Commentary on Prov Ecc SoS Isa Jer Lam Eze Dan, Ecclesiastes · Chapter 3
CHAP. III. Verſ. 1. To every thing there is a ſeaſon.
A Set time, ſuch as we can neither alter nor order. This is one of thoſe keys that God carries under his own girdle, Act. 1.7. To ſeek, to doe or get any thing before the time, is to pull apples before they are ripe, ſaith a Father, which ſet the teeth on edge,Fom… importuni tempore decerpunt. Tertul. and breed ſtomack-worms. They labour in vain that would prevent the time prefixed by God, as thoſe haſty Ephraimites in Aegypt, 1 Chron. 7.22. with Pſal. 78.9. thoſe heady Iſraelites in the Wilderneſs, Numb. 14.40. Moſes would be acting the Judge before his time, Exod. 2.12. he is therefore ſent to keep ſheep in Midian, verſ. 15. David ſtaid Gods leiſure for the Kingdom; thoſe in Eſther, for deliverance, they knew that God would keep his day exactly, as he did with the Iſraelites in Aegypt, Exod. 12.40, 41. Ev…n the ſelf-ſame day, when the four hundred and thirty years fore-told were expired, Gods people were thruſt out of Aegypt. So Dan. 5.30. In that night was Belſhazzar ſlain; becauſe then exactly the ſeventy years were ended. And as God fails not his own time, ſo he ſeldome comes at ours, J…r. 8.20. for he loves not to be limited. We are ſhort-breath'd, ſhort-ſighted, apt to antedate the promiſes in regard of the accompliſhment, Hab. 2.2. And no leſs apt to out-ſtand our own markets, to let ſlip opportunities of grace, which are ever head-long, and (once paſt) irrecoverable. O if thou hadſt known at the leaſt in this thy day,Heb. 2.3. Pſal. 32.6 &c. How ſhall we eſcape, if we neglect ſo great ſalvation? Therefore ſhall every one that is godly ſeek thee in a time when thou mayſt be found. There is a certain time ſet for men to come in and be ſaved; as Alexander ſet up a Taper, when he beſieged a Town: as Tamerlan hang'd out firſt a white flag, and then a red. Many a man loſeth his ſoul as Saul did his Kingdome, by not diſcerning his time. Eſau came too late: ſo did the fooliſh Virgins. If the gate of grace be over-paſt, the gate ſhut, the draw-bridge taken up, there is no poſſibility of entrance.Heb. 4.1 foreign. Let us therefore fear leſt a promiſe being left us, and an overture made us of entring into Gods reſt, any of us ſhould ſeem to fall ſhort, or come late, a day after the fair, an hour after the feaſt. God, who in his eternal Counſel hath appointed things to be done, hath alſo ordained the opportunity and time wherein each thing ſhould bee done; which to neglect is ſuch a preſumption, as hee uſually puniſheth with final hardning, Ezek. 24.13.
Verſ. 2. There is a time to be born, and a time to dye] Wee doe not hear the Wiſe-man ſay, There is a time to live. What is more fleeting than time? yet life is not long enough to be worthy the title of time. Death borders upon our birth, and our cradle ſtands in our grave. Orimur, Morimur.
Multos oſtendunt terris bona faeta, nec ultra
Eſſe ſi…unt. — Finiſque ab origine pendet.
How many have we ſeen carried from the Womb to the Tomb; from the birth to the burial?Ab utero ab urnam. And what a ſhort cut hath the longeſt liver from the grave of the womb, to the womb of the grave? Men chop into the earth before they are aware many times; like as he that walks in a field covered with ſnow, falls ſuddenly into a marle pit.
A time to plant, &c.] In point of good husbandry fit ſeaſons are to be obſerved, or elſe little increaſe can bee expected. God alſo, the great vine-dreſſer, plants and plucks up more Churches or particular perſons at his pleaſure, Eſay 5.1. to the 8. Mat. 15.13. Jeruſalem (that plant of renown) is now of an Eden become a Sodom; and that which Moſes threatned, Deut. 28.49. &c. fulfilled to the utmoſt. Suſa in Perſia ſignifies a Lilly, and was ſo called for the beauty and delectable ſight: Now it is called Valdac, of the poverty of the place. Niniveh that great City, that once had more people within her walls, than are now in ſome one Kingdome, is at this day become a ſepulture of it ſelf, a little Town of ſmall Trade, where the Patriarch of the Neſtorians keeps his …eat at the devotion of the Turks.Frid. ſecund. Imper.
Roma diu titubans variis erroribus acta
Corruet, & mundi deſinet eſſe caput.
Verſ. 3. A time to kill] viz. To cut off corrupt members by the ſword of Juſtice, or of War, ne pars ſincera trahatur: There is a cruel mercy, ſaith one, there is a pious cruelty, ſaith another. But curſed is hee that doth the Lords work negligently: and curſed is hee that (in a good cauſe, and upon a good calling) keepeth back his ſword from blood, Jer. 48.10. But that ſouldier can never anſwer it before God, that ſtriketh not more as a Juſtice of Peace, than as a ſouldier of fortune.
A time to break down, and a time to build up] This and the reſt, though every one knows to be ſo in common experience, yet one and the ſame thing (in effect) is oft repeated, that it may be once remembred: viz. that this whole world is nothing elſe but a maſs of mutabilities; that every man, every State, every thing is a planet, whoſe ſpherical revolutions are ſome of longer, ſome of ſhorter continuance. Omnia verſantur in perpetuo aſcenſu & deſcenſu, there is a perpetual aſcending and deſcending of life and ſtate.
Verſ. 4. A time to weep, and a time to laugh] OnelyOnly wee muſt not invert the order, but weep with men, that wee may laugh with Angels; lay godly ſorrow as a foundation of ſpiritual joy. Surely out of this eater, comes meat; out of this ſtrong, ſweet: ſtrong and ſweet refreſhments follow upon penitential performances: theſe April ſhowers bring on May flowers. Tertullian ſaith, that he was nulli rei natus niſi poenitentiae, born for no other purpoſe, but to repent: but then, he that truly repenteth, de peccatis dolet, & de dolore gandet, is grieved for his ſins, and then is glad of ſuch a grief. Thoſe that ſo ſow in tears ſhall reap in joy: whereas thoſe that will not (in an evill time,Eſay 22.12. eſpecially when God calls to weeping and mourning, and even thruſts men down as it were with a thump on the back) weep here, where there are weeping handkerchiefs in the hands of Chriſt, are like to have their eyes whipt out in hell, and to howl with devills.
A time to mourn] Matter enough of mourning wee ſhall bee ſure of (and wee ſhould bee ſoberly ſenſible of it) whiles wee are in this vale of miſery, vally of tears, in hoc exilio, in hoc ergaſtulo, in hoc peregrinatione, (as Bernard hath it) in this Priſon-houſe, Purgatory, Pilgrimage, in this place of baniſhment and bondage, how can wee look for better? God ſet us not here, as hee did Adam in Paradiſe, to take his pleaſure, or as hee did Leviathan in the Sea, to ſport and dally. Wee muſt not think to do as the people of Tombutum in Africk, who are ſaid to ſpend their whole time in ſinging and dancing. The way of this world is like the wilderneſs of Sin, or the vale of Siddim, Camd. Eliſab.or the Pacifique Sea, which Captain Drake found tempeſtuous and troublous above meaſure. Many miſeries and moleſtations both, Satanical and ſecular, wee are ſure to meet with, to make us mourn. Hierome complains that hee had furrows in his face, and Iſicles from his lips with continual weeping. Origen is thought to have died of grief. Chryſoſtome calls the days of his life, the days of his ſorrow. Baſil was made old and unprofitable for Gods Church, before his time, with travel and trouble. Rebecca is weary of her life, ſo is Elijah; Naomi will bee Naomi no longer, but Marah-Paul veyls all his top-ſayls, and ſits down in the duſt, 1 Tim. 1.15. beſides his ſympathizing with others, 2 Cor. 11.29, 30.
And a time to dance] Or skip as young Cattel do at ſpring-tide. Here is nothing for mixt immodeſt dancings. Quid opus eſt talibus ſa…amentis? What need people provoke themſelves to that evill they ſo naturally encline to? Nemo ſobrius ſaltat, ſaid the Heathen Oratour, No ſober man will offer to dance.Chryſoſt. Auguſtin. Where there is dancing, there the Devill is, ſaith a Father: and cannot men bee merry, unleſs they have the Devill for their Play-fellow? Dancing (ſaith Another) is a circle, whoſe center is the Devill, but buſily blowing up the fire of luſt, as in Herod, that old Goat.
Sander. ſchiſm. Ang. lib. 1.Verſ. 5. A time to caſt away ſtones] As when King Henry the eighth pulled down the Abbyes and other religious Houſes, (as they called them) ſaying, Corvorum nidos eſſe penitus diſturbandos, ne iterum ab cohabitandum convolent, that the Crows neſts were to be pulled in peeces,Acts and Mon. that they might never neſtle there any more. And herein hee did but as Cardinal Wolſey did before him: for hee, by the Popes own licenſe▪ had a little before, pulled down forty Monaſteries, and taken their ſtones and revenues, to build and endow his two Colledges at Oxford, and Ipſwich. Elapidation is a peece of the Churches happineſs, Eſa. 5.2.
And a time to gather ſtones together] As in building Forts, Caſtles, Colledges, Bridges, Cauſeys, ſuch as was that, 1 Chron. 26.16, 18. 1 King. 10.5. 2 Chron. 9.11. See 2 Chron. 16.6.
A time to embrace] With honeſt conjugal embracements (as the Chaldee Paraphraſt interprets it) not with thoſe libidinous embracings of the boſom of a ſtranger,R…pertus. Prov. 5.20. No time for ſuch, 1 Pet. 4.3. Diabolus capite blanditur, ventre oblectat, cauda ligat.
And a time to refrain] As in times of common calamity: for ſhould wee then make mirth? Ezek. 21.10. Should not the Bridegroom come forth of his chamber, and the Bride out of her Cloſet? Joel 2.16. Some of the Ancients do very much note the manner of Noahs going into the Ark,Ambroſ. de Noe & Arca, cap 21 and how the father and the ſonnes went together, the mother and her daughters in Law went together: God himſelf dividing at that time thoſe whom himſelf had joyned together. Others tell us, that & bruta ipſa intra Arcam, quamdiu diluvium duravit, continuerint, the very brute creatures coupled not in the Ark, during the deluge. There is both an intemperate and an intempeſtive abuſe of the marriage Bed, which ought to bee kept undefiled, Heb. 13.3. and not ſtained and diſhonoured with either unſeaſonable or ſenſual exceſſes, and uncleanneſſes; which God will certainly plague, (though they lye without the walk of humane cenſure) without true and timely repentance.Sculte. Annal. Lutheri nuptias amici etiam improbabant, &c. Luthers marrying a wiſe then when all Germany was in a hurly-burly,Quoniam vero ipſum Luth…rum quodammodo triſt…orem eſſe ceruo & perturbatum ob vitae mutationem, omni ſtudio & benevolentia conſolari eum cupio. and all Saxony in heavineſs for the death of their good Elector Frederick (Luthers greateſt friend) was no ſmall grief to his beſt friends; and afterward alſo to himſelf, as Melanchthon teſtifieth in an Epiſtle to Camerarius.
Verſ. 6. A time to get] Heb. to ſeek: for men do but ſeek here, they do not properly get what they cannot long hold. How much better therefore were it to ſeek God? Cujus inventio eſt ipſum ſemper quaerere, (as Nyſſen hath it here) the finding of whom is always to ſeek him, and in ſeeking of whom there is ſo great reward, Heb. 11.6. Seek yee mee, and yee ſhall live, Amos 5.4. Seek him that maketh the ſeven Stars and Orion, verſ. 8. Seek him in a time when hee may bee found, Pſal. 32.6. Now is th… …ccepted time, now is the day of Salvation,foreign. Naz. Aug. 2 Cor. 6.2. Take the preſent Now and bee ſerious, and then God ſcorns to do as Heathen Idolls did, viz. to ſay to the ſeed of Jacob, Seek yee mee in vain, Iſa. 45.9. How greedy are men of getting gain? Get God, and you get all: Habet omnia qui habet habentem omnia.
And a time to loſe] There is an uncertainty in riches, 1 Tim. 6.27. a deceitfulneſs, Mark 4.19. alye, Joh. 2.8. they were never true to thoſe that truſted them,Mim…s. ſubject they are to vanity or violence, Matth. 6. How ſeldome doe Gameſters grow rich? Vitrea eſt fortuna; cum ſplende…, frangitur. And as they ſay of the metal, they make glaſſe of; it is neareſt melting, when it ſhines brighteſt in the fire: ſo are many rich men neareſt ruine, when at greateſt luſtre, as Haman, Herod, Pythius, &c.
A time to keep] 'Tis good for a man to keep ſomewhat by him. Bonus Servatius facit bonum Bonifacium, according to the Dutch blunt Proverb,Eccleſ. 11.1. A good Saver, makes a good wel-doer. See the Note on Prov. 6.8.
And a time to caſt away] To caſt bread upon the waters, upon thoſe poor Creatures that pinched with penury, water their plants, feed upon tears. And although bread and other comforts caſt upon ſuch may ſeem caſt down the waters, becauſe no hope of recompence, yet thou ſhalt bee recompenced at the Reſurrection of the Juſt (ſaith Chriſt to ſuch) and bleſſed in the mean while, Luk. 14.14. Temporalia Dei ſervis impenſa non pereunt, ſed paer…uriunt, Almes periſheth not, but is put to uſe.
Verſ. 7. A time to rent, and a time to ſew] As in making a new, or tranſlating an old garment.Fuller. Turks wonder at Engliſh for pincking or cutting their cloathes, and making holes in whole cloth, which time of it ſelf would tear too ſoon. It was a cuſtom among the Jews, to rent their cloathes in caſe of ſad occurrences. The Prophet Ahijah rent Jeroboams new garment in twelve peeces, to ſhew that God would rend the Kingdom out of the hand of Solomon, 1 King. 11.31. Schiſmaticks rend the Church, Hereticks the Scriptures: God will ſtitch up all in his own time, and heal the breaches thereof, Pſal. 60.2.
A time to keep ſilence, and a time to ſpeak] It is a ſingular skill to time a word, Iſa. 50.4. to ſet it upon its wheels, Prov. 25.11. as Abigail did for her family, 1 Sam. 25. as Eſther did againſt Haman. And it is an happy thing when a man can pray as one once did, Det Deus ut ſermo meus adeo commodus ſit, quam ſit accommodus, God grant my ſpeech may bee as profitable as it is ſeaſonable. He that would be able to ſpeak when and as he ought,foreign. Pythagorica. Cuſpin. de Coeſarib. 475. muſt firſt learn ſilence, as the Pythagoreans did of old, as the Turks doe at this day, Perpetuum ſilentium tenent ut muti, they are not ſuffered to ſpeak: Diſcamus prius non loqui, ſaith Hierome upon this text. Let us firſt learn not to ſpeak, that afterwards we may open our mouthes to ſpeak wiſely.foreign. Cic. de Amici…. Silence is fitly ſet here before ſpeaking, and firſt takes its time and turn. It is a good rule that one gives, either keep ſilence, or ſpeak that that is better than ſilence.
Verſ. 8. A time to love, and a time to hate] Yet I like not his counſel that ſaid. Ama tanquam oſurus, odi tanquam amaturus. Let a man chuſe whom he may love, and then love whom he hath choſen. Let love be without diſſimulation: abhor the evil, cleave to the good, Rom. 12.9. Hate wee may (but then it muſt be) Non virum, ſed vitium, not the man, but his evil qualities; whereof alſo we muſt ſeek to bereave him, that he may bee totus deſiderabilis, altogether lovely, Cant. 5.16.
A time of war, and a time of peace] Time (ſaith an Interpreter) is a circle; and the Preacher ſhutteth up this paſſage of time in a circle. For having begun with a time to be born, and a time to dye, he endeth with a time of warre, which is a time of dying, and with a time of peace, which is a time, wherein people, by bringing forth, are multiplied.
Verſ. 9. What profit hath he that worketh, &c.] i. e. How can any man by any means he can uſe, help,Cui bono. or hinder this volubility and vanity that he meets with in every creature? What profit? ſee the Note on chap. 1.3. whereunto this verſe relateth, as being a concluſion of the principal argument.
Verſ. 10. I have ſeen the travell that God, &c.] Not Fortune, but Providence ordereth all croſſe occurrences: a wheel there is within a wheel, Ezek. 1. then when men may think things run on wheels, at ſixes and ſevens▪ as they ſay. Humble your ſelves under the mighty hand of God, 1 Pet. 5.6. His holy hand hath a ſpecial ſtroke in all our travels. Hee both ordaineth, Act. 2. and ordereth all, Gen. 50.20. altering the property, Rom. 8.28. and diſpoſing them to good, rayſing profit from all. Thus men afflicted Job for covetouſneſſe, the Devil for malice, chap. 1. God, for trial and exerciſe of his graces; to bee exerciſed therein, ſaith the text, or (as the word ſignifieth) to bee humbled therewith, to hide pride from man, Job 33. to tame and take him a link lower. Their hearts are brought down, Iſa. 29.4.ſaith the Prophet, they ſpeak out of the ground that erſt ſet their mouthes againſt Heaven, and ſaid, I am, and beſides mee there is none.
foreign ab or natu, Mundus a mundicie.Verſ. 11. He hath made every thing beautiful, &c.] Plato was wont to ſay, that God did always foreign work by Geometry. Another ſage ſaid, Pondere, me ſura, numero, Deus omnia fecit, God hath done all in number, weight, and meaſure; made and ſet all things in comely and curious order and equipage: he hath alſo prefined afore-hand a convenient and beautiful ſeaſon for every thing; ordering the diſorders of the world to his own glory and his Churches good.
Alſo he hath ſet the world in their heart] i. e. Hee hath given to men the Creature to contemplate; together with an earneſt deſire to ſearch into Natures ſecrets.foreign Rom. 1.22. The Vulgar renders this Text thus, Et mundum tradidit diſputationi corum, And he hath delivered the world to their diſputations. But ſo fooliſhly and impiouſly have men diſputed of God, of his Providence, of his Judgements, of the chief happineſſe, &c. that they have reaſoned, or rather wrangled away the truth: being neither able to find out the beginning nor end of the cauſes or uſes of Gods works. See Rom. 1.21, 22. Veritatem Philoſophiae quaerit, Theologia invenit, Religio poſſidet, ſaid Picus Mirandula; Philoſophy inquires after truth, Divinity findes it out, and Religion only improves it.
Gloſſa Minor.Verſ. 12. I know that there is no good in them] i. e. No other good, but for a man to rejoyce and doe good in his life, i. e. Frui praeſentibus & facere quod in futuro profit, to enjoy things preſent, and to do that that may doe him good a thouſand years hence: to expend what he hath upon himſelf, and to extend it unto others that are in neceſſity; this is to lay up in ſtore for himſelf a good foundation againſt the time to come, this is to lay hold upon eternal life, 1 Tim. 6.18, 19.
2 Theſſ. 3.Verſ. 13. And enjoy the good of all his labour] They that will not labour muſt not eat, ſaith the Apoſtle: As they that doe ſhall enjoy the good of all their labour, eat the labour of their hands, and be thrice happy, Pſal. 12.8, 12. Jabal and Jubal, Gen. 4. Valeat poſſeſſor oportes, Si comportatis rebus bone cogitat uti. Horat. Pſal. 43.5.Frugality and Muſick, good husbandry and good content, dwell together? and yet not alwayes, but where God gives the gift. Hee gives ſtrength to labour, and health to enjoy the good of our labour. This the rich fool in the Goſpel either knew not, or conſidered not: Eat, drink, and bee merry, ſaid he to himſelf: but God was not in all his thoughts. How much better David? Hope in the Lord, ſaith he to himſelf and others, and be doing good: dwell in the Land, and verily thou ſhalt be fed, Pſal. 37.3.
Verſ. 14. I know that whatſoever God doth it ſhall be for ever] i. e. That his Decree is unchangeable, that his counſel ſhall ſtand, Prov. 19. that the Sun may ſooner be ſtopt in his courſe, than God hindered of his will, or in his work: ſith his power and grace is irreſiſtable. Nature, Angels, Devils, Men, may all be reſiſted, and ſo miſs of their deſign; Not ſo God: For who hath reſiſted his will? Vain men, whiles (like proud, and yet brittle clay) they will be knocking their ſides againſt the ſolid and eternal Decree of God, break themſelves in peeces,1 King. 1. as Adoniah did. And whileſt, with Pompey, vanquiſhed by Julius Caeſar, they complain that there is a great miſt upon the eye of Divine Providence, they doe but blame the Sun, becauſe of the ſoreneſſe of their blear eyes. Certain it is, and Solomon knows it (though the beſt of Heathens doubted of it when they ſaw good men ſuffer, bad men proſper) that every Creature walks blind-fold; only he that dwels in light ſees whither they goe: and that the Charrets of all effects and actions come forth from between thoſe mountains of Braſſe, Gods provident Decrees and counſels moſt firm and immutable, Zach. 5.6.
That men ſhould fear before him] And not lay the reigns in the neck, caſting away all care upon pretence of Gods decree, as that French King did,Ludo. 11. that thus deſperately argued, Si ſalvabor, ſalvabor; ſi vero damnabor, damnabor; If I ſhall bee ſaved, I ſhall bee ſaved, and if I ſhall bee damned, I ſhall bee damned; therefore I will live as I liſt. This was to ſuck poyſon out of a ſweet flower, to daſh againſt the Rock of ages, to fall into the pit (like a profane beaſt) which was digged for better purpoſe,Exod. 21.23. to ſtumble at the word (an ill ſign, and yet an ordinary ſinne) whereunto alſo they were appointed, 1 Pet. 2.8. A bridge is made to give men ſafe paſſage over a dangerous River: but hee that ſtumbleth on the bridge is in danger to fall into the River: So here.
Verſ. 15. That which hath been, is now, &c.] viz. With God, to whom all things are preſent, Rom. 4.17. 2 Pet. 3.8. Jer. 1.5, 6, 7. Hence God is ſaid to know future things, Exod. 3.9. John 18.4. not to foreknow them. For indeed neither foreknowledge nor remembrance are properly in God, ſith his whole Eſſence is wholly an eye or a mind; it is the example or pattern of all things, ſo that hee needs but to look upon himſelf, and then hee ſeeth all things, as in a glaſs. The eye of man beholds many things at once, as Ants in a mole-hill: but if it will ſee other things at the ſame time, it muſt remove the ſight. The mind of man can take in a larger circuit, even a City, a Country, a World: but this it doth onelyonly in the lump or whole maſſe of it; for elſe it muſt remove from form to form, and from thought to thought. But God takes all at once moſt ſtedfaſtly, and perfectly. All things without him are but as a point or ball, which with as much eaſe hee diſcerneth, as wee turn our eyes.
And God requireth that which is paſt] Or enquireth, asketh, that which is by-gone; hee beſpeaks it as preſent, calling thoſe things that are not as if they were. Non aliter ſcivit Deus creatae quam creanda, ſaith Auſtin. God knew things to be created, as if they had been before created.
Verſ. 16. The place of judgement, that wickedneſs was there] i. e. That wrong reigned in the places of Judicature, that Juſtice was ſhamefully perverted, and publick Authority abuſed to publick injury. Cato ſaw as much in the Roman States, and complained, that private robbers were laid in cold irons,A. Gell. lib. 21. cap. 16. when publick theeves went in gold chains, and were cloathed in Purple. Another, not without cauſe, complains, that even among us Chriſtians, ſome follow the adminiſtration of Juſtice as a trade onelyonly; with an unquenchable and unconſcionable deſire of gain: which juſtifies the common reſemblance of the Courts of Juſtice to the Buſh, whereto whiles the Sheep flyes for defence in ill weather, hee is ſure to loſe part of his fleece. Such wickedneſs ſaw the Wiſeman in the place of Judgement, where hee leaſt looked for it. God himſelf looked for judgement, but behold a ſcab, Iſa. 5.7. So the Hebrew hath it.
Verſ. 17. I ſaid in my heart, God ſhall judge, &c.] Hee did not deny the Divine Providence, as Averroes for this cauſe did; much leſs did hee turn Atheiſt with Diagoras, becauſe hee could not have Juſtice done upon a fellow that had ſtollen a Poem of his, and publiſhed it in his own name. But hee concluded within himſelf,Pſal. 37. that God would ſurely take the matter into his own hand, Judge thoſe unrighteous Judges, right and relieve the oppreſſed, bring forth their righteouſneſs as the light, and their innocency as the noon-day, if not in this world, yet certainly at that great Aſſizes to bee held by his ſonne. (Becauſe hee hath appointed a day in the which hee will judge the world in righteouſneſs, whereof hee hath given aſſurance to allmen, &c.) Act. 17 31.His petty Seſſions he keepeth now, letting the Law paſs upon ſome few corrupt Judges by untimely death, diſgraces, baniſhment, remorſe of conſcience, &c. (as hee did upon Judge Morgan, that condemned the Lady Jane Gray, Judge Hales, Belknap, Empſon, Dudley, that I ſpeak not of Pilate, Felix, &c.] reſerving the reſt till the great Aſſizes, 1 Tim. 5.24. Some hee puniſheth here, leſt his Providence, but not all, leſt his patience and promiſe of Judgement ſhould be called into queſtion; as Auſtin well obſerveth. His two and twenty learned Books, De civitate Dei, were purpoſely written to clear up this truth. And ſo were Salvians eight Books, De gubernatione Dei, & de juſto praeſentique ejus judicio.
Verſ. 18. That they might ſee that they themſelves are beaſts] It is reckoned a great matter that wicked men are made to know themſelves to bee but men, and no more,Pſal. 37 22. Pſal. 9.20. But God will make good men ſee and ſay with David, Ambr. in Pſal. 72.So fooliſh was I and ignorant: I was as a Beaſt before thee. Pulchre addidit, Apúd te, ſaith Ambroſe upon thoſe words; Elegantly ſaid the Pſalmiſt, Before thee, becauſe in reſpect of God, what is man but an unreaſonable Beaſt? He that is wiſeſt among men,Socrat. apud Platon. ſaid Socrates, (who himſelf was held the wiſeſt of men) if hee bee compared to God, Simia videbitur, non ſapiens, hee will ſeem rather an Ape than a wiſe man.Eram apud te ſicut beſtia. Mercer. David calls himſelf not a Beaſt onelyonly, but Beaſts in the plural, Behemoth; or at leaſt, a very great Beaſt, not an Ape, but an Elephant. And this is that which God would have all good men ſee, h…mmah lahem, (as this text hath it) themſelves to themſelves, in their humble account of themſelves, as holy Agur did, Prov: 30. 2. See the Note there.
Verſ. 19. For that which befalleth the ſons of men] As hunger, thirſt, heat, cold, diſeaſes, aches, and other ill accidents.
Noc te tua plurima Pentheu Labeutem texit pietas.As the one dieth] They are ſure to dye, both of them.
Yea they have all one breath] They breathe in the ſame ayr, and exſpire alike, in reſpect of the body.
So that a man hath no preheminence] Unleſs it bee in reaſon and ſpeech, which hee frequently abuſeth to his own utter deſtruction. But otherwiſe,
Nos aper auditu praecellit, aranca tactu,
Vultur odoratu, lynx viſu, ſimia guſtu.
Verſ. 20. All are of the duſt] See the Note on Gen. 3.19.
Verſ. 21. Who knoweth the Spirit] q. d. Who but a man that is ſpiritually rational, and rationally ſpiritual?1 Cor. 2.16. Who but hee that hath the mind of Chriſt? that hath ſeen the Inſides of Nature and Grace? Whether Plato and Tully beleeved themſelves in what they wrote touching the immortality of the ſoul, is a great queſtion.
Verſ. 22. Whether I perceive] Hee reſumeth his aſſertion, v. 13. and concludeth. See chap. 2.24.