The Book of Ecclesiastes and Song of Solomon Paraphrased, Text and paraphrase 1 · Chapter 7
CHAP. VII.
ARGUMENT.
Having diſcourſed, in the foregoing part of this Book, of the vain courſes men take to make themſelves happy; be now ſeems to proceed to preſcribe the beſt remedies that can be found, against that vanity to which we are ſubject: by ſetting down many wiſe Precepts for our direction, and conduct, ſupport, and comfort in a troubleſome World. Where, it is confeſſed that, our happineſs can be but imperfect; yet ſo much we may attain as to be well ſatisfied, and not vex our ſelves that we cannot make things more certain and constant; nor diſpoſe men to be more juſt and equal to us than they are.
And if we examine the following Particulars, we ſhall find they are comprehended in this General Direction; the change of our mind, thoughts and opinions: which must be quite altered; ſo that thoſe things which now look like Paradoxes, must be judged the greatest Wiſdom. Such are all the Doctrines that begin this Chapter (quite oppoſite to the common Opinions of the World) that a good name is to be preferred before precious Ointment, and the day of ones death, before ones birth-day: mourning before feaſting; ſadneſs before laughter; rebukes before commendations; the end of a thing before the beginning of it; a patient ſuffering ſpirit, before a ſtout haughty mind; Wiſdom before riches, &c. Theſe and ſuch like are the Maxims of true Wiſdom and Piety, which muſt be learnt; in order to the ſettlement of our minds in peace and tranquility: notwithſtanding the vanity that is in all things.
1. A Good name is better than precious ointment; and the day of death than the day of ones birth.
1. BUT, though there be ſuch uncertainty in all other things, yet a Good Name, which a man gets by a vertuous life, is laſting and durable: And as the Conſcience of well-doing gives a greater pleaſure to the mind for the preſent, than the moſt fragrant Ointment can do to the ſenſes of voluptuous men, ſo the fame of it will remain after he is dead; and he will ſtill live in a good report, when all thoſe ſenſual joys expire, like the vapour of the Ointment, which is ſoon diſperſed and loſt after it is poured out: And therefore if we would be happy, we ought to order our life in ſuch a manner, that Death, which Fools and wicked men fear, may be welcome to us; and only let us out of the troubles, into which we are brought at our birth. See Annot. [a].
2. ¶ It is better to go to the houſe of mourning, than to go to the houſe of feaſting; for that is the end of all men, and the living will lay it to his heart.
2. And, that it may befriend us, it is our Wiſdom to think often of it; and conſequently, chuſe rather to converſe with things that will make us ſerious, than with thoſe which will make us merry: to go, for inſtance, into the Company of thoſe, who are mourning for the dead, rather than of thoſe, who are feaſting for joy that a Child is born into the World: For in the midſt of thoſe pleaſures we are apt to be diſſolute and to forget our ſelves: but that ſad ſpectacle enclines us naturally to be conſiderate, and diſpoſes our mind to humility, modeſty, gentleneſs, ſobriety and charity: when, in one we ſee the fate of all; and we follow him to his Grave, who a little while agone, perhaps, was as vigorous and ſtrong as our ſelves, See Annot. [b].
3. Sorrow is better than laughter: for by the ſadneſs of the countenance the heart is made better.
3. Sadneſs, therefore, and ſorrow, is much more profitable for us than mirth and jollity (as we ſee in thoſe ſevere and ſtern rebukes, which make men ſorrowful for their faults) becauſe that grief which makes a man look ſadly, whether it be for his own ſins, or other mens calamities, is apt to do his Soul good; by giving him a right underſtanding of God, and of himſelf, and of all things elſe. See Annot. [c].
4. The heart of the wiſe is in the houſe of mourning; but the heart of fools is in the houſe of mirth.
4. Whence it is, that Wiſe men affect to think of ſuch things, when they do not ſee them, as ſhow them how vain all our worldly enjoyments are: but Fools ſeek all occaſions to put by ſuch thoughts, and to divert themſelves with merriment and pleaſure. See Annot. [d].
5. It is better to hear the rebuke of the wiſe, than for a man to hear the ſong of fools.
5. And he that would be in the number of theſe wiſe men, muſt look upon this as one of the firſt ſteps towards it, to lend an obedient ear unto the reproofs of him who is truly wiſe and vertuous: which, though never ſo ſharp and rough are to be infinitely preferred before the ſmooth praiſes and commendations of a great many Fools? nay, ought to ſound more gratefully in our ears, than the moſt delicious Muſick, Songs and Jeſts, of all the merry Companions in the World. See Annot. [e].
6. For as the crackling of thorns under a pot, ſo is the laughter of the fool: this alſo is vanity.
6. Theſe jolly Fellows indeed make a great noiſe and ſhow; as if they were the only men that enjoy this World: but alas! their mirth and joy is but for a ſpurt, and then ends in heavineſs: like the crackling of Thorns, which ſometimes blaze under a Pot, as if they gave a mighty heat; but leave the Water in it, as cold as they found it.
All there jollity therefore is mere vanity. See Annot. [f].
7. ¶ Surely oppreſſion maketh a wiſe man mad, and a gift deſtroyeth the heart.
7. And there is the greater need to be well inſtructed, and therefore to hearken to the wiſe (v. 5.) becauſe there are other things beſides vain pleaſures and flatteries, to diſturb and unſettle our minds if we be not well fortified againſt them. For the better any man is, the more he is in danger to ſuffer from ſlanderers, Revilers, and all ſorts of injurious perſons: whoſe violence ſometime is ſo great, that unleſs a man be provided with more than humane Wiſdom (and it be deeply rooted in his heart) it will not only miſerably diſquier, but even diſtract him. Nor is this his only danger; but that Power and Authority, which raiſes him above the former, may expoſe him to another; unleſs he be armed with great integrity: for his mind may be corrupted by Gifts and Preſents to do injuſtice unto others; which he hates ſhould be done to himſelf. See Annot. [g].
8. Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof: and the patient in ſpirit is better than the proud in ſpirit.
8. And he will be the better able to reſiſt them both, who is ſo wiſe as to look, not merely to the beginning of them, but attend to their concluſion: For that which ſeems grievous at the firſt appearance, in the iſſue proves very advantageous; and on the contrary, that which promiſes fair at firſt hath a deadly farewel with it; and therefore it is much better to endure patiently, and humbly wait to ſee the iſſue, than to be provoked by pride and diſdain, haſtily to precipitate events; for he that ſcorns to wait and attend upon the leiſurely progreſſions of things, commonly undoes himſelf and his Affairs, by his fierce and violent attempts preſently to compaſs his deſires. See Annot. [h].
9. Be not haſty in thy ſpirit to be angry: for anger reſteth in the boſom of fools.
9. It is another Point therefore of that Wiſdom, which muſt make us happy, to repreſs the motions of anger that we ſeel in our ſelves, and not ſuffer them, without great deliberation, to have any effect: for anger is an enemy to counſel and advice, and is indeed the property of Fools; who, out of weakneſs of mind, and ſhortneſs of thoughts, are familiarly tranſported with it, upon the ſlighteſt cauſes; and not eaſily appeaſed again, as wiſe men are when they chance to be incenſed.
10. Say not thou, What is the cauſe that the former days were better than theſe? for thou doſt not enquire wiſely concerning this.
10. It is Wiſdom alſo to correct in our ſelves, that complaining humour, which is apt to be ever finding fault with the preſent times, and commending the foregoing Ages, as far better and happier than the preſent. For perhaps it is not true; and thus much is certain, that he is fooliſhly inconſiderate, who imagines, that then there was no evil, and that now there is no good: or if it be true that there was more good in thoſe times, let us not murmur and repine, asking why we are caſt into a troubleſome Age, full of oppreſſion, ſuppoſe, and violence and wrong (v. 7.) but rather ſubmit to the Providence of God; conſidering, that there is no Age ſo bad, as to hinder us (which is the principal point of Wiſdom) from being good: and therefore let us do our Duty; believing God hath ſuch reaſon for ſuffering the times to be as they are, that we have no reaſon to quarrel at them; or to call in Queſtion his Wiſdom, Goodneſs or Juſtice. See Annot. [i].
11. ¶ Wiſdom is good with an inheritance: and by it there is profit to them that ſee the ſun.
11. Yet do not think that Wiſdom or Vertue conſiſts in deſpiſing Riches; but only, in uſing them well when we have them, and in being contented without them; for as we cannot be happy by Riches alone, without Wiſdom, ſo we cannot be compleatly happy with Wiſdom alone, without Riches: For he hath a vaſt advantage to do good every way, who is Rich as well as wiſe; it giving him an authority, even to ſpeak more freely than other men; and making what he ſpeaks to be more regarded: but, of the two, Wiſdom and Vertue muſt alway be preferred; which can do greater things, and beſtow nobler benefits upon Mankind, than Treaſures alone can do. See Annot. [k].
12. For wiſdom is a defence, and money is a defence: but the excellency of knowledge is, that wiſdom giveth life to them that have it.
12. For as Wiſdom, for inſtance, contrives many ways, whereby a man may innocently defend himſelf from danger; ſo can Money ofttimes purchaſe his protection and ſafety: but herein is the preheminence of Wiſdom, that when neither of them can ſhelter a man, nor ſtave off the calamity that invades him, it marvellouſly ſupports, revives, and comforts the Souls of thoſe who are Owners of it, under all the evils, which it could not help them, by honeſt means, to avoid. See Annot. [l].
13. Conſider the work of God: for who can make that ſtraight which he hath made crooked?
13. And in order to it, the higheſt Piece of Wiſdom is, to live in a ſerious ſenſe of the Sovereign Power of God; and to conſider, that as he hath ſettled all things in Heaven and Earth, in an unchangeable courſe, ſo nothing comes to paſs without his Providence: with which it is in vain to ſtruggle, when he is pleaſed either to croſs us in any of our private deſigns; or to ſend any publick calamity, which by all our Art and Power we can neither avoid, nor remedy. See Annot. [m].
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.
14. No, we ought rather to accommodate our ſelves to the preſent ſtate of things; and when we are in proſperity, to enjoy God's Bleſſings cheerfully, with thankful and charitable hearts; but ſo ſoberly alſo, as not forgetting that affliction may come: and when it doth, let us take it patiently, conſidering, among other things, that there may be a change to a better condition again: For as both the one and the other come from God, ſo he hath ordered they ſhould have their turns, in ſuch due ſeaſon, and balanced one with the other with ſuch exactneſs, that the meaneſt man hath no reaſon to complain of him; nor the greateſt to fanſie himſelf more than a man; who cannot invent any means, to diſpoſe things otherwiſe, much leſs, better, than God hath done. See Annot. [m].
15. All things have I ſeen in the days of my vanity: there is a juſt man that periſheth in his righteouſneſs, and there is a wicked man that prolongeth his life in his wickedneſs.
15. I know what may be objected to this (having, all my life long, made Obſervations upon all manner of things, in this troubleſome World) and it ſeems very hard that a juſt man's integrity, ſhould not be able to preſerve him; but he is therefore, perhaps, deſtroyed, becauſe he is better than others; when a wicked man eſcapes, nay is countenanced and encouraged; or ſuffered to prolong his days in (and perhaps by) his wickedneſs) See Annot. [n].
16. Be not righteous overmuch, neither make thy ſelf over-wiſe: why ſhouldeſt thou deſtroy thy ſelf?
16. But beſides other things which may be replied to this (as that good men are ſometimes removed from, and wicked reſerved unto, future evils) it muſt be noted alſo, that ſome pious men are more ſtrict and rigid than they need, and not ſo prudent as they ought to be; but unneceſſarily expoſe themſelves to danger: And therefore it is good advice, in order to a ſafe and quiet paſſage through this life, to be temperate in thy zeal, and not to over-do; either by extending thy own Duty beyond the Divine Commandment; or by correcting the inveterate vices of others, and oppoſing the vulgar Opinions, too ſeverely or unſeaſonably; whereby they are only exaſperated and enraged, but not at all amended: for why ſhould a man bring a miſchief upon himſelf, without any benefit unto others? See Annot. [n].
17. Be not overmuch wicked, neither be thou fooliſh: why ſhouldeſt thou die before thy time.
17. And on the other ſide, let not impunity tempt any man to preſume to grow enormouſly wicked; and ſo fooliſh as to embrace and follow the lewdeſt Opinions: for this may awaken the publick Juſtice againſt him, even for the common ſafety; or the Divine vengeance, nay his own exceſſive wickedneſs, may cut him off, before he come to the natural term of his life. See Annot. [o].
18. It is 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.
18. This Advice is ſo profitable, that he who loves himſelf will not only apprehend it, but take faſt hold of it and diligently obſerve it; never departing from either part of it, but while he wiſely manages himſelf to decline dangers, honeſtly and faithfully perform his Duty: for nothing can do a man ſuch ſervice in this, as a true fear of offending the Divine Majeſty; which will preſerve him both from raſh and heady forwardneſs, and from conſulting merely his own private ſafety and intereſt. See Annot. [p].
19. Wiſdom ſtrengtheneth the wiſe, more than ten mighty men which are in the city.
19. And this pious prudence, which proceeds from the fear of God, will be a ſtronger Guard and ſecurity, to him who is indued with it, both againſt all inward fears and all outward dangers, than a multitude of valiant Commanders, and all their Troops are, to defend a City, when it is beſieged by its Enemies. See Annot. [p].
20. For there is not a juſt man upon earth, that doeth good and ſinneth not.
20. Though this muſt always be underſtood, when we thus diſcourſe that no man is either ſo perfectly wiſe, or completely vertuous, as never to miſtake and commit a fault; but ſometimes the beſt of us may ſlip into a ſin, notwithſtanding all our caution and care; and thereby fall into danger. See Annot. [q].
21. Alſo take no heed unto all words that are ſpoken; leſt thou hear thy ſervant curſe thee.
21. The conſideration of which frailty of Mankind, is uſeful many ways; not only to abate our ſeverity in cenſuring or chaſtiſing publick Offenders, but to teach us gentleneſs towards thoſe, who do us private injuries: and therefore not to regard (for inſtance) every word that is ſpoken againſt us, but rather to diſſemble our knowledge of it; firſt, becauſe otherwiſe we ſhall have no quiet; for perhaps we may chance to overhear our own Domeſticks ſpeaking ſlightly of us; which we may eaſily paſs by and overlook, but cannot take notice of without great diſturbance. See Annot. [r].
22. For often-times alſo thine own heart knoweth, that thou thy ſelf likewiſe haſt curſed others.
22. And ſecondly, Becauſe if thou examineſt thy own life, thou wilt find this fault is ſo incident to humane Nature, that thou thy ſelf perhaps haſt been guilty of it many a time; and done as much by others, that are thy Betters, as thy Servant doth by thee.
23. ¶ All this have I proved by wiſdom: I ſaid, I will be wiſe, but it was far from me.
23. For my part, I cannot exempt my ſelf from the guilt of great errours: for though I have not only ſtudied to be wiſe and vertuous, but made a tryal of the excellence of all theſe Rules, which I have now delivered; and reſolved alſo that I would ſtrictly obſerve them, and never, in the leaſt, ſwerve from them; yet, alaſs! I fell far ſhort of theſe holy purpoſes. See Annot. [ſ].
24. That which is far off, and exceeding deep, who can find it out?
24. That which I have done already, in time paſt, is far from the Wiſdom, whereby I intended to have acted; and who can tell, when he once ſinks below himſelf, how much deeper and deeper he ſhall be plunged in ſin, till he cannot find his, way out again?
25. I applied mine heart to know, and to ſearch, and to ſeek out wiſdom, and the reaſon of things, and to know the wickedneſs of folly, even of fooliſhneſs and madneſs:
25. Notwithſtanding which I did not ceaſe my endeavours, but diligently looked every where, and viewed every Corner, even of my heart; making the moſt exquiſite ſearch after the ſureſt means to attain that Wiſdom and Vertue, which I deſired and laboured for above all things; and to be ſettled, upon firm Gounds, in my holy reſolutions: for which end, I likewiſe endeavoured to underſtand, what is the very height of folly and wickedneſs; even that wickedneſs which beſots a mans mind, nay turns his brain; and not only infatuates him, but makes him act as if he were diſtracted.
26. And I find more bitter than death the woman whoſe beart is ſnares and nets, and her hands as hands: whoſo pleaſeth God, ſhall eſcape from her, but the ſinner ſhall be taken by her.
26. And I found at laſt, that nothing ſo deſtroys a mans underſtanding, nothing leads him into ſo many dangerous errours, and makes him quite forget himſelf, as that filthy luſt which carries him to a Harlot; who brings him into ſo many grievous miſchiefs, that he had better die than be acquainted with her: for ſhe is made up of wicked Arts and wily devices, and doth nothing but contrive how to inſnare and intangle him, that approaches her; whom ſhe holds ſo faſt by her charms, that he remains her Priſoners for ever, without a wonderful Grace to deliver him: which he hath little reaſon to expect, when he conſiders, that it is commonly ſome other great offences againſt God, that betray him into theſe Snares; from which, he who approves himſelf ſincerely unto God, finds ſo much favour with Him, as to be preſerved. See Annot. [t].
27. Behold, this have I found (ſaith the preacher) counting one by one, to find out the account:
27. Behold then the reſult of my moſt ſerious thoughts, which I publickly proclaim to all, and would have it diligently obſerved; that, having diſtinctly conſidered all things, one by one, I find nothing ſo dangerous (and therefore nothing ſo much to be avoided by him, that would be ſtedfaſtly wiſe and good, v. 23.) as the converſation of Women; eſpecially thoſe that are of a lewd inclination.
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.
28. And where to meet with any of them, with whom it is ſafe to have Society, I am ſtill to ſeek, though very deſirous to find: for though here and there I have found a truly honeſt Man, among thoſe multitudes that attend upon me in my Court, yet I cannot ſay that among all my Acquaintance of the other Sex (and I have a great many, 1 King. XI. 1.) I have met with ſo much as one, that is what a Woman ſhould be; modeſt, plain-hearted, humble, ſincerely vertuous, without guile, hypocriſie and diſſimulation. See Annot. [u].
29. Lo, this onelyonly have I found, that God hath made man upright; but they have ſought out many inventions.
29. Only obſerve this, that I do not herein accuſe (far be it from me) the Creator of the World; for I am aſſured of nothing more than this, That, as God made all other things very good in their ſeveral kinds, ſo, he made both Men and Women in perfect integrity; with a clear underſtanding to judge aright, and with an honeſt will, inclined to do accordingly; preſcribing them alſo no other Rule of life, but ſuch as was juſt and good: but they, affecting to be greater than God intended, and to have more liberty than He allowed, raiſed ſcruples and doubts, queſtions and diſputes about their Duty; inventing many ways to ſhift it off; and ſo depraved themſelves, by following their own vain fancies, and falſe reaſonings, rather than his bleſſed Will. See Annot. [x].