Exposition of Ecclesiastes, Chapter 5 · Verse 9 – Verse 10
Vers. IX. Moreover, the profit of the earth is for all: the king himself is served by the field.
The chief intendment of this litteral truth (which, hit upon, is properly and truly, right interpretation) is, the fruits and products of man's nature, in the renew'd old; earthly, or first-creation state thereof, the Image of the earthy. The profit of this, is for all; And, this is figured by the fruits, profits, and products, of the litteral Earth, by which King and Subjects, Rulers and Ruled, even all Mankind, are supported and maintain'd in their bodily life. The fruits of the said mystical Earth, or righteous earthly Life and state, afford a natural food and clothing to the immortal spirit, or inner man of man, in his first-creation make and fashion of being. In this make and life, is man to serve or obey God, as the fruits thereof serve or preserve him: both, but for a season, till called out of this, man's own earthly life, make and fashion of being, into God's Heavenly, which (with the fruits and meats thereof) is everlasting. The Earthly state of man (or Angel) before the fall, in a first-covenant law-life, was figuratively represented by the Tree of good and evil, signifying the corruptibility thereof; and the danger, incident to man (or Angel) by their own evil choice, and use of it. To prevent this evil, both were strictly prohibited the feeding upon, terminating, delighting, and establishing themselvs therein, with a confidence to find true blessedness, there, to their immortal beings. The so doing then, was rebellion against the command of God, and turned their natures into a direct enmity to that more excellent and durable creature-life of God, spiritual and heavenly, a Gospel-state of everlasting righteousness and truth. And, the same miscarriage and abuse of all, turned their earthly-state (life, or mystical field) into a uselesness to themselvs, so as to be of no true avail or profit to them: but indeed, a prison-state of darkness and death, rendring their nature an accursed earth, bringing forth nothing but Briars and Thorns, Gall and Wormwood, from a root of bitterness or enmity to God. This brought the sinning Angels, on their first sin, under an absolute unchangable Curse, and everlasting Burnings; and, man's mystical Earth, or earthly life and state, it brought nigh unto Cursing, as bearing Thorns and Briars, also; and, if he persist finally therein, against all offered Grace and Mercy, his end will be also to be burned, in the same Lake of mystical Fire and Brimstone, the unquenchable slames of God's wrath, for evermore; Heb. 6. 8. Adam's first sin, left no profit in this mystical field or earth of man's nature. All men, since, are born dead in trespasses and sins. Their nature is a wast, howling, barren Wilderness, full of ravenous, devouring wild Beasts, bestial thoughts; foolish, noisom lusts, that hurt, wound, sink, and drown them in destruction and perdition; 1 Tim. 6. 9. The King, or kingly, superiour Angelical nature; and the subject, inferiour humane nature, by their fall, lost the right use and true profit of the mystical earthly, first-creation field, life, or natural state. Both were brought to feed on dust, or the perishing vanities of this World, or Worldly state, having turn'd their Backs on God's never-perishing Life and Meats, figured in the Tree of Life, and offered to them both and all. They forth-with forfeited and lost the paradisical-state of their corruptibly perfect natural, in Subjection to that Light that shew'd and offer'd them God's incorruptibly perfect spiritual creature-Life, State, and Meats, which was their first habitation or state of Innocency. Fallen Angels, as their greater punishment (for their greater and more criminal first Sin, against higher and clearer Light than man) have the Dust of their not only corruptible, but corrupted first-creation Field or natural State, left them to feed on, and are permitted to use all their Strength and advantages therein, against God and his Saints. But Man, as a lesser punishment, was instantly deprived of all; both of the righteous Earthly Life of his nature, and of the proper Food and cloathing thereof. He is ever since, born Naked, Dead, Helpless, and Loathsome; Ezek. 16. 5, 6. He has nothing left, but a meer bestial, bodily Life, and the lowest part of the Dust of this World, in common with Brutes, to feed upon; even the gratifying contentments of bodily lust, only. He has nothing, proper to him as a man, left him to feed on. But, he is pardonable, and recoverable into the righteous Life of a Man, again, by the Redeemer. And, when actually recovered into, and set up afresh, therein, if he, as wilfully, against conviction, abuse it again (in sinning against, and rejecting God's more excellent new-creature, Gospel-Life, at first represented in the Tree of Life) he is gone for ever, as fallen Angels, at first, were. Yet, is he left, for a season (after so irrecoverably and unpardonably gone) to the self-confident exercise of his restor'd changable righteous first-covenant Law-Life, and feeding on the meats and fruits thereof, handed now to him from the Evil Angel, that's higher than he, in that fading Life and Meats. And so, is he permitted by Christ, to have more than Heart can Wish, (Psal. 73. ….) therein, to his dying hour; yea, and dye with great … … and satisfaction, to by-Standers, that all's well with him. And, thus goes the inferiour humane Beast, into the Arms of the superiour and more subtil evil-angelical Beast of the first-creation World, whom he has taken to be his God; Gen. 3. 1. 2 Thes. 2. 4. Man's second personal sinning after the similitude of Adam's Transgression (in restor'd nature, against God's Spirit of Grace, and Light thereof) brings him to the same point, with Devils, a fixure or establishment in his own changably righteous nature, which is unchangable enmity to God, and his everlasting righteous Gospel-spirit of Grace.
If men suspect the offe'rd serpents …, as earthly, he will gild over his earthly, natural excellencies, with the nearest resemblance of Christ's Spiritual and heavenly, and then they'l down for right heavenly, never-perishing meat's, with all but, the very elect. And, he wants not for apostles, from amongst men (transform'd by him and themselvs, into the likeness of Christ's) the supream Wolv's in sheeps clothing, to carry on his work; making his Gospel-vanities passe for Christ's durable Gospel-riches, everlasting life, and never-perishing meats. Thus does Satan sport himself with those that sport themselvs with his and their own deceivings. By such, makes he his utmost batteries against the very elect, to deceive their souls; or if that won't be, to destroy their bodies. All that have resolutely taken up with him, to feed on dust (the perishing meats of the firstcreation) does he perfectly deafen to the voice of all true Spiritual Charmers, Charm they never so Wisely. Not a word of Christ's Gospel, or any of his never-perishing meats, will they any more listen to, regard or look after, for ever, then stones. They are fix'd absolute infidels, as to all his things, truths, or doctrins. They are the hottest, fiercest, zealous decriers of all such things, or words, in the whole World. Paul was so, for a season, when a righteous first-covenant Saint; they, for ever. But, to prevent man's self-destroying choice of his own selfish, earthly, first-creation life, or righteous natural-State, with the perishing food, ragged clothing, and fading riches thereof, in preference to Christ's durable riches, neverperishing meats, and pure garments, clean linnen, or everlasting …, in the second; Solomon farther declares;
Vers. X. He that loveth silver, shall not be satisfied with silver: nor he that loveth abundance, with encrease: this is also vanity.
The mystical silver here (that with all possible encrease thereof, is vanity, as well as the litteral figure) import's the heap'd up Laodicean treasur's, in the fruitful exercise of a first-covenant righteous life of vanity. Man, at best, therein, is lighter then vanity, weigh's less (is worse) then nothing, in the balance of Christ's new-creation sanctuary; Psal. 39. 5, 6. and, 62. 9. Isa. 40. 17. He is a flat enemy to God and it; to all the heavenly life and treasure thereof. Man's inordinate, preferring love to (and delight in) his own righteous nature, and riches thereof, is an evil concupiscence, an evil covetousness, destructive to his own mystical house, whole nature, or person (Hab. 2. 9, 10) the highest, and most criminal idolatry; that love of money, in the highest sense, that's the root of all evil, keeping up a murdering mind of enmity against all doctrine, or persons, that come to seize and take it away, as their unspeakable advantage, if obedient to the Cross of Christ, therein. Man, wearies himself, tires, and sin's himself into eternal death, for very vanity; v. 13. and Psal. 39. 6. All, men seek and contend for, in their own nature, will, and way, Paul found, in Gospel-light, dung and loss; Job, dust and ashes; who both, once, thought themselvs truly happy, there, in Gods sight, as well as in their own. He that loves this mystical silver, or fading inward riches of his own nature, shall not be satisfied with such silver, in the most abundant encreases thereof. There's nothing in it, can truly answer the wants of his immortal being: or, give the least degree of true happiness to him. Nothing but new-creature life, does this (Gal. 6. 15) neither corrupt or righteous Old-Creation life, signified by uncircumcision and circumcision, which avail not any thing, in this case; as to eternal life.