INTRODUCTION TO ECCLESIASTES 9 Though the wise man, with all his wisdom, search, and labour, could not find out the causes and reasons of divine Providence, in the branches and methods of it; yet some things he did find out, and observe, in making this inquiry, and which he declares; as that good a... [ Continue Reading ]
FOR ALL THIS I CONSIDERED IN MINE HEART,.... What goes before, in the latter end of the preceding chapter, concerning the various providences of God, the difficulty of finding out the reasons of them, and the fruitlessness of attempting it; and also what follows, the work of Providence: Solomon gave... [ Continue Reading ]
ALL [THINGS COME] ALIKE TO ALL,.... That is, all outward things in this life, good and bad men share in alike; which proves that neither love nor hatred can be known by them: so the emperor Mark Antonine, in speaking of life and death, of honour and dishonour, of pain and pleasure, riches and povert... [ Continue Reading ]
THIS [IS] AN EVIL AMONG ALL [THINGS] THAT ARE DONE UNDER THE SUN, THAT [THERE IS] ONE EVENT UNTO ALL,.... A very great evil, a very sore one, the worst of evils. Not an evil, as the providence of God is concerned with it, who does no evil; nor is there any unrighteousness in him; he is righteous in... [ Continue Reading ]
FOR TO HIM THAT IS JOINED TO ALL THE LIVING THERE IS HOPE,.... That is, who is among the living, is one of them, and, as long as he is, there is hope, if his circumstances are mean, and he is poor and afflicted, that it may be better with him in time; see Job 14:7; or of his being a good man, though... [ Continue Reading ]
FOR THE LIVING KNOW THAT THEY SHALL DIE,.... Death is certain, it is the demerit of sin, the appointment of God and the time of it is fixed; it may be known that it will be, from the word of God that assures it, from all experience which confirms it, and from the decline of nature, and the seeds of... [ Continue Reading ]
ALSO THEIR LOVE, AND THEIR HATRED, AND THEIR ENVY, IS NOW PERISHED,.... Not that the separate spirits of the dead are without their affections, or these unexercised; the spirits of just men made perfect will love God and Christ, and angels, and good men, and all that is good, more intensely; love wi... [ Continue Reading ]
GO THY WAY,.... Thou righteous man, as Jarchi paraphrases it; and indeed epicures and voluptuous persons have no need of the following exhortation, and the reason annexed is not suitable to them; but the whole agrees better with religious persons, who under distressing views of Providence, and from... [ Continue Reading ]
LET THY GARMENTS BE ALWAYS WHITE,.... That is, neat and clean, not vile and sordid; what is comely and decent, and suitable to a man's circumstances; this colour is particularly mentioned because much used in the eastern countries, and in Judea; hence we so often read of washing garments, and of ful... [ Continue Reading ]
LIVE JOYFULLY WITH THE WIFE WHOM THOU LOVEST,.... Or "see", or "enjoy life" d: this is one of the ways of enjoying life comfortably, and one of the principal ones; that if a man has a wife whom he ought to love as himself as his own flesh, to take delight in her company, be pleasant with her, and re... [ Continue Reading ]
WHATSOEVER THY HAND FINDETH TO DO,.... Not anything that is evil, which is near at hand, and easy to be found, and is in the power of men's hands to do, Romans 7:21; for this is forbidden of God, abominable to him, and hurtful to men; but whatsoever is good; so the Targum, "to do good and alms to t... [ Continue Reading ]
I RETURNED, AND SAW UNDER THE SUN,.... The wise man returned to his former subject, concerning the same events happening to all sorts of persons, righteous and wicked, wise and unwise, Ecclesiastes 10:1; and enlarged upon it in his mind; and took notice of various things done under the sun, and made... [ Continue Reading ]
FOR MAN ALSO KNOWETH NOT HIS TIME,.... Though it is fixed and settled by the Lord, yet times and seasons are kept in his own power, and not known by men; not the time of his death, nor of any calamity and distress coming upon him, nor the proper season and opportunity of doing himself good, and avoi... [ Continue Reading ]
THIS WISDOM HAVE I SEEN ALSO UNDER THE SUN,.... Or, "this also I have seen under the sun, even wisdom" h: besides those things he had, just now observed, he took notice that there was such a thing as wisdom among men; though success did not always attend the wise, the understanding, and skilful; and... [ Continue Reading ]
[THERE WAS] A LITTLE CITY, AND FEW MEN WITHIN IT,.... Which some take to be a piece of history, a real matter of fact; that as the city of Abel, when besieged by Joab, was delivered by the counsel of a wise woman, 2 Samuel 20:15; so there was a city, which Solomon had knowledge of, which was deliver... [ Continue Reading ]
NOW THERE WAS FOUND IN IT A POOR WISE MAN,.... Christ, who is man, though not a mere man, but God as well as man; who was so in purpose, covenant, and promise, before his incarnation, since truly and really so; and "poor", as it was foretold he should be, and who became so for the sake of his church... [ Continue Reading ]
THEN SAID I, WISDOM [IS] BETTER THAN STRENGTH,.... Wisdom of mind, even in a poor man, is better than strength of body, even of the, most potent prince and powerful army, as may be concluded from the above instance; since the poor wise man could do more by his wisdom than the great king with his mig... [ Continue Reading ]
THE WORDS OF WISE [MEN ARE] HEARD IN QUIET,.... That is, by some persons and at some times, though not by all persons and always; or they are to be heard, or should be heard, though they seldom be, even the words of wise men that are poor: these are to be heard quietly and patiently, without any tum... [ Continue Reading ]
WISDOM [IS] BETTER THAN WEAPONS OF WAR,.... And does what they cannot do; of which the wisdom of the poor wise man is a full proof, which delivered the city from a potent prince, when weapons of war could not: see Ecclesiastes 7:10; BUT ONE SINNER DESTROYETH MUCH GOOD: his own soul by his sins, and... [ Continue Reading ]