Exposition of Ecclesiastes, Chapter 5 · Verse 11 – Verse 12
Verse. XI. When goods encrease, they are increas'd that eat them: and what good is there to the owners thereof, saving the beholding of them with their eyes.
Here's the vanity of all perishing treasur's. The utmost encrease of Laodicean riches, in the most fruitful exercise of a first-creation life, or first-covenant principle, makes but a heap of perishing vanities, when all's done. The right parting with all, as dung, for Ghrist's heavenly treasure, durable riches (acquirable only in his Gospel-Spirit or new-covenant-principle of everlasting righteousness) is the best, and only true improvement of all. In this Exchange, does Man receive all the fading goodness and riches of his law-life, with usury and great gain; even in Christ's Gospel-life, or Spirit. Thus 'tis, with all thorow-followers of Christ's Counsel. Christ receives, in this right improvement of his first-creation gifts, his own again with usury, and man his own also, with transcendent advantage, in God's own Life, Wisdom, Righteousness, Glory; all the everlasting things of God's Spirit of grace, for the fading vanities, perishing next to nothings, in his own Spirit of nature; the Life of the Creator, or new-creature Spirit of Christ, the living WORD and Wisdom of God, by which the Worlds were made. The final refusal of this chang, is man's changing, selling, or parting with God's Gospel-Spirit of Truth, for Satan's and his own …, his perishing vanity, his law-Spirit of nature. And this is … serving, worshipping, and loving the Creature, even himself, rather or more (yea, above and against) the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Can such ill-chusers, expect lesse then to be Cursed for ever, and perish as their own dung, that they prefer before the very Life, Righteousness, Wisdom, and Glory of God, that's never to be done away? Paul threw away this mystical dung, for the unsearchable divine and spiritual riches of Christ's Glorious person; which, when he came to be a happy possessour of, he became also the most Powerful Gospel-Preacher of; Eph. 3. 8. He that loves his own life, and the riches or Mammon thereof, litteral or mystical, in preference to God's, hates God's. Christ therefore requires the hating our own very life, at best, in love to God's, or declar's, we cannot be his disciples; Luk. 14. 26. For thus did he. Not my will, but thine be done. Not my words, but thine be spoken; The word's of thy Spirit, the Holy Ghost, that's in unchangable union of mind with thy infinite divine Spirit, and, not the dictats of my natural wisdom or understanding, the words of my Spirit. Job said, though righteous, he would not know or own his own soul, but despise or destroy, crucify his very righteous natural self or life, as dust and ashes, to God's: dung and losse (Phil. 3. 7, 8) for God's; with Paul. All true Saints think, say, and do thus, first or last. What amount all fading riches (treasur'd up by man, in the activity of faulty, or defective first-covenant principle's) unto, by the most fruitfull exercise of the restor'd righteous life of his own nature, therein, when not rich towards God, in his Spirit of grace, the second Covenant Gospel-Principle of life, desire, thought, and action? Christ himself does thus resolve his own most pertinent and concerning question, by way of instruction and warning to men; Thou fool, that hast heap'd up vast perishing treasures, in thy own enlightned, righteous nature; and art merry, confident, and at hearts-ease therein, as if happy for many years, even for ever, as possessed of what will never faile thee; this night shall thy soul be taken from thee, even this righteous life of thy living soul, and then, if thou have not the everlasting life of my quickning Spirit, and my durable riches therein, where art thou? and whose shall all those things be, which thou hast provided? none of thine, to be sure, for ever. 'Tis the true Saint, only, receivs all the good of the first-creation, transcendently advanc'd, in the second. All others, that finally refuse the second, will be excluded from it, for ever; and, have all, in the first, taken from them, too. Where are they then? They lose the riches, laid up for the ease of their own soul, soul and all, for ever, in conclusion. Here's their Doom. Christ therefore denounces wo to such first-covenant rich ones (reigning with confidence, as Kings, there, in their own righteous, clensed nature) as having receiv'd their consolation, their penny, the Praise and reward of Men, in this World. They are to have no good in the next; Luk. 6. 24. Mat. 6. 2. 5. 16. No entering there, for a rich Man, rich in the first covenant life of his own nature, and confident therein, so as to reject the true riches, of the second-covenant-life of God, in his spirit of grace, Mat. 19. 24. As to any thing of the new-creature-life and riches of God, are such, with the Laodiceans, wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked; Rev. 3. 17. They have nothing of that, about them. Yea, they loath, mortally hate all such life, riches, and God most high, himself. They'l be needs Reigning as Kings, in a Spirit, a life, Christ would not Reign in (when offer'd, Joh. 6. 15) Paul could not, might not Reign in, 1 Cor. 4. 8. Such hate that Gospel-Spirit, Christ will Reign in, with all his Saints. The Rich and Full, in First-Covenant Life and Treasur's, are confident therein, and laugh now, under the Applause, Reward and Praise of Men, as were alway's the False Prophets; Luk. 6. 24 — 26. How blanck will all such self-confident Laodiceans, look, that now reckon themselvs rich, full, encreased with goods, and needing nothing, when forc'd to find themselvs in everlasting Poverty and nakedness, needing every thing, that's ought? Litteral and mystical rich men, possess'd of nothing but perishing vanities, must needs fade away in both their wayes, as the withering grass, and falling flower thereof; Jam. 1. 11. God rejects both their false confidences. They shall not Prosper in them; Jer. 2. 37. Amidst all the mirth and jollity of both, are they bid howl and weep for the miseries that shall come upon them; Jam. 5. 1. why? why, because both trust in lying vanities, liable to rust, canker, moth-eating, thieves; in summe, to perish; yea, infallibly certain so to do, from the intrinsick perishableness of the very nature of them; v. 2, 3. And where are they both, then? This get they, by listning to Satan's Man-pleasing counsel, and rejecting Christ's, who warns men, in this great concern, to quit such, for his heavenly treasure and life, expos'd to none of these sad inconveniences; Mat. 6. 19. 20. When men heap up, in, for, and to themselvs, the said vain riches, perishing goods, so that such goods encrease, they are encreas'd that eat them. The mystical truth of this saying, is this. The inordinate lusts of man's boundless, rambling, roving Spirit (from the immortality of its being) encrease, as his riches encrease. So, he is never the neerer, yet, towards any full or final satisfaction. A bottomless desire, an unsatiable appetite, growing still bigger and wider, encreasing as the heap increases (and their sinfull dotage on, and love to the heap, encreasing with the heap) man grow's worse and worse, every way, as to his case, towards God; or, any satisfaction to himself, in all such riches. The sinful, false appetite of his immortal Spirit, after mortal riches, is the eye that's never satisfied with seeing, or with riches; the ear, never … with hearing. Ec. 1. 8. and, 4. 8. Men, after all the sad experience of man and Angel, at first, will be trying over and over, again (generation after generation) the self-same evil and unlawfull use of first-creation vanities, that, at first, gave, many Angels and all men, their fall. This, notwithstanding all the faithful warnings of the Lord, also, against this course, before and since the fall, as to the dreadfull consequents thereof. What peerless, unparallel'd folly, must this needs be? Yet, this course will men steer; this way, will they take. Former Generations of professors have took this way, follow'd such doctrin as has directed, and assured them of safety therein; and their posterity, in the same first-covenant principles, now, approve their sayings, applaud their doctrin, and follow their example; and so, also, follow them into that state of eternal darknes and death, where they shall never see light. Thus goes one generation after another, to the generation of their fathers; to the same chambers of death, with them; Psal. 49. 13. 19. They all feed on such things, only, as perish in the using; and, will, as certainly perish, for for so feeding on them. And, mean while, before the final stroke of wrath be upon them (to cut them off, for ever, and put a full period to their false mirth) are they under an utter impossibility of ever being satisfyed with the greatest possible encreases and heaps of such perishing vanities. For, they Add, or afford nothing, no good to the Owners thereof, saving the beholding of them with their Eyes. There's no durable, truly satisfying good in them, to man's Immortal Spirit. The mystical Stomach, Thirst, Hunger, or Appetite and desire thereof, can never be satisfyed, quenched or answer'd, thereby; but, only cozen'd, whil'd off, and amus'd with the self-pleasing entertainments of this World, in a Fools-Paradise of vanities. The encreasing vain desires, after such encreasingvain desirables, frustrat's and deprives the Possessor, still, still, of any good or benefit by them, save the beholding them with his Eyes, which are never satisfyed with seeing them. So is man, in a meer maze and labyrinth of self-tormenting disquietment, in getting, heaping up, keeping, and, at last, inevitably losing all, again; on which, he will be left in a Bed of sorrow, in Eternal Darkness, Want, Nakedness and Death, under the inflictions of final Wrath, for such madness and folly; of which, fairly and oft warn'd, in his day, on Earth. All his present joy, delight, laughter, pleasure, in seeing his heap of vanities, is but delusive and destructive to him. All amounts but to an encrease of vanity, in desires and desirables; and what's man the better? Eccl. 6. 11. Yea, how much still the worse? worse and worse. The true living Bread, the Waters of …, the never perishing Meat and Cloathing, Christ's Gospel-Spirit of everlasting righteousness, brings with it, answer all man's wants, and make up a true blessedness to him, for ever. True Saints encrease with the encreases of God, in his never-perishing Life and Riches. They are Co-heirs with Christ, of God (Rom. 8. 17.) feeding on (and enjoying) the very divine Glory, shining forth upon them, in favour and love, for evermore.
Vers. XII. The sleep of a labouring Man is sweet, whether he eat little or much: but the abundance (Arab. covetousness) of the Rich, will not suffer him to sleep.
First, to the litteral sense. Man, in his civil Capacity and lawfull Calling in this World, diligently performing his Duty, and referring the issue and success of his labours, to Providence (without any carking solicitud's, or murmuring, repining thoughts, against God, when cross'd in his expectations, and disappointed of his hopes) has rest and quiet to himself, therein. Such a one, however low in outward Riches, Solomon preferr's, as to outward worldly Happiness, before the litteral covetous rich man, that (from excessive, inordinate Love to such Wealth) robb's and deprives himself of all right comfort therein. His solicitous, self-tormenting thoughtfulness, for getting and keeping such Wealth; and then, fear of losing all, again (all which the other is freed from) render him a very foreign. His abundance of Riches fills his Heart with abundance of trouble and disquiet (as well as his Coffers, with Silver) which will not suffer him to rest or sleep. Through this vanity, under the litteral first-creation Sun, Solomon saw such Riches, downright hurtfull to the Owners thereof, instead of being of any benefit or advantage to them. Semblably, the inward Riches of man's Spirit (under the mystical first-creation Sun; the enlightning, enlivening, fructifying influence of Christ, as a fleshly Bride-groom, in his first-covenant Spirit, Single, upon man's nature) Laodicean Treasures, heaped up and trusted in, and to, by man, for true Happiness, produce the same restlesness and disquiet to him. Full of solicitud's is he, in getting and keeping, and of Fears, about losing all, again; as the litteral covetous rich man is. Is there not a cause for such Jealousies and Fears? All's but a vain shew, in Holy Flesh, a first-covenant Spirit of bondage and fear, about his known perishing vanities; refusing Christ's convincingly shew'd and offer'd durable Riches and true Freedom, even the glorious Liberty of the Sons of God, in his Gospel-Spirit, or perfect Law of Liberty, to good only; and that good, unchangable. That's Freedom indeed; to purpose; Heb. 2. 15. 2 Cor. 3. 17. Joh. 8. 32. 36. Jam. 1. 25. and 2. 12. The Truth (Christ's Gospel-Spirit of Truth) makes us Christ's true freemen, though, in letter, man's Servants; 1 Cor. 7. 22. And, the Master, that's free, in letter, if effectually call'd by Christ into his heavenly Life of true freedom, is his Servant. Christ's new-covenant Law, or Gospel-Spirit of Life, by its death-work on our old or first-covenant law-Spirit of Sin, Bondage, Enmity, and Death, sets us free from Sin and Death (Rom. 8. 2.) all vain Trouble, Bondage, and Fear. He that's so dead, is freed from Sin (Rom. 6. 7.) ceases, for ever, from it; 1 Pet. 4. 1.