mh_parser/vol_split/21 - Ecclesiastes/Chapter 9.xml

<div2 id="Ec.x" n="x" next="Ec.xi" prev="Ec.ix" progress="93.57%" title="Chapter IX">
<h2 id="Ec.x-p0.1">E C C L E S I A S T E S</h2>
<h3 id="Ec.x-p0.2">CHAP. IX.</h3>
<p class="intro" id="Ec.x-p1">Solomon, in this chapter, for a further proof of
the vanity of this world, gives us four observations which he had
made upon a survey of the state of the children of men in it:—I.
He observed that commonly as to outward things, good and bad men
fare much alike, <scripRef id="Ec.x-p1.1" osisRef="Bible:Eccl.9.1-Eccl.9.3" parsed="|Eccl|9|1|9|3" passage="Ec 9:1-3">ver. 1-3</scripRef>.
II. That death puts a final period to all our employments and
enjoyments in this world (<scripRef id="Ec.x-p1.2" osisRef="Bible:Eccl.9.4-Eccl.9.6" parsed="|Eccl|9|4|9|6" passage="Ec 9:4-6">ver.
4-6</scripRef>), whence he infers that it is our wisdom to enjoy
the comforts of life and mind the business of life, while it lasts,
<scripRef id="Ec.x-p1.3" osisRef="Bible:Eccl.9.7-Eccl.9.10" parsed="|Eccl|9|7|9|10" passage="Ec 9:7-10">ver. 7-10</scripRef>. III. That God's
providence often crosses the fairest and most hopeful probabilities
of men's endeavour, and great calamities often surprise men ere
they are aware, <scripRef id="Ec.x-p1.4" osisRef="Bible:Eccl.9.11-Eccl.9.12" parsed="|Eccl|9|11|9|12" passage="Ec 9:11,12">ver. 11,
12</scripRef>. IV. That wisdom often makes men very useful, and yet
gains them little respect, for that persons of great merit are
slighted, <scripRef id="Ec.x-p1.5" osisRef="Bible:Eccl.9.13-Eccl.9.18" parsed="|Eccl|9|13|9|18" passage="Ec 9:13-18">ver. 13-18</scripRef>. And
what is there then in this world that should make us fond of
it?</p>
<scripCom id="Ec.x-p1.6" osisRef="Bible:Eccl.9" parsed="|Eccl|9|0|0|0" passage="Ec 9" type="Commentary"/>
<scripCom id="Ec.x-p1.7" osisRef="Bible:Eccl.9.1-Eccl.9.3" parsed="|Eccl|9|1|9|3" passage="Ec 9:1-3" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Eccl.9.1-Eccl.9.3">
<h4 id="Ec.x-p1.8">Mysteries in Providence.</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Ec.x-p2">1 For all this I considered in my heart even to
declare all this, that the righteous, and the wise, and their
works, <i>are</i> in the hand of God: no man knoweth either love or
hatred <i>by</i> all <i>that is</i> before them.   2 All
<i>things come</i> alike to all: <i>there is</i> one event to the
righteous, and to the wicked; to the good and to the clean, and to
the unclean; to him that sacrificeth, and to him that sacrificeth
not: as <i>is</i> the good, so <i>is</i> the sinner; <i>and</i> he
that sweareth, as <i>he</i> that feareth an oath.   3 This
<i>is</i> an evil among all <i>things</i> that are done under the
sun, that <i>there is</i> one event unto all: yea, also the heart
of the sons of men is full of evil, and madness <i>is</i> in their
heart while they live, and after that <i>they go</i> to the
dead.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ec.x-p3">It has been observed concerning those who
have pretended to search for the philosophers' stone that, though
they could never find what they sought for, yet in the search they
have hit upon many other useful discoveries and experiments. Thus
Solomon, when, in the close of the foregoing chapter, he <i>applied
his heart to know the work of God,</i> and took a great deal of
pains to search into it, though he despaired of finding it out, yet
he found out that which abundantly recompensed him for the search,
and gave him some satisfaction, which he here gives us; <i>for</i>
therefore <i>he considered all this in his heart,</i> and weighed
it deliberately, that he might <i>declare</i> it for the good of
others. Note, What we are <i>to declare</i> we should first
<i>consider;</i> think twice before we speak once; and what we have
<i>considered</i> we should then <i>declare. I believed, therefore
have I spoken.</i></p>
<p class="indent" id="Ec.x-p4">The great difficulty which Solomon met with
in studying the book of providence was the little difference that
is made between good men and bad in the distribution of comforts
and crosses, and the disposal of events. This has perplexed the
minds of many wise and contemplative men. Solomon discourses of it
in <scripRef id="Ec.x-p4.1" osisRef="Bible:Eccl.9.1-Eccl.9.3" parsed="|Eccl|9|1|9|3" passage="Ec 9:1-3">these verses</scripRef>, and,
though he does not undertake to find out this <i>work of God,</i>
yet he says that which may prevent its being a stumbling-block to
us.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ec.x-p5">I. Before he describes the temptation in
its strength he lays down a great and unquestionable truth, which
he resolves to adhere to, and which, if firmly believed, will be
sufficient to break the force of the temptation. This has been the
way of God's people in grappling with this difficulty. Job, before
he discourses of this matter, lays down the doctrine of God's
omniscience (<scripRef id="Ec.x-p5.1" osisRef="Bible:Job.24.1" parsed="|Job|24|1|0|0" passage="Job 24:1">Job xxiv. 1</scripRef>),
Jeremiah the doctrine of his righteousness (<scripRef id="Ec.x-p5.2" osisRef="Bible:Jer.12.1" parsed="|Jer|12|1|0|0" passage="Jer 12:1">Jer. xii. 1</scripRef>), another prophet that of his
holiness (<scripRef id="Ec.x-p5.3" osisRef="Bible:Hab.1.13" parsed="|Hab|1|13|0|0" passage="Hab 1:13">Hab. i. 13</scripRef>), the
psalmist that of his goodness and peculiar favour to his own people
(<scripRef id="Ec.x-p5.4" osisRef="Bible:Ps.73.1" parsed="|Ps|73|1|0|0" passage="Ps 73:1">Ps. lxxiii. 1</scripRef>), and that is
it which Solomon here fastens upon and resolves to abide by, that,
though good and evil seem to be dispensed promiscuously, yet God
has a particular care of and concern for his own people: <i>The
righteous and the wise, and their works, are in the hand of
God,</i> under his special protection and guidance; all their
affairs are managed by him for their good; all their wise and
righteous actions <i>are in his hand,</i> to be recompensed in the
other world, though not in this. They seem as if they were given up
<i>into the hand of their enemies,</i> but it is not so. Men have
<i>no power against them but what is given them from above.</i> The
events that affect them do not come to pass by chance, but all
according to the will and counsel of God, which will turn that to
be for them which seemed to be most against them. Let this make us
easy, whatever happens, that all God's saints are in his hand,
<scripRef id="Ec.x-p5.5" osisRef="Bible:Deut.33.3 Bible:John.10.29 Bible:Ps.31.15" parsed="|Deut|33|3|0|0;|John|10|29|0|0;|Ps|31|15|0|0" passage="De 33:3,Joh 10:29,Ps 31:15">Deut. xxxiii. 3;
John x. 29; Ps. xxxi. 15</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ec.x-p6">II. He lays this down for a rule, that the
love and hatred of God are not to be measured and judged of by
men's outward condition. If prosperity were a certain sign of God's
love, and affliction of his hatred, then it might justly be an
offence to us to see the wicked and godly fare alike. But the
matter is not so: <i>No man knows either love or hatred by all that
is before him</i> in this world, by those things that are the
objects of sense. These we may know by that which is within us; if
we love God with all our heart, thereby we may know that he loves
us, as we may know likewise that we are under his wrath if we be
governed by that carnal mind which is enmity to him. These will be
known by that which shall be hereafter, by men's everlasting state;
it is certain that men are happy or miserable according as they are
under the love or hatred of God, but not according as they are
under the smiles or frowns of the world; and therefore if God loves
a righteous man (as certainly he does) he is happy, though the
world frown upon him; and if he hates a wicked man (as certainly he
does) he is miserable, though the world smile upon him. Then the
offence of this promiscuous distribution of events has ceased.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ec.x-p7">III. Having laid down these principles, he
acknowledges that <i>all things come alike to all;</i> so it has
been formerly, and therefore we are not to think it strange if it
be so now, if it be so with us and our families. Some make this,
and all that follows to <scripRef id="Ec.x-p7.1" osisRef="Bible:Eccl.9.13" parsed="|Eccl|9|13|0|0" passage="Ec 9:13"><i>v.</i>
13</scripRef>, to be the perverse reasoning of the atheists against
the doctrine of God's providence; but I rather take it to be
Solomon's concession, which he might the more freely make when he
had fixed those truths which are sufficient to guard against any
ill use that may be made of what he grants. Observe here (<scripRef id="Ec.x-p7.2" osisRef="Bible:Eccl.9.2" parsed="|Eccl|9|2|0|0" passage="Ec 9:2"><i>v.</i> 2</scripRef>),</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ec.x-p8">1. The great difference that there is
between the characters of the righteous and the wicked, which, in
several instances, are set the one over-against the other, to show
that, though <i>all things come alike to all,</i> yet that does not
in the least confound the eternal distinction between moral good
and evil, but that remains immutable. (1.) The righteous are
<i>clean,</i> have <i>clean hands and pure hearts;</i> the wicked
are <i>unclean,</i> under the dominion of unclean lusts,
<i>pure</i> perhaps <i>in their own eyes,</i> but not <i>cleansed
from their filthiness,</i> God will certainly put a difference
<i>between the clean and the unclean, the precious and the
vile,</i> in the other world, though he does not seem to do so in
this. (2.) The righteous <i>sacrifice,</i> that is, they make
conscience of worshipping God according to his will, both with
inward and outward worship; the wicked <i>sacrifice not,</i> that
is, they live in the neglect of God's worship and grudge to part
with any thing for his honour. <i>What is the Almighty, that they
should serve him?</i> (3.) The righteous are <i>good,</i> good in
God's sight, they do good in the world; the wicked are
<i>sinners,</i> violating the laws of God and man, and provoking to
both. (4.) The wicked man <i>swears,</i> has no veneration for the
name of God, but profanes it by swearing rashly and falsely; but
the righteous man <i>fears an oath,</i> swears not, but is sworn,
and then with great reverence; he fears to take an oath, because it
is a solemn appeal to God as a witness and judge; he fears, when he
has taken a oath, to break it, because God is righteous who takes
vengeance.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ec.x-p9">2. The little difference there is between
the conditions of the righteous and the wicked in this world:
<i>There is one event to</i> both. Is David rich? So is Nabal. Is
Joseph favoured by his prince? So is Haman. Is Ahab killed in a
battle? So is Josiah. Are the bad figs carried to Babylon? So are
the good, <scripRef id="Ec.x-p9.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.24.1" parsed="|Jer|24|1|0|0" passage="Jer 24:1">Jer. xxiv. 1</scripRef>.
There is a vast difference between the original, the design, and
the nature, of the same event to the one and to the other; the
effects and issues of it are likewise vastly different; the same
providence to the one is <i>a savour of life unto life,</i> to the
other <i>of death unto death,</i> though, to outward appearance, it
is the same.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ec.x-p10">IV. He owns this to be a very great
grievance to those that are wise and good: "<i>This is an evil,</i>
the greatest perplexity, <i>among all things that are done under
the sun</i> (<scripRef id="Ec.x-p10.1" osisRef="Bible:Eccl.9.3" parsed="|Eccl|9|3|0|0" passage="Ec 9:3"><i>v.</i> 3</scripRef>);
nothing has given me more disturbance than this, <i>that there is
one event unto all.</i>" It hardens atheists, and strengthens the
hands of evil-doers; for therefore it is that <i>the hearts of the
sons of men are full of evil</i> and <i>fully set in them to do
evil,</i> <scripRef id="Ec.x-p10.2" osisRef="Bible:Eccl.8.11" parsed="|Eccl|8|11|0|0" passage="Ec 8:11"><i>ch.</i> viii.
11</scripRef>. When they see that <i>there is one event to the
righteous and the wicked</i> they wickedly infer thence that it is
all one to God whether they are righteous or wicked, and therefore
they stick at nothing to gratify their lusts.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ec.x-p11">V. For the further clearing of this great
difficulty, as he began this discourse with the doctrine of the
happiness of the righteous (whatever they may suffer, they <i>and
their works are in the hands of God,</i> and therefore in good
hands, they could not be in better), so he concludes with the
doctrine of the misery of the wicked; however they may prosper,
<i>madness is in their heart while they live, and after that they
go to the dead.</i> Envy not the prosperity of evil-doers, for, 1.
They are now madmen, and all the delights they seem to be blessed
with are but like the pleasant dreams and fancies of a distracted
man. They are <i>mad upon their idols</i> (<scripRef id="Ec.x-p11.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.50.38" parsed="|Jer|50|38|0|0" passage="Jer 50:38">Jer. l. 38</scripRef>), are mad against God's people,
<scripRef id="Ec.x-p11.2" osisRef="Bible:Acts.26.11" parsed="|Acts|26|11|0|0" passage="Ac 26:11">Acts xxvi. 11</scripRef>. When the
prodigal repented, it is said, <i>He came to himself</i> (<scripRef id="Ec.x-p11.3" osisRef="Bible:Luke.15.17" parsed="|Luke|15|17|0|0" passage="Lu 15:17">Luke xv. 17</scripRef>), which intimates that he
had been beside himself before. 2. They will shortly be dead men.
They make a mighty noise and bustle <i>while they live,</i> but
after awhile, <i>they go to the dead,</i> and there is an end of
all their pomp and power; they will then be reckoned with for all
their madness and outrage in sin. Though, on this side death, the
righteous and the wicked seem alike, on the other side death there
will be a vast difference between them.</p>
</div><scripCom id="Ec.x-p11.4" osisRef="Bible:Eccl.9.4-Eccl.9.10" parsed="|Eccl|9|4|9|10" passage="Ec 9:4-10" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Eccl.9.4-Eccl.9.10">
<h4 id="Ec.x-p11.5">The Consequences of Death; The Proper
Enjoyment of Life.</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Ec.x-p12">4 For to him that is joined to all the living
there is hope: for a living dog is better than a dead lion.  
5 For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not
any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of
them is forgotten.   6 Also their love, and their hatred, and
their envy, is now perished; neither have they any more a portion
for ever in any <i>thing</i> that is done under the sun.   7
Go thy way, eat thy bread with joy, and drink thy wine with a merry
heart; for God now accepteth thy works.   8 Let thy garments
be always white; and let thy head lack no ointment.   9 Live
joyfully with the wife whom thou lovest all the days of the life of
thy vanity, which he hath given thee under the sun, all the days of
thy vanity: for that <i>is</i> thy portion in <i>this</i> life, and
in thy labour which thou takest under the sun.   10 Whatsoever
thy hand findeth to do, do <i>it</i> with thy might; for <i>there
is</i> no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the
grave, whither thou goest.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ec.x-p13">Solomon, in a fret, had <i>praised the dead
more than the living</i> (<scripRef id="Ec.x-p13.1" osisRef="Bible:Eccl.4.2" parsed="|Eccl|4|2|0|0" passage="Ec 4:2"><i>ch.</i> iv.
2</scripRef>); but here, considering the advantages of life to
prepare for death and make sure the hope of a better life, he seems
to be of another mind.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ec.x-p14">I. He shows the advantages which the living
have above those that are dead, <scripRef id="Ec.x-p14.1" osisRef="Bible:Eccl.9.4-Eccl.9.6" parsed="|Eccl|9|4|9|6" passage="Ec 9:4-6"><i>v.</i> 4-6</scripRef>. 1. While there is life
<i>there is hope. Dum spiro, spero—While I breathe, I hope.</i> It
is the privilege of the living that they are <i>joined to the
living,</i> in relation, commerce, and conversation, and, while
they are so, <i>there is hope.</i> If a man's condition be, upon
any account, bad, <i>there is hope</i> it will be amended. If
<i>the heart be full of evil, and madness be in it,</i> yet while
there is life <i>there is hope</i> that by the grace of God there
may be a blessed change wrought; but after men <i>go to the
dead</i> (<scripRef id="Ec.x-p14.2" osisRef="Bible:Eccl.9.3" parsed="|Eccl|9|3|0|0" passage="Ec 9:3"><i>v.</i> 3</scripRef>) it is
too late then; he that is then filthy will be filthy still, for
ever filthy. If men be thrown aside as useless, yet, while they are
<i>joined to the living, there is hope</i> that they may yet again
take root and bear fruit; he that is alive is, or may be, good for
something, but he that is dead, as to this world, is not capable of
being any further serviceable. Therefore a <i>living dog is better
than a dead lion;</i> the meanest beggar alive has that comfort of
this world and does that service to it which the greatest prince,
when he is dead, is utterly incapable of. 2. While there is life
there is an opportunity of preparing for death: <i>The living
know</i> that which the dead have no knowledge of, particularly
they <i>know that they shall die,</i> and are, or may be, thereby
influenced to prepare for that great change which will come
certainly, and may come suddenly. Note, <i>The living</i> cannot
but <i>know that they shall die,</i> that they must needs die. They
know they are under a sentence of death; they are already taken
into custody by its messengers, and feel themselves declining. This
is a needful useful knowledge; for what is our business, while we
live, but to get ready to die: <i>The living know they shall
die;</i> it is a thing yet to come, and therefore provision may be
made for it. The dead know they are dead, and it is too late; they
are on the other side the great gulf fixed. 3. When life is gone
all this world is gone with it, as to us. (1.) There is an end of
all our acquaintance with this world and the things of it: <i>The
dead know not any thing</i> of that which, while they lived, they
were intimately conversant with. It does not appear that they know
any thing of what is done by those they leave behind. Abraham is
ignorant of us; they are removed <i>into darkness,</i> <scripRef id="Ec.x-p14.3" osisRef="Bible:Job.10.22" parsed="|Job|10|22|0|0" passage="Job 10:22">Job x. 22</scripRef>. (2.) There is an end of
all our enjoyments in this world: <i>They have no more a reward</i>
for their toils about the world, but all they got must be left to
others; they have a reward for their holy actions, but not for
their worldly ones. The meats and the belly will be destroyed
together, <scripRef id="Ec.x-p14.4" osisRef="Bible:John.6.27 Bible:1Cor.6.13" parsed="|John|6|27|0|0;|1Cor|6|13|0|0" passage="Joh 6:27,1Co 6:13">John vi. 27; 1 Cor.
vi. 13</scripRef>. It is explained <scripRef id="Ec.x-p14.5" osisRef="Bible:Eccl.9.6" parsed="|Eccl|9|6|0|0" passage="Ec 9:6"><i>v.</i> 6</scripRef>. <i>Neither have they any more a
portion for ever,</i> none of that which they imagined would be
<i>a portion for ever,</i> of that which <i>is done</i> and got
<i>under the sun.</i> The things of this world will not be a
portion for the soul because they will not be a portion for ever;
those that choose them, and have them for <i>their good things,</i>
have only a <i>portion in this life,</i> <scripRef id="Ec.x-p14.6" osisRef="Bible:Ps.17.14" parsed="|Ps|17|14|0|0" passage="Ps 17:14">Ps. xvii. 14</scripRef>. The world can only be an
annuity for life, not a <i>portion for ever.</i> (3.) There is an
end of their name. There are but few whose names survive them long;
the grave is a land of forgetfulness, <i>for the memory of
those</i> that are laid there <i>is</i> soon <i>forgotten;</i>
their <i>place knows them no more,</i> nor the lands they called by
their own names. (4.) There is an end of their affections, their
friendships and enmities: <i>Their love, and their hatred, and
their envy have now perished;</i> the good things they loved, the
evil things they hated, the prosperity of others, which they
envied, are now all at an end with them. Death parts those that
loved one another, and puts an end to their friendship, and those
that hated one another too, and puts an end to their quarrels.
<i>Actio moritur cum personâ—The person and his actions die
together.</i> There we shall be never the better for our friends
(their love can do us no kindness), nor ever the worse for our
enemies—their hatred and envy can do us no damage. <i>There the
wicked cease from troubling.</i> Those things which now so affect
us and fill us, which we are so concerned about and so jealous of,
will there be at an end.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ec.x-p15">II. Hence he infers that it is our wisdom
to make the best use of life that we can while it does last, and
manage wisely what remains of it.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ec.x-p16">1. Let us relish the comforts of life while
we live, and cheerfully take our share of the enjoyments of it.
Solomon, having been himself ensnared by the abuse of sensitive
delights, warns others of the danger, not by a total prohibition of
them, but by directing to the sober and moderate use of them; we
may use the world, but must not abuse it, take what is to be had
out of it, and expect no more. Here we have,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ec.x-p17">(1.) The particular instances of this
cheerfulness prescribed: "Thou art drooping and melancholy, <i>go
thy way,</i> like a fool as thou art, and get into a better temper
of mind." [1.] "Let thy spirit be easy and pleasant; then let there
be <i>joy</i> and <i>a merry heart</i> within," <i>a good heart</i>
(so the word is), which distinguishes this from carnal mirth and
sensual pleasure, which are the evil of the heart, both a symptom
and a cause of much evil there. We must enjoy ourselves, enjoy our
friends, enjoy our God, and be careful to keep a good conscience,
that nothing may disturb us in these enjoyments. We must serve God
with gladness, in the use of what he gives us, and be liberal in
communicating it to others, and not suffer ourselves to be
oppressed with inordinate care and grief about the world. We must
eat our bread as Israelites, <i>not in our mourning</i> (<scripRef id="Ec.x-p17.1" osisRef="Bible:Deut.26.14" parsed="|Deut|26|14|0|0" passage="De 26:14">Deut. xxvi. 14</scripRef>), as Christians,
<i>with gladness and</i> liberality <i>of heart,</i> <scripRef id="Ec.x-p17.2" osisRef="Bible:Acts.2.46" parsed="|Acts|2|46|0|0" passage="Ac 2:46">Acts ii. 46</scripRef>. See <scripRef id="Ec.x-p17.3" osisRef="Bible:Deut.28.47" parsed="|Deut|28|47|0|0" passage="De 28:47">Deut. xxviii. 47</scripRef>. [2.] "Make use of the
comforts and enjoyments which God has given thee: <i>Eat thy bread,
drink thy wine,</i> thine, not another's, not <i>the bread of
deceit,</i> nor <i>the wine of violence,</i> but that which is
honestly got, else thou canst not eat it with any comfort nor
expect a blessing upon it—<i>thy bread</i> and <i>thy wine,</i>
such as are agreeable to thy place and station, not extravagantly
above it nor sordidly below it; lay out what God has given thee for
the ends for which thou art entrusted with it, as being but a
steward." [3.] "Evidence thy cheerfulness (<scripRef id="Ec.x-p17.4" osisRef="Bible:Eccl.9.8" parsed="|Eccl|9|8|0|0" passage="Ec 9:8"><i>v.</i> 8</scripRef>): <i>Let thy garments be always
white.</i> Observe a proportion in thy expenses; reduce not thy
food in order to gratify thy pride, nor thy clothing in order to
gratify thy voluptuousness. Be neat, wear clean linen, and be not
slovenly." Or, "<i>Let thy garments be white</i> in token of joy
and cheerfulness," which were expressed by <i>white raiment</i>
(<scripRef id="Ec.x-p17.5" osisRef="Bible:Rev.3.4" parsed="|Rev|3|4|0|0" passage="Re 3:4">Rev. iii. 4</scripRef>); "and as a
further token of joy, <i>let thy head lack no ointment</i> that is
fit for it." Our Saviour admitted this piece of pleasure at a feast
(<scripRef id="Ec.x-p17.6" osisRef="Bible:Matt.26.7" parsed="|Matt|26|7|0|0" passage="Mt 26:7">Matt. xxvi. 7</scripRef>), and David
observes it among the gifts of God's bounty to him. <scripRef id="Ec.x-p17.7" osisRef="Bible:Ps.23.5" parsed="|Ps|23|5|0|0" passage="Ps 23:5">Ps. xxiii. 5</scripRef>, <i>Thou anointest my
head with oil.</i> Not that we must place our happiness in any of
the delights of sense, or set our hearts upon them, but what God
has given us we must make as comfortable a use of as we can afford,
under the limitations of sobriety and wisdom, and not forgetting
the poor. [4.] "Make thyself agreeable to thy relations: <i>Live
joyfully with the wife whom thou lovest.</i> Do not engross thy
delights, making much of thyself only, and not caring what becomes
of those about thee, but let them share with thee and make them
easy too. Have a wife; for even in paradise <i>it was not good for
man to be alone.</i> Keep to thy wife, to one, and do not multiply
wives" (Solomon had found the mischief of that); "keep to her only,
and have nothing to do with any other." How can a man live joyfully
with one with whom he does not live honestly? "Love thy wife; and
<i>the wife whom thou lovest</i> thou wilt be likely to <i>live
joyfully with.</i>" When we do the duty of relations we may expect
the comfort of them. See <scripRef id="Ec.x-p17.8" osisRef="Bible:Prov.5.19" parsed="|Prov|5|19|0|0" passage="Pr 5:19">Prov. v.
19</scripRef>. "Live with thy wife, and delight in her society.
<i>Live joyfully with her,</i> and be most cheerful when thou art
with her. Take pleasure in thy family, thy vine and thy olive
plants."</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ec.x-p18">(2.) The qualifications necessary to this
cheerfulness: "Rejoice and have <i>a merry heart,</i> if <i>God now
accepts thy works.</i> If thou art reconciled to God, and
recommended to him, then thou has reason to be cheerful, otherwise
not." <i>Rejoice not, O Israel! for joy, as other people, for thou
hast gone a whoring from thy God,</i> <scripRef id="Ec.x-p18.1" osisRef="Bible:Hos.9.1" parsed="|Hos|9|1|0|0" passage="Ho 9:1">Hos. ix. 1</scripRef>. Our first care must be to make our
peace with God, and obtain his favour, to do that which he will
accept of, and then, <i>Go thy way, eat thy bread with joy.</i>
Note, Those whose works God has accepted have reason to be cheerful
and ought to be so. 'Now that thou eatest the bread of thy
sacrifices <i>with joy,</i> and partakest of the wine of thy
drink-offerings <i>with a merry heart,</i> now <i>God accepts thy
works.</i> Thy religious services, when performed with holy joy,
are pleasing to God; he loves to have his servants sing at their
work, it proclaims him a good Master.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ec.x-p19">(3.) The reasons for it. "Live joyfully,
for," [1.] "It is all little enough to make thy passage through
this world easy and comfortable: <i>The days of thy life</i> are
the days <i>of thy vanity;</i> there is nothing here but trouble,
and disappointment. Thou wilt have time enough for sorrow and grief
when thou canst not help it, and therefore <i>live joyfully</i>
while thou canst, and perplex not thyself with thoughts and cares
about to-morrow; <i>sufficient to the day is the evil thereof.</i>
Let a gracious serenity of mind be a powerful antidote against the
vanity of the world." [2.] "It is all thou canst get from this
world: <i>That is thy portion in</i> the things of <i>this
life.</i> In God, and another life, thou shalt have a better
portion, and a better recompence for thy labours in religion; but
for thy pains <i>which thou takest</i> about the things <i>under
the sun</i> this is all thou canst expect, and therefore do not
deny this to thyself."</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ec.x-p20">2. Let us apply ourselves to the business
of life while life lasts, and so use the enjoyments of it as by
them to be fitted for the employments: "Therefore <i>eat with
joy</i> and <i>a merry heart,</i> not that thy soul may take its
ease (as <scripRef id="Ec.x-p20.1" osisRef="Bible:Luke.12.19" parsed="|Luke|12|19|0|0" passage="Lu 12:19">Luke xii. 19</scripRef>), but
that thy soul may take the more pains and the joy of the Lord may
be its strength and oil to its wheels," <scripRef id="Ec.x-p20.2" osisRef="Bible:Eccl.9.10" parsed="|Eccl|9|10|0|0" passage="Ec 9:10"><i>v.</i> 10</scripRef>. <i>Whatsoever thy hand finds to
do do it with thy might.</i> Observe here, (1.) There is not only
something to be had, but something to be done, in this life, and
the chief good we are to enquire after is <i>the good we should
do,</i> <scripRef id="Ec.x-p20.3" osisRef="Bible:Eccl.2.3" parsed="|Eccl|2|3|0|0" passage="Ec 2:3">Eccl. ii. 3</scripRef>. This is
the world of service; that to come is the world of recompence. This
is the world of probation and preparation for eternity; we are here
upon business, and upon our good behaviour. (2.) Opportunity is to
direct and quicken duty. That is to be done which <i>our hand finds
to do,</i> which occasion calls for; and an active hand will always
find something to do that will turn to a good account. What must be
done, of necessity, our hand will here find a price in it for the
doing of, <scripRef id="Ec.x-p20.4" osisRef="Bible:Prov.17.16" parsed="|Prov|17|16|0|0" passage="Pr 17:16">Prov. xvii. 16</scripRef>.
(3.) What good we have an opportunity of doing we must do while we
have the opportunity, and <i>do it with our might,</i> with care,
vigour, and resolution, whatever difficulties and discouragements
we may meet with in it. Harvest-days are busy days; and we must
make hay while the sun shines. Serving God and working out our
salvation must be done with <i>all that is within us,</i> and all
little enough. (4.) There is good reason why we should <i>work the
works of him that sent us while it is day, because the night comes,
wherein no man can work,</i> <scripRef id="Ec.x-p20.5" osisRef="Bible:John.9.4" parsed="|John|9|4|0|0" passage="Joh 9:4">John ix.
4</scripRef>. We must up and be doing now with all possible
diligence, because our doing-time will be done shortly and we know
not how soon. But this we know that, if the work of life be not
done when our time is done, we are undone for ever: "<i>There is no
work</i> to be done, <i>nor device</i> to do it, <i>no
knowledge</i> for speculation, <i>nor wisdom</i> for practice,
<i>in the grave whither thou goest.</i>" We are all going towards
the grave; every day brings us a step nearer to it; when we are
<i>in the grave</i> it will be too late to mend the errors of life,
too late to repent and make our peace with God, too late to lay up
any thing in store for eternal life; it must be done now or never.
The grave is a land of darkness and silence, and therefore there is
no doing any thing for our souls there; it must be done now or
never, <scripRef id="Ec.x-p20.6" osisRef="Bible:John.12.35" parsed="|John|12|35|0|0" passage="Joh 12:35">John xii. 35</scripRef>.</p>
</div><scripCom id="Ec.x-p20.7" osisRef="Bible:Eccl.9.11-Eccl.9.12" parsed="|Eccl|9|11|9|12" passage="Ec 9:11-12" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Eccl.9.11-Eccl.9.12">
<h4 id="Ec.x-p20.8">The Disappointment of Hopes.</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Ec.x-p21">11 I returned, and saw under the sun, that the
race <i>is</i> not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong,
neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of
understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance
happeneth to them all.   12 For man also knoweth not his time:
as the fishes that are taken in an evil net, and as the birds that
are caught in the snare; so <i>are</i> the sons of men snared in an
evil time, when it falleth suddenly upon them.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ec.x-p22">The preacher here, for a further proof of
the vanity of the world, and to convince us that <i>all our works
are in the hand of God,</i> and not in our own hand, shows the
uncertainty and contingency of future events, and how often they
contradict the prospects we have of them. He had exhorted us
(<scripRef id="Ec.x-p22.1" osisRef="Bible:Eccl.9.10" parsed="|Eccl|9|10|0|0" passage="Ec 9:10"><i>v.</i> 10</scripRef>) to do what we
have to do <i>with all our might;</i> but here he reminds us that,
when we have done all, we must leave the issue with God, and not be
confident of the success.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ec.x-p23">I. We are often disappointed of the good we
had great hopes of, <scripRef id="Ec.x-p23.1" osisRef="Bible:Eccl.9.11" parsed="|Eccl|9|11|0|0" passage="Ec 9:11"><i>v.</i>
11</scripRef>. Solomon had himself made the observation, and so has
many a one since, that events, both in public and private affairs,
do not always agree even with the most rational prospects and
probabilities. <i>Nulli fortuna tam dedita est ut multa tentanti
ubique respondeat</i>—<i>Fortune surrenders herself to no one so
as to ensure him success, however numerous his undertakings.</i>
Seneca. The issue of affairs is often unaccountably cross to every
one's expectation, that the highest may not presume, nor the lowest
despair, but all may live in a humble dependence upon God, from
whom every man's judgment proceeds.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ec.x-p24">1. He gives instances of disappointment,
even where means and instruments were most encouraging and promised
fair. (1.) One would think that the lightest of foot should, in
running, win the prize; and yet <i>the race is not</i> always <i>to
the swift;</i> some accident happens to retard them, or they are
too secure, and therefore remiss, and let those that are slower get
the start of them. (2.) One would think that, in fighting, the most
numerous and powerful army should be always victorious, and, in
single combat, that the bold and mighty champion should win the
laurel; but <i>the battle is not</i> always <i>to the strong;</i> a
host of Philistines was once put to flight by Jonathan and his man;
<i>one of you shall chase a thousand;</i> the goodness of the cause
has often carried the day against the most formidable power. (3.)
One would think that men of sense should always be men of
substance, and that those who know how to live in the world should
not only have a plentiful maintenance, but get great estates; and
yet it does not always prove so; even <i>bread is not</i> always
<i>to the wise,</i> much less <i>riches</i> always <i>to men of
understanding.</i> Many ingenious men, and men of business, who
were likely to thrive in the world, have strangely gone backward
and come to nothing. (4.) One would think that those who understand
men, and have the art of management, should always get preferment
and obtain the smiles of great men; but many ingenious men have
been disappointed, and have spent their days in obscurity, nay,
have fallen into disgrace, and perhaps have ruined themselves by
those very methods by which they hoped to raise themselves, for
<i>favour is not</i> always <i>to men of skill,</i> but fools are
favoured and wise men frowned upon.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ec.x-p25">2. He resolves all these disappointments
into an over-ruling power and providence, the disposals of which to
us seem casual, and we call them <i>chance,</i> but really they are
according to the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, here
called <i>time,</i> in the language of this book, <scripRef id="Ec.x-p25.1" osisRef="Bible:Eccl.3.1 Bible:Ps.31.15" parsed="|Eccl|3|1|0|0;|Ps|31|15|0|0" passage="Ec 3:1,Ps 31:15"><i>ch.</i> iii. 1; Ps. xxxi.
15</scripRef>. <i>Time and chance happen to them all.</i> A
sovereign Providence breaks men's measures, and blasts their hopes,
and teaches them that the way of man is not in himself, but subject
to the divine will. We must use means, but not trust to them; if we
succeed, we must give God the praise (<scripRef id="Ec.x-p25.2" osisRef="Bible:Ps.44.3" parsed="|Ps|44|3|0|0" passage="Ps 44:3">Ps. xliv. 3</scripRef>); if we be crossed, we must
acquiesce in his will and take our lot.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ec.x-p26">II. We are often surprised with the evils
we were in little fear of (<scripRef id="Ec.x-p26.1" osisRef="Bible:Eccl.9.12" parsed="|Eccl|9|12|0|0" passage="Ec 9:12"><i>v.</i>
12</scripRef>): <i>Man knows not his time,</i> the time of his
calamity, his fall, his death, which, in scripture, is called
<i>our day</i> and <i>our hour.</i> 1. We know not what troubles
are before us, which will take us off our business, and take us out
of the world, what <i>time and chance will happen to us,</i> nor
what <i>one day,</i> or a night, <i>may bring forth.</i> It is
<i>not for us to know the times,</i> no, not our own time, when or
how we shall die. God has, in wisdom, kept us in the dark, that we
may be always ready. 2. Perhaps we may meet with trouble in that
very thing wherein we promise ourselves the greatest satisfaction
and advantage; as the fishes and the birds are drawn into the snare
and net by the bait laid to allure them, which they greedily catch
at, so are the sons of men often <i>snared in an evil time,</i>
when it falls suddenly upon them, before they are aware. And these
things too <i>come alike to all.</i> Men often find their bane
where they sought their bless, and catch their death where they
thought to find a prize. Let us therefore never be secure, but
always ready for changes, that, though they may be sudden, they may
be no surprise or terror to us.</p>
</div><scripCom id="Ec.x-p26.2" osisRef="Bible:Eccl.9.13-Eccl.9.18" parsed="|Eccl|9|13|9|18" passage="Ec 9:13-18" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Eccl.9.13-Eccl.9.18">
<h4 id="Ec.x-p26.3">The Advantages of Wisdom.</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Ec.x-p27">13 This wisdom have I seen also under the sun,
and it <i>seemed</i> great unto me:   14 <i>There was</i> a
little city, and few men within it; and there came a great king
against it, and besieged it, and built great bulwarks against it:
  15 Now there was found in it a poor wise man, and he by his
wisdom delivered the city; yet no man remembered that same poor
man.   16 Then said I, Wisdom <i>is</i> better than strength:
nevertheless the poor man's wisdom <i>is</i> despised, and his
words are not heard.   17 The words of wise <i>men are</i>
heard in quiet more than the cry of him that ruleth among fools.
  18 Wisdom <i>is</i> better than weapons of war: but one
sinner destroyeth much good.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ec.x-p28">Solomon still recommends wisdom to us as
necessary to the preserving of our peace and the perfecting of our
business, notwithstanding the vanities and crosses which human
affairs are subject to. He had said (<scripRef id="Ec.x-p28.1" osisRef="Bible:Eccl.9.11" parsed="|Eccl|9|11|0|0" passage="Ec 9:11"><i>v.</i> 11</scripRef>), <i>Bread is not always to the
wise;</i> yet he would not therefore be thought either to
disparage, or to discourage, wisdom, no, he still retains his
principle, that <i>wisdom excels folly as much as light excels
darkness</i> (<scripRef id="Ec.x-p28.2" osisRef="Bible:Eccl.2.13" parsed="|Eccl|2|13|0|0" passage="Ec 2:13"><i>ch.</i> ii.
13</scripRef>), and we ought to love and embrace it, and be
governed by it, for the sake of its own intrinsic worth, and the
capacity it gives us of being serviceable to others, though we
ourselves should not get wealth and preferment by it. This wisdom,
that is, this which he here describes, wisdom which enables a man
to serve his country out of pure affection to its interests, when
he himself gains no advantage by it, no, not so much as thanks for
his pains, or the reputation of it, this is the wisdom which,
Solomon says, <i>seemed great unto him,</i> <scripRef id="Ec.x-p28.3" osisRef="Bible:Eccl.9.13" parsed="|Eccl|9|13|0|0" passage="Ec 9:13"><i>v.</i> 13</scripRef>. A public spirit, in a private
sphere, is wisdom which those who understand things that differ
cannot but look upon as very magnificent.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ec.x-p29">I. Solomon here gives an instance, which
probably was a case in fact, in some neighbouring country, of a
<i>poor man</i> who with his wisdom did great service in a time of
public distress and danger (<scripRef id="Ec.x-p29.1" osisRef="Bible:Eccl.9.14" parsed="|Eccl|9|14|0|0" passage="Ec 9:14"><i>v.</i>
14</scripRef>): <i>There was a little city</i> (no great prize,
whoever was master of it); there were but <i>few men within it,</i>
to defend it, and men, if men of fortitude, are the best
fortifications of a city; here were <i>few men,</i> and, because
few, feeble, fearful, and ready to give up their city as not
tenable. Against this little city a <i>great king</i> came with a
numerous army, and besieged it, either in pride, or covetousness to
possess it, or in revenge for some affront given him, to chastise
and destroy it. Thinking it stronger than it was, he <i>built great
bulwarks against it,</i> from which to batter it, and doubted not
but in a little time to make himself master of it. What a great
deal of unjust vexation do ambitious princes give to their harmless
neighbours! This <i>great king</i> needed not fear this <i>little
city;</i> why then should he frighten it? It would be little profit
to him; why then should he put himself to such a great expense to
gain it? But as unreasonable and insatiably greedy as little people
sometimes are to <i>lay house to house, and field to field,</i>
great kings often are to lay city to city, and province to
province, <i>that they may be placed alone in the earth,</i>
<scripRef id="Ec.x-p29.2" osisRef="Bible:Isa.5.8" parsed="|Isa|5|8|0|0" passage="Isa 5:8">Isa. v. 8</scripRef>. Did victory and
success attend the <i>strong?</i> No; there was found in this
little city, among the few men that were in it, <i>one poor wise
man</i>—a wise man, and yet poor, and not preferred to any place
of profit or power in the city; places of trust were not given to
men according to their merit, and meetness for them, else such a
wise man as this would not have been a poor man. Now, 1. Being
wise, he served the city, though he was poor. In their distress
they found him out (<scripRef id="Ec.x-p29.3" osisRef="Bible:Judg.11.7" parsed="|Judg|11|7|0|0" passage="Jdg 11:7">Judg. xi.
7</scripRef>) and begged his advice and assistance; and <i>he by
his wisdom delivered the city,</i> either by prudent instructions
given to the besieged, directing them to some unthought-of
stratagem for their own security, or by a prudent treaty with the
besiegers, as the woman at Abel, <scripRef id="Ec.x-p29.4" osisRef="Bible:2Sam.20.16" parsed="|2Sam|20|16|0|0" passage="2Sa 20:16">2
Sam. xx. 16</scripRef>. He did not upbraid them with the contempt
they had put upon him, in leaving him out of their council, nor
tell them he was poor and had nothing to lose, and therefore cared
not what became of the city; but he did his best for it, and was
blessed with success. Note, Private interests and personal
resentments must always be sacrificed to public good and forgotten
when the common welfare is concerned. 2. Being poor, he was
slighted by the city, though he was wise and had been an instrument
to save them all from ruin: <i>No man remembered that same poor
man;</i> his good services were not taken notice of, no recompence
was made him, no marks of honour were put upon him, but he lived in
as much poverty and obscurity as he had done before. <i>Riches were
not</i> to this <i>man of understanding,</i> nor <i>favour to</i>
this <i>man of skill.</i> Many who have well-merited of their
prince and country have been ill-paid; such an ungrateful world do
we live in. It is well that useful men have a God to trust to, who
will be their bountiful rewarder; for, among men, great services
are often envied and rewarded with evil for good.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ec.x-p30">II. From this instance he draws some useful
inferences, looks upon it and receives instruction. 1. Hence he
observes the great usefulness and excellency of wisdom, and what a
blessing it makes men to their country: <i>Wisdom is better than
strength,</i> <scripRef id="Ec.x-p30.1" osisRef="Bible:Eccl.9.16" parsed="|Eccl|9|16|0|0" passage="Ec 9:16"><i>v.</i> 16</scripRef>.
A prudent mind, which is the honour of a man, is to be preferred
before a robust body, in which many of the brute creatures excel
man. A man may by his wisdom effect that which he could never
compass by his strength, and may overcome those by out-witting them
who are able to overpower him. Nay, <i>wisdom is better than
weapons of war,</i> offensive or defensive, <scripRef id="Ec.x-p30.2" osisRef="Bible:Eccl.9.18" parsed="|Eccl|9|18|0|0" passage="Ec 9:18"><i>v.</i> 18</scripRef>. <i>Wisdom,</i> that is, religion
and piety (for the wise man is here opposed to a sinner), is better
than all military endowments or accoutrements, for it will engage
God for us, and then we are safe in the greatest perils and
successful in the greatest enterprises. <i>If God be for us, who
can be against us</i> or stand before us? 2. Hence he observes the
commanding force and power of wisdom, though it labour under
external disadvantages (<scripRef id="Ec.x-p30.3" osisRef="Bible:Eccl.9.17" parsed="|Eccl|9|17|0|0" passage="Ec 9:17"><i>v.</i>
17</scripRef>): <i>The words of wise men are heard in quiet;</i>
what they speak, being spoken calmly and with deliberation (though,
not being rich and in authority, they dare not speak aloud nor with
any great assurance), will be hearkened to and regarded, will gain
respect, nay, will gain the point, and sway with men more than the
imperious clamour of him that <i>rules among fools,</i> who, like
fools, chose him to be their ruler, for his noise and blustering,
and, like fools, think he must by those methods carry the day with
every body else. A few close arguments are worth a great many big
words; and those will strike sail to fair reasoning who will answer
those that hector and insult <i>according to their folly. How
forcible are right words!</i> What is spoken wisely should be
spoken calmly, and then it will be heard in quiet and calmly
considered. But passion will lessen the force even of reason,
instead of adding any force to it. 3. Hence he observes that wise
and good men, notwithstanding this, must often content themselves
with the satisfaction of having done good, or at least attempted
it, and offered at it, when they cannot do the good they would do
nor have the praise they should have. Wisdom capacitates a man to
serve his neighbours, and he offers his service; but, alas! if he
be poor his wisdom is despised and <i>his words are not heard,</i>
<scripRef id="Ec.x-p30.4" osisRef="Bible:Eccl.9.16" parsed="|Eccl|9|16|0|0" passage="Ec 9:16"><i>v.</i> 16</scripRef>. Many a man is
buried alive in poverty and obscurity who, if he had but fit
encouragement given him, might be a great blessing to the world;
many a pearl is lost in its shell. But there is a day coming when
wisdom and goodness shall be in honour, and the <i>righteous shall
shine forth.</i></p>
<p class="indent" id="Ec.x-p31">4. From what he had observed of the great
good which one wise and virtuous man may do he infers what a great
deal of mischief one wicked man may do, and what a great deal of
good he may be the hindrance of: <i>One sinner destroyeth much
good.</i> (1.) As to himself, a sinful condition is a wasteful
condition. How many of the good gifts both of nature and Providence
does one sinner destroy and make waste of—good sense, good parts,
good learning, a good disposition, a good estate, good meat, good
drink, and abundance of God's good creatures, all made use of in
the service of sin, and so destroyed and lost, and the end of
giving them frustrated and perverted! He who destroys his own soul
destroys much good. (2.) As to others, what a great deal of
mischief may one wicked man do in a town or country! One sinner,
who makes it his business to debauch others, may defeat and
frustrate the intentions of a great many good laws and a great deal
of good preaching, and draw many into his pernicious ways; one
sinner may be the ruin of a town, as one Achan troubled the whole
camp of Israel. The wise man who delivered the city would have had
his due respect and recompence for it but that some one sinner
hindered it, and invidiously diminished the service. And many a
good project, well laid for the public welfare, had been destroyed
by some one subtle adversary to it. The wisdom of some would have
healed the nation, but, through the wickedness of a few, it would
not be healed. See who are a kingdom's friends and enemies, if one
saint does much good, and one sinner destroys much good.</p>
</div></div2>