obedience he commends from two Arguments The first of which is in this Verse that they are things which concern all Mankind one as well as another of which if they be careful they have done enough to make themselves immortally happy For those Words this is the whole or the all of man may be expounded four several ways either this is all the duty of man or the duty of all men or the whole happiness of all men or their whole business unto which therefore they should devote their whole selves that is all their strength For according as St. Hierom understands it to this Man was born that he understanding God is his Creator should worship him with fear and honour and observance of his Commands And the fear of God being implanted in our minds we shall not fail to worship Him and call upon Him and expect all good things from Him and give Him thanks for them And as the best expression of our thankfulness keep his Commandments and be obedient to all his Precepts both in subduing our sinful Appetites and Passions and in exercising Charity towards our Neighbours Which will make us true in word and deed faithful in all our Contracts liberal to the Poor observant of our Governours in short make us observe all the directions of this Book in order to our happiness o V. 14. Here is the second Argument why we should seriously intend these things because the Lord and Judge of the World will one day call us to an account for what we do here and pass an impartial Sentence upon every action of our life even against every Secret as some expound these Words al col alam or upon all secret as well as open actions Which are all known to Him though now He seem to take no notice of them and shall then not only be brought to light but with an apparent distinction between good and evil the difference of which shall be certainly and notoriously manifested by the severe punishment of the one and the bountiful remuneration of the other I will imitate therefore saith Melancthon the example of Solomon and in the Conclusion recite the summ of this Book He intended to assert Divine Providence and to refute the Objections against it which are these There are great confusions in humane life a vast multitude of ungodly men and but few that acknowledge and fear God and which is worse the wicked flourish in honour and riches but the pious are afflicted and oft-times killed by the worst of men c. therefore all things seem to be carried by Chance Unto which Solomon answers Tho' for the most part such be the confusion of things yet be thou ruled by God's Word and hold the Opinion of his Providence with a firm Faith Do not fall from God because of these Scandals nor cast away his fear or thy confidence in Him nor desert thy vocation but oppose these two things to these confusions There will come a Judgment when God will take away these confusions and make an exact distinction for the wicked shall be thrown into everlasting punishment but it shall be well for ever with the righteous And in this life also God moderates these confusions for he punishes heinous wickedness supports Government preserves Governours and Order and Polities in the World Nay this is a testimony of God's presence that when the infirmity of humane Nature is so great and so many are no better than mad and furious yet God preserves his Church and I may add we have such good Books as these for our direction into Truth and encouragement in Piety THE END THE SONG OF SOLOMON PARAPHRASED WITH ANNOTATIONS By the same AUTHOR LONDON Printed by W. H. for Luke Meredith at the Star in St. Paul's Church-Yard MDCC THE PREFACE THat this Book was composed by SOLOMON is no more doubted than that he was the Author of the two foregoing And that it was always lookt upon as an Holy Book treating of some Spiritual and Divine matter appears from its being placed among the rest of that kind Nor hath it been doubted of by any considerable number of men either among Jews or Christians but only by a few singular persons who ought as Theodoret speaks in his Preface to this Book to have lookt upon those blessed Fathers who placing this Song among the Divine Writings took it to be fit for the uses of the Church as men of greater judgment and more spiritual than themselves And they ought likewise to have considered as he adds that we have in effect the testimony of the Holy Ghost it self for its Divine Authority Ezra a man excelling in Vertue and full of the Holy Spirit having thought this worthy of a room among those Sacred Volumes which he gathered together after their return from the Captivity of Babylon And accordingly a great many holy men have illustrated it as he further notes with their Commentaries and Interpretations or have adorned their Writings with its Sentences such as Eusebius Origen Cyprian who wore the Crown of Martyrdom 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and others that were more ancient than these and nearer to the times of the Apostles It is unnecessary to mention those that followed after in future times who all took this for a spiritual Book let us only consider whether these things being so it be reasonable for us to despise so many and such great persons nay the Holy Spirit it self and to follow our own private Opinions nor hearkning to him that said The thoughts of mortal man are vain and our devices are but uncertain IX Wisd 14. or rather of St. Paul I. Rom. 21. They became vain in their imagination and their foolish heart was darkened II. Nor doth it seem hard either to find out what that spiritual matter is of which the Wise man here treats especially since all Christian Writers have from the beginning applied this Song to Christ and his Church or to give an account of the rise and Original of such sublime contemplations which I take to be this The great Prophet David having plainly foretold that a far more glorious King than his Son Solomon should one day arise as we read in the Song he made at his Marriage Psal XLV and likewise more expresly prophesied of his Divinity Royal Majesty Priesthood c. Psal CX and again resumed this Argument just before his death when he caused his Son Solomon to be crowned and to sit upon his Throne Psal LXXII it stirred up the longing desires of Solomon after the coming of this most illustrious Prince and made him study to have at least as clear a sight of Him as was possible to be attained afar off And that he might stir up the same desire in the whole Nation after his appearing he cast his Meditations on this Subject into a Song in the form of a Pastoral Eclogue In which several persons being introduced who speak their Parts it may be called a Dramatick Poem And so it
humble submission So I have expounded the word Commandment for the Commandment of the King before mentioned Which if we do not oppose it is the way to preserve us from knowing sorrow as we speak very agreeably to the Hebrew Phrase in this place if by evil thing we understand the evil of Punishment rather than of sin Many indeed by Commandment understand the Precepts of God which if we keep we shall not fall into any Evil practices particularly not into Rebellion Which is a good sense and the Reader may follow which he pleases for the latter part of the Verse will agree with either Wherein he suggests that the wisest thing we can do when Princes require any thing grievous unto us is not to rebel but to watch the fittest opportunities to petition for redress and that after such a manner as may not give offence So I have expounded time and judgment in this and in the next Verse f V. 6. For the truth is a great part of the happiness of our life depends upon our discretion in observing and chusing the fittest opportunity for every thing and the right manner of doing it Especially when we have to do with Kings and Great Persons concerning whom the Wise man may still be thought to speak both in this and in the following Verses g V. 7. If the Hebrew reading would bear it the Vulgar Translation which the Syriack follows of this Verse hath given an excellent reason why a man is at such a loss to discern what is fit for him to do upon all occasions especially how to direct his behaviour towards Kings Because he knows little of what is past and less or rather nothing of what is future For Prudence consists in the remembrance of things past consideration of things present and foresight of things likely to come hereafter Luther refers it wholly to the miserable condition of a Rebell in this manner He desires various things and hopes for mighty matters by his disobedience but is lamentably deceived For of the very impunity which he promised himself he cannot be secure but in an hour when he thinks not of it Judgment overtakes him and he perishes in his disobedience In short the wicked contemns present obedience and minds not future punishment The Wise man acts quite otherways and remembring what mischiefs attend upon the rebellious is studious therefore to be obedient h V. 8. Hence he takes occasion to give some good Advice to Princes themselves which seems to me the plainest sense of this Verse not to abuse their Power because none can withstand them or so much as question them but to remember how weak they are upon many accounts and therefore ought to be moderate in their Government if they intend to live happily For otherwise they must expect their peoples hatred which they cannot hinder no more than they can Death which is not in their power to resist And if they be engaged in War they will find their Subjects assist them so coldly that it may endanger the loss of their Crown So that Clause may be understood which we translate there is no discharge in War the word that being not in the Original that is it will be too late then to discharge their Subjects from the heavy burdens whereby they have oppressed them when they have need of their service against an Enemy Or as I have expressed it in the Paraphrase they cannot command what success they please in War but the event will be dubious taking the word Mislachat for a Dart a Javelin or such like Weapon which we cannot direct and guide in that confusion so as certainly to hit the Mark at which it is thrown So the Targum translates it Nor do the Instruments of Arms profit Or we may take it for a Commission to raise Forces it being but once more used in the Bible LXXVIII Psal 49. and there the Mislachat of evil Angels seems to be a Company of Angels sent with a Commission to do the Execution there mentioned which is too late to issue in the day of Battel if he be beaten or if he be not yet let him not flatter himself which is the sense of the last Clause of the Verse as if he should alway escape for the Divine Justice will one day lay hold on him and punish him Thus with reference to Princes the LXX seem to understand this Verse who having said v. 4. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the King commands with Authority thus translate the first words of this 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 but no man no not the King himself hath authority in all things for example not over the spirit of a man But this Verse also may be expounded as some Interpreters understand it to be a continuance of the foregoing Discourse in this manner that no man can bridle the wrath of the Prince by spirit understanding anger or hinder the irruption of it And it is in vain also for men to seek to save themselves from the Sentence of Death which he hath pronounced against them for if they should wage War with him it is not likely they would overcome or escape in the day of battle or if they did they would meet some time or other with a just punishment for their Rebellion Which is the meaning of the last Clause if the words be thus taken Wickedness that is Rebellion shall not deliver those that are the Authors of it i V. 9. This and the following Verse agree very well with that Exposition which refers v 8. to Princes who sometimes are advanced to rule over others to their own hurt So we translate the last words of this Verse which Luther who is not alone in that Opinion will have still to belong to Subjects over whom a Prince is sometimes placed to be a Scourge unto them Notwithstanding which saith he the Kings Commandment is to be observed and Sedition not to be moved Which he repeats again so full he was of this Doctrine The Wise man here grants that there may be evil Governours to punish their Subjects and yet these also are to be tolerated k V. 10. This Verse I have taken wholly to belong to wicked Rulers because all the ancient Translations do so as well as our English Though most of the modern Interpreters will have the first part of the Verse to refer unto wicked Governours and the latter part unto good whose memory is abolished when the other so bad is mankind are extolled and honoured For which I see no reason but look upon it as contrary to the design of the Wise man in this place and therefore I have rejected it The place of the Holy may be expounded divers ways but it seems to me most natural to take it for a Periphrase of the Place of Judgment mentioned III. 16. in which the Judges sustained the Person of God who was in their Assembly and judged in the midst of them LXXXI Psal 1. Whence the Judgment-Seat was called the
have in Saul who hoped to have left the Kingdom to his Posteritys and in David himself who thought once of having Absolom for his Successor But Solomon here teaches us to consider how infinitely the wise Providence of God excels our greatest wit and cunning and can more easily over-reach all our Counsels and overturn our well-laid designs than we can out-wit the silly Birds and Fishes k V. 13 c. Which should not discourage wise and regular Proceedings but only make us refer our selves unto God who as He thus disappoints the most probable hopes so at other times makes men successful when they have no hope at all As Solomon here shows in the following Observation v. 13 14. Upon which St. Hierom glosses in this manner It hath been often seen that a small City and few Inhabitants being beset by an Army of innumerable Enemies and besieged so straitly that they were in danger if not otherways to perish by Famine were on a sudden contrary to all mens-expectation delivered by a mean person who having more Wisdom than all the wealthy great powerful and proud Citizens thought of a way to save them when they gave themselves for lost and effected that also of which they utterly despaired And yet O the ungrateful forgetfulness of Mankind after the Seige was raised after the liberty of their Country was restored there was no body thought of this poor man no body gave him thanks for their safety but all honoured the rich who in their danger could do them no service l V. 15. Which sets forth as the Lord Bacon observes upon this Verse L. 8. de Aug. Scient C. 2. Parab 21. the depraved and malignant Nature of Mankind Who in extremities and straits commonly flee to men of wisdom and courage whom before they despised but so soon as the Storm is over they become unthankful Wretches to their Preservers Machiavel not without reason propounds the Question Whether should be most grateful to well-deserving persons the Prince or the People but in the mean time he taxeth them both of ingratitude Though this doth not arise merely from the ingratitude of the Prince or the people alone but there is added too oft to this the envy of the Nobility who in secret repine at the event though happy and prosperous because it proceeded not from themselves For which cause they extenuate the merit of the act and depress the Author Thus Themistocles was served as Luther here observes who having performed great things for his Citizens was basely requited by them Nay David himself was soon forgotten who had been the greatest Benefactor to Israel ten of whose Tribes soon renounced all dependance on his house and fell off quite from their subjection to it So that to do good to the World saith he is to throw away the benefits we bestow or to cast Gold into Dung and Pearls before Swine And therefore it is best to enjoy what we have and to mind our present business casting away care of the future For as Phaedria saith in Terence It is better my benefits should be lost than I should be lost together with them And not to be moved from our Duty by the Worlds ingratitude is an Advice he oft repeats very profitably in this Chapter that we may be like to our heavenly Father who doth good to the evil and to the unthankful m V. 16. The beginning of this Verse may be illustrated out of Dion Prusaeus Orat. 2. de Regno who observes that Agamemnon wisht rather for ten such grave Counsellors as Nestor than so many valiant Youths as Ajax and Achilles 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Where he shows also how great the power of Oratory is to subdue mens minds n V. 17. Yet it must be added that the best and safest Counsels cannot be so much as heard or regarded though never so wise till peoples straits have made them humble sad and serious as Aben Ezra expounds this 17th Verse The words of the Wise are despised by the people when they are in prosperity but when they are in distress almost famished by such a Seige as is before-mentioned and silenced by fear and grief then they listen greedily and diligently Which Melancthon expresses better The words of the Wise are heard by the silent i. e. by such as do not rage with any desire but seek the truth and what is wholesome for them This and another obvious sense of the Words I have expressed in the Paraphrase but have taken little notice of this which seems not so near the meaning that it is better to hearken to wise men who perswade to peace than to tumultuous spirits who incite silly people unto War He that rules among Fools is an Hebraism for a great Fool or we may understand it of one whose authority sways much among Fools or of a foolish Commander And St. Hierom expounds it of a bawling Orator or Preacher Whatsoever Declaimer saith he thou seest in the Church by the inticement and Elegance of words exciting applauses moving laughter or stirring up the people to affections of joy know that it is a sign of folly both in him that speaks and in them that bear him for the words of the wise are heard in quiet and moderate silence c. o V. 18. All Authors furnish us with abundance of Examples of the truth of the last Clause of the last Verse but I shall only briefly mention a little of Melancthon's Gloss upon the place There are Vessels of wrath and Vessels of mercy The Vessels of wrath are unhappy men who bring destruction upon themselves and others though sometimes they be great and wise persons According to that of Solon Commonwealths are overturned by great and excellent Wits Such were Ahaz Zedekiah Cataline Anthony and others And in the Church Samosatenus Arius Manichaeus and many other pernicious Doctors Of all which Solomon says One Sinner destroys much good 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The Vessels of mercy are such men whose course is salutary to themselves and others such a poor man in the City was Jeremiah by whose counsels if they had been followed Jerusalem might have been saved from destruction Let us therefore pray to God with continual groans that we may be Vessels of mercy and that He would preserve us from being the Pests and Furies 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of mankind driving a violent course to our own and others ruine CHAP. X. ARGUMENT The summ of this Chapter is That as true Wisdom and Vertue is the only thing that can give us tranquility so that part of it which teaches us to govern our tongue and to behave our selves dutifully towards our Governours though they do not manage things to our content nor to the general good conduces more unto it than men are willing to believe For this is in a manner the scope of the whole Chapter to make every one sensible of the great Blessing of Government especially of good Government and that therefore they
dibre emeth the upright Words of Truth of which as there is no certainty so I see no probable grounds to assert it Only we know he wrote a great many more Books than we have 1 King IV. 32 33. 2 Chron. XXXV 4. And see Josephus L. VIII Antiq. C. 2. l V. 11. Some connect this with the foregoing Verse in this manner The Preacher sought to find out the words of the Wise c. And so the Words run exactly in the Hebrew But we may take this Verse by it self supplying the Word are as we do in our Translation and look upon it as a commendation of these wise Words which doth not in the least alter the sense I have had respect to both and comprehended also in my Paraphrase two of the Interpretations which one difficult Phrase is capable of viz. Masters of the Assemblies Which may be translated divers ways more literally out of the Hebrew than we do who add the Word by before them which is not in the Original For the last Words which we translate Masters of Assemblies may be attributed to Nails in this manner As Nails fastened whereby things are joined together Nails being the Instruments of gathering or bringing those things together which were separate or thus retaining the Words of our Translation the Masters of Assemblies are as fixed Nails or the Masters of Collections such judicious Authors as make excellent Collections of Apophthegms and smart Sayings Stick in the Mind as Nails do in Planks Or the Principal the choice Collections viz. of Wise men mentioned in the beginning of the Verse are as c. or it may in the same sense be connected not with Nails but with the Words following the Masters or Authors that collect wise and pithy Sayings have their Gifts from one and the same Shepherd So ungrounded is the fancy of Grotius who from hence conjectures that there were several persons appointed by Zerobbabel whom he takes for this one Pastor to collect the Sentences of this Book and put them out under the name of Solomon Who himself may rather be thought to be this one Pastor or King who employed if we interpret the Words this way many persons to make Collections of which he afterwards made use as he saw cause This seems to be certain that he here gives the reason of this concise and sententious way of Writing because such acute Sayings not only stir up and quicken slothful minds for the present as a Goad stimulates the dull Oxe to labour but penetrate deep and stick fast in the memory collecting also the thoughts affections and resolutions to one certain Point or Scope and gathering together a great deal of sense into a few Words As those Words baale a syppoth Masters of Assemblies or Authors of Collections may I have sometimes thought be understood Such a Collector was that Great Man Julius Caesar who gathered a Book of Apoththegms and showed by that he thought it more honourable unto him if he changed himself as it were into Tables and Codicils in which the prudent and grave Sayings of others were registred than to have his own Words hallowed like Oracles as some vain Princes corrupted by flattery have affected Though divers of his own Speeches as the Lord Bacon observes L. I. de Augm. Scient C. 7. are truly such as those which Solomon here describes full of vigour and efficacy insomuch that by one word alone he appeased a mutiny in his Army But after all that may be said on this Subject since I find not only the Vulgar but the LXX making out the sense by adding the Word per and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as we do the Word by in our Translation before Masters of Assemblies I have in the Paraphrase followed that Interpretation also m V. 12. And in this Verse have adhered to the same Translation which understands the first Words as if he had said Beyond these things do not trouble thy self For so they may be translated exactly and what is above or more than them that is the the words of the wise beforementioned my Son be warned or be enlightned observe these well and trouble thy self no further Be content with a few good Precepts of the Wise and do not involve thy self in many Books For what is necessary may be learnt without much labour out of a short Book if men will be wiser than they need they will but trouble themselves to no purpose There being no certainty of most things no satisfaction when we go beyond the known and acknowledged Principle and Precepts of Vertue but what one man asserts another confutes and when we think we have written excellently another Writer starts up and discovers abundance of errours and so Volumes are multiplied without end and we are led into long disquisitions without any satisfaction to the mind but with much weariness to the Body and great loss of precious time which had better be spent in digesting and practising such short useful and necessary Instructions as these He doth not absolutely condemn many Books for there are not a few of the Divine Writings and about the same thing but Books about needless things and that dilate too much upon things necessary rather tiring than instructing And he condemns the levity of those that are always reading but never meditating running over such a Book as this presently and then going to another not so profitable and never returning to this again So I take it in short Content thy self with this Book and such like and do not turn over many Authors to learn how to be happy For goodness and truth are included in certain Bounds but wickedness and lyes sine fine sunt are without end as St. Hierome here notes Who observes also that perhaps he adviseth us to study brevity and to mind the sense more than the words directly contrary to the Philosophers and Doctors of the World who to assert their false Opinions use abundance and great variety of Words but the Divine Scripture brevi Circulo coarctata est is confined to a small Circle and as much contracted in Words as it is dilated in sense The Hebrew Word bahag which we translate study Aben Ezra says in the neighbouring Languages signifies reading and so we translate it in the Margin n V. 13. To teach us to contract our labours into as small a compass as we can he summs up in a few Words the sense of his whole Discourse in this Book which he calls the conclusion or end of the matter of all that can be said on this Subject the whole sense of the Sermon succinctly delivered unto which therefore every one should confine his endeavours It is this to work his Soul unto such a due regard of the Divine Majesty standing in awe of him as his Lord Overseer and Judge that he take care to observe all his Commandments without which all Religion is vain and fruitless And these two things the fear of God or devotion and