Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God, and be more ready to hear, than to give the sacrifice of fools: for they consider not that they do evil. Ver. 1. _Keep thy foot,_] _q.d., _ Wouldst thou see more of the world's vanity than hitherto hath been discoursed? get thee "to the sanctuary,... [ Continue Reading ]
_Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter [any] thing before God: for God [is] in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few._ Ver. 2. _Be not rash with thy mouth._] From hearing, the Preacher proceeds to give directions for speaking, whether it be of G... [ Continue Reading ]
For a dream cometh through the multitude of business; and a fool's voice [is known] by multitude of words. Ver. 3. _For a dream cometh through the multitude of business._] When all the rest of the senses are bound up by sleep, the soul entereth into the shop of the fancy, and operates there usually... [ Continue Reading ]
_When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for [he hath] no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed._ Ver. 4. _When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it._] _See Trapp on "_ Deu 23:22 _"_ It is in thy power to vow or not to vow. _Vovere nusquam est praeceptum,_ saith... [ Continue Reading ]
Better [is it] that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay. Ver. 5. _Better it is that thou shouldest not vow,_] _q.d., _ Who bade thee be so forward? Why wouldst thou become a voluntary votary, and so rashly engage to the loss of thy liberty and the offence of thy God, wh... [ Continue Reading ]
Suffer not thy mouth to cause thy flesh to sin; neither say thou before the angel, that it [was] an error: wherefore should God be angry at thy voice, and destroy the work of thine hands? Ver. 6. _Suffer not thy mouth to cause thy flesh to sin._] Heb., _Nec des,_ Give not liberty to thy mouth, whic... [ Continue Reading ]
For in the multitude of dreams and many words [there are] also [divers] vanities: but fear thou God. Ver. 7. _For in the multitude af dreams, and in many words,_] _i.e., _ As in the multitude of dreams, so in many words, &c. There may be some matter in some of either; but neither of them wants thei... [ Continue Reading ]
If thou seest the oppression of the poor, and violent perverting of judgment and justice in a province, marvel not at the matter: for [he that is] higher than the highest regardeth; and [there be] higher than they. Ver. 8. _If thou seest the oppression of the poor._] And so mayest be drawn to doubt... [ Continue Reading ]
Moreover the profit of the earth is for all: the king [himself] is served by the field. Ver. 9. _Moreover, the profit of the earth is for all,_] viz., For all sorts of men, and for all kind of uses. _Alma mater, terra ferax._ "Then shall the earth yield her increase; and (therein) God, even our own... [ Continue Reading ]
_He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver; nor he that loveth abundance with increase: this [is] also vanity._ Ver. 10. _He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver._] As he cannot fill his belly, nor clothe his back with it, so neither can he satisfy his inordinate app... [ Continue Reading ]
When goods increase, they are increased that eat them: and what good [is there] to the owners thereof, saving the beholding [of them] with their eyes? Ver. 11. _When goods increase, they are increased that eat them._] Servants, friends, flatterers, trencher men, pensioners, and other hangerons that... [ Continue Reading ]
_The sleep of a labouring man [is] sweet, whether he eat little or much: but the abundance of the rich will not suffer him to sleep._ Ver. 12. _The sleep of a labouring man is sweet._] Sleep is the nurse of nature, the wages that she pays the poor man for his incessant pains. His fare is not so hig... [ Continue Reading ]
_There is a sore evil [which] I have seen under the sun, [namely], riches kept for the owners thereof to their hurt._ Ver. 13. _There is a sore evil._] Or, An evil disease, _a_ such as breaks the sleep, _hinc pallor et genae pendulae, item furiales somni et inquies nocturna,_ _b_ causing paleness,... [ Continue Reading ]
But those riches perish by evil travail: and he begetteth a son, and [there is] nothing in his hand. Ver. 14. _But those riches perish by evil travail,_] _i.e., _ By evil trading, trafficking, or other cross event and accident. They waste and wither either by vanity or violence. They slip out of th... [ Continue Reading ]
As he came forth of his mother's womb, naked shall he return to go as he came, and shall take nothing of his labour, which he may carry away in his hand. Ver. 15. As he came forth of his mother's womb,] _q.d., _ If riches leave not us while we live, yet we are sure to leave them when we die. _a_ Lo... [ Continue Reading ]
And this also [is] a sore evil, [that] in all points as he came, so shall he go: and what profit hath he that hath laboured for the wind? Ver. 16. _And this also is a sore evil._] _Malum dolorificum,_ so it will prove; a singular vexation, a sharp corrosive, when Balaam and his bribes, Laban and hi... [ Continue Reading ]
All his days also he eateth in darkness, and [he hath] much sorrow and wrath with his sickness. Ver. 17. _All his days also he eats in darkness,_] _i.e., _ He lives besides that he hath, and cannot so much as be merry at meat. Hence is much sorrow, wrath, and sickness, especially if spoiled of his... [ Continue Reading ]
Behold [that] which I have seen: [it is] good and comely [for one] to eat and to drink, and to enjoy the good of all his labour that he taketh under the sun all the days of his life, which God giveth him: for it [is] his portion. Ver. 18. _It is good and comely for one to eat, &c._] Niggardice and... [ Continue Reading ]
Every man also to whom God hath given riches and wealth, and hath given him power to eat thereof, and to take his portion, and to rejoice in his labour; this [is] the gift of God. Ver. 19. _This is the gift of God._] A gift of his right hand, _donum throni, non scabelli,_ - Godliness only hath cont... [ Continue Reading ]
_For he shall not much remember the days of his life; because God answereth [him] in the joy of his heart._ Ver. 20. _For he shall not much remember, &c._] He vexeth not at the brevity or misery of his life, but looketh upon himself as a stranger here, and therefore if he can have a better conditio... [ Continue Reading ]