scripRef id="Ec.vi-p14.5" osisRef="Bible:Ps.76.11" parsed="|Ps|76|11|0|0" passage="Ps 76:11">Ps. lxxvi. 11</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ec.vi-p15">2. Two reasons are here given why we should
speedily and cheerfully pay our vows:—(1.) Because otherwise we
affront God; we play the fool with him, as if we designed to put a
trick upon him; and <i>God has no pleasure in fools.</i> More is
implied than is expressed; the meaning is, He greatly abhors such
fools and such foolish dealings. <i>Has he need of fools?</i> No;
<i>Be not deceived, God is not mocked,</i> but will surely and
severely reckon with those that thus play fast and loose with him.
(2.) Because otherwise we wrong ourselves, we lose the benefit of
the making of the <i>vow,</i> nay, we incur the penalty for the
breach of it; so that it would have been better a great deal <i>not
to have vowed,</i> more safe and more to our advantage, than to
<i>vow and not to pay.</i> Not to have <i>vowed</i> would have been
but an omission, but to <i>vow and not pay</i> incurs the guilt of
treachery and perjury; it is <i>lying to God,</i> <scripRef id="Ec.vi-p15.1" osisRef="Bible:Acts.5.4" parsed="|Acts|5|4|0|0" passage="Ac 5:4">Acts v. 4</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ec.vi-p16">II. To be cautious in making our vows. This
is necessary in order to our being conscientious in performing
them, <scripRef id="Ec.vi-p16.1" osisRef="Bible:Eccl.5.6" parsed="|Eccl|5|6|0|0" passage="Ec 5:6"><i>v.</i> 6</scripRef>. 1. We must
take heed that we never vow anything that is sinful, or that may be
an occasion of sin, for such a vow is ill-made and must be broken.
<i>Suffer not thy mouth,</i> by such a vow, <i>to cause thy flesh
to sin,</i> as Herod's rash promise caused him to cut off the head
of John the Baptist. 2. We must not vow that which, through the
frailty of the flesh, we have reason to fear we shall not be able
to perform, as those that vow a single life and yet know not how to
keep their vow. Hereby, (1.) They shame themselves; for they are
forced to <i>say before the angel, It was an error,</i> that either
they did not mean or did not consider what they said; and, take it
which way you will, it is bad enough. "When thou hast made a
<i>vow,</i> do not seek to evade it, nor find excuses to get clear
of the obligation of it; <i>say not before the priest,</i> who is
called the <i>angel or messenger of the Lord of hosts,</i> that,
upon second thoughts, thou hast changed thy mind, and desirest to
be absolved from the obligation of thy vow; but stick to it, and do
not seek a hole to creep out at." Some by <i>the angel</i>
understand the guardian angel which they suppose to attend every
man and to inspect what he does. Others understand it of Christ,
<i>the Angel of the covenant,</i> who is present with his people in
their assemblies, who searches the heart, and cannot be imposed
upon; <i>provoke him not, for God's name is in him,</i> and he is
represented as strict and jealous, <scripRef id="Ec.vi-p16.2" osisRef="Bible:Exod.23.20-Exod.23.21" parsed="|Exod|23|20|23|21" passage="Ex 23:20,21">Exod. xxiii. 20, 21</scripRef>. (2.) They expose
themselves to the wrath of God, for he is <i>angry at the voice
of</i> those that thus <i>lie unto him with their mouth and flatter
him with their tongue,</i> and is displeased at their
dissimulation, and <i>destroys the works of their hands,</i> that
is, blasts their enterprises, and defeats those purposes which,
when they made these vows, they were seeking to God for the success
of. If we treacherously cancel the words of our mouths, and revoke
our vows, God will justly overthrow our projects, and walk
contrary, and at all adventures, with those that thus walk
contrary, and at all adventures with him. It is <i>a snare to a
man, after vows, to make enquiry.</i></p>
<p class="indent" id="Ec.vi-p17">III. To keep up the fear of God, <scripRef id="Ec.vi-p17.1" osisRef="Bible:Eccl.5.7" parsed="|Eccl|5|7|0|0" passage="Ec 5:7"><i>v.</i> 7</scripRef>. Many, of old, pretended to
know the mind of God by <i>dreams,</i> and were so full of them
that they almost made God's people forget his name by their
<i>dreams</i> (<scripRef id="Ec.vi-p17.2" osisRef="Bible:Jer.23.25-Jer.23.26" parsed="|Jer|23|25|23|26" passage="Jer 23:25,26">Jer. xxiii. 25,
26</scripRef>); and many now perplex themselves with their
frightful or odd dreams, or with other people's dreams, as if they
foreboded this or the other disaster. Those that heed dreams shall
have a multitude of them to fill their heads with; but in them all
<i>there are divers vanities,</i> as there are in many words, and
the more if we regard them. "They are but like the idle impertinent
chat of children and fools, and therefore never heed them; forget
them; instead of repeating them lay no stress upon them, draw no
disquieting conclusions from them, but <i>fear thou God;</i> have
an eye to his sovereign dominion, set him before thee, keep thyself
in his love, and be afraid of offending him, and then thou wilt not
disturb thyself with foolish dreams." The way not to be dismayed at
the signs of heaven, nor afraid <i>of the idols of the heathen,</i>
is to <i>fear God as King of nations,</i> <scripRef id="Ec.vi-p17.3" osisRef="Bible:Jer.10.2 Bible:Jer.10.5 Bible:Jer.10.7" parsed="|Jer|10|2|0|0;|Jer|10|5|0|0;|Jer|10|7|0|0" passage="Jer 10:2,5,7">Jer. x. 2, 5, 7</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ec.vi-p18">IV. With that to keep down the fear of man,
<scripRef id="Ec.vi-p18.1" osisRef="Bible:Eccl.5.8" parsed="|Eccl|5|8|0|0" passage="Ec 5:8"><i>v.</i> 8</scripRef>. "Set God before
thee, and then, if <i>thou seest the oppression of the poor,</i>
thou wilt not <i>marvel at the matter,</i> nor find fault with
divine Providence, nor think the worse of the institution of
magistracy, when thou seest the ends of it thus perverted, nor of
religion, when thou seest it will not secure men from suffering
wrong." Observe here, 1. A melancholy sight on earth, and such as
cannot but trouble every good man that has a sense of justice and a
concern for mankind, to see <i>the oppression of the poor</i>
because they are poor and cannot defend themselves, and the
<i>violent perverting of judgment and justice in a province,</i>
oppression under colour of law and backed with power. The kingdom
in general may have a good government, and yet it may so happen
that a particular province may be committed to a bad man, by whose
mal-administration justice may be perverted; so hard it is for the
wisest of kings, in giving preferments, to be sure of their men;
they can but redress the grievance when it appears. 2. A
comfortable sight in heaven. When things look thus dismal we may
satisfy ourselves with this, (1.) That, though oppressors be
<i>high,</i> God is <i>above them,</i> and in that very thing
wherein <i>they deal proudly,</i> <scripRef id="Ec.vi-p18.2" osisRef="Bible:Exod.18.11" parsed="|Exod|18|11|0|0" passage="Ex 18:11">Exod. xviii. 11</scripRef>. God is <i>higher than the
highest</i> of creatures, than the highest of princes, than the
king that is <i>higher than Agag</i> (<scripRef id="Ec.vi-p18.3" osisRef="Bible:Num.24.7" parsed="|Num|24|7|0|0" passage="Nu 24:7">Num. xxiv. 7</scripRef>), than the highest angels, the
<i>thrones and dominions</i> of the upper world. God is the <i>Most
High over all the earth,</i> and his <i>glory is above the
heavens;</i> before him princes are worms, the brightest but
glow-worms. (2.) That, though oppressors be secure, God has his eye
upon them, takes notice of, and will reckon for, all their violent
perverting of judgment; <i>he regards,</i> not only sees it but
observes it, and keeps it on record, to be called over again; his
<i>eyes are upon their ways.</i> See <scripRef id="Ec.vi-p18.4" osisRef="Bible:Job.23.33" parsed="|Job|23|33|0|0" passage="Job 23:33">Job xxiv. 23</scripRef>. (3.) That there is a world of
angels, for there are <i>higher than they,</i> who are employed by
the divine justice for protecting the injured and punishing the
injurious. Sennacherib valued himself highly upon his potent army,
but one angel proved too hard for him and all his forces. Some, by
those <i>that are higher than they</i> understand the great council
of the nation, the presidents to whom the <i>princes of the
provinces are accountable</i> (<scripRef id="Ec.vi-p18.5" osisRef="Bible:Dan.6.2" parsed="|Dan|6|2|0|0" passage="Da 6:2">Dan. vi.
2</scripRef>), the senate that receive complaints against the
proconsuls, the courts above to which appeals are made from the
inferior courts, which are necessary to the good government of a
kingdom. Let it be a check to oppressors that perhaps their
superiors on earth may call them to an account; however, God the
Supreme in heaven will.</p>
</div><scripCom id="Ec.vi-p18.6" osisRef="Bible:Eccl.5.9-Eccl.5.17" parsed="|Eccl|5|9|5|17" passage="Ec 5:9-17" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Eccl.5.9-Eccl.5.17">
<h4 id="Ec.vi-p18.7">The Vanity of Riches.</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Ec.vi-p19">9 Moreover the profit of the earth is for all:
the king <i>himself</i> is served by the field.   10 He that
loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver; nor he that
loveth abundance with increase: this <i>is</i> also vanity.  
11 When goods increase, they are increased that eat them: and what
good <i>is there</i> to the owners thereof, saving the beholding
<i>of them</i> with their eyes?   12 The sleep of a labouring
man <i>is</i> sweet, whether he eat little or much: but the
abundance of the rich will not suffer him to sleep.   13 There
is a sore evil <i>which</i> I have seen under the sun,
<i>namely,</i> riches kept for the owners thereof to their hurt.
  14 But those riches perish by evil travail: and he begetteth
a son, and <i>there is</i> nothing in his hand.   15 As he
came forth of his mother's womb, naked shall he return to go as he
came, and shall take nothing of his labour, which he may carry away
in his hand.   16 And this also <i>is</i> a sore evil,
<i>that</i> in all points as he came, so shall he go: and what
profit hath he that hath laboured for the wind?   17 All his
days also he eateth in darkness, and <i>he hath</i> much sorrow and
wrath with his sickness.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ec.vi-p20">Solomon had shown the vanity of pleasure,
gaiety, and fine works, of honour, power, and royal dignity; and
there is many a covetous worldling that will agree with him, and
speak as slightly as he does of these things; but money, he thinks,
is a substantial thing, and if he can but have enough of that he is
happy. This is the mistake which Solomon attacks, and attempts to
rectify, in these verses; he shows that there is as much vanity in
great riches, and the <i>lust of the eye</i> about them, as there
is in the <i>lusts of the flesh</i> and the <i>pride of life,</i>
and a man can make himself no more happy by hoarding an estate than
by spending it.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ec.vi-p21">I. He grants that the products of the
earth, for the support and comfort of human life, are valuable
things (<scripRef id="Ec.vi-p21.1" osisRef="Bible:Eccl.5.9" parsed="|Eccl|5|9|0|0" passage="Ec 5:9"><i>v.</i> 9</scripRef>): <i>The
profit of the earth is for all.</i> Man's body, being made of the
earth, thence has its maintenance (<scripRef id="Ec.vi-p21.2" osisRef="Bible:Job.28.5" parsed="|Job|28|5|0|0" passage="Job 28:5">Job
xxviii. 5</scripRef>); and that it has so, and that a <i>barren
land</i> is not <i>made his dwelling</i> (as he has deserved for
being rebellious, <scripRef id="Ec.vi-p21.3" osisRef="Bible:Ps.68.6" parsed="|Ps|68|6|0|0" passage="Ps 68:6">Ps. lxviii.
6</scripRef>), is an instance of God's great bounty to him. There
is <i>profit to be got out of the earth,</i> and it is <i>for
all;</i> all need it; it is appointed for all; there is enough for
all. It is not only for all men, but for all the inferior
creatures; the same ground brings <i>grass for the cattle</i> that
brings <i>herbs for the service of men.</i> Israel had <i>bread
from heaven, angels' food,</i> but (which is a humbling
consideration) the earth is our storehouse and the beasts are
fellow-commoners with us. <i>The king himself is served of the
field,</i> and would be ill served, would be quite starved, without
its products. This puts a great honour upon the husbandman's
calling, that it is the most necessary of all to the support of
man's life. The many have the benefit of it; the mighty cannot live
without it; it is <i>for all;</i> it is for the <i>king
himself.</i> Those that have an abundance of the fruits of the
earth must remember <i>they are for all,</i> and therefore must
look upon themselves but as stewards of their abundance, out of
which they must give to those that need. Dainty meats and soft
clothing are only <i>for some,</i> but the <i>fruit of the earth is
for all.</i> And even those that <i>suck the abundance of the
seas</i> (<scripRef id="Ec.vi-p21.4" osisRef="Bible:Deut.33.19" parsed="|Deut|33|19|0|0" passage="De 33:19">Deut. xxxiii. 19</scripRef>)
cannot be without the fruit of the earth, while those that have a
competency of the <i>fruit of the earth</i> may despise the
<i>abundance of the seas.</i></p>
<p class="indent" id="Ec.vi-p22">II. He maintains that the riches that are
more than these, that are for hoarding, not for use, are <i>vain
things,</i> and will not make a man easy or happy. That which our
Saviour has said (<scripRef id="Ec.vi-p22.1" osisRef="Bible:Luke.12.15" parsed="|Luke|12|15|0|0" passage="Lu 12:15">Luke xii.
15</scripRef>), <i>that a man's life consists not in the abundance
of the things which he possesses,</i> is what Solomon here
undertakes to prove by various arguments.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ec.vi-p23">1. The more men have the more they would
have, <scripRef id="Ec.vi-p23.1" osisRef="Bible:Eccl.5.10" parsed="|Eccl|5|10|0|0" passage="Ec 5:10"><i>v.</i> 10</scripRef>. A man
may have but a little silver and be satisfied with it, may know
when he has enough and covet no more. <i>Godliness, with
contentment, is great gain. I have enough,</i> says Jacob; <i>I
have all, and abound,</i> says St. Paul: but, (1.) He that <i>loves
silver,</i> and sets his heart upon it, will never think he has
enough, but <i>enlarges his desire as hell</i> (<scripRef id="Ec.vi-p23.2" osisRef="Bible:Hab.2.5" parsed="|Hab|2|5|0|0" passage="Hab 2:5">Hab. ii. 5</scripRef>), <i>lays house to house and field
to field</i> (<scripRef id="Ec.vi-p23.3" osisRef="Bible:Isa.5.8" parsed="|Isa|5|8|0|0" passage="Isa 5:8">Isa. v. 8</scripRef>),
and, like <i>the daughters of the horse-leech, still cries, Give,
give.</i> Natural desires are at rest when that which is desired is
obtained, but corrupt desires are insatiable. Nature is content
with little, grace with less, but lust with nothing. (2.) He that
has silver in abundance, and has it increasing ever so fast upon
him, yet does not find that it yields any solid satisfaction to his
soul. There are bodily desires which silver itself will not
satisfy; if a man be hungry, ingots of silver will do no more to
satisfy his hunger than clods of clay. Much less will worldly
abundance satisfy spiritual desires; he that has ever so much
silver covets more, not only of that, but of something else,
something of another nature. Those that make themselves drudges to
the world are spending their <i>labour for that which satisfies
not</i> (<scripRef id="Ec.vi-p23.4" osisRef="Bible:Isa.55.2" parsed="|Isa|55|2|0|0" passage="Isa 55:2">Isa. lv. 2</scripRef>), which
fills the belly, but will never fill the soul, <scripRef id="Ec.vi-p23.5" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.7.19" parsed="|Ezek|7|19|0|0" passage="Eze 7:19">Ezek. vii. 19</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ec.vi-p24">2. The more men have the more occasion they
have for it, and the more they have to do with it, so that it is as
broad as it is long: <i>When goods increase, they are increased
that eat them,</i> <scripRef id="Ec.vi-p24.1" osisRef="Bible:Eccl.5.11" parsed="|Eccl|5|11|0|0" passage="Ec 5:11"><i>v.</i>
11</scripRef>. <i>The more meat the more mouths.</i> Does the
estate thrive? And does not the family at the same time grow more
numerous and the children grow up to need more? The more men have
the better house they must keep, the more servants they must
employ, the more guests they must entertain, the more they must
give to the poor, and the more they will have hanging on them, for
where <i>the carcase is the eagles will be.</i> What we have more
than food and raiment we have <i>for others;</i> and then <i>what
good is there to the owners</i> themselves, but the pleasure of
<i>beholding it with their eyes?</i> And a poor pleasure it is. An
empty speculation is all the difference between the owners and the
sharers; the owner sees that as his own which those about him enjoy
as much of the real benefit of as he; only he has the satisfaction
of doing good to others, which indeed is a satisfaction to one who
believes what Christ said, that <i>it is more blessed to give than
to receive;</i> but to a covetous man, who thinks all lost that
goes beside himself, it is a constant vexation to see others eat of
his increase.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ec.vi-p25">3. The more men have the more care they
have about it, which perplexes them and disturbs their repose,
<scripRef id="Ec.vi-p25.1" osisRef="Bible:Eccl.5.12" parsed="|Eccl|5|12|0|0" passage="Ec 5:12"><i>v.</i> 12</scripRef>. Refreshing
sleep is as much the support and comfort of this life as food is.
Now, (1.) Those commonly sleep best that work hard and have but
what they work for: <i>The sleep of the labouring man is sweet,</i>
not only because he has tired himself with his labour, which makes
his sleep the more welcome to him and makes him sleep soundly, but
because he has little to fill his head with care about and so break
his sleep. His sleep is sweet, though he eat but little and have
but little to eat, for his weariness rocks him asleep; and, though
he eat much, yet he can sleep well, for his labour gets him a good
digestion. The sleep of the diligent Christian, and his long sleep,
is sweet; for, having spent himself and his time in the service of
God, he can cheerfully return to God and repose in him as his rest.
(2.) Those that have every thing else often fail to secure a good
night's sleep. Either their eyes are held waking or their sleeps
are unquiet and do not refresh them; and it is their abundance that
breaks their sleep and disturbs it, both the abundance of their
care (as the rich man's who, when his ground brought forth
plentifully, thought within himself, <i>What shall I do?</i>
<scripRef id="Ec.vi-p25.2" osisRef="Bible:Luke.12.17" parsed="|Luke|12|17|0|0" passage="Lu 12:17">Luke xii. 17</scripRef>) and the
abundance of what they eat and drink which overcharges the heart,
makes them sick, and so hinders their repose. Ahasuerus, after a
banquet of wine, could not sleep; and perhaps consciousness of
guilt, both in getting and using what they have, breaks their sleep
as much as any thing. But <i>God gives his beloved sleep.</i></p>
<p class="indent" id="Ec.vi-p26">4. The more men have the more danger they
are in both of doing mischief and of having mischief done them
(<scripRef id="Ec.vi-p26.1" osisRef="Bible:Eccl.5.13" parsed="|Eccl|5|13|0|0" passage="Ec 5:13"><i>v.</i> 13</scripRef>): <i>There is
an evil, a sore evil,</i> which Solomon himself had <i>seen under
the sun,</i> in this lower world, this theatre of sin and
woe—<i>riches left for the owners thereof</i> (who have been
industrious to hoard them and keep them safely) <i>to their
hurt;</i> they would have been better without them. (1.) Their
riches <i>do them hurt,</i> make them proud, secure, and in love
with the world, draw away their hearts from God and duty, and make
it very difficult for them to enter into the kingdom of heaven,
nay, help to shut them out of it. (2.) They <i>do hurt with their
riches,</i> which not only put them into a capacity of gratifying
their own lusts and living luxuriously, but give them an
opportunity of oppressing others and dealing hardly with them. (3.)
Often they sustain <i>hurt by their riches.</i> They would not be
envied, would not be robbed, if they were not rich. It is the fat
beast that is led first to the slaughter. A very rich man (as one
observes) has sometimes been excepted out of a general pardon, both
as to life and estate, merely on account of his vast and overgrown
estate; so riches <i>often take away the life of the owners
thereof,</i> <scripRef id="Ec.vi-p26.2" osisRef="Bible:Prov.1.19" parsed="|Prov|1|19|0|0" passage="Pr 1:19">Prov. i.
19</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ec.vi-p27">5. The more men have the more they have to
lose, and perhaps they may lose it all, <scripRef id="Ec.vi-p27.1" osisRef="Bible:Eccl.5.14" parsed="|Eccl|5|14|0|0" passage="Ec 5:14"><i>v.</i> 14</scripRef>. Those riches that have been laid
up with a great deal of pains, and kept with a great deal of care,
<i>perish by evil travail,</i> by the very pains and care which
they take to secure and increase them. Many a one has ruined his
estate by being over-solicitous to advance it and make it more, and
has lost all by catching at all. Riches are perishing things, and
all our care about them cannot make them otherwise; they <i>make
themselves wings and fly away.</i> He that thought he should have
made his son a gentleman leaves him a beggar; he <i>begets a
son,</i> and brings him up in the prospect of an estate, but, when
he dies, leaves it under a charge of debt as much as it is worth,
so that <i>there is nothing in his hand.</i> This is a common case;
estates that made a great show do not prove what they seemed, but
cheat the heir.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ec.vi-p28">6. How much soever men have when they die,
they must leave it all behind them (<scripRef id="Ec.vi-p28.1" osisRef="Bible:Eccl.5.15-Eccl.5.16" parsed="|Eccl|5|15|5|16" passage="Ec 5:15,16"><i>v.</i> 15, 16</scripRef>): <i>As he came forth of
his mother's womb naked, so shall he return;</i> only as his
friends, when he came naked into the world, in pity to him, helped
him with swaddling-clothes, so, when he goes out, they help him
with grave-clothes, and that is all. See <scripRef id="Ec.vi-p28.2" osisRef="Bible:Job.1.21 Bible:Ps.49.17" parsed="|Job|1|21|0|0;|Ps|49|17|0|0" passage="Job 1:21,Ps 49:17">Job i. 21; Ps. xlix. 17</scripRef>. This is
urged as a reason why we should be content with such things as we
have, <scripRef id="Ec.vi-p28.3" osisRef="Bible:1Tim.6.7" parsed="|1Tim|6|7|0|0" passage="1Ti 6:7">1 Tim. vi. 7</scripRef>. In
respect of the body we must go as we came; the dust shall return to
the earth as it was. But sad is our case if the soul return as it
came, for we were born in sin, and if we die in sin, unsanctified,
we had better never have been born; and that seems to be the case
of the worldling here spoken of, for he is said to <i>return in all
points as he came,</i> as sinful, as miserable, and much more so.
This is a <i>sore evil; he</i> thinks it so whose heart is glued to
the world, that he <i>shall take nothing of his labour which he may
carry away in his hand;</i> his riches will not go with him into
another world nor stand him in any stead there. If we labour in
religion, the grace and comfort we get by that labour we may carry
away in our hearts, and shall be the better for it to eternity;
that is meat that endures. But if we labour only for the world, to
fill our hands with that, we cannot take that away with us; we are
born with our hands griping, but we die with them extended, letting
go what we held fast. So that, upon the whole matter, he may well
ask, <i>What profit has he that has laboured for the wind?</i>
Note, Those that labour for the world labour for the wind, for that
which has more sound than substance, which is uncertain, and always
shifting its point, unsatisfying, and often hurtful, which we
cannot hold fast, and which, if we take up with it as our portion,
will no more feed us than the <i>wind,</i> <scripRef id="Ec.vi-p28.4" osisRef="Bible:Hos.12.1" parsed="|Hos|12|1|0|0" passage="Ho 12:1">Hos. xii. 1</scripRef>. Men will see that they have
<i>laboured for the wind</i> when at death they find the profit of
their labour is all gone, gone like the wind, they know not
whither.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ec.vi-p29">7. Those that have much, if they set their
hearts upon it, have not only uncomfortable deaths, but
uncomfortable lives too, <scripRef id="Ec.vi-p29.1" osisRef="Bible:Eccl.5.17" parsed="|Eccl|5|17|0|0" passage="Ec 5:17"><i>v.</i>
17</scripRef>. This covetous worldling, that is so bent upon
raising an estate, <i>all his days eats in darkness and much
sorrow, and it is his sickness and wrath;</i> he has not only no
pleasure of his estate, nor any enjoyment of it himself, for he
<i>eats the bread of sorrow</i> (<scripRef id="Ec.vi-p29.2" osisRef="Bible:Ps.127.2" parsed="|Ps|127|2|0|0" passage="Ps 127:2">Ps.
cxxvii. 2</scripRef>), but a great deal of vexation to see others
eat of it. His necessary expenses make him sick, make him fret, and
he seems as if he were angry that himself and those about him
cannot live without meat. As we read the last clause, it intimates
how ill this covetous worldling can bear the common and unavoidable
calamities of human life. When he is in health he <i>eats in
darkness,</i> always dull with care and fear about what he has;
but, if he be sick, <i>he has much sorrow and wrath with his
sickness;</i> he is vexed that his sickness takes him off from his
business and hinders him in his pursuits of the world, vexed that
all his wealth will not give him any ease or relief, but especially
terrified with the apprehensions of death (which his diseases are
the harbingers of), of leaving this world and the things of it
behind him, which he has set his affections upon, and removing to a
world he has made no preparation for. He has not any <i>sorrow
after a godly sort,</i> does not <i>sorrow to repentance,</i> but
he has <i>sorrow and wrath,</i> is angry at the providence of God,
angry at his sickness, angry at all about him, fretful and peevish,
which doubles his affliction, which a good man lessens and lightens
by patience and joy in his sickness.</p>
</div><scripCom id="Ec.vi-p29.3" osisRef="Bible:Eccl.5.18-Eccl.5.20" parsed="|Eccl|5|18|5|20" passage="Ec 5:18-20" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Eccl.5.18-Eccl.5.20">
<h4 id="Ec.vi-p29.4">Grateful Enjoyment.</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Ec.vi-p30">18 Behold <i>that</i> which I have seen: <i>it
is</i> good and comely <i>for one</i> to eat and to drink, and to
enjoy the good of all his labour that he taketh under the sun all
the days of his life, which God giveth him: for it <i>is</i> his
portion.   19 Every man also to whom God hath given riches and
wealth, and hath given him power to eat thereof, and to take his
portion, and to rejoice in his labour; this <i>is</i> the gift of
God.   20 For he shall not much remember the days of his life;
because God answereth <i>him</i> in the joy of his heart.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ec.vi-p31">Solomon, from the vanity of riches hoarded
up, here infers that the best course we can take is to use well
what we have, to serve God with it, to do good with it, and take
the comfort of it to ourselves and our families; this he had
pressed before, <scripRef id="Ec.vi-p31.1" osisRef="Bible:Eccl.2.24 Bible:Eccl.3.22" parsed="|Eccl|2|24|0|0;|Eccl|3|22|0|0" passage="Ec 2:24,3:22"><i>ch.</i> ii. 24;
iii. 22</scripRef>. Observe, 1. What it is that is here recommended
to us, not to indulge the appetites of the flesh, or to take up
with present pleasures or profits for our portion, but soberly and
moderately to make use of what Providence has allotted for our
comfortable passage through this world. We must not starve
ourselves through covetousness, because we cannot afford ourselves
food convenient, nor through eagerness in our worldly pursuits, nor
through excessive care and grief, but <i>eat and drink</i> what is
fit for us to keep our bodies in good plight for the serving of our
souls in God's service. We must not kill ourselves with
<i>labour,</i> and then leave others <i>to enjoy the good</i> of
it, but take the comfort of that which our hands have laboured for,
and that not now and then, but <i>all the days of our life which
God gives us.</i> Life is God's gift, and he has appointed us
<i>the number of the days</i> of our life (<scripRef id="Ec.vi-p31.2" osisRef="Bible:Job.14.5" parsed="|Job|14|5|0|0" passage="Job 14:5">Job xiv. 5</scripRef>); let us therefore spend those
days in <i>serving the Lord our God with joyfulness and gladness of
heart.</i> We must not do the business of our calling as a
drudgery, and make ourselves slaves to it, but we must <i>rejoice
in our labour,</i> not grasp at more business than we can go
through without perplexity and disquiet, but take a pleasure in the
calling wherein God has put us, and go on in the business of it
with cheerfulness. This it to <i>rejoice in our labour,</i>
whatever it is, as <i>Zebulun in his going out and Issachar in his
tents.</i> 2. What is urged to recommend it to us. (1.) That <i>it
is good and comely</i> to do this. It is well, and it looks well.
Those that cheerfully use what God has given them thereby honour
the giver, answer the intention of the gift, act rationally and
generously, do good in the world, and make what they have turn to
the best account, and this is both their credit and their comfort;
<i>it is good and comely;</i> there is duty and decency in it. (2.)
That it is all the good we can have out of the things of this
world: <i>It is our portion,</i> and in doing thus we take our
portion, and make the best of bad. This is our part of our worldly
possession. God must have his part, the poor theirs, and our
families theirs, but this is ours; it is all that falls to our lot
out of them. (3.) That a heart to do thus is such a gift of God's
grace as crowns all the gifts of his providence. If God has given a
man <i>riches and wealth,</i> he completes the favour, and makes
that a blessing indeed, if withal he <i>gives him power to eat
thereof,</i> wisdom and grace to take the good of it and to do good
with it. If this <i>is God's gift,</i> we must <i>covet</i> it
<i>earnestly</i> as <i>the best gift</i> relating to our enjoyments
in this world. (4.) That this is the way to make our own lives easy
and to relieve ourselves against the many toils and troubles which
our lives on earth are incident to (<scripRef id="Ec.vi-p31.3" osisRef="Bible:Eccl.5.20" parsed="|Eccl|5|20|0|0" passage="Ec 5:20"><i>v.</i> 20</scripRef>): <i>He shall not much remember
the days of his life,</i> the days of his sorrow and sore travail,
his working days, his weeping days. He shall either forget them or
remember them as waters that pass away; he shall not much lay to
heart his crosses, nor long retain the bitter relish of them,
<i>because God answers him in the joy of his heart,</i> balances
all the grievances of his labour with the joy of it and recompenses
him for it by giving him to <i>eat the labour of his hands.</i> If
he does not answer all his desires and expectations, in the letter
of them, yet he answers them with that which is more than
equivalent, <i>in the joy of his heart.</i> A cheerful spirit is a
great blessing; it makes the yoke of our employments easy and the
burden of our afflictions light.</p>
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