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<center><h1>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary
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on the Whole Bible</h1>
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[<A HREF="MHC00000.HTM">Table of Contents</A>]<BR>
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Matthew Henry<BR><I>Commentary on the Whole Bible</I> (1710)
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<!-- (Begin Body) -->
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<CENTER>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+3><B>E C C L E S I A S T E S</B></FONT>
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<BR>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+2>CHAP. I.</FONT>
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<HR SIZE=1 WIDTH=50>
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</CENTER>
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<FONT SIZE=-1>
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<P>
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In this chapter we have,
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I. The inscription, or title of the book,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+1:1">ver. 1</A>.
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II. The general doctrine of the vanity of the creature laid down
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+1:2">ver. 2</A>)
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and explained,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+1:3">ver. 3</A>.
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III. The proof of this doctrine, taken,
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1. From the shortness of human life and the multitude of births and
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burials in this life,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+1:4">ver. 4</A>.
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2. From the inconstant nature, and constant revolutions, of all the
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creatures, and the perpetual flux and reflux they are in, the sun,
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wind, and water,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+1:5-7">ver. 5-7</A>.
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3. From the abundant toil man has about them and the little
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satisfaction he has in them,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+1:8">ver. 8</A>.
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4. From the return of the same things again, which shows the end of all
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perfection, and that the stock is exhausted,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+1:9,10">ver. 9, 10</A>.
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5. From the oblivion to which all things are condemned,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+1:11">ver. 11</A>.
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IV. The first instance of the vanity of man's knowledge, and all the
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parts of learning, especially natural philosophy and politics. Observe,
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1. The trial Solomon made of these,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+1:12,13,16,17">ver. 12, 13, 16, 17</A>.
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2. His judgment of them, that all is vanity,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+1:14">ver. 14</A>.
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For,
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(1.) There is labour in getting knowledge,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+1:13">ver. 13</A>.
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(2.) There is little good to be done with it,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+1:15">ver. 15</A>.
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(3.) There is no satisfaction in it,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+1:18">ver. 18</A>.
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And, if this is vanity and vexation, all other things in this world,
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being much inferior to it in dignity and worth, must needs be so too. A
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great scholar cannot be happy unless he be a true saint.</P>
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</FONT>
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<A NAME="Ec1_1"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ec1_2"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ec1_3"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec1"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>The Vanity of the World.</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 The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in
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Jerusalem.
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2 Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities;
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all <I>is</I> vanity.
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3 What profit hath a man of all his labour which he taketh
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under the sun?
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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Here is,
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I. An account of the penman of this book; it was Solomon, for no other
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son of David was king of Jerusalem; but he conceals his name
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<I>Solomon, peaceable,</I> because by his sin he had brought trouble
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upon himself and his kingdom, had broken his peace with God and lost
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the peace of his conscience, and therefore was no more worthy of that
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name. Call me not <I>Solomon,</I> call me <I>Marah,</I> for, <I>behold,
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for peace I had great bitterness.</I> But he calls himself,</P>
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<P>
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1. <I>The preacher,</I> which intimates his present character. He is
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<I>Koheleth,</I> which comes from a word which signifies <I>to
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gather;</I> but it is of a feminine termination, by which perhaps
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Solomon intends to upbraid himself with his effeminacy, which
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contributed more than any thing to his apostasy; for it was to please
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his wives that he set up idols,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ne+13:26">Neh. xiii. 26</A>.
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Or the word <I>soul</I> must be understood, and so <I>Koheleth</I>
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is,</P>
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<P>
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(1.) A <I>penitent soul,</I> or one <I>gathered,</I> one that had
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rambled and gone astray like a lost sheep, but was now reduced,
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gathered in from his wanderings, gathered home to his duty, and come at
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length to himself. The spirit that was dissipated after a thousand
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vanities is now collected and made to centre in God. Divine grace can
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make great sinners great converts, and renew even those to repentance
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who, <I>after they had known the way of righteousness, turned aside
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from it,</I> and <I>heal their backslidings,</I> though it is a
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difficult case. It is only the penitent soul that God will accept, the
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heart that is broken, not the head that is bowed down like a bulrush
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only for a day, David's repentance, not Ahab's. And it is only the
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gathered soul that is the penitent soul, that comes back from its
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by-paths, that no longer <I>scatters its way to the strangers</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+3:13">Jer. iii. 13</A>),
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but is <I>united to fear God's name. Out of the abundance of the heart
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the mouth will speak,</I> and therefore we have here the words of the
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penitent, and those published. If eminent professors of religion fall
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into gross sin, they are concerned, for the honour of God and the
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repairing of the damage they have done to his kingdom, openly to
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testify their repentance, that the antidote may be administered as
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extensively as the poison.</P>
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<P>
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(2.) A <I>preaching soul,</I> or one <I>gathering.</I> Being himself
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<I>gathered</I> to the congregation of saints, out of which he had by
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his sin thrown himself, and being reconciled to the church, he
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endeavours to gather others to it that had gone astray like him, and
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perhaps were led astray by his example. He that has done any thing to
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seduce his brother ought to do all he can to restore him. Perhaps
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Solomon called together a congregation of his people, as he had done at
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the dedication of the temple
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Ki+8:2">1 Kings viii. 2</A>),
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so now at the rededicating of himself. In that assembly he presided as
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the people's mouth to God in prayer
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+1:12"><I>v.</I> 12</A>);
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in this as God's mouth to them in preaching. God by his Spirit made him
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a preacher, in token of his being reconciled to him; a commission is a
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tacit pardon. Christ sufficiently testifies his forgiving Peter by
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committing his lambs and sheep to his trust. Observe, Penitents should
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be preachers; those that have taken warning themselves to turn and live
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should give warning to others not to go on and die. <I>When thou art
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converted strengthen thy brethren.</I> Preachers must be preaching
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<I>souls,</I> for that only is likely to reach to the heart that comes
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from the heart. Paul served God <I>with his spirit in the gospel of his
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Son,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ro+1:9">Rom. i. 9</A>.</P>
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<P>
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2. <I>The son of David.</I> His taking this title intimates,
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(1.) That he looked upon it as a great honour to be the son of so good
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a man, and valued himself very much upon it.
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(2.) That he also looked upon it as a great aggravation of his sin that
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he had such a father, who had given him a good education and put up
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many a good prayer for him; it cuts him to the heart to think that he
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should be a blemish and disgrace to the name and family of such a one
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as David. It aggravated the sin of Jehoiakim that he was the son of
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Josiah,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+22:15-17">Jer. xxii. 15-17</A>.
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(3.) That his being the son of David encouraged him to repent and hope
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for mercy, for David had fallen into sin, by which he should have been
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warned not to sin, but was not; but David repented, and therein he took
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example from him and found mercy as he did. Yet this was not all; he
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was that son of David concerning whom God had said that though he would
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<I>chasten his transgression with the rod,</I> yet he would not
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<I>break his covenant</I> with him,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+89:34">Ps. lxxxix. 34</A>.
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Christ, the great preacher, was the <I>Son of David.</I></P>
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<P>
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3. <I>King of Jerusalem.</I> This he mentions,
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(1.) As that which was a very great aggravation of his sin. He was a
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king. God had done much for him, in raising him to the throne, and yet
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he had so ill requited him; his dignity made the bad example and
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influence of his sin the more dangerous, and many would follow his
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pernicious ways; especially as he was king of Jerusalem, the holy city,
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where God's temple was, and of his own building too, where the priests,
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the Lord's ministers, were, and his prophets who had taught him better
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things.
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(2.) As that which might give some advantage to what he wrote, for
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<I>where the word of a king is there is power.</I> He thought it no
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disparagement to him, as a king, to be a preacher; but the people would
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regard him the more as a preacher because he was a king. If men of
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honour would lay out themselves to do good, what a great deal of good
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might they do! Solomon looked as great in the pulpit, preaching the
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vanity of the world, as in his throne of ivory, judging.</P>
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<P>
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The Chaldee-paraphrase (which, in this book, makes very large additions
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to the text, or comments upon it, all along) gives this account of
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Solomon's writing this book, That by the spirit of prophecy he foresaw
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the revolt of the ten tribes from his son, and, in process of time, the
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destruction of Jerusalem and the house of the sanctuary, and the
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captivity of the people, in the foresight of which he said, <I>Vanity
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of vanities, all is vanity;</I> and to that he applies many passages in
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this book.</P>
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<P>
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II. The general scope and design of the book. What is it that this
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royal preacher has to say? That which he aims at is, for the making of
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us truly religious, to take down our esteem of and expectation from the
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things of this world. In order to this, he shows,</P>
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<P>
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1. That they are <I>all vanity,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+1:2"><I>v.</I> 2</A>.
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This is the proposition he lays down and undertakes to prove: <I>Vanity
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of vanities, all is vanity.</I> It was no new text; his father David
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had more than once spoken to the same purport. The truth itself here
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asserted is, that <I>all is vanity,</I> all besides God and considered
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as abstract from him, the <I>all</I> of this world, all worldly
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employments and enjoyments, the <I>all</I> that <I>is in the world</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Jo+2:16">1 John ii. 16</A>),
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all that which is agreeable to our senses and to our fancies in this
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present state, which gains pleasure to ourselves or reputation with
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others. It is <I>all vanity,</I> not only in the abuse of it, when it
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is perverted by the sin of man, but even in the use of it. Man,
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considered with reference to these things, is vanity
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+39:5,6">Ps. xxxix. 5, 6</A>),
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and, if there were not another life after this, were made in vain
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+89:47">Ps. lxxxix. 47</A>);
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and those things, considered in reference to man (whatever they are in
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themselves), are <I>vanity.</I> They are impertinent to the soul,
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foreign, and add nothing to it; they do not answer the end, nor yield
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any true satisfaction; they are uncertain in their continuance, are
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fading, and perishing, and passing away, and will certainly deceive and
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disappoint those that put a confidence in them. Let us not therefore
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<I>love vanity</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+4:2">Ps. iv. 2</A>),
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nor <I>lift up our souls</I> to it
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+24:4">Ps. xxiv. 4</A>),
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for we shall but weary ourselves for it,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Heb+2:13">Heb. ii. 13</A>.
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It is expressed here very emphatically; not only, <I>All is vain,</I>
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but in the abstract, <I>All is vanity;</I> as if vanity were the
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<I>proprium quarto modo--property in the fourth mode,</I> of the things
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of this world, that which enters into the nature of them. The are not
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only <I>vanity,</I> but <I>vanity of vanities,</I> the vainest vanity,
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vanity in the highest degree, nothing but vanity, such a vanity as is
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the cause of a great deal of vanity. And this is redoubled, because the
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thing is certain and past dispute, it is <I>vanity of vanities.</I>
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This intimates that the wise man had his own heart fully convinced of
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and much affected with this truth, and that he was very desirous that
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others should be convinced of it and affected with it, as he was, but
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that he found the generality of men very loth to believe it and
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consider it
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+33:14">Job xxxiii. 14</A>);
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it intimates likewise that we cannot comprehend and express the vanity
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of this world. But who is it that speaks thus slightly of the world? Is
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it one that will stand to what he says? Yes, he puts his name to
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it--<I>saith the preacher.</I> Is it one that was a competent judge?
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Yes, as much as ever any man was. Many speak contemptuously of the
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world because they are hermits, and know it not, or beggars, and have
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it not; but Solomon knew it. He had dived into nature's depths
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Ki+4:33">1 Kings iv. 33</A>),
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and he had it, more of it perhaps than ever any man had, his head
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filled with its notions and <I>his belly</I> with its <I>hidden
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treasures</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+17:14">Ps. xvii. 14</A>),
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and he passes this judgment on it. But did he speak as one having
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authority? Yes, not only that of a king, but that of a prophet, a
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preacher; he spoke in God's name, and was divinely inspired to say it.
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But did he not say it in his haste, or in a passion, upon occasion of
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some particular disappointment? No; he said it deliberately, said it
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and proved it, laid it down as a fundamental principle, on which he
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grounded the necessity of being religious. And, as some think, one main
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thing he designed was to show that the everlasting throne and kingdom
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which God had by Nathan promised to David and his seed must be of
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another world; for all things in this world are subject to vanity, and
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therefore have not in them sufficient to answer the extent of that
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promise. If Solomon find all to be vanity, then the kingdom of the
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Messiah must come, in which we shall inherit substance.</P>
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<P>
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2. That they are insufficient to make us happy. And for this he appeals
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to men's consciences: <I>What profit has a man of all the pains he
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takes?</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+1:3"><I>v.</I> 3</A>.
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Observe here,
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(1.) The business of this world described. It is <I>labour;</I> the
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word signifies both care and toil. It is work that wearies men. There
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is a constant fatigue in worldly business. It is <I>labour under the
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sun;</I> that is a phrase peculiar to this book, where we meet with it
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twenty-eight times. There is a world above the sun, a world which needs
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not the sun, for the glory of God is its light, where there is work
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without labour and with great profit, the work of angels; but he speaks
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of the work <I>under the sun,</I> the pains of which are great and the
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gains little. It is <I>under the sun,</I> under the influence of the
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sun, by its light and in its heat; as we have the benefit of the light
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of the day, so we have sometimes the burden and heat of the day
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mt+20:12">Matt. xx. 12</A>),
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and therefore <I>in the sweat of our face we eat bread.</I> In the dark
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and cold grave the weary are at rest.
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(2.) The benefit of that business enquired into: <I>What profit has a
|
|
man of all that labour?</I> Solomon says
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+14:23">Prov. xiv. 23</A>),
|
|
|
|
<I>In all labour there is profit;</I> and yet here he denies that there
|
|
is any profit. As to our present condition in the world, it is true
|
|
that by labour we get that which we call <I>profit;</I> we <I>eat the
|
|
labour of our hands;</I> but as the wealth of the world is commonly
|
|
called <I>substance,</I> and yet it is <I>that which is not</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+22:5">Prov. xxii. 5</A>),
|
|
|
|
so it is called <I>profit,</I> but the question is whether it be really
|
|
so or no. And here he determines that it is not, that it is not a real
|
|
benefit, that it is not a remaining benefit. In short, the wealth and
|
|
pleasure of this world, if we had ever so much of them, are not
|
|
sufficient to make us happy, nor will they be a portion for us.
|
|
|
|
[1.] As to the body, and the life that now is, <I>What profit has a man
|
|
of all his labour? A man's life consists not in an abundance,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Lu+12:15">Luke xii. 15</A>.
|
|
|
|
As goods are increased care about them is increased, and <I>those are
|
|
increased that eat of them,</I> and a little thing will embitter all
|
|
the comfort of them; and then <I>what profit has a man</I> of all his
|
|
labour? Early up, and never the nearer.
|
|
|
|
[2.] As to the soul, and the life that is to come, we may much more
|
|
truly say, <I>What profit has a man of all his labour?</I> All he gets
|
|
by it will not supply the wants of the soul, nor satisfy its desires,
|
|
will not atone for the sin of the soul, nor cure its diseases, nor
|
|
contervail the loss of it; what profit will they be of to the soul in
|
|
death, in judgment, or in the everlasting state? The fruit of our
|
|
labour in heavenly things is <I>meat that endures to eternal life,</I>
|
|
but the fruit of our labour for the world is only <I>meat that
|
|
perishes.</I></P>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Ec1_4"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ec1_5"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ec1_6"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ec1_7"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ec1_8"> </A>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Sec2"> </A>
|
|
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
|
|
<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>The Vanity of the World.</I></FONT></TD>
|
|
<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1> <! -- Date --> </FONT></TD></TR>
|
|
<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
|
|
</TABLE>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>4 <I>One</I> generation passeth away, and <I>another</I> generation
|
|
cometh: but the earth abideth for ever.
|
|
5 The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to
|
|
his place where he arose.
|
|
6 The wind goeth toward the south, and turneth about unto the
|
|
north; it whirleth about continually, and the wind returneth
|
|
again according to his circuits.
|
|
7 All the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea <I>is</I> not full;
|
|
unto the place from whence the rivers come, thither they return
|
|
again.
|
|
8 All things <I>are</I> full of labour; man cannot utter <I>it:</I> the
|
|
eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with
|
|
hearing.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
To prove the vanity of all things under the sun, and their
|
|
insufficiency to make us happy, Solomon here shows,
|
|
|
|
1. That the time of our enjoyment of these things is very short, and
|
|
only while we <I>accomplish as a hireling his day.</I> We continue in
|
|
the world but for one generation, which is continually passing away to
|
|
make room for another, and we are passing with it. Our worldly
|
|
possessions we very lately had from others, and must very shortly leave
|
|
to others, and therefore to us they are vanity; they can be no more
|
|
substantial than that life which is the <I>substratum</I> of them, and
|
|
that is but a <I>vapour, which appears for a little while and then
|
|
vanishes away.</I> While the stream of mankind is continually flowing,
|
|
how little enjoyment has one drop of that stream of the pleasant banks
|
|
between which it glides! We may give God the glory of that constant
|
|
succession of generations, in which the world has hitherto had its
|
|
existence, and will have to the end of time, admitting his patience in
|
|
continuing that sinful species and his power in continuing that dying
|
|
species. We may be also quickened to do the work of our generation
|
|
diligently, and serve it faithfully, because it will be over shortly;
|
|
and, in concern for mankind in general, we should consult the welfare
|
|
of succeeding generations; but as to our own happiness, let us not
|
|
expect it within such narrow limits, but in an eternal rest and
|
|
consistency.
|
|
|
|
2. That when we leave this world we leave the earth behind us, that
|
|
<I>abides for ever</I> where it is, and therefore the things of the
|
|
earth can stand us in no stead in the future state. It is well for
|
|
mankind in general that the earth endures to the end of time, when it
|
|
and all the works in it shall be burnt up; but what is that to
|
|
particular persons, when they remove to the world of spirits?
|
|
|
|
3. That the condition of man is, in this respect, worse than that even
|
|
of the inferior creatures: <I>The earth abides for ever,</I> but man
|
|
abides upon the earth but a little while. The sun sets indeed every
|
|
night, yet it rises again in the morning, as bright and fresh as ever;
|
|
the winds, though they shift their point, yet in some point or other
|
|
still they are; the waters that go to the sea above ground come from it
|
|
again under ground. <I>But man lies down and rises not,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+14:7,12">Job xiv. 7, 12</A>.
|
|
|
|
4. That all things in this world are movable and mutable, and subject
|
|
to a continual toil and agitation, constant in nothing but inconstancy,
|
|
still going, never resting; it was but once that the sun stood still;
|
|
when it is risen it is hastening to set, and, when it is set, hastening
|
|
to rise again
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+1:5"><I>v.</I> 5</A>);
|
|
|
|
the winds are ever and anon shifting
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+1:6"><I>v.</I> 6</A>),
|
|
|
|
and the waters in a continual circulation
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+1:7"><I>v.</I> 7</A>),
|
|
|
|
it would be of as bad consequence for them to stagnate as for the blood
|
|
in the body to do so. And can we expect rest in a world where all
|
|
things are thus full of labour
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+1:8"><I>v.</I> 8</A>),
|
|
|
|
on a sea that is always ebbing and flowing, and her waves continually
|
|
working and rolling?
|
|
|
|
5. That though all things are still in motion, yet they are still where
|
|
they were; The sun <I>parts</I> (as it is in the margin), but it is to
|
|
the same place; the wind turns till it comes to the same place, and so
|
|
the waters return to the place whence they came. Thus man, after all
|
|
the pains he takes to find satisfaction and happiness in the creature,
|
|
is but where he was, still as far to seek as ever. Man's mind is as
|
|
restless in its pursuits as the sun, and wind, and rivers, but never
|
|
satisfied, never contented; the more it has of the world the more it
|
|
would have; and it would be no sooner filled with the streams of
|
|
outward prosperity, the brooks of <I>honey and butter</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+20:17">Job xx. 17</A>),
|
|
|
|
than the sea is with <I>all the rivers that run into it;</I> it is
|
|
still as it was, <I>a troubled sea that cannot rest.</I>
|
|
|
|
6. That <I>all things continue as they were from the beginning of the
|
|
creation,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Pe+3:4">2 Pet. iii. 4</A>.
|
|
|
|
The earth is where it was; the sun, and winds, and rivers, keep the
|
|
same course that ever they did; and therefore, if they have never yet
|
|
been sufficient to make a happiness for man, they are never likely to
|
|
be so, for they can but yield the same comfort that they have yielded.
|
|
We must therefore look above the sun for satisfaction, and for a new
|
|
world.
|
|
|
|
7. That this world is, at the best, a weary land: <I>All is vanity,</I>
|
|
for all is <I>full of labour.</I> The whole creation is made subject to
|
|
this vanity ever since man was sentenced to <I>eat bread in the sweat
|
|
of his brows.</I> If we survey the whole creation, we shall see all
|
|
busy; all have enough to do to mind their own business; none will be a
|
|
portion or happiness for man; all labour to serve him, but none prove a
|
|
<I>help-meet</I> for him. Man cannot express how full of labour all
|
|
things are, can neither number the laborious nor measure the labours.
|
|
|
|
8. That our senses are unsatisfied, and the objects of them
|
|
unsatisfying. He specifies those senses that perform their office with
|
|
least toil, and are most capable of being pleased: <I>The eye is not
|
|
satisfied with seeing,</I> but is weary of seeing always the same
|
|
sight, and covets novelty and variety. <I>The ear</I> is fond, at
|
|
first, of a pleasant song or tune, but soon nauseates it, and must have
|
|
another; both are surfeited, but neither satiated, and what was most
|
|
grateful becomes ungrateful. Curiosity is still inquisitive, because
|
|
still unsatisfied, and the more it is humoured the more nice and
|
|
peevish it grows, crying, <I>Give, give.</I></P>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Ec1_9"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ec1_10"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ec1_11"> </A>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Sec3"> </A>
|
|
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
|
|
<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Change without Novelty.</I></FONT></TD>
|
|
<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1> <! -- Date --> </FONT></TD></TR>
|
|
<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
|
|
</TABLE>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>9 The thing that hath been, it <I>is that</I> which shall be; and
|
|
that which is done <I>is</I> that which shall be done: and <I>there is</I>
|
|
no new <I>thing</I> under the sun.
|
|
10 Is there <I>any</I> thing whereof it may be said, See, this <I>is</I>
|
|
new? it hath been already of old time, which was before us.
|
|
11 <I>There is</I> no remembrance of former <I>things;</I> neither shall
|
|
there be <I>any</I> remembrance of <I>things</I> that are to come with
|
|
<I>those</I> that shall come after.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
Two things we are apt to take a great deal of pleasure and satisfaction
|
|
in, and value ourselves upon, with reference to our business and
|
|
enjoyments in the world, as if they helped to save them from vanity.
|
|
Solomon shows us our mistake in both.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
1. The novelty of the invention, that it is such as was never known
|
|
before. How grateful is it to think that none ever made such advances
|
|
in knowledge, and such discoveries by it, as we, that none ever made
|
|
such improvements of an estate or trade, and had the art of enjoying
|
|
the gains of it, as we have. Their contrivances and compositions are
|
|
all despised and run down, and we boast of new fashions, new
|
|
hypotheses, new methods, new expressions, which jostle out the old, and
|
|
put them down. But this is all a mistake: <I>The thing that</I> is, and
|
|
<I>shall be, is</I> the same with <I>that which has been, and that
|
|
which shall be done</I> will be but the same with <I>that which is
|
|
done,</I> for <I>there is no new thing under the sun,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+1:9"><I>v.</I> 9</A>.
|
|
|
|
It is repeated
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+1:10"><I>v.</I> 10</A>)
|
|
|
|
by way of question, <I>is there any thing</I> of which <I>it may be
|
|
said,</I> with wonder, <I>See, this is new;</I> there never was the
|
|
like? It is an appeal to observing men, and a challenge to those that
|
|
cry up modern learning above that of the ancients. Let them name any
|
|
thing which they take to be new, and though perhaps we cannot make it
|
|
to appear, for want of the records of former times, yet we have reason
|
|
to conclude <I>that it has been already of old time, which was before
|
|
us.</I> What is there in the kingdom of nature of which we may say,
|
|
<I>This is new? The works were finished from the foundation of the
|
|
world</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Heb+4:3">Heb. iv. 3</A>);
|
|
|
|
things which appear new to us, as they do to children, are not so in
|
|
themselves. The heavens were <I>of old;</I> the earth abides for ever;
|
|
the powers of nature and the links of natural causes are still the same
|
|
that ever they were. In the kingdom of Providence, though the course
|
|
and method of it have not such known and certain rules as that of
|
|
nature, nor does it go always in the same track, yet, in the general,
|
|
it is still the same thing over and over again. Men's hearts, and the
|
|
corruptions of them, are still the same; their desires, and pursuits,
|
|
and complaints, are still the same; and what God does in his dealings
|
|
with men is according to the scripture, according to the manner, so
|
|
that it is all repetition. What is surprising to us needs not be so,
|
|
for there has been the like, the like strange advancements and
|
|
disappointments, the like strange revolutions and sudden turns, sudden
|
|
turns of affairs; the miseries of human life have always been much the
|
|
same, and mankind tread a perpetual round, and, as the sun and wind,
|
|
are but where they were. Now the design of this is,
|
|
|
|
(1.) To show the folly of the children of men in affecting things that
|
|
are new, in imagining that they have discovered such things, and in
|
|
pleasing and priding themselves in them. We are apt to nauseate old
|
|
things, and to grow weary of what we have been long used to, as Israel
|
|
of the manna, and covet, with the Athenians, still to tell and hear of
|
|
some new thing, and admire this and the other as new, whereas it is all
|
|
what has been. Tatianus the Assyrian, showing the Grecians how all the
|
|
arts which they valued themselves upon owed their original to those
|
|
nations which they counted barbarous, thus reasons with them: "For
|
|
shame, do not call those things
|
|
<B><I>eureseis</I></B>--<I>inventions,</I> which are but
|
|
<B><I>mimeseis</I></B>--<I>imitations.</I>"
|
|
|
|
(2.) To take us off from expecting happiness or satisfaction in the
|
|
creature. Why should we look for it there, where never any yet have
|
|
found it? What reason have we to think that the world should be any
|
|
kinder to us than it has been to those that have gone before us, since
|
|
there is nothing in it that is new, and our predecessors have made as
|
|
much of it as could be made? <I>Your fathers did eat manna, and</I>
|
|
yet they <I>are dead.</I> See
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joh+8:8,9,Joh+6:49">John viii. 8, 9; vi. 49</A>.
|
|
|
|
(3.) To quicken us to secure spiritual and eternal blessings. If we
|
|
would be entertained with new things, we must acquaint ourselves with
|
|
the things of God, get a new nature; then <I>old things pass away, and
|
|
all things become new,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Co+5:17">2 Cor. v. 17</A>.
|
|
|
|
The gospel puts <I>a new song into our mouths.</I> In heaven <I>all is
|
|
new</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Re+21:5">Rev. xxi. 5</A>),
|
|
|
|
all new at first, wholly unlike the present state of things, a new
|
|
world indeed
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Lu+20:35">Luke xx. 35</A>),
|
|
|
|
and all new to eternity, always fresh, always flourishing. This
|
|
consideration should make us willing to die, That in this world there
|
|
is nothing but the same over and over again, and we can expect nothing
|
|
from it more or better than we have had.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
2. The memorableness of the achievement, that it is such as will be
|
|
known and talked of hereafter. Many think they have found satisfaction
|
|
enough in this, that their names shall be perpetuated, that posterity
|
|
will celebrate the actions they have performed, the honours they have
|
|
won, and the estates they have raised, that <I>their houses shall
|
|
continue for ever</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+49:11">Ps. xlix. 11</A>);
|
|
|
|
but herein they deceive themselves. How many <I>former things</I> and
|
|
persons were there, which in their day looked very great and made a
|
|
mighty figure, and yet <I>there is no remembrance</I> of them; they are
|
|
buried in oblivion. Here and there one person or action that was
|
|
remarkable met with a kind historian, and had the good hap to be
|
|
recorded, when at the same time there were others, no less remarkable,
|
|
that were dropped: and therefore we may conclude that <I>neither shall
|
|
there be any remembrance of things to come,</I> but that which we hope
|
|
to be remembered by will be either lost or slighted.</P>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Ec1_12"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ec1_13"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ec1_14"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ec1_15"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ec1_16"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ec1_17"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ec1_18"> </A>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Sec4"> </A>
|
|
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
|
|
<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Vanity of Human Wisdom.</I></FONT></TD>
|
|
<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1> <! -- Date --> </FONT></TD></TR>
|
|
<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
|
|
</TABLE>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>12 I the Preacher was king over Israel in Jerusalem.
|
|
13 And I gave my heart to seek and search out by wisdom
|
|
concerning all <I>things</I> that are done under heaven: this sore
|
|
travail hath God given to the sons of man to be exercised
|
|
therewith.
|
|
14 I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and,
|
|
behold, all <I>is</I> vanity and vexation of spirit.
|
|
15 <I>That which is</I> crooked cannot be made straight: and that
|
|
which is wanting cannot be numbered.
|
|
16 I communed with mine own heart, saying, Lo, I am come to
|
|
great estate, and have gotten more wisdom than all <I>they</I> that
|
|
have been before me in Jerusalem: yea, my heart had great
|
|
experience of wisdom and knowledge.
|
|
17 And I gave my heart to know wisdom, and to know madness and
|
|
folly: I perceived that this also is vexation of spirit.
|
|
18 For in much wisdom <I>is</I> much grief: and he that increaseth
|
|
knowledge increaseth sorrow.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
Solomon, having asserted in general that <I>all is vanity,</I> and
|
|
having given some general proofs of it, now takes the most effectual
|
|
method to evince the truth of it,
|
|
|
|
1. By his own experience; he tried them all, and found them vanity.
|
|
|
|
2. By an induction of particulars; and here he begins with that which
|
|
bids fairest of all to be the happiness of a reasonable creature, and
|
|
that is knowledge and learning; if this be vanity, every thing else
|
|
must needs be so. Now as to this,</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
I. Solomon tells us here what trial he had made of it, and that with
|
|
such advantages that, if true satisfaction could have been found in it,
|
|
he would have found it.
|
|
|
|
1. His high station gave him an opportunity of improving himself in all
|
|
parts of learning, and particularly in politics and the conduct of
|
|
human affairs,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+1:12"><I>v.</I> 12</A>.
|
|
|
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He that is <I>the preacher</I> of this doctrine <I>was king over
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Israel,</I> whom all their neighbours admired as <I>a wise and
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understanding people,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+4:6">Deut. iv. 6</A>.
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He had his royal seat <I>in Jerusalem,</I> which then deserved, better
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than Athens ever did, to be called <I>the eye of the world.</I> The
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heart of a king is unsearchable; he has reaches of his own, and <I>a
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divine sentence is often in his lips.</I> It is his honour, it is his
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business, to search out every matter. Solomon's great wealth and honour
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|
put him into a capacity of making his court the centre of learning and
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the rendezvous of learned men, of furnishing himself with the best of
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books, and either conversing or corresponding with all the wise and
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|
knowing part of mankind then in being, who made application to him to
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learn of him, by which he could not but improve himself; for it is in
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knowledge as it is in trade, all the profit is by barter and exchange;
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if we have that to say which will instruct others, they will have that
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to say which will instruct us. Some observe how slightly Solomon speaks
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of his dignity and honour. He does not say, <I>I the preacher am</I>
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king, but I <I>was king,</I> no matter what I am. He speaks of it as a
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thing past, because worldly honours are transitory.
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2. He applied himself to the improvement of these advantages, and the
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opportunities he had of getting wisdom, which, though ever so great,
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will not make a man wise unless he give his mind to it. Solomon <I>gave
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his heart to seek and search out</I> all things to be known <I>by
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|
wisdom,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+1:13"><I>v.</I> 13</A>.
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He made it his business to acquaint himself with <I>all the things that
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|
are done under the sun,</I> that are done by the providence of God or
|
|
by the art and prudence of man. He set himself to get all the insight
|
|
he could into philosophy and mathematics, into husbandry and trade,
|
|
merchandise and mechanics, into the history of former ages and the
|
|
present state of other kingdoms, their laws, customs, and policies,
|
|
into men's different tempers, capacities, and projects, and the methods
|
|
of managing them; he set himself not only to seek, but to search, to
|
|
pry into, that which is most intricate, and which requires the closes
|
|
application of mind and the most vigorous and constant prosecution.
|
|
Though he was a prince, he made himself a drudge to learning, was not
|
|
discouraged by its knots, nor took up short of its depths. And this he
|
|
did, not merely to gratify his own genius, but to qualify himself for
|
|
the service of God, and his generation, and to make an experiment how
|
|
far the enlargement of the knowledge would go towards the settlement
|
|
and repose of the mind.
|
|
|
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3. He made a very great progress in his studies, wonderfully improved
|
|
all the parts of learning, and carried his discoveries much further
|
|
than any that had been before him. He did not condemn learning, as
|
|
many do, because they cannot conquer it and will not be at the pains to
|
|
make themselves masters of it; no, what he aimed at he compassed; he
|
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<I>saw all the works that were done under the sun</I>
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|
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+1:14"><I>v.</I> 14</A>),
|
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|
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works of nature in the upper and lower world, all within this vortex
|
|
(to use the modern gibberish) which has the sun for its centre, works
|
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of art, the product of men's wit, in a personal or social capacity. He
|
|
had as much satisfaction in the success of his searches as ever any man
|
|
had; he <I>communed with his own heart</I> concerning his attainments
|
|
in knowledge, with as much pleasure as ever any rich merchant had in
|
|
taking account of his stock. He could say, "<I>Lo, I</I> have magnified
|
|
and increased <I>wisdom,</I> have not only gotten more of it myself,
|
|
but have done more to propagate it and bring it into reputation, than
|
|
any, <I>than all that have been before me in Jerusalem.</I>" Note, It
|
|
becomes great men to be studious, and delight themselves most in
|
|
intellectual pleasures. Where God gives great advantages of getting
|
|
knowledge he expects improvements accordingly. It is happy with a
|
|
people when their princes and noblemen study to excel others as much in
|
|
wisdom and useful knowledge as they do in honour and estate; and they
|
|
may do that service to the commonwealth of learning by applying
|
|
themselves to the studies that are proper for them which meaner persons
|
|
cannot do. Solomon must be acknowledged as competent judge of this
|
|
matter, for he had not only got his head full of notions, but his
|
|
<I>heart had great experience of wisdom and knowledge,</I> of the power
|
|
and benefit of knowledge, as well as the amusement and entertainment of
|
|
it; what he knew he had digested, and knew how to make use of.
|
|
<I>Wisdom entered into his heart,</I> and so became <I>pleasant to his
|
|
soul,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+2:10,11,22:18">Prov. ii. 10, 11; xxii. 18</A>.
|
|
|
|
4. He applied his studies especially to that part of learning which is
|
|
most serviceable to the conduct of human life, and consequently is the
|
|
most valuable
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+1:17"><I>v.</I> 17</A>):
|
|
|
|
"<I>I gave my heart to know</I> the rules and dictates of
|
|
<I>wisdom,</I> and how I might obtain it; <I>and to know madness and
|
|
folly,</I> how I might prevent and cure it, to know the snares and
|
|
insinuations of it, that I might avoid them, and guard against them,
|
|
and discover its fallacies." So industrious was Solomon to improve
|
|
himself in knowledge that he gained instruction both by the wisdom of
|
|
prudent men and by the madness of foolish men, by <I>the field of the
|
|
slothful,</I> as well as of <I>the diligent.</I></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
II. He tells us what was the result of this trial, to confirm what he
|
|
had said, that <I>all is vanity.</I></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
1. He found that his searches after knowledge were very toilsome, and a
|
|
weariness not only to the flesh, but to the mind
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+1:13"><I>v.</I> 13</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>This sore travail,</I> this difficulty that there is in searching
|
|
after truth and finding it, <I>God has given to the sons of men to
|
|
be</I> afflicted <I>therewith,</I> as a punishment for our first
|
|
parents' coveting forbidden knowledge. As bread for the body, so that
|
|
for the soul, must be got and eaten <I>in the sweat of our face,</I>
|
|
whereas both would have been had with out labour if Adam had not
|
|
sinned.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
2. He found that the more he saw of <I>the works done under the sun</I>
|
|
the more he saw of their vanity; nay, and the sight often occasioned
|
|
him <I>vexation of spirit</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+1:14"><I>v.</I> 14</A>):
|
|
|
|
"<I>I have seen all the works</I> of a world full of business, have
|
|
observed what the children of men are doing; <I>and behold,</I>
|
|
whatever men think of their own works, I see <I>all is vanity and
|
|
vexation of spirit.</I>" He had before pronounced all <I>vanity</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+1:2"><I>v.</I> 2</A>),
|
|
|
|
needless and unprofitable, and that which does us no good; here he
|
|
adds, It is all <I>vexation of spirit,</I> troublesome and prejudicial,
|
|
and that which does us hurt. It is <I>feeding upon wind;</I> so some
|
|
read it,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ho+12:1">Hos. xii. 1</A>.
|
|
|
|
(1.) The works themselves which we see done are <I>vanity and
|
|
vexation</I> to those that are employed in them. There is so much care
|
|
in the contrivance of our worldly business, so much toil in the
|
|
prosecution of it, and so much trouble in the disappointments we meet
|
|
with in it, that we may well say, It is <I>vexation of spirit.</I>
|
|
|
|
(2.) The sight of them is <I>vanity and vexation of spirit</I> to the
|
|
wise observer of them. The more we see of the world the more we see to
|
|
make us uneasy, and, with Heraclitus, to look upon all with weeping
|
|
eyes. Solomon especially perceived that the knowledge of <I>wisdom and
|
|
folly</I> was <I>vexation of spirit,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+1:17"><I>v.</I> 17</A>.
|
|
|
|
It vexed him to see many that had wisdom not use it, and many that had
|
|
folly not strive against it. It vexed him when he knew wisdom to see
|
|
how far off it stood from the children of men, and, when he saw folly,
|
|
to see how fast it was bound in their hearts.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
3. He found that when he had got some knowledge he could neither gain
|
|
that satisfaction to himself nor do that good to others with it which
|
|
he expected,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+1:15"><I>v.</I> 15</A>.
|
|
|
|
It would not avail,
|
|
|
|
(1.) To redress the many grievances of human life: "After all, I find
|
|
that <I>that which is crooked</I> will be crooked still and <I>cannot
|
|
be made straight.</I>" Our knowledge is itself intricate and perplexed;
|
|
we must go far about and fetch a great compass to come at it. Solomon
|
|
thought to find out a nearer way to it, but he could not. The paths of
|
|
learning are as much a labyrinth as ever they were. The minds and
|
|
manners of men are crooked and perverse. Solomon thought, with his
|
|
wisdom and power together, thoroughly to reform his kingdom, and make
|
|
that straight which he found crooked; but he was disappointed. All the
|
|
philosophy and politics in the world will not restore the corrupt
|
|
nature of man to its primitive rectitude; we find the insufficiency of
|
|
them both in others and in ourselves. Learning will not alter men's
|
|
natural tempers, nor cure them of their sinful distempers; nor will it
|
|
change the constitution of things in this world; a vale of tears it is
|
|
and so it will be when all is done.
|
|
|
|
(2.) To make up the many deficiencies in the comfort of human life:
|
|
<I>That which is wanting</I> there <I>cannot be numbered,</I> or
|
|
counted out to us from the treasures of human learning, but what <I>is
|
|
wanting</I> will still be so. All our enjoyments here, when we have
|
|
done our utmost to bring them to perfection, are still lame and
|
|
defective, and it cannot be helped; as they are, so they are likely to
|
|
be. <I>That which is wanting</I> in our knowledge is so much that it
|
|
<I>cannot be numbered.</I> The more we know the more we see of our own
|
|
ignorance. <I>Who can understand his errors,</I> his defects?</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
4. Upon the whole, therefore, he concluded that great scholars do but
|
|
make themselves great mourners; <I>for in much wisdom is much
|
|
grief,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+1:18"><I>v.</I> 18</A>.
|
|
|
|
There must be a great deal of pains taken to get it, and a great deal
|
|
of care not to forget it; the more we know the more we see there is to
|
|
be known, and consequently we perceive with greater clearness that our
|
|
work is without end, and the more we see of our former mistakes and
|
|
blunders, which occasions <I>much grief.</I> The more we see of men's
|
|
different sentiments and opinions (and it is that which a great deal of
|
|
our learning is conversant about) the more at a loss we are, it may be,
|
|
which is in the right. Those <I>that increase knowledge</I> have so
|
|
much the more quick and sensible perception of the calamities of this
|
|
world, and for one discovery they make that is pleasing, perhaps, they
|
|
make ten that are displeasing, and so they <I>increase sorrow.</I> Let
|
|
us not therefore be driven off from the pursuit of any useful
|
|
knowledge, but put on patience to break through the sorrow of it; but
|
|
let us despair of finding true happiness in this knowledge, and expect
|
|
it only in the knowledge of God and the careful discharge of our duty
|
|
to him. <I>He that increases</I> in heavenly wisdom, and in an
|
|
experimental acquaintance with the principles, powers, and pleasures of
|
|
the spiritual and divine life, <I>increases</I> joy, such as will
|
|
shortly be consummated in everlasting joy.</P>
|
|
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|
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