INTRODUCTION TO ECCLESIASTES 1 After the title of the book, which describes the author of it, by his office, as a preacher; by his descent, as the son of David; and by his dignity, king in Jerusalem, Ecclesiastes 1:1; the principal doctrine insisted on in it is laid down, that the world, and all th... [ Continue Reading ]
THE WORDS OF THE PREACHER,.... Or the preacher's sermon. The whole book is one continued discourse, and an excellent one it is; consisting not of mere words, but of solid matter; of things of the greatest importance, clothed with words apt and acceptable, which the preacher sought out, Ecclesiastes... [ Continue Reading ]
VANITY OF VANITIES, SAITH THE PREACHER,.... This is the preacher's text; the theme and subject he after enlarges upon, and proves by an induction of particulars; it is the sum of the whole book; VANITY OF VANITIES, ALL [IS] VANITY; most extremely vain, exceedingly so, the height of vanity: this is... [ Continue Reading ]
WHAT PROFIT HATH A MAN OF ALL HIS LABOUR WHICH HE TAKETH UNDER THE SUN?] This is a general proof of the vanity of all things, since there is no profit arises to a man of all his labour; for, though it is put by way of question, it carries in it a strong negative. All things a man enjoys he gets by l... [ Continue Reading ]
[ONE] GENERATION PASSETH AWAY, AND [ANOTHER] GENERATION COMETH,.... This shows that a man can have no profit of all his labour under the sun, because of his short continuance; as soon almost as he has got anything by his labour, he must leave it: not only particular persons, but families, nations, a... [ Continue Reading ]
THE SUN ALSO ARISETH, AND THE SUN GOETH DOWN, AND HASTETH TO HIS PLACE WHERE HE AROSE. The sun rises in the morning and sets at evening in our hemisphere, according to the appearance of things; and then it makes haste to go round the other hemisphere in the night: it "pants", as the word t signifies... [ Continue Reading ]
THE WIND GOETH TOWARD THE SOUTH, AND TURNETH ABOUT UNTO THE NORTH,.... The word "wind" is not in this clause in the original text, but is taken from the next, and so may be rendered, "it goeth towards the south", c. that is, the sun x before mentioned, which as to its diurnal and nocturnal course in... [ Continue Reading ]
ALL THE RIVERS RUN INTO THE SEA; YET THE SEA [IS] NOT FULL,.... Which flow from fountains or an formed by hasty rains; these make their way to the sea, yet the sea is not filled therewith, and made to abound and overflow the earth, as it might be expected it would. So Seneca says z we wonder that th... [ Continue Reading ]
ALL THINGS [ARE] FULL OF LABOUR,.... Or "are laborious" g; gotten by labour, and attended with fatigue and weariness; riches are got by labour, and those who load themselves with thick clay, as gold and silver be, weary themselves with it; honour and glory, crowns and kingdoms, are weighty cares, an... [ Continue Reading ]
THE THING THAT HATH BEEN, IT [IS THAT] WHICH SHALL BE,.... The thing that has been seen and heard is no other than what shall be seen and heard again; so that what is now seen and heard is only what has been seen and heard before; it is but the same thing over again; and that is the reason why the e... [ Continue Reading ]
IS THERE [ANY] THING WHEREOF IT MAY BE SAID, SEE, THIS [IS] NEW?.... This is an appeal to all men for the truth of the above observation, and carries in it a strong denial that there is anything new under the sun; and is an address to men to inquire into the truth of it, and thoroughly examine it, a... [ Continue Reading ]
[THERE] IS NO REMEMBRANCE OF FORMER [THINGS],.... Which is the reason why some things that are really old are thought to be new; because either the memories of men fail them, they do not remember the customs and usages which were in the former part of their own lives, now grown old; or they are igno... [ Continue Reading ]
I THE PREACHER WAS KING OVER ISRAEL IN JERUSALEM. Solomon having given a general proof of the vanity of all things here below, and of the insufficiency of them to make men happy, proceeds to particular instances, and begins with human wisdom and knowledge, which of all things might be thought to be... [ Continue Reading ]
AND I GAVE MY HEART TO SEEK AND SEARCH OUT BY WISDOM,.... As he had all advantages and opportunities, so he did not want for industry and application to obtain knowledge; he gave his mind to it; he took up a resolution not to be discouraged by any difficulties, but to break through them, if possible... [ Continue Reading ]
I HAVE SEEN ALL THE WORKS THAT ARE DONE UNDER THE SUN,.... All things done by the Lord, that were on the earth, and in it, and in the sea; he considered them, and endeavoured to search into the nature of them; and did attain to a very great knowledge of them, so that he could speak of them to the in... [ Continue Reading ]
[THAT WHICH IS] CROOKED CANNOT BE MADE STRAIGHT,.... By all the art and cunning, wisdom and knowledge of man, that he can attain unto; whatever he, in the vanity of his mind, may find fault with in the works of God, either of nature of providence, and which he may call crooked, it is not in his powe... [ Continue Reading ]
I COMMUNED WITH MY OWN HEART,.... That is, looked into it, examined it, and considered what a stock and fund of knowledge he had in it, after all his researches into it; what happiness accrued to him by it, and what judgment upon the whole was to be formed upon it; and he spoke within himself after... [ Continue Reading ]
AND I GAVE MY HEART TO KNOW WISDOM,.... Which is repeated, for the confirmation of it, from Ecclesiastes 1:13, and that it might be taken notice of how assiduous and diligent he had been in acquiring it; a circumstance not to be overlooked; AND TO KNOW MADNESS AND FOLLY: that he might the better kn... [ Continue Reading ]
FOR IN MUCH WISDOM [IS] MUCH GRIEF,.... In getting it, and losing it when it is gotten: or "indignation" t, at himself and others; being more sensible of the follies and weakness of human nature; AND HE THAT INCREASETH KNOWLEDGE INCREASETH SORROW: for, the more he knows, the more he would know, and... [ Continue Reading ]