Exposition of Ecclesiastes, Chapter 4 · Verse 5
Vers. V. The Fool foldeth his Hands together, and Eateth his own Flesh.
The Fool here, is a Man, that, through wilfull Folly, makes no right use of his first-Creation Talent of light or life, restor'd by the Redeemer. A Character of this Fool, have we; Prov. 6. 9-11. How long wilt thou sleep, O Sluggard? Yet a little Sleep, a little Slumber, a little folding of the hands to Sleep. So shall Poverty and want come upon thee, as an Armed Man; irresistibly. And, Prov. 24. 30-34; The Field of the Slothful is all grown over with Thorns and Nettles: The Stone Wall thereof, broken down; &c. A remiss, negligent, slothful person, failing in his outward call, and civil capacity, brings these inconveniences upon himself, which render him miserable in himself, and despicable to others. The deep mystical truth of this, we find in the Parable of the Talents; to wit, Christs several distributions to Men, in restor'd first-Creation-Life. Mat. 25. 14-30. He requires a diligent improvement of all. This was answer'd, by them that receiv'd the five, and the two Talents. They doubled them. So, as good and faithful Servants, are bid enter into the Joy of their Lord. But, he that received the one Talent, hid it in the Earth. This is the Fool, Solomon meanes. His Talent was a Measure of restor'd first-Covenant Light and Life. This Light tells him what he should do: And this Life furnishes him with Power, to do it. He is not, therein, to live to himself; but, to him that died (or put that State to death, in himself, to purchase and recover that life, again) for him; 2 Cor. 5. 14, 15. This is done, by our giving it up again, in Sacrifice to God, as he did; the only way, to come at that Life, above all death, which he raised our nature into, in himself. This way, did the five, and two-Talented Servants, improve their Talents. And, he that had but one, knew he ought so to have done; by putting his Mony to the Exchangers. Christ Condemn's this wicked and slothful Servant, out of his own Mouth; that, knowing he Reap'd where he Sow'd not; and that to receive his own again, would not serve his turn; ought, by Exchang to bring it to him, with advantage, in Usury, as the other two did. He knew, he had receiv'd it, on the same terms, with the other two; to improve it, by a faithful and fruitful exercise of it, in its own activity and way, for a season; living therein, to him that died to Purchase it for him; and then, to cease from that way of improving it (as call'd and warn'd, to do) in order, to receive, in way of Exchange, a Gospel-Principle of Everlasting Righteousness, and Fruitfulness to God. This Foolish, Slothful Servant neglected both duties; the improving his restor'd Law-Principle, in its own activity and way; as also, the obedient Exchang of it, by death, for a Gospel-one: Or, if he perform'd the former; yet, neglecting the latter, he fall's under the same Condemnation, as if he had fail'd in both. If he indulg himself, and follow his own evil Concupiscence, into the enormous Practices of the corrupt Spirit of nature; or, in preferring the most fruitful, righteous exercise of his enlight'ned spirit, to the Gospel-spirit of Grace; he is gone, as unpardonably Criminal. By either of these Rebellious ways, he comes to the same dreadful conclusion, as justly and unanswerably charg'd with hiding his Talent in the Earth. Not using it at all, to Suppress and Resist the vile affections of his corrupt Spirit of nature; or, evilly using it, in Preference and Opposition to the spirit of Grace, and Everlasting Righteous Life of God, brings him to the same point. From both, or either of these Follies, comes his whole person to be a Mystical Field or Vineyard, all over-grown with Thorns and Nettles, and to have the stone-wall (or Fence) thereof, broken down. God puts it to such a fleshly Israel themselvs, to judg, what they can desire he should do for them, that he has not done; Isai. 5. 1-7. God spared not his own Son, but delivered him up to Death, for us all. That Son spared not his own natural Life, at best, but laid it down, of himself, for us. What unpardonable folly then, must it be, for any to keep up the shat-ter'd, Sinning Life of their own Spirit, in preference to the everlasting righteous Life of God's? But, so far are they, after all, done and said, from yielding to the Exchang-Traffick of old for new-Creation Principles, that they signally hate and Oppress those that do. Christ gathers out the Stones, Thorns and Weeds, found in Man's Barren, Wilderness-State of Polluted, fallen nature; cleanses him from filth of Flesh, the Pollutions of his worldly State; and then, requires and warns him, not to return to his Old Sins therein, with the Dog to the Vomit; Nor commit new and more dangerous ones, under all the righteousness thereof, in despite to his Spirit of Grace, the only infallible Principle of every truly right work, which would secure men from an unpardonable return to their old, or being guilty of the said new Sins. On returning to their old, or committing the said new Sins, the stone-Wall is broken down, and they become a ruinated heap, a Barren, Desolate, Howling Wilderness, a Habitation of Dragons, Devils, and Wild Beasts, or Bestial Lusts; worse then before cleans'd and restor'd; as now, unchangably so; 2 Pet. 2. 20-22. By observing what, other Sluggards and Apostat's have thus come to, ought they, with Solomon, to receive Instruction, and avoid the like evils of Sin and Punishment. Christ's restoring them into the righteous, cleansed nature of Man, does cleer them, for a season, and in degree, from Thorns, Nettles and Brambles: But, they are yet but Fallow Field, bring forth no Fruits to God, till the Plow of the Cross go so deep, as to fetch up that very Life and Tree of good and evil, by the Roots, to make way for quickning up in them, the incorruptible Seed of a new Life, in which only they can so do. When, by following Spiritual Conviction Light, for a season, they ran well (Gal. 5. 7.) putting their hand, with God's, to the Plow of the Cross (to carry on such mortifying-work on their renewed Earth, or Earthly State) by looking back, and turning from such Husbandry on themselvs, become they Apostat's, unfit for the Kingdom of God. Such looking back, is a Repentance (or chang of mind) unto death; which they can never truly Repent of, or chang back again, from. This turns them into a Mystical Sodom. As Bewitch'd with their Holy Flesh, a Glory to be done away; they Recant, fly back from, and quit Christ's Holy Spirit; Gal. 3. 1-3. Such perswasion comes not of God, that call's them forward, toward Salvation; but of Satan, that call's them back again, to Destruction; Gal. 5. 8. So, a Spirit of unchangable Enmity to God becom's the principle of all their Desire, Thought, Life, Word, and Action; a Root of bitterness against God, Christ, all Spiritual Saints and Truths. This renders their Earth, or earthly, natural State, not only nigh unto Cursing, but for ever Accursed, without Remedy or Chang. Obedient yielding to the declar'd Methods of God's Wisdom, … Salvation, is the only way to prevent all this mischief. From a contrary demeanour, all the good, benefit, or comfort of their restor'd natural Talent, is taken from them, which the right Users and Improvers of, Receive again with Usury and great gain, in another, a new-Creation Life. In this sense, is the Talent taken from the Wicked, Slothful Servant, and given to the true Spiritual Sons of God. These go into Lise Eternal; and the other, into outer Darkness, where shall be Weeping and Gnashing of Teeth. Thus, Eternal Poverty (Wo, and Misery) comes upon such Sluggards, as an Armed Man.
They lose all the fading good, they once had; and are, for ever, excluded from the unchangable goodness, once offer'd them. This, come Sluggards, to. They fold their Hands together, and Eat their own Flesh. In love to their own Flesh (or sleshly, natural State, and Food or things thereof, and Hatred to God, and his Spirit) they chuse it, as turn'd into unchangable Enmity to God. So become they sit Fewel for his Unquenchable Wrath. God, in just Judgment, gives them up to Satan's strong Delusion, and their own mad and wilful choice. So, all concurr, on one account or other, to destroy them, for ever. All this, because they refus'd to submit to such a Temporary Destruction of their Flesh (or fleshly nature and life) under the kindlings of the same Mystical Fire of the eternal, Gospel-Spirit (Heb. 9. 14.) Christ kindled upon it, at best, in himself (Luk. 12. 49.) as their influencing and Meritorious Pattern. They pitty, spare, and save their Fleshly Life of nature, in their own will, and way, after their own Heart, (as Satan, by Peter, would have perswaded Christ himself) and so, lose it, and Perish for ever; Mat. 16. 21-26. By refusing to have it rightly and most advantageously Destroy'd, by the … of the Cross, in Sacrifice to God; they do Destroy it, and so, themselvs, for ever. They lose their own Soul, for ever, after all their conceited worldly gain, in Rebelliously keeping up their Fading life, with the Perishing Food, Moth-eaten Clothing or Filthy Raggs (their best Righteousnesses are no better, Isai. 64. 6.) and Canker'd, Rusty Riches, Mystical Gold and Silver, their Laodicean Treasures, heap'd up in the Fruitful Exercise of their restor'd nature, in a Righteous first-Covenant Life. For this most Criminal, Sacrilegious robbing God of his Mystical Tithes and Offrings (Mal. 3. 8.) by keeping up the Life and Activity of nature, as the fit Sacrificing Priest (that, God requires, by Passive Obedience, to become the Sacrifice to him) do they Provoke him to kindle a sire within (as well as upon) them. He will set up his Spiritual-Conviction-Light, in their Spirits, Hearts, and Conscicnces, by which they shall everlastingly be kept in the forced sight of what they had bin fairly warn'd about (Mat. 6. 19, 20. Luk. 12. 33.) in their Mortal day and State, on Earth; that all they trusted in, was liable to Moth-eating, Cankers, Rust, and Thievs; and so, in conclusion, would (as to all the Goodness and Comfort thereof) Vanish, and Perish for ever, as Dung. This very Corruption, Rust, and Canker, comming upon their Riches (all they are, or have) will be a Witness against them, for their Madness and Folly, and Eat their Flesh as Fire; Jam. 5. 1-3. They refuse the kindly kindlings of the Fire of the Spirit, or Cross of Christ upon them, to eat up their Flesh, as Fire eat's Wood, by Consuming it, in Sacrifice to God. He therefore kindles it in, as well as upon them, in Final Wrath, as a never dying Worm in their Conscience, a Fire that never shall be quenched; Mark 9. 44. 46. 48. Thus, shall Incorrigible Sinners, or Fools, find that, in and about them, in which they'l become Eaters of their own Flesh, or fleshly nature, without ever such a Consuming it, as Annihilation would amount unto; the only death, they'l ever seek, but never find.