Commentary on Prov Ecc SoS Isa Jer Lam Eze Dan, Ecclesiastes · Chapter 4
CHAP. IV. Verſ. 1. So I returned, and conſidered.
HEre's a ſecond inſtance of corruption in civil State, added to that, chap. 3.16. to fill up the neſt of vanities.
And behold the tears of ſuch, &c.] Heb. Tear; as if they had wept their utmoſt,Expletur Iachrymis egeriturque dolor. Ovid. Et vix unicam lachrymulam extorquere poſſent, and could hardly ſqueeze out one poor tear more, for their own eaſe. For as Hindes by calving, ſo men by weeping caſt out their ſorrows. Job 39.3. Now tears are of many ſorts: Lachrymas anguſtiae exprimit crux: Alſted.lachrymas poenitentiae, peccatum: lachrymas ſympathia, affectus: lachrymas letitiae, excellentia gandii: denique lachrymas nequitiae, vel hypocriſis vel vindictae cupiditas. Oppreſſion draws tears of grief: Sin, tears of repentance: affection, tears of compaſſion: good ſucceſs, tears of joy: hypocriſy, or ſpite, tears of wickedneſs.
And they had no comforter] This was Jobs doleful caſe, and Davids, Pſal. 69.21. and the Churches in the Lamentations, chap. 1.2. Affert ſolatium lugentibus ſuſpiriorum ſocietas, ſaith Baſil. Pitty allays miſery: but incompaſſionateneſs of others, increaſeth it. This was one of Sodoms ſinnes, Ezek. 16.49. and of thoſe Epicures in Amos, chap. 6.6. The King and Haman ſate drinking in the gate; but the whole City of Suſan was in heavineſs, Eſth. 3.15.
And on the ſide of their oppreſſours, &c.] The oppreſſed Romans ſighed out to Pompey, Noſtra miſeria tu es Magnus. The world hath almoſt as many wild Beaſts and Monſters, as it hath Landlords, in divers places. It is a woful thing, ſurely, to ſee how great ones quaff the tears of the oppreſſed, and to hear them make muſick of ſhricks.
Verſ. 2. Wherefore I praiſed the dead] Becauſe they are out of the reach of wrong-doers; and if dead in the Lord, they have entred into peace, they doe reſt in their beds, each one walking in his uprightneſſe, Iſa. 57.2. But if otherwiſe, men had better doe any thing, ſuffer any thing here, than dye: ſith by death (as by a trap-do…e) they enter into thoſe terrors and torments that ſhall never either mend or end. Men, (like ſilly fiſhes) ſee one another caught and jerkt out of the Pond of life; but they ſee not (alas) the fire and pan into the which they are caſt, that dye in their ſins. Oh! it had been better (ſurely) for ſuch; if they had never been born, as Chriſt ſaid of Judas; than thus to be brought forth to the murtherer, (to that old Man-ſlayer,) to be hurled into Hell,Hoſ. 4. there to ſuffer ſuch things, as they ſhall never be able to avoyd or abide.
Verſ. 3. Yea better is he than both they] The Heathen could ſay, Optimum non naſci: proximum mori. Life is certainly a bleſſing of God, though never ſo calamitous. Why is living man ſorrowful? ſaith the Prophet:Lam. 3.39 and it is as if he ſhould ſay; Man, if alive, hath ſome cauſe of comfort, amidſt all his miſeries: if he may ſcape though but with the skin of his teeth, and have his life for a prey, he ſhould ſee matter of thankfulneſs, and ſay,Job 19.20 Lam. 3. It is the Lords mercy that I am not conſumed, that I am yet on this ſide hell. But thoſe that have ſet their hearts upon earthly things, if ever they loſe them, they are filled almoſt with unmedicinable ſorrows; ſo as they will praiſe the dead above the living, and wiſh they had never been born. Theſe are they whom Solomon in this ſentence is by ſome thought to perſonate.
Verſ. 4. That for this a man is envied of his neighbour] This is another peece of lifes vanity; that as greater men will lye heavie upon you and oppreſſe you, ſo meaner men will be envying at you, and oppoſe you; as Cain did Abel, Sauls Courtiers did David, the Peers of Perſia, Daniel; the Scribes and Phariſees, our Saviour: Every Zopyrus ſhall be ſure to have his Zoilus. The garment of righteouſneſſe, party-coloured with all variety of graces, is a great eye-ſore to the wicked, and makes the Saints maligned. See Prov. 27.4. with the note there.
Verſ. 5. The fool foldeth his hands together] A graphical and lively deſcription of a Sluggard, fitly called a fool, foreign, a naughty perſon. Thou idle and evil ſervant, Matth. 25.26. God puts no difference betwixt Nequaquam and Nequam, a drone and a naughty-pack, ſeem he never ſo wiſe in his own eyes, Prov. 26.16. and have he never ſo much reaſon to alledge for himſelf (as in the verſe here next following) a fool he is, and ſo he will ſoon prove himſelf. For, he folds up his hands, and hides them in his own boſome, Prov. 26.15. A great many chares hee is likely to doe the while. See the Note on Prov. 19.24. And as (Neque mola, neque farina, nothing doe, nothing have) hee cateth hit own fleſh, he maketh many an hungry meal, he hath a Doggs life, as we ſay; Eaſe ſlayeth this fool, Prov. 1.32. poverty comes upon him as an armed man. Grief alſo ſlayes him, Prov. 21.25. envie conſumes his fleſh, and he is vexed at the plenty of painful perſons; and becauſe he cannot come at, or rather pull out their hearts, he feeds upon his own.
Verſ. 6. Better is an handful with quietneſſe] This is the ſluggards plea; whereby hee boulſtereth himſelf up in his wickedneſs, and would make you beleeve that he did, non ſine ratione inſanire, not play the Mad-man without good reaſon. To what end (ſaith he) ſhould a man toyl and tire out himſelf with hard labour to compaſſe commodity, making a drudge and a beaſt of himſelf for a little pelf; ſith he knows not who ſhall have the ſpending of it, and he is ſure to be either ſqueezed by his Superiours, as verſ. 1. of this Chapter, or elſe envied by his neighbours, as verſ. 4? Is not a little with …aſe better? a penny by begging better than two pence by true labour? It is well obſerved by an Interpreter, that this ſentence uttered by the ſluggard, is in its true meaning, not much different from that of the Wiſe-man, Prov. 17.1. but ill applyed by him. Good words are not alwayes to be truſted, from ill men eſpecially.
Verſ. 7. Then I returned, and ſaw vanity, &c.] i. e. another extream of vanity, viſible where-ever the Sun is ſeen. Dum vitant ſtulti vitium, in contrariae currant: Fools whiles they ſhun the ſands, ruſh upon the rocks; as Herod would needs prevent perjury by murther. The ſluggard here, ſeeing thoſe that doe beſt to be envied of others, reſolves to doe juſt nothing. Again, the covetous Miſer, ſeeing the ſluggard lye under ſo much infamy for doing nothing, ſe laboribus conficit, undoes himſelf with over-doing. Sed nemo ita perplexus tenetur inter duo vitia, quinexitus pateat, abſque tertio, ſaith an Ancient: But no man is ſo held hampered betwixt two vices, but that hee may well get off, without falling into a third. What need Eutyches fall into the other extream of Neſtorius? or Stancarus of Oſiander? or Illyricus of Strigelius? but that they were for their pride juſtly given up to a ſpirit of giddineſſe.
Verſ. 8. There is one alone, and there is not a ſecond] A matchleſſe Miſer, a fellow that hardly hath a fellow, a ſolivagant or ſolitary vagrant, that dare not marry for fear of a numerous off-ſpring. Child he hath none to ſucceed him, nor brother to ſhare with him, and yet there is no end of all his labour: he takes unceſſant pains, and works like an horſe, neither is his eye ſatisfied with riches, that luſt of the eye (as St. John calls covetouſneſſe) is as a bottomleſſe gulf,1 Joh. 2.15 as an unquenchable fire, as Leviathan that wanteth room in the main Ocean, or as Behemoth, (Job 40.23.) that truſteth that hee can draw up Jordan into his mouth.
Neither ſaith he, for whom doe I labour and bereave] Si haec duo tecum verba reputaſſes, Orat. pro Quintio.Quid ago? reſpiraſſet cupiditas & avaritia panlulum, ſaith Cicero to Nevius. If thou wouldſt but take up thoſe two words, and ſay to thy ſelf, What doe I? thy luſt and covetouſneſſe would bee ſomewhat rebated thereby. But luſt is inconſiderate and headlong: neither is any thing more irrational than irreligion. The rich glutton bethought himſelf of his ſtore, and reſolved to take part of it.Luk. 12.17 1 Cor. 9 So did Nabal; but this wretch here hath not a ſecond: he plants a Vineyard, and eats not of the fruit, &c.
And bereave my ſoul of good) i. e. deprive my ſelf of neceſſary conveniencies and comforts, and defraud my Genius of that which God hath given me richly to enjoy, 1 Tim. 6. Or, bereave my ſoul of good, of God, of grace, of heaven, never thinking of eternity,1 Tim. 6.18 of laying up for my ſelf a good foundation, that I may lay hold upon eternal life: but by low ends, even in religious duties, making earth my throne, and heaven my footstool. This is vanity in the abſtract; this is a ſore travel, becauſe Nulla emolumenta laborum, no good to be gotten by it, no pay for a mans pains. But as the Bird that ſitteth on the Serpents eggs, by breaking and hatching them brings forth a perillous brood, to her own deſtruction; ſo doe thoſe that ſit abrood on the worlds vanities.
Verſ. 9. Two are better than one] Friendly ſociety is farre beyond that wretched aloneneſſe of the covetous Caitiff, verſ. 8. Hee joyns houſe to houſe, and land to land, that he may live alone in the earth, Eſay 5.8. Horat.Quin fine rivali ſe que & ſua ſolus amato. Let him enjoy his moping ſolitarineſſe, if he can. It is not good for man to bee alone, Gen. 2. Ariſtot. Polis. 1.ſaith God. And he that loves to be alone, is either a beaſt or a god, ſaith the Philoſopher. Man is foreign, a ſociable creature, he is Natures good-fellow, and holds this for a Rule, Optimum ſolatium ſodalitium, There is great comfort in good company: next to communion with God is the communion of Saints. Chriſt ſent out his Apoſtles by two and two, Mar. 6.7. He himſelf came from Heaven to converſe with us; and ſhall we like Stoicks, ſty up our ſelves, and not daily run into good company? The evil ſpirit is for ſolitarineſſe, God is for ſociety. He dwels in the Aſſembly of his Saints; yea,Dupla & compaginata pleraque fecit Deus, ut coelum & terram, ſolem & lunam, marem & foeminam. Orig. in Gen. 1 Vid E…ſm. in Adagio foreign. there he hath a delight to dwell, calling the Church his Chepht ſibah, Eſay 62.4. and the Saints were Davids Chaphtfibam, his delight, Pſal. 16.2. Neither doth God nor good men take pleaſure in a ſtern froward auſterity, or wild retiredneſſe: but in a mild affableneſſe and amiable converſation.
Verſ. 10. For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow] Provided, that they hold together, and be both of a mind. That which is ſtronger ſhoreth up that which is weaker. While Latimer and Ridley lived, they kept up Cranmer by intercourſe of Letters and otherwiſe, from entertaining counſels of revolt. Biſhop Ridley being Priſoner in the Tower, had the liberty of the ſame; to prove, belike, whether he would goe to Maſs or no: which once he did. And Mr. Bradford being there Priſoner, and hearing thereof,Act. & Mon. fol. 1930. wrote an effectual Letter to perſwade him from the ſame, which did Mr. Ridley no little good; for he repented, &c. Biſhop Farrar alſo being in the Kings-bench Priſoner, was travelled withall by the Papiſts in the end of Lent, to receive the Sacrament at Eaſter in one kind; who after much perſwading, yeelded to them, and promiſed ſo to doe. But, by Gods good providence, the Eaſter-even, the day before he ſhould have done it, was Bradford brought to the ſame Priſon,Ib. 1457. where, the Lord making him his inſtrument, Bradford only was the means that the ſaid Biſhop revoked his promiſe, and would never after yeeld to bee ſpotted with that Papiſtical pitch.Ibid. Dr. Taylor for like cauſe rejoyced that ever he came into priſon there to be acquainted with that Angel of God, John Bradford: ſo he called him, for the good he received from him. One man may bee an Angel to another in regard of counſel and comfort: nay, a God to another, as Moſes was to Aaron. Though he fall he ſhall ariſe, for the Lord puts under his hand, Pſal. 37.24.
But woe to him that is alone] Becauſe Satan is readieſt to aſſault, when none is by to aſſiſt: Solitarineſſe therefore is not to be affected, becauſe it is the hour of temptation.
For he hath not a ſecond to help him up] As Elizabeth Cowper the Martyr in Queen Maries dayes had, who being condemned, and at the ſtake with Simon Miller, when the fire came unto her, ſhe a little ſhrank thereat, crying once Ha; when Simon heard the ſame, he put his hand behind him toward her, and willed her to be ſtrong and of good chear: for, Good Siſter, ſaid he,Ib. 1981. we ſhall ſoon have a joyful and ſweet ſupper: it is but winking a little and you are in heaven. With theſe, and the like ſpeeches ſhe being ſtrengthned ſtood ſtill and quiet, as one moſt glad to finiſh that good work. It was therefore a devilliſh policy in Julian and other Heathen Perſecutors, to baniſh Chriſtians into farre Countries one from another, and to confine them to Iſles and Mines, where they could not have acceſſe one to another.
Verſ. 11. Again, if two lye together, then they have heat] Heat of zeal and good affection. Did not our hearts burn within us, ſaid thoſe two Diſciples,Luke 24. when Chriſt once made the third with them, and by holy conference kindled them? So when Silas and Timotheus came from Macedonia, Paul was preſſed in ſpirit, Acts 18.5. Warm he was before, but now all of a light fire, as it were. Thoſe dull daughters of Jeruſalem, by hearing the Spouſe deſcribe her beloved, as ſhee doth from top to toe, were fired up with deſire to joyn with her in ſeeking after him whom her ſoul loved. The lying together of the dead body of one with the bones of Eliſha, gave life to it: ſo doth good company give life to thoſe that are dead in ſin. Let two cold flints bee ſmitten together, and fire will come forth: So let two dull Chriſtians conferre and communicate their ſoul-ſecrets, and it ſhall not repent them, they ſhall find the benefit of it. Canſt thou bind the ſweet influences of the Pleiades? ſaith God to Job, chap. 38.31. Theſe Pleiades be the ſeven Stars, that have all one name, becauſe they all help one another in their work; which is to bring the Spring; and like ſeven Siſters, ſo are they joyned together in one conſtellation, and in one company. Wee ſee that God will have the ſweeteſt works in Nature to bee performed with mutual help. The beſt time of the year, the ſweeteſt warmth cometh with theſe Pleiades; and the beſt time of our life cometh when wee lye together in true love and fellowſhip. No ſooner had the Philippians received the Goſpel, but they were in fellowſhip to a day, Phil. 1.5. They knew, that as ſincerity is the life of Religion, ſo is ſociety the life of ſincerity.
Verſ. 12. And if one prevail againſt him, &c.] Vis unita fortior. God bade Gideon to go down to the Camp of the Midianites: and if he feared to go, then to take with him his ſervant Phurah. 1 Sam. 26Jonathan will not goe without his armor-bearer, David without Abiſhai. Chriſt, when to begin his Paſſion in the Garden, took Peter, James, and John with him, for the benefit of their prayers and company,Pſal. 122.3 Cant. 7. Matth. 16. though they ſerved him but ſorrily. My dove is but one, Cant. 6.9. Jeruſalem is a City compact together. The Church is terrible as an Army with banners: the gates of Hell cannot prevail againſt her. Unity hath victory, but diviſion breeds diſſolution, as it did once in this Iſland when Caeſar firſt entred it. Dum ſinguli pugnant univerſi vincuntur, ſaith Tacitus of the ancient Britans. The Turks pray daily, that the differences amongſt us Chriſtians may be heightned,Camer. medit. Hiſt. cen. 2. cap 23. Rich. Axiom. Polit. p. 86 for that will ſooneſt undoe us. And one of their Emperours, when his Council diſſwaded him from a Warre againſt the Germans, becauſe of their multitude, ſaid, that he feared them not, becauſe ſooner would his fingers be all of one length, than their Princes all of one mind.
And a three-fold cord is not eaſily broken] A proverbial confirmation well interpreted by Lyra; Quanto plures & boni in amicitia conjuncti ſunt, tanto ſtatus corum melioratur. The more they are that unite, ſo they bee good, the better it is with them. See 2 Sam. 10.9, 10, 11, 12. We loſe much of our ſtrength in the loſſe of friends; our cable is as it were untwiſted. Hence David ſo bemoans the loſs of Jonathan, 2 Sam. 1.and made him an Epitaph. Hence St. Paul counted it a ſpecial mercy to him that Epaphroditus recovered, Phil. 1.27.
Verſ. 13. Better is a poor and wiſe childe] Such as was Joſeph, David, Daniel, and his three Camerades, &c. apt to learn, ready to receive inſtruction, and as careful to follow it. And well doth the Preacher joyn poverty with wiſdome; for, Neſcio quomodo bonae mentis ſoror eſt paupertas, ſaith he in Petronius: and, Paupertas eſt Philoſophiae vernacula, Poverty is the proper language of Philoſophy; and wiſdome is undervalued and little ſet by. Thoſe wiſeſt of the Greeks were very poor,Alian. l. 2 Ariſtides, Phocion, Pelopidas, Epaminondas, Socrates, Ephialtes. So were thoſe Worthies of whom the world was not worthy, Heb. 11.38. They wandred about in Sheep-skins, and Goat-skins, being deſtitute, &c. Sweet-ſmelling Smyrna was the pooreſt of all the ſeven Churches,Revel. 3. yet hath the richeſt price ſet upon it. Lactantius dyed miſerable poor, ſo did Theodorus Gaza that learned Greek. Of Archimedes thus ſings Silius, Sil. lib. 14Nudus opum, ſed cui coelum terraeque patebant.
But I am fully of Aeneas Sylvius his judgement; that Popular men ſhould eſteem wiſdome as ſilver, Noble-men as gold, Princes as pearls. Of Queen Elizabeth (that peerleſſe Princeſſe) it is ſaid,Camb. Eliz. that ſhe hated no leſſe than did Mithridates, ſuch as deſpiſed vertue forſaken of fortune:
Eraſm.Than an old and fooliſh King] Brabanti quo magis ſeneſcunt, eo magis ſtulteſcunt. So doe many men of quality, Monarchs and others, weak and yet wilful, ſhort-witted, and yet ſelf-conceited; ſuch as were Saul, Rehoboam, Jehoiakim, Nebuchadnezzar, our Henry the third, called Regni dilapidator, and that James that reigned in Scotland in our Edward the fourths time;Daniels Hiſt. of whom it is ſtoried, that hee was ſo much wedded to his own opinion, that hee could not endure any mans advice (how good ſoever) that hee fancied not;Ibid. hee would ſeldom ask counſel, but never follow any. Xerxes in his expedition againſt Greece, Val. Max. lib. 9 cap. 5.is reported to have called his Princes together, and thus to have ſpoken to them; Leſt I ſhould ſeem to follow mine own counſel, I have aſſembled you: and now do you remember, that it becomes you rather to obey than to adviſe.
Verſ. 14. For out of priſon hee commeth to reign] As Valentinian the Emperour, Sultan Muſtapha the great Turk,Daniels hiſt. fol 480. Anno Dom. 1622. Our Henry the fourth, who was crowned the very ſame day, that the year before hee had been baniſhed the realm. As on the other ſide, Henry the ſixth was ſent again priſoner to the Tower the ſame day that hee had been carried through the City as it were in triumph, and had heard the ſhouts of the commons in every ſtreet, crying, God ſave King HENRY: Loe, Hee that had been the moſt potent Monarch for Dominions (ſaith the Chronicler) that ever England had,Speed. 881. was not now the maſter of a mole-hill, nor owner of his own liberty. So that in him it appeared, that mortality was but the ſtage of mutability; when a man born in his Kingdome, yea born to a Kingdome, became thus miſerably poor. Furthermore, Henry Holland Duke of Exceſter, grand-childe to John of Gaunt, may ſerve as a fit inſtance and example to all, how uncertain Adams ſonnes are of any continuing greatneſs. For, (ſaith Phil. Commines) I once ſaw him run on foot bare-legged after the Duke of Burgundies train,Date obolum Belliſario. begging his bread for Gods ſake: but hee uttered not his name,Speed. 887. hee being the neareſt of the houſe of Lancaſter, and brother in Law unto King Edward the fourth, from whom hee fled. And being known what hee was, Burgundy gave him a ſmall penſion to maintain his eſtate.
Verſ. 15. I conſidered all the living, &c.] Hee means the multitude (that ſhallow-brain'd, but great and many-headed beaſt) making defection from their old Prince, though never ſo prudent; and ſetting up his own ſonne againſt him (as they dealt by David more than once) meerly out of an itch of inſtability,Omnes Solem orientem adorant, contenmunt occidentem. Macro, expirante Tiberio, Caium fovebat Cui Tiberius, Tu recte, inquit, Macro, foreign. Dio. and affectation of novelty. Now as this is to others, ſo to Kings alſo a vexation, to ſee already the common aſpect of their people bent upon another object before the time; to behold them worſhipping the riſing ſunne, as the Proverb is, and themſelves laid aſide, in a manner, as broken veſſels out of requeſt, in compariſon. Crowns have their cares and croſſes, and high ſeats are never but uneaſy. O vilis pannus! O baſe clout! ſaid one King concerning his diadem: were it but known how many moleſtations and miſeries do attend thee, Nemo foret qui te tollere vellet humo, no man would deign to take thee up lying at his feet. Antoninus the Philoſopher ſaid often, that the Empire was Malorum Oceanus, an ocean of miſchiefs: and another cauſed it to bee written upon his tombe, Felix ſi non imperitaſſem, Happy had I been if I had never reigned. It is ſeldome ſeen (as before hath been obſerved) that God allows unto the greateſt darlings of the world a perfect contentment, be they never ſo well deſerving. Something they muſt have to complain of, that ſhall give an unſavory verdure to their ſweeteſt morſells, and make their very felicity miſerable.
Verſ. 16. There is no end of all the people] i. e. They are infinitely diſcontented and reſtleſs in their deſires after a new and another Governour. foreign, as Thucydides long ſince obſerved, the preſent government be it never ſo good, is always grievous. O that I were made Judge in the Land, 2 Sam. 15.4.ſaid Abſolom. O that thou wert, ſaid the people, who yet had ſoon enough of him. And ſo had they of their new King Saul, whom contra gentes, they would needleſly have, after the manner of all other nations, 1 Sam. 8.6, 7. How ſoon did the Baptiſt grow ſtale to the Jews (that had lately heard him gladly) and was no more ſet by than a reed ſhaken with the wind? John 5. Mat. 11.How ſuddenly did they change their note concerning Chriſt, from Hoſanna to Crucifige? The common people are like to children (ſaith an Interpreter) that reſt not contented with any School-maſter: & like to ſervants that love to change every year their maſters. People are deſirous to hear new Preachers, as Feaſters to hear new Songs, and new Inſtruments, Ezek. 33.32.