Commentary on Prov Ecc SoS Isa Jer Lam Eze Dan, Ecclesiastes · Chapter 2
CHAP. II. Verſ. 1. Goe to now, I will prove thee with mirth.
THe merry Greeks of the World think that they have the only life of it, that there is no ſuch happineſſe as to laugh and be fat, to ſing Care away, and to lye carouſing and melting in ſinful pleaſures; yea though they periſh therein, as the Duke of Clarence did in his Butt of Malmeſey. But a little time will confute theſe fools, ſaith Solomon, and let them ſee, that it is better to be preſerved in brine, than to rot in Hony Flyes and Waſpes uſe to come to honey and ſuger, and ſuch ſweet things; ſo doth Beelzebub (the god of flyes) to the hearts of Epicures and voluptuaries. Behemoth haunteth the fennes, Job 40.21. Here therefore this Wiſe-man was utterly out, and made an ill tranſition from the ſearch of wiſdome, to the purſute of pleaſures; from the ſchool of Socrates, to the herd of Epicurus. For though theſe hoggs may grunt out their [Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we ſhall dye;] yet if death but draw the curtain, and look in upon them, all the mirth is marr'd, and they put into as great an agony as Belſhazzar was at the ſight of the hand-writing that was againſt him.
Verſ. 2. I ſaid of mirth, it is mad] q. d. Thou mad fool, what doſt thou? Yet is not mirth amiſſe, ſo it be moderate; nor laughter unlawful (as ſome Anabaptiſts in Calvins time held) ſo that it bee well limited. Carnal mirth, and abuſe of lawful things doth mightily weaken, intenerate and emaſculate the ſpirit; yea, it draws out the very vigour and vivacity of it, and is therefore to be avoyded. Some are ſo afraid of ſadneſſe, that they baniſh all ſeriouſneſſe; they affect mirth as the Eel doth mud, or the Toad ditches. Theſe are thoſe that dance to the Timbrel and Harp, but ſuddenly turn into Hell, Job 21.
Verſ. 3. Yet acquainting my heart with wiſdome] i. e. reſolving to retain my wiſdome; but that could not be: For whoredome, and wine, Hoſ. 4.11.and new wine take away the heart; they dull and diſable nature, and ſo ſet us in a greater diſtance from grace; they fight againſt the ſoul, 1 Pet. 2.12 Ariſt. de mirah. auſcul. lib. 8.and take away all ſent and ſenſe of heavenly comforts; Much like that parcel of ground in Sicily, that ſendeth ſuch a ſtrong ſmell of fragrant flowers to all the fields thereabouts, that no Hound can hunt there. And here I beleeve began Solomons Apoſtaſie, his laying the reigns in the neck to purſue ſinful pleaſures, pleaſing himſelf in a conceit, that he could ſerve God and his luſts too. A Chriſtian hath ever God for his chief end; and never ſins with deliberation about this end; he will not forgo God upon any terms; only he erres in the way, thinking he may fulfill ſuch a luſt, and keep God too: But God and ſin cannot cohabit; and Gods graces groaning under our abuſes in this kind, cry unto him for help, who gives them thereupon (as he did to the wronged Church, Rev. 12.14.) the wings of an Eagle: after which, one luſt calls upon another, as they once did upon their fellow-ſouldiers, Now Moab to the ſpoyl, till the heart be filled with as many corruptions, as Solomon had Concubines.
Verſ. 4. I made me great works] I took not pleaſure in trifles, as Domitian did, in catching and killing flyes with his Pen-knife; or as Artaxerxes did, in making hafts for Knives; or as Solyman the great Turk did, in making notches of horn for Bowes; but I built ſtately houſes, planted pleaſant Vineyards, &c. A godly man may be buſied in mean low things, but he is not ſatisfied in them as adequate objects, hee trades for better commodities, and cannot reſt without them.
I builded mee houſes] Curious and ſpacious, ſuch as is the Turks Seraglio, or palace, ſaid to bee more than two miles in compaſs. William Rufus built Weſtminſter hall, and when it was done, found much fault with it, for being built too little;Daniels hiſt. ſaying, It was fitter for a chamber, than for a hall for a King of England, and took a plat for one far more ſpacious to bee added unto it.
I planted mee vineyards] That no pleaſant thing might be wanting to mee. To plant a vineyard is a matter of much coſt and care, but it ſoon quits coſt by bearing, firſt, plenty of fruit in cluſters and bunches, many grapes together. Secondly, by bearing pleaſant fruit, no fruit being more delectable to the taſte than is the grape; nor more comfortable to the heart, than is the wine made of the grape, Judg. 9.13. Solomon had one gallant vineyard at Baalhamon, that yeelded him great profit, Cant. 8.1.
Verſ. 5. I made mee gardens] ſo called, becauſe garded and encloſed with a wall, Cant. 4.12. like as we call garments quaſi gardments in an active acception of the word: becauſe they guard our bodies from the injury of wind and weather. The Hebrew word foreign Gan comes likewiſe from a word that ſignifieth to protect or guard. And there are that give this for a reaſon, why the Lord forbad the Jews to keep ſwine, becauſe they are ſuch enemies to gardens, whereof that country is very full.
And Orchards] Heb. Paradiſes, famous for curious variety and excellency of all ſorts of trees and forcin fruits; reſembling even the garden of God for amenity and delight.Athenaeus, Diod. lib. 2. cap. 4. Q. Curt. lib. 5. And herein perhaps hee gratified Pharaoh's daughter (the Aegyptians took great pleaſure in gardens) like as that King of Aſſyria did his wife Horto penſili, with a garden that hung in the ayr, to his incredible coſt.
Verſ. 6. To water therewith the Wood] i. e. the gardens or hort-yards that were as large as little woods: Chriſts garden in the Canticles as it hath a wall (Verſ. 5.) ſo a well to water it, and make it fruitful.
Verſ. 7. I got mee ſervants, &c] Too many by one, ſc. Jeroboam, who rent ten tribes from his ſonne. I… is well obſerved by an Interpreter, that Solomon, among all his delights, got him not a Fool or Jeſter, which ſome Princes cannot bee without, no not when they ſhould bee moſt ſerious. It is recorded of Henry the third King of France, that in a Solemn proceſſion at Paris, hee could not bee without his Jeſter,Epic. hiſt. Gallicae. who walking between the King and the Cardinal, made mirth to them both. There was ſweet devotion the while.
Melanch. in Heſiod.I had great poſſeſſions of great and ſmall cattel] foreign pecudes, & poſtea ſynechdochic…s opes ſignificant: ſic pecunia a pecude. So cheſita ſignifies in Hebrew both mony and a lamb.
Verſ. 8. I gathered me alſo ſilver and gold] Gold of Ophir (now called Peru) where the Spaniards are ſaid to meet with more gold oar, than earth: Beſides his great gifts from other Princes, as Hiram, Queen of Sheba, &c. his royal revenue,Petrarch. his tributes from forein nations, ſubdued by his Father David, to a very great value. Sixtus the fourth was wont to ſay, that a Pope could never want mony, while he could hold a pen in his hand. His predeceſſor John 22. left in his treaſury to his heirs 250 tonnes of gold. Boniface the 8. being plundered by the French, Heidfield.was found to have more wealth (ſaith mine Authour) than all the Kings of the earth could have raiſed by one years revenue. It ſhould ſeem by the peoples complaint after Solomons death, 1 King. 12.4. that hee lay over heavy upon them by his exactors, and gold-gatherers, which cauſed the revolt of the ten tribes. One act of injuſtice, oft loſeth much that was juſtly gotten. Kedarlaomer and his fellow-Kings were deprived of the whole victory, becauſe they ſpared not a man whom they ſhould have ſpared. Ill-gotten gold hath a poyſonful operation, and will bring up the good food, together with ill humors, Job 20.15.
And the delights of the ſons of men] Theſe drew out his ſpirits, and diſſolved him, and brought him to ſo low an ebbe in grace; his wealth did him far more hurt than his wiſdome did him good: it is as hard to bear proſperity, as to drink much wine and not bee giddy: it is alſo dangerous to take pleaſure in pleaſure, to ſpend too much time in it; as Solomon, for ſeven years ſpent in building Gods houſe, ſpent thirteen in his own. Lovers of pleaſures are ſet as laſt and worſt in that catalogue of wickedneſſe in the laſt daies,foreign. 2 Tim. 3.4.
Verſ. 9. Alſo my wiſdome remained with mee] Outward things are dead things, and cannot touch the ſoul, (a lively ſpirit) unleſs by way of taint: Solomon, if not at firſt, yet at length, was fearfully tainted by them, making good that of the Poet,
Stultitiam patiuntur opes—
Ardua res haec eſt, opibus non tradere mores,Martial.
Et cum tot Croeſos viceris, eſſe Numam.
Verſ. 10. And what ſoever mine eyes deſired, &c.] I fed them with pleaſant pictures, ſhews, ſights, and other objects of delight, which yet have plus deceptionis quam delectationis, able to entice, and ready to kill the intangled:Lactant. How many are there that have died of the wound in the eye? David knowing the danger, prayeth, Pſal. 119.37. Turn away mine eyes from beholding of vanity. Job ſteps one degree further, from a prayer to a vow, chap. 31. yea from a vow to an imprecation, ver. 7. If our firſt parents fell by following the ſight of their eyes, and luſt of their hearts, what can Solomon or any of us promiſe our ſelves, qui animas etiam incarnavimus, who have made our very ſpirit a lump of fleſh, prone to entertain vice, yea to ſolicit it?
For my heart rejoyced in all my labour] This is not every worldlings happineſs. For ſome live not to injoy what they have raked together, as that rich fool in the Goſpel: others live indeed, but live beſide what they have gotten, as not daring to diminiſh ought; but defrauding their own genius, and denying themſelves neceſſaries. So did not Solomon, and yet hee found not the good hee ſought for neither, as hee tells us in the next words. Nor is it want of variety in theſe pleaſures, but inward weakneſs, an emptineſs, and inſufficiency in the creature. In heaven the objects of our delight and bleſſedneſs ſhall bee, though uniform, yet everlaſtingly pleaſing.
Verſ. 11. Then I looked on all the works] A neceſſary and profitable practice, well worthy our imitation, viz. to recognize and review what wee have done, and to how little purpoſe wee have wearied our ſelves, in the multitude of our counſells, Eſay 47.13. God looketh upon men, and if any ſay, I have ſinned and perverted that which was right, and it profited mee not, Hee will deliver his ſoul from going into the pit, and his life ſhall ſee the light, Job 33.27, 28. Tully could tell Nevius, that if hee had but well weighed with himſelf thoſe two words, Quid ago? What do I?Orat. pro Quintio. his luſt and luxury would have been cooled and qualified.
And behold, all was vanity and vexation of spirit] In the very purſute of them is much anguiſh, many grievances, fears, jealouſies, diſgraces, interruptions, diſcontentments. Next, it is ſeldome ſeen, that God allows to the greateſt darlings of the world a perfect contentment. Something they muſt have to complain of, that ſhall give an unſavoury verdure to their ſweeteſt morſels, and make their very felicity miſerable. Yet all this avails mee nothing, ſo long as I ſee Mordecai, ſaith Haman the Kings minion. Laſtly, after the unſanctified enjoyment, follows the ſting of conſcience, that will inexpreſſibly vex and torment the ſoul throughout all eternity.
And there was no profit under the ſun] Nullae emolumenta laborum, nothing but labour for travell, no contentation but deſperation, no ſatisfaction but endleſs vexation; as children tire themſelves to catch a butterflie; which when they have caught, profits them nothing, onelyonly fouls their fingers. Or rather as the dropſical body, by ſtriving to quench thirſt by drinking, doth but increaſe the diſeaſe, and in the end deſtroy it ſelf.
Verſ. 12. For what can the man doe that cometh after the King?] q. d. who is it that can out-doe me in this review and diſcovery? Neither is this a vain-glorious vaunting of his own vertues, but an Occupation or prevention of an objection, thus.
Obj. It may be thou haſt not perfectly known the difference of things, and ſo haſt not rightly determined.
Sol. To this he anſwers, that he hath ſo quit himſelf in ſearching and trying the truth in theſe points, that it is not for any other to goe beyond him. And having removed this rub, having carried this dead Amaſa out of the way, that might have hindred his Hearers march, hee proceeds in his diſcourſe.
Verſ. 13. Then I ſaw that wiſdome excelleth folly] i. e. Philoſophy and Humane wiſdome, though it cannot perfect the mind, nor make a man happy, yet it is as farre beyond ſenſuality and brutiſhneſſe, as light is beyond darkneſſe. Thoſe that ſeek for the Philoſophers Stone, though they miſſe of their end, yet they find many excellent things by the way: So, Philoſophers, Politicians, Moraliſts, though they miſſed of the pearl of price, yet they ſought out other goodly pearls (with that wiſe Merchant, Mat. 13.45.) for the which they have their juſt praiſe and profit.
Verſ. 14. The wiſe mans eyes are in his head] Hee judiciouſly pondereth things paſt,foreign. Deſcrip. of the world, chap. of China. Heyl. Geog. and prudently ordereth things preſent, and providently fore-ſeeth to prevent dangers likely to enſue. The Chineſes uſe to ſay of themſelves, that all other Nations of the world ſee but with one eye, they only with two. Italians tell us, that whereas Spaniards ſeem wiſe and are fools, French-men ſeem fools and are wiſe; Portugals neither are wiſe, nor ſo much as ſeem to bee ſo; they themſelves both ſeem wiſe and are ſo. This I could ſooner beleeve, if from a better mouth than their own. Romani, ſicut non acumina, ita non impoſturas habent, ſaith Bellarm. The Romans (thoſe wittieſt of the Italians) are neither very ſubtile, nor very ſimple.
But the fool walketh in darkneſſe] Hee hath neither fight nor light, but is acted and agitated by the Prince of Darkneſs, who holds his black hand before the eye of ſuch mens minds, and blinds their underſtandings; dealing with them, as Pliny ſaith the Eagle deals with the Hart, ſhee lights upon his horns and there flutters up and down, filling his eyes with duſt borne in her feathers, that at laſt he may caſt himſelf from a rock, and ſo be made a prey unto her.
One event hapneth to them all] As did to Joſiah and Ahab in the manner of both their dying in battel. They may be all wrapt up together in a common calamity,Aug. and Sapientes ſapienter in gehennam deſcendant, the worlds great wiſe men goe very wiſely down to hell: there (for want of ſaving grace) fools and wiſer men meet at one and the ſame Inne, though by ſeveral wayes; at one and the ſame Haven, though from ſeveral coaſts.
Verſ. 15. As it happeneth to the fool, ſo it happeneth] It is with men, as with Counters, though in the account one ſtand for a penny, another for a pound; yet in the bag there is no difference: ſo here in the event, all our wiſedom is ſoon refuted with one black Theta, which underſtanding us not, ſnappeth us unreſpectively without diſtinction, and putteth at once a period to our reading, and to our being.
And why was I then more wiſe] This is a peece of peeviſhneſſe, a childiſh folly we are all prone to, viz. to repent us of our beſt pains if not preſently paid for it; ſo ſhort ſpirited are we, that unleſſe we may ſow and reap all in a day, unleſſe all things may goe with us as well as we could wiſh, wee repent us of our repentance with David, Pſal. 73.13. hit God in the teeth with our obedience, as thoſe hypocrites in Eſay, chap. 58.2, 3. and as that elder brother in the Parable, that told his father he had never been worth a Kid to him for all his good ſervice. But what? is God like to break, or to dye in our debts, that we are ſo haſty with him? This was good Barucks fault, and he is ſoundly chidden for it, Jer. 45.1. with chap. 36.1, 2. Good men oft find it more eaſie to bear evil, than to wait till the promiſed good bee enjoyed. It was ſo with thoſe Chriſtian Hebrews, chap. 10.34, 36. whom therefore the Apoſtle there tells, they had need of patience, or tarriance, to carry Gods time.foreign. It needs not repent the wiſe of this world (much leſſe the children of Light) of any good they have done or gotten (however it prove with them) ſith ſome degree of comfort follows every good action, as hear accompanies fire, as beams and influences iſſue from the Sun. And this is ſo true, that very Heathens upon the diſcharge of a good Conſcience, have found comfort and peace anſwerable.
Verſ. 16. For there is no remembrance of the wiſe] viz. unleſſe hee bee alſo wiſe to ſalvation: for then he ſhall be had in everlaſting remembrance. Or otherwiſe, either he ſhall be utterly forgotten (as being not written among the living in Jeruſalem, Eſay 4.3.) or elſe he ſhall not have the happineſs to bee forgotten in the City where he had ſo done, Eccl. 8.10. I mean where he had been either a dogmatical, or at leaſt a practical Atheiſt, as the very beſt of the Philoſophers were, Rom. 1. & 1. Cor. 1. the choyſeſt and the moſt picked men amongſt them, 1 Cor. 3.21.
And how dyeth the wiſe man? as the fool] See the Note on verſ. 14▪ & 15. wiſe men dye as well as fools, Pſal. 49.10. good men dye as well as bad, Ezek. 21.4. yet with this difference; that the righteous hath hope in his death, which to him is neither total, but of the body only, nor perpetual, but for a time only, till the day of refreſhing. See both theſe, Rom. 8.10, 11.
Verſ. 17. Therefore I hated life] i. e. I leſſe loved it than I had done; I ſaw mortality to be a mercy, with Cato; I was neither fond of life,Ʋſque adeone mori miſerum Virgil. nor afraid of death, with Q. Elizabeth. I preferred my Coffin before my Cradle, my Burial-day before my Birth-day, chap. 7.1. A greater than Solomon threatens thoſe that love life, with the loſs of life, Luk. 17.33. and hath purpoſely ſet a particular vanity and vexation upon every day of our life, that wee may not dote upon it, ſith we dye daily. Sufficient to the day is the evil (that is, the miſery) thereof. Quicquid boni eſt in mundo, ſaith Auſtin, what good thing ſoever we have here, is either paſt, preſent, or to come. If paſt, it's nothing: if to come, it's uncertain: if preſent, yet it is unſufficient, unſatisfactory. So that, whilſt I call to mind things paſt (ſaid that incomparable Q. Elizabeth) behold things preſent, and expect things to come,Camb. Eliz. fol. 325. I hold them happieſt that goe hence ſooneſt.
Verſ. 18. Yea, I hated all my labour] i. e. I was ſorry to think, that I had been ſo eager and earneſt in getting a great eſtate, which now I muſt leave, and to whom I know not; ſure I am, to thoſe that never took any pains for it. And herein we ſee the corruption of our nature diſcover it ſelf, in that we are ſo wedded to the things of this world (eſpecially if gotten by our own art and induſtry) that we think much to bee divorced from them by death, and to leave them to others, when our ſelves can enjoy them no longer. Henry Beauford that rich and wretched Cardinal, Biſhop of Wincheſter, and Chancellor of England, in the reign of Henry 6. when hee perceived that hee muſt dye,Act. & Mon. fol. 925. and that there was no remedy, murmured at death, that his riches could not reprieve him till a further time. For he asked, wherefore ſhould I dye, being ſo rich? If the whole Realm would ſave my life, I am able either by policy to get it, or by riches to buy it. Fye, (quoth he) will not death bee hired? will money doe nothing?
Latimer, in a Sermon before King Edward the 6. tells a ſtory of a rich man, that when hee lay upon his Sick bed, there came one to him and told him, that certainly, by all reaſon they can judge by, hee was like to be a man for another world, a dead man. As ſoon as ever he hears but theſe words (ſaith Latimer) What muſt I dye? ſaid he, ſend for a Phyſician; wounds, ſides, heart, muſt I dye? wounds, ſides, heart, muſt I dye? and thus he goes on, and there could bee nothing got from him, but wounds, ſides, heart, muſt I dye? Muſt I dye and goe from theſe? here was all: here's the end of a man that made his portion to bee in this world. If this mans heart had been ript up a…ter hee was dead, there might have been found written in it, The God of this preſent world.
Serm. on Pſal. 17.14. April 3. 1643. before the L. Maior.Mr. Jeremy Burroughes relates in print of another rich man, that had ſometime lived neer unto him; who, when hee heard his ſickneſs was deadly, ſent for his bags of mony, and hugg'd them in his arms, ſaying: Oh! muſt I leave you? Oh! muſt I leave you? And of another, who when hee lay upon his ſick bed, called for his bags, and laid a bag of gold to his heart, and then bad them take it away, it will not do, it will not do.
Mr. Rogers in his Treatiſe of love, tels of one, that being near death, clapt a twenty ſhillings peece of gold into his own mouth, ſaying, Some wiſer than ſome, Ile take this with mee, howſoever.
Verſ. 19. And who knoweth whether he ſhall bee a wiſe man] A friend or an enemy, an acquaintance or a meer ſtranger: riches oft change maſters. How many by a juſt hand of God dye childleſs; or elſe leave that they have to dingthrifts, that will ſpend it as merrily, as ever their parents got it miſerably? ſcatter with a fork as it were, what they have wretchedly raked together? Our Henry 2. ſome few hours before hee died, ſaw a liſt of their names, who conſpired with the King of France, and Earl Richard (his ſonne and ſucceſſor) againſt him; And finding therein his ſon John (whom hee had made Earl of Cornwal, Sommerſet, Nottingham, Derby, and Lancaſter, and given him a vaſt eſtate) to bee the firſt; he fell into a grievous paſſion, both curſing his ſons, and the day wherein himſelf was born:Dan. hiſt. 112. and in that diſtemperature departs the world, which ſo often himſelf had diſtempered.
Verſ. 20. Therefore I went about to cauſe my heart, &c.] i. e. I ſet my ſelf to take off the edge of my affections from theſe outward comforts that are ſo uncertain,foreign. Symmachus. Metaph. ab equis, quos qui agitant circumagunt. and ſo unſatisfactory; and to take another courſe for the attaining of true happineſſe. The Hebrew word ſignifies, I ſet a compaſs, I turned round, or I turned ſhort again upon my ſelf, by a reflex act of my mind, as Ephraim did, Jer. 31.19, 20. as the prodigal did when hee came to himſelf, who before had been beſides himſelf in point of ſalvation: and as Solomon elſewhere prays, that the captive people may bethink themſelves, or (as the Hebrew hath it) bring back to their heart, 1 King. 8.47. return and diſcern between the righteous and the wicked, Mal. 3.18. Thus David examined his ways, and finding all to be naught and ſtark naught, (contrary to that of God, who reviewing his works, found all good and very good) hee bethought himſelf of a better courſe, hee turned his feet to Gods teſtimonies, Pſal. 119.59. Set not thy heart upon the aſſes, ſaid the Prophet to Saul, foraſmuch as better things abide thee, the deſire of all Iſrael is to thee.
Verſ. 21. For there is a man whoſe labour is in wiſdome] This ſeemed to Solomon (whoſe own caſe it was like to be) ſo unworthy a thing, and ſuch a vexation of ſpirit, that hee can never ſay enough of it; but could find in his heart to cry out with the Poet, foreign, I am thrice miſerable, nay ten times, nay an hundred, nay a thouſand times ſo, that am born to be a provident and a perfect drudge of an idledrone, or perhaps of a meer ſtranger.
This is alſo vanity and a great evill] Not privation of good onelyonly, a nothing; but a poſition of evill, a ſad thing; an inconveniency not to bee avoided by the moſt circumſpect prudence:foreign for it is written, Hee taketh the wiſe in their own craftineſs. And again, The Lord knoweth the thoughts of the wiſe (their inward diſceptations,foreign. their debating the matter with themſelves) that they are vain, 1 Cor. 3.19, 20. The rich fool talked to himſelf (as fools uſe to do) and ſet down how every thing ſhould be, Luke 12.17. but it proved ſomewhat otherwiſe, ere he was a day elder.
Verſ. 22. For what hath a man of all his labour] What makes hee of it (every thing reckoned) ſee chap. 1.3. what takes hee with him when hee dies, more than a poor winding ſheet? as that Great Emperour of Egypt cauſed to bee proclaimed at his funeral,Caron. Chron. that that ſhirt of his (there hanged up for the purpoſe) was all that hee now had of all his labour, and great atchivements. Saladine the mighty Monarch of the Eaſt is gone, and hath taken no more with him than what you ſee, ſaid the bare Prieſt that went before the bier.Carion. Chron. See the Note on 1 Tim. 6.7.
Verſ. 23. For all his days are ſorrows, &c.] All the days of the afflicted are evil, Prov. 1….15. and every day hath a ſufficient evil laid upon it by God, Matth. 16.34. Few and evil were the days of Jacobs pilgrimage.Gen. 47.9 God gave him not a draught only of the cup of affliction, but made him a diet-drink. Man is born to trouble (ſaith Eliphaz, Job 5.7.) as the ſpark flyes upward.foreign, &c. Iſocr. Man and Miſerable are in a manner terms convertible: He that remembers that himſelf is a man, will not think much of any ſorrow betides him, ſaith the Heathen Oratour. For,
Si niſi res cujus nulla eſt contraria votis
Vivere nemo poteſt, vivere nemo poteſt.
Yea, his heart taketh no reſt in the night] As a clock can never ſtand ſtill, ſo long as the plummets hang thereat; ſo neither can a worldlings heart for cares and anxieties. Theſe gnats will not ſuffer him to ſleep, theſe flyes of Aegypt are continually ſtinging him, Nocte ac die non dabunt requiem, as thoſe Tyrants, Jer. 16. Night and day he is diſquieted with them; he lyes upon a pillow ſtuft with thorns. Not ſo the godly man, he contracts his cares into a narrow compaſſe, communes with his own heart upon his bed; and having made all even with God, ſleeps undiſturbed, Pſal. 3. & 4. Jacob reſts ſweetly when his head lay upon a hard ſtone at Bethel: Ahaſueroſh cannot reſt, though upon a Bed of Doun, but calls for the Chronicles. It was wiſely done of Burleigh L. Treaſurer, to put off his cares together with his clothes,Camden. when he laid by his Gown, he would commonly ſay, Lye there Lord Treaſurer, and ſo quietly compoſe himſelf to take his ſleep. In nothing be careful (ſaith the Apoſtle) but let the peace of God guard your hearts and mindes in Chriſt Jeſus, Phil. 4.6, 7.
Verſ. 24. There is nothing better for a man, &c.] This may ſeem to ſavour of Epicuriſme; as may alſo ſome following paſſages of this book. For which cauſe ſome of the old Jew-Doctors were once in a minde to hide this whole book out of the way; and not ſuffer the common ſort to … any more. But this they needed never to have done: for the Preacher expreſly calls carnal mirth madneſſe, in this very chapter; and ſheweth that the happineſs of a man ſtands in fearing God, and keeping his Commandements, chap. 12. All which is poynt-blank againſt Atheiſme and Epicuriſme. And whereas here and elſewhere the liberal uſe of the Creatures is commended and commanded; this is done in oppoſition to, and deteſtation of ſuch parſimonious penny-fathers, as deny themſelves that neceſſary and honeſt affluence that God hath permitted and afforded them: living ſordidly, that they may grow rich ſuddenly, although they know not how ſoon they may leave all, nor yet to whom.
This alſo I ſaw that it was from the hand of God] It is he that fills our hearts, as with food, ſo with gladneſſe, Acts 14.17. He can curſe our bleſſings, make our table a ſnare, ſauce that we eat, ſpice that we drink, with his fierce wrath, as he did the Quails to thoſe Iſraelites. He can diſſweeten our Delicates, either with ſickneſſe, Job 33.20. or ſorrow, Pſal. 107.17, 18. or ſudden terrour, 1 Sam. 30.16, 17. & 1 King. 1.41. Adoniah's feaſt ended in horrour; aſtoniſhment was ſerved up for their laſt diſh. Let God therefore bee ſought, for a comfortable uſe of the Creature, and then be merry at thy meat, and put ſorrow from thy heart, chap. 9.7. Eat the fat, and drink the ſweet, &c. for the joy of the Lord is your ſtrength, Nehem. 8.10.
Verſ. 25. For who can eat? or who can haſten, &c.] And yet I have found, (and ſo ſhall you) that tranquillity and true happineſs (the Kindgom of God) doth not conſiſt in meats and drinks. A Turk may beleeve ſenſualities in his fools paradiſe: but no ſervant of God is a ſlave to his palate.
Verſ. 26. Wiſdome and knowledge] To get theſe things rightly, and to uſe them comfortably.
To gather and to heap up] Converrere & congerrere, to rake and ſcrape together; the muck-worms occupation.
That he may give] As he did the Aegyptians goods to Iſrael, Nabals to David, Hamans to Mordecai.