weight of it having lost their power to support him his teeth likewise so rotten or worn away or fallen out that they cannot thew his Meat and the sight of his eyes which were wont to show him things at a great distance now so failing him that he cannot know one man from another though they stand hard by him See Annot. c. 4. And the doors shall be shut in the streets when the sound of the grinding is low and he shall rise up at the voice of the bird and all the daughters of musick shall be brought low 4. Is this the time to gain acceptance with God when he is despised by men and excluded the publick Assemblies because his voice is so low that no Body can hear him Nay his Lips look as if they were closed and fall so inward that he can but mumble by reason of the loss of his Teeth the weakness of his Lungs and the defect of other Instruments of Speech Nor can he recruit himself as he was wont by rest for sound sleep departs from his eyes and he wakes as early as the Birds but is not pleased at all with their Songs his hearing being so dull and flat that he is not moved by the best Musick in the World though he listen and incline his ears unto it with never so much diligence See Annot. d 5. Also when they shall be afraid of that which is high and fears shall be in the way and the almond-tree shall flourish and the grashopper shall be a burden and desire shall fail because man goeth to his long home and the mourners go about the streets 5. For joy and all such pleasant passions being fled away melancholy fear alone remains which makes him scarce dare to tread in the High-way much less his head is so giddy to go up a Pair of Stairs nay he thinks himself unsafe in the strongest Fortress Such is the feebleness of Old Age which looks venerably by its Grey Hairs but they are an early sign of approaching death and are made contemptible by his crumpled Shoulders Hips and Back which as they are of themselves a sufficient Load so are relieved and supported by no bodily pleasures the very desires of which now fail him for there is but a very short step between him and his Grave unto which if he be carried with the usual Solemnities it is all his Friends can do for him See Annot. e 6. Or ever the silver cord be loosed or the golden bowl be broken or the pitcher be broken at the fountain or the wheel broken at the cistern 6. Remember therefore thy Creator while the noble Faculties of sense and motion remain intire and are strong and lively for the time will come and that will be very unfit for this or indeed any other business when they will be totally disabled the Nerves for instance will shrink up and be dispirited the Brain it self and all those precious Vessels wherein it is contained be of no use at all unto thee For the very Fountain of Life the Heart will fail and the Veins and Arteries no longer carry the Blood round the Body but the motion will cease by the decay of that power which now thrusts it forward in a contitinual Circulation See Annot. f 7. Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it 7. And then what remains but that the Soul and Body being parted they go to their several Originals The Body tho' now so fair a Fabrick to the Earth out of which it was taken according to that ancient Doom passed upon it Dust thou art and unto dust thou shalt return but the Soul unto God to be judged by him according to what it hath done in the Body since He sent it thither See Annot. g 8. ¶ Vanity of vanities saith the preacher all is vanity 8. And if this be the Conclusion of all our labours I have reason to conclude this Book as I began it and listen I beseech you again to him who proclaims nothing to you but what he hath proved in this Discourse that there is no solid satisfaction to be found in any thing here below where all things are both full of care and trouble as well as uncertain and perishing and therefore it is the height of folly to take great thought for this present life and to lay up nothing for the life to come See Annot. h 9. And moreover because the preacher was wise he still taught the people knowledge yea he gave good heed and sought out and set in order many proverbs 9. Perhaps you may still think otherwise and therefore I have this now to add and so shall summ up all I have said that I am as likely to judge aright as another man being indued with Wisdom from above by an extraordinary gift of God 1 Kings III. 12. IV. 30 c. whose Goodness also I have imitated in communicating my knowledge freely unto others Nay knowing that by sloth or envy the greatest Wisdom may be lost the more I understood the more diligent I was in informing others Nor did Divine illuminations make me either neglect my own Studies or other mens inventions but I listned unto all from whom I might hope to learn any thing and both weighed what they said and also made an exact search into things my self of which that not only the present Age but Posterity also might reap the benefit I have gathered together and aptly disposed and fitted to all capacities abundance of excellent pithy Sentences for instruction in Wisdom and Vertue 1 Kings IV. 32. See Annot. i 10. The preacher sought to find out acceptable words and that which was written was upright even words of truth 10. Thus I that preach these things have employed my pains in seeking with no less diligence than covetous men do for money both the most pleasant and the most useful and most certain Knowledge and having found what I sought I may safely affirm that Nothing is said by me but what ought to be most acceptable being apt to give the greatest contentment and delight Nothing written by me but what I found in the Divine Writings or is so exactly agreeable thereunto that it is a straight and faithful Rule of life there is nothing frivolous or doubtful in them but they contain the most solid Wisdom as sure and true as truth it self See Annot. k 11. The words of the wise are as goads and as nails fastned by the masters of assemblies which are given from one shepherd 11. And there is the same power in them as there is wont to be in all the acute Sayings of those that are wise and good to excite and stir up the minds of slothful men to the practice of Vertue that there is in a Goad to prick the dull Oxe forward to draw the Plow Nor do they only sting and move the mind for the present but are apt to stick as
Good of which you are all desirous is not there to be found where you seek it for all things here below are so frail so subject to change and to vanish that I have not words to express how vain they are This is the thing which the Preacher first undertakes to prove That they are mere emptiness more vain than Vanity it self so full of trouble and care as well as extremely unstable that to no purpose are all mens endeavours who seek for satisfaction from them especially if they place their highest Good in them See Annot. b 3. What profit hath a man of all his labour which he taketh under the sun 3. For proof of this let every man survey himself who consists of body and of mind And let him ask his mind What great matter there remains after all its cares for the things of this life What contentment he or any man else in all this World hath reaped by his toilsome labours and anxious thoughts wherewith he hath rackt himself both day and night Which have often ended in disappointment and when he hath enjoyed his desires this very thing hath spoiled his pleasures that he could not long enjoy them See Annot. c 4. One generation passeth away and another generation cometh but the earth abideth for ever 4. For if they do not presently leave him he in a short time must leave them his Body the other part of him being made out of the Earth and therefore how firm and solid soever it now seem must be crumbled into Earth again Which continues for ever to receive back those Bodies which come out of it for no Generation can abide as the Earth doth but follows the foregoing as the next that come after shall follow it unto their Graves See Annot. c 5. The sun also ariseth and the sun goeth down and hasteth to his place where he arose 5. Out of which they cannot return and stand up in their former places as the Sun that quickens all things doth which in a constant and regular course ariseth and makes not more speed to go down than it doth to appear the next morning in the same Glory again No man dies and appears here no more though if he should it would be to dye again See Annot. d 6. The wind goeth toward the South and turneth about unto the North it whirleth about continually and the wind returneth again according to his circuits 6. Nor is the annual course of the Sun less certain than its diurnal but it comes back the next year at a fixed time to the very same Point from whence it moved this Nay the Winds as fickle and inconstant as they are whirling with a marvellous swiftness round the Earth return at last to the same Quarter from whence they shifted and some of them the very same months of the year to fetch the same compass and run the same round they did before 7. All the rivers run into the sea yet the sea is not full unto the place from whence the rivers come thither they return again 7. The like Circle there is in Watry Bodies for the Torrents and Brooks that the Rain makes run into the Rivers and so into the Sea which nevertheless doth not swell beyond its Bounds because it restores all back again to their former places by the Vapors which the Sun exhales or by secret passages through the Earth Whilest poor Man alone who is compounded of all these of the Earth the Air the Water and such heat as the Sun administers passeth away and cometh to his place no more but must be content to imitate these things only in their restless agitations 8. All things are full of labour man cannot utter it the eye is not satisfied with seeing nor the ear filled with hearing 8. Which is another thing that encreaseth his trouble that in this short life which he cannot live over again when it is done he can neither be quiet nor move with ease as the things forenamed do nor yet acquire satisfaction with his perpetual motion but tires himself even in his pleasures and finds all sort of business so laborious that he himself is not able to tell how tedious it is and after all is done he is no better pleased than when he first begun For the eye for instance and the ear which are the noblest and most capacious senses having seen and heard all manner of things are as desirous of some new entertainment as if they had enjoyed none at all See Annot. e 9. The thing that hath been it is that which shall be and that which is done is that which shall be done and there is no new thing under the sun 9. But alass the very same things like the Sun the Wind and the Rivers come about again and we are cloyed with seeing and hearing what hath often presented it self unto us already or at least hath been in times before us and will be again in those that succeed us There is nothing done now but the persons being changed will be acted over again in future Ages to whom the Sun can shew nothing but what we have seen in these days and others have seen in the foregoing And therefore it is vain for any man to expect that satisfaction now or in future times which none have found since the World began Men will always loath things present as they have ever done and long for those which are a coming which will ever give them the same satiety See Annot. f 10. Is there any thing whereof it may be said See this is new it hath been already of old time which was before us 10. Is any man able to contradict this and point us to the thing which is altogether new and hath never been seen or heard before It may appear perhaps so to him but that is to be imputed merely to the shortness of humane life which makes us ignorant of what hath passed in former Ages save only in a few things transmitted down to us by observing men For had we continued many Generations that which now seems new and unusual to us would have appeared familiar and of great antiquity as really it is 11. There is no remembrance of former things neither shall there be any remembrance of things that are to come with those that shall come after 11. They that went before us indeed might have registred such things but as they observed little so they have left the memory of less nor will this Age or those that follow be more careful or if they should Posterity will be as negligent as former Ages have been in preserving those Records For we differ nothing from our Forefathers nor will the Ages to come excell this in which we live but still the vanity of man and of all his projects and contrivances will continue to the Worlds end 12. ¶ I the preacher was king over Israel in Jerusalem 12. And let none imagine that I speak this only as a Preacher
into the Well Melancthon by Cistern understanding the Stomach the Word signifying saith he a profound Cavity takes the Wheel for the Guts adjoining thereunto which are wrapt about one another in a kind of Circular form and make the Mesentery look like a Wheel Which Grotius seems also to have had in his mind But taking it for granted that a Wheel being an Instrument of Circulation is the Hieroglyphick of something that goes and makes a round in us I think Dr. Smith's conjecture is most probable that hereby is meant the great Artery with all its Branches which is the great instrument of rotation or circulation in the Body of man and so evidently thrusts the Blood forward that we perceive its Pulses forcing the Blood along its Cavity in the Wrists the Temples and other Parts of the Body Without which Instrument to compel it the Blood that naturally tends home to the heart would go no further And then the Cistern from whence this Wheel forces the Liquor and conveys it through all the Parts is the left Ventricle of the Heart to which this great Artery is annexed and from whence it ariseth For a Cistern is a Vessel made on purpose to receive a due proportion of Water and to keep it till the time of use and then conveniently to pass it into Vessels that are prepared to receive it from thence And such is the left Ventricle of the Heart which in its Diastole as they call it receives the Blood that is brought into it from the Lungs and then keeping it there a little doth in its Systole pass due proportions thereof into the great Artery to be dispensed as was said before And for this end there are little Valves or Falling doors placed at the entrance and at the going out of this Cistern which are like Cocks to let in and to let out and by their opening or shutting give convenient passage or stoppage to the Liquor which continually runs that way And so the breaking or shaking in pieces as Forsterus translates the Word of this Wheel is the ceasing of the Pulse so he in another place translates it trodden down i. e. suppressed by the decay of the instruments of Pulsations which can no longer perform that work Which being absolutely necessary for the preservation of life the ceasing of it is death g V. 7. And so the Body made of a mouldering substance being no longer a fit habitation for the Spirit and therefore deserted by it which held the parts of it together shall crumble again into the Earth out of which it originally came according to that Sentence passed upon Adam in the beginning Dust thou art and unto dust shalt thou return III. Gen. 19. This Body was no better in its first Principles and though now we are very fond of it as if it were some goodly thing yet when the Spirit leaves it it will appear to be indeed but Dust But the Spirit the nobler part of man being of an higher Original shall return to God who sent it into the Body to be disposed of by Him according to the Sentence that he should pass upon it For the Chaldee Paraphrase's Explication of the latter part of this Verse is very apposite It shall return that it may stand in judgment before God For Elohim the Word here for God in the Hebrew Language signifies a Judge As in the place above-mentioned 1 Sam. XXVIII 9. There is a Sentence not much unlike to this I have observed in Plutarch's Consolatory Discourse to Apollonius upon the death of his Son where he alledges amongst a great many other this Saying of Epicharmus 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 h V. 8. And now having thus demonstrated his first Proposition he elegantly repeats the Exordium or entrance of his Book as is here observed by St. Hierom whose Words are so significant that I cannot but translate them as an excellent Gloss upon this Verse For since all the labour of mortal man of which Solomon hath disputed in this whole Book amounts to this That the Dust returns to its Earth and the Soul returns thither from whence it was taken it is an excess of vanity to labour for this world and to gather nothing for the future where he is to live for ever and to be judged according to his behaviour here This only may be added That here he enters upon the Conclusion of his Discourse and divides it into two Parts as he had done the foregoing Book First He summs up what he had said in the six first Chapters concerning the false ways men take to happiness in this Verse which he backs by several serious Considerations in those that fol ow unto Verse 13. Where secondly he summs up what he hath said from Chap. VII to this place concerning the true way to happiness which lies only in a due regard to God and his Commandments i V. 9. The first Word of this Verse is variously translated and the whole Verse applied by Interpreters either to confirm what was said before concerning the false methods men take to happiness as if he had said I have done when I have told you that you may believe me who am sufficiently able to inform you and not think to meet with better information from other mens Writings or from your own experience or as an introduction to what he intends to say ver 13 14. concerning the right method to be happy Which he prepares the Reader to attend unto and receive into his mind first by asserting his own great Authority in this Verse who the wiser he was the more desirous he was both to teach and to learn And then the weighty Doctrine which he taught v. 10. And the great usefulness of it v. 11. The like to which they would find no where else v. 12. It is not very material which of these ways we take but I have had respect to both in my Paraphrase where I have expressed the sense so fully that I cannot think fit to enlarge any further upon this Verse But only note that Luther and he alone I think expounds the first Words thus not absurdly nor disagreeing with the Hebrew Text There remained nothing to the Preacher but that he was wise c. He understood and taught aright and took a great deal of pains which was a great satisfaction to himself but he saw little or no success of it in others who would not be governed by his Advice c. k V. 10. This Verse runs thus word for word in the Hebrew The Preacher carefully sought to meet with desirable words and the writing of uprightness and the words of truth Where writing may refer both to what he read in others whether Divine or Humane Authors and to what he wrote himself and so I have expounded it in the Paraphrase which he commends from three Heads pleasure or delight usefulness and certainty Some fansie that Solomon wrote a Book called Catub Jascher the Writing of Uprightness or Jascher
mind since I wrote the Paraphrase What excellence is there in the Wise man that is in the opinion of the wretch before-mentioned there is none more than in a Fool especially if he be poor c. That is to all other miseries of these rich Churls this is commonly added That they are very ignorant of what is most truly valuable having no esteem of the wisest man in the World no more than a of a Fool. Nay they prefer a rich Fool before a poor Wise man who knows how to carry himself so decently that he is not afraid to appear before any man living This is a great sottishness v. 9. and breeds no less sorrow to be led by blind Appetites and not by Reason and Judgment For so the first words of the ninth Verse may be interpreted Better it is to understand aright than to follow after ones desires g V. 10. That which hath been The sence that I have given of the beginning of this Verse taking the first word for an Interrogation and name for renown as is common in Scripture seems to me to be the most simple and most agreeable to the whole Discourse And it is that which Melancthon hath expressed in these words Although a man grow famous yet it is known that he is but a man and he cannot contend with that which is stronger than himself That is he cannot govern events But I shall mention two other Interpretations which some give of it One is this As he was made at first so his Name was given him i. e. the Name of Adam signifying that he was taken out of the Earth and therefore mortal The other is this He that hath been his Name is called already that is his memory is abolished together with himself This is Maldonate's sense but is not agreeable to the Hebrew Phrase his Name is called for that in the Scripture signifies rather the contrary viz. fame and honourable mention as I have expressed it word for word out of the Hebrew in the Paraphrase The common Interpretation may be found in all commentators which is this that God hath appointed what every man shall be whether rich or poor c. and therefore it is in vain for them to contrive as they do to be other than what they are For it is to endeavour to alter that which is immutably settled by the Almighty h V. 11. seeing there be This Verse summs up all this matter about Riches or as others will have it the whole foregoing Discourse concerning all those four things wherein men place their happiness wherether Wisdom Pleasure Honour or Wealth Which draw so many and so great for the Hebrew word includes both inconveniences along with them as sufficiently demonstrate a man is still to seek for the satisfaction of his desires if he look no further And so they would have the last Verse to be an Introduction to the following Discourse in the next Chapter where he shows wherein that true and solid happiness lies which Mankind vainly pursue in the forenamed enjoyments But I have connected it with what goes before in this Chapter as the Particle for in the beginning of it shows it ought to be CHAP. VII ARGUMENT Having discoursed in the foregoing part of this Book of the vain courses men take to make themselves happy be now seems to proceed to prescribe the best remedies that can be found against that vanity to which we are subject by setting down many wise Precepts for our direction and conduct support and comfort in a troublesome World Where it is confessed that our happiness can be but imperfect yet so much we may attain as to be well satisfied and not vex our selves that we cannot make things more certain and constant nor dispose men to be more just and equal to us than they are And if we examine the following Particulars we shall find they are comprehended in this General Direction the change of our mind thoughts and opinions which must be quite altered so that those things which now look like Paradoxes must be judged the greatest Wisdom Such are all the Doctrines that begin this Chapter quite opposite to the common Opinions of the World that a good name is to be preferred before precious Ointment and the day of ones death before ones birth-day mourning before feasting sadness before laughter rebukes before commendations the end of a thing before the beginning of it a patient suffering spirit before a stout haughty mind Wisdom before riches c. These and such like are the Maxims of true Wisdom and Piety which must be learnt in order to the settlement of our minds in peace and tranquility notwithstanding the vanity that is in all things 1. A Good name is better than precious ointment and the day of death than the day of ones birth 1. BUT though there be such uncertainty in all other things yet a Good Name which a man gets by a vertuous life is lasting and durable And as the Conscience of well-doing gives a greater pleasure to the mind for the present than the most fragrant Ointment can do to the senses of voluptuous men so the fame of it will remain after he is dead and he will still live in a good report when all those sensual joys expire like the vapour of the Ointment which is soon dispersed and lost after it is poured out And therefore if we would be happy we ought to order our life in such a manner that Death which Fools and wicked men fear may be welcome to us and only let us out of the troubles into which we are brought at our birth See Annot. a 2. ¶ It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting for that is the end of all men and the living will lay it to his heart 2. And that it may befriend us it is our Wisdom to think often of it and consequently chuse rather to converse with things that will make us serious than with those which will make us merry to go for instance into the Company of those who are mourning for the dead rather than of those who are feasting for joy that a Child is born into the World For in the midst of those pleasures we are apt to be dissolute and to forget our selves but that sad spectacle enclines us naturally to be considerate and disposes our mind to humility modesty gentleness sobriety and charity when in one we see the fate of all and we follow him to his Grave who a little while agone perhaps was as vigorous and strong as our selves See Annot. b 3. Sorrow is better than laughter for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better 3. Sadness therefore and sorrow is much more profitable for us than mirth and jollity as we see in those severe and stern rebukes which make men sorrowful for their faults because that grief which makes a man look sadly whether it be for his own
their Language signifies protection and comfort XIX Gen. 8. For this cause they come under the shadow of my Roof i. e. that they might be secure from violence XIV Numb 9. Their shadow i. e. protection is departed from them m V. 13 14. Here follows an admirable Advice to comply with our present condition and suit our mind unto it Because we cannot bring things to the bent of our own mind and therefore had better study to conform our mind to our condition whatsoever it be whether prosperity or adversity Into which the Divine Wisdom hath divided our life and so proportioned them one to the other that none can justly find fault with his Divine disposal nor all things considered tell how to mend them and order them better So I have understood the last Clause of v. 14. in which is the only difficulty find nothing after him Which Words after him some refer unto God and make the sense to be that after Him or beside Him a man shall find nothing certain and therefore it is best to depend upon Him alone Which I have not taken notice of in the Paraphrase and therefore mention here Others refer after him unto man and that two ways which it may be fit just to set down Some translate it thus For this end that man may find out none of those things which shall befall him hereafter and so being perfectly ignorant of what is to come neither presume in prosperity nor despair in adversity Others thus which is Maldonate's Gloss that man losing in time of adversity what he had gotten in prosperity might not adhere too much to the things of this World Melancthon alone interprets find nothing in this sense that he might not betake himself unto unallowed courses but in prosperity keep himself within the Bounds of his vocation and not be carried beyond it by vain curiosity and in adversity expect the help of God in the use of such remedies as he hath ordained n V. 15. This Verse may be either joined with the precedent or with the following I have connected it with both in my Paraphrase upon it and v. 16. where I have attended to the Scope of the Wise man in this Chapter and accordingly interpreted that and the 17th Verse which will admit of several other Expositions They are commonly expounded of Publick Justice which ought to be neither too rigid nor too remiss and negligent Insomuch that Melancthon's words are non dubium est there is no doubt he speaks of Political Justice which governs the things of this life and consists in a mean between cruelty and negligence Too much severity becomes cruelty as it was in Aurelian and too much indulgence confirms men in wickedness as it was in the days of Arcadius A good Governour like Augustus takes a middle course and doth not seek that middle with too much subtilty but rather as in God le ts mercy prevail over judgment The like admonition saith he is subjoined about Wisdom for as too much severity becomes cruelty so too much Wisdom that is subtilty becomes cavilling sophistry and cheating And thus he interprets ver 17. that a Magistrate should not tolerate enormous Vices Doctor Hammond alone as far as I have read makes the 16th Verse Be not righteous overmuch c. to be the Objection of a Wordling who takes that for excess of Duty which brings any damage or worldly destruction upon him Which is answered saith he in v. 17. Be not wicked overmuch c. that is the fears and from thence the prudential but oftentimes very impious practices of the Worldling are the more probable Bath to the most hasty ruines Vid. Answ to Cawdry Chap. 2. Sect. 2. But this is not coherent in my Opinion with the rest of the Chapter and therefore I have followed rather the Opinion of Gregory Nazianzen who interprets it of heat and zeal more than needs without reason and discretion Which as it makes all the Schisms in the World so produces a great many other evils And the same passion saith he is both about righteousness and about Wisdom 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. vid. Orat. XXVI p. 446. I shall omit other Interpretations which are collected by del Rio and more copiously by Hackspan Lib. 2. Miscellan c. 1. and mention only that of Grotius who expounds it of a vain affectation of Justice and Wisdom Which Interpretation is in part followed by the Lord Bacon L. VIII de Augment Scient C. 2. Parab 31. whose Discourse upon the Words I shall not send the Reader to seek but set it down intirely because it is very useful There are times saith Tacitus wherein great Vertues are exposed to certain ruin And this fate befals men eminent for Courage or Justice sometime suddenly sometime foreseen afar off But if Prudence be also added to their other accomplishments that is if they be wary and watchful over their own safety then they gain thus much that their sudden destruction proceeds from counsels altogether hidden and obscure by which both envy may be avoided and their ruine fall upon them unprovided As for that nimium overmuch which is set down in the Parable since they are not the words of some Periander but of Solomon who now and then notes the evils in mens life but never commands them it is to be understood not of Vertue it self in which there is no nimium but of a vain and invidious affectation and ostentation thereof A Point something resembling this the same Tacitus intimates in a Passage touching Lepidus setting it down as a Miracle that he had never been the Author of any servile Sentence and yet remained safe in such cruel times This thought saith he often comes into my mind whether these things be governed by Fate or whether it lies also in our own power to fleer an even course free both from danger and from indignity between deformed flattery and abrupt and sullen contumacy o V. 17. There are those who by al tirsha understand not Be not too wicked but Be not too busie make not too great a stir and bustle about the things of this World especially in dangerous times do not destroy thy self by too much toil and labour or by too much stirring when it is better to be quiet and sit still Of which I have taken no notice in the Paraphrase and therefore mention it here For though the word be not used commonly in this sense yet it is its original signification And the Advice of the Son of Syrach is something to this purpose VII Ecclus 6 7. p V. 18 19. The foregoing Advice He looks upon as so useful that he presses it further here ver 18. and promises more security from such a religious prudence as teaches us moderation and yet keeps us strict to our Duty than from the greatest Armies that men raise for their defence ver 19. For as Melancthon observes Alex. Pheraeus was slain by his Wife and his Brethren though he
The sense being as if he had said God instituted a good Order how men should behave themselves in all things but they contrive how to go beyond their Bounds As David for instance had many Wives of great beauty but he would not be content without another mans Antony had a great power but he would be a Monarch which is the fault of many other Great Men. This I have not altogether neglected and also taken notice of de Dieu's Interpretation of the last words of the Verse Men sought out the thoughts of the great or mighty taking Rabbim for Magnates That is not contented with his own condition he affected to be like the Angels nay like God Maimonides refers it to the evils and miseries man draws upon himself here in this World understanding by cheschbonoth inventions mans foolish reasonings whereby he precipitates himself into all the evils he endures For he thinks he wants this and that when he doth not and he thinks this and the other thing makes him miserable which hath no hand in it But we may say as Malachi doth I. 9. this hath been by means of your own selves and as this Wise man elsewhere Prov. XIX 3. The foolishness of man perverteth his way and his heart fretteth against the Lord. More Nevochim Pars III. Cap. 12. The common Editions of the LXX may be corrected out of Epiphanius Haeres XLIX who quotes this Verse thus 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the common Editions even in the Polyglott Bible it is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 most absurdly 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 According to which I have partly framed my Paraphrase taking 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to refer to the Understanding and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to the Will But I have attended also to the common reading in the latter end of the Verse which is not 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 CHAP. VIII ARGUMENT In this Chapter the Wise man pursues the design of the former Wherein he having given several Advices as a proper remedy for the vanity and trouble we find in all things the principal of which are seriousness mindfulness of our mortality integrity meekness patience prudence in not exasperating men when we can avoid it caution in conversation with Women he now adds several other of no less moment which have respect not only to private but also to publick persons And they amount to this that I may give as short a Summary as I can of the Chapter to show how happy we all should be if both Subjects and Princes also would be advised and considerate But if they be not good men should make themselves less miserable by not being either too much disturbed at it or giving any publick disturbance much less by disbelieving Providence though they do not see the World governed as they would have it to the encouragement of the good and the punishment of the bad but to enjoy what they can honestly in the present condition wherein they are and be contented and submit to the Divine Government though we do not understand it when any alteration comes and not add this affliction unto all the rest anxiously to enquire into those things of which we are not able to give an account 1. WHO is as the wise man and who knoweth the interpretation of a thing a mans wisdom maketh his face to shine and the boldness of his face shall be changed 1. THere is no man so happy as he that is wise enough to understand and to live by these Rules But let that man remember also that as true Wisdom gives the greatest comfort confidence and courage to himself so it is apt to make him kind and gentle unto others And therefore let no man pretend unto it unless it dispose him unto such Vertues For the deeper insight he hath into men and business and things and the better able he is to solve all doubts and difficult Cases and thereby satisfie both himself and other men the more friendly courteous and affable should he be to all and the more humble meek and gentle also Which is far more Majestical and will gain him greater reverence than austerity surliness and pride See Annot. a 2. I counsel thee to keep the kings commandment and that in regard of the oath of God 2. And let no man think I have respect merely to my self in what follows because I am a King but look upon this as a principal Point of Wisdom both for his own and for the publick safety to live in dutiful Obedience to the Kings Edicts and Commands which do not thwart the Laws of God and that not merely for fear of his displeasure and the penalty of the Law if it be broken or neglected but out of respect to God whose Minister he is and whom his Subjects called to witness unto the sincerity of their hearts when they swore true faith and allegiance to him See Annot b 3. Be not hasty to go out of his sight stand not in an evil thing for he doeth whatsoever pleaseth him 3. Let not thy passion transport thee to show the least disrespect to him much less to refuse his Commands unmannerly or to do any thing that may throw thee out of his favour but if thou hast offended him let thy next care be not to persist obstinately in thy errour but to humble thy self and beg his pardon not imagining thou canst flee so fast from his anger that it shall not reach thee for his power is so large that it will one time or other lay hold on thee and punish thee See Annot. c 4. Where the word of a king is there is power and who may say unto him What doest thou 4. For the Kings Commands are backt with Power so that if he give Sentence against thee his Officers are ready to do Execution immediately never examining whether it be right or wrong but holding themselves obliged to do as he bids them And indeed who may question him or call him to an account that hath no Superior Or who can controul him that hath all the power of the Kingdom in his hands See Annot d 5. Whoso keepeth the commandment shall feel no evil thing and a wise mans heart discerneth both time and judgment 5. Therefore not only for Conscience sake but for thy own safety and security yield obedience to the Kings Commandment for so thou shalt avoid the trouble both of thy mind and of thy body And if thou pretendest to Wisdom show it not in opposing him and contending with him but in a prudent declining what thou canst not honestly do and in observing and taking the fittest Season and in the most inoffensive and winning manner to insinuate good advice when the King commits an errour See Annot. e 6. ¶ Because to every purpose there is time and judgment therefore the misery of man is great upon him 6. For want of which sort of prudence men suffer very much because there is
place of the holy i. e. of God the Holy one of Israel whom the Jews now constantly call by the Name of the Holy that most Blessed one St. Hierom understands it of the Temple but then it must be translated not the place of the holy but the holy place which is not agreeable to the Hebrew and expounds the words thus The wicked buried who were esteemed Saints in the Earth and while they lived were thought worthy Princes in the Church and in the Temple of God I have sometimes thought that the words might according to this sense of the holy place be thus word for word rendred out of the Hebrew if the Grammarians will permit Holy here not to be a Substantive I saw the wicked buried and they that is such as attended their Funeral came and even out of the holy place followed That is the very Priests waited on the Herse to do them the greater honour Or thus The Funeral Pomp reached from the very Temple to the Place of Burial l V. 11. From hence he takes occasion to show what is the very root of mens malicious and incurable wickedness And the first thing to which he ascribes it is their thriving a long time in evil courses which makes them hope this prosperity will continue to the end of their days And if they can but live splendidly they care not what becomes of them when they die Now though there be a pithgam a Decree a definitive Sentence as the word signifies passed against them yet nothing being done upon it so soon as we expect it both hardens the heart of those Sinners and mightily discourages better men who hereupon grow angry or flag in their Duty to both which Luther would have what follows referred But it properly belongs to the Evil-doers who upon the suspence of the Judgment passed upon them sin on with great confidence and have nothing else in their thoughts but malicious contrivances Both which may be denoted by this Phrase their heart is filled in them to do evil m V. 12 13. Yet this is not to be understood he here shows without exception but sometimes the Divine Justice proceeds to quick execution Which is a thing noted by Heathens themselves that God cuts Tyrants short and suffers them not to ravage so long as they hope to do And thence they exhort them to moderation according to that of Stesichorus quoted by Aristotle in his Rhetoricks as Melancthon here observes Do not injure any man for the very Grashoppers will chirp it in the Fields That is the Poor who are oppressed send out their Complaints and move God to punish such Tyrants n V. 14. Here he discovers the other root of mens incurable wickedness viz. the examples they see of those who live vertuously and yet live miserably Which proves a great scandal to those who admire worldly things too much and makes them angry at least to behold how all was given heretofore for instance to wicked Priests and now godly ones have scarce bread to put into their mouths They are the words of Luther who observes that Souldiers have better Pay than many of Christ's Ministers who are to lead his People and conduct them unto Heaven o V. 15. Notwithstanding which the Wise man advises him that would live as happily as the state of things here will permit not to grow sullen at this v. 15. much less to doubt of God's good Providence nor to be disturbed though we are not able to give a reason why vertuous men suffer very much when the wicked at the same time escape Which I take to be the meaning of the two last Verses which I have referred to our ignorance of this particular matter as St. Hierom also doth whose words are these He that seeks the causes and reasons of things why this or that is done and why the World is governed by various events why one man is blind and lame and another is born with eyes and sound one is poor and another is rich this man is noble that inglorious he gets nothing by his enquiry but only this to be tormented in his own Questions and to have his Disputations instead of a Rack and yet not find what he sought That word in the Hebrew which we translate because though is found only in this place but from the I. Joshua 7. where it is found in composition the Doctors conclude it signifies for that or because of and so the meaning here is that a man shall not be able by all the labour and pains he can take no though he be a Wise man that is thus laborious to discover the reasons of things and give an account of the difference which he observes in the Divine Dispensations CHAP. IX ARGUMENT This Chapter begins where the foregoing ends the Wise man proceeding still to justifie what he had observed about the most puzling Question in the World Why the good and bad fare all alike without any constant visible distinction His resolution cautions remedies about this matter will appear so plainly in the Paraphrase and Annotations which I shall annex to it that I will give no large account here of this Chapter but only note that the summ of it is this That the confusion of things here below should not move us to discontent much less incline us to irreligion but rather dispose us with thankfulness and sobriety to enjoy freely that portion of good things while we have them which God hath given us Neither slackning our diligence nor trusting to it alone but depending on Gods wise Providence which notwithstanding that seeming confusion governs all events disappointing many times the most likely and applauded means and again succeeding the most unlikely and contemptible Which should move us to commend our selves and concerns unto God and then above all things to value and study true Wisdom and Prudence in the management of all Affairs as far excelling mere power of which we are foolishly ambitious 1. FOR all this I considered in my heart even to declare all this that the righteous and the wise and their works are in the hand of God no man knoweth either love or hatred by all that is before them 1. THis is no rash Assertion for I Solomon affirm again VIII 16. I have deeply considered all that belongs to this matter with earnest desire and endeavour to give a clearer account and fuller resolution of it than this which is all I can say that though good men and prudent are under the care of God which must satisfie them in all events by whose special Providence both they and their undertakings and affairs are approved directed governed and defended yet such a Secret there is in it they prove sometimes so unsuccessful that no man can know by any thing that befals them or others how God stands affected towards them but will conclude very falsly if he judge that God loves him who hath all that his heart desires or that he hates him who
of God which is irrecoverably lost when they are gone from hence In short he seems to say the same that the Heathen meant in the Fable of Pandora's Box in which Hope alone remained after every thing else that was good was flown away And there are the like Sayings in Theocritus and Euripides which may be found in Erasmus's Adages Chil. 2. Cent. 4. Adag 12. d There is little difficulty in the following Verses where there are several passages which show that Solomon is not representing the sense of those who believe nothing after this life but hath respect only to the state of men here in this World as he saith expresly in the conclusion of v. 6. And in the Seventh verse plainly supposes the man to whom he directs his Discourse to be religiously affected and to govern himself in his pleasures with a regard to God and the censure that He will pass upon his actions in another place and thereupon advises him to a cheerful use of all manner of good things in this life e For I take white garments do not to denote a magnificent and spendid way of living but only a neat clean and pleasant both white garments and anointing the head being opposite to the habit of Mourners which was sad and sordid in which there can be no danger if it do not hinder serious business but rather be a refreshment after it and a preparation to renew it as it follows v. 10. The Essenes as Josephus tells L. II. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Cap. 7. went in white though they would not use any Ointments which seemed to them too voluptuous The pleasure indeed of them was great as I shall show upon I. Cant. 2. and was by many abused and made too expensive and costly but not therefore to be refrained altogether by sober people who forbare them in times of mourning 2 Sam. XIV 2. and fasting VI. Matth. 17. but used them in Feasts and in times of joy XLV Psal 7. XCII 10. VII Luke 37 c. f V. 9. Here is a new Proof that this is not the Speech of Voluptuaries for they love not to be confined to a Wife as Solomon here advises his happy man to be making her his Partner in all the joys and comforts he hath as she will be in his grief and sorrows The Hebrew Phrase see life or lives in the Plural Number is well translated by us live joyfully or very joyfully for chajim includes in it all the conveniences and pleasures of life XXXIV Psal 13. and to see is to enjoy as was noted before g V. 10. Here Gregory Thaumaturgus imagines the Speech of the Prophane Atheistical Crew concludes and glosses in this manner upon it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. Thus vain men talk but I say unto you c. as it follows in the rest of the Chapter Which is not at all agreeable in my opinion to the words of this Verse wherein there is a very serious advice to be diligent in all that we have to do in this World which is not the way of sensual men who love not to think of work contrivance or thought knowledge and wisdom The difference between which words I have expressed in the Paraphrase and shall only add that they seem to comprehend our whole business here in this World For action is employed in some work or other to which we must bend our thought and devise how to do it and for that end learn Sciences but especially study Wisdom unto which Sciences are an entrance that we may both accomplish what we design and know how to use the fruit of our labour h V. 11. But after all that we can do he advises to a faithful dependance upon God and his good Providence and not upon our own strength or Wisdom By which Advice he reproves that old Saying Faber quisque Fortunae suae Every man makes his own Fortune Which as the Lord Bacon speaks in a Discourse touching helps to the intellectual Powers we ought to look upon as an insolent and unlucky Saying except it be uttered as an hortative or spur to correct sloth and I may add to excite us to watchfulness in laying hold-of all opportunities and neglecting no occasions of doing our selves good For otherwise if it be believed as it sounds and a man enters into an high imagination that he can compass and fathom all accidents and ascribes all successes to his own drift and reaches and the contrary to his errours and sleepings it is a prophane Speech and it is commonly seen that the Evening-Fortune of that man is not so prosperous as of him that without slacking his industry attributeth much to Felicity and Providence above him Yet this is not the same Doctrine with that neither which saith Vitam Fortuna regit non Sapientia Fortune not Wisdom governs the life of man For as Melancthon observes upon the conclusion of this Book there is much difference between Philosophical and Ecclesiastical Sayings The Church in such Sayings as this confirms Providence and admonishes us to have God in our thoughts whether events be answerable to our desires or not But prophane Writers in such Sayings as that now mentioned leave out Divine Providence and take no notice of it but only of a blind Power which troubles all things that are wisely designed It is no impertinent inference which Corranus makes from these words That all the things which the swift the valiant and the rest of the persons here mentioned seek being their end of which they frequently miss it is an Argument that the happiness of man consists not either in Fame or Victory or eating and drinking or riches or the favour of others but in contentment with such things as we have and God shall think good for us in his wise Providence i V. 12. Which hath given us many Examples of men who incited by false perswasions and foolish hopes dreamt of good events when in the midst of their course they were oppressed with great calamities Thus Melancthon glosses upon these words in ver 12. and instances in Marius Pompeius and Julius Caesar Which he explains more largely in his Review of the first Chapter of this Book a little before he died Where he observes how Cato and Marcellus were disappointed when they hoped for Victory in a good Cause and Brutus and Cassius when they hoped by the treacherous slaughter of Caesar to have restored the Form of the old Republick and Antony when he thought by oppressing Augustus to make himself Monarch of the World All which verifies the old Saying which he remembers in his Notes upon the Proverbs 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Vain men are abused by their own desires which lead them to make false accounts and fills them with vain expectations And it teaches us the truth of those Divine Sayings The way of man is not in himself Except the Lord build the house they labour in vain that build it c. Examples of which we
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
subdue all Mankind unto my obedience XLV Psal 4. for I have likened thee whom I love to those victorious Armies of a mighty King which trample all opposition triumphantly under their feet See Annot. i 10. Thy cheeks are comely with rows of jewels thy neck with chains of gold 10. And then will the very outward face of the Church look most beautiful by those various Orders of spiritual Gifts wherewith I will inrich her which shall make her appear like a lovely Bride when she is decked with all her Jewels and Ornaments that add lustre to her beauty See Annot. k Chorus of Virgins 11. We will make thee borders of gold with studs of silver 11. Unto which all her Members shall contribute by their unanimous resolution to lead such a life as may adorn their Religion and make the Church shine in such splendor and Glory that She shall not come short of Royal Majesty XLV Psal 13. See Annot. l Spouse 12. ¶ While the king sitteth at his table my spikenard sendeth forth the smell thereof 12. Whereby she shall become fit for the affections of her great Lord when He sits upon the Throne of his Glory acknowledging his Bounty in all the benefits and Ornaments He hath bestowed upon her IV. Philip. 18. and making manifest the sweet and fragrant odour of his knowledge in every place 2 Cor. II. 14. compared with XLV Psal 8. See Annot. m 13. A bundle of myrrh is my well-beloved unto me he shall lie all night betwixt my breasts 13. From which knowledge every pious Soul shall derive the greatest refreshment comfort and strength and therefore love Him above all things and resolve never to let Him slip out of their minds but to preserve the remembrance of Him most carefully night and day in their very hearts as the most precious Cordial in all conditions unto their Spirits See Annot. n 14. My beloved is unto me as a cluster of camphire in the Vineyards of Engedi 14. And indeed there is nothing of such price nothing so delicious among us for our bodily pleasure but ought to put us in mind how much more inestimable that knowledge is which Thou O Lord who deservest all our love vouchsafest for the comfort and satisfaction of our Souls See Annot. o Bridegroom 15. Behold thou art fair my love behold thou art fair thou hast doves eyes 15. Such shall be the language of those who are acquainted with his worth which shall increase their mutual affection unto each other and move Him to give his Church more sensible testimonies of his love and repeated assurances how amiable her purity and modesty her innocence and simplicity as well as her decent order and comely Government is in his sight See Annot. p Spouse 16. Behold thou art fair my beloved yea pleasant also our bed is green 16. And what can this love of his produce but new admiration in her of Him and of his love bursting forth into such expressions as these yea rather thou art most amiable and lovely XLV Psal 2. not I whose beauty and goodness is but a weak reflection of thy incomparable perfections which move Thee to communicate thy self in the most delectable Graces unto all those that love Thee who making one Body with Thee may say We feast together most sumptuously and are entertained every day with those delights which grow there only where Thou vouchsafest thy gracious presence See Annot q 17. The beams of our house are cedar and our rafters of firr 17. Who hast promised to dwell with us in the several Churches of thy Saints which are as so many living Temples dedicated to thy service and being protected and defended by Thee shall remain so stable and firm that they shall last for ever See Annot. r ANNOTATIONS a Verse 1. Song of Songs every one knows is an Hebraism for the most excellent Song as Holy of Holies is the most Holy and King of Kings the greatest King And though the most natural meaning seems to be that this is the most excellent of all the Songs that Solomon made which were very many 1 King IV. 32. both in its structure and composure and in regard of the Subject whereof it treats yet since the Chaldee Paraphrase and abundance of Christian Writers think it called the most excellent Song with respect likewise to all the Songs that had been formerly made by any Prophetical person as those XV. Exod. V. Judg. 1 Sam. II. c. because they celebrated only some particular benefits this the immense love of God not only towards that Nation but towards all mankind I have not neglected that in my Paraphrase which is Solomons The Hebrew Words are so contrived that they may either signifie concerning Solomon i. e. Christ or of which Solomon was the Author Which I doubt not is the first and literal meaning because so the LXX expound it and so the same Phrase is understood by all in the Titles of those Psalms which are called Psalms of David But it may be observed further that here are none of his usual Titles added as there are in the Proverbs and Ecclesiastes where he is called Son of David King of Israel and King in Jerusalem Of which if any reason is to be assigned this seems the most probable that those Titles which have respect only to his temporal estate greatness and dignity he wholly forgot when he was rapt in contemplation of that Celestial Prince the Prince of peace in comparison with whom all others are not worth the naming and whose Character was best expressed by the name of Solomon alone He being the great Peace-maker and Reconciler of God and man b V. 2. Let him kiss me Solomon speaks this in the person of the Virgin Daughter of Sion that is the Church Whom he here introduces in the most passionate strain wishing for some token of love which is expressed under the Metaphor of a kiss But there is no mention at all made of the Name condition or beauty of the Person whose love is desired nor any account given of the beginning or progress of this desire but he makes her burst out on a sudden and abruptly into these Words Let him kiss me c. that he might the more artificially describe the nature and force of Divine love Which when it possesses the mind snatches it so from it self that it is wholly in him that it loves It thinks of nothing else seeks nothing wishes nothing speaks of nothing but this alone and imagins that every Body else thinks of the same and knows of whom it speaks It is just such a beginning as that of the LXXXVIIth Psalm where the Psalmist enters upon the description of the loveliness of Mount Sion and Mount Moriah in this manner His foundation is in the holy Mountains kisses of his mouth As a kiss given to another was a token of love and kindness friendship and familiarity in those Countries it being their manner to salute their Guests
former times Which plainly showed the Jews if they would have learnt it that there was no reason they should except against the conjunction of the Gentiles with themselves in the spiritual Marriage of both in one body unto Christ For Isaac married Rebecca a Gentile and the Daughter of an Idolater as appears from her Brother Laban who was no better XXXI Gen. 19 30 c. And this mans Daughters Jacob married whose Son Judah the Prince of their Tribes took to Wife a Canaanite XXXVIII Gen. 2. as Joseph did an Egyptian XLI Gen. 45. nay Moses himself their great Deliverer and Law-giver married an Aethiopian or Arabian Woman XII Numb 1. and notwithstanding the anger of his Brother and Sister at this Marriage would not be divorced from her Naasson also a Great Man of the house of Judah married Rahab of Jericho and had by her Booz who took Ruth the Moabitess to Wife by whom he had Obed the Grandfather of David And indeed the very first Institution of Marriage having as I have proved in the Preface a mystical intention in it which St. Paul unfolds in the V. Ephes these Marriages may well be lookt upon as Emblems of the uniting all sorts of people with Christ in one Body of the Church f V. 6. Here they seem to give an account how they came to degenerate and lose their Original Beauty by false Prophets and Prophetesses in the Gentile World who led them to Idolatry particularly to the Worship of the Sun which was the most ancient of all other IV. Deut. 19. XXXI Job 26. and spread it self as far as the Sun shineth For it was the Sun whom one Country worshipped under the name of Baal another under the name of Moloch another of Chemosh and others of Mithras and Osyris Which last was the name given to it by the Egyptians among whom the Sun was worshipped in the famous City of Heliopolis which took its name from thence not far from the Land of Rameses where the Children of Israel dwelt while they lived there XLVII Gen. 11. and so were more easily infected with that Idolatry g V. 7. This Verse I take to be the voice of the whole Church longing to be acquainted with his Doctrine which is compared to food as his Disciples are to Sheep Whom Shepherds were wont in those Countries to lead into cool Shades at Noon that they might not suffer by the heat Unto which Solomon here alludes representing all pious Souls as afraid also of wandring from the true Shepherd and falling like Sheep that go astray into the hands of Strangers All which Metaphors are largely pursued by our Blessed Saviour in one of his Parables X. John as comparisons familiarly known to his Disciples who found them here first used in this Holy Book h V. 8. To the foregoing Petition He here returns his Answer Which needs no other Explication than what I have given of it in the Paraphrase unless we observe a difference between Flocks and Kids The latter of Which signifies the Goats young ones and so may represent the new Converts of the Gentiles who formerly lay under an ill Character and did male olere as they speak smell rank of many foul Superstitions But I am not willing to meddle with such niceties i V. 9. company of horses c. This Comparison may convince us that Solomon doth not aim at any single person in this Song either Pharaoh's Daughter or a beautiful Shunamire or any other Woman or Virgin who would very absurdly be compared to a Troop of Horses but at a great many united in a Body i. e. the whole Company of Believers in the Messiah who may very fitly be resembled to the Horses in the Chariots of Pharaoh Whose Kingdom in those days abounded with the most excellent Horses which were famous for their strength and fitness for service as may be seen by the provision of them Solomon made for himself from thence 1 King X. 28 29 and the great number which came from thence against Jerusalem in his Sons days 2 Chron. XII 3. Long after which we read of their great force XXXI Isai 1. XLVI Jer. 4 9. and consequently the Body of Christian people that is the Church being compared to a company of them is set forth thereby as very powerful and prevailing over all Opposers k V. 10 The means of which is here represented to be by the power of the Spirit wherewith Christ hath endued his Church For the manner of Bridegrooms being to present their future Bride with Jewels or some other rich Gifts suitable to their quality and ability Solomon alludes to them as I take it in this Verse and points at the Gifts which his Father foretold LXVIII Psal 18. Christ would dispense when he ascended up on high to his Throne of Glory whereby several Orders of admirable men were constituted in the Church 1 Corinth XII 28 c. l V. 11. And the design of all those Gifts was to make men truly vertuous which seems to be intended in this Verse for love and good works are compared to Gold in the language of Christ himself III. Revel 18. which is the voice of all those that attended upon the Bride m V. 12. That which makes the greatest difficulty in this Book is the frequent change of the persons that speak and it is doubted here whose Language this is I take it to be the Bride her self that here again gratefully acknowledges his benefits and endeavours to make all the World sensible of them sitteth at his Tablt The King sitting at his Table signifying his rest and joy after all his labours I have therefore expounded it of the Throne of his Glory unto which our Blessed Saviour being advanced He received power to prefer others whose honour and dignity is expressed by these two things eating at his Table and sitting by him upon Thrones which was the same thing in our Saviours own Language XIX Matth. 28. compared with XXII Luke 29 30. Spikenard It is observed by Pliny that the most fragrant Nard comes from the Spikes of a very small contemptible Shrub which may well be lookt upon as an Emblem of the sweet odour of the Gospel wherewith such mean and despicable persons as the Apostles were of themselves filled all the World by their preaching together with the extraordinary holiness of their lives which recommended their preaching very much to all observing men So the Cabbalists expound this fragrancy in the Ancient Book Zohar Where R. Juda saith When good works are multiplied in the World then the Cheneseth Israel i. e. the Congregation of Israel the same with Malcuth in their language exhales rich in tovin good odours i. e. most sweet and fragrant odours being blessed by the holy King c. Which Words the Scholiast expounds thus She exhales sweet odours to her Husband Tipheret and is most acceptable to Him the lower World as his Words are being by this means married to the higher n V. 13. a
was not quite dejected but only excited to shake off my sloth and to make the more haste to acknowledge his Goodness and embrace his gracious motions to me unto which I applied my self with zealous endeavours resolving to entertain Him with the most ardent love and with the highest expressions of my esteem of Him and of his favour See Annot. e 6. I oponed to my beloved but my beloved had withdrawn himself and was gone my soul failed when he spake I sought him but I could not find him I called him but he gave me no answer 6. But though I thus repented of my negligence yet see the lamentable effects thereof for when I had thus disposed my heart and set it wide open to receive his Commands my Beloved had withdrawn his gracious presence and was gone quite away out of my sight Which made me even sink down and die with fear that I should not recover Him again especially when I called to mind those many words of Grace wherewith he made his Addresses to me calling me v. 2. his Sister his Love his Dove his undefiled with which I was now affected too late for I sought Him diligently but could not find Him I beseeched and entreated Him to return but received no Answer from Him See Annot. f. 7. The watchmen that went about the city found me they smote me they wounded me the keepers of the walls took away my veil from me 7. This though it was very bitter to me yet did not utterly discourage me but still I continued to seek Him every where as I had done heretofore III. 3. but they who formerly instructed me and directed me unto Him now fell upon me with grievous reproofs nay reproaches for my fault which cut me to the very heart nay they whose Office it was to preserve the City of God in peace and safety exposed me to open shame and the foulest disgrace See Annot. g 8. I charge you O daughters of Jerusalem if ye find my beloved that ye tell him that I am sick of love 8. So I turned my self to those of my Neighbours and familiar Acquaintance who were awakened by my cries to come an see what the matter was and conjured them as they would answer it to God that if they met with my Beloved they would let Him know what shall I say what shall I desire you to tell Him but that I do not enjoy my self now that I want his Company nor can be well till I recover his love again See Annot. h 9. ¶ What is thy beloved more than another beloved O thou fairest among women what is thy beloved more than another beloved that thou dost so charge us 9. And some of them had so much compassion upon me as to interest themselves so far in my sorrows as to enquire into the cause of them and how they might be assistant unto me in their cure for they ask'd me Wherein doth thy beloved excel other excellent persons He is very lovely no doubt because beloved of thee who art the most amiable of all other Women but what is his preheminence wherein do those who are worthy of the greatest love fall short of Him that thou art thus solicitous about Him and layest such a severe charge upon us to assist thee in thy search of Him See Annot. i 10. My beloved is white and ruddy the chiefest among ten thousand 10. To whom I replied My Beloved is that great Son of David of whom you have heard who is of a Princely form having admirable Beauty and sweetness mixed with equal Majesty and brightness dazling the eyes of those that behold Him chosen by God to do the greatest things and bring all Nations into his obedience See Annot. k 11. His head is as the most fine gold his locks are bushy and black as a raven 11. And therefore wears a Crown of pure Gold upon his head from whence his curled Locks hang down upon his Brow which are of such a shining black that they add an excellent Grace and Greatness to his Royal Beauty See Annot l 12. His eyes are as the eyes of doves by the rivers of waters washed with milk and fitly set 12. His Eyes are sparkling and yet mild like those of milk-white Doves when they are highly delighted as they sit by the Rivers side or other places where there is abundance of water See Annot. m 13. His cheeks are as a bed of spices as sweet flowers his lips like lilies dropping sweet-smelling myrrh 13. The lovely Doun also upon his Cheeks is no less grateful rising there like Spices when they first appear out of their Beds or like the young Buds of Aromatick Flowers in the Paradise before-described where the Purple Lilies are not more beautiful than his Lips from whence flow Words more precious and more pleasant than the richest and most fragrant Myrrh See Annot. n 14. His hands are as gold-rings set with the beryl his belly is as bright ivory overlaid with sapphires 14. And as He hath the Majesty of a Prince so He hath the compassion of a Priest and therefore cloathed with such a Vest as the High-Priest wears when he ministers before God and is adorned with the Ephod unto which the Breast-plate with all its precious Gems is constantly annexed See Annot. o 15. His legs are as pillars of marble set upon sockets of fine gold his countenance is as Lebanon excellent as the Cedars 15. His Thighs also are covered with fine Linen which makes them look like Pillars of the whitest Marble over which the holy Robe is thrown with golden Bells at the bottom of them all which are so contrived for Beauty and Glory that his aspect when He appears in these flowred Vestments is no less stately and great than the Forest of Lebanon whose goodly Cedars do not more excel all other Trees than He doth all other men See Annot. p 16. His mouth is most sweet yea he is altogether lovely This is my beloved and this is my friend O daughters of Jerusalem 16. So you would say as well as I if you did but hear Him speak or if He did but breathe upon you and to say all in one word there is nothing wanting to make him the Desire of all Nations nor any thing in Him but what is desirable and therefore do not wonder O ye Daughters of Jerusalem that I am thus concerned about Him and restless till I find Him for this is the true Portraicture of my Beloved this is the Character of Him who by owning me for such gives me leave to call Him My Friend See Annot. q ANNOTATIONS a Verse 1. Unto that invitation which is made by the Spouse in the latter end of the foregoing Chapter the Bridegroom here gives an answer and testifies his acceptance by coming to taste the Fruit of his Garden nay to make a Feast in it of which He calls his Friends and Companions after the manner of those Countries to be partakers
understand those that are smooth but wherein the hair begins to grow which added much in those days to the goodliness of any man and was lookt upon as a token of vigour strength and courage And it may aptly be compared to the Flowers or the sproutings and buddings of Plants and Trees So I understand Migdaloth which we translate Flowers to signifie Buds putting forth like little Towers The Lips may seem unfitly compared to Lilies because white Lips are not beautiful But Almonazir hath observed out of Dioscorides Theophrastus and Pliny that there were Lilies of a Purple colour And besides I find in Pliny L. XXI C. 5. mention made of a Lily which he calls rubens Lilium which was much esteemed he saith in Syria He shows there also a way how to make Purple Lilies There are those who think Solomon compares the Lips to Lilies only in regard of their fineness and delicate softness thick blubber-Lips being very unhandsom and a sign also they say of dullness and making the speech less grateful And indeed Eloquence is sometimes described by Lilies and may be here meant Concerning sweet-smelling Myrrh see v. 5. And thus far we have only the description of an amiable gracious Majesty which is much advanced by a sweet voice and eloquent speech The mention of which may well put us in mind of what is said of our Saviour IV. Luke 22. compared with XLV Psal 2. o V. 14. If we understand the first Part of this Verse to be meant of the hands it is thus to be interpreted He hath Golden Rings on his Fingers as before he is said v. 11. to have a golden Head i. e. a Crown of Gold upon it set with the Chrysolith as Tarsis which the LXX here do not translate it is most probable signifies And then the latter part of the Verse sounds thus word for word his Belly is of polished Ivory covered with Sapphire i. e. is purely white streaked with blue Veins But who sees not that though this be ingenious yet it is not true For the Body is no where covered as the Word here is with Veins which must needs signifie more than streaked here and there And besides it is not only against the Rules of decency but against the very scope of this Discourse to fansie that any of those naked Parts of the Body are here described which are not commonly exposed to every Bodies view For the Spouse is desired to tell by what marks this person might be discovered v. 9. now He could not be known by any of those parts which lie concealed and hidden from all mens eyes being industriously covered And therefore no such hidden parts are here represented because He could not thereby be known and distinguished I conclude therefore that now she proceeds to describe the habit of this Great Person And Solomon having in his mind the Idea which his Father had given him of the Messiah in the CXth Psalm where He is said to be a Priest as well as a Prince represents Him in the habit of the High Priest Who among other noble Vestments had an Embroidered Coat the Sleeves of which the Hebrews tell us came down to his very Wrists nay as Maimonides saith as far as to the hollow of his hand Which I take to be here meant by his hands which comprehend the Arms and Shoulders that is the clothing of those Parts And these Sleeves as well as the whole Coat were embroidered as you read XXVIII Exod. 4. to make the High Priest appear the more glorious And if you ask what this Embroidery was the Hebrews tell us that part of it consisted in a kind of oilet holes finely wrought And R. Solomon Jarchi expresly saith upon that Text that they were holes made in golden Rings in which were fixed Precious Stones c. as is afterward said of the Stones of the Ephod v. 11. Which so fully explains these Words His hands are as Gold Rings set with the Beryl that I need seek no further Though I have sometimes thought that the Ephod it self might be here intended which being fastned upon the Shoulders which in order after the head eyes cheeks and lips come to be here described and are comprehended as I said before under the name of his hands hung down before and behind to the bottom of the back and had two golden Rings unto which the Breast-plate was fastned as we read XXVIII Exod. 27 28. Maimonides saith it had four Rings two above at the Jewel-Buttons and two below about the Girdle of the Ephod Which was one of the principal Ornaments of the High Priest when He ministred the other and the greatest of all was the Breast-plate hereunto annexed and as they say was to be inseparable from the Ephod Now this Breast-plate is meant as I take it in the latter part of this Verse Where under that Word which we translate Belly and properly signifies Bowels is comprehended the Breast and all Which this CHOSCHEN as the Hebrews call it covered and as it covered those parts so was it self covered or overlaid with twelve Precious Stones The Sapphire which was the tenth is only here mentioned but it is usual in Scripture to touch only upon one thing in a History when the whole is intended And besides it is evident from the foregoing part of this Verse that more must be understood when one alone is mentioned for Rings are spoken of in the Plural Number and said to be filled with Tarsis which must therefore denote more Stones than one as Sapphire doth all the rest of the twelve which could not be mentioned in so short a description Or Sepphirim here in the Plural Number may signifie Stones as precious as the Sapphire Certain it is the Chaldee Paraphrast thought there was some respect here to the High Priest's Breast-plate for he mentions all the Stones therein one by one Which may make this Interpretation of mine to seem less strange And I conceive the Sapphire to be here mentioned rather than any other because it is of the colour of the Heavens and fittest to represent the sublime Dignity in which He is now described For the Pavement under the feet of the God of Israel when He appeared unto their Nobles at Mount Sinai was of this colour XXIV Exod. 10. and so was the Throne of God in the Firmament which Ezekiel saw I. Ezek. 26. Nor need it seem strange that the Belly upon which this covering was is said to be of polished Ivory when there is no mention of any such thing in the Law for it only denotes that it was as shining and bright as that and may possibly relate to the Tunick or Coat of fine Linen wherein the High Priest was to minister XXXVIII Exod. 39. XXXIX 27. especially upon the great day of expiation when he was not to put on his Robe nor his fine Linen Coat with any Embroidery but of fine Linen alone XVI Lev. 4. The LXX seem to think it
of all the Daughters of Jerusalem Come back again come back that we may behold thy wondrous perfections And if any ask What is that you would see What would you enjoy in her happy Society Our Answer is such a Divine presence as appeared to Jacob when he saw the Angelical Choires which made him cry out This is God's Host and call the name of that place Mahanaim See Annot. n ANNOTATIONS a Verse 1. The Daughters of Jerusalem mentioned V. 8. here justifie what the Spouse had said in the Conclusion of the former Chapter And declaring themselves in love with Him whom she had described are desirous to join themselves to her Company and go in quest of Him In order to which they would know Whither she thought He was gone when He went from her b V. 2. Unto which she replies in this Verse and seems to tell them in his own Words what she had heard Him say about that matter V. 1. And it signifies that He was still in his Church and in every part of it though sometimes they were not sensible of it For so Theodoret well observes here is distinct mention made of a Garden and of Gardens i. e. of the Catholick Church which is but one and of the several parts thereof For sometimes St. Paul mentions only the Church in the Singular Number and sometimes the several Churches even in the same Nation as in the Epistle to the Galatians I. 1. and in the same Province or City 1 Cor. XIV 34. He is said here to go down into his Garden with respect to the Mountains mentioned IV. 8. And to feed in the Hebrew is either to do the Office of a Shepherd to his Flock or relates to his Communion with his people mentioned Chap. IV. 16. V. 1. Which may be the meaning also of gathering Lilies or as Theodoret will have it by this last Clause is to be understood his gathering holy and pure Souls that are like Him and joyning them unto his Church And so the Arabick Translation is to gather together the Lilies following the Septuagint who translate it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 And indeed I find the Hebrew Word lakat signifies to collect things into an Heap or Bundle as Stones XXXI Gen. 46. Manna XVI Exod. 27. Fruit XIX Lev. 9. Silver XLVII Gen. 14. The whole denotes that Communion with Him is only to be sought in his Church especially in that part of it which preserves the Order wherein He hath disposed all things like the Walks and Beds in a Garden and keep themselves also in the purity of his Religion c V. 3. Now she seems to have so perfectly recovered her self out of the slumber wherein she had been as to have regained her former sense of Him and of her interest in Him repeating those Words which we met withal before Ch. II. 16. Of the latter part of which he feedeth among the Lilies I think fit here further to note that to feed may relate either unto Himself or unto others for there are Examples of both Of the former XLI Gen. 2. I. Job 14. Of the latter XXIX Gen. 7 9. XXXVII 12. I take it here rather in this latter sense and suppose it signifies his doing the Office of a Shepherd and that he is said to feed among the Lilies as in the Revelation to walk in the midst of the seven Candlesticks i. e. there to have his conversation to take up his abode with them c. as He often saith in the Gospel of St. John XIV 23. that He would with those who love Him and keep his Commandments And such persons are here compared to Lilies which being a name given by Christ to Himself Greg. Nyssen and Theodoret hereby not unfitly understand such as are conformed to Christ their Head and have his Image wrought in their Souls in righteousness and true holiness For saith the former of them 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. whatsoever things are true whatsoever things are honest whatsoever things are just c. see IV. Philip. 8. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 these are the Lilies in which Christ delights d V. 4. And now we must conceive either that they went to the Garden together and there found Him or that He hearing this hearty profession of unmoveable love to Him meets them and to revive her drooping Spirits falls again into a new commendation of the Spouse in the very same terms as before and in some higher And first He compares her to Tirzah which was a beautiful Situation in the Country of Ephraim and therefore made choice of after these times by Jeroboam for the Seat of his Kingdom and so continued till the Building of Samaria as we read 1 King XIV 17. XV. 21 23. and several other places to which add XII Josh 24. The very original of the Word signifies as much as Urbs amabilis or a City that pleaseth one and therefore chosen by one of the ancient Kings of Canaan for the place of his residence And lest this should not be high enough He next compares her to Jerusalem which was the most lovely place in the Territories of Judah and indeed of the whole Country For which cause as it had been the Seat of one of the Kings of Canaan so the Royal Palace of David nay the House of God himself was afterward there built and is called by Jeremiah in his Lamentations the perfection of beauty the joy of the whole earth II. 15. It is mentioned by Pliny likewise L. 5. C. 14. as the most famous City in the East And as she had commended Him before not only for his Beauty but Majesty so He doth here in the last place call her terrible as an Army standing in Battalia's striking an awe that is into Beholders So I think it is to be expounded as referring still to the goodliness of her aspect and not to her being invincible inexpugnable and striking terrour into her Enemies as some interpret the whole Verse Every part of which seems to me to be a new proof that Solomon speaks not in this Book of one single person whom some fansie the Shulamite others Pharaoh's Daughter whom others take for one and the same under the name of the Spouse but of a Body or Society of men for none else can be fitly compared to Cities nay to great Armies drawn up under their Banners Which last part of this Verse may be applied to the comely Order which Christ appointed in his Church which while it was preserved made the Church very venerable in the World So Theodoret 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. For they are astonished who behold thy Order there being nothing disorderly nothing uncertain or undetermined nothing confused and indistinct but all 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 orderly appointed and judiciously determined Some refer this terribleness as we translate it to the gravity or rather severity of her countenance which forebad all wanton approaches to so great a Beauty e V. 5. In this