Ecclesiastes 3:6

A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;

Ver. 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! Cuius 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 ye me and ye shall live." Amo 5:4 "Seek him that maketh the seven stars and Orion." Amo 5:8 Seek him "in a time when he may be found." Psa 32:6 "Now is the accepted time, now is the day of salvation." 2Co 6:2 Take the present "now," and be serious, and then God scorns to do as heathen idols did - viz., to say to the seed of Jacob, "Seek ye me in vain." Isa 45:19 How greedy are men of getting gain! a Get God, and you get all: Habet omnia qui habet habentem omnia. b

And a time to lose.] There is an "uncertainty" in riches; 1Ti 6:17 a "deceitfulness"; Mar 4:19 a "lie." Joh 8:44 They were never true to those that trusted them; subject they are to vanity or violence. Mat 6:19-21 How seldom do gamesters grow rich! Vitrea est fortuna; cum splendot, frangitur. c And as they say of the metal they make glass of: it is nearest melting when it shines brightest in the fire; so are many rich men nearest ruin when at greatest lustre, as Haman, Herod, Pythias, &c.

A time to keep.] It is good for a man to keep somewhat by him. Bonus servatius facit bonum bonifacium, according to the Dutch blunt proverb, ‘A good saver makes a good well doer.' See Trapp on " Pro 6:8 "

And a time to cast away.] To "cast bread upon the waters," Ecc 11:1 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 recompense, yet thou shalt be "recompensed at the resurrection of the just," saith Christ to such, and blessed in the meanwhile. Luk 14:14 Temporalia Dei servis impensa non pereunt, sed parturiunt, Alms perisheth not, but is put to use.

a Kερδαινοντες ου κοπιωμεν. - Naz.

b Augustine.

c Mimus.