Exposition of Ecclesiastes, Chapter 4 · Verse 14 – Verse 15
Vers. XIV. For, out of Prison he cometh to Reign (Heb. Out of the House of Bond-Men, or Bondage, he goes forth to Reign) Whereas also, he that is Born in his Kingdom, becometh. Poor.
The true Saint (finding the Land of his Nativity, a narrow, strait'ned place; the Life of his own nature, in the Image of the earthy, at best, to be but a State of Enmity, Bondage, and death) come's out of this his own Mystical Countrey, and Father Adam's House, or natural State, by a Holy death, to reign, in another, Spiritual, more excellent Life. He find's his own Spirit of nature, in whatever variety of condition, a State of Bondage, or House of Bond-Men; a Prison, a deep, dark Dungeon, a miery Pit of filth and corruption (filth of flesh or spirit, litteral or Mystical Sodomy, or both) out of which, by the death thereof, he find's it his unspeakable advantage, to Ascend, come, or be brought forth, into a larg place, in a Life, above all death, to Reign; whereas the old foolish King, who will no more be admonish'd (hear of the Cross, or death-Doctrin of Christ's Gospel-Spirit, on the restor'd Law-Life of his own, wherein he sets up his Kingdom) becometh Poor. He is, even now, in this World, by Christ, and awak'ned Saints, seen to be Miserable, Poor, Blind, and Naked, as Happy, Rich, Cleer-sighted, and Well-cloathed, as he think's himself. He will find this too true, at last, in eternal Poverty, Darkness, Nakedness, and Death. Here are the exceeding different Conclusions, they come to; even the old foolish King (in the birth of a first-Covenant Life, fixing himself there, in unchangable Enmity to God and the second, the incorrigible first-Creation sinner) and the poor wise Child, broken and undone, as to all the fading Life, Riches, Wisdom, and Glory of his own nature, and so becoming a truly reigning new-Creation Saint, in the spirit of Grace, the reigning, Gospel-Principle. That restor'd natural State, which the old foolish King sets up in, as his Palace, the House of his Kingdom, to reign in; the poor wise child, find's to be a Prison, and hasten's out of it, as a Spirit of Bondage and Enmity, into the true Palace-Light and Glorious Liberty of the Sons of God, whom the Son mak's free indeed. Where the Spirit of the Lord becom's the principle of Life and action, there is true liberty. Man's freedom or freewill, at best, is but a Liberty in Word, Figure, Letter, Shadow; not in deed, and in truth. No true freedom, sure, in a Spirit of Bondage, and Enmity to God; a Spirit, that's in Union with World and Devil, as the spirit of nature is, in all mankind, corrupt or righteous: Yea, so far as uncrucifi'd, even in the awak'ned Spiritual Saint, himself; Ro. 7. and Gal. 5. 17. That renew'd natural State, the old foolish King make's his Palace, will prove his everlasting prison and dungeon of darkness and death, in which he will be shut up for ever, as the evil Angels in their narrow Angelical nature. All of them shall be dealt with, as unchangable Enemies of God (and that Heavenly Sanctuary-Spirit, that's his true resting place, and the everlasting habitation of blessed Angels and Saints) in Chains of everlasting darkness, in which, reserv'd to the Judgment of the great day. The unpardonable sin of Men and Angels, is the self-same; even a fix'd Enmity against the Holy Ghost, God's Gospel-spirit, or Heavenly Sanctuary, convincingly shewed and offered to them all. They were all Created perfect in their own natures, Humane and Angelical (Ezek. 28. 15.) and in Obedient Subjection to the Gospel-Spirit, in the Light of it. But, they soon hated that Life, turned from the Light that shew'd it them; and this was their Apostasy. All this, from an evil self-love to the fading Life, Wisdom, and Glory of their own nature, which they chose to set up in, in a known contrariety to the reveal'd mind of God, and unchangable Enmity to his Spirit of Grace, the very Gospel-High-Priest of God, the true Melchisedec, by whose hand, they ought all to have given up that selfish life, in Sacrifice to God. So, become they all, Mystical Sodomit's; guilty of all the highest and most Criminal, Mystical, Spiritual Wickednesses, Uncleanesses, and abominable Idolatries. God, in Faithfulness, Favour, and Love to his Saints, Plagu's and Chasten's this Rebellious Spirit of nature, this Carnal mind of Enmity, in them; while he gives more then Heart can wish, to it, in-Enemies, to their final ruin; Heb. 12. 5-8. Psal. 73. 7. 14. God's giving the old doting Kings, their Hearts desire, and more, is a sore and heavy Judgment on them, though they take it for a great favour, and Token of his Love to them. Desolation, and an utter consuming of them with Terrors, the true Saint certainly foresees, to be the eternal issue of all their Temporal flourish and Prosperity; v. 18, 19. All, the old foolish King dotes on, the poor wise Child cast's away as Dung. So foolish are the old Mystical Kings, and also litteral Heathen Kings of this World, as to bandy together against the Lord and his anointed; as if hopeful to prevail against the infinite Divine Lord, and his Anointed King Jesus, with his Saints and Followers. Their design is, to break their Bands a sunder, and cast away from them all their Cords of restraint upon them. He that sits in Heaven, laugh's at all these foolish Kings. He will speak to them, in his Wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure. Ps. 2. 1-5. Have they an arm, like God? Can they thunder with a Voice, like him? What madness, to think of prevailing in this Rebellious Insurrection and Contest against the Almighty Divine, and Irresistibly Mighty New-Creation Power of Christ? These old foolish Humane Kings, will all fare as their evil Angelical King, the King of all such Kings, or Rebellious Children of Pride; Job 41. 34. They'l all … into the same Condemnation with him, will all have their Portion in the same Lake of Fire and Brimstone, the Tophet, prepar'd of old, for them all. They'l be all finally stripp'd of all Power of resisting the Will of God, and forc'd to suffer the same to be done upon them, in … Wrath. Then, with their everlasting Poverty, will they have unutterable Shame and Confusion of Face. All, they refus'd obediently to part with, will be forcibly torn from them, in final Wrath. All their fading goodness or beauty, … Consume in their eternal Grave, from their dwelling, their whole Mystical Houses, earthly Habitations, or persons; all the goodness of that natural State, they chose for their dwelling; Ps. 49. 14. There's no middle State, for ever, between the poor wise Child that will be eternally rich, in Heaven; and, the old rich foolish King, that will be eternally poor, in Hell. The poor wise Child believ's, and follow's the Faithful Sayings of Christ's Spiritual Law, or Gospel-spirit, the Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus. He is content, willing; yea, glad to suffer and die with Christ, as to his short Law-liv'd nature, that he may Reign with him, in his long-liv'd Spirit of Grace; 2 Tim. 2. 11, 12. … we be dead, and … with Christ, we shall live and reign with him: There's for the poor wise Child. If we deny him, he will also deny us: Ther's for the old foolish King. The …, by death, com's out of his Prison-State, or natural Spirit of Bondage, to Reign: The latter, King's it, like an old doting Fool, in his Prison-Spirit of Bondage and Death. These old foolish Kings, the Mystical Princes of this World, under the Devil, by God's Permission, have bin the self-confident Persecutors and Murderers of Christ and his Spiritual Saints, in all Ages. Cain, a first-Covenant Worshipper of God, began this work, on Abel, a second. … winding up of all, true Abel-Saints will be the Fowls of Heaven, that are to feed upon (or delight themselvs (in a Union of Mind with God) in the final Slaughter of) all such Mystical and Litteral Kings and People of the Earth, as are found in unchangable Enmity to God and them. Rev. 19. 17-21.
Vers. XV. I considered all the living which walk under the Sun, with the second Child that shall stand up in his stead.
Here's Solomon's confirmation of what has bin said; his judgment upon the whole matter, in sanctuary-light. In this, he considered all the living, under the mystical first-creation-Sun, walking under the Conduct (or in the Light) of the first-covenant spirit, as therein made alive again, in some degree, by the Redeemer. By the unlawful use of this restor'd Life or Light of the Law, in enmity to God and his Gospel-spirit of Grace, do they bring themselvs into everlasting poverty and nakedness. Their immortal spirit (as thus pleasing themselvs, by taking up their rest for salvation, in the restor'd natural righteous Life thereof) he considers, with their whole man, in that state they shall be caused to stand up in, for ever, in the stead of what they were, in this mortal World and Body. This second Child, or state of Man in the Resurrection, will, to the Old foolish King, be found a state of everlasting darkness and death, in a Resurrection of damnation, under final and unquenchable wrath. The full infliction of wrath is reserved for this second Child, in the said Resurrection-state of the whole Man. This second Child, or state of Man, is that, in which he must answer, by way of suffering, for all the evil done by him, in his natural body or slate, on earth, through a willful abuse of the first-covenant Life of the Law, in unchangable enmity to God and the Gospel. This, comes the said old foolish King, to.