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<TITLE>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary on the Whole Bible [Ecclesiastes VII].</TITLE>
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<center><h1>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary
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on the Whole Bible</h1>
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[<A HREF="MHC00000.HTM">Table of Contents</A>]<BR>
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Matthew Henry<BR><I>Commentary on the Whole Bible</I> (1710)
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<!-- (Begin Body) -->
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+3><B>E C C L E S I A S T E S</B></FONT>
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<BR>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+2>CHAP. VII.</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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Solomon had given many proofs and instances of the vanity of this world
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and the things of it; now, in this chapter,
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I. He recommends to us some good means proper to be used for the
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redress of these grievances and the arming of ourselves against the
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mischief we are in danger of from them, that we may make the best of
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the bad, as
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1. Care of our reputation,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+7:1">ver. 1</A>.
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2. Seriousness,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+7:2-6">ver. 2-6</A>.
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3. Calmness of spirit,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+7:7-10">ver. 7-10</A>.
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4. Prudence in the management of all our affairs,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+7:11,12">ver. 11, 12</A>.
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5. Submission to the will of God in all events, accommodating
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ourselves to every condition,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+7:13-15">ver. 13-15</A>.
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6. A conscientious avoiding of all dangerous extremes,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+7:16-18">ver. 16-18</A>.
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7. Mildness and tenderness towards those that have been injurious to
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us,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+7:19-22">ver. 19-22</A>.
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In short, the best way to save ourselves from the vexation which the
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vanity of the world creates us is to keep our temper and to maintain a
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strict government of our passions.
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II. He laments his own iniquity, as that which was more vexatious than
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any of these vanities, that mystery of iniquity, the having of many
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wives, by which he was drawn away from God and his duty,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+7:23-29">ver. 23-29</A>.</P>
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</FONT>
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<A NAME="Ec7_1"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ec7_2"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ec7_3"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ec7_4"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ec7_5"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ec7_6"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec1"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>The Value of a Good Name.</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 A good name <I>is</I> better than precious ointment; and the day
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of death than the day of one's birth.
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2 <I>It is</I> better to go to the house of mourning, than to go to
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the house of feasting: for that <I>is</I> the end of all men; and the
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living will lay <I>it</I> to his heart.
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3 Sorrow <I>is</I> better than laughter: for by the sadness of the
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countenance the heart is made better.
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4 The heart of the wise <I>is</I> in the house of mourning; but the
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heart of fools <I>is</I> in the house of mirth.
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5 <I>It is</I> better to hear the rebuke of the wise, than for a man
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to hear the song of fools.
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6 For as the crackling of thorns under a pot, so <I>is</I> the
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laughter of the fool: this also <I>is</I> vanity.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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In these verses Solomon lays down some great truths which seem
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paradoxes to the unthinking part, that is, the far greatest part, of
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mankind.</P>
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<P>
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I. That the honour of virtue is really more valuable and desirable than
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all the wealth and pleasure in this world
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+7:1"><I>v.</I> 1</A>):
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<I>A good name is before good ointment</I> (so it may be read); it is
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preferable to it, and will be rather chosen by all that are wise.
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<I>Good ointment</I> is here put for all the profits of the earth
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(among the products of which oil was reckoned one of the most
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valuable), for all the delights of sense (for <I>ointment and
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perfume</I> which <I>rejoice the heart,</I> and it is called <I>the oil
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of gladness</I>), nay, and for the highest titles of honour with which
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men are dignified, for kings are anointed. <I>A good name is</I>
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better <I>than</I> all <I>riches</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+21:1">Prov. xxi. 1</A>),
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that is, a name for wisdom and goodness with those that are wise and
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good--<I>the memory of the just;</I> this is a good that will bring a
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more grateful pleasure to the mind, will give a man a larger
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opportunity of usefulness, and will go further, and last longer, than
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the most <I>precious box of ointment;</I> for Christ paid Mary for her
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ointment with a <I>good name,</I> a name in the gospels
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mt+26:13">Matt. xxvi. 13</A>),
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and we are sure he always pays with advantage.</P>
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<P>
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II. That, all things considered, our going out of the world is a great
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kindness to us than our coming into the world was: <I>The day of
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death</I> is preferable to the <I>birth-day;</I> though, as to others,
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there was joy <I>when a child was born into the world,</I> and where
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there is death there is lamentation, yet, as to ourselves, if we have
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lived so as to merit a <I>good name, the day of our death,</I> which
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will put a period to our cares, and toils, and sorrows, and remove us
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to rest, and joy, and eternal satisfaction, <I>is better than the day
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of our birth,</I> which ushered us into a world of so much sin and
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trouble, vanity and vexation. We were born to uncertainty, but a good
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man does not die at uncertainty. <I>The day of our birth</I> clogged
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our souls with the burden of the flesh, but <I>the day of our death</I>
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will set them at liberty from that burden.</P>
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<P>
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III. That it will do us more good to go to a funeral than to go to a
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festival
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+7:2"><I>v.</I> 2</A>):
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<I>It is better to go to the house of mourning,</I> and there <I>weep
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with those that weep, than to go to the house of feasting,</I> to a
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wedding, or a wake, there to <I>rejoice with those that do rejoice.</I>
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It will do us more good, and make better impressions upon us. We may
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lawfully go to both, as there is occasion. Our Saviour both feasted at
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the wedding of his friend in Cana and wept at the grave of his friend
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in Bethany; and we may possibly glorify God, and do good, and get good,
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in the house of feasting; but, considering how apt we are to be vain
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and frothy, proud and secure, and indulgent of the flesh, <I>it is
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better</I> for us <I>to go to the house of mourning,</I> not to see the
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pomp of the funeral, but to share in the sorrow of it, and to learn
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good lessons, both from the dead, who is going thence to his long home,
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and from the mourners, who go about the streets.</P>
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<P>
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1. The uses to be gathered from <I>the house of mourning</I> are,
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(1.) By way of information: <I>That is the end of all men.</I> It <I>is
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the end of man</I> as to this world, a final period to his state here;
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he shall return no more to his house. It <I>is the end of all men;</I>
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all <I>have sinned</I> and therefore <I>death passes upon all.</I> We
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must thus be left by our friends, as the mourners are, and thus leave,
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as the dead do. What is the lot of others will be ours; the cup is
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going round, and it will come to our turn to pledge it shortly.
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(2.) By way of admonition: <I>The living will lay it to his heart.</I>
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Will they? It were well if they would. Those that are spiritually
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alive <I>will lay it to heart,</I> and, as for all the survivors, one
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would think they should; it is their own fault if they do not, for
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nothing is more easy and natural than by the death of others to be put
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in mind of our own. Some perhaps <I>will lay that to heart,</I> and
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<I>consider their latter end,</I> who would not lay a good sermon to
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heart.</P>
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<P>
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2. For the further proof of this
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+7:4"><I>v.</I> 4</A>)
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he makes it the character,
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(1.) Of a wise man that his <I>heart is in the house of mourning;</I>
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he is much conversant with mournful subjects, and this is both an
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evidence and a furtherance of his wisdom. <I>The house of mourning</I>
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is the wise man's school, where he has learned many a good lesson, and
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there, where he is serious, he is in his element. When he <I>is in the
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house of mourning</I> his <I>heart</I> is there to improve the
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spectacles of mortality that are presented to him; nay, when he is in
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<I>the house of feasting,</I> his <I>heart is in the house of
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mourning,</I> by way of sympathy with those that are in sorrow.
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(2.) It is the character of a fool that his <I>heart is in the house of
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mirth;</I> his heart is all upon it to be merry and jovial; his whole
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delight is in sport and gaiety, in merry stories, merry songs, and
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merry company, merry days and merry nights. If he be at any time in
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<I>the house of mourning,</I> he is under a restraint; his heart at the
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same time <I>is in the house of mirth;</I> this is his folly, and helps
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to make him more and more foolish.</P>
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<P>
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IV. That gravity and seriousness better become us, and are better for
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us, than mirth and jollity,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+7:3"><I>v.</I> 3</A>.
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The common proverb says, "An ounce of mirth is worth a pound of
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sorrow;" but the preacher teaches us a contrary lesson: <I>Sorrow is
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better than laughter,</I> more agreeable to our present state, where we
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are daily sinning and suffering ourselves, more or less, and daily
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seeing the sins and sufferings of others. While we are in a vale of
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tears, we should conform to the temper of the climate. It is also more
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for our advantage; <I>for, by the sadness</I> that appears in <I>the
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countenance, the heart is</I> often <I>made better.</I> Note,
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1. That is best for us which is best for our souls, by which <I>the
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heart is made better,</I> though it be unpleasing to sense.
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2. Sadness is often a happy means of seriousness, and that affliction
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which is impairing to the health, estate, and family, may be improving
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to the mind, and make such impressions upon that as may alter its
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temper very much for the better, may make it humble and meek, loose
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from the world, penitent for sin, and careful of duty. <I>Vexatio dat
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intellectum--Vexation sharpens the intellect. Periissem nisi
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periissem--I should have perished if I had not been made wretched.</I>
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It will follow, on the contrary, that by the mirth and frolicsomeness
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of the countenance the heart is made worse, more vain, carnal, sensual,
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and secure, more in love with the world and more estranged from God and
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spiritual things
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+21:12,14">Job xxi. 12, 14</A>),
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till it become utterly unconcerned in <I>the afflictions of Joseph,</I>
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as those
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Am+6:5,6">Amos vi. 5, 6</A>,
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and <I>the king and Haman,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Es+3:15">Esth. iii. 15</A>.</P>
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<P>
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V. That it is much better for us to have our corruptions mortified by
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the <I>rebuke of the wise</I> than to have them gratified by <I>the
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song of fools,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+7:5"><I>v.</I> 5</A>.
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Many that would be very well pleased to hear the information of the
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wise, and much more to have their commendations and consolations, yet
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do not care for <I>hearing their rebukes,</I> that is, care not for
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being told of their faults, though ever so wisely; but therein they are
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no friends to themselves, for <I>reproofs of instruction are the way of
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life</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+6:23">Prov. vi. 23</A>),
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and, though they be not so pleasant as <I>the song of fools,</I> they
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are more wholesome. <I>To hear,</I> not only with patience, but with
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pleasure, <I>the rebuke of the wise,</I> is a sign and means of wisdom;
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but to be fond of <I>the song of fools</I> is a sign that the mind is
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vain and is the way to make it more so. And what an absurd thing is it
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for a man to dote so much upon such a transient pleasure as <I>the
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laughter of a fool</I> is, which may fitly be compared to the burning
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<I>of thorns under a pot,</I> which makes a great noise and a great
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blaze, for a little while, but is gone presently, scatters its ashes,
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and contributes scarcely any thing to the production of a boiling heat,
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for that requires a constant fire! <I>The laughter of a fool</I> is
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noisy and flashy, and is not an instance of true joy. <I>This is also
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vanity;</I> it deceives men to their destruction, for <I>the end of
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that mirth is heaviness.</I> Our blessed Saviour has read us our doom:
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<I>Blessed are you that weep now, for you shall laugh; woe to you that
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laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Lu+6:21,25">Luke vi. 21, 25</A>.</P>
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<A NAME="Ec7_7"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ec7_8"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ec7_9"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ec7_10"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec2"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Scenes of Mourning and of Joy.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1> <! -- Date --> </FONT></TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>7 Surely oppression maketh a wise man mad; and a gift
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destroyeth the heart.
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8 Better <I>is</I> the end of a thing than the beginning thereof:
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<I>and</I> the patient in spirit <I>is</I> better than the proud in spirit.
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9 Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry: for anger resteth in
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the bosom of fools.
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10 Say not thou, What is <I>the cause</I> that the former days were
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better than these? for thou dost not enquire wisely concerning
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this.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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Solomon had often complained before of the <I>oppressions</I> which he
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saw <I>under the sun,</I> which gave occasion for many melancholy
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speculations and were a great discouragement to virtue and piety. Now
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here,</P>
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<P>
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I. He grants the temptation to be strong
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+7:7"><I>v.</I> 7</A>):
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<I>Surely</I> it is often too true that <I>oppression makes a wise man
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mad.</I> If a wise man be much and long oppressed, he is very apt to
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speak and act unlike himself, to lay the reins on the neck of his
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passions, and break out into indecent complaints against God and man,
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or to make use of unlawful dishonourable means of relieving himself.
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<I>The righteous,</I> when the <I>rod of the wicked rests</I> long
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<I>on their lot,</I> are in danger of <I>putting forth their hands to
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iniquity,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+125:3">Ps. cxxv. 3</A>.
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When even wise men have unreasonable hardships put upon them they have
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much ado to keep their temper and to keep their place. <I>It destroys
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the heart of a gift</I> (so the latter clause may be read); even the
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generous heart that is ready to give gifts, and a gracious heart that
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is endowed with many excellent gifts, is destroyed by being oppressed.
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We should therefore make great allowances to those that are abused and
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ill-dealt with, and not be severe in our censures of them, though they
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do not act so discreetly as they should; we know not what we should do
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if it were our own case.</P>
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<P>
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II. He argues against it. Let us not fret at the power and success of
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oppressors, nor be envious at them, for,
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1. The character of oppressors is very bad, so some understand
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+7:7"><I>v.</I> 7</A>.
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If he that had the reputation of <I>a wise man</I> becomes an
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<I>oppressor,</I> he becomes a <I>madman;</I> his reason has departed
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from him; he is no better than a roaring lion and a ranging bear,
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<I>and the gifts,</I> the bribes, he takes, the gains he seems to reap
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by his oppressions, do but <I>destroy his heart</I> and quite
|
|
extinguish the poor remains of sense and virtue in him, and therefore
|
|
he is rather to be pitied than envied; let him alone, and he will act
|
|
so foolishly, and drive so furiously, that in a little time he will
|
|
ruin himself.
|
|
|
|
2. The issue, at length, will be good: <I>Better is the end of a thing
|
|
than the beginning thereof.</I> By faith see what the end will be, and
|
|
with patience expect it. When proud men begin to oppress their poor
|
|
honest neighbours they think their power will bear them out in it; they
|
|
doubt not but to carry the day, and gain the point. But it will prove
|
|
better in the end than it seemed at the beginning; their power will be
|
|
broken, their wealth gotten by oppression will be wasted and gone, they
|
|
will be humbled and brought down, and reckoned with for their
|
|
injustice, and oppressed innocency will be both relieved and
|
|
recompensed. <I>Better was the end of</I> Moses's treaty with Pharaoh,
|
|
that proud oppressor, when Israel was brought forth with triumph,
|
|
<I>than the beginning</I> of it, when the tale of bricks was doubled,
|
|
and every thing looked discouraging.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
III. He arms us against it with some necessary directions. If we would
|
|
not be driven mad by oppression, but preserve the possession of our own
|
|
souls,</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
1. We must be clothed with humility; <I>for the proud in spirit</I> are
|
|
those that cannot bear to be trampled upon, but grow outrageous, and
|
|
fret themselves, when they are hardly bestead. That will break a proud
|
|
man's heart, which will not break a humble man's sleep. Mortify pride,
|
|
therefore, and a lowly spirit will easily be reconciled to a low
|
|
condition.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
2. We must put on patience, <I>bearing</I> patience, to submit to the
|
|
will of God in the affliction, and <I>waiting</I> patience, to expect
|
|
the issue in God's due time. <I>The patient in spirit</I> are here
|
|
opposed to <I>the proud in spirit,</I> for where there is humility
|
|
there will be patience. Those will be thankful for any thing who own
|
|
they deserve nothing at God's hand, <I>and the patient</I> are said to
|
|
be <I>better than the proud;</I> they are more easy to themselves, more
|
|
acceptable to others, and more likely to see a good issue of their
|
|
troubles.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
3. We must govern our passion with wisdom and grace
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+7:9"><I>v.</I> 9</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry;</I> those that are hasty in
|
|
their expectations, and cannot brook delays, are apt to be angry if
|
|
they be not immediately gratified. "Be not angry at proud oppressors,
|
|
or any that are the instruments of your trouble."
|
|
|
|
(1.) "Be not soon angry, not quick in apprehending an affront and
|
|
resenting it, nor forward to express your resentments of it."
|
|
|
|
(2.) "Be not long angry;" for though anger may come into the bosom of a
|
|
wise man, and pass through it as a wayfaring man, it <I>rests</I> only
|
|
<I>in the bosom of fools;</I> there it resides, there it remains, there
|
|
it has the innermost and uppermost place, there it is hugged as that
|
|
which is dear, and laid in the bosom, and not easily parted with. He
|
|
therefore that would approve himself so wise as not to <I>give place to
|
|
the devil,</I> must not <I>let the sun go down upon his wrath,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eph+4:26,27">Eph. iv. 26, 27</A>.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
4. We must make the best of that which is
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+7:10"><I>v.</I> 10</A>):
|
|
|
|
"Take it not for granted <I>that the former days were better than
|
|
these,</I> nor enquire <I>what is the cause</I> that they were so, for
|
|
therein <I>thou dost not enquire wisely,</I> since thou enquirest into
|
|
the reason of the thing before thou art sure that the thing itself is
|
|
true; and, besides, thou art so much a stranger to the times past, and
|
|
such an incompetent judge even of the present times, that thou canst
|
|
not expect a satisfactory answer to the enquiry, and therefore <I>thou
|
|
dost not enquire wisely;</I> nay, the supposition is a foolish
|
|
reflection upon the providence of God in the government of the world."
|
|
Note,
|
|
|
|
(1.) It is folly to complain of the badness of our own times when we
|
|
have more reason to complain of the badness of our own hearts (if men's
|
|
hearts were better, the times would mend) and when we have more reason
|
|
to be thankful that they are not worse, but that even in the worst of
|
|
times we enjoy many mercies, which help to make them not only
|
|
tolerable, but comfortable.
|
|
|
|
(2.) It is folly to cry up the goodness of former times, so as to
|
|
derogate from the mercy of God to us in our own times; as if former
|
|
ages had not the same things to complain of that we have, or if
|
|
perhaps, in some respects, they had not, yet as if God had been unjust
|
|
and unkind to us in casting our lot in an iron age, compared with the
|
|
golden ages that went before us; this arises from nothing but
|
|
fretfulness and discontent, and an aptness to pick quarrels with God
|
|
himself. We are not to think there is any universal decay in nature, or
|
|
degeneracy in morals. God has been always good, and men always bad; and
|
|
if, in some respects, the times are now worse than they have been,
|
|
perhaps in other respects they are better.</P>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Ec7_11"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ec7_12"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ec7_13"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ec7_14"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ec7_15"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ec7_16"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ec7_17"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ec7_18"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ec7_19"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ec7_20"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ec7_21"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ec7_22"> </A>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Sec3"> </A>
|
|
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
|
|
<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>The Advantages of 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>11 Wisdom <I>is</I> good with an inheritance: and <I>by it there is</I>
|
|
profit to them that see the sun.
|
|
12 For wisdom <I>is</I> a defence, <I>and</I> money <I>is</I> a defence: but
|
|
the excellency of knowledge <I>is, that</I> wisdom giveth life to them
|
|
that have it.
|
|
13 Consider the work of God: for who can make <I>that</I> straight,
|
|
which he hath made crooked?
|
|
14 In the day of prosperity be joyful, but in the day of
|
|
adversity consider: God also hath set the one over against the
|
|
other, to the end that man should find nothing after him.
|
|
15 All <I>things</I> have I seen in the days of my vanity: there is
|
|
a just <I>man</I> that perisheth in his righteousness, and there is a
|
|
wicked <I>man</I> that prolongeth <I>his life</I> in his wickedness.
|
|
16 Be not righteous over much; neither make thyself over wise:
|
|
why shouldest thou destroy thyself?
|
|
17 Be not over much wicked, neither be thou foolish: why
|
|
shouldest thou die before thy time?
|
|
18 <I>It is</I> good that thou shouldest take hold of this; yea,
|
|
also from this withdraw not thine hand: for he that feareth God
|
|
shall come forth of them all.
|
|
19 Wisdom strengtheneth the wise more than ten mighty <I>men</I>
|
|
which are in the city.
|
|
20 For <I>there is</I> not a just man upon earth, that doeth good,
|
|
and sinneth not.
|
|
21 Also take no heed unto all words that are spoken; lest thou
|
|
hear thy servant curse thee:
|
|
22 For oftentimes also thine own heart knoweth that thou
|
|
thyself likewise hast cursed others.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
Solomon, in these verses, recommends wisdom to us as the best antidote
|
|
against those distempers of mind which we are liable to, by reason of
|
|
the vanity and vexation of spirit that there are in the things of this
|
|
world. Here are some of the praises and the precepts of wisdom.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
I. The praises of wisdom. Many things are here said in its
|
|
commendation, to engage us to get and retain wisdom.
|
|
|
|
1. Wisdom is necessary to the right managing and improving of our
|
|
worldly possessions: <I>Wisdom is good with an inheritance,</I> that
|
|
is, an inheritance is good for little without wisdom. Though a man have
|
|
a great estate, though it come easily to him, by descent from his
|
|
ancestors, if he have not wisdom to use it for the end for which he has
|
|
it, he had better have been without it. Wisdom is not only good for the
|
|
poor, to make them content and easy, but it is good for the rich too,
|
|
good with riches to keep a man from getting hurt by them, and to enable
|
|
a man to do good with them. <I>Wisdom is good</I> of itself, and makes
|
|
a man useful; but, if he have a good estate with it, that will put him
|
|
into a greater capacity of being useful, and with his wealth he may be
|
|
more serviceable to his generation than he could have been without it;
|
|
he will also <I>make friends to himself,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Lu+16:9">Luke xvi. 9</A>.
|
|
|
|
<I>Wisdom is as good as an inheritance, yea, better too</I> (so the
|
|
margin reads it); it is more our own, more our honour, will make us
|
|
greater blessings, will remain longer with us, and turn to a better
|
|
account.
|
|
|
|
2. It is of great advantage to us throughout the whole course of our
|
|
passage through this world: <I>By it there is</I> real <I>profit to
|
|
those that see the sun,</I> both to those that have it and to their
|
|
contemporaries. It is pleasant to <I>see the sun</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+11:7"><I>ch.</I> xi. 7</A>),
|
|
|
|
but that pleasure is not comparable to the pleasure of wisdom. The
|
|
light of this world is an advantage to us in doing the business of this
|
|
world
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joh+11:9">John xi. 9</A>);
|
|
|
|
but to those that have that advantage, unless withal they have wisdom
|
|
wherewith to manage their business, that advantage is worth little to
|
|
them. The clearness of the eye of the understanding is of greater use
|
|
to us than bodily eye-sight.
|
|
|
|
3. It contributes much more to our safety, and is a shelter to us from
|
|
the storms of trouble and its scorching heat; it <I>is a shadow</I> (so
|
|
the word is), <I>as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land. Wisdom
|
|
is a defence, and money</I> (that is, as <I>money) is a defence.</I> As
|
|
a rich man makes his wealth, so a wise man makes his wisdom, a
|
|
<I>strong city. In the shadow of wisdom</I> (so the words run) <I>and
|
|
in the shadow of money</I> there is safety. He puts wisdom and money
|
|
together, to confirm what he had said before, that <I>wisdom is good
|
|
with an inheritance.</I> Wisdom is as a wall, and money may serve as a
|
|
thorn hedge, which protects the field.
|
|
|
|
4. It is joy and true happiness to a man. This is <I>the excellency of
|
|
knowledge,</I> divine knowledge, not only above money, but above wisdom
|
|
too, human wisdom, <I>the wisdom of this world,</I> that it <I>gives
|
|
life to those that have it. The fear of the Lord, that is wisdom,</I>
|
|
and that is life; it prolongs life. Men's wealth exposes their lives,
|
|
but their wisdom protects them. Nay, whereas wealth will not lengthen
|
|
out the natural life, true wisdom will give spiritual life, the earnest
|
|
of eternal life; so much <I>better is it to get wisdom than gold.</I>
|
|
|
|
5. It will put strength into a man, and be his stay and support
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+7:19"><I>v.</I> 19</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>Wisdom strengthens the wise,</I> strengthens their spirits, and
|
|
makes them bold and resolute, by keeping them always on sure grounds.
|
|
It strengthens their interest, and gains them friends and reputation.
|
|
It strengthens them for their services under their sufferings, and
|
|
against the attacks that are made upon them, <I>more than ten mighty
|
|
men,</I> great commanders, strengthen <I>the city.</I> Those that are
|
|
truly wise and good are taken under God's protection, and are safer
|
|
there than if ten of the mightiest men in the city, men of the greatest
|
|
power and interest, should undertake to secure them, and become their
|
|
patrons.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
II. Some of the precepts of wisdom, that wisdom which will be of so
|
|
much advantage to us.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
1. We must have an eye to God and to his hand in every thing that
|
|
befals us
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+7:13"><I>v.</I> 13</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>Consider the work of God.</I> To silence our complaints concerning
|
|
cross events, let us consider the hand of God in them and not open our
|
|
mouths against that which is his doing; let us look upon the disposal
|
|
of our condition and all the circumstances of it as the <I>work of
|
|
God,</I> and consider it as the product of his eternal counsel, which
|
|
is fulfilled in every thing that befals us. Consider that every work
|
|
of God is wise, just, and good, and there is an admirable beauty and
|
|
harmony in his works, and all will appear at last to have been for the
|
|
best. Let us therefore give him the glory of all his works concerning
|
|
us, and study to answer his designs in them. <I>Consider the work of
|
|
God</I> as that which we cannot make any alteration of. <I>Who can make
|
|
that straight which he has made crooked?</I> Who can change the nature
|
|
of things from what is settled by the God of nature? If he speak
|
|
trouble, who can make peace? And, if he hedge up the way with thorns,
|
|
who can get forward? If desolating judgments go forth with commission,
|
|
who can put a stop to them? Since therefore we cannot mend God's work,
|
|
we ought to make the best of it.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
2. We must accommodate ourselves to the various dispensations of
|
|
Providence that respect us, and do the work and duty of the day in its
|
|
day,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+7:14"><I>v.</I> 14</A>.
|
|
|
|
Observe,
|
|
|
|
(1.) How the appointments and events of Providence are counterchanged.
|
|
In this world, at the same time, some are in prosperity, others are in
|
|
adversity; the same persons at one time are in great prosperity, at
|
|
another time in great adversity; nay, one event prosperous, and another
|
|
grievous, may occur to the same person at the same time. Both come from
|
|
the hand of God; <I>out of his mouth both evil and good proceed</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+14:7">Isa. xiv. 7</A>),
|
|
|
|
and <I>he has set the one over against the other,</I> so that there is
|
|
a very short and easy passage between them, and they are a foil to each
|
|
other. Day and night, summer and winter, are set <I>the one over
|
|
against the other,</I> that in prosperity we may rejoice <I>as though
|
|
we rejoiced not,</I> and in adversity may weep <I>as though we wept
|
|
not,</I> for we may plainly see the one from the other and quickly
|
|
exchange the one for the other; and it is <I>to the end that man may
|
|
find nothing after him,</I> that he may not be at any certainty
|
|
concerning future events or the continuance of the present scene, but
|
|
may live in a dependence upon Providence and be ready for whatever
|
|
happens. Or that man may find nothing in the work of God which he can
|
|
pretend to amend.
|
|
|
|
(2.) How we must comply with the will of God in events of both kinds.
|
|
Our religion, in general, must be the same in all conditions, but the
|
|
particular instances and exercises of it must vary, as our outward
|
|
condition does, that we may <I>walk after the Lord.</I>
|
|
|
|
[1.] <I>In a day of prosperity</I> (and it is but a day), we must <I>be
|
|
joyful,</I> be in good, be doing good, and getting good, maintain a
|
|
holy cheerfulness, <I>and serve the Lord with gladness of heart in the
|
|
abundance of all things.</I> "When the world smiles, <I>rejoice in
|
|
God,</I> and praise him, and let <I>the joy of the Lord be thy
|
|
strength.</I>"
|
|
|
|
[2.] <I>In a day of adversity</I> (and that is but a day too)
|
|
<I>consider.</I> Times of affliction are proper times for
|
|
consideration, then God calls to <I>consider</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Hag+1:5">Hag. i. 5</A>),
|
|
|
|
then, if ever, we are disposed to it, and no good will be gotten by the
|
|
affliction without it. We cannot answer God's end in afflicting us
|
|
unless we consider why and wherefore he contends with us. And
|
|
consideration is necessary also to our comfort and support under our
|
|
afflictions.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
3. We must not be offended at the greatest prosperity of wicked people,
|
|
nor at the saddest calamities that may befal the godly in this life,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+7:15"><I>v.</I> 15</A>.
|
|
|
|
Wisdom will teach us how to construe those dark chapters of Providence
|
|
so as to reconcile them with the wisdom, holiness, goodness, and
|
|
faithfulness of God. We must not think it strange; Solomon tells us
|
|
there were instances of this kind in his time: "<I>All things have I
|
|
seen in the days of my vanity;</I> I have taken notice of all that
|
|
passed, and this has been as surprising and perplexing to me as any
|
|
thing." Observe, Though Solomon was so wise and great a man, yet he
|
|
calls the days of his life <I>the days of his vanity,</I> for the best
|
|
days on earth are so, in comparison with the days of eternity. Or
|
|
perhaps he refers to the days of his apostasy from God (those were
|
|
indeed the days of his vanity) and reflects upon this as one thing that
|
|
tempted him to infidelity, or at least to indifferency in religion,
|
|
that he saw <I>just men perishing in their righteousness,</I> that the
|
|
greatest piety would not secure men from the greatest afflictions by
|
|
the hand of God, nay, and sometimes did expose men to the greatest
|
|
injuries from the hands of wicked and unreasonable men. Naboth perished
|
|
in his righteousness, and Abel long before. He had also seen wicked men
|
|
prolonging their lives in their wickedness; they <I>live, become old,
|
|
yea, are mighty in power</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+21:7">Job xxi. 7</A>),
|
|
|
|
yea, and by their fraud and violence they screen themselves from the
|
|
sword of justice. "Now, in this, consider the work of God, and let it
|
|
not be a stumbling-block to thee." The calamities of the righteous are
|
|
preparing them for their future blessedness, and the wicked, while
|
|
their days are prolonged, are but ripening for ruin. There is a
|
|
judgment to come, which will rectify this seeming irregularity, to the
|
|
glory of God and the full satisfaction of all his people, and we must
|
|
wait with patience till then.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
4. Wisdom will be of use both for caution to saints in their way, and
|
|
for a check to sinners in their way.
|
|
|
|
(1.) As to saints, it will engage them to proceed and persevere in
|
|
their righteousness, and yet will be an admonition to them to take heed
|
|
of running into extremes: <I>A just man may perish in his
|
|
righteousness,</I> but let him not, by his own imprudence and rash
|
|
zeal, pull trouble upon his own head, and then reflect upon Providence
|
|
as dealing hardly with him. "<I>Be not righteous overmuch,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+7:16"><I>v.</I> 16</A>.
|
|
|
|
In the acts of righteousness govern thyself by the rules of prudence,
|
|
and be not transported, no, not by a zeal for God, into any intemperate
|
|
heats or passions, or any practices unbecoming thy character or
|
|
dangerous to thy interests." Note, There may be over-doing in
|
|
well-doing. Self-denial and mortification of the flesh are good; but if
|
|
we prejudice our health by them, and unfit ourselves for the service of
|
|
God, we are <I>righteous overmuch.</I> To reprove those that offend is
|
|
good, but to cast that pearl before swine, who will turn again and rend
|
|
us, is to be <I>righteous overmuch. "Make not thyself over-wise.</I> Be
|
|
not opinionative, and conceited of thy own abilities. Set not up for a
|
|
dictator, nor pretend to give law to, and give judgment upon, all about
|
|
thee. Set not up for a critic, to find fault with every thing that is
|
|
said and done, nor busy thyself in other men's matters, as if thou
|
|
knewest every thing and couldst do any thing. <I>Why shouldst thou
|
|
destroy thyself,</I> as fools often do by meddling with strife that
|
|
belongs not to them? Why shouldst thou provoke authority, and run
|
|
thyself into the briers, by needless contradictions, and by going out
|
|
of thy sphere to correct what is amiss? <I>Be wise as serpents;</I>
|
|
beware of men."
|
|
|
|
(2.) As to sinners, if it cannot prevail with them to forsake their
|
|
sins, yet it may restrain them from growing very exorbitant. It is true
|
|
<I>there is a wicked man that prolongs his life in his wickedness</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+7:15"><I>v.</I> 15</A>);
|
|
|
|
but let none say that therefore they may safely be as wicked as they
|
|
will; no, <I>be not overmuch wicked</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+7:17"><I>v.</I> 17</A>);
|
|
|
|
do not run to an excess of riot. Many that will not be wrought upon by
|
|
the fear of God, and a dread of the torments of hell, to avoid all sin,
|
|
will yet, if they have ever so little consideration, avoid those sins
|
|
that ruin their health and estate, and expose them to public justice.
|
|
And Solomon here makes use of these considerations. "<I>The magistrate
|
|
bears not the sword in vain,</I> has a quick eye and a heavy hand, and
|
|
is <I>a terror to evil-doers;</I> therefore be afraid of coming within
|
|
his reach, be not so foolish as to lay thyself open to the law, <I>why
|
|
shouldst thou die before thy time?</I>" Solomon, in these two cautions,
|
|
had probably a special regard to some of his own subjects that were
|
|
disaffected to his government and were meditating the revolt which they
|
|
made immediately after his death. Some, it may be, quarrelled with the
|
|
sins of their governor, and made them their pretence; to them he says,
|
|
<I>Be not righteous overmuch.</I> Others were weary of the strictness
|
|
of the government, and the temple-service, and that made them desirous
|
|
to set up another king; but he frightens both from their seditious
|
|
practices with the sword of justice, and others likewise from meddling
|
|
<I>with those that were given to change.</I></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
5. Wisdom will direct us in the mean between two extremes, and keep us
|
|
always in the way of our duty, which we shall find a plain and safe way
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+7:18"><I>v.</I> 18</A>):
|
|
|
|
"<I>It is good that thou shouldst take hold of this,</I> this wisdom,
|
|
this care, not to run thyself into snares. <I>Yea, also from this
|
|
withdraw not thy hand;</I> never slacken thy diligence, nor abate thy
|
|
resolution to maintain a due decorum, and a good government of thyself.
|
|
Take hold of the bridle by which thy head-strong passions must be held
|
|
in from hurrying thee into one mischief or other, as <I>the horse and
|
|
mule that have no understanding;</I> and, having taken hold of it, keep
|
|
thy hold, and withdraw not thy hand from it, for, it thou do, the
|
|
liberty that they will take will be <I>as the letting forth of
|
|
water,</I> and thou wilt not easily recover thy hold again. Be
|
|
conscientious, and yet be cautious, and to this exercise thyself.
|
|
Govern thyself steadily by the principles of religion, and thou shalt
|
|
find that <I>he that fears God shall come forth out of all</I> those
|
|
straits and difficulties which those run themselves into that cast off
|
|
that fear." <I>The fear of the Lord</I> is that wisdom which will serve
|
|
as a clue to extricate us out of the most intricate labyrinths.
|
|
<I>Honesty is the best policy.</I> Those that truly fear God have but
|
|
one end to serve, and therefore act steadily. God has likewise promised
|
|
to direct those that fear him, and to order their steps not only in the
|
|
right way, but out of every dangerous way,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+37:23,24">Ps. xxxvii. 23, 24</A>.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
6. Wisdom will teach us how to conduct ourselves in reference to the
|
|
sins and offences of others, which commonly contribute more than any
|
|
thing else to the disturbance of our repose, which contract both guilt
|
|
and grief.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
(1.) Wisdom teaches us not to expect that those we deal with should be
|
|
faultless; we ourselves are not so, none are so, no, not the best. This
|
|
<I>wisdom strengthens the wise</I> as much as any thing, and arms them
|
|
against the danger that arises from provocation
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+7:19"><I>v.</I> 19</A>),
|
|
|
|
so that they are not put into any disorder by it. They consider that
|
|
those they have dealings and conversation with are not incarnate
|
|
angels, but sinful sons and daughters of Adam: even the best are so,
|
|
insomuch that <I>there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good
|
|
and sinneth not,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+7:20"><I>v.</I> 20</A>.
|
|
|
|
Solomon had this in his prayer
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Ki+8:46">1 Kings viii. 46</A>),
|
|
|
|
in his proverbs
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+20:9">Prov. xx. 9</A>),
|
|
|
|
and here in his preaching. Note,
|
|
|
|
[1.] It is the character of just men that they <I>do good;</I> for the
|
|
tree is known by its fruits.
|
|
|
|
[2.] The best men, and those that do most good, yet cannot say that
|
|
they are perfectly free from sin; even those that are sanctified are
|
|
not sinless. None that live on this side of heaven live without sin.
|
|
<I>If we say, We have not sinned, we deceive ourselves.</I>
|
|
|
|
[3.] We sin even in our doing good; there is something defective, nay,
|
|
something offensive, in our best performances. That which, for the
|
|
substance of it, is good, and pleasing to God, is not so well done as
|
|
it should be, and omissions in duty are sins, as well as omissions of
|
|
duty.
|
|
|
|
[4.] It is only just men upon earth that are subject thus to sin and
|
|
infirmity; <I>the spirits of just men,</I> when they have got clear of
|
|
the body, are made <I>perfect</I> in holiness
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Heb+12:23">Heb. xii. 23</A>),
|
|
|
|
and in heaven they <I>do good and sin not.</I></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
(2.) Wisdom teaches us not to be quicksighted, or quickscented, in
|
|
apprehending and resenting affronts, but to wink at many of the
|
|
injuries that are done us, and act as if we did not see them
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+7:21"><I>v.</I> 21</A>):
|
|
|
|
"<I>Take no heed to all words that are spoken; set not thy heart to
|
|
them.</I> Vex not thyself at men's peevish reflections upon thee, or
|
|
suspicions of thee, but be <I>as a deaf man that hears not,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+38:13,14">Ps. xxxviii. 13, 14</A>.
|
|
|
|
Be not solicitous or inquisitive to know what people say of thee; if
|
|
they speak well of thee, it will feed thy pride, if ill, it will stir
|
|
up thy passion. See therefore that thou approve thyself to God and thy
|
|
own conscience, and then heed not what men say of thee.
|
|
<I>Hearkeners,</I> we say, <I>seldom hear good of themselves;</I> if
|
|
thou heed every word that is spoken, perhaps <I>thou wilt hear thy own
|
|
servant curse thee</I> when he thinks thou dost not hear him; thou wilt
|
|
be told that he does, and perhaps told falsely, if thou have thy ear
|
|
open to tale-bearers,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+29:12">Prov. xxix. 12</A>.
|
|
|
|
Nay, perhaps it is true, and thou mayest stand behind the curtain and
|
|
hear it thyself, mayest hear thyself not only blamed and despised, but
|
|
cursed, the worst evil said of thee and wished to thee, and that by a
|
|
servant, one of the meanest rank, of the abjects, nay, by thy own
|
|
servant, who should be an advocate for thee, and protect thy good name
|
|
as well as thy other interests. Perhaps it is a servant thou hast been
|
|
kind to, and yet he requites thee thus ill, and this will vex thee;
|
|
thou hadst better not have heard it. Perhaps it is a servant thou hast
|
|
wronged and dealt unjustly with, and, though he dares not tell thee so,
|
|
he tells others so, and tells God so, and then thy own conscience will
|
|
join with him in the reproach, which will make it much more uneasy."
|
|
The good names of the greatest lie much at the mercy even of the
|
|
meanest. And perhaps there is a great deal more evil said of us than we
|
|
think there is, and by those from whom we little expected it. But we do
|
|
not consult our own repose, no, nor our credit, though we pretend to be
|
|
jealous of it, if we take notice of every word that is spoken
|
|
diminishingly of us; it is easier to pass by twenty such affronts than
|
|
to avenge one.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
(3.) Wisdom puts us in mind of our own faults
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+7:22"><I>v.</I> 22</A>):
|
|
|
|
"Be not enraged at those that speak ill of thee, or wish ill to thee,
|
|
<I>for oftentimes,</I> in that case, if thou retire into thyself, thy
|
|
own conscience will tell thee <I>that thou thyself hast cursed
|
|
others,</I> spoken ill of them and wished ill to them, and thou art
|
|
paid in thy own coin." Note, When any affront or injury is done us it
|
|
is seasonable to examine our consciences whether we have not done the
|
|
same, or as bad, to others; and if, upon reflection, we find we have,
|
|
we must take that occasion to renew our repentance for it, must justify
|
|
God, and make use of it to qualify our own resentments. If we be truly
|
|
angry with ourselves, as we ought to be, for backbiting and censuring
|
|
others, we shall be the less angry with others for backbiting and
|
|
censuring us. We must show all meekness towards all men, for we
|
|
ourselves <I>were sometimes foolish,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Tit+3:2,3,Mt+7:1,2,Jam+3:1,2">Tit. iii. 2, 3;
|
|
Matt. vii. 1, 2; James iii. 1, 2</A>.</P>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Ec7_23"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ec7_24"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ec7_25"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ec7_26"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ec7_27"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ec7_28"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ec7_29"> </A>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Sec4"> </A>
|
|
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
|
|
<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>The Evil of Sin.</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>23 All this have I proved by wisdom: I said, I will be wise;
|
|
but it <I>was</I> far from me.
|
|
24 That which is far off, and exceeding deep, who can find it
|
|
out?
|
|
25 I applied mine heart to know, and to search, and to seek out
|
|
wisdom, and the reason <I>of things,</I> and to know the wickedness of
|
|
folly, even of foolishness <I>and</I> madness:
|
|
26 And I find more bitter than death the woman, whose heart
|
|
<I>is</I> snares and nets, <I>and</I> her hands <I>as</I> bands: whoso pleaseth
|
|
God shall escape from her; but the sinner shall be taken by her.
|
|
27 Behold, this have I found, saith the preacher, <I>counting</I>
|
|
one by one, to find out the account:
|
|
28 Which yet my soul seeketh, but I find not: one man among a
|
|
thousand have I found; but a woman among all those have I not
|
|
found.
|
|
29 Lo, this only have I found, that God hath made man upright;
|
|
but they have sought out many inventions.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
Solomon had hitherto been proving the vanity of the world and its utter
|
|
insufficiency to make men happy; now here he comes to show the vileness
|
|
of sin, and its certain tendency to make men miserable; and this, as
|
|
the former, he proves from his own experience, and it was a dear-bought
|
|
experience. He is here, more than any where in all this book, putting
|
|
on the habit of a penitent. He reviews what he had been discoursing of
|
|
already, and tells us that what he had said was what he knew and was
|
|
well assured of, and what he resolved to stand by: <I>All this have I
|
|
proved by wisdom,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+7:23"><I>v.</I> 23</A>.
|
|
|
|
Now here,</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
I. He owns and laments the deficiencies of his wisdom. He had wisdom
|
|
enough to see the vanity of the world and to experience that that would
|
|
not make a portion for a soul. But, when he came to enquire further, he
|
|
found himself at a loss; his eye was too dim, his line was too short,
|
|
and, though he discovered this, there were many other things which he
|
|
could not prove by wisdom.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
1. His searches were industrious. God had given him a capacity for
|
|
knowledge above any; he set up with a great stock of wisdom; he had the
|
|
largest opportunities of improving himself that ever any man had; and,
|
|
|
|
(1.) He resolved, if it were possible, to gain his point: <I>I said, I
|
|
will be wise.</I> He earnestly desired it as highly valuable; he fully
|
|
designed it as that which he looked upon to be attainable; he
|
|
determined not to sit down short of it,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+18:1">Prov. xviii. 1</A>.
|
|
|
|
Many are not wise because they never said they would be so, being
|
|
indifferent to it; but Solomon set it up for the mark he aimed at. When
|
|
he made trial of sensual pleasures, he still thought <I>to acquaint his
|
|
heart with wisdom</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+2:3"><I>ch.</I> ii. 3</A>),
|
|
|
|
and not to be diverted from the pursuits of that; but perhaps he did
|
|
not find it so easy a thing as he imagined to keep up his
|
|
correspondence with wisdom, while he addicted himself so much to his
|
|
pleasures. However, his will was good; he said, <I>I will be wise.</I>
|
|
And that was not all:
|
|
|
|
(2.) He resolved to spare no pains
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+7:25"><I>v.</I> 25</A>):
|
|
|
|
"<I>I applied my heart;</I> I and my heart turned every way; I left no
|
|
stone unturned, no means untried, to compass what I had in view. I set
|
|
<I>myself to know, and to search, and to seek out wisdom,</I> to
|
|
accomplish myself in all useful learning, philosophy, and divinity." If
|
|
he had not thus closely applied himself to study, it would have been
|
|
but a jest for him to say, <I>I will be wise,</I> for those that will
|
|
attain the end must take the right way. Solomon was a man of great
|
|
quickness, and yet, instead of using that (with many) as an excuse for
|
|
slothfulness, he pressed it upon himself as an inducement to diligence,
|
|
and the easier he found it to master a good notion the more intent he
|
|
would be that he might be master of the more good notions. Those that
|
|
have the best parts should take the greatest pains, as those that have
|
|
the largest stock should trade most. He applied himself not only to
|
|
know what lay on the surface, but to search what lay hidden out of the
|
|
common view and road; nor did he search a little way, and then give it
|
|
over because he did not presently find what he searched for, but he
|
|
<I>sought it out,</I> went to the bottom of it; nor did he aim to know
|
|
things only, but the reasons of things, that he might give an account
|
|
of them.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
2. Yet his success was not answerable or satisfying: "<I>I said, I will
|
|
be wise, but it was far from me;</I> I could not compass it. After all,
|
|
<I>This only I know that I know nothing,</I> and the more I know the
|
|
more I see there is to be known, and the more sensible I am of my own
|
|
ignorance. <I>That which is far off, and exceedingly deep, who can find
|
|
it out?</I>" He means God himself, his counsels and his works; when he
|
|
searched into these he presently found himself puzzled and run aground.
|
|
He <I>could not order his speech by reason of darkness. It is higher
|
|
than heaven, what can he do?</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+11:8">Job xi. 8</A>.
|
|
|
|
Blessed be God, there is nothing which we have to do which is not plain
|
|
and easy; <I>the word is nigh us</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+8:9">Prov. viii. 9</A>);
|
|
|
|
but there is a great deal which we would wish to know which is <I>far
|
|
off, and exceedingly deep,</I> among the secret things which belong not
|
|
to us. And probably it is a culpable ignorance and error that Solomon
|
|
here laments, that his pleasures, and the many amusements of his court,
|
|
had blinded his eyes and cast a mist before them, so that he could not
|
|
attain to true wisdom as he designed.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
II. He owns and laments the instances of his folly in which he had
|
|
exceeded, as, in wisdom, he came short. Here is,</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
1. His enquiry concerning the evil of sin. He <I>applied his heart to
|
|
know the wickedness of folly, even of foolishness and madness.</I>
|
|
Observe,
|
|
|
|
(1.) The knowledge of sin is a difficult knowledge, and hard to be
|
|
attained; Solomon took pains for it. Sin has many disguises with which
|
|
it palliates itself, as being loth to appear sin, and it is very hard
|
|
to strip it of these and to see it in its true nature and colours.
|
|
|
|
(2.) It is necessary to our repentance for sin that we be acquainted
|
|
with the evil of it, as it is necessary to the cure of a disease to
|
|
know its nature, causes, and malignity. St. Paul <I>therefore</I>
|
|
valued the divine law, because it discovered sin to him,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ro+7:7">Rom. vii. 7</A>.
|
|
|
|
Solomon, who, in the days of his folly, had set his wits on work to
|
|
invent pleasures and sharpen them, and was ingenious in making
|
|
provision for the flesh, now that God had opened his eyes is as
|
|
industrious to find out the aggravations of sin and so to put an edge
|
|
upon his repentance. Ingenious sinners should be ingenious penitents,
|
|
and wit and learning, among the other spoils of the <I>strong man
|
|
armed,</I> should be divided by the Lord Jesus.
|
|
|
|
(3.) It well becomes penitents to say the worst they can of sin, for
|
|
the truth is we can never speak ill enough of it. Solomon here, for his
|
|
further humiliation, desired to see more,
|
|
|
|
[1.] Of the sinfulness of sin; that is it which he lays the greatest
|
|
stress upon in this inquiry, to <I>know the wickedness of folly,</I> by
|
|
which perhaps he means his own iniquity, the sin of uncleanness, for
|
|
that was commonly called <I>folly in Israel,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+34:7,De+22:21,Jdg+20:6,2Sa+13:12">Gen. xxxiv. 7;
|
|
Deut. xxii. 21; Judg. xx. 6; 2 Sam. xiii. 12</A>.
|
|
|
|
When he indulged himself in it, he made a light matter of it; but now
|
|
he desires to see the <I>wickedness</I> of it, its <I>great
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wickedness,</I> so Joseph speaks of it,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+39:9">Gen. xxxix. 9</A>.
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Or it may be taken there generally for all sin. Many extenuate their
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sins with this, They were <I>folly;</I> but Solomon sees
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<I>wickedness</I> in those follies, an offence to God and a wrong to
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conscience. <I>This is wickedness,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+4:18,Zec+5:8">Jer. iv. 18; Zech. v. 8</A>.
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[2.] Of the folly of sin; as there is a wickedness in folly, so there
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is a folly in wickedness, even foolishness and madness. Wilful sinners
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are fools and madmen; they act contrary both to right reason and to
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their true interest.</P>
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<P>
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2. The result of this enquiry.</P>
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<P>
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(1.) He now discovered more than ever of the evil of that great sin
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which he himself had been guilty of, the <I>loving of many strange
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women,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Ki+11:1">1 Kings xi. 1</A>.
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This is that which he here most feelingly laments, and in very pathetic
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expressions.
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[1.] He found the remembrance of the sin very grievous. O how heavily
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|
did it lie upon his conscience! what an agony was he in upon the
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|
thought of it--the wickedness, the foolishness, the madness, that he
|
|
had been guilty of! <I>I find it more bitter than death.</I> As great
|
|
a terror seized him, in reflection upon it, as if he had been under the
|
|
arrest of death. Thus do those that have their sins set in order
|
|
before them by a sound conviction cry out against them; they are bitter
|
|
as gall, nay, bitter as death, to all true penitents. Uncleanness is a
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|
sin that is, in its own nature, more pernicious than death itself.
|
|
Death may be made honourable and comfortable, but this sin can be no
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|
other than shame and pain,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+5:9,11">Prov. v. 9, 11</A>.
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|
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|
[2.] He found the temptation to the sin very dangerous, and that it was
|
|
extremely difficult, and next to impossible, for those that ventured
|
|
into the temptation to escape the sin, and for those that had fallen
|
|
into the sin to recover themselves by repentance. The heart of the
|
|
adulterous woman is <I>snares and nets;</I> she plays her game to ruin
|
|
souls with as much art and subtlety as ever any fowler used to take a
|
|
silly bird. The methods such sinners use are both deceiving and
|
|
destroying, as snares and nets are. The unwary souls are enticed into
|
|
them by the bait of pleasure, which they greedily catch at and promise
|
|
themselves satisfaction in; but they are taken before they are aware,
|
|
and taken irrecoverably. Her hands are as bands, with which, under
|
|
colour of fond embraces, she holds those fast that she has seized; they
|
|
are <I>held in the cords of their own sin,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+5:22">Prov. v. 22</A>.
|
|
|
|
Lust gets strength by being gratified and its charms are more
|
|
prevalent.
|
|
|
|
[3.] He reckoned it a great instance of God's favour to any man if by
|
|
his grace he has kept him from this sin: <I>He that pleases God shall
|
|
escape from her,</I> shall be preserved either from being tempted to
|
|
this sin or from being overcome by the temptation. Those that are kept
|
|
from this sin must acknowledge it is God that keeps them, and not any
|
|
strength or resolution of their own, must acknowledge it a great mercy;
|
|
and those that would have grace sufficient for them to arm them against
|
|
this sin must be careful to please God in every thing, by keeping his
|
|
ordinances,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Le+18:30">Lev. xviii. 30</A>.
|
|
|
|
[4.] He reckoned it a sin that is as sore a punishment of other sins as
|
|
a man can fall under in this life: <I>The sinner shall be taken by her.
|
|
First,</I> Those that allow themselves in other sins, by which their
|
|
minds are blinded and their consciences debauched, are the more easily
|
|
drawn to this. <I>Secondly,</I> it is just with God to leave them to
|
|
themselves to fall into it. See
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ro+1:26,28,Eph+4:18,19">Rom. i. 26, 28; Eph. iv. 18, 19</A>.
|
|
|
|
Thus does Solomon, as it were, with horror, bless himself from the sin
|
|
in which he had plunged himself.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
(2.) He now discovered more than ever of the general corruption of
|
|
man's nature. He traces up that stream to the fountain, as his father
|
|
had done before him, on a like occasion
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+51:5">Ps. li. 5</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>Behold, I was shapen in iniquity.</I>
|
|
|
|
[1.] He endeavoured to find out the number of his actual transgressions
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+7:27"><I>v.</I> 27</A>):
|
|
|
|
"<I>Behold, this have I found,</I> that is, this I hoped to find; I
|
|
thought I could have understood my errors and have brought in a
|
|
complete list, at least of the heads of them; I thought I could have
|
|
counted them one by one, and have found out the account." He desired to
|
|
find them out as a penitent, that he might the more particularly
|
|
acknowledge them; and, generally, the more particular we are in the
|
|
confession of sin the more comfort we have in the sense of the pardon;
|
|
he desired it also as a preacher, that he might the more particularly
|
|
give warning to others. Note, A sound conviction of one sin will put us
|
|
upon enquiring into the whole confederacy; and the more we see amiss in
|
|
ourselves the more diligently we should enquire further into our own
|
|
faults, that what we see not may be discovered to us,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+34:32">Job xxxiv. 32</A>.
|
|
|
|
[2.] He soon found himself at a loss, and perceived that they were
|
|
innumerable
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+7:28"><I>v.</I> 28</A>):
|
|
|
|
"<I>Which yet my soul seeks;</I> I am still counting, and still
|
|
desirous to find out the account, but I find not, I cannot count them
|
|
all, nor find out the account of them to perfection. I still make new
|
|
and amazing discoveries of the desperate wickedness that there is in my
|
|
own heart,"
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+17:9,10">Jer. xvii. 9, 10</A>.
|
|
|
|
<I>Who can know it? Who can understand his errors? Who can tell how
|
|
often he offends?</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+19:12">Ps. xix. 12</A>.
|
|
|
|
He finds that if God enters into judgment with him, or he with himself,
|
|
for all his thoughts, words, and actions, he is <I>not able to answer
|
|
for one of a thousand,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+9:3">Job ix. 3</A>.
|
|
|
|
This he illustrates by comparing the corruption of his own heart and
|
|
life with the corruption of the world, where he scarcely found one good
|
|
man among a thousand; nay, among all the thousand wives and concubines
|
|
which he had, he did not find <I>one good woman.</I> "Even so," says
|
|
he, "When I come to recollect and review my own thoughts, words, and
|
|
actions, and all the passages of my life past, perhaps among those that
|
|
were manly I might find one good among a thousand, and that was all;
|
|
the rest even of those had some corruption or other in them." He found
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+7:20"><I>v.</I> 20</A>)
|
|
|
|
that he had sinned even in doing good. But for those that were
|
|
effeminate, that passed in the indulgence of his pleasures, they were
|
|
all naught; in that part of his life there did not appear so much as
|
|
one of a thousand good. In our hearts and lives there appears little
|
|
good, at the best, but sometimes none at all. Doubtless this is not
|
|
intended as a censure of the female sex in general; it is probable that
|
|
there have been and are more good women than good men
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+17:4,12">Acts xvii. 4, 12</A>);
|
|
|
|
he merely alludes to his own sad experience. And perhaps there may be
|
|
this further in it: he does, in his proverbs, warn us against the
|
|
snares both of the <I>evil man</I> and of the <I>strange woman</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+2:12,16,4:14,5:3">Prov. ii. 12, 16; iv. 14; v. 3</A>);
|
|
|
|
now he had observed the ways of the <I>evil women</I> to be more
|
|
deceitful and dangerous than those of the <I>evil men,</I> that it was
|
|
more difficult to discover their frauds and elude their snares, and
|
|
therefore he compares sin to an adulteress
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+9:13">Prov. ix. 13</A>),
|
|
|
|
and perceives he can no more find out the deceitfulness of his own
|
|
heart than he can that of a strange woman, whose ways are movable, that
|
|
thou canst not know them.
|
|
|
|
[3.] He therefore runs up all the streams of actual transgression to
|
|
the fountain of original corruption. The source of all the folly and
|
|
madness that are in the world is in man's apostasy from God and his
|
|
degeneracy from his primitive rectitude
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+7:20"><I>v.</I> 20</A>):
|
|
|
|
"<I>Lo, this only have I found;</I> when I could not find out the
|
|
particulars, yet the gross account was manifest enough; it is as clear
|
|
as the sun that man is corrupted and revolted, and is not as he was
|
|
made." Observe, <I>First,</I> How man was made by the wisdom and
|
|
goodness of God: <I>God made man upright; Adam the first man,</I> so
|
|
the Chaldee. God made him, and he made him <I>upright,</I> such a one
|
|
as he should be; being made a rational creature, he was, in all
|
|
respects, such a one as a rational creature should be, <I>upright,</I>
|
|
without any irregularity; one could find no fault in him; he was
|
|
<I>upright,</I> that is, determined to God only, in opposition to the
|
|
<I>many inventions</I> which he afterwards turned aside to. Man, as he
|
|
came out of God's hands, was (as we may say) a little picture of his
|
|
Maker, who is <I>good and upright. Secondly,</I> How he was marred, and
|
|
in effect unmade, by his own folly and badness: <I>They have sought out
|
|
many inventions</I>--they, our first parents, or the whole race, all in
|
|
general and every one in particular. <I>They have sought out great
|
|
inventions</I> (so some), inventions to become great as gods
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+3:5">Gen. iii. 5</A>),
|
|
|
|
or <I>the inventions of the great ones</I> (so some), of the angels
|
|
that fell, the <I>Magnates,</I> or <I>many inventions.</I> Man, instead
|
|
of resting in what God had found for him, was for seeking to better
|
|
himself, like the prodigal that left his father's house to seek his
|
|
fortune. Instead of being for one, he was for many; instead of being
|
|
for God's institutions, he was for his own inventions. The law of his
|
|
creation would not hold him, but he would be at his own disposal and
|
|
follow his own sentiments and inclinations. <I>Vain man would be
|
|
wise,</I> wiser than his Maker; he is giddy and unsettled in his
|
|
pursuits, and therefore has <I>many inventions.</I> Those that forsake
|
|
God wander endlessly. Men's actual transgressions are multiplied.
|
|
Solomon could not find out how many they are
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+7:28"><I>v.</I> 28</A>);
|
|
|
|
but he found they were <I>very many.</I> Many kinds of sins, and those
|
|
often repeated. <I>They are more than the hairs on our heads,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+40:12">Ps. xl. 12</A>.</P>
|
|
|
|
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