Commentary on Prov Ecc SoS Isa Jer Lam Eze Dan, Ecclesiastes · Chapter 9
CHAP. IX. Verſ. 1. For all this I conſidered in mine heart.]
HEE that will rightly conſider of any thing, had need to conſider of many things: all that do concern it, all that do give light unto it, had need to bee looked into, or elſe wee fall too ſhort.
Sis ideo in partes circumſpectiſſimus omnes.
Even to declare all this] Or, To clear up all this to my ſelf. Symmachus rendred it, Ut ventilarem haec univerſa, that I might ſift and ſearch out all theſe things by much toſſing and turning of the thoughts. Truth lies low and cloſe, and muſt with much induſtry bee drawn into the open light.
That the righteous and the wiſe] Theſe are terms convertible. The worlds wiſards ſhall one day cry out, Nos inſenſati, Wee fools counted their lives madneſs, &c.
And their works] Or, Their ſervices, actions, imployments; all which together with themſelves are in the hand of God, who knows them by name, and exerciſeth a ſingular providence over them; ſo that they are kept by the power of God through Faith unto ſalvation. The enemy ſhall not exact upon him, nor the ſon of wickedneſs afflict him, Pſal. 89.22. What a ſweet providence was it, that when all the Males of Iſrael appeared thrice in the year before the Lord at Jeruſalem, none of their neighbour-Nations (though profeſſed enemies to Iſrael) ſhould ſo much as deſire their Land, Exod. 34.24? And again, that after the ſlaughter of Gedaliah, ſo pleaſant a Country (left utterly deſtitute of inhabitants, and compaſſed about with ſuch warlike Nations, as the Ammonites, Moabites, Edomites, Philiſtims, &c.) was not invaded nor replanted by forreiners for ſeventy years ſpace, but the room kept empty, till the return of the Naturals?
No man knows either love or hatred, &c.] That is, the thing hee either loves or hates (ſay ſome Interpreters) by reaſon of the fickleneſs of his eaſily alterable affections. How ſoon was Amnons heart eſtranged from his Thamar, and Ahaſhueroſh from his Minion Haman, the Jews from John Baptiſt, the Galatians from Paul, &c? But I rather approve of thoſe that refer this love and hatred unto God (underſtanding them, foreign, in a divine manner) and make the meaning to bee, that by the things of this life, which come alike to all (as the next verſe hath it) no man can make judgement of Gods love or hatred towards him. The ſun of proſperity ſhines as well upon brambles of the wilderneſs, as fruit-trees of the Orchard; the ſnow and hail of adverſity lights upon the beſt gardens, as well as upon the wilde waſte. Ahab's and Joſia's ends concur in the very circumſtances. Saul and Jonathan, though different in their deportments, yet in their deaths they were not divided, 2 Sam. 1.23. How far wide then is the Church of Rome, that borrows her marks, from the market, plenty or cheapneſs? &c. And what an odde kinde of reaſoning was that of her Champions with Marſh the Martyr, whom they would have perſwaded to leave his opinions,Acts and Mon. fol. 1411. becauſe all the bringers up, and favourers of that Religion (as the Dukes of Northumberland and Suffolk for inſtance) had evil luck, and were either put to death, or in priſon, and in danger of life. Again, the favourers of the Religion then uſed had wondrous good luck, and proſperity in all things, &c.
Verſ. 2. All things come alike to all] See the Note on verſ. 1. Health, Wealth, Honours, &c. are caſt upon good men and bad men promiſcuouſly. God makes a ſcatter of them as it were; good men gather them, bad men ſcramble for them.Nihil eſt niſi mica panis. The whole Turkiſh Empire, ſaith Luther, is nothing elſe but a cruſt caſt by Heavens great Houſe-keeper to his Doggs.
And hee that ſweareth, as hee that feareth an oath] No ſurer ſign of a prophane perſon, than common and cuſtomary ſwearing. Neither any ſo good an evidence of a gracious heart, as not onelyonly to forbear it (for ſo one may do by education, and civil converſation) but to fear an oath out of an awful regard to the divine Majeſty. Plato and other Heathens ſhall riſe up and condemn our common ſwearers: for they, when they would ſwear, ſaid no more but Ex animi ſententia, Suidas.or if they would ſwear by their Jupiter, out of the meer dread and reverence of his name, they forbare to mention him. Clinias the Pythagorean, out of this regard, would rather undergo a mulct of three talents,Acts and Mon. 865. than ſwear. The Merindolians, thoſe antient French Proteſtants, were known by this through all the Country of Province, that they would not ſwear, nor eaſily bee brought to take an oath, except it were in judgement, or making ſome ſolemn covenant.
Verſ. 3. This is an evil] Hoc eſt peſſimum (ſo Hierome, the Vulgar, and Tremellius renders it) this is the worſt evil, this is wickedneſs with a witneſs: ſcil, that ſith there is one event to all, graceleſs men ſhould therehence conclude, that ſith there is one event to all, graceleſs men ſhould therehence conclude, that it is a bootleſs buſineſs, a courſe of no profit to ſerve God. Hence they walk about the world with hearts as full as hell, of lewd and lawleſs luſts. Hence they run a madding after the pleaſures of ſin, which with a reſtleſſe giddineſs they earneſtly purſue: yea, they live and die in ſo doing, ſaith the Wiſe-man here, noting their final impenitency, that hate of Heaven, and gate to Hell.
Ex primis per foreign eorum ſermones. Lav. Joh. 24. Sic Benedic. 9. Alexand. 6. & Leo. 10.Verſ. 4. For to him that is joyned to all the living there is hope] Theſe are the words of thoſe wicked ones, whoſe lives and hopes end together, whoſe ſong is, Poſt mortem nulla voluptas, when life ends, there is an end of all. (Is there not ſuch language in ſome mens hearts? who knows whether there bee any ſuch thing as a life to come? &c. Now I ſhall know, ſaid that dying Pope, whether the ſoul of man bee immortal, yea or no: and whether that tale concerning Chriſt have any truth in it. Oh wretch!
So a living Dogg is better than a dead Lion] But ſo is not a living ſinner better that a dead Saint; for the righteous hath hope in his death; and they that dye in the Lord are bleſſed, Rev. 14.13. how much more if they alſo dye for the Lord? theſe love not their lives unto the death, Rev. 12.11. but go as willingly to dye, as ever they did to dine: being as glad to leave the world, (for a better eſpecially) as men are wont to bee to riſe from the board, when they have eaten their fill, to take poſſeſſion of a Lordſhip.
Cur non ut plenus vitae conviva recedis?Lucret.
Verſ. 5. For the living know that they ſhall dye] Hence that Proverb amongſt us, As ſure as death. Howbeit, that they think little of it to any good purpoſe, appears by that other Proverb, I thought no more of it, than of my dying-day.
But the dead know not any thing] So it ſeemeth to thoſe Atheiſts that deny the immortality of the ſoul, but they ſhall know at death that there is another life beyond this, wherein the righteous ſhall bee comforted,Luk. 16.25 and their knowledge perfected, but the wicked tormented; and with nothing more, than to know that ſuch and ſuch poor ſouls as they would have diſdained to have ſet with the Doggs of their flocks, are now ſitting down with Abraham, Job 30.1 Luk. 13.28Iſaac and Jacob in the Kingdome of God, and themſelves thruſt out into utter darkneſs,Auguſtin. in tenebras extenebris infeliciter excluſi, infelicius excludendi.
Neither have they any more a reward] What?Pſal. 58.11 not a reward for the righteous? Not a certain fearful looking for of judgement, and fiery indignation which ſhall devour evil-doers? That were ſtrange.Heb. 10.27 But wicked men would fain perſwade themſelves ſo; ut liberius peccent, libenter ignorant, Bern2 Pet. 2.5. Of theſe things they are willingly ignorant.
For the memory of them is forgotten] This is true in part, but not altogether. Joſeph was forgotten in Egypt, Gideon in Iſrael. Exod. 1 Judg. 9Joaſh remembred not the kindneſs which Jehoiadah had done to him, but ſlew his ſon, 2 Chron. 24.22. Nevertheleſs, the foundation of God ſtands firm, having this ſeal, the Lord knoweth them that are his;2 Tim. 2 Mal. 3.16. Luk. 10.20 and there is a book of remembrance written before him, for them that fear the Lord, their names are written in Heaven, and the memory of the juſt is bleſſed, Proverbs 10.7. See the Note there.
Verſ. 6. Alſo their love and their hatred, &c.] Here is lie upon lie. The Atheiſt, as hee had denyed knowledge to the dead, ſo here hee denies affections, as love, hatred, envy or zeal, as Hierome renders it. But it is certain, that thoſe that are dead in Jeſus, do very dearly love God, and hate evil with a perfect hatred. The wicked on the other ſide continue in that other world, to hate God and goodneſs, to love ſuch as themſelves are, to ſtomach the happineſs of thoſe in Heaven, &c.
Verſ. 7. Go thy way, eat thy bread with joy] Vade, juste, Go thy way thou righteous man, live in cheerfulneſs of mind, proceeding from the teſtimony of a good conſcience: ſo Lyra ſenſeth the words. Gods grace and favour turned brown bread and water into manchet and wine to the Martyrs in priſon. Rejoyce not thou, O Iſrael, for joy, as other people, for thou haſt gone a whoring from thy God, Hoſ. 9.1. Thou eateſt thy bane, thou drinkeſt thy poiſon, becauſe to the impure all things are impure, and without faith it is impoſſible to pleaſe God.Prov. 29.6 In the tranſgreſſion of an evil man there is a ſnare (or a cord to ſtrangle his joy with) but the righteous doth ſing and rejoyce. Hee may do ſo, hee muſt do ſo; what ſhould hinder him? hee hath made his peace with God, and is rectus in curia, let him bee merry at his meals, lightſome and ſpruiſe in his cloaths, cheerful with his wife and children,foreign. Jam. 5.13 &c. Is any man merry at heart? ſaith St. James, is hee right ſet, and hath hee a right frame of ſoul? is all well within? let him ſing Pſalms; yea as a traveller rides on merrily, and wears out the rediouſneſſe of the way, by ſinging ſweet ſongs unto himſelf: ſo ſhould the Saints, Thy ſtatutes have been my ſongs in the houſe of my pilgrimage, Pſal. 119.54.
Verſ. 8. Let thy garments bee alwayes white] i. e. Neat, ſpruſe, cleanly, comely. Or by a metaphor it may ſignifie, Be merry in good manner: for they uſed to wear white clothing on Feſtivals,Devita theoretica Stuckius in Antiq. conviv. Anton. Margarit. and at Weddings, as Philo witneſſeth: At this day alſo the Jewes come to their Synagogues in white rayment the day before the Calends of September, which is their New-years-tide. Purple was affected by the Romans, white by the Jewes, (ſee Jam. 2.2.) Hence Pilate clad Chriſt in purple, Matth. 27.28. Herod in white, Luke 23.11. Herod himſelf, Acts 12.21. was arrayed in royal apparrel, that is, in cloth of ſilver, ſaith Joſephus; which being beaten upon by the Sun-beams, dazeled the peoples eyes, and drew from them that blaſphemous acclamation, The voyce of God, and not of man.
And let thine head lack no oyntment] That thou mayſt look ſmooth and handſome. See Matth. 6.16, 17. Oyntments were much uſed with thoſe Eaſtern people in Banquetings, Bathings, and at other times, Luk. 7.46. Mat. 26.7. By garments here ſome underſtand the affections (as Col. 3.8 — 12) which muſt alwayes be white, i. e. cheerful, even in times of perſecution, when thy garments haply are ſtained with thine own bloud. By the head they underſtand the thoughts, which muſt alſo be kept lithe and lightſome, as anoynted with the oyl of gladneſſe. Crucem multi abominantur, crucem videntes, ſed non videntes unctionem: Crux enim inuncta eſt, ſaith Bernard. Many men hate the Croſſe, becauſe they ſee the Croſſe only; but ſee not the Oyntment that is upon it: For the Croſſe is anoynted, and by the grace of Gods holy Spirit helping our infirmities, it becomes not only light, but ſweet; not only not troubleſome,Aug. but even deſirable and delectable. Martyr etiam in catena gaudet. Paul gloried in his ſufferings, his ſpirit was cheered up by the thoughts of them, as by ſome fragrant oyntment.
Verſ. 9. Live joyfully with the Wife whom thou loveſt] As Iſaac (the moſt loving Husband in Scripture) did with his Rebecca, whom he loved, (Gen. 24.67.) not only as his Country-woman, Kinſ-woman, a good Woman, &c. but as his Woman: not with an ordinary or Chriſtian love only, but with a conjugal love, which indeed is that which will make marriage a merry-age, ſweeten all croſſes, ſeaſon all comforts. She is called the Wife of a mans boſome, becauſe ſhe ſhould be loved as well as the heart in his boſome. God took one of mans ribs, and having built it into a Wife, laid it again in his boſome: ſo that ſhe is fleſh of his fleſh, yea ſhe is himſelf, as the Apoſtle argues, and therehence enforceth this duty of love, Epheſ. 5. Neither doth he ſatisfie himſelf in this argument, but addes there blow to blow, ſo to drive this nayl up to the head, the better to beat this duty into the heads and hearts of Huſbands.
All the dayes of the life of thy vanity] Love and live comfortably together, as well in age as in youth, as well, in the fading as in the freſhneſſe of beauty.
Which he hath given thee] i. e. The Wife (not the Life) which hee hath given thee. For marriages are made in Heaven, as the Heathens alſo held. God as he brought Eve to Adam at firſt, ſo ſtill he is the Paranymph that makes the match,Prov. 18.22 and unites their affections. A prudent Wife is of the Lord, for a comfort, as a froward is for a ſcourge.
All the dayes of thy vanity] i. e. Of thy vain vexatious life; the miſeries whereof to mitigate, God hath given thee a meet-mate to compaſſionate and communicate with thee, and to bee a principal remedy: for Optimum ſolatium ſodalitium, no comfort in miſery can be comparable to good company, that will ſympathize and ſhare with us.
For that is thy portion] And a very good one too, if ſhe prove good. As if otherwiſe,Ariſt in Rhetor. Ariſtotle ſaith right, he that is unhappy in a Wife, hath loſt the one half at leaſt of his happineſſe on earth.
And in thy labour which thou takeſt, &c.] They that will marry ſhall have trouble in the fleſh, 1 Cor. 7.28. let them look for it, and labour to make a vertue of neceſſity. As there is rejoycing in marriage, ſo there is a deal of labour, i. e. of care, coſt, and cumber: Is it not good therefore to have a Partner, ſuch an one, as Sarah was to Abraham, a Peece ſo juſt cut for him, as anſwered him right in every joynt?
Verſ. 10. Whatſoever thy hand findes to doe, doe it with thy might] Wee were made and ſet here to be doing of ſomething that may doe us good a thouſand years hence, our time is ſhort our task is long, our Maſter urgent, an anſtere man, &c. work therefore while the day laſteth, yea work hard, as afraid to be taken with your task undone. The night of death comes when none can work. That's a time not of doing work, but of receiving wages: Up therefore and be doing, that the Lord may be with you, Praecipita tempus; mors atra impendet agenti.Silius. Caſtigemus ergo mores & moras. The Devil is therefore more miſchievous becauſe hee knowes he hath but a ſhort time,Rev. 12.12 and makes all the haſte he can to out work the children of light, in a quick diſpatch of deeds of darkneſſe. O learn for ſhame of the Devil (as Latimer ſaid once in another caſe) therefore to doe your utmoſt, becauſe the time is ſhort, or rolled up, foreign. 1 Cor 7.29as ſayls uſe to bee when the ſhip drawes nigh to the harbour. This argument prevailed much with St. Peter to beſtirre him in ſtirring up thoſe hee wrote unto, becauſe hee knew that hee muſt ſhortly put off his tabernacle, 2 Pet. 1.13, 14. The life of man is the lamp of God, ſaith Solomon. God hath ſet up our lives as Alexander, when hee ſate down before a City, did uſe to ſet up a light; to give thoſe within to underſtand, that if they came forth to him whiles that light laſted, they might have quarter: as if otherwiſe, no mercy was to be expected.
Verſ. 11. That the race is not to the ſwift] Here the Preacher proveth (what hee had found true by experience) by the event of mens indeavours (often fruſtrated) that nothing is in our power, but all carried on by a providence, which oft croſſeth our likelieſt projects, that God may have the honour of all. Let a man be as ſwift as Aſahel or Atalanta, yet hee may not get the goal, or eſcape the danger.Speed. The battel of Terwin in France (fought by our Henry 8.) was called the battel of ſpurres, becauſe many fled for their lives, who yet fell (as the men of Ai did) into the midſt of their enemies. At Muſcle-borough-field many of the Scots running away, ſo ſtrained themſelves in their race,Life of Edw. 6. by Sir John Heywood. that they fell down breathleſſe and dead, whereby they ſeemed in running from their deaths, to run to it; whereas two thouſand of them that lay all day as dead, got away ſafe in the night.
Nor the battel to the ſtrong) As we ſee in the examples of Gideon, Jonathan and his armour-bearer, David in his encounter with Goliah; Leonidas, who with ſix hundred men worſted five hundred thouſand of Xerxes hoſt, Dan. 11.34. They ſhall be holpen with a little help. And why a little? that through weaker means we may ſee Gods greater ſtrength, Zach. 4.6. Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit, ſaith the Lord, This Rabſhakeh knew not, and therefore derided Hezekiah for truſting to his prayers, Eſay 36.5. What can Hezekiah ſay to embolden him to ſtand out? What? I ſay, ſaith Hezekiah, I have words of my lips, that is, Prayer, Prayer? ſaith Rabſhekah, thoſe are empty words, an aery thing: for counſel and ſtrength are for the war: ſo ſome read the words, and not in a Parentheſis, as our Tranſlation hath it.
Neither yet bread to the wiſe] To the worldly wiſe. Thoſe Young Lions doe lack and ſuffer hunger; but they that ſeek the Lord ſhall not want any good thing. Pſal. 34.10 Prov. 30.8. Panem demenſi.Their daily bread day by day, food convenient for them, they ſhall be ſure of. Dwell in the land, and doe good, and verily thou ſhalt bee fed, Pſal 37.5. by vertue of a promiſe, and not by a providence only, as the young Ravens are.
Nor yet riches to men of underſtanding] Plutus is ſaid by the Poets to bee blind,Epit. hiſt. Gallic. and Fortune to favour fools. Of Pope Clement 5. the French Chronicler ſaith, Papa hic ditior fuit quam ſapientior, This Pope was rather rich than wiſe. Ariſtides was ſo poor, that he brought a flurre upon Juſtice (ſaith Plutarch) as if ſhe were not able to maintain her followers. Phocion alſo, Pelopidas, Lamachus, Aelian. lib. 2. Ibid. l. 5.Ephialtes, Socrates, thoſe Greek Sages, were very poor. Epaminondas had but one garment, and that a ſorry one too. Lactantius had ſcarce a ſubſiſtence. Many wiſe men have been hard put to 't: Paupertas eſt Philoſophiae vernacula, ſaith Apuleius.
Rhodigin. l. 29. c. 10.Nor yet favour to men of skill] Rara ingeniorum praemia, rara item eſt merces, ſaith one, wit and skill is little ſet by: ſmall regard or reward is given to it; whereas popular men ſhould eſteem it as ſilver (ſaid Aeneas Sylvius) Noblemen as gold, Princes as pearls.
But time and chance happeneth to them all] i. e. Every thing is done in its own time, and as God by his providence ordereth it, not as men will; much leſſe by hap-hazard: for that which to us is caſual and contingent, is by God Almighty fore-appointed and effected; who muſt therefore bee ſeen and ſought unto in the uſe of means and ſecond cauſes. And if things ſucceed not to our minds, but that wee labour in the fire, yet wee muſt glorifie God in the fire, and live by faith.
Ʋivere ſpe vidi qui moriturus erat.
Verſ. 12. For man alſo knoweth not his time] His end, ſay the Septuagint and Vulgar: What may befall him in after time, ſay others.
Flebile principium melior fortuna ſequatur,
Accidit in puncto quod non ſperatur in anno.
So are the Sons of men ſnared in an evil time] This is the reddition of the former propoſition. As the fiſhes are taken, &c. So are graceleſſe men ſnared, &c. Security uſhers in their calamity: when they ſay peace and ſafety, then ſudden deſtruction breaks in upon them, as travel upon a woman with child, and they ſhall not eſcape.1 Theſ. 5.3 God made fair weather before Pharaoh till hee was in the heart of the red ſea. The old World, Sodom, Amnon, Belſhazzar, Herod, the rich Fool, were all ſuddenly ſurprized in the ruff of their jolity. Jeruſalem had three years of extraordinary great plenty,Joſeph. before her laſt utter deſtruction. Philoſophers tell us, that before a Snow the weather will bee warmiſh; when the wind lyes, the great rain falls, and the air is moſt quiet, when ſuddenly there will be an Earth-quake.
Verſ. 13. This wiſdome alſo have I ſeen] i. e. This fruit and effect of wiſdome have I obſerved, that through the iniquity of the times, it is ſlighted and left unrewarded, if joyned with a mean condition.
And it ſeemed great unto me] Though not unto the Many, who value not wiſdome if meanly habited) according to its worth, conſider not, that Saepe ſub attrita latitat ſapientia veſte, that within that leathern purſe may be a pearl of great price, and in thoſe earthen pots abundance of golden treaſure. I know thy poverty, but thou art rich, Revel. 2. The Cock on the dung-hil underſtands not this: That which ſeems great to a Solomon, Multis pro vili ſub pedibuſque jacet. Stultorum enim plena ſunt omnia.
Verſ. 14. There was a little City] Such as was Lampſacum beſieged by Alexander, and ſaved by Anaximenes; Rhodes beſieged by the Great Turk, Rochel by the French King, Geneva by the Duke of Savoy. This laſt a little City, a ſmall people environed with enemies, and barred out from all ayd of neighbour Cities and Churches,Brightman. yet is ſtrangely upheld. Well may they write as they doe on the one ſide of their coyn,Scultet. Deus noſter pugnat pro nobis, Our God fights for us.
Verſ. 15. Now there was found in it a poor wiſe man] Such as was Anaximener at Lampſacum, and Archimides at Syracuſe, Vat. Max. foreign. Plut. lib. 14.of whoſe wiſdome Plutarch teſtifieth, that it was above the ordinary poſſibility of a man, it was divine: And of whoſe poverty Silius aſſures us, that hee was Nadus opum, ſed cui coelum terraeque paterent.
By his warlike deviſes and engines hee ſo defended his City againſt Marcelius the Roman General, that the ſouldiers called him Briareus and Centimanus, a Giant invincible, there was no taking of the Town, as Livy relates it. The City of Abel was delivered by a wiſe woman that was in it, 2 Sam. 20. The City of Coccinum in the Iſle of Lemnos, See Judges 9.35 Turk. hiſt. 413.by Marulla a Maiden of that City. Hippo could not bee taken whiles Auguſtine was in it; not Heidelberg, whiles Pareus lived. Eliſha preſerved Samaria from the Syrians; and the Prophet Iſaiah Jeruſalem from the Aſſyrians. They ſhall not ſhoot an arrow there, nor come before it with ſhields, nor caſt a bank againſt it, ſaith the Lord, Iſa. 37.33. Jeremy had preſerved it longer, but that his counſel was ſlighted. Indeed hee was a Phyſician to a dying State, Tunc etenim docta plus valet arte malum.
Yet no man remembred that ſame poor man] Had hee been ſome Demetrius Phalareus, or ſuch like Magnifico, hee ſhould have had an hundred ſtatues ſet up in honour of his good ſervice. Hee ſhould have heard Saviour, Saviour, as Flaminius the Roman General did, or Father, Father, as Huniades after hee had defeated Meſites the Turk. But being poor, hee is ſoon ſet aſide, and neither ſuccoured nor honoured. This is Merces mundi, the worlds wages. The Dutch have a Proverb, that a man ſhould bow to the tree that hath ſheltered him in a ſtorm. But many well-deſerving perſons,Sed reſtituta ſerenitate abeuntes vellicarent. have cauſe to complain as Elias did when hee ſate under the Juniper; or as Themiſtocles did, when hee compared himſelf to a Plane-tree, whereunto his Country-men in a tempeſt would run for refuge; but when once took up, they would not onelyonly leave him, but pull the leaves from him. Are you weary, ſaid hee once to them, of receiving ſo many good turns from one man?
Verſ. 16. Then ſaid I, wiſdome is better, &c.] This hee had ſaid before, chap. 7.19. Prov. 21.22. (See the Notes there) but now upon this new occaſion, Nunquam ſatis dicitur, quod nunquam ſatis diſcitur.Sen.
Nevertheleſs the poor mans wiſdome is deſpiſed] Hierome reads it thus, Et ſapientia pauporis quae despecta eſt, & verba ejus quae non ſunt audita; that is. And the wiſdome of the poor man which is deſpiſed, and his words which are not heard. According to which reading, the ſenſe is, wiſdome is better than ſtrength, yea even the deſpiſed wiſdome of the poor man, &c. The Septuagint and Vulgar Latine read it. Quomodo ergo ſapientia pauperis contempta eſt & verba ejus non audita! How therefore is the wiſdome of the wiſe man deſpiſed, and his words not heard! As making a wonder and a ſtrange thing of it. Too often it befalls Gods poor Miniſters, either to bee rejected with ſcorn, or if heard, yet not regarded, much leſs rewarded, unleſs it bee as Micaiah was by Ahab, and Jeremiah by his Country-men of Anathoth, Jeſus Chriſt by the proud Phariſees, John 7.14, 15, 27. St. Paul by the ungrateful Corinthians; 2 Cor. 4.7His bodily preſence, ſaid they, is weak, his Sermons without Philoſophy and Rhetorick.
Verſ. 17. The words of wiſe men are heard in quiet] The ſubmiſs words of a poor man ſpeaking with good underſtanding, are rather heard than the big and boiſterous words of proud fools. Fuit Neſtorius homo indoctus, ſuperbus, audax & magnae loquentia, ſaith Zanchy. Zanch Miſcel.Neſtorius the Heretick was an ignorant, proud, bold, big-ſpoken man, and prevailed very much thereby with ſome ſilly-ſimples. How much better Chryſoſtome, of whom it is ſaid, that hee was graviter ſuavis, & ſuaviter gravis; gravely ſweet, and ſweetly grave, and hee was much admired for it? Gentle ſhowers and dews that diſtill leaſurely comfort the earth; when daſhing ſtorms drown the ſeed. The words of wiſe men are by one well compared to the River Indus, Indus fluvius, & ſerere Orientem dicitur & rigare. Minut. Felix in Octav.which is ſaid both to ſow the Eaſt, and to water it; for ſo it may bee ſaid of the words of the wiſe, that they are both ſemina & flumina, both ſeeds and rivers: ſeeds, becauſe they ſow goodneſs in their hearers; rivers, becauſe they water that which is ſown to make it to grow in them. But the cry of fools is like a violent torrent, which waſheth away that which it ſoweth, and doth not ſuffer it to continue in the ground.
More than the cry of him that ruleth among fools] Tremellius reads it, cum ſtolidis ſuis, with his fools; i, e. cum ſuo ſtulto ſenatu, with his fooliſh Counſellors, who do commonly comply with him, to obtrude with great authority his unreaſonable and tyrannical edicts and mandates.
Verſ. 18. Wiſdome is better than weapons of war] As David found it in his encounter with Goliah, Gideon in his ſtratagem againſt the Midianites, and our renowned Drake in diſſipating that invincible Armado, which being three years in preparing with incredible coſt, was by his wiſdome within a month overthrown, and confounded with the loſſe of one Engliſh Ship onelyonly, and not an hundred perſons. Romani ſedendo vincunt. This was the glory of the Romans, that they conquered the world by wiſdome, not by weapons.
Ʋnus homo nobis cunctando reſtituit rem.
Plutarch.Not Achilles, but Ʋlyſſes is termed foreign, the ſacker of Cities; Cyneas took more Towns by his policy, than Pyrrhus by his proweſſe.
But one ſinner deſtroyeth much good] Hee may bee as an Achan in the Army, as a Jonas in the Ship, a trouble-town, a common miſchief, a traitor to the State; eſpecially if hee bee an eminent man; as Jeroboam (that ring-leader of rebellion) and Manaſſeh, who made Judah alſo to ſin, 2 King. 21.11. and ſo brought ſuch evil upon them, that whoſoever heard of it, both his ears tingled, verſ. 12. Great mens ſins do more hurt, 1 By Imitation, for Regis ad exemplum, &c. 2 By Imputation, for plectuntur Achivi, the poor people pay for ſuch mens faults, as they did for Davids, 2 Sam. 24. I ſhall cloſe up this Chapter with that memorable paſſage of a Reverend Writer, yet alive; If Englands fears were greater, thy Reformation may ſave it, Jer. 5.1. If our hopes were greater, thy ſin and ſecurity might undo it, Eccleſ. 9.18. One ſinner deſtroies much good. I onelyonly add, how much more a rabble of rebels, conſpiring to provoke God? Sure I am, wee have great cauſe to wiſh for our Country, as Ferus did for the Romiſh Synagogue; I would wee had ſome Moſes, ſaid hee, to take away the evils: Non enim unum tantum vitulum, ſed multos habemus, for wee have not onelyonly one golden Calf, but many amongſt us.