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LEOTUEES: 
 EXPOSITORY AND PRACTICAL, 
 
 ON 
 
 THE BOOK OF 
 
 ECOLESIASTES 
 
 BY EALPH WAEDLAW, D. D. 
 
 AIJTHOB OF DISCOURSES 0:N- THE PRINCIPAL POINTS OF THE SOCINIAN 
 CONTROVERSY; UNITARIANISM INCAPABLE OF VINDI- 
 CATION ; LECTURES ON THE BOOK OF PROVERBS, 
 ROMANS, ZECHARIAH, AND JAMES; &C., &C. 
 
 PHILADELPHIA: 
 
 WH. S. EENTOUL, 421 WALNUT STREET. 
 
 1868. 
 
OF THE PUBLISHER OF THIS EDITION. 
 
 It is of essential importance to the interest and prosperity of 
 the cause of God in any age, that the precious religious writings 
 of eminent saints which are peculiarly fitted to instruct and edify 
 the people of God, should be made easily accessible. And there 
 are no religious works, perhaps, next to the Holy Scriptures, 
 which are more fitted to be useful in a high degree, than such Ex- 
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 standard works, in the common estimation of evangelical Chris- 
 tians. 
 
 Such considerations as these have led the Publisher to project 
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 Books of Scripture as are of acknowledged excellence, but which 
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 able, and evangelical Expositor of some of the most difficult and 
 yet most instructive of the Books of the Bible, and the rare ex- 
 cellence of his work on Ecclesiastes in particular, have combined 
 to induce the Publisher to commence his enterprise with this 
 work. He has much pleasure in now presenting this beautiful 
 and very carefully corrected new edition of it, to the patronage of 
 the religious world. Several important foot-notes have been ad- 
 
PUBLISHER'S PREFACE. 
 
 ded, whieh he trusts will be found to materially enhance the value 
 of this edition over any former one. 
 
 No name among the many eminent Ministers of Christ who 
 flourished in Britain during the early part of the present century 
 stood higher during his day, whether as a Divine or as a friend 
 of civil and religious liberty, than that of Dr. Ralph Wardlaw. 
 As a profound thinker; as an able Bible expositor ; as a preacher 
 of the glorious Gospel of salvation ; and as an ever ready and 
 zealous champion, whether of Divine truth, when assailed from 
 whatever quarter, or of the rights of oppressed humanity— all 
 combined, he occupied, perhaps, the first place in the first rank. 
 It has seemed strange to the Publisher of this new edition of his 
 celebrated Commentary on Ecclesiastes, that a work of such ac- 
 knowledged excellence should not have been , republished either 
 in Britain or America for more than forty years. On it, more 
 than on any other of his Expository works on Books of Scripture, 
 does his solid and enduring reputation as a Bible expositor rest; 
 and "by it," in an eminent degree, may it be said— "he being 
 dead yet speaketh." 
 
 If his enterprise shall meet with due encouragement, it is the 
 design of the Publisher to rapidly follow up this volume by the 
 republication of other valuable standard Expositions of special 
 Books of Scripture by other distinguished authors. 
 
 Philadelphia, ) 
 June, 1868. I 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 PAGF,. 
 
 The Author's Preface, ^ 
 
 Lecture i. Chapter i. 1-11, 5 
 
 Lecture II. Chapter i. 12-18, 23 
 
 Lecture hi. Chapter ii. 1-11, 38 
 
 Lecture iv. Chapter ii. 12-26, 54 
 
 Lecture v. Chapter iii. 1-15, 73 
 
 Lecture vi. Chapter iii. 16-22. iv. 1-3, 96 
 
 Lecture vii. Cliapter iv. 4-16, 113 
 
 Lecture vni. Chapter v. 1-7, 132 
 
 Lecture ix. Chapter v. 8-20, 152 
 
 Lecture x. Chapter vi. 1-12, 170 
 
 Lecture xi. Chapter vii. 1-6, 185 
 
 Lecture xii. Chapter vii. 7-14, 206 
 
 Lecture xiii. Chapter vii. 15-22, 225 
 
 Lecture xi'v. Chapter vii. 23-29, 244 
 
 Lecture xv. Chapter viii. 1-8, 261 
 
 Lecture xvi. Chapter viii. 9-17, 276 
 
 Lecture xvii. Chapter ix. 1-10, 294 
 
 Lecture xviii. Chapter ix. 11-18, 314 
 
 Lecture xix. Chapter x. 1-10, 328 
 
 Lecture xx. Chapter x. 11-20, 342 
 
 Lecture xxi. Chapter xi. 1-8, 359 
 
 Lecture xxii. Chapter xi. 9, 10. xii. 1-7, 378 
 
 Lecture xxiii. Chapter xii. 8-14, 406 
 
 The Christian's hope of Christ's Second Coming 425 
 
THE AUTHOR^S PREFACE. 
 
 The following lectures were, in the substance of them, delivered, in the or- 
 dinary course of my weekly ministrations, in the years 1810 and 1811. They 
 have been entirely recomposed for the press. Both their original delivery, 
 and their subsequent preparation for the public in their present form, were 
 suggested by the state of the times, which appeared, in the afflictive visita- 
 tions of providence upon the mercantile interests of our country, to press so 
 powerfully the great lessons of the Book of Ecclesiastes upon the attention of 
 its inhabitants; and nowhere was the call more imperious, to "lay these les- 
 sons to heart," than in this great manufacturing city. 
 
 By this statement, the expectation will at once be precluded in the reader's 
 mind, of critical or philological disquisition. Of this, for very obvious reasons, 
 it is the duty of a public teacher of the word of God, to be as sparing as is 
 consistent with fidelity to truth. His first concern, it is true, ought certainly 
 to be, to discover, in every passage, "the mind of the Spirit," — the sentiment 
 originally intended by the inspired writers to be conveyed ; for any other 
 sentiment is not Divine revelation : — and thereforcy^if, in any particular in- 
 stance, he is satisfied that the sense has been misapprehended by our English 
 translators, it becomes incumbent upon him, with modesty, to point out the 
 mistake, and to give what appears to be the true meaning. I need not say, 
 however, that in the fulfilment of this duty, (for I will not call it the mere use 
 of a liberty,) self-diffidence and caution are peculiarly requisite. In the fol- 
 lowing discourses, I have, with very few exceptions, assumed the correctness 
 of the common English Version, in expressing the sense of the original, being 
 satisfied, that in most instances in which different translations have been pro- 
 posed, its claims to preference are at least not inferior to those of others. 
 
 Those who are desirous of examining the Book critically, may have recourse 
 to such authors as DesvcEUx, Schultens, Dathius, Van der Palm, Hodgson, 
 and others. In their works, the various opinions may be seen which have 
 been entertained by different critics and commentators, respecting its great 
 general object; along with abundance, more and less valuable, of philological 
 remark and dissertation, for the elucidation of particular portions of it. The 
 commentary of Bishop Eeynolds, as edited by the Rev. Mr, Washbourne in 
 1811, I did not see till the last of these lectures was at press. 
 
 The general design of the Book is by some conceived to be simple, by others 
 3 
 
4 PREFACE. 
 
 more comijlex ; and in this department of sacred literature, as in others, there 
 are not wanting occasional indications of the love of hypothesis and origi- 
 nality. There has been also, I am tempted to think, an unnecessary creation 
 of difficulties. It seems sufficiently clear, that the writer's first design is to 
 illustrate and prove, by a variety of examples, taken from his own experience 
 and his observation of others, the position that "all is vanity;" the in- 
 sufficiency of all the labors, and pursuits, and earthly pleasures of men, to con- 
 fer true happiness ; an insufficiency arising from the sinfulness of some of them, 
 the illusory nature of others, and the precariousness and short-lived continu- 
 ance of all. This position he lays down at the outset of his treatise ; twenty 
 times he directly repeats it, and oftener still alludes to it, in the course of his 
 details ; and when he has finished his proofs and illustrations, he formally re- 
 announces it in his peroration. This ought surely to be enough, to determine 
 the text of a discourse. But there is an object of the writer ulterior to the es- 
 tablishment of this position. It would not have been enough for him to ex- 
 pose the false sources of happiness, without directing to the true ; — to break in 
 pieces the cisterns that men have hewed out for themselves, without conduc- 
 ting to the " fountain of living water;" — to point out the folly of the answers 
 which men have given to the question, "Who will show us good?" and to 
 give no satisfying reply to it himself His ultimate object, therefore, is not to 
 make good the position, that "all is vanity," but rather, upon the establishment 
 of this afiecting truth, to found the further position, that to " fear God and 
 keep his commandments is the whole" duty, and honor, and happiness "of 
 man." This is "the conclusion of the whole matter:" — and can any conclu- 
 sion be conceived, to which it could be more worthy of inspiration to conduct 
 the erring creatures of God? 
 
 I enjoyed much pleasure in the study and exposition of this interesting por- 
 tion of the word of God ; and the pleasure has been renewed in preparing the 
 discourses for the press. Whether they shall give satisfaction to others, re- 
 mains now to be ascertained. Every author, of course, indulges a hope, that 
 his work may not be altogether unacceptable. But in publishing, as in preach- 
 ing, there ought to be a higher aim than to please. The great concern should 
 be, to impress the lessons of Divine wisdom, and the necessity of their imme- 
 diate reduction to practice. If such impression be not produced, — if no prac- 
 tical result be effected, — it will little avail the reader that he has merely been 
 gratified ; nor ought it, surely, to satisfy the writer. " Lo ! thou art unto them 
 as a very lovely song, of one who hath a pleasant voice, and can play well on 
 an instrument: for they hear thy words, but they will not do them." 
 
 I commend the work to the blessing of that God, the sacred lessons of whose 
 word it is intended to illustrate and recommend. 
 
 E.W. 
 Glasgow, ] 
 September 28th, 1821. j 
 
LECTURE I, 
 
 ECCLESIASTES I. 1-11. 
 
 'The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king of Jerusalem. 2, Vanity 
 of vanities, saiththe Preacher, vanity of vanities ; all (is) vanity. 3, What 
 profit hath a man of all his labor which he taketh under the sun? 4. (One) 
 generation passeth away, and (another) generation cometh : but the earth 
 abideth for ever. 5, I'he sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down, and 
 hasteth to his place where he arose. 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. 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. 8. All things (are) full of labor; man cannot 
 utter (it) : the eye isuot satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hear- 
 ing. 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. 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, 11. (There is) 
 no remembrance of former (things) ; neither shall there be (any) remem- 
 brance of (things) that are to come with (those) that shall come after." 
 
 The account given us, in the Old Testament history, of the 
 early character of Solomon, and of the commencement of his reign, 
 is such as cannot fail to impart the purest delight to every pious 
 and benevolent mind. In the following simple narrative, we 
 know not whether to be most charmed with the self-diffidence and 
 piety of the man, or with the disinterested patriotism of the 
 jjrince : — " In Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream 
 by night : and God said. Ask what I shall give thee. And Solo- 
 mon said. Thou hast showed unto thy servant David my father 
 great mercy, according as he walked before thee in truth, and in 
 righteousness, and in uprightness of heart with thee; and thou 
 hast kept for him this great kindness, that thou hast given him a 
 son to sit on his throne, as (it is) this day. And now, O Lord 
 my God, thou hast made thy servant king instead of David my 
 father; and I (am but) a little child: I know not (how) to go out 
 5 
 
6 LECTURE I. 
 
 or come in>. And thy servant (is) in the midst of thy people which 
 thou hast chosen, a great people, that cannot be numbered nor 
 counted for multitude. Give therefore thy servant an under- 
 standing heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between 
 good and bad : for who is able to judge this thy so great a people? 
 And the speech pleased the Lord, that Solomon had asked this 
 thing. And God said unto him. Because thou has asked this 
 thing, and has not asked for thyself long life ; neither hast asked 
 riches for thyself, nor hast asked the life of thine enemies ; but 
 hast asked for thyself understanding to discern judgment; behold, 
 I have done according to thy words : lo, I have given thee a wise 
 and an understanding heart ; so that there was none like thee be- 
 fore thee, neither after thee shall any arise like unto thee. And I 
 have also given thee that which thou hast not asked, both riches 
 and honor : so that there shall not be any among the kings like 
 unto thee all thy days. And if thou wilt walk in my ways, to 
 keep my statutes and my commandments, as thy father David did 
 walk, then I will lengthen thy days. And Solomon awoke; and, 
 behold, (it was) a dream: and he came to Jerusalem, and stood 
 before the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and offered up burnt- 
 oiferings, and offered peace-offerings, and made a feast to all his 
 servants." 1 Kings iii. 5-15. 
 
 The same features of character are beautifully exemplified in 
 the opening scenes of his reign. Behold him, at the dedication of 
 the Temple, assembling all Israel together; bringing up to its 
 place the ark of the covenant of the Lord ; pouring out in public 
 to Jehovah the thanksgivings of a grateful heart; blessing the 
 people in His name; standmg before the altar of God, spreading 
 forth his hands towards heaven, and, with humble reverence, and 
 holy fervor, and patriotic affection, uttering aloud his prayers and 
 intercessions to the Most High; offering the sacrifices of dedication ; 
 renewing his benedictions to the vast assembly; and, after four- 
 teen days of sacred festivity, sending them away, — "blessing the 
 king, and joyful and glad of heart for all the goodness which the 
 Lord had done for David his servant, and for Israel his people." 
 (See 1 Kings, chap, viii.) 
 
 In proportion, my brethren, as we are gratified and delighted 
 by these accounts of the character of Solomon's youth, and of the 
 auspicious beginning of his government, will our feelings of dis- 
 
ECCLESIASTES I. 1-11. 7 
 
 appointment and grief be intense, wlien we contemplate his sub- 
 sequent deviations from the ways of wisdom, and lamentable "de- 
 parture from the living God." "For it came to pass, when Solo- 
 mon was old, (that) his wives turned away his heart after other 
 gods : and his heart was not perfect with the Lord his God, as 
 (was) the heart of David his father. For Solomon went after 
 Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, and after Milcom the 
 abomination of the Ammonites. And Solomon did evil in the 
 sight of the Loed, and went not fully after the Lord, as (did) 
 David his father. Then ^d Solomon build an high-place for 
 Chemosh the abomination of Moab, in the hill that (is) before 
 Jerusalem, and for Moloch the abomination of the children of Am- 
 mon. And likewise did he for all his strange wives, who burnt 
 incense, and sacrificed unto their gods. And the Lord was angry 
 with Solomon, because his heart was turned from the Lord God 
 of Israel, who had aj^peared unto him twice ; and had commanded 
 him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods ; 
 but he kept not that which the Lord commanded." 1 Kings xi. 
 4-10. 
 
 Alas! how fallen! — And, judging from the history alone, we 
 should have been left to conclude, — fallen finally ! Much, how- 
 ever, is to be learned, by the comparison of one part of Scrijiture 
 with another. If, for example, (to give an instance analogous to 
 the one before us,) — if we had no other record of Manasseh's reign 
 than that contained in the twenty-first chapter of the second book 
 of Kings, we should have known nothing of him but his extra- 
 ordinary wickedness, the idolatry, oppression, and sanguinary 
 cruelty of his administration ; — we should have contemplated him, 
 with the painful feelings of abhorrence and reprobation, dying as 
 he had lived, sinking iute the grave under a load of unrepented 
 crime and unobliterated infamy. But when we compare the ad- 
 ditional account given of him in the thirty-third chapter of the 
 second Book of Chronicles, we see him brought back, by sancti- 
 fied afiliction, to the God whom he had so awfully forsaken and 
 dishonored, a subject of that "broken and contrite spirit which He 
 does not despise," and an interesting and encouraging example of 
 the freedom and riches of Divine grace. The Book of Ecclesi- 
 astes presents us with a similar comfortable and cheering view of 
 the latter days of the life of Solomon. We behold him here, after 
 
8 LECTUEE I. 
 
 a temporai'y apostasy from the Lord God of Israel, "confessing, 
 and forsaking, and finding mercy." "We behold him, retnrning 
 from the broken and empty cisterns of the world to the Fountain 
 of living water; recording, for the admonition of future ages, his 
 own folly and shame, the bitterness of his disappointment, and the 
 salutary lessons he had learned from the infatuated and impious 
 experiment of seeking happiness in the vanities of the world with- 
 out God. 
 
 That the Book was the composition of Solomon, the title bears; 
 universal tradition affirms; and internal evidence concurs to prove: 
 there being many things in it Avhich will apply to no one else. 
 With the doubts which have at times been expressed, and the an- 
 swers which have been given to them, I shall not at present trouble 
 you. Some of them have arisen from certain passages in the Book 
 itself, having appeared inconsistent with the dictates of the Spirit of 
 God in other parts of the Sacred volume, and expressive of senti- 
 ments dangerous, or at least ambiguous. The true interpretation 
 of these passages will come to be considered in their respective 
 places; when their perfect harmony with the rest of the Bible, 
 will, we trust, be satisfactorily shown, and their title sufficiently 
 established to the character belonging to all that is "given by in- 
 spiration of God,"— the character of being " profitable for instruc- 
 tion, for conviction, for reformation, and for education in righteous- 
 ness." (See 2 Tim. iii. 16; Greeh Text) 
 
 And, while external and internal evidences establish the gen- 
 uineness of the treatise, as the production of the prince Avhose 
 name it bears; the same descriptions of proof assign its compo- 
 sition to a period of his life subsequent to his temporary apostasy 
 from the service and the ways of God. This is the testimony of 
 Jewish tradition; and, whilst every rigl* feeling should induce us 
 to ivish the testimony true, there is enough iu the book itself to 
 vindicate our judgment from the imputation of credulity in he- 
 lieving it. For, if it was written by Solomon at all, at what other 
 time of his life could it be written? Not before his apostasy: for 
 then he had not been guilty of the madness and impiety described. 
 jSFot during its continuance: for the language of the record is that 
 of past time, and the spirit which it breathes is that of peniteuQe 
 for past misconduct. An apostate, persisting in his apostasy, 
 could not possibly have been its author. It must have been written. 
 
ECCLESIASTES I. 1-11. 9 
 
 therefore, after his return from his wanderings; and the delight 
 which the conviction of this inspires, rests on grounds that arc not 
 ilkisory. 
 
 Verse 1st. The iconJs of the Preacher, the son of David, hhig of 
 Jerusalem, 
 
 ECCLESIASTES, is the Greek Title of the Book; the title which 
 it bears in the Septuagint. It signifies The Preacher. The 
 Hebrew word for which it is used, means, one who assembles, or 
 gathers the people together; and the translation of it by the term 
 Ecdesiastes, shows that the Greek Translators understood the ob- 
 ject of the assembling to be, the communication of public instruc- 
 tion. That Solomon, in the early part of his reign, should have 
 employed in this way, for the benefit of his people, the wisdom 
 with which he had been so singularly endowed, is highly proba- 
 ble. It is worthy of his piety and his patriotism, and by no means 
 inconsistent, unless on false ideas of honor, with his regal dignity. 
 AVhen he himself went astray, his example could not fail to have 
 a most extensively pernicious influence in " causing Israel to sin." 
 And it is a highly pleasing reflection, that when he "came to him- 
 self," he should, Avith a similar publicity, have acknowledged the 
 folly and the evil of his w^ays, and have done what lay in his 
 power, by an open avowal of his "repentance towards God," to 
 counteract the fatal tendency of the course he had been pursuing, 
 and to stem the tide of impiety and profligacy, the floodgates of 
 w^hich he had so unhappily opened. He had been guilty of the 
 two great evils, of " forsaking God the fountain of living waters," 
 and of " hewing out unto himself cisterns, broken cisterns that could 
 hold no water;" and now he declares before all men, that he had 
 found this to be "an evil thing and a bitter," and with a decision 
 and earnestness, the product of woful experience, warns all against 
 the miserable infatuation. Nor does he only publish his peni- 
 tence at the time; he imparts permanence to it by recording it in 
 writing for the admonition of succeeding generations. 
 
 His charcter as a preacher is drawn in the twelfth chapter, the 
 ninth and tenth verses: — "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. The 
 Preacher sought to find out acceptable words : and (that which 
 was) written (was) upright, (even) words of truth." Let us, then. 
 
10 LECTURE I. 
 
 attend with seriousness, and with earnest desire of Divine influ- 
 ence, to the words of this preacher, as "words of uprightness and 
 truth." 
 
 He was the "son of David." To him had been addressed, by 
 his pious and aifectionate parent, the solemn charge, equally melt- 
 ing and alarming: "And thou, Solomon my son,- know thou the 
 God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart, and with 
 a willing mind ; for the Loed searcheth all hearts, and under- 
 standeth all the imaginations of the thoughts : if thou seek him, 
 he will be found of thee ; but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee 
 off for ever." (1 Chron. xxviii. 9.) It was in opposition to this 
 paternal counsel that he had gone astray ; and possibly, the tender 
 recollection of it, brought home to the heart by the events of pro- 
 vidence, might be part of the means of "restoring his soul, and 
 making him to walk again in the jjaths of righteousness." "I 
 was my father's son," — says he elsewhere, (Prov. iv. 3, 4,) bearing 
 testimony to the aifectionate fidelity with which that father had 
 fulfilled the paternal trust, — "I was my father's son, tender and 
 only beloved in the sight of my mother. He taught me also, and 
 said unto 2ne, Let thy heart retain my words ; keep my command- 
 ments, and live." Frequently has it happened, (and the consider- 
 ration of it should encourage godly parents in the discharge of their 
 duty,) that the remembrance of early instructions has, after a course 
 of departure from God, been the means of awakening the con- 
 science, alarming the fears, and touching the sensibilities, of the 
 unhappy wanderer, and turning his feet anew to "the way of God's 
 testimonies." 
 
 "The preacher" was also "king of Jerusalem." It was the 
 God of Israel who had chosen and exalted him to this dignity : 
 but he had been guilty of forgetting and ill-requiting the Author 
 of his greatness. Possessed of many and invaluable spiritual ad- 
 vantages above the kings of the surrounding nations, he had yet 
 "learned of their ways," honored and served their gods, and ad- 
 mitted the abominations of their idolatry into alliance and in- 
 corporation with the worship of "the Holy One of Israel:" thus 
 violating the most sacred obligations to preserve that worship, by 
 example and authority, free from intermingling corruptions; and 
 leading that people astray into error and sin, whom it was his 
 official duty to encourage and to conduct in the ways of truth and 
 
ECCLESIASTES I. 1-11. 11 
 
 righteousness. As "king of Jerusalem," he was also placed in a 
 situation, Avhicli brought within his reach " whatsoever his soul 
 lusted after," and thus enabled him, in the most favorable circum- 
 stances, and on the most extensive scale, (for "what can the man 
 do, that Cometh after the king?") to try his infatuated experi- 
 ments on human happiness ; experiments, of which the great gene- 
 ral result is expressed, with comprehensive brevity, and deep-felt 
 emphasis, in the second verse: — 
 
 Verse 2d. "Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, 
 
 VANITY OF VANITIES ; ALL IS VANITY." 
 
 This is the Text of the Preacher's sermon ; the leading propo- 
 sition, which it is his object to illustrate and to establish, in the 
 whole of the subsequent part of this book ; of which he never loses 
 sight; which meets us, in the way of direct allusion, at every step 
 and turn of the progress of his argument; and to which, when he 
 has finished his details, he reverts in the very same terms, in his 
 peroration. (Chap. xii. 8.) 
 
 To enter into any detached and general illustration of this verse 
 would, therefore, be to anticipate the contents of the Book. The 
 following remarks maybe worthy of attention: — 
 
 In the first place: It is to be considered as the aiFecting result of 
 Solomon's own experience. He had entered into the spirit of the 
 universal incpiiry, "who will show us any good?" (Psal. iv. 6.) 
 and had made trial of the various sources of worldly happiness. 
 He had repaired in person to the diiferent springs, determined to 
 take nothing upon the reported exj^erience of others, but to taste 
 the waters for himself. He had drunk freely of them all; and in 
 this treatise, he describes their respective properties and virtues. 
 The Book might, therefore, with sufficient appropriateness, be en- 
 titled "The Experience of Solomon." 
 
 Secondly. We are not to understand it as the language of a mind 
 soured and fretted by disappointment ; the verdict of a morose and 
 discontented cynic, the incessant frustration of whose hopes and 
 desires had made him renounce the world in disgust, while his 
 heart was yet unchanged, and continued secretly to hanker after 
 the same enjoyments; or of a wastetl sensualist, who, having run 
 his career of pleasure, felt hiruself incapable of any longer actually 
 enjoying what still, however, engrossed his peevish and unavail- 
 ing wishes: — but we are to regard it as the conclusion come to by 
 
12 LECTUEE I. 
 
 one wlio had felt the bitterness of a covirse of sln^ and the empti- 
 ness of this world's joys^ and^ having been reclaimed from "the 
 error of his way," — having renonnced and wept over his follies, — 
 was more than ever satisfied that "the fear of the Lord is wisdom/'' 
 and that " the ways of wisdom are the only ways of pleasantnesSj, 
 and her paths alone the paths of peace." 
 
 Thirdbj. Neither must we conceive him to affirm _^ in these words, 
 that there is no good lohatever, no kind of enjoyment, no degree of 
 hajjpiness, to be derived from the things of the world, when they 
 are kept in their own place, estimated on right principles, and iised 
 in a proper manner. Sentiments widely diiferent from any thing 
 so ascetic and enthusiastic as this, will repeatedly come in oar way 
 in the course of the Book. The words before us are to be inter- 
 preted of every thing in this world when pursued as ih^ portion 
 of him who seeks it, — ^when considered as constituting the happi- 
 ness of a rational, immortal, and accountable being. His verdict 
 is, that to such a creature they can yield, by themselves, no genuine 
 and worthy satisfaction ; and that, whilst they are, in their owns 
 nature, unsatisfying, even in this world, they are worse, injfinitely 
 worse, than profitless for the world to come. On this ground it 
 is, that he pronounces them vanity: — he had weighed them all in 
 the balances, and had found them wanting. 
 
 Fourthly. The peculiar emphasis may be remarked with which 
 this verdict is expressed. He does not merely siay, all tilings are 
 vain: — but "all is vanity f^ — vanity itself, and vanity of vanities^ 
 that is, the greatest vanity, — sheer, perfect vanity. And he dou- 
 bles the emphatic asseveration, "Vanity of vanities-; vanity of 
 vanities ; all is vanity.''' This shows, first, tlie strength of the im- 
 pression on his own mind. It is not the language of a judgment 
 hesitating between two opinions, or of a heart lingering between; 
 opposite desires: but of a mind thoroughly made up; of a heart 
 loathing itself for having ever for a mc^ment yielded to a diiferent 
 sentiment; of decided conviction ; of powerful exijerimental feel- 
 ing. It shows, secondly, the earnestness of his- desire tO' produce 
 a similar impression on the minds of others. It was a lesson which 
 he himself had learned by the bitterest experience ;; and he is anx- 
 ious to prevent others from learning it in the same way. He 
 wishes them to take his word for it; not to venture after him in 
 a repetition of the sad experiments on which his conclusion was 
 
ECCLESIASTES I. 1-11. 13 
 
 founded, but to enter directly on another course; to seek imme- 
 diately and earnestly a better portion, even the "peace" of them 
 that "love God's law,"— the "life" that lies in the "Divine fli- 
 vor," — the joys and the hopes of true religion. 
 
 That is justly denominated " vanity," which yields no substantial 
 profit. It is in this connection that he adds; — 
 
 Verse 3. What profit hath <z man of all his labor ivhlch lie iaJcefh 
 under the sunf 
 
 By " labor " he means, not only the labor of the hands, but also 
 the labor of the brain ; for of both Ave shall find him frequently 
 speaking in the sequel. " What profit hath a man of all his la- 
 bor?" Much, it may be answered: much profit; great and man- 
 iiifold benefits, in the estimation of the world, may be the result 
 ©f human labor. Learning, riches, power, honor, and all the 
 means of sensual and intellectual gratification, may be acquired by 
 labor. But these things, when viewed apart from God as the chief 
 ■good, (the light in which, we observe, it is Solomon's intention to 
 place them,) are all comprehended in the verdict already pro- 
 nounced, — " Vanity of vanities ; all is vanity.'^ The gratification 
 which these things impart is mingled with many disappointments, 
 disquietudes, and mortifications. The pleasures which they yield 
 have a large alloy of pains. They cannot, by themselves, even 
 when enjoyed lawfully, constitute the happiness of such a creature 
 as man. They are neither commensurate in their duration with 
 his immortal existence, nor are they thoroughly satisfjang even 
 w"hile they last. The chief point and emjjhasis of the question will 
 be felt, if we consider a man as having completed his labor under 
 the sun; having arrived at the close of his toils. Suppose him, 
 whatever may have been the description and the sphere of his dili- 
 gence, to have succeeded to his heart's desire ; to have surmounted 
 every difficulty, and attained every object of his pursuit: — the 
 question is, lohat profit remainis to him when he has donef What 
 has he then, as the proceeds of his industry? And alas! the ques- 
 tion, in this view, admits of but one answer: — "When he dicth, he 
 shall carry nothing away." (Psal. xIls. 17.) This must be the reply 
 as to the man of ambition, the man of wealth, the man of pleasure. 
 Intellectual acquisitions form the only seeming exception: and the 
 exception is no more than apparent. Even the man of learning, 
 the philosopher, the wise man of this world, who has devoted liLs 
 
14 LECTURE I. 
 
 life to stucly, and lias gone round, with a master's step, the circle 
 of the sciences ; when he, as well as the others, is viewed as having 
 terminated his labors, as an immortal and accountable creature, 
 closing his earthly career, and appearing before God, unpre^^ared 
 for judgment and eternity, unpardoned, unsanctified, and unfur- 
 nished for heaven ; — O what can we say, even of his acquirements, 
 with all their admitted superiority to the pleasures of sense, and 
 to the pursuits of power and of opulence, but " Vanity of vani- 
 ties; vanity of vanities ; all is vanity?" The simple fact stated 
 in the following verse confirms the general sentence of "vanity" 
 pronounced on all that pertains to time: "One generation passeth 
 away, and another generation cometh." "What is our life? It 
 is a vapour, which appeareth for a little, and then vanisheth away." 
 "Our days on earth (are) as a shadow, and (there is) no abiding." 
 Turn your thoughts to the generation that is already gone; whose 
 connection with the world and with time has already closed ; whose 
 bodies fill the narrow house, and whose " spirits have returned to 
 God who gave them :" what profit have they now, of all their la- 
 bor which they took under the sun ? Oh ! with what a bitter em- 
 phasis of utterance would those who lived and died strangers to 
 the blessings of religion and the love of God; trying to do with- 
 out him; seeking their happiness in the creature; "hewing out 
 their broken cisterns ;" " fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the 
 mind ;" — with what a bitter emphasis of utterance, could their voice 
 be heard from beyond the impassable gulf, would they certify 
 to us the truth of the verdict, — "all is vanity!" 
 
 It is always of essential consequence, in interpreting any ^rriter, 
 to ascertain his gener-al design in the passage under review; the 
 point which it is his object to establish or to illustrate. And in 
 the book on which we are now entering, we shall find much oc- 
 casion for the application of this remark. 
 
 In the remainder of the verses which I have read, that is, from 
 the fourth to the eleventh inclusive, there seems to be one general 
 idea placed in various points of light. It is, in substance, the 
 sentiment expressed in the end of verse 9th, that " (there is) no new 
 (thing) under the sun." It is the idea of 'perpetual change, yet 
 constant sameness; of stable and unaltering uniformity, in the 
 midst of incessant variety and fluctuation. 
 
ECCLESIASTES I. 1-11. 15 
 
 This appears to be the point, or hidden sense, of the different 
 figures contained in the fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh verses. 
 
 Verse 4th. (One) generation passeth away, and (another) genera- 
 tion Cometh; but the earth abideth for ever:" — more tersely in the 
 original. Generation goeth, and generation cometh; but the earth 
 abideth for ever. 
 
 This can hardly, indeed, be called a figure. It is, rather, a sim- 
 ple statement of fact. It affords, however, a striking illustration 
 of the general sentiment. The coming and going of successive 
 generations, presents a scene of endless variety; yet it is itself 
 fixed and unvarying; the unalterable destiny of man. There is 
 nothing that impresses more affectingly on the mind the "vanity" 
 of human life, than the perpetual change of tenants that is taking 
 place in this world of ours; a change which goes on without in- 
 terruption; the scene presenting the same general aspects, whilst 
 the actors in it are ever shifting; the house remaining the same, 
 but the lodgers continually varying. " The Earth remaineth for 
 ever:'' that is, throughout these successive generations of men; 
 presenting to the eye the same appearances; performing the same 
 daily and yearly revolu^ons; exhibiting the same alternations of 
 "seed-time and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and win- 
 ter, and day and night," (Gen. viii. 22) ; going on, from generation 
 to generation, in its old original courses, whilst every thirty years 
 it receives a race of new inhabitants ; and that, not by a jjeriodical 
 sweeping away, and a periodical creation, but on the principle of 
 an average, calculated from numbers at every period of life, at 
 every individ-ual moment, perhaps, of " the three-score years and 
 ten ;" by which arrangement, the variety, whilst it is the more inces- 
 sant, is yet the less perceptible; and the uniformity, though in reality 
 not so constant, presents still more of the appearance of unchang- 
 ing sameness. The perpetual stability of the earth is nothing, 
 alas ! to man. Each individual can only occupy it his short ap- 
 pointed time, and must then give place to a successor : and in the 
 breasts of "men of the world, who have their portion in this life," 
 the truth expressed in this verse can engender no feelings but 
 those of indignant fretfulness and mortification. The permanence 
 of the earth is but a tantalizing assurance to the man who has it 
 not in his j)ower, however eagerly he may desire it, to continue 
 on it as a permanent resident. Happy they, who "confess them- 
 
16 LECTURE I. 
 
 selves stVangers and pilgrims on earth, and desire a better coun- 
 try, even a heavenly;" who are heirs of "an inheritance incor- 
 ruptible, undefiled, and that fadeth not away." 
 
 Verse 5th. The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth claivn, and 
 hasteth to his place where he arose. 
 
 The Sun ascends in the morning from the East ; runs his diurnal 
 course across the heavens; sets, and disappears; comes round again 
 to the point of rising ; renews the day, and repeats the same career : 
 light and darkness ever alternating; each successive day resem- 
 bling that which preceded it: perpetual sameness, yet incessant 
 change. 
 
 The same general idea is still presented, under other figures, in 
 the sixth and seventh verses: — 
 
 Verses 6, 7. The wind goeth toward the south, and turneth about 
 unto the north; it whirleth about continually; and the wind returneth 
 again according to its circuits. 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. 
 
 What so mutable as the wind? It is the very proverb of fick- 
 leness and instability ; " whirling about continually." Yet, though 
 constantly varying, it presents no new appearances. There is no 
 point of the compass from which we can say it now blows for the 
 first time. Ten thousand times has if blown, and in every con- 
 ceivable degree of strength, from North, South, East, and West, 
 and all the intermediate points. Thus, whilst it is ever varying, 
 it is always the same. There is nothing new in its incessant and 
 capricious shiftings : " it returneth again according to its circuits." 
 
 "All the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea (is) not full:" it 
 does not overflow, swelling above its everlasting boundaries, not- 
 withstanding this constant and copious influx of waters. The sea 
 gives back its waters to the earth. By one of Nature's beautiful 
 provisions, it is continually, by means of the solar influence, send- 
 ing up insensibly into the atmosphere supplies of vapoury mois- 
 ture, which descend again in silent dews, or, condensing into clouds, 
 come down in rains and snows, watering the ground, that would 
 otherwise become arid and unproductive, and feeding the springs, 
 and streams, and rivers, which return again to the sea, from which 
 they were derived. Thus there is here, too, perpetual change, yet 
 perpetual uniformity ; the same regular rotation of mutual sup- 
 
ECCLESIASTE.S I. 1-11. 17 
 
 ply; the rivers maintained from the sea, and the sea kept full by 
 the rivers. In this figure, too, it might perhaps be Solomon's in- 
 tention to insinuate an additional thought; namely, the unsatis- 
 factory nature of the sources of -worldly happiness: " the sea (is) 
 not full." At any rate, this is the thought of the following verse, 
 "where it is strongly and beautifully brought out : — 
 
 Verse 8th. All things {are) full of labor; man cannot utter {it): 
 the eye is not satisfied ivith seeing, neither is the ear filled icith hearing. 
 
 Wherever you turn your eyes, in the society especially of civi- 
 lized men, "all is full of labor." The departments and the modes 
 of human exertion, all for the attainment of some real or fancied 
 good, are endless in number, and inconceivably diversified. Yet, 
 amidst them all, and amidst all their productions and results, " the 
 eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing." 
 "The sea is not full." Still there is something or other awanting; 
 and this is made apparent by "all things eo?ii/m(«i<7 full of labor;" 
 without cessation, without conclusion : men toiling after the at- 
 tainment of something that is to make them happy, and, when 
 they have succeeded, toiling still. They seek ; they find : yet still 
 they want, and still they labor : still 
 
 "With thirst insatiate crave for more.'' 
 
 The eye and the ear, as being the chief senses, are here put for all 
 the desires of man, and all the organs by which they are respec- 
 tively gratified. The general truth expressed is, that men, with 
 all their endless labors after happiness, are still unsatisfied : a truth, 
 alas! not peculiar to the country or the age of Solomon, but con- 
 firmed by the experience of every place, and of every generation. 
 
 The uniformity of appearances and events, amidst the constant 
 succession of mankind, is expressed in very bold and vivid terms 
 in the following verses : — 
 
 Verses 9-11. The thing ichich hath been, it {is that) v;hich shall 
 be; and tJmt which is done, {is) that which shall be done: and {there 
 is) no new [thing) under the sun. Is there {any) thing whereof it may 
 be said. See, this {is) new f it hath been already of old time that ivas 
 before us. {There is) 7io remembrance of former {things): neither 
 shall there be {any) remembrance of things that arc to come icith {those) 
 that shall come after. 
 
 It is very obvious, that this language must be interpreted gene- 
 2 
 
1 8 LECTURE I. 
 
 rally. It cannot be understood as affirming, without qualification 
 or exception, that amongst all the endlessly diversified modifica- 
 tions of things, and of events ; all the discoveries and inventions 
 of science and of art; and all the changes in the history of human 
 life; there is absolutely nothing new; nothing that hath not been 
 already of old time. But there is a vast deal of what passes for 
 new, that is really old. Every man must be sensible, that even 
 his own extending information has very often, in this respect, cor- 
 rected his earlier views ; and that many things which, in his igno- 
 rance, he had fancied to be new, his growing acquaintance with 
 the knowledge of former times has shown him to possess claims 
 even to high antiquity. Now, that which takes place in the ex- 
 perience of individuals, may also hold true with regard to the suc- 
 cessive generations of mankind. Our ignorance of former times 
 is, accordingly, appealed to, in 
 
 Verse llth. There is no remembrance of former things; neither 
 shall there be any remembrance of things that are to come ivith those 
 that shall be after. How extremely limited and uncertain is our 
 acquaintance with the ages of the world preceding our own ! The 
 constitution and phenomena of nature have been all along the 
 same ; the powers and passions of men, and the genera, and species, 
 and varieties of character, arising from their diversified combina- 
 tions, have been much the same ; their wants and desires, together 
 with the means existing in air, earth, and sea, for their supply 
 and gratification, have been the same : and it seems natural to ex- 
 pect, that similar circumstances should give birth to similar re- 
 sults. There are, accordingly, many remarkable vestiges, not of 
 the existence, merely, but Jof the high cultivation, of various arts 
 and sciences, which at first view might appear modern, in nations 
 and periods of remote antiquity; so that, in such cases, the men 
 of recent days have only the credit of reviving what had been for- 
 gotten. And so strong, indeed, on some minds, is the impression 
 produced by ancient remains, in favor of ancient times, that they 
 have looked upon the present race as mere children and pigmies 
 in knowledge, and in the power of applying it to practical use, 
 compared with their brethren of an earlier age. There is nothing, 
 of which, in these circumstances, we can, with certainty, affirm, 
 "This is new." It is probable, that Solomon's acquaintance with 
 science might appear to many of his contemporaries to include in 
 
ECCLESIASTES I. 1-11. 19 
 
 it much that was novel and original ; Avhilst his own superior 
 knowledge of the acquirements of different nations and of pre- 
 ceding times might enable him to ascertain the contrary. 
 
 There are, in particular, (for this is the main subject of the book,) 
 no new sources of worldly happiness. "Who will show us any 
 good?" has been the eager enquiry of the men of this world from 
 the beginning: and, through successive ages, the answers to the 
 inquiry, although modified by circumstances in ten thousand dif- 
 ferent ways, have, in the leading principles of them, been the 
 same. The multitude of mankind have all along been " forsaking 
 the fountain of living waters;" and the "cisterns," which they 
 have "hewed out for themselves," have been very much of the 
 same description; diversified, it may be, in their exterior forms 
 and decorations, bearing the distinctive shapes and symbols of 
 their respective ages and countries; but all, without exception, 
 alike the modern and the antique, " broken cisterns, that can hold 
 no water." 
 
 1. These verses present before us, in the first place, a most im- 
 pressive and satisfactory testimony in favor of true religion, as the 
 only source of real and permanent happiness. They are the best 
 qualified to pronounce on the vanity and emptiness of the world, 
 who have themselves tried it in all its forms and modes of enjoy- 
 ment. Solomon made the experiment, and he "found it wanting." 
 When, through' Divine mercy, he "came to himself," he renounced 
 the world, as "vanity and a thing of nought." With penitential 
 shame and sorrow, he returned to God, from whom he had so 
 miserably revolted, — even to "the fountain of living waters," — 
 and found in Him an all-satisfying portion, peace and rest, and 
 " fulness of joy," and, in " the keeping of his commandments, a great 
 reward." And such has been the experience — the feelingly re- 
 corded experience — of many a one besides the royal preacher. 
 The insufficiency and vanity, indeed, of earthly things, as the por- 
 tion of an intellectual, moral, and immortal being, ought to be 
 held as a self-evident truth, unsusceptible of controversy, and re- 
 quiring no proof. Yet, alas ! wdiat cause have we to remark, — 
 
 2. In the second place. What an affecting evidence it is, of the 
 infatuation and depravity of mankind, that neither the plainness 
 of the truth, nor the uniformity of the experience of successive 
 generations, produces any alteration whatever on their general 
 
20 LECTURE I. 
 
 conduct ! .Men who have made trial of the world, and have after- 
 wards turned from it unto God, have attested, from their personal 
 experience, its universal vanity, and at the same time, the sub- 
 stantial and satisfactory excellence of the blessings they have 
 chosen in its stead ; and many a time, from others, have the fear- 
 ful solemnities of a death-bed, and a near view of eternity, drawn 
 forth the reluctant confession of the same truth ; a truth unheeded 
 in the midst of life, and business, and prosperity, but brought 
 home to the mind with dreadful certainty, when death has placed 
 the sinner on the verge of the world to come. Yet, in despite of 
 all this, men continue to pursue the same course. They persist in 
 following the world with all avidity, under one or other of its 
 various forms of falsely -promised enjoyment: just as if no testi- 
 mony of its vanity existed in the experience of others ; in the con- 
 curring verdict of their own, consciences ; in the word, or in the 
 providence, of God ! " They that trust in their wealth, and boast 
 themselves of the multitude of their riches, none (of them) can by 
 any means redeem his brother, or pay to God a ransom for him; 
 (for the redemption of their soul (is) precious, and it ceaseth for 
 ever:) that he should still live for ever, (and) not see corruption. 
 For he seeth (that) wise men die, likewise the fool and the brutish 
 person perish, and leave their wealth to others. Their inward 
 thought (is, that) their houses (shall continue) for ever, (and) their 
 dwelling-places to all generations: they call (their) lands after 
 their own names. Nevertheless, man, (being) in honor, abideth 
 not; he is like the beasts (that) perish. This their way (is) 
 
 THEIR FOLLY : YET THEIR POSTERITY APPROVE THEIR SAYINGS." 
 
 (Psal. xlix. 6-13.) "O that men were wise; (that) they understood 
 these things ; that they would consider their latter end !" Remem- 
 ber, ye infatuated votaries of the world ! tlie solemn hour is fast 
 approaching, when you must have done with time, and all its pass- 
 ing concerns. That hour will infallibly awaken you, if you are 
 not happily awakened earlier, to an appalling conviction of the 
 truth which has now, and so often, been urged upon your timely 
 consideration. The special hand of Death will then write, in dark 
 but too legible characters, on every thing from which you have 
 been seeking your happiness, — "Vanity of vanities; vanity of 
 vanities ; all is vanity." O then, be wise in time. You are in 
 quest of what never has been, and never can be found, from the 
 
ECCLESIASTES 1. 1-1 L 21 
 
 sources to which you are repairing for it. The search for happi- 
 ness amongst " the things of this world," has been, shall be, must 
 be, a fruitless labor. It is the toil 
 
 " Of dropping buckets into empty wells, 
 And growing old in drawing nothing up." 
 
 To you is the divine invitation addressed, and to all who are feel- 
 ing the thirst of nature for satisfactory enjoyment: — "Ho, every 
 one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters ; and he that hath no 
 money : come ye, buy and eat; yea come, buy wine and milk with- 
 (Kit money and without price. Wherefore do ye spend money for 
 (that which) is not bread? and your labor for (that which) satisfieth 
 not? Hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye (that which) is good, 
 and let your soul delight itself in fatness. Incline your ear, and 
 come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live." Isaiah Iv. 1-3. 
 This expostulation, addressed to you by the God of heaven, in in- 
 finite condescension and kindness, is recommended to your atten- 
 tion and obedience by the impressive appeal of the Saviour of sin- 
 ful men : — " For, what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole 
 world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in ex- 
 change for his soul? For the Son of man shall come in the glory 
 of his Father, with his angels; and then shall he reward every 
 man according to his work." Matt. xvi. 26, 27. "What profit" 
 shall a man then have, " of all his labor which he hath taken un- 
 der the sun?" The favor of God; the love of Christ; the bless- 
 ing of Heaven, mingling with all the good and evil of life, en- 
 hancing the one, and sweetening and sanctifying the other; the 
 "exceeding great and precious promises" "of the life that now is, 
 and of that which is to come," — the faith of which inspires "the 
 peace which passeth all understanding;" — the spiritual joy of 
 " fellowship with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ," and 
 with the children of God, the excellent of the earth ; and the blessed 
 hope of eternal life, — of glory and honor, and immortality ; — these 
 are sources of felicity, worthy of your rational and immortal na- 
 tures, — pure and dignified, substantial and everlasting. Believe 
 in the Lord Jesus Christ; come to God in his name; accept the 
 mercy oifcred, through his mediation, in the gospel ; and all these 
 blessings, in time and eternity, shall be yours. "O taste and see 
 that the Lord is good!" "Doth not Wisdom cry? and Under- 
 standing put forth her voice? She standeth in the top of high 
 
22 LECTURE I. 
 
 places, by jihe way, in the places of the paths ; she crieth at the 
 gates, at the entry of the city, at the coming in at the doors : unto 
 you, O men, I call, and my voice is to the sons of men. O ye 
 simple, understand wisdom ; and ye fools, be ye of an understand- 
 ing heart. Hear ; for I will speak of excellent things, and the 
 opening of my lips (shall be) right things. Receive my instruc- 
 tions, and not silver, and knowledge rather than choice gold. 
 I love them that love me ; and they that seek me early shall find 
 me. Riches and honor (are) with me; (yea) durable riches and 
 righteousness. My fruit (is) better than gold, yea, than fine gold ; 
 and my revenue than choice silver. I lead in the way of right- 
 eousness, in the midst of the paths of judgment: that I may cause 
 them that love me to inherit substance ; and I will fill their treas- 
 ures." Prov. vii. 1-6, 10, 17-21. 
 
LECTURE II. 
 
 ECCLESIASTES I. 12-18. 
 
 "I the Preacher was king over Israel in Jerusalem. 13. And I gave my heart 
 to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all (things) that are done un- 
 der heaven : this sore travail hath God given to the sons of man, to be ex- 
 ercised therewith. 14. I have seen all the works that are done under the 
 sun ; and behold, all (is) vanity and vexation of spirit. 15. (That which is) 
 crooked cannot be made straight ; and that which is wanting cannot be num- 
 bered, 16. I communed with mine own heart, saying, Lo, I am come to 
 great estate, and have gotten more wisdom than all (they) that have been 
 before me in Jerusalem; yea, my heart had great experience of wisdom, 
 and knowledge. 17. And I gave my heart to know wisdom, and to know 
 madness and folly: I perceived that this also is vexation of spirit. 18. For 
 in much wisdom (is) much grief; and he that increaseth knowledge in- 
 creaseth sorrow." 
 
 In pursuing his inquiries and experiments, for ascertaining the 
 chief good, the- writer of this Book possessed, as was formerly no- 
 ticed, peculiar advantages; the situation which he occupied af- 
 fording him the fullest opportunities of investigating and bringing 
 to the test all the various sources of worldly enjoyment. 
 
 AVhen we are about to follow him in the detail of his experi- 
 ence, we should keep the recollection steadily before us, that he is 
 speaking of that period of his life which he denominates " the days 
 of his vanity ;" when he had forsaken God, and instead of saying, 
 with his godly father, — " Lord, lift thou up the light of thy coun- 
 tenance upon us !" — -joined in the common cry of the world, " Who 
 will show us any good ?" 
 
 From the 12th to the 15tli Verse, inclusive, appears to be of a 
 general nature, expressing, in terms of unrestricted import, the ob- 
 ject of his inquiry, the extensive field of his observation, and the 
 impression left upon his mind as the result of his survey; in which 
 he had availed himself to the full of all the facilities and means of 
 
24 LECTURE II. 
 
 discovery, which were furnished by his royal authority iind re- 
 sources, as Icing over Israel in Jerusalem. 
 
 I gave my heart, — that is, I applied myself with zeal and 
 diligence, — to seek and search out by wisdom, — in the close and 
 prudent and vigorous exercise of his mental powers, — concerning 
 all (things) that arc done under heaven. This is generally under- 
 derstood of his scientific researches into the works of nature and of 
 art. I should rather interpret it of his inquiry into all the end- 
 less variety of human occupations and pursuits ; because such seems 
 to be the meaning appropriated in this Book to the phrase, "all 
 things that are done under the heaven," or "under the sun." He 
 applied himself to the examination of the sciences and arts, the 
 professions and labors, which occupy the time, the industry, and 
 the investigations of mankind. 
 
 The words in the end of Verse 13th, — This sore travail hcdh 
 God given to the so7is of men, to be exercised therewith, — are usu- 
 ally considered as expressive of the irksomeness, and difficulty, 
 attending the acquisition of that knoAvledge of wdiich Solomon is 
 conceived to speak; — God having so ordered it, that unusually 
 extensive acquirements must be the result of severe application to 
 study, accompanied, in its course of discovery, with many obstacles 
 and perplexities, much disappointment and mortification, and a 
 great variety of painful and harrassing feelings. I am disposed, 
 however, to understand the words, as simply explanatory, or exe- 
 getical, of what immediately precedes : " I gave my heart to seek 
 and search out by wisdom, concerning all things that are done un- 
 der heaven; (even) that sore travail (which) God hath given to the 
 sons of men, to be exercised therewith." That which is "given 
 to the sons of men, to be exercised therewith," must surely be 
 something more general than the investigation to which Solomon 
 had applied his heart; for which there were then, and still are, 
 very few who have either the ability or the leisure. There is 
 probably, in the words, a reference to what he had said a little 
 before, " All things (arc) full of labor :" and the true origin of this, 
 as the appointed condition of humanity, is to be found in the re- 
 mote but divinely authenticated records of the entrance of sin into 
 the world : — " Unto Adam He said, Because thou hast hearkened 
 unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree of which I 
 commanded thee, saying. Thou shalt not eat of it ; — cursed (is) the 
 
ECCLESIASTES I. 12-18. 25 
 
 ground for thy sake; in sorrow shall thou eat (of) it all the days 
 of thy life: thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; 
 and thou shalt eat the herb of the field : in the sweat of thy face 
 shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground ; for out of 
 it wast thou taken: for dust thou (art,) and unto dust shalt thou 
 return." Gen. iii. 17-19. 
 
 This view of the meaning of the words is confirmed by the 
 parallel expression in chapter iii. 10, where the connection leaves 
 no ambiguity ; " I have seen the travail which God hath given to 
 the sons of men, to be exercised therewith;" — and it agrees well 
 with what immediately follows here, in 
 
 Verse 14. I have seen all the xoorks that are done under the sun; 
 and behold, all (is) vanity, and vexation of spirit. 
 
 Solomon had seen all the labors of men in quest of happiness; 
 and he had already, in the opening of his treatise, pronounced all 
 to be "vanity," yea, "vanity of vanities." To this he here adds, 
 "vexation of spirit." 
 
 Some, indeed, from a different etymology of the original word 
 for vexation, translate this phrase, "feeding on wind;" and the 
 sense thus given is good, and appropriate. But when we say, "all 
 is vanity, and feeding on wind," we have cJnly one idea presented 
 to the mind, namely, that of unsatisfactory emptiness. " Feeding 
 on wind," being a strong figure, makes an addition to the force or 
 emphasis of the preceding expression, but no addition, or very 
 little at least, to its meaning. Our translation, on the contrary, 
 Avhilst it is founded on a preferable etymology, affords at the same 
 time, an additional idea; and is, besides, evidently more consistent 
 with the different connections in which the phrase occurs in this 
 Book. Thus, for instance, in the 17th and 18th verses of this 
 chapter: "I gave my heart to know wisdom, and to know mad- 
 ness and folly ; I perceived that this also is vexation of spirit : for 
 in much wisdom (is) much grief; and he that increaseth know- 
 ledge increaseth sorrow;" and in chap. ii. 17: "therefore I hated 
 life ; because the work that is wrought under the sun (is) grievous 
 to me; for all (is) vanity, and vexation of spirit;" and verse 22: 
 " For what hath man of all his labors, and of the vexation of his 
 heart," (a word in the original of the same derivation,) "wherein 
 he hath labored under the sun ?" 
 
 The labors of which Solomon here speaks must be viev,-ed apart 
 
26 LECTURE II. 
 
 from religion. Religion opens such sources of peace and joy, as 
 serve to compose, and soothe, and satisfy the spirit, amidst all the 
 cares, and crosses, and disappointments of life. But, apart from 
 its supporting and cheering influence, the toils of men in pursuit 
 of happiness, their eager efforts towards a practical answer to the 
 question, "Who will show us any good?" are assuredly vexation, 
 as well as vanity; harrassing the mind with corroding anxieties; 
 fretting and souring it by repeated disappointments; elevating it 
 at times to precarious joy, — precarious, and therefore unsatisfac- 
 tory; and more frequently overclouding it with dejection and 
 gloom. 
 
 One great cause why all is pronounced vexation as well as vani- 
 ty, is stated in 
 
 Verse 15. {That tahich is) crooked cannot be made straight, and 
 that which is wanting cannot be numbered. 
 
 I shall not trouble you with the different interpretations which 
 have been given of these words, but simply lay before you what 
 seems to myself, from its agreement with the connection, and with 
 the scope of the passage, to be their true meaning. 
 
 " (That which is) crooked cannot be made straight." We have 
 a key to the import of this expression, in chap. vii. 13: "Consider 
 the work of God; for who can make (that) straight which he 
 hath made crooked?" 'This cannot refer to the natural perverse- 
 ness of mankind, to the crookedness of their dispositions, their want 
 of original rectitude ; because it cannot with truth be said, that 
 God hath made our nature crooked or perverse. On the con- 
 trary, in the close of the same chapter it is affirmed, "God made 
 man upright; but they have sought out many inventions." So 
 neither, in the words before us, is there any reference to the nature 
 of man ; but to the dispensations and arrangements of Divine Pro- 
 vidence. It is as if the wise man had said : "There is generally, 
 in the lot of every man, something crooked; — something or other 
 not to his mind; w^hich he wishes, and tries, and labors, to make 
 straight, — to bend to his liking. But providence orders it other- 
 wise. His attempts are all counteracted and frustrated. It is 
 beyond his power, with all the pains he can bestow, to correct the 
 evil. And by this one circumstance, the spirit of the man who 
 seeks his happiness in the things of time, and is destitute of the 
 satisfying portion of God's children, is galled and irritated. So 
 
ECCLESIASTES I. 12-18. 27 
 
 that, although every thing else is as he would have it, — all straight 
 and to his mind, — yet, whilst this one thing is crooked, he is 
 dissatisfied and unhappy. Indeed, the more entirely every thing- 
 else is right, the more bitterly is his pride mortified, and his spirit 
 provoked, that this should continue wrong, and baffle his en- 
 deavors to change and to rectify it. He kicks against the appoint- 
 ment of heaven, and "disquiets himself in vain." 
 
 Haman went out from the royal presence, "joyful and with a 
 glad heart," elated by the honors bestowed upon him. But the 
 special favor of majesty, — "the glory of his riches, the multitude 
 of his children, and his advancement above the princes and ser- 
 vants of the king," — the enjoyment of the present, and the an- 
 ticipation of the future ; — all " availed him nothing, so long as he 
 saw Mordecai the Jew sitting at the king's gate." Esther v. 9-13. 
 ISTor are such cases by any means of rare occurrence. Numberless 
 are the instances of this kind of unreasonable dissatisfaction ; aris- 
 ing from something crooked which cannot be made straight ; from 
 same " dead fly " that mars the fragrance of the ointment : so that 
 the name of Mordecai has become a kind of proverbial designa- 
 tion for all those little circumstances, which, existing singly in the 
 lot of individuals, and preying on their disapjsointed spirits, serve 
 to take the relish out of abounding sweets; and it has become the 
 familiar saying of common life, that every mfxn has his Mordecai. 
 
 "And that \Vhich is wanting cannot be numbered." This is 
 generally understood, I believe, as meaning, that the wants which 
 men experience in their pursuit of happiness, — the felt deficiencies, 
 discoveijed in every step of their progress, — are so many, and so 
 diversified, that they cannot be reckoned up. I rather think that 
 the words contain a repetition, in different terms, of the same idea 
 that is expressed in the former part of the verse. A man of the 
 world is here set before us, casting up his accounts ; taking an in- 
 ventory of the various items that make up the aggregate of his en- 
 joyments. The sum of them, it may be, is very large. But there 
 is some particular article, on which he has set his heart, and which 
 he would fain have it in his power to put into his list. But his 
 wishes are vain. It is not in his possession ; it is not wdthin his 
 reach. It is "wanting," and therefore "cannot be numbered." 
 Yet, without it, the account is deficient; and the deficiency gives 
 him more uneasiness and dissatisfaction, than the entire sum of 
 
28 LECTURE II. 
 
 his blessings gives him enjoyment. It mixes all with discontent, 
 and thus poisons the whole ; so that all his labor becomes not only 
 "vanity," but "vexation of spirit." Thus, amidst all the posses- 
 sions and all the splendors of royalty, the spirit of Ahab M^as de- 
 jected and unhappy; and "he turned away his face, and would eat 
 no bread," because he could not have "the vineyard of Naboth 
 the Jezreelite," that he might add to his pleasure-grounds "a gar- 
 den of herbs." 1 Kings xxi. 1-6. 
 
 Alas ! for human nature, that it should be so ! But so we see 
 it, and feel it to be; that we are much, more prone to be displeased 
 on account of particular evils, than to be satisfied with abundant 
 and diversified good; — to indulge in discontent because of some 
 one solitary defect, than to cherish gratitude for unnumbered and 
 substantial blessings. This is a crooh in the nature of our fallen 
 race, which nothing can effectually make straight but the renewing 
 energy of the grace of God. 
 
 The first trial which Solomon represents himself as having made, 
 in his course of experiments on human happiness, is that of wis- 
 dom : — 
 
 Verses 16-18. / communed with mine own heart, saying, Lo I 
 am come to great estate, and have gotten more wisdom than cdl {they) 
 that have been before me in Jerusalem; yea, my lieart had great ex- 
 perience of unsdom and hioidedge. And I gave my heart to know 
 loisdom, and to knoio madness and folly: I 'perceived that this also is 
 vexation of spirit. For in much wisdom {is) much grief ; and he thcd 
 increaseth knowledge incft^easeth sorrow. 
 
 By the wisdom here spoken of we may understand, all that 
 knowledge, in the various departments of which, men are accus- 
 tomed to seek gratification and enjoyment: — the knowledge of 
 mankind, from present observation, and the records of history ; of 
 the arts and sciences; of the productions and phenomena of the 
 natural world, in its different kingdoms; and, if you will, of the 
 philosophy of mind and of morals, considered as a branch of specu- 
 lative and abstract investigation. 
 
 God had imparted to Solomon a penetrating and capacious mind, 
 in the exercises of whose powers he acquired that distinguished 
 superiority in wisdom and knowledge, Avhich made him the ad- 
 miration, not of his own people only, but of surrounding countries, 
 in the age in which he lived. "God gave Solomon," says the 
 
ECCLESIASTES I. 12-18. 29 
 
 Scripture record, "wisdom and understanding exceeding much, 
 and largeness of heart, even as the sand that (is) on the sea-shore. 
 And Solomon's wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the children 
 of the east country, and all the wisdom of Egypt. For he was 
 wiser than all men; than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, and 
 Chalcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol : and his fame was in all 
 nations round about. And he spake three thousand proverbs; 
 iind his songs were a thousand and five. And he spake of trees, 
 from the cedar-tree that (is) in Lebanon even unto the hyssop that 
 springeth out of the wall : he spake also of beasts, and of fowls, 
 and of creeping things, and of fishes. And there came of all peo- 
 ple to hear the wisdom of Solomon, from all kings of the earth, 
 ^v'ho had heard of his wisdom." 1 Kings iv. 29-34. !- > '^ 
 
 Had Solomon continued, as he did at first, to use his mighty 
 intellect in subserviency to the glory of the Author of his being 
 and of all his powers, and in humble dependence for true happiness 
 on Him, without whom all the treasures of wisdom are poverty, 
 and all its light darkness; — it had been well. But far otherwise 
 did he act, in "the days of his vanity." He foolishly expected to 
 find the desired felicity in knowledge itself, without being con- 
 ducted by that knowledge to God, "the Father of lights, from 
 wdiom cometh down every good and perfect gift." He drank 
 greedily of the streams of science, without tracing them to their 
 fountain. He expatiated among the works of God, and forgot 
 God himself. 
 
 When he says, "My heart had great experience of wisdom and [v i ^ 
 knowledge," we may understand by the lieart either, according to 
 a frequent use of the Avord in Scripture, tlie mind in general, try- 
 ing and comparing the different descriptions of knowledge; or, 
 more restrictedly, the scat of enjoyment, — i)roving, by experiment, 
 the tendencies of each in reference to human happiness. His "ex- 
 perience" in this Nvay was "great;" — greater than that of any other 
 man ; for he was " wiser than all men." 
 
 He "gave his heart to know wisdom and to know madness and )-/7 
 folly:" — that is, either, in the first place, to obtain a thorough dis- 
 cernment of the amount of difference between truth and error, and 
 between virtue and vice, propriety and absurdity, in human con- 
 duct; — to know both sides, as subjects of philosophical inquiry 
 and speculation ; as things are in general most completely under- 
 
 / 
 
30 LECTURE II. 
 
 stood, and most powerfully impressed on the mind, by means of 
 contrast: — or, secondly, to compare the claims to preference, aris- 
 ing from their influence respectively on present enjoyment, of a 
 studious and contemplative life on the one hand, and a life of mad- 
 ness and folly on the other; of a life devoted to learning, in the 
 various branches of earthly sciences and worldly wisdom, and a 
 life of thoughtless, inconsiderate merriment, careless indulgence, 
 and extravagant riot and dissipation. For, as in our own days 
 this latter course of life has its advocates as well as the former, so 
 had it, we may presume, in the days of Solomon ; men who ad- 
 mitted it readily enough to be madness and folly, but wdio gloried 
 in the very folly and madness of it, laughed at the bookish recluse 
 as, at any rate, a greater fool than themselves, moping away life in 
 solitary research and rueful meditation; and were determined to 
 throw their cares to the winds, to drink down melancholy, to give 
 the reins to their appetites, and take their full swing of frolic, and 
 carousal, and profligacy. 
 
 To compare these and other pretended sources of happiness, 
 and to estimate their respective claims, was a part of his study. 
 But mark now, especially, what he says of his pursuit of wisdom : 
 "I perceived that this also is vexation of spirit: for in much wis- 
 dom is much grief; and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth 
 sorrow." 
 
 This seems a very strange assertion. There cannot be a doubt, 
 that, among all the sources from which men seek their happiness, 
 the pursuit of knowkdge, (understanding the phrase in all its ex- 
 tent of meaning, with the one exception only of the knowledge 
 that "maketh wise unto salvation," which it is evident must not 
 be taken at all into the account,) is decidedly the most rational, and 
 the most fitted, from its nature, to yield enjoyment worthy of such 
 a creature as man. Yet even of the pursuit of knowledge So- 
 lomon here affirms, that *'in much wisdom (is) much grief;" and 
 that " he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow." Let us, 
 first of all, then, contemplate human wisdom apart from the know- 
 ledge of God and Divine things, and take an attentive view of the 
 circumstances from which the grief and sorrow of which he speaks 
 may be considered as arising. 
 
 In the first place : This wisdom and knowledge, if a man is de- 
 termined to go far beyond his fellows in the acquisition of it,, 
 
ECCLESIASTES I. 12-18. 31 
 
 must be discovered, and examined, and appropriated by ^'mueJi 
 study ;^^ and this, as Solomon observes towards the close of his trea- 
 tise, is " a weariness of thejiesh" It is not easy for the uninformed 
 and inexperienced to imagine the fatigue of mind, and the con- 
 sequent fatigue of body, to which the men who devote their days 
 to learning must lay their account to subject themselves. Solo- 
 mon speaks of "much wisdom," and of the increase^ or growing 
 abundance of knowledge. Now, such extraordinary attainments 
 must be purchased at the expense of intense and constant appli- 
 cation; which is inconceivably more wasting and exhausting to 
 the constitution, than the hardest toil of the industrious laborer; 
 and to which many, earlier or later in life, some with a mournful 
 and lamented prematurity, have fallen victims. The incessant 
 stretch of the mind's faculties, frequent harassing and anxious per- 
 plexity, studious days and sleepless nights, must be his portion 
 who sets his heart on the attainment of unusual eminence in science 
 in general, or in any of its various departments. 
 
 Secondly: in this pursuit, as in others, there are many disap- 
 pointments to be expected, to fret, and mortify, and irritate the 
 spirit : — such as, experiments failing, some of them perhaps long- 
 continued, promising, and costly; — facts turning out contradic- 
 tory, and unsettling or overturning favorite theories ; — the means 
 of prosecuting a train of discovery falling short, at the very mo- 
 ment, it may be^ when they are most desirable ; trifling and worth- 
 less results arising, after much labor, long-tried patience, and san- 
 guine expectation; — the anticipated honor and pleasure of intro- 
 ducing a new and important invention or discovery, the product 
 of the experiments and investigations of years, lost on the very 
 eve of arrival, by the priority of an unknown competitor. These, 
 and numberless other occasions of mortification and disquietude, 
 more and less considerable, revealed or kept secret in the bosom, 
 may be expected in the lot of the man who devotes himself to 
 science. 
 
 Thirdly: There are some parts of knowledge which are, in their 
 very nature, painful and distressing. In a world where sin reigns, 
 and which, on account of sin, lies under the curse of God, many 
 must be the scenes of misery, many the afflicting occurrences and 
 facts, which present themselves to the observant and investigating 
 mind, that is in quest of general and extensive information. They 
 
32 LECTURE II. 
 
 abound both in the past and jiresent history of mankind. They 
 are fitted to fill the heart with "grief" and "sorrow;" and the 
 more a man's knowledge extends, — the more he reads, and hears, 
 and observes, — the more copious will this source of bitterness be- 
 come. Not but that there is much of an opposite and pleasing 
 description, as a set-oft' against those evils; but it is enough, that 
 there are actually causes of positive distress, and causes that ne- 
 cessarily multiply with the growing extent of a man's knowledge. 
 
 Fourthly: There is to be taken into account the mortification of 
 pride that must be experienced, in consequence of the limited na- 
 ture of the human faculties. There are, in every direction in which 
 the mind may choose to push its inquiries, boundaries, beyond 
 which it attempts in vain to penetrate. And when the man who 
 makes scientific research his supreme good, and the main object 
 of his life, finds, that in every department of investigation he ar- 
 rives at some point beyond Avhich his powers, strained to their ut- 
 most effort, cannot carry him, — at some subject that baffles all his 
 endeavors to com^jrehend it, — some questions which he cannot an- 
 swer, — some difficulty which he cannot solve; — that the most lu- 
 minous path of discovery terminates at length in impenetrable ob- 
 scurity : — there is apt to spring up, in the natural mind, an in- 
 dignant dissatisfaction, the offspring of the unsubdued pride and 
 self-sufficiency of intellect, which cannot fail to produce, and some- 
 times in a very high degree, disquietude and " vexation of spirit." 
 
 Fifthly: There is a similar feeling of mortification, arising from 
 the very circumstance that, Avith all the knowledge and wisdom 
 that are acquired, there is still a blank, still a consciousness of 
 want and deficiency, in regard to true happiness. I do not mean 
 tlie want of any additional knowledge, — the want of something of 
 the same kind that has not been attained, and the attainment of 
 which seems difficult or hopeless; — but a want which even such 
 additional attainments could not supply. The man himself, while 
 sensible, irksomely sensible of it, may not be well aware what it 
 is, or whence it arises ; he may feel it, Avithout knowing how it is 
 to be removed. He may sigh for the unknown something, and 
 wonder that he should not be happy. And few things can be con- 
 ceived more galling to the spirit, more vexatiously mortifying, 
 more fitted to fill' a man with desperation, and with a fretful and 
 sullen " hatred of all his labor which he hath taken under the sun," 
 
ECCLESIASTES I. 12-18. 33 
 
 titan this bitter consciousness, that with all his study, all his re- 
 search, all his learning, all his varied acquirements, there should 
 still exist such a sense of want, as to full satisfaction and happi- 
 ness. 
 
 Sixthly: The man of "much wisdom" and "increased know- 
 ledge," generally, if not universally, becomes the marked object 
 of the scorn of some, and the envy of others. Some depreciate his 
 studies and all their results, laugh at them, and hold them up to 
 contempt and ridicule. Others are stung with secret jealousy ; 
 which is the odious parent of all the hidden arts of detraction and 
 calumny, and of injurious and unworthy attempts to deprive him 
 of his well-earned honors, and "to cast him down from his excel- 
 lency." And it is not merely the apprehended or the suffered con- 
 sequences of such mean and wicked arts that is distressing; to a 
 mind of generous and honorable feeling, it must be grief and " vexa- 
 tion of spirit," even to be the object of passions so vile and devilish. 
 
 Lastly: There is yet another consideration, which to some of 
 you may seem far-fetched, but which I cannot forbear noticing. 
 The man who occupies his powers in the pursuit and acquisition 
 of human wisdom alone, careless of God, and uninfluenced by re- 
 gard to his authority and to his glory, is leaving eternity a wretched 
 blank ; has no solid and satisfactory support in the anticijmtion of 
 it, when the thought intrudes itself upon his mind ; and is treasur- 
 ing up grief and sorrow for the close of his career. God having 
 been neglected, his powers must be considered, in the Divine esti- 
 mate, and in the estimate of an awakened conscience, as having 
 been wasted and abused ; science will not yield him peace and hope 
 in the "valley of the shadow of death ;" and a neglected God will 
 call him to account for the use made of those faculties which he 
 himself had bestowed, and of whose exercise He ought himself to 
 have been the first and highest object. However lawful, nay, 
 however apparently excellent and honorable his pursuits them- 
 selves may have been, the reckoning will be fearful, when God is 
 found to have been awanting: — fearful! — ^and justly fearful! In 
 proportion to the greatness and variety of the powers conferred, 
 and the capabilities thence arising, will the shame and remorse be 
 deep, and the guilt and punishment aggravated. 
 
 Whilst such considerations as these may serve to vindicate and 
 illustrate the affirmation that "in much wisdom (is) much grief, 
 <> 
 
34 LECTURE 11. 
 
 and tli<it he who increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow;" it is 
 necessary to observe, that Solomon does not by any means say, 
 that in "much wisdom and increase of knowledge" there is no en- 
 joyment. That were a very diiFerent proposition. There may 
 and must be enjoyment, — various in kind and in degree. But, 
 like the enjoyment springing from every worldly and temporal 
 source, it is mixed with much of an opposite character. And 
 therefore it is, that such wisdom and knowledge, considered by 
 themselves, apart from something still higher and still better, con- 
 sidered as constituting tlie Jiappiness of the man who seeks and 
 possesses them, must ever be found vain ; — can never be a suf- 
 ficient portion to the immortal soul, especially in its anticipations 
 of eternal existence; can never impart to the mind full, and steady, 
 and permanent satisfaction. 
 
 The passage, thus explained, suggests two concluding reflec- 
 tions : — 
 
 1. In the first place: — "Godliness with contentment is great 
 gain." 1 Tim. vi. 6. If it is impossible for a man, with all his 
 labor and all his skill, to control the administration of providence, 
 to command events, and to order all the circumstances of his lot 
 exactly to his mind ; if universal experience confirms the truth, 
 that " that which is crooked cannot be made straight, and that 
 which is wanting cannot be numbered ;" then, the secret of true 
 happiness must consist, in having the mind reconciled to that 
 which is crooked, and to that which is deficient; — in being sub- 
 missive to all the arrangements of the Supreme will. Such sub- 
 mission can only arise from the confidence of faith in the wisdom, 
 faithfulness, and love, of our heavenly Father, and the assurance 
 of his universal and unceasing care of all the interests of his chil- 
 dren. "Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? yet one of 
 them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. But the 
 very hairs of your head are all numbered." Matt. x. 29, 30. This 
 is our encouragement to " cast all our cares upon him : He caretli 
 for us.," It is when we avail ourselves of the precious privilege, — 
 " in every thing by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, 
 to make our requests known unto God," — that "the peace of 
 God which passeth all understanding keeps our heart and mind 
 through Christ Jesus." Phil. iv. 6, 7. "We know that all things work 
 together for good to them that love God, to them who are the 
 
ECCLESIASTES I. 12-18. 35 
 
 called according to (his) purpose." Rom: viii. 28. "That which 
 is crooked" and "that which is wanting" may thus be numbered 
 amongst our very benefits, as contributing, according to the de- 
 sign of Him who gives and withholds at his pleasure, to ad- 
 vance our best and highest interests; to spiritualize our affections; 
 to disengage our hearts from the world; to save us from the dan- 
 ger of making it our portion ; to draw us away from all its sinful 
 pleasures, and to moderate and sanctify our attachment even to 
 its lawful enjoyments; to bring us, in the state of our minds and 
 the tenor of our conduct, into more full conformity to the spirit of 
 the apostolic admonition: — "But this I say, brethren, the time (is) 
 short. It remaineth, that both they that have wives be as though 
 they had none ; and they that weep as though they wept not ; and 
 they that rejoice as though they rejoiced not; and they that buy 
 as though they possessed not; and they that use this world as not 
 abusing (it) ; because the fashion of this world passeth away." 1 
 Cor. vil. 29-31. In such a world, my brethren, as that which we 
 inhabit, where there are so many wants that cannot be supplied, 
 and evils that cannot be avoided, he is the truly happy man, who 
 has been taught of God the rare and precious lessons of content- 
 ment in all conditions; — "Not that I speak in respect of want; 
 for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, (therewith) to be 
 content. I know both how to be abased, and I know how to 
 abound : everywhere, and in all things I am instructed, both to be 
 full and to be hungry, both to abound, and to suffer need :" Phil, 
 iv. 11-12; he is the truly happy man who in prosperity and ad- 
 versity sees the love of a father, — in the former, "crowning him 
 with loving-kindness and tender mercies," in the latter, " cor- 
 recting him for his profit;" — and who is prepared to say, under 
 all the trials and bereavements of life, when he feels his inability 
 to rectify that which is crooked, or to number that which is want- 
 ing, — "The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed 
 be the name of the Lord!" — "Shall we receive good at the hand 
 of the Lord, and shall we not receive evil also?" Job i. 21. ii. 10. 
 2. In the second jDlace : There is one description of wisdom and 
 knowledge, that is infinitely excellent and desirable; — not the 
 source of grief and sorrow, but the fountain of pure and everlasting 
 joy. " This is life eternal, that they might know thee, the only 
 true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent." John xvii. J. 
 
36 LECTURE II. 
 
 Here is knowledge worth having and worth seeking : infinitely 
 exalted in its subject, and unutterably precious in its results. Were 
 a man to possess all knowledge besides this ; to concentrate in his 
 own mind the collected science of all countries and of all gene- 
 rations; the want of this would turn all to "vanity and vexation 
 of spirit." And, on the contrary, the most ignorant and illiterate 
 of mankind, as to other branches of knowledge, if possessed of 
 this, is truly wise; for he is "wise toward God," "wise unto sal- 
 vation," wise for eternity. Even now, this wisdom imparts the 
 purest and most elevated delight, amidst all the trying vicissi- 
 tudes of this valley of tears. The pleasures that arise from other 
 kinds of knowledge are themselves mingled with "grief and sor- 
 row," and are incapable of imparting to the soul any solid and 
 effectual consolation and support under the other troubles of life : 
 and when we look forward, and anticipate the close of this earthly 
 scene, we behold this wisdom ending in the enjoyment and. fulfil- 
 ment of good hppe, — in the possession of everlasting and un- 
 mingled felicity ; — and every other, however valued, and pursued, 
 and applauded by men, terminating in despair, and darkness, and 
 eternal shame. 
 
 The gospel of Christ, — ^the doctrine of the cross, though es- 
 teemed foolishness by men, — is "the power of God, and the wis- 
 dom of God." It is the study of angels. They desire to look 
 in.to it. They explore its sublime mysteries with intense and un- 
 wearied delight. " If any man among you, then, seemeth to be 
 wise in this world, let him become a fool that he may be wise." 
 You can never be truly and profitably wise, but by sitting down 
 at the feet of Jesus, and " learning of him." Here, my friends, — 
 in this blessed Book, " given by inspiration of God," — here, are 
 the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. An acquaintance with 
 its precious contents may not procure you a reputation for wisdom 
 in the world : may not enrol your names amongst its honored and 
 applauded sages ; but it will procure for you what is infinitely more 
 valuable, " the honor that cometh from God only." Let Chris- 
 tians seek, above all things, that they may grow in this know- 
 ledge ; — the knowledge of the Divine word, in all its inexhausti- 
 ble riches and variety of contents; — never losing sight of him who 
 is "the sum and substance of the word" — the reality of legal sha- 
 dows, the spirit of prophecy, and the glorious theme of apostolic 
 
ECCLESIASTES I. 12-18. 37 
 
 testimony. "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly." In 
 much ofthi^ wisdom, there is much gladness, and he that increaseth 
 this knowledge increaseth joy. "My son, if thou wilt receive my 
 words, and hide my commandments with thee; so that thou in- 
 cline thine ear unto wisdom (and) apply thine heart to understand- 
 ing; yea, if thou criest after knowledge, (and) liftestup thy voice 
 for understanding ; if thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for 
 her as (for) hid treasures; then shalt thou understand the fear of 
 the Lord, and find the knowledge of God. For the Lord giveth 
 wisdom; out of his mouth (cometh) knowledge and understand- 
 ing. He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous: (he is) a 
 bucklef to them that walk uprightly. He keepeth the paths of 
 judgment, and preserveth the way of his saints. Then shalt thou 
 understand righteousness, and judgment, and equity; (yea,) every 
 good path." Proverbs ii. 1-9. 
 
LECTURE III. 
 
 ECCLESIASTES II. 1-11. 
 
 "I said in mine heart, Go to now, I will prove thee with mirth; therefore en- 
 joy pleasure: and, behold, this also (is) vanity. 2. I said of laughter, (It 
 is) mad : and of mirth. What doeth it ? 3. I sought in mine heart to give my- 
 self unto wine, yet acquainting mine heart with wisdom ; and to lay hold 
 on folly, till I might see what (was) that good for the sons of men, which 
 they should do under the heaven all the days of their life. 4. I made me 
 great works; I buildedme houses; I planted me vineyards : 5. I made me 
 gardens and orchards, and I planted trees in them of all (kind of) fruits: 
 6. I made me pools of water, to water therewith the wood that bringeth 
 forth trees: 7. I got (me) sen-ants and maidens, and had servants born in 
 my house; also I had great possessions of great and small cattle above all 
 that were in Jerusalem before me: 8. I gathered me also silver and gold, 
 and the peculiar treasure of kings and of the provinces : I gat me men- 
 singers and women-singers, and the delights of the sons of men, (as) musical 
 instruments, and that of all sorts. 9. So I was great, and increased more 
 than all that were before me in Jerusalem : also my wisdom remained with 
 me. 10. And whatsoever mine eyes desired I kept not from them ; I with- 
 held not my heart from any joy; for my heart rejoiced in all my labor: and 
 this was my portion of all my labor. 11. Then I looked on all the works 
 that my hands had wrought, and on the labor that I had labored to do ; and, 
 behold, all (was) vanity and vexation of spirit, and (there was) no profit 
 under the sim." 
 
 In the 16th verse of the first chapter, Solomon speaks of his 
 having "communed with his own heart." It appears to be this 
 kind of communing that he carries on in the beginning of the second. 
 As the rich man in the parable is represented as addressing his soul, 
 — " I will say to my soul. Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for 
 many years, take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry," — so does 
 Solomon here address himself to his heart : 
 
 Verse 1. Come, says he, Ivnll prove thee with mirth. Wis- 
 dom, thou hast found, will not suffice to give thee the satisfaction 
 thou seekest ; let me try thee, then, with something else. In much 
 
ECCLESIASTES II. 1-11. 39 
 
 wisdom, thou hast discovered, there is much grief; try, then, what 
 mirth can do to make thee happy. In this enjoy ])leasure. See is 
 if pleasure, or happiness, lies here. 
 
 The word pleasure is not, I apprehend, to be here understood in 
 the restricted sense in which we frequently use it, as nearly synony- 
 mous with the mirth to which Solomon determined to have re- 
 course ; but in the more enlarged and general sense of happiness, — 
 that which was the great object of inquiry and pursuit; that on 
 which the course of experiments was making: "Come, I will 
 prove thee with mirth: in it enjoy happiness ;'' — more literally, 
 Ivl^^it see good: — try this new source of enjoyment; whether it 
 will any better suit thy taste, and fill up thine unsatisfied wishes. 
 
 Here, then, we behold the king of Israel descending from the 
 pleasures of learning to the pleasures of sense. He now appears 
 before us, surrounded with the gay, the witty, the mirthful, the 
 voluptuous, the profligate: those choice spirits, as they counted 
 and called themselves and one another, who fancied the secret of 
 happiness to lie, in banishing all reflection, in laughing at pre- 
 ciseness and melancholy, and drowning care in merriment and 
 revelry. 
 
 He did not, however, relinquish entirely his former pursuits. 
 In the third verse, he informs us, that whilst he sought to give 
 himself unto wine, and to lay hold on folly, he still acquainted 
 his heart with wisdom ; and, in the ninth verse, that " his wisdom 
 also remained with him." In the pursuits of wisdom he had 
 found pleasure; but it was a pleasure mingled with much grief 
 and sorrow. It seems, therefore, to have been his next plan, not to 
 relinquish these pursuits in disgust, but, whilst he continued to 
 enjoy the satisfaction they were fitted to impart, to overcome and 
 banish the griefs which they had occasioned ; — to retain the pleas- 
 ure, and to drown the care. He still, therefore, occupies a portion 
 of his time in the studies before described ; and a great part of the 
 remainder he devoted to the banqueting room, — to the social 
 pleasures of jovial festivity. 
 
 But instead of "mirth" answering the purpose either of making 
 him happy by itself, or of supplying the deficiencies of wisdom, 
 he pronounces upon it the same verdict: — "and behold, this also 
 is vanity." His inquiry was, Where shall happiness be found? 
 and where is the place of true enjoyment? — and intemperate 
 
40 LECTURE III. 
 
 mirth, like human science and earthly wisdom, said, but with still 
 more impressive emphasis. It is not in me. 
 
 Verse 2. / said of laughter (It is) mad: and of mirth, What 
 doeth itf 
 
 This seems to have been his language to himself, when his sea- 
 sons of merriment were over, and he began, in his moments of 
 cool sobriety, to " commune with his heart," and to reflect seriously 
 on what he had been about. It is the record of dear-bought ex- 
 perience; designed by him for the warning of others, after his 
 own soul had been mercifully recovered from the perilous mazes 
 of error and sin in which he had gone astray : — " I said of laughter, 
 (It is) mad." The intemperate mirth in which he had indulged 
 was like a temporary phxenzy ; during which, reason and religion 
 were alike dethroned from the empire of the mind, and all was 
 wild and tumultuous disorder. It was, surely, much liker the 
 fancy of a deranged than of a sound and collected mind, that true 
 happiness could consist in mere thoughtless and unbridled merri- 
 ment; and it was the act of such a mind to bring this fancy to 
 practical experiment. We pity from the heart the hapless sub- 
 jects of mental derangement, who are insensible of their melan- 
 choly lot, and who seem, in the midst of real wretchedness, to en- 
 joy an imaginary felicity: 
 
 Moody madness, laughing wild, 
 
 Amid severest wo 
 
 is, of all the sufferings of this valley of tears, the most deeply 
 touching. And what shall we think of the soundness of that 
 man's intellect, and with what description of feelings are we to 
 contemplate him, who, surrounded with scenes so many and so 
 various, both in private and in public life, of a nature fitted to 
 awaken to serious thoughtfulness, and acknowledging himself, 
 too, an accountable and immortal being, yet makes the banishment 
 of thought the problem of his life ; seeks his happiness in the ab- 
 sence of all reflection; devotes himself to uurestained mirth amidst 
 a world of wo; and to unreflecting laughter and jollity with the 
 grave and the judgment-seat before his eyes? Is this any thing 
 short of the insensibility of madness? Does the Christian poet 
 use too bold a comparison, — or does he not rather "speak the 
 words of truth and soberness," — when he compares such men to 
 " maniacs dancing in their chains?" It was the language of heart- 
 
ECCLESIASTES II. 1-11. 41 
 
 stricken feeling, — the language of deep experimental conviction, — 
 that Solomon used when he said of such laughter, " It is mad," 
 and of mirth like this, "What doeth it?" What doeth it toward 
 the production of true happiness? What is enjoyed that deserves 
 the name, even during its boisterous reign? and what remains 
 from it when that reign is over? "Even in laughter," (such is 
 the record elsewhere of his own experience,) — " Even in laughter, 
 the heart is sorrowful ; and the end of that mirth (is) heaviness ;" 
 Prov. xiv. 13: "for, as the crackling of thorns under a pot, so (is) 
 the laughter of the fool." Eccl. vii. 6. Thoughtless mirth, in a 
 creature that has so much as man has to make him serious, is in 
 itself irrational; and although, by those who give themselves up 
 to it, it is called "a cure for the heart-ache," it is far, very far, 
 alas ! from deserving the designation. It is, after all, but a poor 
 and flimsy covering, either for the cares of an anxious mind, or 
 the secret stingings of an accusing conscience, or the restlessness of 
 a spirit that is ill at ease, and dissatisfied with itself. And "the 
 end of that mirth (is) heaviness." It yields no subsequent satis- 
 faction. The "yesterday" of intemperate folly "looks not back- 
 ward with a smile." In proportion to the previous elevation of 
 the spirits is the depth of the subsequent depression. The lees of 
 the debauch are bitter. When the effervescence of the animal 
 spirits is over, and the mind subsides into itself, it feels but "an 
 aching void." The blaze of crackling thorns is violent and noisy, 
 and, withal, while it lasts, wonderfully cheerful and enlivening; 
 but quickly it dies away, and leaves nothing behind but darkness 
 and unsightly ashes. 
 
 The " mirth " to which Solomon thus addicted himself we have 
 considered as the mirth of festive conviviality : — and I need not 
 say that to such mirth the free circulation of the bottle and the 
 glass is, in the estimation of the bons vivans, an indispensable re- 
 quisite. How can a company be merry without wine? This, ac- 
 cordingly, is not awanting in Solomon's experiment: 
 
 Verse 3. I sovx/ht, says he, to give myself unto wine; — that is, not 
 to the grovelling practice of solitary drinking, as a mere gratifica- 
 tion of animal appetite, or means of intoxication ; but to the pleas- 
 ures of the social board: — he resolved, to "eat, and to drink, and 
 to be merry." 
 
 He determined, at the same time, still to acquaint his heart 
 
42 LECTUKE III. 
 
 with wisdom. Some, it is true, understand this, of his wisely 
 regulating his indulgences, applying prudence and discretion to 
 his pleasures, enjoying without exceeding. It seems more natural 
 to inter])ret it as already hinted, of his not renouncing his literary 
 and philosophical pursuits, but connecting them with the pleasures 
 of wine that " maketh glad the heart of man ;" associating the two 
 descriptions of gratification, the sensual and the intellectual, the 
 grosser and the more refined. And, indeed, it is hardly to be 
 supposed, that when the heart was "given to wine" as a source 
 of pleasure, and given to it amidst the "mirth" of the convivial 
 banquet, it was used by the rule and the measure of prudential 
 restraint, and exemplary self-government; that, in this species of 
 indulgence, the royal philosopher " let his moderation be known 
 unto all men." 
 
 Whilst he thus continued to "acquaint his heart with wisdom," 
 he, at the same time, "sought to lay hold on folly;" by which he 
 seems to mean the folly he had just mentioned. He endeavored 
 to combine the two. He tried each, and he tried both together. 
 And this he did that he might, as he here expresses it, see what 
 was that good for the sons of men, which they should do under the 
 heaven, all the days of their life; — that is, in consistency with the 
 object and scope of the whole Book, that he- might discover, by 
 his own experience, what was the best and happiest way of spend- 
 ing this mortal life: — and having thus briefly noticed his trial of 
 the "lust of the flesh and of the mind," he adds, in the following 
 verses, a fuller and a very spirited description of the experiment 
 to which he brought "the lust of the eye, and the pride of life." 
 
 Yerses 4-11. / made me great works; I huilded me houses; I 
 planted me vineyards; I made me gardens and orchards, and I planted 
 trees in them of all {kind of) fruits; I made me pools oficater, to water 
 therewith the wood that bringeth forth trees; I got (me) servants and 
 maidens, and had servants born in my house; also I had great pos- 
 sessions of great and small cattle above all that were in Jerusalem be- 
 fore me; I gathered me also silver and gold, and the peculiar treasure 
 of kings and of the provinces ; I gat me men-singers and women- 
 singers, and the delights of the sons of men, {as) musical instruments, 
 and that of all sorts. So I was great, and increased more than all 
 that ivere before me in Jerusalem: also my wisdom remained with me. 
 And whatsoever mine eyes desired I kept not from them; I withheld 
 
ECCLESIASTES II. 1-11. 43 
 
 not my heart from any joy: foi' my heart rejoiced in all my labor; 
 and this was my portion of all my labor. Then I looked on all the 
 loorks that my hands had lorought, and on the labor that I had la- 
 bored to do; and, behold, all [was) vanity and vexation of spirit, and 
 {there was) no profit under the sun. 
 
 It is unnecessary to dwell long on the various particulars in this 
 enumeration. 
 
 He "made him great works;" — both private and public; such 
 as might gratify ambition and the love of fame, by exciting the 
 wonder and admiration of his own subjects and of strangers; 
 might afford objects of contemplation for the eye of his vanity, 
 and give scope for such feelings of self-complacency and high- 
 mindedness as were uttered by the king of Babylon, when, stand- 
 ing on the roof of his palace, in the midst of his spleAdid city, and 
 surveying its stupendous and magnificent structures, he said, " Is 
 not this great Babylon that I have built for the house of the king- 
 dom by the might of my power, and for the honor of my majesty?" 
 Dan. iv. 30. 
 
 I think Solomon may be understood here as referring, not only 
 to the works which were actually constructed during that period 
 of his life which he emphatically denominates "the days of his 
 vanity," but to those also which he had previously reared; which 
 he then, it may be supposed, enlarged and adorned, and began to 
 contemplate with the new and corrupt emotions ofvanity and pride. 
 He " builded him houses." Solomon's palace in Jerusalem was 
 thirteen years in building. He built, besides, the spacious and 
 elegant "house of the forest of Lebanon;" and another house, of 
 similar costliness and splendor, for the daughter of Pharaoh. 1 
 Kings vii. 1-12. To these, the history adds, "Millo,and the wall 
 of Jerusalem, and Hazor, and Megiddo, and Gezer; Bethhoron the 
 nether, Baalath, and Tadmor in the wilderness; cities of store, 
 cities for his chariots, and cities for his horsemen;" and a variety of 
 other buildings, "in Jerusalem, in Lebanon, and in all the land 
 of his dominion." Ibid. ix. 15-19. 
 
 He " planted vineyards ; made gardens and orchards, and planted 
 in them trees of all kinds of fruits; and made pools of water, to 
 water therewith the wood that bringeth forth trees." By this last 
 expression are probably meant those extensive nurseries of seed- 
 lings, from which his woods and orchards were supplied. These 
 
44 LECTURE III. 
 
 he watered artificially, at great expense, and with much labor and 
 skill ; intersecting them with canals, and feeding these canals from 
 ponds and reservoirs, to secure a constant and regular irrigation. 
 
 The number and variety, the order and apparel of Solomon's 
 servants, and the whole style of his domestic establishment, were 
 amongst the circumstances by which the queen of Sheba, on her 
 visit to Jerusalem, was so much astonished ; and withal, from feel- 
 ings, it may be presumed, of hopeless envy, so much dispirited. 
 "When she saw "the meat of his table, and the sitting of his ser- 
 vants, and the attendance of his ministers, and their apparel, and 
 his cup-bearers," — " there was no more spirit in her." 
 
 The abundance of his wealth, in "great and small cattle," and 
 in "silver and gold," was a fulfilment of the express promise of 
 God to him at the commencement of his reign, to add unprece- 
 dented riches to unexampled wisdom. " The weight of gold that 
 came to Solomon in one year, was six hundred three-score and six 
 talents of gold ; besides (that he had) of the merchantmen, and of 
 the traffic of the spice-merchants, and of all the kings of Arabia, 
 and of the governors of the country." " And all king Solomon's 
 drinking vessels (were) of gold, and all the vessels of the house ot 
 the forest of Lebanon (were) of pure gold ; none (were) of silver : 
 it was nothing accounted of in the days of Solomon." " The king 
 made silver (to be) in Jerusalem as stones, for abundance." 1 
 Kings x. 14, 15, 21, 27. Both national and personal wealth flowed 
 in from the surrounding countries : — for "Solomon reigned over all 
 kingdoms, from the river unto the land of the Philistines, and 
 unto the border of Egypt: they brought presents, and served Solo- 
 mon all the days of his life." 1 Kings iv. 21. "All the earth 
 sought to Solomon, to hear his wisdom, which God had put in his 
 heart: and they brought every man his {>resent, vessels of silver 
 and vessels of gold, and garments, and armor, and spices, and 
 horses and mules, a rate year by year." Ibid. x. 24, 25. It is, 
 probably, the riches derived from tributary states, and from the 
 multiplied and precious gifts of gratulation and homage, that he 
 describes under the designation, "the peculiar treasure of kings 
 and of the provinces." 
 
 The wealth which the king acquired, was an object about which, 
 in the best days of his reign, when he first mounted the throne of 
 Israel, his heart had been very indifferent. He had sought the 
 
ECCLESIASTES II. 1-11. 45 
 
 higher gifts of "wisdom and understanding," to fit him for the 
 happy discharge of his royal functions. But the riches which at 
 first, in the exercise of an enlightened and upright mind, he em- 
 ployed for advancing the glory of God, and the best interests of 
 his people, qualified him afterwards, during the period of his back- 
 sliding, when "his heart departed from the Lord," for prosecuting 
 to the utmost advantage his experiments on happiness. They 
 were not lodged in his coffers with the avarice of a miser; but 
 were profusely expended on all that they could procure of sensual 
 gratification. He "got him men-singers, and women-singers, and 
 the delights of the sons of men, as musical instruments, and that 
 of all sorts : whatsoever his eyes desired, he kept not from them : 
 he withheld not his heart from any joy." All the senses were con- 
 sulted and pampered. Whatever could contribute to charm the 
 eye or the ear, the taste, the touch, or the smell, was procured by 
 him, in all its variety, and all its excellence. He conducted his 
 experiments on a large scale; sparing upon them no pains and no 
 expense; and not restained, by any of the over-delicate and incon- 
 venient scruples of a tender conscience, from satiating his heart in 
 all its most extravagant and capricious desires. 
 
 In the midst of all his grandeur, in which (verse 9) he "in- 
 creased above all that were before him in Jerusalem," and in the 
 midst of all his sumptuous and costly pleasures, "his wisdom re- 
 mained with him :" — not, indeed, that true wisdom in which he 
 commenced his reign, consisting in a mind regulated, in all its 
 ample powers, by the "fear of the Lord;" but a penetrating and 
 capacious intellect, with all its vast and varied acquirements in 
 human science, and in the speculative knowledge of the theology 
 of Israel. His reputation for wisdom continued to equal his 
 fame for riches and power. 
 
 Solomon, as I have just observed, made his experiments on 
 happiness on an extensive scale; procuring for himself, by what- 
 ever trouble, and at whatever cost, every possible gratification; 
 every thing a roving fancy could suggest; every thing a heart bent 
 upon indulgence could wish : — 
 
 Verse 10. And whatsoever mine eyes desired I kept not from them; 
 I withheld not my heart from any joy; for my heart rejoiced in all 
 my labor: and this was my portion of all my labor. 
 
 The "delights" which he had enumerated in the preceding ver- 
 
46 
 
 LECTURE III. 
 
 ses were, in their own nature, lawful. He went to the utmost 
 bounds of such enjoyments; and in prosecuting his diversified 
 works of ambition, and elegance, and luxurious refinement, he ex- 
 perienced a kind of satisfaction and temporary exhilaration of 
 spirit. His mind was kept occupied ; his attention busy ; his e} j 
 and ear felt the charm of varying novelty; and the admiration 
 excited by his labors, terminating upon himself as their author 
 and owner, gratified his vanity. Thus "his heart rejoiced in his 
 labor." He was not interrupted by wars ; he was not incapacitated 
 by sickness; he was not cramped or embarrassed by an exhausted 
 or deficient treasury ; but was favored, by the very God whom he 
 was forgetting and forsaking, with full and undistracted oppor- 
 tunity of indulgence, in the prosecution of all the modes of grati- 
 fication which his heart could devise. He tasted their sweetness 
 "without adversary or evil occurrent;" nor was his enjoyment 
 marred by any grudging or covetous regret of his immense ex- 
 penditure, which to some minds would have embittered the whole 
 scene. This temporary enjoyment was "his portion of all his la- 
 bors." It was what they were intended to produce to him. Pre- 
 sent gratification was the object of them all: so he made the most 
 of them : treating all his wishes liberally ; disdaining every feel- 
 ing of niggardliness; glorying in his riches, and using them for 
 the accomplishment of his ends, with open-handed and unrepining 
 profusion. 
 
 But, after all, where was the charm in all this? It was novelty 
 merely. His heart rejoiced in his labors, but not after them. 
 They were by and by completed ; the novelty of them passed away ; 
 and, with the novelty, the pleasure which they had yielded. There 
 was a lively buoyancy of spirit in the busy acquisition ; but it left 
 no permanent satisfaction in the subsequent possession; — a case 
 far from uncommon, when the mind has been allowed to run wild 
 in quest of happiness, and has been trying to find it, away from 
 God:— 
 
 Verse 11. Then I looked on all the works that my hands had 
 wrought, and on the labor that I had labored to do: and behbld, all 
 [was) vanity and vexation of spirit; and {there was) no profit under 
 the sun. 
 
 Strange! Was there not every thing in his lot that his heart 
 could wish? Yes: he had "withheld his heart from no joy." 
 
ECCLESIASTES 11. 1-11. 47 
 
 But alas ! every earthly pleasure, when unconnected with better 
 blessings, must leave a void. It palls upon the appetite for happi- 
 ness, and leaves it as eager and unsatisfied as before. The ques- 
 tion is still fretfully repeated, "Who will show us any good?" 
 After all Solomon's labor, "his eye was not satisfied with seeing, 
 nor his ear filled with hearing." And when he thus felt the re- 
 sult of all to be " vanity," as to the production of true and lasting 
 happiness ; this very feeling was, of itself, quite sufficient to ren- 
 der all "vexation of spirit." Nothing could well be more morti- 
 fying. He resembled a man, who has set about constructing a 
 machine for some particular purpose, complicated and intricate ; 
 the result, in the idea, of long and close application of inventive 
 genius; and requiring, in the execution, a great expenditure of 
 skill, and time, and patient labor. While the work is in pro- 
 gress, his mind is full of it. He has no doubt he will be able to 
 make it answer; and the confidence of succeeding animates him 
 to vigorous perseverance, and keeps him in fine spirits. At length, 
 it is completed; and he finds, to his unspeakable mortification, 
 that it will not do. In theory it was ingenious, and seemingly 
 perfect in its adaptation to the end. But when tried in practice, 
 there is some unanticipated defect; and, possibly, he cannot dis- 
 cover where it lies. "All is now vanity and vexation of spirit; 
 and there is no profit to him of all his labor." Such was the na- 
 ture, and such the success, of Solomon's experiment for the pro- 
 curing of happiness. When his labor was ended, he had only to 
 sigh over its results. He very soon tired of looking at what was 
 finished, and of hearing what he had heard before. And, besides 
 the feeling of immediate unsatisfactoriness, the galling reflection, 
 as he informs us in a subsequent part of this chapter, forced itself 
 upon his mind, and fretted, and mortified, and disgusted him ; that 
 in a very short time all must be left behind him ; and left too, he 
 could not tell to whom, whether to a wise man or a fool. 
 
 1. From this passage we may observe, in the first place: It is 
 a radical, but very prevalent mistake as to happiness, when men 
 conceive of it as arising from situation. Under the influence of 
 this mistake, how often do men, finding something awanting in a 
 particular condition or employment, immediately betake them- 
 selves to another, and thence to another, and another, the same 
 feeling of dissatisfaction attending them successively in each ; from 
 
48 LECTUEE III. 
 
 their not considering, that it is not in the nature of earthly things, 
 however varied and modified, to be a portion to the human mind ; 
 and from their not being aware, that they are all the while carry- 
 ing about the root and cause of dissatisfaction in their g#^n bo- 
 soms. Here lies the unsuspected evil : — here the secret spring of 
 bitterness. Men engaged in the pursuit of worldly happiness, 
 changing incessantly from one pursuit to another, trying every 
 likely resource, resemble a person in a fever, who in every posture 
 to which he can turn himself, feels uneasy, and is ever fancying that 
 another change will make him comfortable, insensible that the un- 
 easiness of which he complains has its origin in his distemper itself, 
 and cannot be relieved by mere position. The radical principle 
 of happiness must be carried about within us, else we shall infal- 
 libly fail of satisfaction in every trial we can make of earthly good. 
 
 2. In the second place : Let it not be supposed that there is no 
 such thing to be found as true satisfaction, — real and substantial 
 happiness. 
 
 This would be a very hasty, and a very false conclusion. There 
 is such a thing, — blessed be the gracious Author of our being ! — 
 there is such a thing to be found, as solid and heart-satisfying enjoy- 
 ment. It is not indeed to be derived from the sources to which So- 
 lomon betook himself in "the days of his vanity." He sought it 
 in "mirth and laughter." But it has often been truly observed, 
 that the objects at which we laugh loudest are not the objects 
 which yield us the greatest delight. The purest kinds, and the 
 highest degrees, of this feeling, are more frequently expressed by 
 tears than by laughter. How often has the truth of the saying 
 formerly adverted to been experienced by others as well as Solo- 
 mon, — that "even in laughter the heart is sad, and that the end 
 of that mirth is heaviness!" "True joy is a serious thing."* As 
 little is the object of universal search to be found in the varieties 
 of sensual indulgence, or the pomp, and pride, and luxury of life, 
 or the splendors of ambitious and busy royalty. In these, too, 
 Solomon sought it in vain. Many things may be accessories to 
 happiness ; but " one thing is needful." The true secret of it is, 
 living to God; — enjoying God in all things, and all things in Him. 
 This is at once the pure and the sublime source of enjoyment. 
 
 *The sentiment, I think, is Addison's: but I am not sure in my recollec- 
 tion, where in his writings it occurs. 
 
ECCLESIASTES II. 1-11. 49 
 
 Ever vain and fruitless must the pursuit of happiness be, apart 
 from the favor and the service of God. He must^ enter into all 
 that merits the name of true felicity to a rational creature. He 
 is the fountain of all joy: and the streams are truly sweet, only 
 as they taste of the fountain. "O God, thou art my God; early 
 will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for 
 thee, in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is; to see thy power 
 and thy glory, so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary. Because 
 thy loving-kindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee. 
 Thus will I bless thee while I live; I will lift up my hands in thy 
 name. My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness ; and 
 my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips; when I remember 
 thee upon my bed, and meditate on thee in the night watches." 
 This is the "good old wine" which once made Solomon's heart, as 
 well as David's, glad. He "tasted new;" but he was brought at 
 length, by dear-bought but happy experience, to say, " The old is 
 better." 
 
 "Live while ye live! the sensualist may say, 
 And catch the pleasures of the passing day. 
 Live while ye live ! the holy man replies, 
 And give to God each moment as it flies. 
 Lord, in my life let both united be ! 
 I live in pleasure, when I live to thee !" 
 
 o. In the third place: Let this passage repress in every bo- 
 som, the feelings of envy. 
 
 The poor, when they read such a description as these verses 
 contain, — of houses, and vineyards, and gardens, and orchards, 
 and lakes, and woods; and servants, and cattle, and silver and 
 gold, and royal jewels, and music, and all the "delights of the 
 sons of men," — are ready to feel the rising emotions of jealousy, 
 and to heave the sigh of envious discontent over their own con- 
 dition. They mistake this glare of magnificence, this outward 
 semblance of enjoyment, for true happiness. But the antidote to 
 all such feelings, my friends, is before you. Read on. Pass from 
 the detail of abundance and splendor, to the estimate subsequently 
 formed of it all by the owner himself: — "Then I looked on all 
 the works that my hands had wrought, and on the labor that I 
 had labored to do : and, behold, all was vanity and vexation of 
 spirit; and there was no profit under the sun!" Banish, then, 
 4 
 
50 LECTURE III. 
 
 your envy. Deceive not yourselves with the fancy, that Solomon's 
 disappointment might not be yours. Be assured, you would fare 
 no better than he. The same experiment would yield the same 
 result to you as it did to him, and as it has done to many more 
 who have foolishly ventured to repeat it. Be not " envious," then, 
 "at the foolish, when you see the jirosperity of the wicked." "Be 
 not thou afraid, when one is made rich, when the glory of his 
 house is increased: for when he dieth he shall carry nothing away ; 
 his glory shall not descend after him : though while he lived he 
 blessed his soul, (and men will praise thee, when thou doest well 
 to thyself,) he shall go to the generation of his fathers; they shall 
 never see light. Man that is in honor, and understandeth not, is 
 like the beasts that perish." Let your minds, then, be settled, 
 my brethren, in the truth of the apostolic aphorism, — "godliness 
 with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into 
 this world; and it is certain we can carry nothing out. Having, 
 therefore, food and raiment, let us be therewith content." If you 
 are " rich in faith, and heirs, of the kingdom which God hath pro- 
 vided for them that love him," envy may Avell be a stranger to 
 your bosoms. "Let the brother of low degree rejoice in that he 
 is exalted, Ijut the rich in that he is made low : because, as the 
 flower of the grass, he shall pass away. For the sun is no sooner 
 risen with a burning heat, than it withereth the grass, and the 
 flower thereof falleth, and the grace of the fashion of it perisheth : 
 so also shall the rich man fade away in his ways." James i. 9-11. 
 Lastly : Let my hearers " suffer the Avord of exhortation," from 
 the lips of the Saviour himself: — "Lay not up for yourselves 
 treasures on earth, where moth and rust corrupt, and where thieves 
 break through and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in 
 heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where 
 thieves do not break ^througli nor steal: for, where your treasure 
 is, there will your hearts be also." Matt. vi. 19-21. Seek not 
 your happiness in riches, nor in any thing which riches can pro- 
 cure. It Avere puerile affectation, or unscriptural cant, to under- 
 value and vilify them; or to refuse to admit the desirableness of 
 many of the blessings which they put in their possessor's power. 
 But still, neither they themselves, nor all they can enable you to 
 obtain, must be i/onv happiness, — your portion. You must seek 
 "a l)etter and more enduring substance." "The grounds of a cer- 
 
ECCLESIASTE8 II. 1-11. 51 
 
 tain rich man brought forth plentifully : and he thought within 
 himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where 
 to bestow my fruits? And he said. This will I do: I Mill pull 
 down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my 
 fruits and my goods. And I will say to my soul ; Soul, thou hast 
 much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, 
 and be merry. But God said unto him ; Thou fool, this night thy 
 soul shall be required of thee; then whose shall those things be 
 which thou hast provided? So is he that layeth up treasure for 
 himself, and is not rich toward God." Luke xii. 16-21. 
 
 One might have looked on all Solomon's "great works," and 
 splendid buildings, and varied and accumulated magnificence, and 
 have said, The possessor of all these may die to day : this night 
 his soul may be required of him; and then, "Whose shall these 
 things be?" Xo longer his: — "When he dieth, he shall carry 
 nothing away :" and if this is his all, — if he possesses nothing more 
 permanent ; no " durable riches and righteousness," no " house not 
 made with hands eternal in the heave'Qs;" no "inheritance incor- 
 ruptible and undefiled and that fadeth not away ;" — wo is me for 
 the foolish man ! — he has " laid up treasure for himself," but he 
 is not "rich toward God." The language of the Saviour to his 
 poor people, "I know thy poverty, but thou art rich," may well 
 be reversed to this victim of a pitiable and ruinous delusion; "I 
 know thy riches, — but thou art poor!" 
 
 Compare the description of Solomon's splendor with that of the 
 ^' city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God !" — 
 the city which he hath "prepared" for all his people, Avho em- 
 brace his promises, and "confess themselves strangers and pilgrims 
 on the earth:" — "the holy city, the new Jerusalem;" of which the 
 foundations and walls are of precious stones, the gates of pearl, 
 and the streets "of pure gold, as it were transparent glass;" which 
 is guarded by angels; of Avhich "the Lord God Almighty and the 
 Lamb are the temple;" which "has no need of the sun, neither of 
 the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God doth lighten it, and 
 the Lamb is the light thereof;" where there shall be no more night, 
 and no more curse, but eternal unclouded day, and everlasting and 
 unmingled blessing! See Rev. xxi. 10-27. xxii. 1-5. Eemem- 
 ber, my brethren, that the meanest saint on earth is a citizen of 
 this heavenly city, and has a part in all this glory. The "great 
 
52 LECTURE III. 
 
 buildingg " on which the king of Israel expended so mnch wealth, 
 and skill, and labor, have long since fallen to ruin, and crumbled 
 to dust; and so, in succession, do all the monuments of earthly 
 grandeur : — 
 
 "We build witli what we deem eternal rock:^ 
 
 A distant age asks where the fabric stood ; 
 
 And in the dust, sifted and search'd in vain, 
 
 The undiscoverable secret sleeps." 
 
 But the structures of the Divine Architect shall never ex23erience 
 decay ; their glory shall never tarnish ; their riches shall never be 
 plundered; their blessed inhabitants shall never be wasted by 
 death, or scattered by hostile invasion. 
 
 The gardens and groves and pleasure-grounds of Solomon might 
 be called by men an earthly paradise; but it was a paradise of 
 sweets that soon cloyed, and failed to yield to their possessor the 
 anticipated delight; and, like every thing earthly, it has passed 
 away. His was the "time to plant;" and there came a time after 
 him, "to pluck up that which was planted." But the paradise 
 above, wdiere flows the " pure river of water of life, clear as crys- 
 tal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb," is a 
 scene of delights as unfading as they are pure and exquisite, — de- 
 lights, that always satisfy and never satiate, — delights that shall 
 be new through eternity, — continued enjoyment only stimulating 
 the appetite, and enhancing the relish. Envy not, then, the pos- 
 sessor of the richest and loveliest inheritance on earth. You have 
 a better inheritance above. " To him that overcometh will I givo 
 to eat of the Tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of 
 God." 
 
 It is only through Jesus Christ that this final glory and blessed- 
 ness can be obtained. It is by him that the way to the Tree of 
 life has been opened, and "paradise regained." The heavenly 
 city has been reared in all its purity and splendor for the habita- 
 tion of his subjects: the "everlasting inheritance" is prepared in 
 his name, and bestowed for his sake; bestowed on all Avho are jus- 
 tified by his blood, and renewed and sanctified by his Holy Spirit. 
 It is "the inheritance of the saints in light;" and sinful creatures 
 are not "made meet for it" till they are pardoned and purified. 
 The city, "whose builder and maker is God," is a "holy city;" 
 "and into it nothing shall enter that defileth, or that worketh 
 
ECCLESIASTES II. 1-11. 53 
 
 abomination, or maketh a lie ; but they only Avho are written in 
 the Lamb's book of life." Rev. xxi. 27. Seek, then, my fellow- 
 sinners, an interest in him. Believe his testimony; follow his 
 footsteps; "live by the faith of the Son of God;" "no longer to 
 yourselves, but to him who died for sinners and rose again." Let 
 his grace be the ground of your hope; his example your pattern; 
 his glory your end ; his love your motive ; his promises your en- 
 couragement. Thus let it be your desire, that " whether you live 
 you may live to the Lord, or Avhether you die you may die to the 
 Lord; that living and dying you may be the Lord's." And then, 
 whatever may be your condition here, whether rich and honored as 
 Solomon, or poor and despised as Lazarus, you shall be " heirs of 
 God, and joint-heirs with Christ." "Blessed are they that do his 
 commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and 
 may enter in through the gates into the city." Rev. xxii. 14. 
 
LECTURE IV. 
 
 ECCLESIASTES II. 12-26. 
 
 "And I turned myself to behold wisdom, and madness, and folly: for what 
 (can) the man (do) that cometh after the king? (even) that which hath been 
 already done. 13. Then I saw that wisdom excelleth folly, as far as light 
 excelleth darkness. 14. The Avise man's eyes (are) in his head; but the 
 fool walketh in darkness: and I myself perceived also that one event hap- 
 peneth to them all. 15. Then said I in my heart. As it happeneth to the 
 fool, so it happeneth even to me ; and why was I then more wise? Then I said 
 in my heart, that this also (is) vanity. 16. For (there is) no remembrance 
 of the wise more than of the fool for ever; seeing that which now (is.) in 
 the days to come shall all be forgotten: and how dieth the wise (man)? as 
 the fool. 17. Therefore I hated life ; because the work that is wrought un- 
 der the sun (is) grievous unto me: for all (is) vanity and vexation of spirit. 
 18. Yea, I hated all my labor which I had taken under the sun ; because I 
 should leave it unto the man that shall be after me. 19. And who know- 
 eth whether he shall be a wise (man) or a fool? yet shall he have rule over 
 all my labor wherein I have labored, and wherein I have showed myself 
 wise under the sun. This (is) also vanity. 20. Therefore I went about to 
 cause my heart to despair of all the labor which I took under the sun. 21. 
 For there is a man whose labor (is) in wisdom, and in knowledge, and in 
 equity; yet to a man that hath not labored therein shall he leave it (for) 
 his portion. This also (is) vanity, and a great evil. 22. For Avhat hath 
 man of all his labor, and of the vexation of his heart, wherein he hath la- 
 bored under the sun? 23. For all his days (are) sorrows, and his travail 
 grief; yea, his heart taketh not rest in the night. This is also vanity. 24. 
 (There is) nothing better for a man, (than) that he should eat and drink, 
 and (that) he should make his soul enjoy good in his labor. This also I saw, 
 that it (was) from the hand of God. 25. For who can eat, or who else can 
 hasten (hereunto,) more than I? 26. For (God) giveth to a man that (is) 
 good in his sight wisdom, and knowledge, and joy: but to the sinner he 
 giveth travail, to gather, and to heap up, that he may give to (him that is) 
 good before God. This also (is) vanity and vexation of spirit." 
 
 Solomon liad now made trial of human wisdom and science, as an 
 independent source of enjoyment; of madness and folly, — thought- 
 less dissipation and mirth; and of the luxuries and elegances, and 
 
ECCLESIASTES II. 12-26. 55 
 
 other pleasures, of riches and royalty. He had tried them se- 
 parately; and he had tried them together: and on all of them he 
 had pronounced the verdict which he has here recorded, of " vani- 
 ty and vexation of spirit." 
 
 This trial, besides, had been made very completely, and with 
 every possible advantage for its yielding the desired result: — "for 
 what can the man do that conieth after the king? even that which 
 hath been already done." Possessing " a wise and understanding 
 heart," no man could surpass him in extent and variety of know- 
 ledge, or could prove the failure of his experiment upon it to have 
 been the consequence of limited and superficial information, and 
 his unfavorable verdict, therefore, mistaken and false: — and, ex- 
 ceeding in wealth and magnificence all the monarchs that had pre- 
 ceded him in the throne of Israel, and all the contemporaneous 
 princes of the surrounding nations, — having thus fully in his power 
 the means of obtaining every gratification of sense which his heart 
 could desire, and unrestained in his indulgences by the example 
 or by the fear of superiors, — by no man could the trial be more 
 effectually made than it was by him, of " the lust of the eye, and 
 the pride of life." He might be imitated, but he could hardly be 
 excelled. 
 
 But from what he said it might appear to some, as if he con- 
 sidered all the things of which he had been speaking, as on the 
 same footing of' inefficiency and worthlessness ; all equally vain, 
 and equally vexatious. This, however, would be a great mistake. 
 Earthly wisdom he had indeed affirmed to be "vanity and vex- 
 ation of spirit," considered as constituting the happiness of man, — 
 the portion of an immortal creature; and madness and folly he 
 had included in the same verdict. But it by no means follows, 
 that in his estimate they were equally so. In the twelfth verse, 
 he " returns " to contemplate the two, and to compare them ; — to 
 view them, not each distinctly, but relatively to each other; not 
 their respective claims to be acknowledged as the chief good, but 
 simply their comparative titles to human estimation and pursuit : — 
 
 Verses 12, 13. And I turned myself, to behold wisdom, and mad- 
 ness, and folly ; for what can the man do that cometh after the hingf 
 even that which hath been already done. Then I saw that v-isdom 
 excelleth folly, as far as light excelleth dai'hness. 
 
 For the reason assigned, and on which we have briefly touched. 
 
56 LECTURE IV. 
 
 namely, that his own experiment, on both sides of the question, 
 was the completest that could be made ; after having pushed it in 
 each direction to its utmost limits, he "turns himself" to look 
 back on what he had passed through ; he stops to reflect ; he puts 
 the two things in the balance against each other; and in verse 13th 
 he gives his deliberate decision: — "then I saw that wisdom ex- 
 celleth folly, as far as light excelleth darkness." 
 
 It is evidently of the same kind of wisdom that he here con- 
 tinues to speak. It is not a declaration of the satisfying and un- 
 rivalled excellence of spiritual, heavenly. Divine wisdom; but of 
 the vast superiority even of human science, of the wisdom of earth, 
 above ignorant and thoughtless folly. Although in itself far from 
 sufficient to be the portion, the happiness, of such a creature as 
 man; because it is not only accompanied, in the acquisition and 
 possession of it, with a variety of peculiar griefs and sorrows, but 
 it embraces not the favor of God, and leaves unprovided for, the 
 interests of the immortal soul; yet it excels ignorance and folly 
 "as far as light excelleth darkness." With light we invariably, — 
 I might almost say instinctively, — associate the ideas of security, 
 and order, and cheerfulness ; and Avith darkness the opposite ideas, 
 of danger, and confusion, and melancholy. Wisdom excels folly 
 in its own nature; the furnishing of the niind with knowledge 
 being evidently much more accordant with the character and dig- 
 nity of a rational creature, than leaving it empty, unimproved, 
 and waste ; dissipating its powers, and degrading its exalted ca- 
 pacities, in inconsiderate mirth and revelry, or in mere sensual 
 and animal gratifications. The pursuits of human science, al- 
 though we pity the man who is destitute of the purer and sublimer 
 joys of true religion, are yet productive of pleasures, high in order, 
 and exquisite in degree. And the superior excellence of such 
 wisdom is further apparent, from the counsel and direction which 
 it aifords to its possessor in all the affairs of daily life, — the good 
 which it enables him to acquire, and the evil which it teaches him 
 to avoid. Hence it is added. 
 
 Verse 14. The wise man's eyes are in his head, hut the fool walketh 
 in darkness: and I myself perceived also, that one event Jiappeneth to 
 them all. 
 
 Wisdom possesses the same advantage over folly, that sight does 
 over blindness. The wise man is like a person who has his eyes 
 
ECCLESIASTES II. 12-26. 57 
 
 in a sound state, and has light at the same time to use them. The 
 fool, on the contrary, resembles the man who is either destitute of 
 the organs of vision, or to whom surrounding darkness renders 
 them unavailing. The man of wisdom, having all his wits about 
 him, in the full possession and the appropriate exercise of all his 
 faculties, "guides his affairs with discretion," looks before him, thinks 
 maturely of what he is doing,and,by his knowledge of men and things, 
 is directed to the adoption of plans which promise to be profitable, 
 and to the prudent and successful prosecution of them. He " fore- 
 seeth the evil, and hideth himself." He aims at worthy ends, and 
 employs suitable means for their accomplishment. But the fool, — 
 the ignorant and inconsiderate and improvident man, — is continu- 
 ally in danger of stumbling, or of going astray, like a person over- 
 taken by darkness, who '' knoweth not whither he goeth." He is 
 ever prone to run blindly and heedlessly into absurd and injurious 
 projects, or to destroy such as are in themselves good, by blunder- 
 ing in the execution of them. The fool's eyes, it is elsewhere 
 said, are "in the ends of the earth," roaming vainly and idly 
 abroad, without serving his present and needful purposes; — gaz- 
 ing, as the organs of a vacant mind, on far off objects, and allow- 
 ing him to stumble over whajjfis immediately in his way. With- 
 out foresight to anticipate probable evils, without even sagacity to 
 avoid such as are present, the fool is in perpetual hazard of in- 
 juring and ruining both himself, and all who are so unfortunate 
 as to stand connected with him, or to be exposed to his influence. 
 
 Yet, whilst Solomon was not insensible to the peculiar and 
 eminent advantages of wisdom over folly, there were, at the same 
 time, some particulars in which the wise man and the fool stood 
 entirely on a level: and the recollection and contemplation of 
 these galled and mortified his spirit, and prevented his deriving 
 from his trial of wisdom even that mea.sure of enjoyment, which 
 it was fitted in its nature to bestow. It is in this temper of mind 
 that he adds, in the remainder of this, and in the two following 
 verses : — 
 
 Verses 14-16. And (or, yet) I myself perceived, that one event 
 licippeneth to them all. Then said I in my heart, As it happeneth to 
 the fool, so it happeneth even to me; and why was I then more wise? 
 Then I said in my heart, that this also is vanity. For there is no 
 remembrance of the wise more than of the fool for ever; seeing that 
 
58 LECTURE IV. 
 
 lohich now is, in the days to come shall all be forgotten. And how 
 dieth the wise manf as the fool. 
 
 The expression, "one event happeneth to them all," refers, not 
 merely to the life of all coming to the same termination, but to 
 the indiscriminate administration of Divine providence, in regard 
 to temporal things, and the similarity of its general aspect towards 
 good and bad, towards wise and foolish. It is the same sentiment 
 which is afterwards more fully stated in the beginning of the ninth 
 chapter: "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. All things come alike to all : there is one 
 event to the righteous and to the wicked ; to the good, and to the 
 clean, and to the unclean ; to him that sacrificeth, and to him that 
 sacrificeth not : as is the good, so is the sinner ; and he that swear- 
 eth, as he that feareth an oath. This is an evil among all things 
 that are done under the sun, that there is one event unto all : yea, 
 also the heart of the sons of men is full of evil, and madness is in 
 their heart while they live, and after that they go to the dead." 
 
 When we come to this passage, we shall have a more proper 
 opportunity for considering particetferly this view of the Divine 
 providence ; a view, which at one time, you know, so agitated and 
 unhinged the mind of the Psalmist Asaph, as almost to unsettle 
 his confidence in the government, and the very existence, of the 
 Divine Being. " His feet were almost gone, his steps had well nigh 
 slipped: he was envious at the foolish, when" amidst all their re- 
 bellious forgetfulness of God and presumptuous impiety, their 
 singular prosperity met his view, and was contrasted with the re- 
 markable distresses of himself and others of God's people. Ps. 73. 
 
 I have said, the two passages express the same sentiment. Per- 
 haps this is scarcely correct. There is one essential difference be- 
 tween them. In the verses before us, it is not the case of the good 
 and bad, the righteous and wicked, that is spoken of, but rather 
 of the ivise and foolish; wisdom and folly being understood in re- 
 ference to the knowledge of earthly science, and to the concerns of 
 time and of the present world. The wise, with all their informa- 
 tion, and all their sagacity, cannot, any more than the fool, con- 
 trol the course of providence. They are subject, in common with 
 the weak, and ignorant, and short-sighted, to all the diversified 
 
ECCLESIASTES II. 12-26. 59 
 
 •diseases, calamities, disappointments, and anxities of life. This 
 Solomon had seen in the experience of others, and had also felt in 
 his own; and it filled him with impatience and fretfnlness: — 
 "then said I in my heart, As it happeneth to the fool, so it hap- 
 peneth even to me; and why was I, then, more wise?" 
 
 "Why was I more wise?" — Why? How apparently unreasona- 
 ble and capricious the question! Had he not just affirmed, that 
 "wisdom excelleth folly as far as light excelleth darkness?" Was 
 there, then, no advantage in the possession of wisdom? Ah! my 
 friends, this language affectingly shows the unsatisfactoriness of 
 •all earthly sources of enjoyment; and the tendency of the human 
 heart, when confined in its desires and relishes to such sources 
 uilone, to discontent and murmuring. True, there were some points 
 in which the wise man excelled the fool; but then, there were 
 others in which he was nowise his superior: in which both were 
 perfectly on a level; and these were of such a nature that the 
 mortification arising from the equality more than neutralized, in 
 Solomon's estimation, the advantage arising from the superiority. 
 This bitter spoiled the sweet of all its relish ; so that he " said in 
 his heart," with fretful disappointment, "This also is vanity." 
 
 One of the points of equality, by which his mind w^as peculiarly 
 affected, was seen in the latter end of the wise man and the fool, 
 and the forgetfulness and indifference of posterity as to both : — 
 ■"for there is no remembrance of the wise, more than of the fool 
 for ever; seeing that which now is, in the days to come shall all 
 be forgotten: — and how dieth the wise man? — as the fool." 
 
 These words contain Solomon's estimate of j^osthvmovs fame. 
 He must be considered as stating a general truth. Men, in an- 
 ticipating futurity, vainly assign to themselves, and to one another, 
 the lofty attribute of immortality. But how is the presumptuous 
 •expectation disappointed ! " There is no remembrance for ever," — 
 no everlasting remembrance, however often, and however fondly 
 men talk of it, — "of the wise man more than of the fool." The 
 .stream of time, in a few generations, carries down to the gulf of 
 -oblivion the names of both. It is singularly mortifying to re- 
 flect, how little, in a very short period, any man, however emi- 
 nent may have been his reputation for wisdom, is missed in the 
 world. For a while, a blank is felt. He is the theme of public 
 praise ; and the tear of regret is shed, and the voice of lamentation 
 
60 LECTURE IV. 
 
 is raised, over his tomb. But he is no sooner out of sight, thart 
 he begins to be out of mind. He is less and less spoken of. The- 
 world appears to go on without him, much as it did before. New 
 objects of attention and admiration arise, and the old ones are 
 gradually forgotten. Of the thousands, eminent in their day, who" 
 must have lived in ancient times, how few comparatively are there,, 
 whose very names have come down to us ! — and even as to those 
 that haye been saved from the general wreck of time, how verv 
 circumscribed is the circle of their fame ! By the great mass of 
 human society, by the immensely large proportion of the popula- 
 tion of the world, they have never been heard of: — their names, 
 their works, and their sayings, are alike unknown. The wisdom 
 of Joseph saved the land of Egypt from impending ruin. Yet 
 soon "another king arose, who knew not Joseph." Whilst the 
 salutary effects of his counsel continued to be permanently felt, 
 the counsel itself and the man who had given it were forgotten,, 
 and were niiserably requited ; and, but for the inspired record in 
 the holy Scriptures, we should scarcely, I presume, have heard of 
 his name, even amongst the fables and uncertainties, and confused, 
 and mutilated facts, of remote tradition. And of Solomon him- 
 self, the wisest of the wise, how little could we with certainty have 
 known, liad not his history been in a similar manner recorded,, 
 and his inspired writings preserved ! 
 
 "And how dieth the wise man? — as the fool." To both, the 
 event itself is equally certain: the wise cannot ward it off more 
 than the fool. The time, and the manner, and the circumstances 
 of it are to both equally uncertain : to the wise, as to the fool, it 
 may be sudden or lingering, preceded and accompanied by the 
 same varieties of pain and suffering, both being alike subject to 
 all those diseases by which fallen humanity is afflicted, and which 
 to all in succession fulfil the original sentence, "Dust thou art, 
 and unto dust thou shalt return." It is followed too, as to both, 
 with the same humiliating effects. "They lie down alike in the 
 dust, and the worms cover them." To both, the grave is equally 
 narrow, equally cold, equally silent, and dark, and dreary. They 
 rot alike into indiscriminate dust. And, as it is of secular wisdom 
 Solomon is speaking, not of spiritual and saving knowledge, — in the 
 departure of both there is ground for the anxious and trembling 
 forebodings of futurity, both being destitute of good hojie. Thus. 
 
ECCLESIASTES II. 12-26. 61 
 
 Solomon "saw that wise men died, and that the fool and the brutish 
 |3erson perished-" and his spirit was vexed and mortified. He 
 Jiated life; and all his labor in the acquisition of his wisdom and 
 of his general superiority to other men seemed grievous, as having 
 yielded him no solid or permanent satisfaction : — 
 
 Verse 17. Therefore I hated life; because (he work that is lorought 
 under the sun is grievous to me: for all is inanity and vexation of 
 ■spirit. 
 
 Alas! alas! what is life, my friends, without a eouteiited mind? 
 and where is a truly contented mind to be found, except in the 
 pious and believing reference of every thing to God, and making 
 Him the chosen portion of the soul ? 
 
 Another reason for dissatisfaction Avith the results of all his 
 varied labors in the pursuit of happiness, is assigned in the follow- 
 ing verses : — 
 
 Verses 18-23. Yea, I hated all my labor which I had taken un- 
 der the sun; because I should leave it unto tJic man that shall be after 
 me. And ivho knoweth whether he shall be a wise man or a foolf 
 yet shall he have rule over all my labor tvherein I have labored, and 
 loherein I have showed myself wise under the sun. This is also vani- 
 ty. Therefore I went about to cause my heart to despair of all the 
 labor which I took under the sun. For there is a man tvhose labor 
 is in wisdom, and in knoicledge, and in equity: yet to a man that hcdh 
 not labored therein shall he leave it for his portion. This also is 
 vanity, and a great evil. For tchcd hath man of all his labor, and 
 of the vexation of his heart, ivherein he hath labored under the sunf 
 For all his days are sorrows, and his travail grief; yea, his heart 
 laketh not rest in the night. This is also vanity. 
 
 "I hated all my labor which I had taken under the sun, be- 
 -cause I should leave it to the man that shall be after me." But 
 why should this have so grieved thee, Solomon? If thy heart 
 liad been right with God ; if He had been, as He ought to have 
 .been, thy chief joy, the treasure of thy soul; if thy aifections had 
 been in heaven, and thy hopes full of immortality ; — the thought 
 of parting with earthly possessions, with worldly grandeur, with 
 liunian admiration, could not have been thus vexing to thy spirit. 
 It Avould not have distressed the feelings of piety, to anticipate 
 the exchange of tliese for purer joys and sublimer honors; nor the 
 feelings of generous benevolence, to think of leaving to another 
 
62 LECTURE IV. 
 
 what tliQu couldest no longer enjoy thyself. But, alas! to the 
 worlding, who seeks his portion in the present life, as Solomon was 
 now doing, even the simple thought that all must be left, cannot 
 but be, in the extreme, galling and disheartening. 
 
 But there is something more here. They must not only be left,, 
 and left to another : -the character of the successor, and the use he 
 is to make of them, are matters of vexatious uncertainty : — "And 
 who knoweth, whether he shall be a wise man or a fool? yet shall 
 he have rule over all my labor wherein I have labored, and where- 
 in I have showed myself wise under the sun. This is also vani- 
 ty." If a man has a son to succeed to his wealth and honors, he 
 may be a foolish son, without principle, and destitute of discretion 
 and common sense; or, if there be about him promising symp- 
 toms of wisdom, the very succession to riches and splendor may 
 work, as experience shows it to have many a time done, a fatal 
 change; may frustrate a father's partial anticipations; may in- 
 toxicate the youthful heart, and effectually make a fool of the 
 hopeful heir. If a man have no son, and fixes the succession to 
 his estate on one whom he esteems wise and prudent, capable of 
 keeping them together and of using them to advantage, he may 
 have been deceived by specious appearances, assumed for the pur- 
 pose of obtaining his good graces ; or, the same change of character 
 may be produced by actual change of condition, which we have 
 supposed in the case of the son ; — and whosoever be the heir, sud- 
 den death may prevent his entering on his new inheritance, or 
 may very soon transmit it again to other hands, — and these may 
 be the hands of a fool. It is probable, that Solomon himself had 
 no very flattering anticipations of the future character of his son 
 and heir, Ilehoboam; who very early made it manifest that, along 
 with the throne, and the riches, and the royal magnificence of his 
 father, he was very far from inheriting his wisdom ; the kingdom, 
 at the very commencement of his reign, being divided by his 
 haughty and headstrong folly, and a large portion of it alienated 
 from the house of David. 
 
 It was sadly mortifying to Solomon, then, to reflect, that the 
 produce of all his labor and of all his care; the wealth he had ac- 
 cumulated, the honors he had acquired, the splendors Avith which 
 he had surrounded himself; might come immediately into the pos- 
 session of one who might break the sceptre he had swayed amidst 
 
ECCLESIASTES II. 12-2(3. 6'^ 
 
 SO much prosperity; might abuse aud squander his public trea- 
 sures and his private fortunes; might forfeit his honors and cover 
 himself with contempt: — that such a one might "have rule over 
 all his labor wherein he had labored, and wherein he had showed 
 himself wise under the sun." 
 
 So many circumstances thus concurring to impress on his mind 
 the vanity of earthly things, and the falsehood of the promises of 
 happiness held out by them, he began to bethink himself a little 
 more gravely, and to renounce the pursuit of enjoyment from 
 worldly good, as desperate and hopeless: — "Therefore I went 
 about to cause my heart to despair of all the labor which I took 
 under the sun." The mode of expression seems to imply, that 
 this was no easy matter. His heart clung firmly to the world : — 
 he could not bring himself to relinquish it: — yet, when he con- 
 sidered and re-considered his experiment, as far as it had hitherto 
 gone, he found it would not do. And, amongst the views of the 
 world which were ever forcibly recurring to his mind, the last 
 mentioned appears to have had a predominant influence. He re- 
 peats it : — " There is a man," — (that is, the case is one which not 
 unfrequently occurs, and Solomon himself was, in some respects, 
 an instance of it,) — "There is a man who hath labored in" (or 
 according to) " wisdom, and knowledge, and equity ; yet to a man 
 who hath not labored therein," (that is, not merely who hath en- 
 tered on the possession of what cost him no labor of his own, but 
 who, instead of laboring in wisdom, and knowledge, and equity, 
 has labored in folly, and ignorance, and unrighteousness, and who 
 continues to display the same character,) "shall he leave it for his 
 portion." The entire produce of his prudent, and intelligent, and 
 equitable diligence, becomes the portion of a foolish and a vicious 
 man. " This," says he, " is vanity, and a great evil ;" an evil 
 which, in Solomon's experience, served to embitter all the satis- 
 faction which a man can derive from his labors : — " For what hath 
 a man of all his labor, and of the vexation of his heart wherein 
 he hath labored under the sun ?" When his course is thus brought 
 to a close, and he leaves the results of all his toils to another,— 
 "to the man that shall come after him," — "what hath he?" — 
 what reward, — what profit, — what compensation, for all his labor, 
 all his anxiety, and care, and vexation of spirit? — when his soul 
 comes to be "required of him," and the emphatical question is 
 asked, "who shall those things be which thou hast provided?" 
 
€4 LECTURE IV. 
 
 The ,23d verse, — "For all his days are sorrows, and his travail 
 grief; yea, his heart taketh not rest in the night: thi'^, is also 
 vanity," — does not seem to be intended as a direct answer to the 
 question which had just been asked, — "What hath man of all his 
 labor, and of the vexation of his heart -wherein he hath labored 
 under the sun?" — as if the wise man had said. He has only vexa- 
 tion, "Jar all his days are sorrows, and his travail grief" It is 
 rather designed, I think, to aggravate the evil, that all should 
 have so unprofitable a termination : — " What hath he ?" — although 
 "all his days were sorrows, and his travail grief." When he has 
 thus spent his life; given his whole soul to the labors of this 
 world ; passed through days of sorrow and disquietude ; toiled in 
 carefulness and grief of spirit; and added to such days nights of 
 sleepless anxiety, or slumbers scared and disturbed with uneasy 
 dreams and startling apprehensions; — when, by such means, he 
 has realized all that his heart was set upon, and filled others with 
 wonder and envy at his success ;-^"What hath he?" W^hen he 
 comes to die, and to leave it all behind him, the poorest is as rich, 
 and the meanest as mighty .as he. Such is the termination, and 
 such the fruit, of all his toils, and sorrows, and solicitudes. Surely, 
 then, "this is also vanity." It is but very mixed and unsatisfying 
 enjoyment while it lasts; sweet, with a large infusion of bitter; — 
 and the end of all is unprofitable and vexatious. 
 
 Solomon had "gone about to make his heart to despair of all 
 his labor under the sun " in pursuit of solid satisfaction from earthly 
 things. In the verses which follow, he sets before us the proper 
 use of the possessions of the present world : — 
 
 Verses 24-26. There is nothing better for a man, than that he 
 should eat and drink, and that he should make his soid enjoy good in 
 his labor. This also I saiv, that it loas from the hand of God. For 
 loho can eat, or who else can hasten hereunto, more than If For 
 God giveth to a man that is good in his sight, wisdom, and knoicledge, 
 andjvy: but to the sinner he giveth travail, to gather and to heap up, 
 that he may give to him that is good before God. 2' his also is vanity 
 and vexation of spirit. 
 
 "There is nothing better." Is this, then, the supreme good/ 
 Does the writer here speak absolutely? For an answer to such 
 questions, we have only to look forward a little to the great gene- 
 ral lesson, or moral, of the whole book; chapter xii. 13. "Let us 
 
ECCLESIASTES II. 12-2G. 65 
 
 hear the conclusion of the whole matter: fear God, and keep his 
 commandments; for this is the whole duty" (or, rather, the whole 
 happiness) " of man :" — a lesson which is in harmony with the 
 doctrine, on the same subject, of all the other Scriptures. "The 
 fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge ; but fools despise 
 wisdom and instruction." "The fear of the Lord is the beginning 
 of wisdom ; a good understanding have all they that do his com- 
 mandments." "Where shall wisdom be found? and where is the 
 place of understanding? God understandeth the Avay thereof, and 
 he knoweth the i)lace thereof. And unto man he said. Behold, 
 the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to depart from evil is 
 understanding." Prov. i. 7. Psal. cxi. 10. Job xxviii. 12, 23, 28. 
 
 In the verses before us, Solomon, must be understood as speak- 
 ing of the way to derive from earthly things that kind and degree 
 of enjoyment which they are capable of affording. And this is, 
 not to pursue them as our chief good; not to seek our happiness 
 from them; but, with a thankful, contented, and cheerful spirit, 
 to receive and enjoy such a measure of them as God in his provi- 
 dence may be pleased to bestow. 
 
 "There is nothing better for a man," as to the things of time, 
 "than that he should eat and drink," that is, that he should use 
 the comforts and blessing which God confers, "and that he should 
 make his soul enjoy good in his labor;" maintaining an easy and 
 satisfied mind, without grudging and repining at what has been, 
 or fretting with unhappy solicitude about ^vhat may be ; free from 
 the irksome care about possessions already acquired, and from the 
 toiling and anxious eagerness of those who "haste to be rich," 
 whose desires are incessant for more, and more ; their ideas chang- 
 ing and their ambition swelling as they advance, and Avho arc never, 
 in any stage of their progress, " content with such things as they 
 have." This is far from being the way to the true enjoyment 
 even of this world. He enjoys it best, who receives its blessings 
 as from the hand of God, with a cheerful and thankful, but de- 
 pendent and resigned spirit; who makes God himself, — not the 
 temporary gift, but the Eternal giver, — his portion ; and who has 
 learned to be satisfied with whatever He is pleased to provide. 
 
 This temper of mind is not in nature; the lesson, as I have just 
 hinted, must be learned: — "This also I saAV," says Solomon, "that 
 it was from the hand of God." The meaning of this is, not merely 
 
66 LECTUKE IV. 
 
 that the bounties of providence are from the Divine hand ; but 
 that from Him proceeds a suitable temper of mind for the true en- 
 joyment of them; — a grateful and contented spirit. This is from 
 God. It is produced and maintained by Divine influence; and 
 it imparts to the things of time a relish which can never be ex- 
 perienced by those who make them their portion. Solomon's doc- 
 trine of the necessity of this lesson being taught us by God, agrees 
 with the experience of the apostle Paul, as given in his Epistle to 
 the Philippians: — "Not that I speak in respect of want: for/ 
 have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. I 
 know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound : every- 
 where, and in ail things, I am instructed but to be full and to be 
 hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things 
 tlirough Christ who strengtheneth me." Phil. iv. 11-13. He 
 "learned," — he was "instructed; — not merely informed of this 
 state of mind being his duty, but effectually taught, by the grace 
 of the Lord Jesus, to maintain it. The sentiment of the entire 
 dependence of the creature on Divine Providence; of the peaceful 
 serenity of mind arising from the habitual impression of it; and 
 of God's being the Author of this contented and happy frame of 
 spirit; is finely expressed by the Psalmist in the beginning of the 
 127th Psalm: — "Except the Lord build the house, they labor in 
 vain that build it : except the Lord keep the city, the watchman 
 waketh in vain. It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit i\]) late, 
 to eat the bread of sorrows : — so he giveth his beloved sleep." 
 He enables his children, the objects of his paternal love and care, 
 to enjoy tranquil and sound repose; neither abridged by the wake- 
 fulness, nor disturbed by the scaring dreams of anxiety : by giving 
 them to exercise a believing, filial reliance upon himself, and im- 
 pressing on their minds the vanity and utter fruitlessness of the 
 most solicitous and drudging labor without his blessing, and the 
 abiding conviction that his sovereignty cannot be controlled, that 
 his wise administration cannot be improved, that his gracious and 
 faithful promises cannot be falsified. 
 
 Solomon's own experience served to satisfy him, that the happi- 
 ness to be derived from the things of this world depends entirely 
 on the state of mind in which they are received and enjoyed, and 
 that this state of mind is "from the hand of God:" for, if the 
 varieties of eartlily good luul in themselves been capable of im- 
 
ECCLESIASTES II. 12-2(). 67 
 
 parting true satisfaction, who could have found that satisfaction, 
 if he failed of it? — ''for who can eat, or who else can hasten here- 
 unto, more than I?" Who is there that can enjoy the delicacies 
 and the luxuries of life more than I? — what appetite can be more 
 richly feasted ; what taste, in all its capricious likings, more in- 
 tirely indulged ; than mine? Or, "who can hasten" more than 
 1, to the enjoyment of the pleasures of sense, in all their variety? — 
 who can seek them with more unremitting ardor? — who can 
 grasp them with a fonder avidity? — who can possess them with a 
 heart more set upon them, and more determined to make the most 
 of them, than I? And who can obtain them with greater facili- 
 ty? — who can refine them to a higher excellence? — who can mul- 
 tiply them to a richer abundance? Yet all would not do. They 
 yielded me nothing that deserved the name of happiness. God must 
 not only bestow them, but bestow along with them a right spirit 
 in the reception and estimation, the enjoyment and use of them, 
 else they will be curses instead of blessings; fountains of bitter- 
 ness, rather than springs of pleasure. 
 
 The true enjoyment, then, even of the things of the present world, 
 is one of the peculiar advantages of God's people; and the ex- 
 perience of Solomon confirms the saying of the apostle: — "Godli- 
 ness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that 
 now is, and of that which is to come." 1 Tim. iv. 8. 
 
 Verse 26. For God giveth to a man that is good in his sight, iris- 
 dom, and knoioledge, and joy : but the sinner hegiveth travail, to gather 
 and to heap up, that he may give to him that is good before God. 
 This also is vanity and vexation of spirit. 
 
 "The man that is good in his sight," is the man that is truly 
 good; good in the unerring estimate of the Divine mind; whose 
 "heart is right with God," and who is "steadfast in his covenant;" 
 who believes his word, trusts in his grace, and obeys his will, — 
 "doing justly, loving mercy, and walking humbly with his God," 
 "denying all ungodliness and worldly desires, and living soberly, 
 and righteously, and godly, in this present world ;" choosing God 
 as his portion; "glorifying him in his body and spirit which are 
 his;" grateful for his kindness; submissive to his corrections; 
 satisfied with the arrangements of his gracious providence, and 
 with the provisions and proposals of his redeeming love. To such 
 a man, "God giveth Avisdom and knowledge," by which he is 
 
68 LECTURE IV. 
 
 enabled rightly to appreciate the comparative value of temporal 
 and eternal things; to give the former their proper measure of re- 
 gard ; to " use them as not abusing them," reserving his heart for 
 the latter and for God. In this way he giveth him also "joy " 
 the state of mind arising from this exercise of wisdom and know- 
 ledge being eminently favorable to the happy enjoyment of all the 
 blessings of life ; preserving equanimity ; moderating and regu- 
 lating the desires; and, by suppressing extravagant elation in 
 prosperity, lightening the pressure of adversity, and tempering 
 the otherwise overwhelming vexation of losses and disappoint- 
 ments, of frustrated schemes, and baffled exertions. 
 
 "But to the sinner," — that is, to the man who is not "good be- 
 fore God;" whose spirit is not right with him; who "goes on 
 frowardly in the way of his own heart," and "according to the 
 course of this world;" who "says to the Almighty, Depart from 
 me, for I desire not the knowledge of thy ways ;" who, regardless 
 of the obligations, and insensible to the pleasures, of religion, seeks 
 his happiness in the creature and not in the Creator, — " to the sin- 
 ner he giveth travail, to gather and to heap up, that he may give 
 to him that is good before God. This also is vanity and vexation 
 of spirit." The meaning is, that all that Solomon had described 
 is the experience not of the good man, but of the sinner, — of the 
 man who forgets and forsakes the Lord. This is the man all 
 whose labor is "travail." It is he that rises early, and sits up 
 late, and eats the bread of sorrows. It is he that is sickened with 
 cares, and harrassed by disappointments. His object is, and he 
 toils hardly and restlessly for its attainment, " to gather and to 
 heap up:" and then, when he has gained his end, though never to 
 his heart's content, he must leave all behind him; and, possibly, 
 in the appointment of an all-wise providence, over-ruling every 
 thing for the Divine glory, his accumulated treasures must be- 
 come the portion of one whom, of all others, he most heartily dis- 
 likes, — of a godly man, the object of his avowed and bitter scorn, 
 but of God's approbation and regard; who will devote his pos- 
 sessions to purposes of which his predecessor never dreamed, or 
 which, if they ever crossed his thoughts, were instantly dismissed 
 with banter and imprecation; who will "honor the Lord with his 
 substance, and with the first fruits of all his increase." Solomon 
 had remarked, in surveying the incidents and changes of human 
 
ECOLESIASTES II. 12-26. 6& 
 
 life, that the Supreme Disposer frequently thus transferred the 
 bounties of his providence, stored up by wicked means for wicked 
 ends, from the sinner to the saint; from hands that unworthily 
 abused them, to hands that would apply them to their legitimate 
 uses. It is God's doing. The sinner does not, of his own free 
 will, relinquish his treasures, and give them over into the hands 
 of the godly. No : what he acquired by travail he abandons with 
 reluctance. They are not presented with his open hand, but 
 wrenched from his tenacious grasp. He holds them while he can, 
 and only parts with them from an indignant feeling of necessity. 
 With respect to the travail and anxiety of laboring for earthly 
 good, Solomon's experience, whilst he was departing from God, 
 had, of course, been that of "the sinner;" and it was all "vanity 
 and vexation of spirit." 
 
 The great moral of the whole of this chapter is contained in 
 these concluding verses. These form the practical improvement of 
 the discoveries made by the writer, in his experiments on earthly 
 wisdom, on madness and folly, on sensual gratification, luxurious 
 elegance, and voluptuous refinement, considered as independent 
 sources of happiness to man. In this view of them, they are all pro- 
 nounced vanity ; incapable of yielding true and substantial felicity : 
 and he here teaches the important secret, of extracting from earthly 
 things the full proportion of sweetness which they are capable of 
 affording. 
 
 Let us learn, my brethren, to make a proper discrimination even 
 amongst secular pursuits. AVisdom, or science, even when con- 
 sidered as exclusive of godliness, is, in its nature and uses, de- 
 cidedly superior to sensual pleasure; and that, too, although in 
 the pursuit and enjoyment of the latter there may be no particu- 
 larly sinful excess. But still, neither of them will do, to be the sub- 
 stance of happiness, the " one thing needful," the portion of the 
 soul ; nor will earthly things, of any description, yield their sweets 
 to their possessor, till they have ceased to be looked upon at all 
 in this light. Forget not, my Christian brethren, the higher and 
 nobler objects of desire and pursuit, which your Divine Master 
 sets before you, aud charges you to mind: — "If ye, then, be risen 
 with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth 
 on the right hand of God. Set your affections on things above, 
 not on things on the earth. For ye arc dead, and your life is hid 
 
70 LECTURE IV. 
 
 with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, 
 then shall ye also appear with him in glory." Col. iii. 1-4. O ! 
 keep these objects of blessed hope continually before your view. 
 In proportion to the force and the constancy of their influence on 
 vour aifections, will be your equanimity amidst the changes of this 
 fluctuating world, from good to evil, and from evil to good, and 
 the correspondence of your tempers and deportment to the spirit 
 of the apostolic admonition : — " But this, I say, brethren, the time 
 is short : it remaineth, that, both they that have wives be as though 
 they had none ; and they that weep as though they wept not ; and 
 they that rejoice as though they rejoiced not; and they that buy 
 as though tliey possessed not; and they that use this world as not 
 abusing it; for the fashion of this world passeth away." 1 Cor. 
 vii. 29-31. The more habitually our desires are elevated to the 
 things that are unseen and eternal, the less will the vicissitudes of 
 those that are seen and temporal be found capable of affecting our 
 real happiness. Assigning to them their proper place, and ex- 
 pecting from them no more than they are fitted to produce, we 
 shall be free from the disappointments of those who look to them 
 for what they never can yield. Laying our account with, one 
 day, leaving them, we shall not be confounded, as by an event on 
 which we had not at all calculated, if, in the providence of God, 
 they should leave us, " making to themselves wings and flying 
 away, as an eagle towards heaven." The knowledge that we 
 "have in heaven a better and an enduring substance," will make 
 our worldly bereavements comparatively light. " Confessing our- 
 selves strangers and pilgrims on the earth," we shall still look for 
 the " better country, even the heavenly." And, " all things work- 
 ing together for good to them that love God, to them who are the 
 called according to his purpose," our temporal loss will be our 
 spiritual gain : — " our light affliction, which is but for a moment, 
 will work out for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of 
 glory." 
 
 And O ! let ''the sinner" seriously contemplate his future pros- 
 pecis. Let him "consider his latter end." All that you are la- 
 boring for, you must very soon relinquish, — leaving every shred 
 l)ehind you. And, quickly as that inevitable and final separation 
 must come, you have no security for your retaining your acquisi- 
 tions even till then. God is at this moment, in these times of 
 
ECCI.ESIASTE.S II. 12-26. 71 
 
 general calamity and privation, reading to you, and to all, a most 
 impressive lesson of their precariousness. You arc "setting your 
 eyes on that which is not;" — that which is so uncertain, so fleeting 
 and transient, as hardly to be allowed the attribute of existence. 
 You are eagerly coveting, and fondly attaching yourselves to a 
 nonentity, — an empty unsubstantial shadow, which, ere your eye 
 has glanced upon it, flits from before you. You are treasuring 
 up " trifles light as air," and as unstable as they are light, which 
 every shifting wind oi' fortune, (to borrow your own heathen phra- 
 seology,) may blow for ever away. xVnd O, for your sakes, that 
 this were all ! — that the mere loss of these trifles Avere the amount 
 of the evil that shall arise from a life devoted to the pursuit of 
 them ! But, whilst you are living " without God in the world ;" 
 estranging your hearts from him and giving them to the creature ; 
 preferring to his service the service of mammon ; seeking the gift, 
 and forgetting and rebelling against the giver; abusiug the bounties 
 of his providence, (for all is abused that is not consecrated in the use 
 of it, by religious principle, to the honor of the Divine Benefac- 
 tor;) and slighting and refusing the offered blessings of his grace : — 
 whilst you are living thus, you are engaged in a nmch more un- 
 lawful employment than the laying up of trifles for future loss ; — 
 you are "treasuring up unto yourselves wrath against the day of 
 wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God." Rom. 
 ii. 5. O, deceive not yourselves Avith the fancy, that because you 
 "labor in equity," as well as "in wisdom and knowledge," de- 
 frauding no man, but giving every one his due; and because you 
 " run not to the excess of riot," but are decent and sober-living 
 men, — that therefore there is no danger. There is danger, immi- 
 nent and awful danger, if, in the midst of all your equity and so- 
 briety, the world has your hearts, and not God; if you are living 
 to yourselves ; if your conduct is not influenced aiid guided by re- 
 ligious principle; by the faith, and the fear, and the love of God. 
 " Ye cannot serve God and Mammon," is the unequivocal and un- 
 (jualified declaration of the Lord of Christians: and, of the two 
 services, it is only the service of God that can end well. Loss, 
 and shame, and misery, will be the issue of the one; gain, and 
 glory, and blessedness, the eternal reward of the other. Be per- 
 suaded, then, to embrace this holy and happy service. Be per- 
 suaded to seek something better and more lasting than this world 
 
72 LECTURE IV. 
 
 can aiford you; — to seek an ever-during portion in the love of 
 God, and all the blessings Avhich it confers on its favored objects, 
 through Jesus Christ our Lord. An interest in this love, and in 
 these blessings, is the only way to the true and satisfying enjoy- 
 ment even of the present world. Listen, then, to the voice of 
 Divine Wisdom: — "Receive my instruction, and not silver; and 
 knowledge rather than choice gold. For wisdom is better than 
 rubies; and all the things that may be desired are not to be com- 
 pared to it." "Riches and honor are with me, yea, durable riches 
 and righteousness. My fruit is better than gold, yea, than fine 
 gold, and my revenue than choice silver. I lead in the way of 
 righteousness, in the midst of the paths of judgment: that I may 
 cause those that love me to inherit substance ; and I will fill their 
 treasures." Prov. viii. 10, 11, 18-21. 
 
LECTURE V. 
 
 ECCLESIASTEvS III. 1-15. 
 
 •"To every (thing there is) a season, and a time to everj' puii)03e under the 
 heaven : 2. A time to be born, and a time to die ; a time to plant, and a 
 time to pluck (that which is) planted : 3. A time to kill, and a time to 
 Leal ; a time to break down, and a time to build up : 4. A time to weep, and a 
 time to laugh ; a time to mourn, and a time to dance : 5. A time to cast away 
 stones, and a time to gather stones together ; a time to embrace, and a time 
 to refrain from embracing: 6. A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to 
 keep, and a time to cast away : 7. A time to rend, and a time to sew ; a time 
 to keep silence, and a time to speak : 8. A time to love, and a time to hate ; 
 a time of war, and a time of peace. 9. What profit hath he that worketh 
 in that wherein he laboreth? 10. I have seen the travail, which God hath 
 
 fiven to the sons of men to be exercised in it. 11. He hath made every- 
 thing) beautiful in his time: also he hath set the world in their heart; so 
 that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to 
 the end. 12. I know that (there is) no good in them, but for (a man) to 
 rejoice, and to do good in his life. 13. And also that every man should eat 
 and drink, and enjoy the good of all his labor, it (is) the gift of God. 14. 
 I know that whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever : nothing can be put 
 to it, nor any thing taken from it: and God doeth (it), that (men) should 
 fear before him. 15. That which hath been is now ; and that which is to 
 be hath already been ; and God requireth that which is past." 
 
 To the right understanding and interpretation of an author's 
 language, nothing is of more essential consequence than a due con- 
 sideration of his leading design, — the general scope and object of 
 his performance. The great lesson which this book is intended 
 to elucidate and impress is, the vanity of the attempt to find true 
 happiness from any of the sources of mere worldly enjoyment. To 
 this purpose the verses with which this chapter commences are, 
 in one view of their meaning, remarkably appropriate: and this, 
 of itself, is a very conclusive evidence of that view being right. 
 Thev teach the two following important truths: — in the first place, 
 
74 LECTURE V. 
 
 that the'concerns of the present world are, beyond expression, un- 
 stable and fluctuating; and, secondly, that all its incessant vicissi- 
 tudes are so regulated and determined by the uncontrollable pur- 
 poses of the Supreme will, that no human sagacity can foresee and 
 prevent them; "the times and seasons being kept in his own 
 power," by Him who says, "My counsel shall stand, and I will 
 do all my pleasure." Such considerations impressively teach us, 
 on the one hand, the folly of saying, in such a world, we shall 
 never be moved; and the wisdom, on the other, of anticipating 
 such changes as may be appointed and inevitable; of accommo- 
 dating readily to the shifting scenes of life the state of our feel- 
 ings and desires; of conducting ourselves with propriety in all 
 the varying circumstances of our condition ; and of never resting 
 on such uncertainties as the basis of our felicity. 
 
 Keeping these general observations in mind, let us briefly glance 
 at the different particulars enumerated in the first eight verses. 
 
 Verse 1. To every thing there is a season, and « time for everif 
 purpose under the sun. 
 
 The preceding remarks will have led you to anticipate that I 
 consider these words, containing the general sentiment of which 
 the seven subsequent verses set forth varied exemplications, as re- 
 ferring to the all-directing providence of God ; whose procedure 
 is not the random, and capricious, and unsteady course (if a course 
 it should be called) of short-sighted ignorance and fickle imbecility; 
 but the wise, and regular, and well-ordered administration of One, 
 who " knows the end from the beginning ;" to whom there is no 
 unanticipated contingency ; and whose omniscient eye, in the midst 
 of what to us appears inextricable confusion, has a thorough and 
 intuitive perception of the endlessly diversified relations and ten- 
 dencies of all events and all their circumstances, discerning through- 
 out the whole the perfection of harmony. In the all-wise provi- 
 vence of God, then, — "to every thing there is a season, and a time 
 for every purpose under the sun." 
 
 He begins his enumeration of particulars with the commencing 
 and the terminating boundaries of life, between which all must be 
 done, and enjoyed, and suffered, that is dojie, enjoyed, and suflcred^ 
 under the sun : — 
 
 Verse 2. There is a time to be born, and a time to die. 
 
 The moment is predetermined, of every man's entering into tlie 
 
ECCLESIASTES III. 1-15. 75 
 
 world ; and the moment is also fixed, by the same sovereign pur- 
 pose, at which he is to leave it. When a child is born, no one can 
 affirm how long it is to continue here. It may be an hour, or it 
 may be "threescore years and ten." The first birth is no security 
 for the next. The time and the circumstances of its future de- 
 parture are known to God alone, the Author and the Supporter 
 of its being. All that we can with certainty say, is, "there is a 
 time to die." To all, the event is equally sure; and to all, the 
 period of its arrival is equally a secret. And, when that period 
 does arrive, the wish and the attempt to evade it are to all equally 
 vain. " No man hath power over the spirit to retain the spirit;" — 
 no, not for a moment. How foolish, then, must it be for us, to 
 sit down at our ease to enjoy the world, as if we had the time of 
 our continuance in it in our own power ! when, in truth, we are 
 so completely tenants at will, and may be called to quit on a mo- 
 ment's notice. "Is there not an appointed time to man on the 
 earth? are not his days also as the days of a hireling?" Yes; but 
 with this difference, that the hireling knows the period of his ser- 
 vice ; whereas, of the duration of kis, man is left in utter uncer- 
 tainty. "His days are determined," indeed; but "the number of 
 his months is with God : God hath appointed his bounds, that he 
 cannot pass;" and he may come upon the invisible limit, the un- 
 seen line which separates time from eternity, ere he is at all aware 
 of his being near it. 
 
 There is a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that ivhich is 
 planted. 
 
 By some, these words are understood metaphorically, of the dis- 
 pensations of providence towards families and nations; agreeably 
 to a use made of the same and similar figures in some other parts 
 of Scripture. Thus, God says to his ancient people, by the pro- 
 phet Jeremiah, chap, xviii. 6-10; "O house of Israel, cannot I 
 do with you as this potter? saith the Lord. Behold, as the clay 
 is in the potter's hand, so are ye in my hand, O house of Israel ! 
 At what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning 
 a kingdom, to pluck up, and to pull down, and to destroy it; if 
 that nation, against whom I have pronounced, turn from their 
 evil, I will repent of the evil that I thought to do unto them. 
 And at what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and con- 
 cerning a kingdom, to build, and to plant it; if it do evil in my 
 
7G LEerURE V. 
 
 sight, that it obey not my voice, then I will repent of the good 
 wherewitli I said I would benefit them." 
 
 But although the words, thus understood, express an important 
 truth, a truth of a higher order than their literal meaning sug- 
 o-ests, yet I am disposed to think that the literal meaning is the 
 true one, and that there is a direct reference in them to a part of 
 Solomon's various labors, as described by him in the preceding 
 chapter : " I made me great works : I builded me houses ; I planted 
 me vineyards; I made me gardens and orchards, and I planted 
 trees in them of all kinds of fruits ; I made me pools of water, to 
 water therewith the wood that bringeth forth trees." Thus Solo- 
 mon planted: and thus many, possessing the means, along with 
 the taste and inclination, planted before him, and have planted 
 after him. But the "time to plant" is followed by the "time to 
 pluck up." The planter himself, from change of circumstances, 
 from alteration of taste, from caprice, or from necessity, may undo 
 his own work : — a period of growth, too, arrives, at which wood 
 of all varieties is cut down for profit, or rooted out for fruitless- 
 ness : — and no man, when he plants, can be sure how soon the 
 blasting influences of an unpropitious season may oblige him to 
 pluck up his young favorites; or whether his successor may not 
 disapprove his plans, and, immediately on obtaining the inher- 
 itance, overturn all his labors. And should they be spared for a 
 time, some one, at a later period, from taste or from avarice, may 
 convert the sylvan into arable; or, (what is still more deplorable, 
 but not unfrequent,) may lay waste his plantations to discharge 
 the debts of profligacy. i 
 
 Verse 3. A time to kill, and a time to heal: that is, say some, a 
 time when God kills, and a time when he keeps alive; a time when 
 he brings to the grave, and a time when he heals and brings back 
 from the very verge of it. I have no objection to this explana- 
 tion; only, I think it should be understood with reference to the 
 ministry or agency of man ; and that, too, not to his killing b)/ 
 violence, but to killing, as opposed to healing, — both sides of the 
 alternative relating to the same case. There is a time, when all 
 the means that men can devise and employ will prove ineffectual 
 for the preservation of life; nay, when they may even have a pre- 
 judicial and deadly influence: and there is a time, according to the 
 unknown purpose of God, when the same means will operate like 
 
KCCLESIASTES III. 1-15. 77 
 
 charms; will check and turn the ebbing tide of life; and bring 
 back the exhausted and despaired-of patient from the last extremity. 
 All depends on the purpose and appointment of God. Let none 
 foolishly abuse this important truth ; a truth which ought never 
 to be absent from the mind of a dependent creature. Let none 
 interpret it as fatalism, and hastily infer the uselessness and im- 
 piety of employing means at all. For, although there is "a time 
 to kill," there is also "a time to heal." Previously to the use of 
 means, the result is known only to God ; and to us it belongs, to 
 employ, with gratitude and prayer, such means as skill and ex- 
 perience have pronounced to be suitable, and look up to God, in 
 the spirit of faith and submission, for the blessing that is necessary 
 to their healing efficacy. It was not the sin of Ahaz that in his dis- 
 tress he "looked to the physicians," but that he "did not look to 
 the Lord." 
 
 A time to break down, and a time to build up. Even of those 
 cities which Solomon himself " built up," there were some which 
 in Divine providence had previously been "broken down," by 
 hostile violence. See 1 Kings ix. 15-17. He built up also the 
 wall of Jerusalem : which was again broken down at the captivity ; 
 and, after the appointed years of desolation, built up anew at the 
 return from Babylon; and at last thoroughly overthrown, in the 
 days of final vengeance on the rebellious city. One hour of Di- 
 vine judgment, or of human violence, may break down Mdiat it 
 has cost the labor of many years to build. " Forty and six years," 
 said the taunting Jews to Jesus, "was this temple in building;" 
 but when God's day of threatened vengeance arrived, in how much 
 shorter time were its massy and stupendous structures levelled 
 with the dust, and the prediction verified, that one stone should 
 not be left upon another ! Solomon had " made him great works, 
 and builded him houses." But he knew not, when he had finished 
 them, how long each was destined to stand. Violence might soon 
 lay them in ruins : change of circumstances might induce, or might 
 oblige, himself or his successors in the throne, to pull them down ; 
 and, at any rate, a time was to come when they should yield to 
 the dilapidating influence of age; should totter to their fall, and 
 be removed, from a sense of danger. 
 
 Verse 4. A time to rceep, and a time laugh; a time to mourn, and 
 a time to dance. 
 
78 LECTURE V. 
 
 These two clauses of verse 4th are evidently of synonymous im- 
 port. There is a time when, by private or "oy ])ublic calamities, 
 the Sovereign ruler calls to weeping and mourning ; sometimes 
 "suddenly as in a moment," without previous admonition, and 
 contrary to all human expectation. In such a time, mirth and 
 dancing are forgotten ; or, if not, they are fearfully unseasonable 
 incongruous, and profane: — "In that day did the Lord God of 
 hosts call to weeping, and to mourning, and to baldness, and to 
 girding with sackcloth; and, behold, joy and gladness, slaying 
 oxen and killing sheep, eating flesh and drinking Avine: let us 
 cat and drink, for to-morrow Ave shall die ! And it was revealed 
 in mine ears by the Lord of hosts, surely this iniquity shall not 
 be purged from you till ye die, saith the Lord God of hosts." Isa. 
 xxii. 12-14. There is, on the other hand, a time when the scene 
 changes; when the light of prosperity rises over the darkness of 
 affliction; when God "turns men's mourning into dancing;" 
 "takes off their sackcloth, and girds them with gladness." And 
 then, anon, when, forgetting, as they are ever prone to do, the 
 inconstancy of prosperity, and letting slip the salutary lessons of 
 their previous tribulation, they begin, in the thoughtlessness of 
 gaiety, to say, "we shall never be moved," He again "hides his 
 face, and they are troubled." Job was a happy father, and a rich 
 and healthy and honorable man, "the greatest of all the men of 
 the East :" — Job became, by the sudden visitations of God, child- 
 less and pennyless, tormented with disease, an alien to his friends, 
 wronged, insulted, and desolate ; " his harp was turned to mourn- 
 ing, and his organ to the voice of them that weep:" — and, again, 
 the season came round, Avhen the Lord "turned the captivity of 
 Job," and "blessed his latter end more than his beginning." 
 
 Verse 5. A time to cast aivay stones, and a time to gather stones 
 together: — not, surely, for the purpose of ordinary building; for 
 that had been already mentioned. The reference seems to be, to 
 the rearing of memorials of covenants betAveen parties, and of re- 
 markable circumstances or events. Such Avere the pillar erected 
 by Jacob, and the heap of stones piled up by him and Laban, and 
 consecrated by the solemnities of oath and sacrifice, to be the 
 boundary of pledged and coA'enanted peace betAveen them. Gen. 
 xxxi. 44-55. Such Averc the tAvelve stones taken from the midst 
 of Jordan, Avhon "its Avaters Avere cut off before the ark of the 
 
ECCLESIASTES III. 1-15. 7a 
 
 covenant," and set up by Joshua, as a memorial to future gene- 
 rations, of the power, and goodness, and faithfuhiess of Jeho- 
 vah. Josh. iv. 1-9. And such were the timnli of stones raised over 
 Achan, and over Absalom. Josh. vii. 26. 2 Sam. xviii. 17. 
 Other instances will occur to the recollection of the readers of the 
 Bible; nor has the practice, even in the rude form in \vhich it 
 most frequently appears in Scripture history, been at all peculiar 
 to any one nation. There is a time, then, when covenants are 
 made, and a time when they may come to be disregarded and vio- 
 lated, or to be mutually relinquished by the parties, and the me- 
 morials of them thus rendered useless. There is a time when 
 trophies of victory and triumph are erected, and a time when the 
 stones of them are thrown down and scattered ; when the victors 
 in their turn become the vanquished, and defeat and shame take 
 the place of conquest and honor; when those who dislike the events 
 destroy their memorials. 
 
 A time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing. There 
 is a time, when the fondness of faithful and fervent friendship 
 besto\^^s its caresses, and receives them in return with reciprocal 
 sincerity and delight : and a time when the ardor cools; when 
 professions fail; when the friend of our bosom's love proves false 
 and hollow-hearted, and the sight of him produces only the sio-h 
 and the tear of bitter recollection : we refrain from embracing, 
 because our embrace is not returned. There is a time, when the 
 man whom God has blessed rejoices with the wife of his youth; 
 when "the candle of the Lord shines upon his head;" when all is 
 prosperity and cheerfulness ; and when the hallowed endearments 
 of connubial affection are enjoyed with mutual transport: — and a 
 time, when "the light is dark in his tabernacle;" when the visi- 
 tations of God have burdened his spirit with care and grief; when 
 even such pleasures lose their wanted relish; when to enjoy them 
 as before would be insensibility to the feelings alike of nature and- 
 of piety. There is a time, when the heart of a father exults over 
 ^^ a wise son;" when he presses him to his bosom in the embrace 
 of cordial approbation; and, smiling upon him through tears of 
 sweet affection, experiences all a father's joy, and indulges, in 
 visions of anticipation, all a father's hopes : — and a time, M^hen the 
 smile and the embrace must be reluctantly withheld; when ap- 
 probation must give place to reproof; when the "foolish son be- 
 
80 LECTURE V. 
 
 comes the heaviness of liis mother;" when the heart is wrung with 
 agony ; and the blessed visions of hope are succeeded by the dark 
 forebodings of despondency and dread. 
 
 Verse 6. A time to get, and a time to lose. Does this require any 
 comment at present, my friends, when proofs of it so numerous 
 are before your daily view? There is a time when industry is 
 successful; when business prospers; when the tide of prosperity 
 flows without interruption, and wealth seems to come spontane- 
 ously; — "a time to get." But, by and by, a turn takes place in 
 the tide, and there comes " a time to lose." All is unpropitious. 
 Nothing does well. Sudden and unlooked-for reverses take 
 away at once the produce of many years of industrious applica- 
 tion ; — or, a continued run of ill fortune, as the world calls it, but 
 in which the man of piety will mark and acknowledge the order- 
 ings of providence, drains it off by slow but sure degrees. Riches,, 
 which have been accumulated during a long period of persevering 
 labor, "make to themselves wings and fly away as an eagle to- 
 wards heaven ;" — gotten in years, — lost in a day : — or, a fortune 
 obtained at once is na sooner in possession, than it begins to di- 
 minish: the ''time to lose" commences, and ceases not till all is 
 gone, — and gone, it can hardly be told how . 
 
 A time to keep, and a time to castaway: — a time, when particu- 
 lar earthly possessions give us pleasure, and we keep them; and 
 a time when, from satiety, or change of taste and character, they 
 cease to please, and we cast them away : — a time when the boun- 
 ties of heaven are retained with gratitude, as valuable and useful ; 
 and a time when duty may require us to relinquish all that we 
 have, that we may not violate the dictates of conscience, or incur 
 the forfeiture of more precious and more lasting blessings; — or, 
 when life comes to be in danger, and, for its preservation, property 
 of every kind will be readily thrown away from us, as, in the 
 comparison, unworthy of a moment's thought. Thus, many have 
 made a cheerful sacrifice of things seen and temporal for the sake 
 of things unseen and eternal; and many more have shown the 
 truth of the proverb, "all that a man hath will he give for his 
 life." Paul "counted all things but loss for the excellency of the 
 knowledge of Christ Jesus his Lord;" nay, "suffered for him the 
 loss (^f all things, and counted them but dung that he might win 
 Christ, and be found in him." The believing Hebrews "took 
 
ECCLESIASTES III. 1-15. 81 
 
 joyfully the spoiling of their goods, knowing in themselves that 
 they had in heaven a better and an enduring substance." On the 
 voyage of the apostle to Rome, the wheat was cast out into the 
 sea, and the tackling of the ship followed it, to lighten the vessel 
 during the raging storm; and whatever property had been on 
 board would have shared the same fate when life was in jeopardy. 
 What changes do varying circumstances produce in the value we 
 attach to our possessions! All such value is relative. We heep 
 the smaller blessing, when it does not come into competition with 
 the greater ; but when the former cannot be kept but at the hazard, 
 and far more at the certainty, of losing the latter, it is " a time to 
 cast away." 
 
 Verse 7. A time to rend, and a time to sew. This does not seem 
 to mean merely that garments, carefully and skillfully sewed, will 
 in time wear, and become fit for nothing but being rent in pieces 
 for other purposes. There appears to be a reference to the prac- 
 tice, so often exemplified in Bible history and alluded to in the 
 other parts of Scripture, of rending the garments, as an expres- 
 sion of strong emotion, especially of grief and vexation of spirit. 
 Thus, Reuben rent his clothes, when he found not Joseph in the 
 pit; and his agonized father, when he saw the bloody vestment of 
 his favorite son. Gen. xxxvii. 29, 34. David rent his clothes, when 
 he mourned for Saul and Jonathan ; when he followed the bier of 
 the murdered Abner ; and when he received the false intelligence 
 of the slaughter of all his sons by the rebel Absalom, 2 Sam. i. 
 11. iii. 31. xiii. 31. Eliphaz, and Bildad, and Zophar, at the 
 distant sight of their sadly altered friend, *' lifted up their voice, 
 and wept, and rent every one his mantle, and sprinkled dust upon 
 their heads towards heaven." Job ii. 1 2. The high priest Caiaphas, 
 in real or feigned emotion of indignant grief, rent his clothes, when 
 Jesus owned himself the Son of God, and announced his coming 
 in the clouds of heaven, and sitting on the right hand of power. 
 Matt. XX vi. 65. The instances of the practice, indeed, are fre- 
 quent; — and, with allusion to it, God, by the prophet Joel, thus 
 calls Israel to repentance, and warns them against the hypocrisy 
 of the outward token, without the inward feeling : " Turn ye even 
 to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, 
 and with mourning; and rend your heart, and not your gar- 
 ments, and turn unto the Lord your God : for He is gracious and 
 6 
 
82 LECTURE V. 
 
 merciful,- slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him 
 of the evil." Joel ii. 12, 13. There were times, then, of ordinary 
 health and enjoyment, when clothes were made, and worn; and 
 there were times of calamity and grief, when they were rent a- 
 sunder. Even the garments of festivity, and the robes of royalty, 
 were not exemjated from such deforming violence ; prosperity, and 
 honor, and power, affording no security from change and suffering. 
 
 A time to keep silence, and a time to speak. There is a time to 
 keep silence, from disinclination to speak ; and a time when speak- 
 ing would be dangerous or hurtful, and silence is imposed by pru- 
 dence and necessity. There is a time when affliction strikes us 
 dumb ; when the spirit is oppressed, and the oj)ening of the mouth 
 to speak is an unwilling and painful effort: and there is a time of 
 deliverance, when the heart is lightened, and the lips are ojjened 
 to utter the praises of the Lord, to tell of his kindness, and to 
 join in the cheerful conversation of life. All are sensible thatj 
 silence is one of the natural expressions of heavy afSiction of heart, 
 and that clamorous sorrow is seldom deep. "Assemble yourselves, 
 and let us enter into the defenced cities, and let us be silent there ; 
 for the Lord our God hath put us to silence, and given us water 
 of gall to drink, because we have sinned against the Lord." Jer. 
 viii. 14. " It is good for a man that he bare the yoke in his youth. 
 He sitteth alone, and keepeth silence, because he hath borne it 
 upon him." Lam. iii. 27, 28. "I was dumb with silence: I held 
 my peace, even from good; and my sorrow was stirred." Psal. 
 xxxix. 2. Again, there are times of cordial friendship, and un- 
 animity, and safety, when there is room for open confidence, and 
 unreserved communication; and there are times of alienation, 
 division, and danger, when the lips must be sealed, and silence is 
 the only security; when life, and all that a man holds dear, may 
 be jeoparded by a whisper. "Therefore the prudent shall keep 
 silence in that time; for it is an evil time." Amos v. 13. "Trust 
 ye not in a friend, put ye not confidence in a guide; keep the 
 doors of thy mouth from her that lieth in thy bosom. For the 
 son dishonoreth the father, the daughter riseth up against her 
 mother, the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; a man's 
 enemies are the men of his own house." Micah vii. 5, 6. 
 
 Verse 8. A time to love, and a time to hate. 
 
 It ought to have been remarked earlier, as one of the necessary 
 
ECCLESIASTES III. 1-15. 83 
 
 principles of interpretation of these verses, that Solomon is not 
 to be considered as speaking of what God allowed, or approved, 
 in the conduct of men; of times when all these things might law- 
 fully be done. He speaks merely of times when there is occasion 
 or necessity for them ; or of powerful temptation, if the things are 
 wrong in themselves, to the doing of them. There is a time to 
 love; a time, that is, when we experience treatment of which the 
 tendency is to excite gratitude and affection ; treatment, of whicb 
 love is the suitable return : and there is a time to hate ; — not when 
 hatred becomes a right and justifiable feeling; for the law of God 
 expressly prohibits our "hating our brother in our heart, or bear- 
 ing any inward grudge against him," and commands us to "love," 
 not our neighbor only, but " our enemy : to bless them that curse 
 us, to do good to them that hate us, and to pray for them that des- 
 pitefully use us, and persecute us," Lev. xix. 17, 18. Matt. v. 44-; — 
 but a time, when the conduct of others towards us is such as tends 
 to engender hatred; to embitter and alienate our spirits; when 
 even the objects of our love may become the objects of our dislike 
 and aversion. The words, indeed, are general, and may include 
 the feelings of others toward us, as well as ours toward them. 
 "There is a time to love;" when we may be the objects of the 
 favorable regard of others ; — " and a time to hate ;" when we may 
 be the victims of their unmerited enmity. 
 
 A time of war, and a time of peace: — a time when, through the 
 "lusts that war in men's members," overruled by the j)rovidence 
 of God, " wars and fightings " arise ; when a nation must defend 
 itself, or perish ; when the church of God is persecuted and wasted 
 by an ungodly world; when individuals, however desirous to 
 "live peaceably with all men," find it impossible; — "they are for 
 peace; but, when they speak, others are for war," Psal. cxx. 7; 
 and a time, when Jehovah "breaketh the bow, cutteth the spear 
 in sunder, burneth the chariot in the fire, and maketh wars to 
 cease to the ends of the earth;" when smiling peace returns to bless 
 a harassed and exhausted land; when the churches "have rest, 
 and are edified, and, walking in the fear of God, and in the com- 
 fort of the Holy Ghost, are multiplied;" when the desires of the 
 man of quietness are gratified ; when God " makes even his ene- 
 mies to be at peace with him," and gives him the hearts of those 
 that hated him. 
 
84 LECTURE V. 
 
 Considering, then, this instability and incessant fluctuation of 
 earthly aiFairs, which, beginning with the "time to be born," con- 
 tinue to present a scene of perpetual insecurity and change till the 
 "time to die;" and, considering that all is in the hand of God, all 
 under his sovereign control, who has said, " My counsel shall stand, 
 and I will do all my pleasure;" Solomon repeats the question, 
 which he had asked repeatedly before, (See chap. ii. 22. i. 3) : — 
 
 Verse 9. What profit hath he that worketh, in that ivherein he la- 
 borethf — and confirms the sentence of "vanity," which this ques- 
 tion involves, by a renewed appeal to his own extensive experi- 
 ence and observation: — 
 
 Verse 10. I have seen the travail ivhich God hath given to the sons 
 of men, to be exercised in it. 
 
 He had himself seen all that he had just enumerated. He had 
 seen many born, and many, at every period of life, die: — he had 
 seen trees planted by one man, and rooted up by another, or even 
 by the planter himself; — at one time, he had seen life preserved 
 with little difficulty, and, at another, all human means expended 
 in vain; — he had himself broken down what others had built up, 
 and built up what others had broken down ; — he had seen festivity 
 and gladness turned suddenly to sackcloth and ashes, and he had 
 seen "weeping endure for a night, and joy come in the morn- 
 ing;" — he had seen covenants ratified and memorials of them 
 erected, and covenants annulled or broken, and their memorials 
 overthrown; trophies of triumph reared, and anon the victors 
 vanquished, and their trophies laid in the dust, and swept into 
 oblivion ; — he had seen the delights of friendship and love enjoyed 
 in their full perfection, with a free and bounding spirit, and he 
 had seen even these delights for a time deprived of their relish ; — 
 he had seen fortunes made, and fortunes lost; possessions retained 
 for a while with solicitous vigilance, and then relinquished for a 
 good conscience, or cast away for self-preservation; — he had seen 
 times of talkative prosperity, succeeded by seasons of speechless 
 distress; and times of safety, and openness, and confidence, by 
 periods of peril, and secrecy, and apprehension; — he had seen times 
 of kindness and gratitude, and times of unkindness and aliena- 
 tion; — he had seen the4)loody wars of his father David, followed 
 by the promised tranquillity of his own reign. 
 
 In the midst of this perpetual vicissitude, the minds of men 
 
ECCLESIASTES III. 1-15. 85 
 
 may often be perplexed and at a stand. It may seem to their 
 eyes a scene of inextricable confusion. But it is not so to the eye 
 of Him who superintends and directs the whole : — 
 
 Verse 11. He hath made every thing beautiful in his time: also 
 he haih set the loorld in their heart; so that no man can find out the 
 work that God maheth, from the beginning to the end. 
 
 "He hath made everything beautiful in his" (or its) "season." 
 This phraseology is evidently to be connected with the first verse 
 of the chaj^ter, and it confirms the interpretation given of it, as 
 having reference to the arrangements of Divine providence. " To 
 every thing there is a season;" and He by whom the "times and 
 seasons" are fixed, orders them all according to his infinite wis- 
 dom. All is beautiful harmony ; 
 
 " All chance, direction which we cannot see." . 
 
 Set down a man ignorant of mechanics in the midst of a system 
 of extensive and complicated machinery ; and he will gaze about 
 him in vacant wonder, all appearing, to his dizzy and stupified 
 sight, involved and intricate perplexity. But introduce an ex- 
 perienced machinist; and, by the hasty glances of a few moments, 
 he discerns the proportions, and relations, and mutual dependen- 
 cies of all the parts, — the connexion of the whole with the great 
 moving power, and its perfect adaptation to a proposed end; and 
 his mind is delighted with the admirable display of contrivance 
 and skill. Creatures like us, in contemplating the Divine proce- 
 dure, are in the situation of the former. The scheme of provi- 
 dence may appear to us a maze of endless confusion, and even, at 
 times, of jarring inconsistency, — one part frequently crossing and 
 counteracting another. But the sole cause of this is our ignorance ; 
 the very limited and partial views which we are able to take of 
 it. It is because, as Solomon here expresses it, " we cannot find 
 out the work that God doeth from the beginning to the end." 
 Had we powers that enabled us to take a full and comprehensive 
 and connected view of the whole, — from the originally proposed 
 design, through all the successive steps of its progressive develop- 
 ment, to its final and entire completion, — we should see "every 
 thing beautiful in its season," — a perfect and delightful harmony, 
 complicated indeed, but, in proportion as it is complicated, the 
 more astonishing, in all the affairs of worlds, and kingdoms, and 
 
SQ LECTUEE V. 
 
 families,. and individuals; we should be at once satisfied that there 
 is nothing wanting, and nothing useless, — nothing that could have 
 been otherwise than it is, without irregularity and detriment. 
 But to such a view no powers are adequate but those of Deity ; 
 and we must, in general, content ourselves with the assurance of 
 faith that "the Lord reigneth," and that "what we know not now 
 we shall know hereafter." 
 
 A particular consideration, however, is here suggested, as af- 
 fecting our views of the Divine government, and preventing our 
 observation of it from being even so correct and extensive as it 
 otherwise might be. This is, probably, the idea expressed by the 
 obscure Avords, — "also he hath set the world in their heart, so that 
 men cannot find out the work that God doeth from the beginning 
 to the end." I wish to be guided, in the explanation of difficult 
 expressionsj by a regard to the connexion in which they stand, and 
 to adopt the view which appears in itself the simplest, and the 
 most consonant to the object of the writer. Following this prin- 
 ciple, I would remark. 
 
 In the first place. From our necessary connection with the 
 world, our hearts, indisposed as they are to look above and be- 
 yond it, get so much entangled in its various concerns, so much 
 occupied about the objects themselves which it presents to our de- 
 sire, and pursuit, and enjoyment, that we are ever prone to over- 
 look the operations of God's hand, — not to take time to contem- 
 plate and examine them with sufficient attention, — to satisfy our- 
 selves with hasty and superficial glances, instead of a close and 
 careful investigation. But this can never do. Of a system so in- 
 volved and so extended, it is, in the nature of things, impossible 
 to obtain any thing approaching to a comprehensive and accurate 
 understanding, without a large measure of attentive consideration, 
 humbly and devoutly bestowed. 
 
 //( the second plaee. From our diversified attachments to the per- 
 sons and things of the world, we are rendered partial in our judg- 
 ments of the Divine procedure ; our minds are biassed and warped ; 
 our reason becomes the dupe of our feeling: — so that, what to a 
 neutral spectator would appear the appointment of perfect wis- 
 dom, we are hindered from perceiving, or hesitate to acknowledge, 
 to be so, from our hapjiening, in so great a variety of ways, to be 
 interested, and from our intellectual vision being thus shortened 
 and distorted. 
 
ECCLESIASTES III. 1-15. 87 
 
 It by no means follows that, if such causes of partiality and 
 short-sightedness were removed, we should have a complete com- 
 prehension of this subject. No. Our faculties are still limited. 
 They are the faculties of creatures, and incapable, (as those must 
 be, even of Intelligences much more exalted than we are,) of em- 
 bracing the plans of the omniscient God. But, without doubt, 
 the removal of such causes would render our views inconceivably 
 more just and more extensive than they are. 
 
 But it may naturally be asked, How can the blessed God be, 
 with propriety, represented as thus "setting the world in men's 
 hearts?" I reply, by observing; that the world, in a vast variety 
 of its objects of desire and pursuit, not only lawfully may, but 
 necessarily must, interest our hearts, and engage much of our at- 
 tention. Its legitimate and needful occupations are numerous, 
 and there are not a few, which it is even our indispensable duty 
 to mind. And further, although God has set the world before 
 men, and filled it with desirable objects and sources of gratifica- 
 tion, and has so constituted and so situated its inhabitants, as that 
 they must be engaged about it, he is not justly chargeable with 
 the partialities and excesses of men's attachment to it, or with 
 their blinding and perverting influence ; — an influence which arises 
 from the absence or the imperfection of a right disposition of heart. 
 
 In the two following verses, the secret is repeated, of deriving 
 from temporal things the measure and kind of happiness which, 
 from their nature, they are capable of bestowing : — 
 
 Verses 12, 13. / know that there is no good in them, but for a 
 man to rejoice and to do good in his life: and also, that every man 
 should eat and drink, and enjoy the good of all his labor, it is the gift 
 of God/' 
 
 Solomon, in these words, sums up the uses of the things of the 
 world. He declares all the good that is in them. It consists in two 
 particulars ; one of which he had mentioned before, and the other 
 is here added to it. The former is, the unsolicitous and cheerful 
 enjoyment of whatev^er the providence of God is pleased to bestow. 
 This is what he means by a man's "eating and drinking, and en- 
 joying the good of all his labor," without forgetting that "it is 
 the gift of God." It is the same sentiment as in the close of the 
 preceding chapter : " There is nothing better for a man, than that 
 he should eat and drink, and that he should make his soul enjoy 
 
88 LECTURE V. 
 
 good in hig labor. This also I saw, that it was from the hand of 
 God." Of this sentiment I shall not resume the explanation 
 given in last lecture. But in the verses now before us, an ad- 
 dition is made to it; or rather, something more is directly ex- 
 pressed, which ought formerly to have been considered as implied 
 in a man's "making his soul enjoy good in his labor:" for how 
 can he do so without the exercise oi benevolence? The contracted 
 spirit of selfishness can never be a happy spirit. If a man would 
 truly "rejoice" in the reception and use of the bounties of heaven, 
 he must not shut his heart and hand from God and his fellow- 
 creatures, and expend all uponeelf: he must "do good in his life." 
 Cheerfulness of heart in enjoying the fruits of the Divine good- 
 ness, is a duty which w^e owe to the Giver; accompanied, as it 
 ought to be, with the spirit of humble dejDendence and grateful 
 acknowledgment. When the Israelites were to bring their basket 
 of first-fruits before the Lord, confessing their faith, recognizing 
 and avowing their obligations to the power, and faithfulness, and 
 kindness of the God of their fathers, and performing their act of 
 public homage to his Name, such holy cheerfulness was expressly 
 enjoined upon them: — "Thou shalt rejoice," says Moses, "in every 
 good thing which the Lord thy God hath given unto thee, and unto 
 thy house, thou, and the Levite, and the stranger that is among 
 you." But this rejoicing was to be connected with their devoting 
 a liberal allowance of the Divine bounty for the benefit of others: — 
 "When thou hast made an end of tithing all the tithes of thine 
 increase the third year, which is the year of tithing, and hast given 
 it unto the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, 
 that they may eat within thy gates and be filled ; then thou shalt 
 say before the Lord thy God, I have brought away the hallowed 
 things out of my house, and also have given them to the Levite, 
 to the stranger, to the fatherless, and to the widow, according to 
 all thy commandments which thou hast commanded me. I have 
 not transgressed thy commandments, neither have I forgotten them." 
 Deut. xxvi. 11-13. This is one of the proper uses of God's bounty. 
 He gives, to enable us to give ; he blesses, that we may be a bless- 
 ing. And a compliance, from right principles, with the design of 
 the Giver, renders his bounty, to him who possesses it, a source 
 of the purest and most exquisite enjoyment. " It is more blessed," 
 said the Lord Jesus, " to give, than to receive :" — and the saying. 
 
ECCLESIASTES III. 1-15. 89 
 
 infinitely worthy of Him who set us so wonderful an example of 
 disinterested beneficence, has been found true in the sweet experience 
 of every man who has laid himself out, in the use of his substance, 
 as far as God has prospered him, for the welfare of all within the 
 reach of his influence. This is incomparably more satisfying, both 
 in the act and in the reflection, than any gratification of selfish- 
 ness, than any indulgence of "the lust of the flesh, or the lust of 
 the eyes, or the pride of life." "Charge them that are rich in 
 this world," therefore, "that they be not high-minded, nor trust 
 in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly 
 all things to enjoy; that they do good, that they be rich in good 
 works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate; laying up in 
 store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, 
 that they may lay hold on eternal life." 1 Tim. vi. 17-19. 
 
 To the present enjoyment and the jiresent use of the gifts of 
 God, we should be excited by the truth illustrated in the pre- 
 ceding part of the chapter, — the absolute and uncontrollable na- 
 ture of God's purposes and dispensations. They cannot be al- 
 tered or turned aside by any effort of human power, or of human 
 Avisdom. It may be His sovereign intention, soon to order a 
 change in our situation ; soon to deprive us of our present sources 
 of enjoyment, and means of usefulness. And what a sad thing 
 will it be, if it shall be found that, during our time of permitted 
 possession, we have not properly improved his goodness, either 
 for ourselves, for others, or for Him! It is this consideration, of 
 the immutability of the Divine purposes, that is urged upon our 
 attention in 
 
 Verse 14. I know that whatsoever God doeth, it sludl be for ever: 
 nothing can he put to it, nor any thing taken from it: and God doeth 
 it, that men should fear before him. 
 
 " It shall be for ever." It must stand. It is beyond the reach 
 of all created power, to prevent or to alter it. "The counsel of 
 the Lord standeth for ever ; the thoughts of his heart to all gene- 
 rations." "He doeth according to his will, in the army of hea- 
 ven, and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay 
 his hand, or say unto him. What doest thou?" "Remember the 
 former things of old ; for I am God, and there is none else ; I am 
 God, and there is none like me; declaring the end from the be- 
 
90 LECTURE V. 
 
 ginning, aijd from ancient times the things that are not yet done, 
 saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure." 
 Psal. xxxiii. 11. Dan. iv. 35. Isa. xlvi. 9, 10. 
 
 "Nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken from it." These 
 words might be interpreted of the perfection of God's j)urposes; 
 they being, in every respect, so excellent, that to add to them, or 
 to take from them, Avould be to deteriorate and destroy them. But 
 in the connection in which they stand here, they seem rather in- 
 tended to ex-press the imjyossibility of altering these purposes; the 
 folly of attempting, or even of imagining, such a thing for a mo- 
 ment. The Supreme Ruler forms his determinations, and ar- 
 ranges his plans, without the counsel of any created being; for 
 " who hath directed the Spirit of the Lord, or, being his counsel- 
 lor, hath taught Him? With whom took he counsel, or who in- 
 structed him, and taught him in the path of judgment, and taught 
 him knowledge, and showed to him the way of understanding?" 
 No wisdom, and no power, of any creature, or of all creatures 
 combined, can alter them; no, not a single hair's breadth. Nothing 
 can be added, nothing taken away. " There are many devices in 
 a man's heart; nevertheless, the counsel of the Lord, that shall 
 stand." "There is no wisdom, nor understanding, nor counsel, 
 against the Lord." "Surely the wrath of man shall praise thee; 
 the remainder of wrath wilt thou restrain." " Shall the axe boast 
 itself against him that heweth therewith? or shall the saw mag- 
 nify itself against him that shaketh it? as if the rod should shake 
 itself against them that lift it up, or as if the staflP should lift up 
 itself as if it were no wood !" The last pasr,age is part of the 
 spirited reply to the boasted arrogance of the king of Assyria, who 
 indulged his own proud and insatiable ambition, gloried in past 
 success, and exulted in confident anticipation, having it "in his 
 heart to destroy and cut off nations not a few;" but whose un- 
 principled passions were, all the while, though " he meant not so, 
 neither did his heart think so," subserving the secret purposes of 
 Jehovah. See Isa. x. 5-15. Prov. xix. 21. xxi. 30. Psal. Ixxvi. 10. 
 
 The proper influence of the contemplation of God's uncontrolla- 
 ble sovereignty, and of the utter impotence of human power and 
 wisdom to effect any change in His purposes is, to fill the heart 
 with "reverence and godly fear:" — "God doeth it that men may 
 fear before him." All the displays of his absolute supremacy over 
 
ECCLESIASTES III. 1-15. 91 
 
 his creatures, should have this effect: aud the more we accustom 
 ourselves to the contemplation of them, and of the numberless in- 
 dications of our entire and unceasing dependence, the more will 
 our minds become imbued with the sentiments of religious awe; 
 the more will we " sanctify the Lord God in our hearts, and make 
 Him our fear and our dread ;" and adopt, with the deeper humili- 
 ty, the language of sublime adoration: "Great and marvellous 
 are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, 
 thou King of saints. Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glori- 
 fy thy name? for thou only art holy!" Eev. xv; 3, 4. 
 
 The 15th verse is very nearly a repetition of the sentiment ex- 
 pressed in the ninth and tenth verses of the first chapter. There 
 he had said, " The thing which hath been, 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. Is there any thing whereof it 
 may be said, See, this is new? It hath been already of old time, 
 which was before us." Here he sal^s, more briefly. 
 
 Verse 15. That which hath been, is now ; and that which is to be 
 hath already been; and God requireth that which is ^^ast. 
 
 God's requiring, or recalling, that which is past, seems simply 
 to mean, his repeating the same scenes, in the administration of 
 his providence, through successive generations. The general plan 
 of his procedure is, in its leading features, and in many even of 
 its minuter details, the same from age to age, so as to present the 
 appearance, described by various similitudes in the opening of the 
 book, of constant sameness in the midst of ceaseless change. As, 
 in surveying the endless variety of the works of nature, we can 
 discern, pervading the whole, the clearest indications of the same 
 great principles of operation, leading us to the adoring acknow- 
 ledgment of one almighty and all- wise Intelligence; so may we, 
 in the course of the Divine government of our world, discover, 
 amidst all the changes of its eventful history, abundant evidence 
 that the same God continues to reign. Few indeed are the events 
 that occur in any age, which may not find their parallels, or at 
 least, their resemblances, in the annals of preceding times. 
 
 The passage suggests the following practical reflections : — 
 
 1. In the first place. In the midst of the vicissitudes of this 
 incessantly changing world, let us look forward with hope and 
 joy to that blessed state, where changes, shall for ever cease; where 
 
92 LECTURE V. 
 
 there shall .be the fixed security of perfect, unminglecl, and un- 
 ending felicity. Here, there may be many changes to the better ; 
 there, every change would be to the worse, — every alteration a 
 deduction of joy. There, there will be no plucking up and break- 
 ing down; no losing and scattering; no weeping and mourning; 
 no hatred and war; no remains of the curse, because no remains of 
 sin. There, shall not only be life, but immortality. There, shall 
 never again come "a time to die." How delightful, whilst con- 
 templating and experiencing the instability and fickleness of earthly 
 things, to anticij)ate that everlasting rest; — that paradise, of 
 which the trees are trees of life, that shall never be rooted out 
 by violence, and never yield to decay; — that '^ city which hath 
 foundations," and whose walls shall never be shaken ; — that land 
 of victory and triumph, and covenanted peace, whose trophies and 
 memorials shall never be overthrown and scattered; — that abode 
 of joy, where there shall never come to its happy residents "a 
 time to weej)," for "God shaM wipe away all tears from their 
 eyes; where the white robes of purity and gladness shall never be 
 rent asunder by the intrusions of grief, for "sorrow and sighing 
 shall flee away;" — where the silence of distrust and jealousy shall 
 never close the lips, but all shall be " of one heart and of one 
 
 soul,"— 
 
 " Each finds in each a glowing friend, 
 And all the God of all adore." 
 
 And when, my Christian brethren, we look forward to this 
 glorious and happy state, can we possibly envy "the men of the 
 world who have their portion in this life?" Do you not rather 
 most sincerely pity them? — pity them, when you behold them 
 seeking their happiness amongst such transient uncertainties? — 
 pity them, when you hear them repeating the universal inquiry, 
 "Who will show us any good?" and, obtaining no satisfactory 
 answer, "still dreaming on, that they shall still succeed, and still" 
 miserably "disappointed?" — the unsubstantial bubbles of earthly 
 joy glittering, it may be, for the moment, in rainbow light, but 
 all successively bursting and vanishing. O that men would be 
 persuaded, to give up the foolish expectation of permanent satis- 
 faction from those things that "perish in the using;" — from this 
 vain and unsettled world, 
 
 "Whose scenes of bliss and wo 
 
 Are shifting everj' fleeting hour!" 
 
ECCLESIASTES III. 1-15. 93 
 
 and to seek true happiness, where alone it is to be found, in the 
 favor of an unchanging God, and the hope of an unchanging 
 heaven, — of that "life and incorruption, which are brought to 
 light by the gospel !" 
 
 2. In the second place. Whilst we are tenants of this world, 
 it will be well for us to expect vicissitude, — to lay our account with 
 changes. This will serve to prevent our being unhinged and 
 overwhelmed when such changes come, as those are ajit to be by 
 whom they have never been anticipated. Whilst, in the season 
 of adversity, we comfort ourselves with the hope that better days 
 may yet await us; that light may arise to us out of darkness; 
 that though "weeping may endure for a night, joy shall come in 
 the morning;" let us also, in the time of our prosperity, beware 
 of saying, with inconsiderate confidence, "we shall never be 
 moved," — of trusting to the continuance of the serene calm, or the 
 propitious gale. Let us be always on the look-out for the rising 
 cloud, and keep our vessel in trim for the storm. In prosperity, 
 let us be ready for adversity; in health, for sickness; in laughter, 
 for mourning; in life, for death. If Providence favors us with 
 " a time to get," let us calculate on the world's instability, and 
 not be astonished and disconcerted if there should come "a time 
 to lose." When we are in circumstances to plant and build, let 
 us not forget that we may soon be disinherited of our estate, and 
 obliged to quit our habitation. 
 
 3. In the third place. Whatever changes do take place, let 
 us be satisfied with the providence of God. I do not mean by this, 
 that we should merely submit from necessity — from a feeling 
 forced upon us, that our case cannot be helped, and cannot be al- 
 tered, and that, therefore, repining is useless. There is a mighty 
 difference between this state of mind, and that resignation which 
 springs from the pious assurance that all God's ways are wisdom, 
 and faithfulness, and love : that whilst, in his administration, " to 
 every thing there is a season, and a time for every purpose under 
 the sun," the times and the seasons are all determined with un- 
 erring propriety, — all as they ought to be. This is the satisfaction 
 with God's providence which I now recommend. It is, "having 
 faith in God;" — even although his procedure should at times be 
 to us inscrutable, yet "against hope believing in hope," that "all 
 things work together for good to them that love Him, to them 
 
94 LECTUKE V. 
 
 who are the called according to his purpose;" — and, in this con- 
 fidence, being ever ready to say, 
 
 "Thy ways, great God, are little known 
 To my weak, erring sight ; 
 Yet shall my sonl, believing, own 
 That all thy ways are right." 
 
 And the principles of this confidence we may and ought to apply 
 to the whole of the Divine procedure, whether towards individuals, 
 or families, or nations, or Christian societies, or his church and 
 kingdom in the world. Let our song of faith ever be, "Hallelu- 
 jah! for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth!" 
 
 Thoughtless sinners, allow me to remind you, that there is one 
 of the Divine counsels, respecting which it may, with peculiar 
 emphasis, be affirmed, " It shall be for ever ; nothing can be added 
 to it, nor any thing taken from it." It was his purpose from 
 eternity to save sinners of mankind by the mediation of his Son. 
 And when, in the history of our fallen world, " the fulness of the 
 time was come," he fulfilled his purpose; when " He who was in the 
 form of God, and thought it not robbery to be equal with God, made 
 himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, 
 and was made in the likeness of men ; and, being found in fashion 
 as a man, humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even 
 the death of the cross." " He was wounded for our trasgressions, 
 he was bruised for our iniquities." "All we like sheep have gone 
 astray ; we have turned every one to his own way ; and the Lord 
 hath laid on him the iniquity of us all." He finished the work 
 which was given him to do. In that finished work Jehovah is 
 well pleased. ' His satisfaction in his Son, and in the work of his 
 Son, is infinite and everlasting. Eternity can never diminish it. 
 And his declared determination is immutable as his nature, to 
 receive sinners only in his name, and, for his sake alone, to "be 
 merciful to their unrighteousnesses." On no other ground than 
 the righteousness and atonement of the Divine Mediator will he 
 admit of their approach into his presence; on no other ground 
 will he listen to their pleadings for mercy; on no other ground 
 will he bless and save them. The foundation which God has laid 
 in Zion for the hopes of sinners, he himself has declared to be " a 
 sure foundation ;" and it partakes not of the instability of earthly 
 things. It can never be swept away; and what is built upon it 
 
ECCLESIASTES III. 1-15. 95 
 
 can never be overthrown. But it is the only foundation. "Other 
 foundation can no man lay than that is laid ; which is Jesus Christ." 
 You can add nothing to the work which he finished, in the room 
 of sinners, on the cross; and you must take nothing from it. You 
 must rest upon it with humble simplicity of heart, as it is revealed 
 in the gospel. The purpose of God is firm; it cannot be altered. 
 " He that believeth on the Son is not condemned : but he that be- 
 lieveth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in 
 the name of the only begotten Son of God." " He that believeth 
 on the Son hath everlasting life; and he that believeth not the 
 Son, shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him." 
 John iii. 18, 36. 
 
LECTURE VI 
 
 ECCLESIASTES III. 16-22. IV. 1-3. 
 
 "And, moreover, I saw under the sun the place of judgment, (that) wicked- 
 ness (was) there; and the place of righteousness, (that) iniquity (was) there. 
 17. I said in mine heart, God shall judge the righteous and the wicked : 
 for (there is) a time there for every purpose, and for every work. 18. I 
 said in mine heart concerning the estate of the sons of men, that God might 
 manifest them, and that they might see that they themselves are beasts. 
 19. For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; even one 
 thing befalleth them: as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have 
 all one breath ; so that a man hath no pre-eminence above a beast : for all 
 (is) vanity. 20. All go unto one place: all are of the dust, and all return 
 to dust again. 21. Who knoweth the spirit of man that goeth upward, and 
 the spirit of the beast that goeth downward to the earth? 22. Wherefore I 
 perceive that (there is) nothing better, than that a man should rejoice in 
 his own works; for that (is) his portion: for who shall bring him to see 
 what shall be after him?" 
 
 "So I returned, and considered all the oppressions that are done under the 
 sun: and behold the tears of (such as were) oppressed, and they had no 
 comforter; and on the side of their oppressors (there was) power; but they 
 had no comforter. 2. Wherefore I praised the dead who are already dead, 
 more than the living who are yet alive. 3. Yea, better (is he) than both 
 they, which hath not yet been, who hath not yet seen the evil work that is 
 done under the sun." 
 
 Amongst the sources of unhappiness and vexation of spirit, dis- 
 covered by Solomon in his survey of human life, he mentions, in 
 the beginning of the passage now read, the frequent exaltation of 
 unprincipled men to places of power and authority, their viola- 
 tions of the very laws which they had been appointed to adminis- 
 ter and to guard from infringement, and their administration of 
 them with injustice, partiality, and corruption. 
 
 Verse 16. And moreover, I satv under the mn the place of judg- 
 ment, that loickcdness was there, and the place of righteousness, that 
 iniquity teas there. 
 
ECCLESIASTES III. 16-22. IV. 1-3. 97 
 
 \ 
 
 Different views have been suggested of the connection of this 
 particular passage with the leading object of the book. 
 
 In the first place. It has been considered as an intended check to 
 the vanity of ambition. The possession of power brings invaria- 
 bly along with it a temptation to its perversion and abuse: a 
 temptation so strong, that many who, previously to their advance- 
 ment, have appeared to ''walk uprightly," ''doing justly and lov- 
 ing mercy," have no sooner been raised to a perilous eminence 
 than they have fallen before it, and, to the surprise and disa])- 
 l^ointment of all, have assumed the character of unrighteous and 
 ruthless oppressors. As the seat of power, then, is not always the 
 seat of true honor, and as it is surrounded Avitli temptations to 
 such conduct as may cover its possessor with infamy and execra- 
 tion, let aspiring ambition be repressed ; let the man who is seek- 
 ing happiness in the attainment of power, pause and bethink him- 
 self, and not indulge too sanguine expectations and assurances of 
 finding what he seeks. Let him not deride the warning, and, in 
 self-confident presumption, pronounce it impossible that he should 
 ever act a part, which so many, who had quite as good ground for 
 vaunting, have acted before him. Xo man knows what is in his 
 heart, till his heart has been tried by the eliciting powers of temp- 
 'tation. Besides, even the upright and conscientious ruler may 
 suffer by his official connection with others, and by that gene- 
 ralizing principle of association, which attaches the character of 
 the individual magistrate to the office which he holds, and, from 
 the delinquency of a few, condemns or suspects all, and loads them 
 with indiscriminate obloquy. We know well how unfairly this 
 principle frequently 02:^rates; and how difficult it is for a man, 
 even of the purest integrity and the most consummate prudence, 
 to avoid incurring his share, however undeserved, of this official 
 odium, and to preserve his reputation unsullied. 
 
 Secondly. The abuse of power by unrighteous and Avicked judges 
 and governors, is a source of very extensive unhappiness to the 
 people who are placed under its influence. Where there is "re- 
 spect of persons, and taking of bribes," the poor are oppressed, their 
 substance is spoiled, their dues are kept back by fraud, their wrongs 
 are unredressed, and the evils of poverty are ten-fold accumulated. 
 The unequal administration of law and justice produces between the 
 poor and the rich, and amongst the rich themselves, envies, and 
 7 
 
98 LECTURE VI. 
 
 jealousieij, and quarrels, and mutual disquietudes and appre- 
 hensions. As the impartial distribution of justice is one of the 
 highest blessings that Providence can confer upon a country, its 
 opposite is one of the deepest curses, a source of the most mul- 
 tifarious and aggravated misery. No wonder, then,*that in his 
 survey of the condition of mankind, and in forming his estimate 
 of human happiness, the Koyal observer should have marked 
 amongst his memoranda this fountain of bitter waters, which, ris- 
 ing in "the high places" of the earth, pours it wormwood streams 
 to so melancholy an extent over the peopled valleys beneath. 
 
 Thirdly. The existence and contemplation of such scenes of in- 
 iquity and oppression, were an occasion of much disquietude and 
 vexation to Solomon's own mind; disgusting him with the world; 
 fretting and irritating his spirit; marring his enjoyment; and 
 frustrating his hopes. Even in his own kingdom, where he wished 
 impartial justice to be administered to all his subjects, he had 
 found it, we may presume, impossible, with all his care, to pre- 
 vent intirely the intrusion of improper characters into places of 
 trust and power. He was disappointed and provoked by com- 
 plaints from various parts of his dominions, respecting the con- 
 duct of those whom he had appointed to be "a terror to evil-doers, 
 and a praise of them that do well ;" and, possibly, he sometimes * 
 found least satisfaction where he had, and with apparent reason, 
 expected most. This was one of the many cares and crosses of 
 royalty, that rendered its honors and pleasures irksome and dis- 
 tasteful ; one of the thorns in his crown by day, and in his pillow 
 of down by night. He knew, besides, that such evils were not 
 confined to his own kingdom, but were exhibited on a much more 
 extensive scale, and in a much more distressing degree, in other 
 countries, with whose past and present history he was acquainted. 
 
 " His ear was pain'd, 
 
 His heart -was sick, with every day's report 
 
 Of wrong and outrage, with which earth was fiU'd." 
 
 If we compare this verse with the beginning of the next chap- 
 ter, where the same subject is resumed, we shall be satisfied, that 
 it is this third idea that Solomon had principally in his mind : — 
 "So I returned, and considered all the oppressions that were done 
 under the sun : and behold, the tears of such as were ojjpressed, 
 and they had no comforter; and on the side of their oppressors 
 
ECCLESIASTE5 III. 16-22. IV. 1-3. 99 
 
 there was power, but they had no comforter. Wherefore I praised 
 the dead who are already dead, more than the living who are yet 
 alive. Yea, better is he than both they, who hath not yet been, 
 who hath not seen the evil work that is done under the sun." 
 These verses contain an amplification of the same sentiment we 
 have just been considering. The language is very strong; yet 
 not stronger than the scene described is sufficient to justify; for 
 nothing can well be conceived more fitted to rouse up all the latent 
 indignation of a generous and compassionate spirit. Solomon's 
 mind was so deeply affected by the miseries consequent on the 
 abuse of authority, especially under arbitrary and despotic govern- 
 ments, — where power takes the place of right; Avhere the oppressed 
 can neither escape nor obtain redress; and where none have the 
 courage to stand forth as the protectors and vindicators of injured 
 innocence, or even to act the part of its private comforters, — that 
 he "praised the dead," because their hearts could no longer be 
 harassed and torn by the view of such scenes, and the bitter 
 feeling of incompetence to mend them ; and, to their situation, he 
 even preferred that of the unborn child, — of "him who had not 
 yet been ;" who had never at all witnessed such wickedness, and 
 such misery resulting from it, nor had his sensibilities crucified 
 by the contemplation of them. Life appeared hateful to him, — 
 death and non-existence preferable. He could not endure a world 
 where such profligacy and such wretchedness prevailed. 
 
 The reflection in the seventeenth verse is, in this view of its 
 connection, a very solemn and affecting one: — 
 
 Verse 17. I said in my heart, God shall judf/e the righteous and the 
 wicked; for there is a time therefor every purpose, and for every icork. 
 
 Some may be disposed to view it as a consolation to the mind of 
 Solomon, to be assured, that "the righteous God, who loveth 
 righteousness" would not be a spectator of such scenes of evil, and 
 always keep silence; that he would call to a fearful reckoning the 
 unrighteous and unmerciful oppressor, and avenge the victims of 
 wrong and cruelty. "There is a time there, ^^ that is, "there is a 
 time" with God in heaven, "for every purpose, and for every 
 work." There is with him "a time to keep silence, and a time to 
 speak ;" See Psalm 50: 3, a time to mark and register human crimes, 
 and a time to " bring them into judgment." Of such wicked men, 
 "the judgment lingereth not, the damnation slumbereth not." 
 
100 LECTUBE VI. 
 
 But, although it is true, that by the final judgments of a holy 
 and just God, every wrong and evil shall be thoroughly accounted 
 for and rectified, — the righteous acquitted, and the wicked con- 
 demned ; and although this is, in one view, a most gratifying and 
 consolatory truth: — yet I cannot help thinking, that the reflection 
 in verse 17th, was made with a sigh, — a deep and heavy sigh; not, 
 indeed, implying any secret regret that such works were to be 
 brought into judgment, or any wish that they should not; but, 
 in the midst of the satisfactory assurance that they should, an aw- 
 ful and shuddering anticipation of the horrors of the coming re- 
 tribution. The distress, arising from the contemplation of hu- 
 man wickedness, is a thousand-fold aggravated to the mind of him 
 who connects it with the "judgment to come." Whilst it becomes 
 us to acquiesce, and that with satisfaction, in the propriety of such 
 wickedness being brought to merited punishment by the wronged 
 and insulted Majesty of Heaven, we cannot but be deeply pained 
 when we think of such cause being given for the infliction of his 
 veng3ance, when we see ungodly men "treasuring up unto them- 
 selves wrath against the day of wrath, and revelation of the right- 
 eous judgment of God." The feelings of piety are not incompati- 
 ble with the feelings of humanity. A holy assent to the execution 
 of the awards of justice in the merited punishment of impenitent 
 transgressors, and a solemn delight in the manifestation of the Di- 
 vine glory in their destruction, do not at all require that we should 
 feel pleasure in the suiferings themselves of our fellow-creatures, 
 however j ustly inflicted. On the contrary, the anticipation of them 
 sends home to the heart a pang of indescribable agony. The 
 blessed God himself, whom we should seek in every imitable part 
 of his character to resemble, hath said, "As I live, I have no plea- 
 sure in the death of the wicked ; but rather that he Avould turn 
 from lijs wicked way and live." Ezek. xxxiii. 11. The general 
 meaning, therefore, of this part of the passage appears to be, that 
 the enjoyment of life was marred and imbittered to Solomon, by 
 the sight and the hearing of the oppression and injustice preva- 
 lent in the world; and that, whilst the assurance of a righteous 
 judgment to come imparted to his mind relief and comfort in one 
 view, it added inconceivably, in another, to the weight of distress 
 by which his heart was burdened. 
 
 Froiii this verse, and from various other parts of the book, it 
 
ECCLESIASTES III. 1 6-22. IV. 1-3. . 101 
 
 is manifest, that Solomon understood and believed for himself, 
 and also, that he taught to others, the doctrines of a future judg- 
 ment, and a future state of happiness and misery ; and that the 
 fancy of some is destitute of foundation, by whom this Book has 
 been interpreted, as if it proceeded throughout upon ignorance of 
 these important truths, as not having been at that time clearly re- 
 vealed: — a hypothesis, which it seems passing strange that any 
 person Avho has read the Old Testament Scriptures should ever 
 have seriously espoused; yet which has been made the basis of 
 the most ingenious and learned speculations, relative to the nature 
 of the Mosaic Economy, and the evidence of its Divine authority. 
 The subject may come in our vray again. At present, any dis- 
 cussion of it would lead us too much away from the scope and de- 
 sign of the passage under review. 
 
 Verses 18-20. I said in my heart, concerning the estate of the sons 
 of men, that God might manifest them, and that they might see that 
 they themselves are beasts. For that which hefalleth the sons of men 
 hefalleth beasts; even one thing hefalleth them: as the one dieth, so 
 dieth the other ; yea, they have all one breath; so that a man hath no 
 pre-eminence above a beast; for all is vanity. All go to one j^lace: 
 all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again. 
 
 I am disposed to consider these verses as still the language of 
 Solomon himself: for the opinion of some, that they should be 
 interpreted as if spoken by a materialist, or atheistical objector, is 
 incapable, I think, of being maintained in any consistency with 
 the plain construction of the passage. Considering them as the 
 language of Solomon, there appears to be one thing only necessary 
 to be admitted, in order to render their meaning intelligible and 
 clear; namely, that by "the sons of men" we are to understand the 
 general mass of mankind, who live for this world, and have their 
 portion in it. And this is not, surely, an unreasonable postulate. 
 On the principle that the vast majority of mankind live for them- 
 selves and for time, and that those who live for God and eternity 
 are the exceptions to the general character, the same designation 
 is, in other places, used in this restricted sense. "O ye soiis of 
 men, how long will ye turn my glory into shame? how long will 
 ye love vanity, and follow after leasing?" "Unto you, O men, I 
 call, and my voice is to the sons of men: O ye simple, understand 
 wisdom ; and ye fools, be ye of an understanding heart." And 
 
102 I.ECTURK VI. 
 
 even in this book : '* Because sentence against an evil work is not 
 executed speedily, the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them 
 to do evil." "Also the heart of the sons of men is full of evil, and 
 madness is in their heart while they live; and after that they go 
 to the dead." Psalm iv. 2. Prov. viii. 4, 5. Eccles.viii.il. ix. 
 3. Besides, it will appear still more clearly by and by, that in 
 this passage itself, Solomon affirms the certainty of the immor- 
 tality of the soul and a future judgment, and that, Avhen he rea- 
 sons of the vanity of life, he has in his view this life considered by 
 itself, as alas! it so generally is by thoughtless and ungodly men. 
 The eighteenth verse, then, may be considered as expressing 
 the wish or desire of Solomon's heart, after he had learned, by 
 much bitter experience, the proper estimate of all the sources of 
 worldly enjoyment, that God would reveal to the sons of men what 
 was their real state and character, as long as they were devoting 
 themselves, in affection and pursuit, to these alone, — as long as they 
 continued "men of the world who have their portion in this life;" — 
 "I said in my heart, concerning the estate of the sons of men, O 
 that God might manifest them," (that is, to themselves, according 
 to what follows,) "and that they might see that they themselves 
 are beasts ;" — that whilst they grovel amongst worldly pleasures 
 alone; whilst "earth confines their low desires;" they degrade their 
 immortal nature; they sink themselves to a level with the beasts 
 that perish. For, in as far as mere animal life, and animal grati- 
 fications, and the termination of earthly existence, are concerned, 
 where lies the mighty difference? "That which bcfalleth the sons 
 of men, bcfalleth beasts; even one thing bcfalleth them: as the 
 one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have all one breath; so 
 that a man hath no pre-eminence above a beast: for all is vanity. 
 All go unto one place: all are of the dust, and all turn to dust 
 again." ]\Iany of the inferior animals have senses capable of im- 
 parting much more exquisite sensations of pleasure than men : men 
 are subject to a much greater variety of diseases, and accidents, 
 and modes of suffering, than the generality of brutes : men and 
 beasts breathe together the same air, and are sustained by the 
 same general process of nourishment; and, when they die, they 
 discover the same latent principle of corruption ; both alike putri- 
 fying and mouldering into dust; the same in origin, and the same 
 in end. In such views as these, "a man hath no pre-eminence above 
 
ECCLESIASTES III. 16-22. IV. 1-3. 103 
 
 a beast/' and the life of man, considered simply in relation to this 
 world, is most emphatically vanity, — all vanity. "Lord, make 
 me to know mine end, and the measure of my days, that I may 
 know hoAV frail I am. Behold, thou hast made my days as a 
 hand-breadth, and mine age is as nothing before thee : verily every 
 man, at his best estate, is altogether vanity. Selah. Surely every 
 man walketh in a vain show; surely they arc disquieted in vain: 
 he heapetli up riches and knoweth not Avho shall gather them." 
 Psalm xxxix. 4-6. "For he seeth that wise men die; likewise 
 the fool and the brutish person perish, and leave their wealth to 
 others. Their inward thought is, that their houses shall continue 
 for ever, and their dwelling-places to all generations : they call 
 their lands after their own names. Nevertheless, man being in 
 honor abideth not; he is like the beasts that perish. This their 
 way is their folly ; yet their posterity approve their sayings. Se- 
 lah. Like sheep they are laid in the grave; death shall feed on 
 them; and the upright shall have dominion over them in the 
 morning; and their beauty shall consume in the grave from their 
 dwelling. Man that is in honor, and understandeth not, is like 
 the beasts that perish.'"' Psalm xlix. 10-14, 20. In these passages 
 from the Psalms, the same general sentiment is expressed as in 
 the verses before us; and in the latter of the two, expressed in 
 very similar terms. 
 
 Between the latter end, however, of the man and the brute, 
 there is one essential and most important difference; and it is 
 this diiference which manifests, above every other consideration, 
 the extreme and pitiable folly of "the sons of men," Avhen, like 
 the beasts, they live as if the present were their only existence. 
 This diiference is expressed in the twenty-first verse :— 
 
 Verse 21. Who knoweth the spirit of man that goeth upward, and 
 the spirit of the beast that goeth downward to the eaiih f 
 
 For the illustration of this verse, let it be remarked, that the 
 expression "Who knoweth?" does not convey the idea of ignorance 
 or uncertainty with regard to the future destination of the spirit of 
 man in distinction from that of the brute; for, in this same verse, 
 a diiference is expressly asserted to subsist between them. Of the 
 one it is affirmed that it "goeth upward," and of the other, that 
 it "goeth downward to the earth." The deeith of man and beast 
 having been mentioned in the preceding verse, — "all are of the 
 
104 J.ECTURE VI. 
 
 dust, and all turn to dust again," — makes it sufficiently clear, that 
 it is of this period that Solomon continues to speak; that the 
 phraseology he employs is not intended merely to express the 
 aspiring nature of the spirit of man on the one hand, and the 
 grovelling nature of the spirit of brutes on the other; but the des- 
 tiny of each at the close of their present life; the spirit of man 
 surviving his mortal frame; whilst that of the brutes, instead of out- 
 living their bodies, is destined to perish with them. The separate 
 existence of the human spirit is still more directly affirmed in a 
 subsequent part of this book : — " Then shall the dust return to the 
 earth as it was; and the spirit shall return unto God who gave 
 it." Chap, xii 7. It would be out of place to enter here into ab- 
 struse metaphysical speculations. My own opinion is, (and it 
 seems, amongst other grounds, to have some support from the 
 passage before us, in which the same term is used for the spirit of 
 the beast and for the spirit of man,) — that the immaterial thinking 
 substance in man and brute, is, in its essential properties, the same ; 
 that all created existence, spiritual and corporeal, being alike de- 
 pendent for its continuance on the power which imparted it, it 
 arises intirely from the will of the Creator, and not from any dif- 
 ference between spirit and matter, as if the former were in its own 
 nature indestructible, that the soul, or thinking principle, of man 
 is destined to immortality, whilst that of the brute terminates its 
 distinct and conscious existence when the spark of animal life has 
 been extinguished. To draw with precision the boundaries be- 
 tween the operation of instinct and the exercise of reason, has 
 many a time been attempted, but never with any success; and 
 often, on this subject, (a subject in many respects highly curious 
 and interesting,) have men deluded themselves by words and 
 names; ascribing to instinct in brutes, actions which evidently 
 possess all the distinctive attributes of rationality, and which, 
 without hesitation, they impute to reason in men. Now, as all 
 created existence, of every possible description, must be depend- 
 ent, — intirely and unceasingly dependent, — on the life-giving God ; 
 I can perceive no heresy in the belief, that the same kind of spiritual 
 essence should in brutes be destined to the cessation, and in man 
 to the continuance of existence; any more than in the belief, 
 (which we know to have the direct countenance of revelation, and 
 which is immediately connected with the other,) that the corporeal 
 
ECCLESIASTES III. lG-22. IV. 1-3. 105 
 
 part of the man and of tlic brute, though alike doomed to the dust, 
 is in the former destined to restoration, and in the latter to per- 
 manent corruption. 
 
 If, in the expression "the spirit of man that goeth upward," 
 the separate existence of the human soul after death be, as I con- 
 ceive it is, directly affirmed, then the question, — " Who hiowetli 
 the spirit of man that goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast 
 that goeth downward to the earth ?" must not, as I have already 
 noticed, be understood to imply ignorance or uncertainty on this 
 all-important point: — and to suppose no more to be meant, than* 
 that the difference between the one and the other in death is not 
 discernible, would ])e egregious trifling; the soul of man being, 
 of course, from its immaterial nature, incapable of being so dis- 
 cerned. AVhatever may be the case with other orders of being, 
 and especially with spiritual essences that exist in separation from 
 material bodies ; — whatever may be, amongst them, the means of 
 perception and intercourse; Ave ourselves belong to a species pos- 
 sessing no senses for the discernment of spirits. That we cannot 
 see the human spirit quitting the body and going upward to God, 
 is a proposition too trifling for the solemnity of the question ; and 
 nothing would be more unphilosophical than to found upon this 
 consideration any sceptical doubt as to its distinct existence, or 
 the existence of spirit in general. It has been justly remarked, 
 that a creature endowed with four only of the senses which we 
 posse&s, might, with equal reason, question the existence of all 
 that we discover by the fifth. 
 
 The question, then, appears to be expressive of a very lamenta- 
 ble fact; — namely, that few, very few, properly think of and con- 
 sider this essential and important diflerence between the human 
 and the brute creation; that the great majority of mankind live 
 and act as if they knew nothing of it, or attached to it no degree 
 of credit. A similar style of question is, in other places, used, to 
 express the same idea of rarity, associated with the sentiments of 
 wonder and regret: — "Who can find a virtuous woman? for her 
 price is far above rubies :" Pro v. xxxi. 10. " Who has believed 
 our report? and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?" 
 Isa. liii. 1, — and the word which is translated "knoweth" is one 
 which not unfrequently signifies, to tahe notice of, or to regard. 
 Solomon affirms, then, the diffi^rence between man and brute; 
 
106 LECTURE VI. 
 
 affirms tha.t the spirit of the former at death "ascendeth on high,"* 
 and that the spirit of the latter, like the body, " goes down to the 
 earth," and perishes with it ; and he laments the fact, that by the- 
 o-reat majority of the children of men the difference is not attended 
 to, and is intirely without influence. And this deep and melan- 
 choly regret accords with the desire which he had just before ex- 
 pressed, that God would show the sons of men how foolish they 
 were, and how they degraded their immortal nature, by living as 
 if the present life were their only existence, and thus equalizing 
 themselves with the beasts of the field. It was, indeed, matter 
 of just lamentation, that such creatures should not lay to heart 
 their lofty destination, and rise superior to the perishing vanities-, 
 and grovelling pursuits, of a mere earthly and sensual existence. 
 Verse 22, — Wherefore I pereeive, that there is nothing better, than 
 that a man should rejoice in his own loorks; for that is his portions 
 for loho shall bring him to see lohat shall be after him f — 
 may be understood in two ways. 
 
 First. It may be considered as a repetition of the same senti- 
 ment which he had more than once expressed before, respecting- 
 the grateful reception and cheerful enjoyment of the bounties of 
 Providence. Chap. ii. 24. iii. 12, 13. In this case, the verse must 
 be connected with the vanity of human life, considered by itself,, 
 independently of the life to come, as having, in so many respects,, 
 no pre-eminence above that of the beasts. In these circumstances, 
 the best thing for a man to do Avith the possessions of this .world 
 is, cheerfully to enjoy them, while his vain and fleeting life en- 
 dures, as the portion given him by the kindness of heaven ; re- 
 membering, that when he returns to the dust, his connection with, 
 earthly things shall for ever terminate, and that " what shall be 
 after him" will be to him no matter of concern, when he has 
 finally retired from the scene. " Thou prevailest for ever against 
 him, and he passeth; thou changest his countenance and sendest 
 him away. His sons come to honor, and he knoweth it not; and 
 they are brought low, but he perceiveth it not of them." Job xiv, 
 20, 21. • 
 
 But, Secondly, the words are capable of a more elevated sense- 
 Solomon had been speaking of the vexation arising to the mind 
 from the wickedness of others, and had been looking forward to 
 a coming judgment, when just and unjust shall give their account 
 
e(x:lesiastes hi. 16-22. iv. 1-3. 107 
 
 to God; and to death, as the time when the "spirit of man goeth 
 upward" "to God who gave it." May Ave not, then, consider him 
 as expressing what ought to be the serious and constant aim of 
 mankind, — what every man should set his heart upon, as his 
 highest attainment; — namely, that, in life and in death, he may 
 have reason to "rejoice in his own works," however much he may 
 be grieved and distressed by those of others ; that he may have 
 this as a portion of happiness, which none shall be able to alienate 
 from him, — of inward enjoyment, of which he shall never be robbed. 
 Let him see to it, that, with solemn anticipation of what is before 
 him ; with the most conscientious integrity of desire to know and 
 to do God's will; and with the most wakeful and solicitous cir- 
 cumspection in all his ways ; he retain the possession of this por- 
 tion : — and, as to the concern which he feels about the wickedness 
 and oppression of others, the guilt of the oppressor and the misery 
 of the oppressed, — "who shall bring him to see what shall be after 
 him?" The scene shall soon be removed from before his eyes; 
 or rather, he shall be removed from it; — and when he takes his 
 departure out of the world, he shall witness it no more. In this 
 view of the words, they will beautifully correspond with the senti- 
 ments and admonitions of the New Testament writers : — " Our re- 
 joicing is this, the testimony of our conscience, that in simplicity 
 and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom, but by the grace of 
 God, we have had our conversation in the world:" — "Let every 
 man prove his own work; and then shall he have rejoicing in 
 himself alone, and not in another. For every man shall bear his 
 own burden." 2 Cor. i. 12. Gal. vi. 4, 5. And the duty implied, 
 and which is thus connected with a man's true interest, will be 
 that Avhich the apostle of the Gentiles so finely expresses, in his 
 vindication of himself before Felix: "Herein do I exercise my- 
 self, to have always a conscience void of offence toward God, and 
 toward men." Acts xxiv. 16. Let a man thus "study to approve 
 himself unto God," as one of his true and faithful servants; — let 
 him not "practise wicked deeds with them that do iniquity," or 
 "have any fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness;" — 
 let him walk with God, in faith and holy obedience; — let him be 
 found amongst the righteous, — the fearers of the Lord: — and let 
 him rest assured that He will, in the end, make a marked and 
 permanent distinction between his subjects and his enemies. "A 
 
108 LECTURE VI. 
 
 Book of ]^cmeral)rance is written before him, for them who fear 
 liim and think upon his name : and they shall be mine, saith the 
 Lord, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare 
 them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him. Then shall 
 ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked ; be- 
 tween him that serveth God, and him that serveth him not." Mai. 
 iii. 16-18. "The ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor 
 sinners in the congregation of the righteous : for the Lord knoweth 
 the way of the righteous ; but the way of the ungodly shall perish." 
 Psalm i. 5, 6. 
 
 In addition to this solemn practical consideration, let us ob- 
 serve, 
 
 1. In the first place, the ground which this passage suggests to 
 us for rejoicing that "the Lord reigneth." We cannot, unless we 
 be dead to all the virtuous sensibilities of the heart, survey the 
 oppression and profligacy of men without deep and painful emo- 
 tion. Injustice and tyranny are sometimes, in the righteous se- 
 verity of God, permitted to afflict men on a very extensive scale ; 
 many nations being troubled by the arbitrary and ruthless des- 
 potism of one man; the example spreading downwards from the 
 sovereign, through all the gradations, to the meanest of petty 
 place-men; and, instead of the "officers being peace and the exac- 
 tors righteousness," the officers ruling with the haughty rigor of 
 "a little brief authority," and the exactors extorting unrighteous 
 requisitions, and "grinding the faces of the poor:" the hands of the 
 administrators of justice being polluted with bribes; and "when 
 we look for judgment, behold oppression, and for righteousness, 
 behold a cry." But, in the midst of all these perplexing irregu- 
 larities, let us not fancy that the Sovereign of the universe has 
 forsaken our world, and regards not the doings and the sufferings 
 of the sons of men. "Verily there is a God that judgeth in the 
 earth." All the passions of the human heart, in all their corrup- 
 tion and violence, in all the wildness of their most tumultuary 
 movements, are intirely under his control. He makes "the wrath 
 of man to praise him, and the remainder of wrath he restrains." 
 The unprincipled and blood-thirsty tyrant is made " the rod of 
 his indignation," — the instrument in his hand of correcting the 
 nations; and, when the ends of his moral administration have been 
 answered, the oppressor himself becomes, in his turn, the subject 
 
ECCLESIASTES III. 16-22. IV. 1-3. 109 
 
 of his retributive inflictions. "When the Lord hath performed 
 his whole work upon mount Zion, and on Jerusalem, he punishes 
 the fruit of the stout heart of the king of Assyria, and the glory 
 of his high looks." Isa. x. 12. When "the wine-cup of God's 
 fury" has been handed round among all the nations, "the king of 
 Sheshach" must "drink after them." Jer. xxv. 15-26. And if 
 the lawless oppressor should go on in triumph, even to the close 
 of his mad career, still " he shall not go unpunished :" — still there 
 is a judgment to come: — still "in the hand of the Lord there is 
 a cup, and the wine is red ; it is full of mixture ; and the dregs 
 thereof, all the wicked of the earth shall wring them out and drink 
 them." It is our great comfort to be assured, that "men are in 
 his hand." If any of his own people are left to " suffer for righte- 
 ousness' sake," " let them not be afraid, but let them glorify God 
 on this behalf." O how often, in the history of the church, have 
 the disciples of Jesus been "oppressed, and drawn before the 
 judgment-seats;" and when they have "beheld the place of judg- 
 ment, wickedness has been there ; and the place of righteousness, 
 iniquity has been there." Should any of you ever be called, for 
 the name's sake of Jesus, to "suffer wrongfully" either by public 
 or private malice, your Master has set before you both your conso- 
 lation and your duty. " Blessed are ye, when men shall revile 
 you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against 
 you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad; for 
 great is your reward in heaven:" — "But I say unto you. Love 
 your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that 
 hate you, and pray for them that despitefully use you, and perse- 
 cute you : that ye may be the children of your Father who is in 
 heaven : for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, 
 and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust." Matt. v. 11, 12, 
 44, 45. And let all be assured, that, as for all those who by the 
 unrighteous decisions, and acts, and combinations, of arbitrary 
 power and proud malignity, oppose the cause and kingdom of "the 
 just One," their doom is written. "The kings of the earth set 
 themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord, 
 and against his Anointed, saying. Let us break their bands asun- 
 der, and cast 'away their cords from us. He that sitteth in the 
 heavens shall laugh : the Lord shall have them in derision. Then 
 shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his hot 
 
110 LECTURE VI. 
 
 displeasure." "Be wise now, therefore, O ye kings; be instructed, 
 ye judges of the earth: serve the Lord M^th fear, and rejoice with 
 trembling. Embrace the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish 
 from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed 
 are all they that put their trust in him." Psalm ii. 2-5, 10-12. 
 
 2. In the second place. Let this passage repress all emotions 
 of envy towards the prosperous in oppression and wickedness. 
 From part of a former chapter, we had occasion to notice how 
 little ground the poor have to envy the large possessions and 
 multiplied pleasures of worldly men, — because of the instability 
 of the enjoyment derived from them, its mingled nature, and its 
 constant tendency to pall upon the appetite, and to produce satiety 
 and disgust. At present, our remark is rather founded on the 
 cho.ractef)' of the men brought before us in the verses we have been 
 considering. AVhen we anticipate the "great and dreadful day of 
 tlie Lord," the day of final reckoning and eternal decision, when 
 "'God shall judge the righteous and the wicked," little cause truly 
 have we for envying or for wishing to follow such men. Abhor- 
 rence of their ways, heartfelt pity for their persons, and an earnest 
 desire to "save their souls from death, and to cover the multitude 
 of their sins," are the feelings with which the sight and the 
 thought of them should penetrate our bosoms. " Envy thou not 
 the oppressor, and choose none of his ways : for the fro ward is abom- 
 ination to the Lord; but his secret is with the righteous." "Fret 
 not thyself because of evil-doers, neither be thou envious against 
 the workers of iniquity : for they shall soon be cut down like the 
 grass, and wither as the green herb. Trust in the Lord, and do 
 good ; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be 
 fed. Delight thyself also in the Lord; and he shall give thee 
 the desires of thine heart. Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust 
 also in him, and he shall bring it to pass ; and he shall bring forth 
 thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noon-day. 
 Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him : fret not thyself 
 because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man 
 who bringeth wicked devices to pass. Cease from anger, and 
 forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil. For evil- 
 doers shall be cut oif : but those that wait upon the Lord, they 
 shall inherit the earth. For yet a little while, and the wicked 
 shall not be: yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it 
 
ECCLESIASTES III. 16-22. IV. 1-3. Ill 
 
 •■shall not be. But the meek shall' inherit the earth; and shall 
 delight themselves in the abundance of peace." Psal. xxxvii. 1-11. 
 The Psalmist Asaph admitted envy of the wicked into his heart, 
 and was tempted by the sight of their prosperity to "deny the 
 God that is above." He was brought to the very verge of atheism. 
 After his recovery, he describes their character, the inward work- 
 ings of the temptation, and tl^e manner in which the spell was 
 broken and his soul set at liberty, and enabled to resume its con- 
 fidence and joy in the Lord. "When I thought to know this, it 
 was too painful for me, until I went into the sanctuary of God: 
 then understood I their end. Surely thou didst set them in slip- 
 pery places: thou castedst them down into destruction. How are 
 they brought into desolation as in a moment! they are utterly 
 ^consumed with terrors. As a dream when one awaketh; so, O Lord, 
 when thou awakest, thou shalt despise their image. Thus my 
 lieart was grieved, and I was pricked in my reins. So foolish 
 was I, and ignorant: I was as a beast before thee. Nevertheless 
 I am continually with thee; Thou hast holden me by my right 
 hand. Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterward re- 
 iceive me to glory. Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there 
 is none upon earth that I desire besides thee. My flesh and my 
 heart faileth : but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion 
 for ever." Psalm Ixxiii. 16-26. 
 
 Lastly. Let "the man of the earth" consider the folly with 
 which he is chargeable, in forgetting his immortality, and living 
 as if he had no connection with any world but this, and no pros- 
 pect of any existence beyond his residence in it. O remember, 
 that "your days on earth are as a shadow, and that there is no 
 abiding;" that when you die, you are not to sink into annihilation; 
 jour spirit is not, like that of the brutes, to "go downward to the 
 earth," but must "go upward," — upward to God, — "to God, who 
 ^ave it." Live no longer, then, like the beasts that perish. Rise 
 to a sense of your dignity as immortal beings. Take into your 
 estimate of happiness the whole extent of your existence. The 
 chief good of a rational and immortal creature must be something- 
 worthy of his rational nature, and in duration commensurate with 
 «ternity. Let your inquiry be, how an eternity of existence may 
 be to you an eternity of enjoyment? To answer this inquiry is 
 the grand design of revelation. "The way of salvation" is there 
 
112 LECTURE VI. 
 
 set before you;— the way to eternal life;— the path to "glory, and 
 honor, and immortality." Jesus is revealed as the Son of God,, 
 the Divine Redeemer, the Hope of sinners. Believe in Him ; live 
 to Him. Thus shall you possess true honor, and true felicity. 
 When your mortal frame shall descend to the dust, your spirit, 
 commended into the hands of God your Saviour, shall rise to the 
 perfection of purity and bliss. "Absent from the body, you shall 
 be present with the Lord;" and "your flesh also," though doomed 
 to temporary corruption, "shall rest in hope." Man and beast go 
 to one place; returning to the common womb of Earth. But the 
 former are not lost. The common parent shall travail again. 
 '' The Earth shall cast forth her dead." They that " dwell in the 
 dust," who have lived and died to the Lord, " shall awake and 
 sing:" — "Lo this is our God; we have waited for him, and he 
 will save us : this is the Lord ; we have waited for him ; we will 
 be glad and rejoice in his salvation." " This corruptible shall then 
 put on incorruption, and this mortal immortality; and the saying 
 that is written shall be brought to pass. Death is swallowed up in 
 victory !" Again, then, I say, live no longer like the beasts that 
 perish. Anticipate what is before you, and thankfully avail your- 
 selves of the mercy of the gospel. "Behold, now is the accepted 
 time ; behold, now is the day of salvation." " This is life eternal^, 
 to know the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom he hath sent.'" 
 
LECTURE VII 
 
 ECCLESIASTES IV. 4-16. 
 
 ''Again, I considered all travail, and every right work, that for this a man 
 is envied of his neighbor. This (is) also vanity and vexation of spirit. 5. 
 The fool foldeth his hands together, and eateth his own flesh. 6. Better 
 (is) a handful (with) quietness, than both the hands full (with) travail 
 and vexation of spirit. 7. Then I returned, and I saw vanity under the 
 sun. 8. There is one (alone,) and (thei'e is) not a second; yea, he hath 
 neither child nor brother: yet (is there) no end of all his labor; neither is 
 his eye satisfied with riches; neither (saith he) For whom do I labor, and 
 bereave my soul of good? This (is) also vanity, yea, it (is) a sore travail. 
 1'. Two (are) better than one; because they have a good reward for their 
 labor. 10. For if they fidl, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him 
 (that is) alone when he falleth; for (he hath) not another to help him up. 
 11. Again, if two lie together, then they have heat: but how can one be 
 warm (alone)?. 12. And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand 
 him; and a three-fold cord is not quickly broken. 13. Better (is) a pooi- 
 and a wise child than an old and foolish king, who will no more be admon^ 
 ished. 14. For out of prison he cometh to reign; Avhereas also (he that 
 is) born in his kingdom becometh poor. 15. I considered all the living 
 which walk under the sun, with the second child that shall stand up in his 
 stead. IG. (There is) no end of all the people, (even) of all that have been 
 l)efore them : they also that come after shall not rejoice in him. Surely 
 this also (is) vanity and vexation of spirit." 
 
 Havixg recorded what, in lii.s survey of the workl, he liad ^vit- 
 iiessed, of tlie odious character of the oppressors of mankind, the 
 miseries endured by the poor and unbefriended victims of their 
 prostituted power, and the distress of every generous spirit in 
 being a. spectator of such scenes ; Solomon next proceeds to notice 
 those sources of disquietude which are peculiar to henefactors. 
 For even they, in the midst of their disinterested labors for the 
 good of others, and of the general esteem of society thence arising, 
 are not without their springs of bitterness. 
 8 
 
114 LECTURE VII. 
 
 Verse 4- Again, I considered all travail, and every right icorh; 
 that for this a man is envied of his neighbor. This is also vanity, 
 and vexation of spirit. 
 
 It is true, that a good man, who lays himself out for the benefit 
 of others, expending his labor, and sacrificing his personal interest, 
 to advance the happiness of mankind, will meet with general af- 
 fection and regard; so that for such a character, on his own ac- 
 count and on society's, from personal esteem and public spirit, some 
 might be found willing even to risk and to forfeit life itself: — 
 "Scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perad venture for 
 a good man some would even dare to die." Kom. v. 7. But let 
 a man in eminent station act ever so constantly from the purest 
 principles of generosity or of patriotism ; he must not expect to 
 escape the envy of malignant, or the jealousy of rival, spirits; the 
 latter seeking to supplant him and to rise upon his ruins, — the 
 former, like Milton's Satan, 
 
 "Eying him askance with jealous leer malign," 
 
 repining at his very excellencies, sickening at the sound of his 
 praises, and gnawing their lips at his rising fame. Many, many 
 a time, has Envy, by its open hostility, and still more successfully 
 by its secret arts of detraction and calumny, by whispered insin- 
 uations and hypocritical regrets, by misrepresentation of motives 
 and exaggeration of failures, blasted the reputation, and ruined 
 ^he prosperity, of the most excellent and justly eminent characters. 
 It is a principle of action in our fallen nature, proverbially subtle, 
 and proverbially indefatigable in its devices and efforts to accom- 
 plish the degradation of its unfortunate victim ; and it is also, 
 alas ! proverbially successful. " Wrath is cruel, and anger is outra- 
 geous ; but who is able to stand before envy ?" Wrath and anger, 
 although unmerciful and violent, yet arc usually open and transient. 
 But Envy " mines unseen ;" pursues, with unwearied activity, its 
 underground machinations, and unites so much artfulness with so 
 much perseverence, that — "who is able to stand before it?" The 
 dreadful effects of this malignant passion are variously exe«nplified 
 in the records of sacred history. It was envy that murdered 
 "righteous Abel," and stained the ground with the first effusion 
 of human blood. It was envy that extinguished the feelings of 
 natural affection in the l)reasts of Joseph's brethren, when they 
 
ECCLESIASTES IV. 4-16. 115 
 
 cast their brother into the pit, and " sat down to eat bread ;" M^hen 
 they sold him for twenty silverlings, and, silencing the inward re- 
 monstrances of filial duty, with perfidious and relentless barbarity, 
 '•pierced with many sorrows" the heart of their aged and venera- 
 ble parent, by presenting to his distracted sight the bloody vest- 
 ment of his favou rite boy. It was envy that instigated and ani- 
 mated the persec ution of Saul against the unoffending son of Jesse, 
 whose stone and sling had saved "the armies of the living God," 
 and whom the virgins of Israel had placed above the monarch in 
 their songs of triumph over the vanquished host of the Philistines. 
 It was envy, in the bosoms of the priests and rulers of the Jews, 
 that " denied the prince of life," and clamored for the crucifixion 
 of Him who was "holy, harmless, undefiled, and separate from 
 sinners." In dependently of the success of the devices of envy, 
 whether its end is gained or not to the extent of its malignant 
 wishes, it is in a high degree painful to the spirit of a good man 
 to be the object of so detestable a passion, or the means of its ex- 
 citement in the bosoms of others. If he suspects its existence and 
 operation, he must be subject to incessant apprehension; and if 
 not, his fall may come upon him by surprise, — ere he is aware that 
 the mine has been formed, and the train laid, it may explode at 
 once, to his inevitable and irretrievable ruin. Thus, while envy 
 is "the rottenness of the bones" to the man who indulges it in his 
 own breast, it is the most dangerous enemy to which the object of 
 it can be exposed. It has been finely said of charity, that it is 
 "doubly blessed; — it blesses him that gives, and him that takes." 
 Envy is doubly cursed; — the subject and the object of it it curses 
 alike. Like the star called Wormwood, that imbittered all the 
 rivers and fountains of water on which it fell, it poisons and be- 
 reaves of their sweetness all the sources and streams of human en- 
 joyment. 
 
 Amongst the objects of envy are to be included, not only such 
 l)enevolent and patriotic characters as have been mentioned, but 
 all who are fiivored with an}' unusual measure of temporal pros- 
 perity; who labor with diligence, and are crowned with success; 
 even although nothing can with truth be laid to their charge in- 
 consistent with the most unsullied integrity. Envy is little mind- 
 ful of truth. Its malignant breath can sully the fairest fame. It 
 hates its rival's success, and it grudges the very reputation for 
 
IX (3 LECTURE VII. 
 
 purity of principle with which that success is accompanied. ''I 
 considered all travail, and every right work, that for this a man -is 
 envied of his neighbor." 
 
 Perceiving this to be the case; observingthe jealousy which at- 
 tends all descriptions of eminence; the envy consequent on suc- 
 cessful exertions, and on rising prosperity and honor ; the spirit 
 of detraction that is drawn forth even by the toils and sacrifices 
 of disinterested benevolence ; and the unworthy recompense of a 
 life devoted to the public good ; some are tempted, on these and 
 similar grounds, to excuse and to indulge their natural pro])ensity 
 to indolence and inactivity. But this is foolish. All indolence, 
 on whatever principles men may apologize for it, is folly : — 
 
 Verse 5. The fool foldeth his hands together and eateth his own 
 flesh. 
 
 This may be understood, as I have hinted in introducing the 
 verse, as the picture of a sluggard, reducing himself to starvation 
 and pining wretchedness, eating the very flesh off his bones rather 
 than put his hand to labour. "Yet a little sleep, a little slum- 
 ber, a little folding of the hands to sleep ! So shall thy poverty 
 come as one that travelleth, and thy want as an armed man." 
 Prov. vi. 10, 11. "The soul of the sluggard desireth, and hath 
 nothing." "The sluggard will not plow by reason of the cold; 
 therefore shall he beg in harvest and have nothing." Let no one, 
 then, from the observation that "for all travail and every right 
 work a man is envied of his neighbor," draw the hasty and un- 
 wise inference, that it is better to do nothing: for, he who "folds 
 his hands together," and by his idleness reduces himself to "eat- 
 ing his own flesh," acts the part of a fool;— shows himself in- 
 capable of all right discrimination. 
 
 If the sixth verse be connected with this, — 
 Verse 6. Better is a hanelful icith quietness, than Loth the hands 
 full with travail and vexedion of spirit, — 
 
 it may be interpreted as the language of the sluggard, affecting 
 wisdom, and vindicating his conduct by a maxim of prudential 
 consideration: — for of the sluggard it is elsewhere said, he is 
 "wiser in his own conceit, than seven men that can render a 
 reason." He may here be understood to say : — Let others, like 
 fools, vainly toil, and harass, and vex themselves, if they will : — 
 my maxim is, and wiser men than I have held it, "Better is a 
 
ECCLESIASTE3 IV. 4-16. 117 
 
 handful with quietness, than both the hands full with travail and 
 vexation of spirit." The sentiment, properly understood and ap- 
 plied, is just. It occurs more than once in the Book of Proverbs : — 
 "Better is a little with the fear of the Lord, than great treasure 
 and trouble therewith. Better is a dinner of herbs where love 
 is, than a stalled ox and hatred therewith." "Better is a dry 
 morsel and quietness therewith, than a house full of sacrifices with 
 strife." Prov. xv. 16, 17. xvii. 1. But it is a sentiment far from 
 being applicable to the indolent and useless fool, who " folds his 
 hands together, and eats his own flesh ;" although such a fool may 
 gravely cloak his folly under the misinterpreted sayings of wisdom. 
 It relates to the man of moderate and chastened desires ; the man 
 of "godliness with contentment:" who, instead of "hasting to be 
 rich," recollects, amidst his diligence in business, that "a man's 
 life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he pos- 
 sesseth;" who prefers peace and quietness, and domestic comfort, 
 even with comparatively slender means, to superfluous exuberance, 
 with bustle and strife. 
 
 If, 0]i the other hand, this sixth verse be connected with what 
 follows, it will stand as the sentiment of Solomon himself, the 
 sentiment of practical wisdom, opposed to the absurd conduct and 
 self-inflicted misery of the friendless and solitary miser, who. Math 
 "both the hands full," has nothing but "travail and vexation of 
 spirit." 
 
 But there is still another interpretation which may be given to 
 the fifth verse, which I mention rather for consideration than with 
 confidence. May it not be designed to express the wretchedness 
 of the man who indulges envyf Observe the connection in which 
 it stands. In the fourth verse, we have the evil to which even 
 the man of benevolence and rectitude may be exposed from his 
 becoming the object of envy. May not the fifth verse, then, be 
 understood of the misery arising from this malignant passion to 
 him who is the subject of it? "The fool," — the envious fool — 
 "foldeth his hands together, and eateth his own flesh." The 
 malignant temper preys upon him, and engrosses his thoughts: — 
 sleeping and waking, it haunts him: — he is disinclined from la- 
 bor: — he "folds his hands together" in the attitude of fretful and 
 malignant musing ; racking his invention for means to accomplish 
 the odious purposes of his heart. But he is inwardly wretched : — 
 
118 LECTURE VII. 
 
 he " eats his own flesh " with vexation of spirit : — he pines and 
 wastes away in sullen jealousy. He may succeed in effecting the 
 downfall and ruin of his rival; but he is himself a miserable fool. 
 
 Verses 7, 8. Then I returned, and I saw vanity under the sun. 
 There is one alone and there is not a second; yea, he hath neither 
 child nor brother; yet is there no end of all his labor; neither is his 
 eye satisfied with riches; neither saith he. For whom do Ilabor and 
 bereave my soul of good? This is also vanity; yea, it is a sore tra- 
 vail. 
 
 This is a strikingly graphical, though brief description, of the 
 avaricious keenness and carefulness of a toiling, griping, hoarding, 
 insulated miser. " There is one alone, and there is not a second " — 
 no heir apparent, no connection, either by blood or by particular 
 friendship, to succeed him ; " neither child nor brother," (that is, 
 no near relative,) to inherit his accumulated treasures; — "yet is 
 there no end of all his labor;" he toils with unintermitting so- 
 licitude, "rising early and sitting late," nor ever can bear the 
 thought of retiring from active business, as long as he can add a 
 single penny by it to his store: — "neither is his eye satisfied with 
 riches;" constantly either contemplating his acquisitions, or on 
 the eager look-out for more; never saying. It is enough; a greedy 
 receiver, but a reluctant and parsimonious giver. He takes no 
 enjoyment of his wealth; but starves in the midst of abundance; 
 not only "laboring," but "bereaving his soul of good;" living 
 with the most pitiful penuriousness ; grudging himself every mor- 
 sel of meat, every rag of clothing, every common comfort of life. 
 And the habit grows upon him ; he becomes increasingly avarici- 
 ous as he advances in wealth and in years ; no unselfish considera- 
 tion can move him, nor any claim of charity touch his soul ; his 
 hollow eye contracts the timid glance of lurking suspicion; his 
 whole countenance the marked and settled expression of anxiety 
 and unfeeling narrowness ; and his wasted frame, his antique and 
 thread-bare clothing, and every part of his appearance, betrays 
 the confirmed and unimpressible miser. Those who first assigned 
 this designation to the character were happy in their selection. 
 3Eser signifies wretched; and surely there is not on earth a more 
 pitiable object than the man here described; the unhappy victim 
 of one of tlie strangest aberrations of understanding; one of the 
 most unaccountable contradictions to all right feeling, and to every 
 
ECCLESIASTES IV. 4-16. 119 
 
 ordinary principle of Inimun nature, that is to be found amongst 
 the intellectual and moral varieties of the species. 
 
 Solomon's description shows us that these varieties have, in every 
 age, been much the same. Many a time has it since been realized, 
 with wonderful accuracy. The character may be traced to various 
 origins. In some instances, it has arisen from a fatal error in 
 education, — from early and ill-judged lesson'? of excessive parsi- 
 mony impressed upon the youthful mind, gradually forming in 
 the heart an undue "love of money;" a habitual desire of getting, 
 and dread of losing, or of being necessitated to give away: — in 
 other cases, from the apprehension and presentiment of a diseased 
 mind, — a hypochondriacal foreboding of approaching poverty — of 
 dying in want; au evil, to which every penny that is lost or parted 
 with is, of course, conceived by the disordered imagination to con- 
 tribute: — and in others still, from the weak-minded vanity of 
 being noticed and spoken of, during life, and after death, as the 
 possessor of so much wealth, or as the man that had left it behind 
 him. From whatever source it may have arisen, and whatever 
 may have promoted its growth, it is w^ell denominated "vanity 
 and a so)-e travailJ^ The poor rich fool lives in misery, and dies 
 uulamented. Those, whosoever they may be, to whom he be- 
 queaths his wealth, give him little thanks for it. He has only 
 given it when he could hold it no longer. He has not parted 
 with it; he has- been obliged to leave it; and not one farthing of 
 it, they know^ well, should they ever have touched, could he by 
 any possibility have retained possession. They are glad the use- 
 less old fellow is out of the Avay; they lay him in the dust without 
 a sigh; and with secret self-gratulation, take possession of his 
 hoards. 
 
 The character and dreary friendlessness of the wretched miser 
 probably suggested to Solomon's mind the subject of the following 
 verses, — the benefits of society and friendship: — 
 
 Verses 9-12. Two are better than one; because they liave a good 
 reward for their labor. For if they fall, the one will lift up hisfel- 
 loiv; but looe to Imn that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not 
 another to help him up. Again, if two lie together then they have 
 heat: but how can one be warm alone f And if one prevail against 
 him, two shall loithstand him ; and a three-fold cord is not (pdckly 
 brolrn. 
 
120 LECTURE VII. 
 
 The fio'ures which are employed in these ver-ses are in them- 
 selves so plain as to require no explanation. They are all intended 
 to illustrate the same general sentiment, — the advantages of union 
 and co-operation; and the sentiment may be applied to every de- 
 scription of faithful and well-principled alliance, — to marriage, to 
 friendship, to Christian communion. Many and valuable are the 
 benefits of such association amidst the changes of this uncertain 
 world; some common to all the varieties of union^ and some pe- 
 culiar to each. It atfords to the parties mutual counsel and direc- 
 tion, especially in seasons of perplexity and embarrassment; mu- 
 tual svmpathy^ consolation, and care, in the hour of calamity and 
 distress; mutual encouragement in anxiety and depression; mu- 
 tual aid, by the joint application of bodily or mental energy to 
 <]iilicult and laborious tasks; mutual relief amidst the fluctuations 
 of worldly circumstances, the abundance of the one reciprocally 
 supplying the deficiencies of the other; mutual defence and vin- 
 dication, wlien the character of either is injuriously attacked and 
 defamed ; and (what may be considered as particularly appropriate 
 to the phraseology of the tenth verse) mutual reproof and affec- 
 tionate expostulation when either has, through the power of temp- 
 tation, fallen into sin: — "AVoe to him that is alone when he" so 
 ^' falleth, and hath not another to help him up !" no one to care 
 for his soul, and to restore him to the paths of righteousness. 
 
 In all cases, union, — affectionate, principled, faithful union, — 
 the connection and intercourse of kindred souls, — must be emi- 
 nentlv productive of reciprocal satisfaction and delight. As " when 
 two lie together they have heat;" so two hearts, in friendly con- 
 tact, warm each other with the glow of mutual love, at once im- 
 parting and receiving sensations of the purest pleasure. Xor is 
 the enjoyment, exquisite though it be, arising from the inter- 
 change of congenial affections, the whole of the benefit. Such 
 union gives stability and strength : — " if one prevail against him, 
 two shall withstand him; and a three-fold cord is not quickly 
 broken." The fable of the bundle of rods, by Avhich the dying 
 father taught his sons the benefit of union, has been familiar to all 
 of you from your childhood. The rods, when bound together, re- 
 sisted all tlieir efforts to break them; but when untied, and taken 
 one by one, they were successively sna])ped -svith ease. The ''three- 
 fold cord" conveys the same lesson. Twined togetlier, tlie fila- 
 
ECCLESIASTES IV. 4-lG. . 121 
 
 inento are strong; untwined and separate, they are slender and 
 feeble. Thus it is, that a union of interests, counsels, and efforts, 
 gives vigor and animation, both in spiritual connections, and in 
 the relations of nature and of business. 
 
 It was on the principle here stated, "two are better than one," 
 tliat the marriage relation was, in part at least, originally founded. 
 ^^ The Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone ; 
 I will make him a help meet for him." It is on the same princi- 
 ple that men collect together in society, and that all their various 
 combinations and partnerships are formed, for the successful prose- 
 cution of particular ends. Righteous and wicked alike recognize 
 and act upon this principle; the former for the accomplishment 
 of good, the latter for the perpetration of evil. It is on the same 
 principle too, beloved brethren in the Lord, that all the institu- 
 tions of social religion have their vindication and their use. He 
 who "knoweth what is in man" Avas well aware that it was not 
 good for his people's spiritual interests, that they should be alone; 
 each individual pursuing his course by himself. He commanded 
 their association in churches, in the l)ond of spiritual love; and 
 appointed ordinances of public worship, and laAvs of social inter- 
 course : that, in the due observance of these, they might strengthen 
 ■one another's hands, and encourage one another's hearts, and mutu- 
 ally "provoke to love and to good works." 
 
 The concluding verses of the chapter contain some of the morti- 
 fications of royalty, of which Solomon might well speak with free- 
 dom, being himself the wearer of a crown. 
 
 Royalty, alas! is not always associated with wisdom: and where 
 wisdom is awanting, advancing age, very generally, adds to im- 
 becility and folly, self-will, obstinacy, and headstrong contempt of 
 <'Ounsel : — 
 
 Verse 13. Better is a }wor and a u'ise child, than an old and fool- 
 ish king, who vjill no more be admonished. 
 
 "Better" — that is, happier, and more really useful. The influ- 
 ence of the "wise child" is limited indeed ; but as far as it reaches, 
 in the humble sphere of life in which his lot is cast, it is essenti- 
 ally good: but the "foolish king" has extensive power; and when 
 power is in league with folly, the l)oundaries of its extent are only 
 ithe limits of its mischief Nothing, indeed, can be conceived more 
 
122 LECTURE VII. 
 
 deplorable, than imbecility united with obstinacy, and both in; 
 combination Avitli authority and force. 
 
 Further : the '' wise child/'' although poor, is, by the possession 
 of wisdom, in the way to reputation, preferment, and honor; where- 
 as the "foolish king," in the midst of riches and external glory, is^ 
 by his folly, in the way to poverty, degradation, and disgrace. 
 The wisdom of the one may advance him to a sceptre; the folly 
 of the other, as recorded experience testifies, may wrest the sceptre- 
 from his hand. 
 
 This is probably the meaning of the fourteenth verse, in which 
 Solomon assigns the reason of his preference: — 
 
 Verse 14. For out of prison he cometh to reign; ivhcreas also Iw 
 that is born in his kingdom becometh poor." 
 
 The "poor and wise child" rises from the state of meanness and 
 of oppression to a throne; whilst the "old and foolish king,'^' 
 though "born in his kingdom, becometh poor." The wisdom of 
 the one, Avhen known and appreciated, rescues him from oppres- 
 sion ; draws him forth from obscurity ; and promotes him to in.- 
 fluence, and honor, and command. Tlie folly of the other, felt in 
 its mischievous and galling elfects, shakes the stability of his here- 
 ditary throne. Though he has obtained the kingdom by inheritance,, 
 and, through the sufferance of a burdened, and dishonored, and 
 harassed people, has long continued to wear the crown in this, 
 right, from regard, it may be, to former princes of the same dy- 
 nasty; yet by his mal-administration he exhausts his treasures,, 
 destroys the national credit, brings his government to bankruptcy, 
 and himself either to a necessary though constrained abdication, 
 <n- to a forcible deposition from his dignity, by his own subjects., 
 or by the interference of a foreign power. There is, possibly, an 
 allusion in the passage, (and if there be, it can be no more than an 
 allusion, for in some respects there is no parallelism,) to the op- 
 pression and advancement of Joseph: on which supposition, the- 
 verse will contain a general sentiment under a reference to a par- 
 ticular case. 
 
 Another view of this verse has suggested itself to my mind, 
 which it may be worth while just to mention, although the ex- 
 planation already given seems the preferable one. " Out of prison 
 he cometh to reign" may be interpreted, not of the child, but of 
 the king. A monarch of the cliaracter described is a ])risoner ii\ 
 
ECCLESIASTES IV. 4-16. 123 
 
 his palace. He knows, and cannot but feel, his unpopularity : and 
 when he conies forth amongst his subjects in the administration 
 of his government, he comes forth, like a prisoner from confine- 
 ment, to which he is immediately to be remanded again: feeling 
 none of the confidence of freedom ; none of the fearless security 
 and unreserved openness of him who reigns in the hearts of a 
 grateful and happy people; but full of apprehensions, and jeal- 
 ousies, and alarms; suspicious of all about him, and even of the 
 very guards tliat have sworn fidelity to his royal person : — a state 
 of mind by which the latter days of some "old and foolish kings" 
 have been most fearfully distracted. 
 
 "Whereas also, he that is born in his kingdom becometli poor," 
 will then refer to the tendency of his impolitic and infatuated 
 measures, to ruin trade and commerce, and reduce his hapless 
 subjects to poverty and wretchedness. 
 
 The former view, however, presents a natural contract between 
 the two descriptions of character mentioned in the thirteenth 
 verse, in regard to their respective tendencies; of the one to ele- 
 vation and honor, of the other to depression and disgrace: and 
 it is therefore, in all probability, the true meaning. 
 
 In the two last verses of the chapter there is a good deal of 
 obscurity : — 
 
 Verses 15, 16. I considered all the living tvho icalh under the sun^ 
 with the second child that shall rise up in his stead. There is no end 
 of all the people, even of all that have been before them: they also that 
 come after shall not rejoice in him. Surely this ako is vanity, and 
 vexation of spirit. 
 
 The general idea intended to be conveyed by these verses seems 
 to be, the inconstancy and fickleness of pjopndar attachment to fa- 
 vorite rulers, and the mortification thence arising to the possessors 
 of royal honor. " I considered all the living that walk under the 
 sun, with the second child that shall rise up in his stead ;" — that 
 is, with the child his second, or successor. Such is the meaning 
 of the same word in the eighth verse, where the solitary miser is 
 represented as having no second, — no successor to his wealth. So 
 here, the child that is second to the reigning prince is the child 
 that is to succeed him in the government, — the heir apparent to 
 the throne. Solomon "considered," not only how rapidly, how 
 immediately, upon the demise of the ])resent occupant of the 
 
124 lecturp: vii. 
 
 throne, the attachment shown to him was transferred to his suc- 
 cessor; how quickly servility to the latter jostled out the memory 
 of the former ; but he further observed, that eyen in the old king's 
 lifetime when symptoms discovered themselves of his end drawing- 
 near the heir was sedulously courted, though with greater and 
 less deo-rees of delicacy; interest was made with him, and insinu- 
 ating adulation addressed to him ; he became the object of attention 
 and'solicitation; whilst the aged sire, whose favor, having lost its 
 prospective influence, had declined in value, was neglected, and 
 sunk into contempt. He marked the prevailing propensity of 
 men, whether from motives of self-interest, or from the mere love 
 of change, to disregard the setting, and to worship the rising sun. 
 This fickleness, having its source in the principles of man's fal- 
 len nature, had existed in preceding ages, existed in Solomon's 
 own days, and was more than likely to continue in after times : — 
 Verse 16. "There is no end of all the people, even of all that 
 have been before them; they also that come after shall not rejoice 
 in him. Surely this also is vanity and vexation of spirit." 
 
 "No end" seems here to mean, no fixed jwint in which the people 
 can rest with any settled satisfaction ; they have no stability ; they 
 never reach an object in which their gratification is permanent, — 
 a goal of their capricious and fluctuating desires. They are ever 
 fickle, ever fond of novelty and change. "There is no end to all 
 the people." They have all, in this respect, the same generic 
 character; in having no terminating point and settled resting place 
 to their views and wishes. So it was with "all the people" form- 
 ino- the veneration of Solomon's contemporaries; so it had been 
 with "all who were before them;" and "they also who were to 
 come after" would discover the same tendency. 
 
 Should it be doubted, whether the word translated eiul be sus- 
 ceptible of the signification thus assigned to it, then the meaning 
 iiiust be:— "There is no end to all the people;" new generations 
 have been continually following each other, and the same course 
 of succession is now going on, and shall continue in after ages ; 
 and each generation in its turn brings with it its own peculiarities, 
 its own likings and dislikings,— new men, influenced by new cir- 
 cnmstances, seeking after new things, and attaching themselves to 
 new favorites, and new systems of administration. 
 
 Such hod been the case. The inconstancy com])lained of, Solo- 
 
ECCLESIA8TES IV. 4-16. 125 
 
 mon knew, from ancient history, to have characterized former 
 generations. He had even seen it aifectingly exemplified within 
 the same generation, in the life-time of his own father. It had 
 been strikingly displayed, in that "cloudy and dark day" of Da- 
 vid's reign, when " the hearts of the men of Israel were after Ab- 
 salom," alienated from the father, who had commenced his reign 
 under such decided indications of popular attachment, by tlic in- 
 sinuating flatteries and promises of his unnatural son. And still 
 more recently, in the extreme age of "the man after God's own 
 heart," at a time when the reverence of filial affection ought to 
 have restrained the stirrings and aspirations of an ambitious spirit, 
 Adonijah had "exalted himself, and said, I will be king;" had 
 "prepared him chariots and horsemen, and fifty men to run be- 
 fore him ;" and had formed a faction in support of his claims ; 
 thus ungratefully requiting the partial fondness of a father, by 
 disturbing and imbittering his old age, and drawing away from 
 him the affections of his people ere his time of departure was come. 
 How afflicting this to the father! And how mortifying to the 
 monarch, to witness the readiness of his people to attach them- 
 selves to another, even while he himself, who had "gone in and 
 out before them" during the best of his days, was yet alive! And 
 even in the case of Solomon himself, the necessity for whose im- 
 mediate proclamation arose from the rebellion of Adonijah, such 
 feelings of secret mortification could not fail to mingle with the 
 sentiments of parental and regal satisfaction. Although Solomon 
 was the dear and promising son of a beloved mother, and his suc- 
 cessor in the throne by previous Divine intimation and his own 
 delighted approval, yet the public rejoicings at his coronation, 
 when "the people came up after him, piping with pipes, and ex- 
 ulting with great joy, and shouting, 'God save king Solomon!' so 
 that the city rang again, and the earth rent with the sound of 
 them," 1 Kings i. 39, 40, 45, however gratifying to the ear both 
 of the loving father and the patriot king, could not but draw the 
 sigh from his heart, and the inward exclamation, "Vanity of vani- 
 ties!" — when in the plaudits of a rejoicing people he heard the 
 name of another so easily substituted lor his own. And the scene 
 must have been affecting to the son, as well as to the father ; royal 
 anticipations mingling with tender filial regrets. It read him a 
 salutary lesson of humility in tlie very outset of his reign, when 
 
126 LECTUHEVII. 
 
 surroundecj with so much that was fitted to intoxicate and bewilder 
 & yonthful mind. 
 
 It was noAV a mortifying reflection to Solomon, that the same 
 fickleness was still an attribute of the popular character ; and that 
 what had been seen by him, in the case of his father, would soon 
 be repeated in his own and in his successor's. The heir apparent 
 would be courted, as the future source of coveted honors : and he, 
 too, on his rising to the throne, would have his day, and in his 
 turn be neglected, and give place to another: — "They also that 
 oome after him shall not rejoice in him." This is surely a gall- 
 ing and humbling consideration to royalty. Let not the young 
 prince exult in the court that is paid to him. Let him consider 
 how much of it is the product of selfishness; and be assured that 
 his own day of mortification is coming, and may not be distant. 
 Let the rising sun, in the morning of his glory, and amidst his 
 crowd of worshippers, remember that he must set ; and that even 
 ere he hath gone down, another luminary, emerging from the op- 
 posite horizon, will throw his evening splendors into shade, and 
 draw away from him the admiring eyes and selfish acclamations 
 of those flatterers, who hailed his own ascent, and waited with 
 their adulations on his course! This thought is enough, of itself, 
 to repress the swellings of vain-glory, and to heave with a sigh 
 the bosom that is invested with the purple : — " Surely, this also is 
 A^anity, and vexation of sjiirit!" 
 
 From this passage let us, 
 
 1. In the first place, learn, to let nothing discourage us in icell- 
 iloing. 
 
 Let not the consideration in the fourth verse, that "for every 
 right work a man is envied of his neighbor," restrain us from the 
 active and fearless pursuit of what is glorifying to God, or profi- 
 table to men. On the contrary, " whatsoever our hand findeth to 
 do," for either of these ends, or for the comfort and reputation 
 and usefulness of ourselves and families, let us "do it with our 
 might." If Ave should be the objects of envy, it is better that we 
 be envied for eminence in good deeds, than for success and pros- 
 perity in evil. This is true, indeed, of all descriptions of suifering, 
 as well as of what arises from envy. "It is better, if the Avill of 
 God be so, that ye suffer for well-doing, than for evil-doing." 
 1 Pet. iii. 17. It is a man's honor to be envied on such grounds. 
 
ECCLESIASTES IV. 4-16. 127 
 
 And if this malignant spirit should gratify itself in the invention 
 .and propagation of reproach and calumny, we shall have the in- 
 ward satisfaction of knowing its falsehood ; " having a good con- 
 science," — a treasure on such occasions, of inestimable value, which 
 " cannot be gotten for gold, neither shall silver be weighed for the 
 price of it;" the possession of which will support the victim of 
 envv, and be "his rejoicing," even if that unholy passion should 
 be successful in its unworthy machinations to "cast him down from 
 his excellency." We cannot and ought not to be indiiferent about 
 .the opinion of our fellow-men, and the reputation we hold amono-st 
 them, lieligious principle concurs with the feelings of nature in 
 inculcating the propriety of preventing and disarming envy, and 
 counteracting, by all honorable means, its mischievous devices. 
 Yet let us, my dear brethren, be under the habitual influence of 
 a higher principle than regard to the judgment of men. Let the 
 fear of God rule in our hearts; — a sacred awe of his sujjremacy; a 
 •conscience "quick as the apple of an eye" to the dictates of his 
 will; a constant reference of all things to his glory as our end- 
 .and, in dependence on his faithfulness, a believing anticipation of 
 the fulfilment of his "exceeding great and precious jH'omises." 
 "Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him, and he will 
 bring it to pass: and he shall luring forth thy righteousness as the 
 light, and thy judgment as the noon-day." "Let us not bo weary 
 in well-doing:- for in due season we shall reap, if avc faint not." 
 Having rightly improved our talents in our Master's employ, un- 
 der the influence of faith and love, he will say to us at last "Well 
 
 done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a 
 few things, I Avill make thee ruler over many things; enter thou 
 into the joy of thy Lord." Psalm xxxvii. 5, 6. Gal. vi. 9. Matt 
 XXV. 21. 
 
 "^ Secondly; "Take heed, and ^czmrc of covdousness." There 
 are few passions more progressive in their nature than avarice 
 when a man has once fairly yielded to it so far as to give it a place 
 in his bosom as a principle of conduct. BeAvare of it, then in its 
 earliest and most specious commencements. Give no ear to its 
 penurious and niggardly suggestionsu It is mean, sordid, and des- 
 picable in itself, and being directly opposed, in principle and 
 practice, to the ends for which wealth, according to the maxims 
 oof the Bible, ought to be sought, it k contrary to the express M'ill 
 
128 LECTURE VII. 
 
 of God, thQ giver of iiil that is enjoyed by men. Tiie duty of a 
 Christian is, to " labor, working with his hands the thing that is 
 good, that he may have to give to him that ncedeth:'' to "honor the 
 Lord with his substance, and with the first-fruits of all his in- 
 crease." O beware, (for the heart is deceitful above all things,) — 
 beware of cloaking the odious principle against which I have now,, 
 in the words of the Saviour himself, been admonishing you, un- 
 der the sage and plausible maxims of discretion, and economy, and 
 providence. The maxims may be just; but the use made of them 
 is an infamous perversion. Nothing, however, is more common, 
 than to cloak what is evil under the specious semblance of what is 
 good. How often do we see men, and men, too, professing the 
 benevolent religion of Him who, "though he was rich, for our 
 sakes became poor," anxiously scraping together with one hand, 
 and holding fast with the other, as if in jealous dread of a single- 
 atom escaping; and palliating and excusing their conduct by com- 
 mon-place observations, delivered with the air of deep and oracu- 
 lar wisdom, as to the necessity and duty of carefulness, and the 
 sin and danger of extravagance. In condemning one extreme, 
 they fancy they have justified its opposite. Some men are fool- 
 ishly profuse; therefore they must be hard and niggardly: — some 
 men give away what is not their own; therefore they must take 
 care how they part with what i.s.— they cannot do every thing; 
 and this is their regular apology for doing nothing. Have not you 
 met with such characters?— and have not you despised them? 
 Beware, then, of ever becoming their imitators. " Look not, every 
 man, on his own things, but every man also on the things of others : 
 let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus." I re- 
 peat His words : " Take heed, and beware of covetousness." Ye 
 parents, beware, in the education of your children, of impressing 
 on their minds the wretched maxims of penurious hoarding, mid 
 grudging parsimony. Prudence and economy, indeed, they ought 
 to be taught, both by precept and example : but oh ! let it be a 
 generous prudence, and not a selfish economy. Of extravagance 
 there are two descriptions; the extravagance of selfishness, and 
 the extravagance of charity. The one grudges no expenditure of 
 which the end is self-gratification ; the other is the indiscreet over- 
 flowing of a generous heart, under the impulse of feeling rather 
 than of judgment. The former requires to be steadily restrained. 
 
ECCLESIASTES IV. 4-16. 129 
 
 The latter must be managed with much caution and gentleness, 
 lest, in our attempts to repress the practice, we crush the princi- 
 ple; lest in reprimanding and punishing profusion, we destroy 
 charity. Do not frown on an act of generosity because, in the 
 glow of youthful emotion, the limits of prudence have been over- 
 stepped. Give your approving smile to the motive, whilst you 
 gently show the inj udiciousness of the deed. If the case be such 
 that to criticise the act might expose the principle to hazard, spare 
 your criticism; and let time and experience, and growing know- 
 ledge, be the correctors of the conduct. These will gradually 
 modify and regulate the inward impulses and the outward acts of 
 charity. But beware of the encroachments of avarice. Nothing 
 can be more incongruous than a youthful spirit under the rule of 
 this odious passion, and nothing more gloomily unpromising. To 
 teach your children avarice, is to teach them what will "grow with 
 their growth, and strengthen with their strength ;" and, in its j^ro- 
 gress and maturity, will make them despicable in society, misera- 
 ble in themselves, and useless to others. 
 
 3. Thirdly ; Let us, my dear Christian brethren, rejoice in our 
 union, and steadily maintain it, in the exercise of principled and 
 faithful love ; that we may secure to ourselves and to one another 
 its inestimable advantages. To no kind of association is the say- 
 ing, "two are better than one," more decidedly applicable, than 
 to that of the fellowship of the church of Christ. Disunion is, in 
 every vie>v, disheartening and debilitating; cordial union animating 
 and strengthening. Universal experience says so; — our oxen ex- 
 perience says so. A church divided against itself cannot stand, 
 any more than a kingdom or a family. In division, Satan ob- 
 tains an advantage over us, through the want of the mutual coun- 
 sels, admonitions, and encouragements, of Christian love; and he 
 obtains an advantage, too, over the cause of the Redeemer, by 
 slackening the vigor of cordial co-operation for its advancement. 
 "Suffer ye," then, "the word of exhortation." Let me affection- 
 ately beseech you, in the language of inspired authority, " that ye 
 walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called ; with all 
 lowliness and meekness, with long-suffering, forbearing one an- 
 other in love; endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the 
 bond of peace:" — "that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind, 
 striving together for the faith of the gospel:" — "that ye hold fast 
 
130 LECTURE VII. 
 
 the professiQn of your faith without wavering, for he is faithful 
 who hath promised ; and consider one another, to provoke unto 
 love and to good works; not forsaking the assembling of your- 
 selves together, as the manner of some is, but exhorting one an- 
 other; and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching." 
 Agreeably to the description in the verses that have been under 
 review, of the mutual benefits of union, "warn them that are un- 
 ruly, comfort the feeble-miuded, support the weak, be patient to- 
 ward all men." "Finally, brethren, be perfect, be of good com- 
 fort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace 
 shall be with you." Thus shall you know, by increasing experi- 
 ence, "how good and how pleasant it is, for brethren to dwell to- 
 gether in unity;" and "the Lord will command the blessing, even 
 tife for evermore." Eph. iv. 1-3. Phil. i. 27. Heb. x. 23-25. 2 
 Cor. xiii. 11. Psalm cxxxiii. 1, 3. 
 
 4. Fourthly. Beware of seeking your happiness in the favor 
 and applause of men. Alas ! it is fickle and mutable as the very 
 wind. 
 
 "►^^Y) what is fame? 
 
 It is a fancied life in others' breath ; 
 
 A thing beyond us, even before our death." 
 
 The courtier, whose wishes and expectations are dependent on the 
 smiles and the sunshine of royal favor, and the prince, who looks 
 for constant enjoyment in the possession of popularity and public 
 applause, both trust to what is proverbially capricious and inse- 
 cure. "Trust not in man, whose breath is in his nostils; for 
 wherein is he to be accounted of?" Let not the venerable monarch 
 of these realms, our good old king, be the victim of such popular 
 caprice. Let him enjoy, to the close of his days, the satisfaction 
 imparted by the attachment of a loyal people. Let not his grey 
 hairs be despised ; let not our sympathy be refused to his infirmi- 
 ties and sufferings; let not the respect be forgotten that is due to 
 the declining sun.* And, whilst we set an example of steadfast 
 loyalty to our earthly monarch, let us, above all, adhere, with un- 
 declining attachment, to the cause, and service, and glory of the 
 "King of kings," who fills the throne and sways the sceptre of 
 
 -The reader requires to be reminded of the time when these Lectures were 
 delivered. References of this kind to our late revered Monarch I could not 
 lind in mv heart to erase. — Author's note. 
 
ECCLESIASTES IV. 4-lG. lol 
 
 an eternal dominion; who can never give place to a successor; and 
 who is supremely entitled to the growing admiration and the ever- 
 lasting attachment of all his subjects. In his immutable favor, 
 too, let us seek our enjoyment. It is the only enduring happi- 
 ness; springing from the only source that is nnsusceptiblc of 
 change. In his smile there lurks no deceit; in his assurances of 
 regard there is no duplicity or simulation; "his gifts and calling 
 are without repentance;" and in his royal clemency and paternal 
 love there is the fullness of eternal joy. " AVhom have I in heaven 
 but thee? and there is none upon earth whom I desire in prefer- 
 ence to thee. My flesh and my heart faileth; but God is the 
 strength of my heart, and my portion for ever." " There be many 
 that say. Who will show us any good? Lord, lift thou up the 
 light of thy countenance upon us. Thou hast put gladness in my 
 heart, more than in the time that their corn and their wine in- 
 creased." Psalm Ixxiii. 25, 26. Ibid. iv. 6, 7. 
 
LECTUEE VIII 
 
 ECCLESIASTES V. 1-7. 
 
 " Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God, and be more ready to 
 hear, than to give the sacrifice of fools : for they consider not tliat they do 
 evil. 2. Be not rash Avith thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to 
 utter (any) thing before God: for God (is) in heaven, and thou upon earth; 
 therefore let thy words be few. . 3. For a dream cometh through the mul- 
 titude of business; and a fool's voice (is known) by multitude of Avords. 
 4. When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it: for (he hath) no 
 pleasure in fools : pay that which thou hast vowed. 5. Better (is it) that 
 thou shouldst not vow, than that thou shouldst vow and not pay. 6. Suffer 
 not thy mouth to cause thy flesh to sin ; neither say thou before the angel, 
 that it (was) an error: wherefore should God be angiy at thy voice, and 
 destroy the work of thine hands? 7. For in the multitude of dreams and 
 many words (there are) also (divers) vanities: but fear thou God." 
 
 Amidst the lessons which God teaches us, both by his word and 
 by his providence, of the vanity of human life, and its diversified 
 pursuits^and enjoyments, and amidst the melancholy experience, 
 prevailing around us and reaching ourselves, of the insufficiency 
 of learning, riches, pleasure, power, and honor, to confer unmingled 
 and permanent happiness, teue religion is the only eifectual 
 supporter of the mind. It alone is exempt from the general ver- 
 dict, "All is vanity ;" a verdict comprehending whatever pertains 
 to this world and to time. But religion is not of this world, nor 
 does time limit the enjoyment of its blessings. It is of celestial 
 origin, and possesses a kindred immortality with the Being who 
 is the object of its regards. It affords to man genuine and sub- 
 stantial happiness, both in possession and in hope. It alone im- 
 parts the true relish of the blessings of life, and it alone can lighten 
 its burdens, and mitigate its woes. Intercourse with God strengthens 
 
ECCLESIASTES V. 1-7. 133 
 
 against the temptations, and supports under the trials, that arise 
 from intercourse with men. The very thought of His favor, which 
 is " better than life," makes every thing else, by comparison, ap- 
 pear in its proper light, and thus prevents us from being either 
 unduly elevated, or excessively depressed, by the vicissitudes of 
 time; teaching us to be, "when we rejoice, as though we rejoiced 
 not; and when we weep as though we wept not; and when Ave 
 buy as though we possessed not; and when we use this world as 
 not abusing it; because the fashion of this world passeth away." 
 1 Cor. vii. 29-31. 
 
 The ordinances of the House of God; the sacred exercises of 
 social worship; have ever been the delight of the true Israel : at- 
 tendance on them infusing vigor and animation into their souls ; 
 and the privation of them depressing their minds, enfeebling all 
 their spiritual efforts, extracting their sweetness from all earthly 
 enjoyments, and exciting the most vehement and longing desires 
 for their restoration. "How amiable are thy tabernacles, O Lord 
 of hosts ! My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of the 
 Lord ; my heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God. Blessed 
 are they that dwell in thy house; they will be still praising thee :" — 
 "O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirst- 
 eth for thee ; my flesh longeth for thee, in a dry and thirsty land, 
 where no water is ; to see thy power and thy glory, so as I have 
 seen thee in'the sanctuary:'' — "As the hartpanteth after the water 
 brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God. My soul thirsteth 
 for God, for the living God ; when shall I come and appear be- 
 fore God ? For I had gone with the multitude ; I went with them 
 to the house of God with the voice of joy and praise, with the 
 multitude that kept holy day:" — "I was glad when they said 
 unto me, Let us go into the house of the Lord." Psalm Ixxxiv. 
 1, 2, 4. Ixiii. 1, 2. xlii. 1, 2, 4. cxxii. 1. 
 
 Such, however, is the insinuating influence of the vanities of 
 life, and of the things of time and sense in general, that we are in 
 constant danger of allowing our thoughts about them to intrude 
 on our religious exercises, and to mingle with the most sacred 
 feelings of devotion ; nay sometimes, (such is their power over our 
 hearts,) of performing our acts of worship in a light, inconsiderate, 
 and merely external manner, "drawing nigh to God with our lips, 
 and honoring him with our mouths, whilst our hearts are far from 
 
134 LECTURE YIII, 
 
 him." In t^his Avay, in proportion as our minds are thus roving 
 and divided and pre-occupied, we turn our religion itself to vani- 
 ty. It becomes absolutely worthless; an insult to God, and pro- 
 fitless to ourselves. It loses at once its nature and its influence. 
 Such being the powerful tendency of the vanities of the world, 
 Solomon addresses a special warning against it : — 
 
 Verse 1. Keej) thy foot when thou goest to the house of God, and 
 be more ready to hear, than to give the sacrifice of fools; for they con- 
 sider not that they do evil. 
 
 The "House of God" was the Temple, which Solomon himself 
 had burlt for the residence and worship of the God of Israel. But 
 tlie admonition applies, in the full spirit of it, to Christian as well 
 as to Jewish worship, — to the service of God under every dispen- 
 sation of religion. 
 
 "Keep thy foot:" — that is. Go not with rash and hasty steps, 
 indicating light and inconsiderate thoughtlessness. Think of the 
 nature of the place; and think of the purpose for which you go 
 thither. The place is "the house of God:" the chosen residence 
 of Jehovah ; where He whom "the heaven of heavens cannot con- 
 tain," "in very deed dwells with men upon earth;" where he hath 
 " put his Name," and manifested his glory : — and you go thither, 
 to engage in the worship of this God, tlie living God, "the high 
 and lofty One wlio inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy." Go 
 thither, therefore, Avith serious reflection. Remember how the 
 God Avhom you are about to worship said, on different occasions, 
 when he appearecl to his most favored servants, " Put off thy shoe 
 from thy foot, for the place where thou standest is holy ground :" 
 and let your spirits, in all your approaches to him, be under the 
 influence of " reverence and godly fear," 
 
 "And be more ready to hear, than to ofter the sacrifice of fools." 
 The "sacrifice of fools" means, I think, the sacrifice that is ofl'ered 
 without the heart; in presenting which, the external service is 
 performed, and performed, it may be, with a scrupulous adherence 
 to the prescribed ritual, but without the devotion of "the inner 
 man," Avithout spiritual homage, without a sentiment to piety. 
 This is a fool's offering; because there cannot be greater folly than 
 to imagine the searcher of hearts to be pleased with it. How 
 strong are the testimonies to the contrary, addressed by his pro- 
 phets to liis ancient people, who "made their ))oast of the law, 
 
ECCLESIASTE.S V. 1-7. 135 
 
 whilst, through breaking it, they dishonored God." "To what 
 purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me? saith the 
 Lord: I am full of the burnt-otierings of rams, and the fat of fed 
 beasts, and I delight not in the l)lood of bullocks, or of lambs, or 
 of he-goats. When ye come to appear before me, who hath re- 
 quired this at your hand, to tread my courts? Bring no more 
 vain oblations : incense is an abomination unto me; the new-moons 
 and sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I cannot away with: it is 
 iniquity, even the solemn meeting. Your new-moons and your 
 appointed feasts, my soul hateth; they are a trouble unto me; I 
 am weary to bear them. And when ye spread forth your hands, 
 I will hide mine eyes from you ; yea, when ye make many prayers, 
 I will not hear: your hands are full of blood." Isa. i. 11-15. Such 
 services were not only worthless and unacceptable; they were 
 hateful to God. He represents himself as holding them in ab- 
 horrence, as much as he did the blood of an unclean victim, or 
 even of a human sacrifice. Such seems to be the spirit of the fol- 
 lowing verses : — " He that killeth an ox, is as if he slew a man ; 
 he that saerificeth a lamb, as if he cut off a dog's neck ; he that 
 offereth an oblation, as if he offered SMdne's blood; he that burneth 
 incense, as if he blessed an idol : yea, they have chosen their own 
 ways, and their soul delighteth in their abominations. I also will 
 choose their delusions, and will bring their fears upon them ; be- 
 cause when- 1 called none did ansAver ; when I spoke they did not 
 hear ; but they did evil before mine eyes, and chose that in which 
 I delighted not." Isa. Ixvi. 3, 4. These are expanded statements 
 of the sentiment more briefly expressed in the Book of Proverbs, 
 "The sacrifice of the wicked. is an abomination to the Lord:" to 
 which, on one occasion, it is added, " How much more when he 
 bringeth it with a svicked mind !" Prov. xv. 8 ; xxi. 27, — that is, 
 when not only his general character is ungodly, but there is some 
 special evil purpose cloaked under the particular act of hypocritical 
 devotion. 
 
 " Be more ready to hear " than to offer a heartless and detested 
 sacrifice : — to hear, with a sincere and earnest desire to know and 
 to obey the will of God. Men may hear, and even profess a will- 
 ingness to hear, when there is no disj^osition to obey. The charac- 
 ter of the Jews in Ezekiel's time is one, alas ! of no very rare oc- 
 currence: "Also, thou son of man, the children of thy people still 
 
136 LECTURE VIII. 
 
 are talking concerning thee, by the walls, and in the doors of the 
 houses, and speak one to another, every man to his brother, say- 
 ing, Come, I pray you, and hear what is the word that cometh 
 forth from the Lord. And they come unto thee as the people 
 cometh ; and they sit before thee as my people ; and they hear thy 
 words, but they will not do them : for with their mouth they show 
 much love, but their heart goeth after its covetousness : and lo, 
 thou art unto them as a very lovely song of one that hath a pleas- 
 ant voice, and can play well on an instrument; for they hear thy 
 words, but they do them not." Ezek. xxxiii. 30-32. But in the 
 passage before us, and in many others, hearing is equivalent to 
 obeying. Thus, when Samuel says to Saul, in the full spirit of 
 the sentiment we are considering; "Hath the Lord as great de- 
 light in burnt-oiferings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of 
 the Lord ? Behold to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken 
 than the fat of rams," 1 Sam. xv. 22 ; hearkening means the same 
 thing as obeying: and the quotations formerly introduced, to show 
 the meaning of the "sacrifice of fools," might here be cited anew. 
 "For they consider not that they do evil," There cannot be 
 more obvious evil, than to come before God in acts of solemn wor- 
 ship, with no affection of the heart in exercise, or with a heart still 
 estranged and at enmity. And yet, as "the heart is deceitful 
 above all things," men may even so far impose upon themselves, 
 as to fancy they are doing what He will be pleased with and ac- 
 cept, when they offer this soul-less homage; this unhallowed and 
 odious service. Thus it was with multitudes of the ancient Is- 
 raelites. Regardless alike of the spiritual meaning and the spiritual 
 performance of their acts and offerings, they vainly imagined that 
 all was well, if blood were duly shed; if ablutions w^ere regularly 
 made; if tithes were sacredly paid; and incense fumed on the 
 censer at the appointed seasons. It is on the foolishness of such an 
 imagination that Jehovah thus indignantly expostulates with them : 
 "Hear, O my people, and I will speak: O Israel, and I will testify 
 against thee ; I am God, even thy God. I will not reprove thee 
 for thy sacrifices, or thy burnt-offerings, to have been continually 
 before me. I will take no bullock out of thy house, nor he-goats 
 out of thy folds ; for every beast of the forest is mine, and the 
 cattle upon a thousand hills. I know all the fowls of the moun- 
 tains : and the wild beasts of the field are mine. If I were hun- 
 
ECCLBSIASTES V. 1-7. 137 
 
 gry, I would not tell thee : for the world is mine, and the fullness 
 thereof. Will I eat the flesh of bulls, or drink the blood of goats? 
 Oifer unto God thanksgiving; and pay thy vows unto the Most 
 High : and call upon me in the day of trouble ; I will deliver thee, 
 and thou shalt glorify me. But unto the wicked God saith, What 
 hast thou to do to declare my statutes, or that thou shouldst take 
 my covenant in thy mouth? Seeing thou hatest instruction, and 
 castest my words behind thee." Psalm 1. 7-17. 
 
 Let us not forget, ray brethren, that the same general sentiments 
 are perfectly applicable to the services of New Testament worship. 
 We too have acts of outward devotion to perform, and we too are 
 in danger of satisfying ourselves with the outward performance 
 of them. But the mere utterance of the words of praise and prayer; 
 the mere ceremony of sprinkling with or immersing in water; the 
 mere participation of the symbols of bread and wine; are just as 
 worthless, without the accompanying homage of the heart, as any 
 observance of the Mosaic Ceremonial. The "calves of the lips" 
 are, in themselves, no better than the "calves of the stall." They 
 are both alike the "sacrifice of fools." 
 
 If we consider with becoming seriousness what we are doing 
 when we go to the house of God, we shall thereby be led to fulfill 
 the admonition in the second verse : 
 
 Verse 2. Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thy heart be hasty 
 to utter any thing before God; for God is in heaven, and thou upon 
 earth: therefore let thy words be few. 
 
 Of all that we utter in our addresses to God we should ma- 
 turely weigh the meaning. All should be the deliberate dictate 
 of a reflecting niind, and of an impressed and feeling heart. We 
 must take heed, that we do not 
 
 " Mock him with a solemn sound 
 
 Upon a thoughtless tongue." 
 
 We must beware of this in every part of our addresses to him : — 
 in the appellations of adoring reverence with which we approach 
 his presence ; for these should be dictated by deep, humble, godly 
 fear: — in our confessions of sin, and guilt, and unworthiness ; for 
 these must not "come out of feigned lips," but must express a 
 real heart-felt sense of what we are, and of what we deserve : — in 
 our supplications and cries for mercy ; for these must spring from 
 an abasing conviction of our need of mercy in all its freedom and 
 
138 LECTURE VIII. 
 
 in all its richness, and of the impossibility of our being justified 
 in God's sight, if he should enter with us into judgment: — in our 
 expressions of gratitude for the gifts of Divine goodness; for in 
 these "our souls and all that is within us must bless his holy 
 Name:" — in our petitions for spiritual blessings; for in presenting 
 these, our hearts should be enlarged with fervent desires after 
 them, from an experimental feeling of their incomparable precious- 
 ness: — and in our professed resolutions to "cleave to the Lord;" 
 for these must be uttered "with purpose of heart," else they are 
 hypocritical mockery. There appears to be, in the admonition, 
 a special reference to the making and uttering of rash and incon- 
 siderate vows; a subject enlarged upon in the following verses. 
 But it applies, with perfect propriety, and iu all its energy, to 
 ■every description of religious service. The consideration by which 
 the admonition is inforced, is, in the same way, one of universal 
 application : 
 
 "For God is in heaven, and thou upon earth; therefore let thy 
 words be few." 
 
 This clause of the verse expresses the distance between God and 
 his creatures, and the consequent veneration and sacred awe which 
 they ought to feel and to manifest in all their intercourse with him; 
 not addressing him with a profusion of unpondered and heartless 
 words, but with the lowly and unobtrusive devotion of the whole 
 ftoul. "God is in heaven." The expression may be understood 
 as including his uncontrolled supremacy, his omniscient observa- 
 tion, and his moral purity. His supremacy; — "The Lord hath 
 erected his throne in the heavens; and his kingdom ruletli over 
 all." "Our God is in the heavens: he hath done whatsoever he 
 hath pleased." His omniscience; — "The Lord is in his holy tem- 
 ple ; the Lord's throne is in heaven : his eyes behold, his eye-lids 
 try, the children of men:" "The Lord looketh from heaven; he 
 beholdeth all the sons of men: from the place of his habitation 
 he looketh upon all the inhabitants of the earth." HisjMrity; — 
 "Thus saith the high and lofty One who inhabitcth eternity, whose 
 name is Holy, I dwell in the high and holy place." Psalm ciii. 
 19. cxv. 3. xi. 4. xxxiii. 13, 14. Isa. Ivii. 15. Under the impres- 
 sion, then, of sacred dread of his majesty and holiness, and of his 
 universal and unceasing observation of all things, "let thy words 
 be few." This corresponds with the expressions in the beginning 
 
ECCLESIASTES V. 1-7. 139 
 
 of the verse, as their evident counterpart. The fewness of words 
 is meant to imply their being well weighed and well ordered, in 
 opposition to their being poured out with hasty thoughtlessness. 
 And this is the natural effect of reverence, which always restrains 
 rash and inconsiderate utterance in the presence of its object. Not 
 that all copiousness, and all repetition, in prayer are by this ad- 
 monition condemned. As to copiousness, much depends on the 
 number and extent of the topics of supplication, and on the state 
 of the supplicant's mind: — and as to repetition, it may be so far 
 from an impropriety, as to be an expression at once of strength of 
 faith, and fervor of desire. Of copiousness, we hav e examples in 
 the prayers of Solomon, of Xehemiah, and of Daniel; and of repe- 
 tition, in those of Paul, and of the blessed Jesus himself, who, 
 when "in the days of his flesh he offered up prayers and suppli- 
 cations, with strong crying and tears, to him who was able to save 
 him from death," thrice repeated, in the anguish of his spirit, the 
 .same petition, in the same words. He encouraged importunity, 
 too, in his disciples, (and importunity necessarily implies repeti- 
 tion,) by recommending the example of the woman of Canaan, as 
 an evidence of strong faith; and by delivering the parable of the 
 poor widow and the unjust judge, for the very purpose of incul- 
 cating the lesson, that "they ought always to pray, and not to 
 faint." See 1 Kings viii. Neh. ix. 3. Dan. ix. 2 Cor. xii. 8. Matt, 
 xxvi. 44. XV. -21-28. Luke xviii. 1-7. What is forbidden is, the 
 unmeaning profusion of words, the product of a light and unim- 
 pressed mind; and what Jesus himself denominates "vain repeti- 
 tions," such as "the heathen use, when they think they are to be 
 heard for their much speaking;" of which we have a fine exem- 
 plification in Scripture history, in the frantic orgies of the wor- 
 shippers of Baal, wlien they "called on the name of their god from 
 morning until noon, saying, O Baal hear us;" and, being stimu- 
 lated by the keen irony of the venerable Elijah, continued their 
 unavailing cries "till the time of the evening sacrifice." 1 Kings 
 xviii. 26-29. Thus, there appears a perfect and instructive har- 
 mony between the directions of the Old Testament and tliose of 
 the New, as to the spirit and manner of the worship of God. 
 What a beautiful illustration of his own precept, as well as of 
 the cautions and injunctions of Solomon in the passage before us, 
 is the prayer which Christ taught his disciples: — "After tliis man- 
 
 .^( 
 m^' 
 
140 LECTURE viir. 
 
 ner, therefore, pray ye : Our Father who art in heaven, Hallowed 
 be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, 
 as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And for- 
 give us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not 
 into temptation; but deliver us from evil: For thine is the king- 
 dom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen." Matt. vi. 
 9-13. 
 
 Verse 3. For a dream cometh through the multitude of busmess;- 
 and a fool's voice is knoion by multitude of words. 
 
 There is a comparison, I apprehend, intended in this verse: — 
 "For as a dream cometh through the multitude of business; so a 
 fool's voice is known by the multitude of words." When a man 
 has been occupied with a great variety of cares and businesses 
 during the day, the consequence very often is, confused and inco- 
 herent dreams by night, in which there is neither distinct be- 
 ginning, nor order, nor end. As the nature of a man's dreams, 
 then, indicates the nature and variety of his daily employments- 
 and solicitudes; so the voice of a worshipper may be icnown to be 
 a fools's voice, and his mind consequently a fool's mind, by " mul- 
 titude of words." He talks volubly, incoherently, loud, and long; 
 his mind evidently not deeply if at all engaged, but light, and 
 frivolous, and confused; — tongue without understanding; lan- 
 guage without feeling ; the unconnected utterance of unconnected 
 thoughts; the "swelling words of vanity;" the inane expression 
 of inward vacancy and heedless presumption. Such wordy and 
 frothy addresses to God manifest the mind of a fool, and from the 
 mind of a fool we should expect them, as we expect the dream of 
 the night to correspond with the multitudinous businesses of the. 
 day. 
 
 Although this and the preceding verses may with propriety be 
 applied, in the general spirit of them, to all descriptions of wor- 
 ship ; those which follow, as they are evidently a continuation of 
 the same subject, show the principal reference, throughout the 
 passage, to be to rash vows: — 
 
 Verses 4, 5. When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay 
 it; for he hath no 'pleasure in fools: pay that ivhich thou hast vowed. 
 Better is it that thou shouldst not voiv, than that thou shouldst vote and 
 not pay. 
 
 A vow was a solemn promise or engagement, voluntarily come 
 
 m 
 
EOCLESIASTES V. 1-7. 141 
 
 under to God, (usually accompanied with an oath or imprecation, 
 either formally expressed, or tacitly understood,) of some sacrifice 
 to be offered, some portion of worldly substance to be devoted, or 
 some other service to be performed. Such vows it was the duty 
 of him who made them, conscientiously, promptly, and cheer- 
 fully to fulfill : — " Pay that which thou hast vowed," and " defer 
 not to pay it." "If a man vow a vow unto the Lord, or swear 
 an oath to bind his soul with a bond ; he shall not break his word, 
 he shall do according to all that proceedeth out of his mouth." 
 '^ When thou shalt vow a vow unto the Lord thy God, thou shalt 
 not slack to pay it; for the Lord thy God will surely require it 
 of thee, and it would be sin in thee. But if thou shalt forbear to 
 vow, it shall be no sin in thee. That which is gone out of thy 
 lips thou shalt keep and perform; even a free-will oifering, ac- 
 cording as thou hast vowed mnto the Lord thy God, which thou 
 hast promised with thy mouth." "Vow, and pay, unto the Lord 
 your God." Numb. xxx. 2. Deut. xxiii. 21-23. Psalm Ixxvi. 11. 
 The expression, "Defer not to pay it," signifies not merely, be 
 .sure to pay it; but pay it with promptitude and cheerfulness, 
 indicated by punctuality. — "For he hath no pleasure in fools." 
 A fool's voiv is much the same as a fool's j^^'^^^y^^'f a vow formed 
 in the mind and uttered by the lips, rashly, without consideration, 
 without the heart, without a serious resolution, or an honest and 
 -deliberate purpose, to fulfil it. The God to whom the vow is 
 made cannot be deceived ; and he condemns the levity and detests 
 the deceitfulness of heart, by which the vow of a fool is dictated. 
 He will not be mocked; nor will he deign to accept the person 
 or the Worship of the man who thus plays the hypocrite; who thus 
 takes back his M'ord, uttered to the God of truth, and insults and 
 provokes the Majesty of heaven. The mode of expression may 
 be illustrated from the striking language of Jehovah to Israel, 
 by the prophet Malachi: — "A son honoreth his father, and a ser- 
 vant his master: if I then be a father, where is my honor? and 
 if I be a master, where is my fear? saith the Lord of hosts, unto 
 you, O priests, that despise my name. And ye say. Wherein 
 have we despised thy name? Ye offer polluted bread upon mine 
 altar: and ye say. Wherein have we polluted thee? In that ye 
 say, the table of the Lord is contemptible. And if ye offer the 
 blind for sacrifice, is it not evil? and if ye offer the lame and sick, 
 
142 LECTURE VIII. 
 
 is it not evil? Offer it now to thy governor: will he be pleased 
 with thee, or accept thine offering? And ye brought that which 
 was torn, and the lame, and the sick: thus ye brought an offering:- 
 should I accept this of your hand? saith the Lord. But cursed 
 be the deceiver, that hath in his flock a male, and voweth, and 
 sacrificcth unto the Lord a corrupt thing : for I am a great King, 
 saith the Lord of hosts, and my name is dreadful among the 
 lieathen." Mai. i. 6-8, 13, 14. As God is displeased with the 
 deceiver who thus, repenting of his vow, and grudging the pay- 
 ment of it, puts off the God of heaven with a corrupt and worth- 
 less offering ; so is he displeased with the man Avho draws back 
 altogether, who pays not what he has vowed at all. 
 
 "Pay," then, "that which thou hast vowed;" for;— "Better is, 
 it that thou shouldst not vow, than that thou shouldst vow, and 
 not pay." Vows were voluntary : and, as is plainly intimated in 
 one of the passages quoted from the Old Testament, sin was not 
 contracted by refraining to vow, but only by the non-performance, 
 of vows when they had been made. It is taken for granted, that 
 vows which are binding, and which it is a man's duty to fulfill,, 
 must, in their subject, or in that to which he obliges himself, be 
 consistent with the moral obligations of the Divine law. No vow 
 could render that a duty, which was in its nature morally wrong,, 
 or which involved, in the performance of it, a violation of any 
 express precept or ordinance of God. To vow to the Lord what 
 was contrary to his will, could never bring a man under obliga- 
 tion to fulfillment; else his vow would have obliged him to sin> 
 When any thing vowed w^as subsequently discovered to be contrary 
 to the will of God, it must have ceased to bind the soul : and the 
 vow itself required to be repented of, as one that had been made 
 in inconsideration and without knowledge; and might, perhaps,, 
 be classed with those sins of ignorance, for which appropriate 
 atonements were appointed. "It is a snare, to the man," says So- 
 lomon elsewhere, Prov. xx. 25, " who devoureth that which is 
 holy, and after vows to make inquiry." " That which is holy," 
 probably means that which by his vow has become holy, having 
 been consecrated or devoted to God, and to holy uses. He who^ 
 "devoureth" this part of his substance, and "after vows makes 
 inquiry," with the view, as is evidently meant, of eluding per- 
 formance, and, on some plausible pretext, retaining his devoted 
 
ECCLESIASTES V. 1-7. 143 
 
 property; the bullock of his herd, or the lamb of his fold, or the 
 fruits of his ground, or whatever else it might be; for his own 
 use; — that man is ensnared by temptation, — the temptation of 
 selfish and covetous impiety, — and sins against God. The " in- 
 quiry " and deliberation, both as to the propriety of the vow itself, 
 and the disposition and ability to fulfill it, ought to have preceded 
 and not to follow the making of it. But if the matter of the vow 
 \\'as morally wrong, it could not by the vow be rendered right. 
 It could never be right to do what it was morally wrong to vow 
 to do. 
 
 By making vows rashly, men entered into temptation to this 
 sin of " making inquiry." They were in danger of regretting their 
 precipitation, and seeking after excuses for not fiilfilling their en- 
 gagements. It is, therefore, added in the sixth verse : — 
 
 Verse 6. ^^uffer not thy mouth to cause thy flesh to sin; neither say 
 thou before the angel that it teas an error: wherefore should God be 
 angry at thy voice, and destroy the jvork of thy hands f 
 
 By uttering rash vows, the mouth caused the flesh to sin. "Thy 
 flesh " is a very unusual expression, if Ave understand it to mean 
 no more than thyself. All flesh, indeed, is a common phrase for 
 all men, or mankind; but thy flesh for thyself is quite unexampled. 
 The probability, therefore, is, that the phrase here, as in some other 
 parts of Scripture, signifies corrupt nature; by the evil principles 
 of which it is, that men are tempted to elude the performance of 
 their vows. When a person made such engagements rashly, he 
 laid a stumbling-block in the way of his corruptions, and became 
 his own tempter to the commission of sin. 
 
 " Neither say thou before the angel, that it was an error." I 
 am satisfied, that by "the angel" we are here to understand the 
 priest. "The priest's lips," says God by Malachi, "should keep 
 knowledge, and they should seek the law at his mouth : for he is 
 the messenger (angel) of the Lord of hosts." Mai. ii. 7. The case 
 which is supposed makes this sufficiently clear. The priest, in 
 liis official capacity, stood and acted to the people in God's stead, 
 receiving in his behalf their vows and free-will offerings, and dis- 
 charging from the obligation of them, when there was sufficient 
 legal ground for such discharge. There were appropriate offerings 
 prescribed for sins of ignorance: and amongst the rest, for vows 
 to do evil, or to do good, in certain circumstances: — "If a sou} 
 
144 LECTURE VIII. 
 
 swear, pron,ouncing with his lips to do evil or to do good, what- 
 soever it be that a man shall pronounce with an oath, and it be 
 hid from him; when he knoweth of it, then he shall be guilty in 
 one of these. And it shall be, when he shall be guilty in one of 
 these things, that he shall confess that he hath sinned in that thing; 
 and he shall bring his trespass offering unto the Lord for his sin 
 which he had sinned." Lev. v. 4-6. The offering was to be, ac- 
 cording to the person's circumstances, a lamb, or a kid of the 
 goats, two turtle-doves, or two young pigeons, or the tenth part 
 of an ephah of fine flour. Now, the case supposed and cautioned 
 against in the j)assage before us, is the case of a man, who, in order 
 to elude the performance of a vow he has made, comes to the priest, 
 pretending that it was "an error," or a mistake ; a thing done rashly, 
 and wathout consideration of its nature and consequences; a vow 
 which it would, as he has since discovered, be improper for him to 
 fulfill; a sin of ignorance; and who, making this confession, presents, 
 or proposes to present, the appointed offering. This view of the 
 case imparts peculiar force to the words which follow: "Where- 
 fore should God be angry at thy voice, and destroy the work of 
 thy hands ?" Such hypocritical mockery of God would expose him 
 to his merited displeasure. Thus insulted, he would be provoked 
 to frown upon him : — and, whilst the foolish deceiver might be 
 "blessing himself in his heart" that he had succeeded so well in 
 keeping possession of the substance which he had alienated by his 
 vow, the curse of offended Heaven might not only blast what he 
 had feloniously kept, but come down upon all that he had ; pre- 
 venting his prosperity; imbittering his sweets; blighting his pros- 
 pects; and "destroying the work of his hands." This is just the 
 opposite of the promise annexed to the duty of faithful liberality 
 in the service of God: — "Honor the Lord with thy substance, and 
 with the first-fruits of all thine increase; so shall thy barns be 
 filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine." 
 Prov. iii. 9, 10. And the displeasure, with its efiects, which So- 
 lomon here supposes, God actually threatened of old by his pro- 
 phets, against such as dealt unfaithfully in his service. "If ye 
 will not hear, and if ye will not lay it to heart, to give glory unto 
 my name, saith the Lord of hosts, I will even send a curse upon 
 you, and I will curse your blessings : yea, I have cursed them al- 
 ready, because ye do not lay it to heart." Mai. ii. 2. "Thus saith 
 
ECC1>ES1ASTE,S V. 1-7. 145 
 
 the Lord of hosts, Consider your ways. (tO uj) to the iiioiiiitain, 
 and bring wood, and baikl tlie house; and I Avill take pk^asure in 
 it, and I will be glorified, saith the Lord. Ye looked lor mueh, 
 and, lo, it eame to little; and when ye brought it home, 1 did 
 blow upon it. Why? saith the Lord of hosts. Beeause of mine 
 house that is waste, and ye run every man unto his own house. 
 Therefore the heaven over you is stayed from dew, and the earth 
 is stayed from her fruit. And I called for a drought upon the 
 land, and upon the mountains, and upon the corn, and upon the 
 new wine, and upon the oil, and upon that which the ground 
 bringeth forth, and upon men, and upon cattle, and u})on all the 
 labor of the hands." Hag. i. 7-11. "And now, I pray you, con- 
 sider from this day and upward, from before a stone was laid upon 
 a stone in the temple of the Lord; since those days were, when 
 one came to a heap of twenty measures, there were but ten : w^hen 
 one came to the press-fat to draw out fifty vessels out of the press, 
 there were but twenty. I smote you with blasting, and with mil- 
 dew, and with hail, in all the labors of your hands; yet ye turned 
 not to me, saith the Lord. Consider now from this day and up- 
 ward, from the four and twentieth day of the ninth month, even 
 from the day that the foundation of the Lord's temple was laid, 
 consider it. Is the seed yet in the barn? yea, as yet the vine, and 
 the fig-tree, and the pomegranate, and the olive-tree, hath not 
 brought forth-: from this day will I bless you." Ibid. ii. 15-19. 
 
 Verse 7. For in the multitude of dreams, and manij icords, there 
 are also divers vanities: hut fear thou God. 
 
 Here also, I think, there is still comparison. As there are 
 vanities in the multitude of dreams, so are there in the multitude 
 of words. When a man talks much without deliberation, utter- 
 ing his thoughts as they arise, under the impulse of present and 
 hasty feeling, crude and indigested, and never-ending, it is im- 
 possible but that a great deal of sin and folly must intermingle 
 with his Avords. It is rare indeed, that "a man full of talk" can 
 at all times be "justified." He can hardly fail to utter "divers 
 vanities;" and it will be well, if his words are not frequently worse 
 than idle. 
 
 The remedy for all the evils against which the wise man directs 
 his admonitions, is contained in the last clause of this verse: — 
 "But fear thou God." The reverential fear of the Most High, 
 10 • 
 
14G LECTURE vrii. 
 
 habitually influencing the mind and heart, will prevent a man 
 from being' "rash with his mouth;" from being "hasty to utter 
 any thing before him ;" and especially from making inconsiderate 
 vows, and afterwards, with profane duplicity of spirit, seeking 
 excuses for not fulfilling them. "Sanctify the Lord God in your 
 hearts; and let him be your fear, and let him be your dread." Let 
 others act the part of " fools who make a mock at sin ;" but " be 
 thou in the fear of the Lord all the day long." Ever " fear that 
 glorious and fearful name, the Lord thy God!" 
 
 Of such vows as were permitted and common under the Old 
 Dispensation, we have no recorded a nd approved examples under 
 the New; nor are any directions given us, for the making or the 
 performance of them. Resolutions, in the strength of Divine 
 grace, to serve the Lord, to cleave to him, and to his word, and 
 to his ways, we may, with propriety, form and express. Of this 
 nature, indeed, is the language of God's people, in their addresses 
 to himself, every day ; and always has been, and always mur,t be. 
 ' ' I will go, in the strength of the Lord God." But for the " bind- 
 ing of the soul" by special obligations, such as imprecatory oaths, 
 whether verbal or written ; for bringing ourselves under a bond 
 superadded to the sanction of the Divine command, I am not sure 
 that we have any warrant, either from the conduct or the writings 
 of the apostles of Christ. Paul's vows, recorded in the eighteenth 
 and twenty-first chapters of the Acts of the Apostles, and others 
 of a like nature, belonged to the Old Dispensation; which had 
 then only "waxed old, and was ready to vanish away;" and, al- 
 though virtually abolished by the death of Christ, was not yet, in 
 practice, finally set aside. 
 
 Vows have been a snare to the consciences of many ; especially 
 of the weak, who have often been more afraid of transgressing 
 because God's voics, they say, are upon them, than on account of the 
 simple and immediate obligation of Divine authority. They are 
 very apt, too, as every thing must be that is of our own devising, 
 when they do not produce a spirit of bondage and fear, to engen- 
 der the opposite one of self-righteous confidence and presumption. 
 Vows of celibacy and pilgrimage; vows of devoting money, houses, 
 and lands, to pious uses ; vows at baptism and the Lord's supper, 
 at admission to church-fellowship, and at ministerial ordination ; 
 and the oaths of personal and national covenanting, although some 
 
ECCI.E8IASTES V. 1-7. 147 
 
 of them are more objectionable than others, appear alike destitute 
 of New Testament warrant. When the word voir is used, as it fre- 
 quently is, synonymously, or nearly so, with the Avord resolution, it 
 were idle to quarrel with a mere term. It is our duty, however, to 
 beware of ensnaring our souls by self-invented and self-imposed 
 obligations, and of every such addition to his will as might draw 
 upon us the reproof, "AVho hath required this at your hands ?"=*= 
 
 But although the New Testament is silent on the subject of 
 vowing, yet the passage we have been ^evie^ying is far from being 
 barren of practical instruction to us in these latter days. 
 
 1. In the first place; Let all our religious services, and particu- 
 larly (for this is the subject before us) the services of the house of 
 God, be performed by us, sincerely, considerately, and reverentially. 
 Sincerely; — for the first and most indispensable requisite to all ac- 
 ceptable worship is, that the "heart be right with God." "My 
 son, give me thy heart." All is worthless without this. Con- 
 siderately: — all should be the dictate of an enlightened understand- 
 ing and a maturely reflecting mind. We should think well what 
 we are doing, when we engage in the different exercises of Divine 
 
 * We feel constrained, though reluctantly, to differ from these sentiments 
 of the esteemed author, respecting the lawfulness and the duty of vowing, 
 under the New Testament dispensation. We cannot see that there was any 
 thing peculiar to the Old Testament dispensation in the nature of vowing. 
 The author would not deny it to be a Christian duty to take an oath on ade- 
 quate occasion ; and if so, why not a vow? The Westminster Divines differed 
 from our author in regard to the divine warrant for vowing under the Gos- 
 pel. They say, (Confession of Faith, Ch. 22, Sections 5, 6),— "A vow is of the 
 like nature with a promissory oath, and ought to be made with the like re- 
 ligious care, and to be performed with the like faithfulness. It * * is to be 
 made to God alone; and * * out oi faith and conscience of duty, in the way 
 of thankfulness for mercy received, or for the obtaining of what we want; 
 whereby we more sfrictlg bind ourselves to necessary duties." 
 
 Besides, many of the commands in the Old Testament Scriptures to "vow," 
 and of the Prophecies, also, respecting the performance of that exercise, have 
 an evident reference to Gospel times; e. g. Psalm 76: 11; 50: 14; Isa. 19: 21. 
 "Covenants," or solemn engagements to God and to each other, by the ser- 
 vants of God, are sustained, we think, not only as lawful, but as, under cer- 
 tain providential circumstances, an incumbent "duty, on the part of Christians, 
 by the word of God. This practice has been frequently followed in trying 
 times by the churches of Christ, especially since the Reformation, not only 
 with a clear divine warrant, as we conceive, but with the manifest spiritua'l 
 blessing of God coming down on the souls of his servants, and on those 
 churches which have engaged in and have been faithful to their covenants. 
 Who can estimate how much we are indebted to the Scottish Covenanters 
 and their covenants, for the civil and religious principles and liberties now 
 enjoyed by us— the blessed fruits of the "Covenanted Pveformation?"— 
 
 Editor. 
 
148 T^ECTURI-: VIII. 
 
 worship. We f«liould consider, with deliberate seriousness, the 
 character of the Being to whom Ave approach ; " believing that he 
 is, and that he is a rewarder of all them that diligently seek him :" — 
 we should have an enlightened conception of the nature of our 
 duties, in praise and prayer, in speaking and hearing the word of 
 (jrod, in showing forth the Lord's death, in administering to the 
 wants of our poor brethren, and in occasionally attending to the 
 ordinance of baptism. All these services should be done with the 
 understanding, as well as Avith the heart. The latter Avithout the 
 former is enthusiasm. All the a'ffections, as Avell as zeal, must be 
 "according to kuoAvledge." "Did not our heart burn Avithin us, 
 Avhile he talked Avith us by the Avay, and Avhile he opened to us 
 the Scriptures?" This union of the understanding and the heart 
 Avill insure our worshipping ret'erentiaUy. There is no peculiar 
 sacredness in any place now, as there AA'as in the temple of old : 
 but the exercises of the Avorship of God are themselves sacred, and 
 ought to be solemn, in AvhatcA'er place performed. " Wherefore Ave, 
 receiving a kingdom Avhich cannot be moved, let us hold fast the 
 grace, whereby Ave may serve God acceptably, with reverence and 
 godly fear. ^^ In fulfillment of this duty, let there be punctuality 
 in the time of your coming to the house of God, and devotion of 
 spirit, and graA^ty of demeanor, Avhile you are in it. He, surely, 
 obeys not the injunction "keep thy foot Avhen thou goest to the 
 house of God," Avho is careless about being there in due time; AA'ho 
 is detained by every trifle, and sometimes by nothing but mere 
 thoughtlessness, and can thus miss, Avith apparently no regret, 
 some part of the Avorship, the first hymn of praise, the reading of 
 Scriptures, or the opening prayer. The conduct of those Avho are 
 in the habit of coming in late is se\'erely reprehensible, as a dis- 
 turbance of the Avorship, and a distraction of the attention of others. 
 The decency and soleinnity becoming the sanctuary of God re- 
 i[uire, that all the Avorshippers should be in their places, and all 
 settled and still, at the commencement of the ser\'ice, that they 
 may begin and end together. The subject also holds out a reproof 
 to the listless, Avhose attention, even in the most solemn parts of 
 worship, is distracted by the merest trifles, and who stare about 
 them, Avith absent minds, in idle A^acancy; to those Avho, instead 
 of striving against the encroachments of droAVsiness, nod Avithout 
 restraint in their ])eAvs, or lay doAvn their heads Avith perfect com- 
 
ECCLESIASTES V. 1-7. 1 41» 
 
 posure to a comfortal)le nap; and to those, who by kmd and un- 
 suppressed coughing;, and sneezing, and by other noises, whicli 
 they are at no pains to ayoid, disturb, without any plea of ne- 
 cessity, the stillness and solemnity of the worship. Alas! my 
 brethren, we have enough within us, every one in his own bosom, 
 to tempt to the evil of " drawing nigh to God with our lips, and 
 honoring him with our mouths whilst our hearts are far from 
 him;" we need no extraneous enticements, no temptations from 
 one another. 
 
 2. Secondly; Let us be always prompt in fulfilling our solemn 
 engagements to God. Although not under self-invented and self- 
 imposed vows, we yet have "given ourselves to the Ijord." AVe 
 are under the deepest and most sacred obligations, and have avowed 
 that we feel them; the obligations arising from Divine authority, 
 and from Divine goodness and grace. " I beseech you, therefore, 
 brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies (your 
 whole persons) a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which 
 is your reasonable service." " Ye are not your own ; for ye are 
 bought with a price : therefore, glorify God in your body, and in 
 your spirit, which are God's." Rom. xii. 1. 1 Cor. vi. 19, 20. If 
 we feel these obligations aright, all our obedience will be charac- 
 terized hj j^romptiimU: "I thought on my ways, and turned my 
 feet unto thy testimonies: I made haste, and delayed not, to keej) 
 thy commandments." Psalm cxix. 59, 60. Every part of our 
 service to God should be thus prompt and cheerful ; yielded "with 
 a ready mind," " not grudgingly or of necessity." In particular, 
 we are under obligation, though not by special vow, to "honor the 
 Lord with our substance, and with the first-fruits of all our in- 
 crease." It will be a comfortable reflection, should God, in his 
 providence, be pleased to deprive us of the means of thus honoring 
 him, that we did not, while in possession of them, shut our heart 
 and hand against his paramount claims, and withhold from Him 
 his due ; that it is not on this account, but in the exercise of that 
 love that chastens for the profit of his children, that he " destroys 
 the work of our hands." 
 
 3. Thirdly; Let all the professed people of God examine them- 
 selves, lest they should have "a name to live while they are dead;" 
 a "form of godliness while they deny its power." "Remember 
 what was already stated, and what I repeat and urge upon your 
 
150 LECTURE viri. 
 
 attention, because of its essential importance, that if your hearts 
 are not given to God, but still set on the world, no external ser- 
 vices, though attended to with the most punctilious exactness, can 
 ever be pleasing in his sight. They are the " sacrifices of fools," 
 and shall profit you nothing; and if "/o;- a pretence you make long 
 prayers, you shall only receive the greater damnation." " Let the 
 sinners in Zion be afraid ; let fearfulness surprise the hypocrites." 
 Lastly. Let all consider, on wJiat ground they draw near to God, 
 in the exercises either of private or public worship. This is a 
 most essential point for deliberation. There is but one way of ac- 
 cess; one plea; one ground of acceptable homage. ''Through 
 him" (Christ Jesus) "we both" (Jews and Gentiles) "have access, 
 by one Spirit, unto the Father." " Having, therefore, brethren, 
 boldness to enter into the Holiest by the blood of Jesus; by 
 a new and living way which he hath consecrated for us through 
 the vail, that is to say, his flesh; and having a High Priest over 
 the House of God : let us draw near with a true heart, in full as- 
 surance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil con- 
 science, and our bodies washed wdth pure Avater." Eph. ii. 18. 
 Heb. x. 19-22. All our services, then, must be in the name of 
 Jesus. They must be " spiritual sacrifices," and they are " accepta- 
 ble to God BY Jesus Christ." This implies faith in Jesus, on 
 the part of the worshipper; and without this faith it is, therefore, 
 impossible for you to please him. This always teas the way of 
 acceptance of the persons and services of sinners ; although it was 
 not of old so fully and clearly revealed. It is the w^ay still ; and 
 every approach to God, except through the mediation of the blessed 
 and only Redeemer, is an act of unhallowed presumption. And, 
 on the same ground on which we are accepted in our worship here, 
 must we stand before the Divine tribunal in the great day. In 
 the "House of God" above, solemn worship is for ever addressed 
 by the holy and happy inhabitants, " to Him that sitteth upon the 
 throne, and unto the Lamb." There, there is no "sacrifice of 
 f(X)ls." Every mind and every heart are engaged, in the perfection 
 of knowledge, and purity, and love, and joy. " God is in heaven," 
 says Solomon, "and thou upon earth; therefore let thy words be 
 few." But though all shall then be advanced to heaven, even in 
 the intimax^y of the upper sanctuary the distance between the crea- 
 ture and the Creator shall be felt as it never was felt before; and 
 
ECCLKSIASTES V. 1-7. 151 
 
 holy reverence shall characterize the worship of heaven infinitely 
 more than it now does that of earth ; — holy reverence, in delight- 
 ful association with the perfection of that love which ** casteth out 
 fear." "After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no 
 man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and peoples, and 
 tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed 
 with w4iite robes, and palms in their hands ; and cried with a loud 
 voice, saying, Salvation to our God who sitteth upon the throne, 
 and unto the Lamb! And all the angels stood round about the 
 throne, and about the elders and the four living creatures, and 
 fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God, saying. 
 Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and 
 honor, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. 
 Amen. And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What 
 are these who are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they? 
 And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, 
 These are they who came out of great tribulation, and have washed 
 their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb: there- 
 fore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and 
 night in his temple : and He that sitteth on the throne shall dwell 
 among them. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any 
 more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat: for the 
 Lamb, which is in the midst of the throne, shall feed them, and 
 shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall 
 wipe away all tears from their eyes." Rev. vii. 9-17. 
 
LECTURE IX. 
 
 , ECCLESIASTES V. 8-20. 
 
 ■"If thou iseest the oppression of the ])Oor, and violent perverting of judgment 
 and justice in a province, marvel not at the matter: for (he that is) higher 
 than the highest regardeth; and (there be) higher than they. 9. More- 
 over the profit of the earth is for all: the king (himself) is served by the 
 field. 10. He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver; nor he 
 that loveth abundance with increase. This (is) also vanity. 11. When 
 goods increase, they are increased that eat them: and what good (is there) 
 to the owners thereof, saving the beholding (of them) with their eyes? 
 12. The sleep of a laboring man (is) sweet, whether he eat little or much : 
 but the abundance of the rich will not suffer him to sleep. 13. There is 
 a sore evil (which) I have seen under the sun, (namely,) riches kept for 
 the owners thereof to their hurt. 14. But those riches perish by evil tra- 
 vail; and he begetteth a son, and (there is) nothing in his hand. 15. As 
 he came forth of his mother's womb, naked shall he return to go as he 
 came, and shall take nothing of his labor, which he may carry away in 
 his hand. 1(3. And this also (is) a sore evil, (that) in all points as he came, 
 so shall he go: and what profit hath he that hath labored for the wind? 
 17. All his days also he eateth in darkness, and (he hath) much sorrow 
 and wrath with his sickness. 18. Behold (that) which I have seen: (it is) 
 good and comely (for one) to eat and to drink, and to enjoy the good of 
 all his labor that he taketh under the sun all the days of his life, which 
 God giveth him ; for it (is) his portion. 19. Every man also to whom Clod 
 hath given riches and wealth, and hath given him power to eat thereof, 
 and to take his portion, and to rejoice in his labor; this (is) the gift of 
 God. 20. For he shall not much remember the days of his life ; because 
 God answereth (him) in the joy of his heart." 
 
 Ix such a book as this, it would be unreasonable to expect a 
 close and inimediatelj perceptible connection between its different 
 parts. The writer should be considered as taking a survey of 
 human life, in its various departments and appearances, as these 
 presented themselves to his mind. His book, therefore, does not 
 bear, throughout, the form of a regular dissertation. He appears 
 
ECCLESIASTEH V. 8-20. 15:3 
 
 at times to start suddenly from one subject to another; and some- 
 times to resume a former subject, which has again suggested itself 
 under some new aspect or relation. In these cases, there might 
 frequently be an association in the mind of the wi-iter, that not 
 only escapes a su])erficial reader, but is eyen undiscernible by the 
 most attentive and judicious; — for eyery man who pays any at- 
 tention to the operations of his own mind, must be sensible how 
 slight and remote, how airy and eyanescent, the associations of his 
 ideas often are; so that, many a time, he is himself unable at all 
 to recollect what it was that brought the two thoughts together. 
 
 The eighth verse of this chapter does not seem to have any con- 
 nection with what immediately precedes, unless it be with the last 
 words of the seventh verse, — " but fear thou God." This mention 
 of the fear of God might naturally enough suggest to the mind of 
 the writer the conduct of some of the great men of the earth, who, 
 regardless of their Divine superior, abused their power, and kept 
 their subjects in peri)etual dread. The fear of God Avas the best 
 corrective, both of the tyranny of the oppressor, and of the fear of 
 the oppressed. Whether this was the link of connection or not, 
 he resumes, here, a subject on which he had more than once 
 touched already; Chap. iii. 16, 17. iv. 1-3; and the light in which 
 it is taken up, seems rather to favor the view given of the asso- 
 ciation of ideas in his mind: — 
 
 Verse 8. If thou neest the oppression of the poor, and Tiolent per- 
 verting of judgment and justice in a province, marvel not at the matter: 
 for he that is hie/her than the highest regardeth ; and there be higher 
 than they. 
 
 "Marvel not at the matter." This might, indeed, be understood 
 to mean that, in a world of fallen creatures, and considering the 
 depth of human corruption, there is little reason to wonder at 
 such perversions of power and justice: — or, supposing a particular 
 reference to the persecution of the righteous by the power of the 
 wicked, that this need not be matter of great astonishment, when 
 the same considerations are taken into account, together with the 
 fact, that, so far from being a novel and strange occurrence, it has 
 existed from the beginning ; even since the days of Cain, who slew 
 Abel "because his own works were evil, and his brother's right- 
 eous." The apostle John quotes this example of early malignity, 
 for the same purpose of suppressing wonder; subjoining ininiedi- 
 
154 3>ECTURE IX. 
 
 ately, ^^ Marrd not, my brethren, if the world hate you." 1 Johns 
 iii. 12, 13. 
 
 I am disposed to think, however, that neither of these is the 
 true meaning; but that Solomon alhides to that description of 
 " marvelling," which involves in it some rising hesitancy, some 
 secret, undefined, but painful and distracting doubts, about the 
 superintending providence of God: — that wonder, which tempts 
 a person, on witnessing such scenes of iniquity and cruelty, and 
 perceiving no symptoms of vengeance coming down on the op- 
 pressor, to say in his heart, "How doth God know? and is there 
 knowledge in the Most High?" "Marvel not at the matter," says 
 the w^ise man; "for he that is higher than the highest regardeth." 
 You may be tempted to question the knowledge, or even to doubt 
 the existence, of a superintending providence ; but be assured you 
 are mistaken: "He that is higher than the highest regardeth.'" 
 "Verily there is a God that judgeth in the earth." "The Lord's 
 throne is in the heavens: his eyes behold, his eye-lids try, the 
 children of men." He is " higher than the highest." He " whose 
 name alone is Jehovah, is the most high over all the earth;" in- 
 finitely elevated, in majesty and power; above the greatest, and 
 mightiest, and proudest of the potentates of this world. And He 
 '^ regardethJ' Yes: "the high and lofty One who inhabiteth 
 eternity, whose name is holy, who dwelleth in the high and holy 
 place," "Fegardeth:" not as an unconcerned spectator, but as a 
 righteous governor and judge; his "eye-lids trying," as well as 
 his "eyes beholding." And often, when this sentiment is expressed,, 
 and this assurance given, it is in connection with the Divine re- 
 gard to the poor, and his abhorrence of these oppressors. "He 
 (the wicked) hath said in his heart, God hath forgotten; he liideth 
 his face; he will never see it. Arise, O Lord; O God, lift up thy 
 hand; forget not the humble. Wherefore doth the wicked con- 
 temn God? He hath said in his heart. Thou wilt not require it. 
 Thou hast seen it; for thou beholdest mischief and spite, to requite 
 it with thy hand: the poor committeth himself unto thee; thou 
 art the helper of the fatherless." " For the oppression of the poor, 
 for the sighing of the needy, now will I arise, saith the Lord; I 
 will set him in safety from him that puifeth at him." "Say ye 
 to the righteous, that it shall be well with him ; for they shall 
 eat the fruit of their doings. Woe unto the wicked; for it shall 
 
ECOl.ESIASTES V. 8-20. 1 55 
 
 be ill witli him; for the reward of his hands shall be given him. 
 The Lord will enter into judgment with the ancients of his people, 
 and with the princes thereof: for ye have eaten up the vineyard; 
 the spoil of the poor is in your houses. What mean ye, that ye beat 
 my people in pieces, and grind the faces of the poor? saith the 
 Lord God of hosts." " I will come near to you to judgment; and 
 I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the 
 adulterers, and against false swearers, and against those that op- 
 press the hireling in his wages, the widow and the fatherless, and 
 that turn aside the stranger from his right, and fear not me, saith 
 the Lord of hosts." **Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl 
 for your miseries that shall come upon you. Your riches are 
 corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and 
 silver are cankered ; and the rust of them shall be a witness against 
 you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped 
 treasure together for the last days. Behold, the hire of the labor- 
 ers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back 
 by fraud, crieth : and the cries of them who have reaped a:re en- 
 tered into the ears of the Lord of sabaoth. Ye have lived in 
 pleasure on the earth, and been wanton; ye have nourished your 
 hearts, as in a day of slaughter. Ye have condemned and 
 killed the just; and he doth not resist you. Be patient therefore, 
 ])rethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman 
 waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience 
 for it, until he receive the early and latter rain." Psal. x. 11-14. 
 xii. 5. Isa. iii. 10, 11, 14, 15. Mai. iii. 5. Jam. v. 1-7. Thus 
 "he that is higher than the highest regardeth." His penal judg- 
 ments may not, in any remarkable way, fall upon the objects of 
 his displeasure in this world : — but still he "regardeth:" he marks, 
 and he records, every thought and word, and deed of iniquity and 
 violence, and will bring it into judgment. "He is not a God that 
 delighteth in wickedness: neither shall evil dwell with him: the 
 foolish shall not stand in his sight ; he hateth all the workers of 
 iniquity." Psalm v. 4, 5. " Surely thou didst set them in slippery 
 places; thou castedst them down into destruction: how are they 
 brought into desolation as in a moment! they are utterly consumed 
 with terrors. As a dream when one awaketh, so, O Lord, when, 
 thou awakest, thou shalt despise their image!" Psal. Ixxiii. 18-20. 
 The last clause of this verse, "and there be higher than they," 
 
156 LECTURE IX. 
 
 seems to be.most uatiirally interpreted of the angelic ministers of 
 *'Him who is higher than the highest;" the celestial messengers 
 and agents, by whom he executes many of the plans of his provi- 
 dence; who are "greater in power and might" than the very 
 greatest of earthly oppressors; who, with the swiftness and the 
 enero-y of "flames of fire," fulfill the commissions of the Divine 
 throne; whose agency is conspicuous in the Scripture history; and 
 who, though in a manner unseen and unknown by us, are doubt- 
 less employed still, both in messages of mercy in behalf of God's 
 people, and in the infliction of judicial vengeance on his enemies. 
 The superiority of these vicegerents of heaven to the mightiest 
 tyrants of this world, the "oppressors of the poor," the "perver- 
 ters of judgment and justice," was strikingly displayed, when one 
 of them, ii?a single night, smote and destroyed the myriads of the 
 host of Sennacherib ; when "the Lord sent his angel and delivered 
 Peter out of the hand of Herod, and from all the expectation of 
 the people of the Jews; and when the messenger of Divine jealousy 
 "smote" the tyrant, "because," in his high estate, "he gave not 
 God the glory," and saved the Church from his persecuting vio- 
 lence. 2 Kings xix. 35. Acts xii. 11, 23. 
 
 In the verses which follow, a good deal of the sentiment is simi- 
 lar to what has been formerly illustrated. They are introduced 
 liere, apparently for two purposes; — in the first place, to comfort 
 and encourage "the poor," even although by "oppression" their 
 right should be taken away, and they should be kept down, and 
 prevented from rising in the world ; and in the next place, to settle 
 the doubts of the man who witnesses the "oppression of the poor," 
 the Avresting of their judgment, and the distress which they are 
 thus made to endure, — by showing, that true happiness is by no 
 means on the side of the most successful and the wealthiest op- 
 pressor ; — or, in other words, that " a man's life consisteth not in 
 the abundance of the things which he possesseth." 
 
 Let us take up the sentiments expressed in the successive verses, 
 iind observe their bearing upon this general position : — 
 
 1. Natural wants are easily satisfied: — 
 
 Verse 0. Moreover, the profit of the earth is for all: the king him- 
 self is served of the field. 
 
 " The profit of the earth " is its produce ; and especially corn, or 
 i)i\'ad, whicli is the start* of life, — tlve imnieiliate and indispensable 
 
ECCLESIASTES V. 8-20. 157 
 
 means of its support. It is '4br all:" it is appointed for all; it 
 is sufficient for all ; and, although in various measures, all partake 
 of it. And of all to whom ''their bread is given" it may with 
 truth be said, that they have all that the earth can yield of real 
 necessaries even to the king himself. Royalty, indeed, may pos- 
 sess more than poverty, of the luxuries of life; but these contribute 
 little to true enjoyment ; often .they are the sources of suifering. 
 AVithout the tillage of the ground, the king himself could not have 
 bread, — and could not live : — so that, in one view, and that a very 
 important one, the king is more dependent on the ploughman, 
 than the ploughman is on the king. Of all the arts of civilized 
 man, agriculture is transcendently the most essential and valua- 
 ble. Other arts may contribute to the comfort, the convenience, 
 and the embellishment of life ; but the cultivation of the soil stands 
 in immediate connection w-ith our very existence. The life itself, 
 to whose comfort and convenience and embellishment other arts 
 contribute, is by this to be sustained ; so that others without it 
 can avail nothing. In their dependence on "the field" all are 
 equal: the prince and the peasant are alike "served" of it. And 
 thus, all classes are mutually dependent on one another ; l)y which 
 the rich should be taught humility, and the poor contentment. 
 The latter, if they have their share of "the profit of the earth," 
 have by far the most valuable of its productions. The king may 
 have the garniture of life; but they possess, in common Avith him, 
 its substance. The king has indeed what they want; but they 
 have what the king cannot want. They can do without what the 
 king has ; but the king cannot do without what they have. 
 
 2. The poor are widely mistaken, if they imagine that the grati- 
 fication of a man's desires in the acquisition of wealth always pro- 
 duces the expected satisfaction : — 
 
 Verse 10. He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver; 
 nor he that loveth abundance ivith increase. This is also canity. 
 
 " He that loveth silver " is the man that sets his heart upon 
 riches, and places his happiness in the attainment of them ; and 
 "he that loveth abundance" is only another form of the same 
 designation. He " shall not be satisfied wdth silver :" that is, when 
 he has gotten it, he will find himself disappointed iii'his expecta- 
 tions from the acquisition ; he will find himself the possessor, in- 
 deed, of abundance, but not on that account the possessor of happi- 
 
158 LECTURE IX. 
 
 ness. A man's ideas and desires enlarge as he advances. His 
 notions of poverty and riches, which are to so great a degree rela- 
 tive terms, undergo change with his changing circumstances. 
 What seemed to him riches at the outset of his career, soon comes 
 to be accounted poverty. That which, from a losver point in the 
 scale, was the height of his ambition, becomes, when he has reach- 
 ed it, only a point from which to look higher. He never says " It 
 is enough ;" but what he gets is still but the means of getting more. 
 The thirst of gain, instead of being quenched, becomes more and 
 more ardent and insatiable. And if a man has not a satisfied and 
 contented mind, he is in want of the very essence of happiness. 
 He carries about within him a source of disquietude and "vexa- 
 tion of spirit," which will make him unhappy amidst the most 
 superfluous abundance. A contented spirit is the very first re- 
 quisite of true enjoyment: and the poor man Avho has but "food 
 and raiment," and both, it may be, scantily, is more really and 
 substantially happy if he possesses it, than the richest on earth 
 can ever be without it. Even when a man has so far appeared to 
 be satisfied with what he has got, as to retire from the pursuit of 
 more, he will still feel a void, — "an aching void;" — to a greater 
 degree sometimes, than when the bustle of business kept his mind 
 engaged. It is not in the power of mere wealth to confer solid 
 satisfaction. The desires of the soul cannot be filled by it; nor 
 can it either prevent or remove the various " ills that flesh is heir 
 to." It cannot insure against a single disease ; it cannot alleviate 
 pain ; it cannot ward oif from its possessor himself the stroke of 
 death ; nor can it purchase the continuance of life to wife or child- 
 ren, kinsman or friend, or redeem it when it has gone down to 
 the grave. " The small and the great are there." 
 
 3. Those who live by the wealth of the rich man — the man 
 whose heart is set upon his riches — have as much, if not more, 
 enjoyment of it than he has himself: — 
 
 Verse 11. When goods increase, they are increased that eat them : 
 and what good is there to the oirners thereof, saving the beholding of 
 ihem with their eyesf 
 
 The rich man, as he rises in the world, must keep up a corres- 
 ponding establishment. As his riches increase, the number of 
 his servants and retainers, of various descriptions, increases. To 
 the covetous, who has given his heart, and time, and toil, to the 
 
I-CCLE.SIA&TRS V. 8-20, 159 
 
 acquirement of abundance, this is a source of ince^sant fretfulness 
 and vexation. There is within him a contention of opposite feelings. 
 He must keep up a certain appearance in the world. Yet the 
 VNaste of his dear pelf, squandered by menials and overseers, or 
 -even necessarily expended on " the pride of life/' costs him many 
 a pang. It keeps him ever grudging and ever complaining. The 
 number of consumers multiplying with his increasing means, he 
 is not in fact richer, nay, he may even be poorer, than when he 
 iiad less wealth and fewer mouths to feed. And all the while, 
 what has he of the enjoyment of his riches, beyond those who live 
 upon him, "saving the beholding of them with his eyes?" — the 
 mere gratification of looking on his treasures, and saying, "These 
 are mine!" And is this difference worth much? Is there any 
 rational and substantial gratification in it? Is it a sufficient com- 
 pensation for the toil with which wealth has been gained, and the 
 nnxious care with which it is kept? 
 
 Riches increased in Solomon's own reign ; and the number oi 
 his servants and retainers, the extent and splendor of his establish- 
 ment, increased in proportion. "His provision for one day," the 
 history informs us, " was thirty measures of fine flour, and three- 
 score measures of meal, ten fat oxen, and twenty oxen out of the 
 pastures, and a hundred sheep, beside harts and roe-bucks, and 
 fallow-deer, and fatted fowl." Thus, "as riches increased they 
 were increased that ate them :" and, had Solomon been one who 
 "loved silver," the only difference between him and his servants, 
 {who, in all essential respects — in all that regarded the wants of 
 nature, and even the real comforts of life — were as well off as their 
 master,) Avould have been, the " beholding of his treasures with 
 his eyes," and calling them his own; with this difference, indeed, 
 against him in the balance, that /*/•>• breast would have l>een the 
 residence of all the care. 
 
 4. This care is next mentioned, as a source of irksome and sleep- 
 less disquietude to the man of wealth : — 
 
 Verse 12. The deep of a laboring man w sweet, ichether he eat 
 tittle or much; hut the abundance of the rich will not suffer him to 
 sleep. 
 
 It appears to be of the anxiety produced by wealth, iu the bo- 
 som of the covetous, the man who " loveth silver," that Solomon 
 here speaks, as adding nights of sleeplessness to days of solicitude 
 
160 LECTURE IX, 
 
 and '* vexation of spirit." Innumerable are the apprehensions: 
 and disquieting jealousies and alarms, some well-founded, and 
 others groundless, that haunt the bosom of the rich man whose- 
 wealth is his idol and his all; — apprehensions, and jealousies, and 
 alarms, from which the man of moderate possessions is compara- 
 tively free. The full meals of the rich and luxurious may be en- 
 vied by the poor and hard-toiled laborer ; yet they frequently have 
 no other effect than to add to the restlessness of anxiety, harassing 
 even the little sleep they can obtain, — 
 
 " short, as usual, and disturb'd repose," — 
 
 with scaring dreams and phantasms of terror. On the contrary,, 
 "the sleep of a laboring man is sweet, whether he eat little or much.'^ 
 If he has but a scanty meal, his fatigue has prepared him for sound 
 repose; and when he can have a larger allowance of his plain and 
 Avholesome fare, his healthy and vigorous constitution procures, 
 him a regular and ready digestioji: and he is, at the same time,, 
 happily free of those sudden starts and anxious fears by which the 
 rich worldling is so often agitated, and " his eyes held waking." 
 The laboring peasant has, in general, little cause to envy either 
 the days or the nights of his wealthy lord or neighbor, if he be a 
 man whose riches are his portion and his heart's desire. It is of 
 such that Solomon speaks. 
 
 5. Riches sometimes prove the occasion to their possessors of 
 the most serious injury: — 
 
 Verses 13, 14. There is a sore ceil ichich I have seen under the 
 sun, iiainely, riches kept for the owners of them to their hurt: but 
 these riches perish by evil travail; and he begetteth a son, and there 
 is nothing in his haiul. 
 
 The inward anxiety and fear to which riches give rise are some- 
 times but too well founded. Riches stir up envy : envy leads to 
 calumny and slander, and, not unfrequently, on any or on no 
 ground, to malicious and harassing prosecutions. Riches are a 
 lure to thieves, to robbers, to murderers ; and have many a time 
 cost the proprietor his life. And, worst of all, — what is, more 
 than any external calamity, even than death itself, " to the hurt " 
 of him whom providence allows to retain them, they hold out a 
 powerful, and, alas ! in many instances a too successful temptation 
 to their owners, to forget God, and to neglect their spiritual and. 
 
ECCLESIASTES V. 8-20. 161 
 
 everlasting interests. They thus endanger the soul; they put 
 eternity itself in jeopardy; and a rise in the world has too often, 
 alas! been the means of spiritual declension, apostasy, and ruin. 
 '•' They that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into 
 many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction 
 and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all evil ; 
 which, while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, 
 and pierced themselves through with many sorrows." "How 
 hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God ! — 
 How hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the king- 
 dom of God ! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a 
 needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God." 1 
 Tim. vi. 9, 10. Mark x. 23-25. 
 
 There are different ways in which riches may be " kept, for the 
 hurt" of the proprietors. But perhaps the case which Solomon 
 had chiefly in his eye, is that of a son and heir, for whom, as their 
 destined owner, the riches are reserved ; who is born and brought 
 up to a fortune ; to whom great prospects are held out ; who is 
 bred as an independent gentleman, undemeaned by either handi- 
 craft or mercantile labor. But " these riches," in the mysterious 
 providence of God, "perish by evil travail;" by some indiscreet 
 mismanagement, or by some extravagant and over-greedy specu- 
 lation: and this hopeful son, "hath nothing in his hand:" he is 
 still a son, but no longer an heir. The fortune to which he trusted 
 is gone; and all the prospective visions of his inflated fancy arc 
 vanished with it. Nothing could well be, to such a youth, a more 
 serious injury. From his education, "he cannot dig," and "to 
 beg he is ashamed." Thus, riches have been " kept for him to his 
 hurt:" and the poor inconsiderate father partakes of the misery, 
 being fretted by unavailing reflections, galled by the disappoint- 
 ment of his family hopes, and stung to the quick by mortified 
 pride. 
 
 6. The possession of riches is, at the very longest, bounded by 
 the present life: — 
 
 Verses 15, 16. As he came forth of his mother\s womb, naked shall 
 he retm^ to go as he came, and shall take nothing of his labor, lohich 
 he may carry away in his hand. And this also is a sore evil, that 
 in all jioints as he came, so shall he go: and what profit hath he that 
 hath labored for the wind? 
 II 
 
162 LECTURE IX. 
 
 These verses, indeed, may be taken in immediate connection 
 with the case described in the two preceding. They are true, 
 however, of every possessor of riches without exce ption : and it is 
 not the first time that this particular view of their vanity has been 
 brought forward in this book. The man above described, whose 
 "riches perish by evil travail," came helpless into the world, and 
 he leaves it destitute. And of all it is sadly true, that they can 
 " take nothing of their labor which they may carry away in their 
 hand." This is one of those evident truths which do not require 
 to be proved, but to be impressed. It is one of which the im- 
 portance is equal to the plainness and simp licity ; for it is not 
 truths that are abstruse and recondite that are, in general, of the 
 greatest consequence, or tliat draw after them the weightiest re- 
 sults. That "we brought nothing into this world, and it is cer- 
 tain we can carry nothing out" is a position so trite and plain, 
 that to question it would indicate a disturbed intellect. Yet if 
 this simple and obvious aphorism Avere universally felt and acted 
 upon as it ought to be, it would have an influence that cannot be 
 estimated on the temporal and eternal interests of mankind. 
 
 When Job said, "Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and 
 naked shall I return thither: the Lord gave, and the Lord hath 
 taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord!" — he felt and ex- 
 pressed the same affecting truth. But the feelings of the Patri- 
 arch were widely different indeed, from those of Solomon's dis- 
 appointed and mortified worldling. His is not, like Job's, the 
 "godly sorrow" which is accompanied and tempered with resig- 
 nation to the will of heaven, bearing the bereavement as a stroke 
 of Divine correction. But to him it is "a sore evil" to part with 
 that wealth on which his heart has been set; to see it "make to 
 itself wings and fly away from him as an eagle toward heaven ;" 
 or to leave it behind him when the summons of death arrives. O 
 how affecting is tlie thought of such a man! how pitiable seems 
 his case to the spiritual mind ! — clinging to the world to the very 
 last, — reluctant to quit his liold: — and, even when cold in death, 
 his hand remaining clinched in the last convulsive grasp with 
 which he sought to retain his darling treasures ! 
 
 Still, however, it is especially of the man whose riches have 
 "perished by evil travail" that Solomon speaks; and respecting 
 him, observe what follows: — 
 
ECCLESIASTES V. 8-20. 1 63 
 
 7. His remaining days on earth are miserable, and his depar- 
 ture from tlie world fearful : — 
 
 Verse 17. All his clays also he catdh in darkness; and he hcdh 
 much sorrow and wrath with his sickness. 
 
 Darkness here seems to signify especially two things: — in the 
 first place, the dreary cheei'lessness of the man's mind who has thus 
 lost his all, and whose prospects have been so unexpectedly blasted; 
 light being, in all languages, a figure for joy, and] darkness for 
 misery : — and secondly, the sad neglect into which the poor man 
 falls. The friendship of the world was friendship to his riches 
 rather than to himself. Whilst these remained with him, he en- 
 joyed it; but when they are gone, the bond is broken: he loses 
 his influence, he sinks into neglect; and the man who before 
 gathered crowds to his levee, finds, to his bitter mortification, that 
 to be j)enniless is to be friejidless. He is deserted, solitary, for- 
 lorn; and all his remaining days he "eateth in darkness" — the 
 darkness of poverty and seclusion. "The light is dark in his 
 tabernacle." The losses which he has sustained, and these galling 
 effects of them, he feels grievously. They lie with oppressive 
 weight upon his spirit. In the "sickness" that brings him to the 
 grave, he has "much sorrow and wrath:" — "sorroir,'^ springing 
 from irremediable bereavement, mortified pride, disappointed hopes, 
 and the ungrateful requital of pretended friends: — and "pierced 
 through as he is with many sorrows," the trials which have oc- 
 casioned them are unsanctified; his heart is still Avorldly; he is 
 irritated, instead of being subdued and submissive ; he is agitated 
 by "wrath" against men for their base and selfish treatment of 
 him, and by inward murmurings, rising at times even to the bitter- 
 ness of rage and blasphemy, against the providence of God ! Hoav 
 affecting, how fearful the thought of such a close of life, — of such 
 an entrance into eternity ! It makes one's heart thrill with horror. 
 O how earnestly should we pray, that God in his providence may 
 keep uis from exposure to temptations, and that, by his grace, he 
 may preserve our hearts from such inordinate attachment to a 
 present world ; that if he permits us to prosper, he may enable us 
 to "rejoice as though we rejoiced not;" and if he visits us with re- 
 verses, to "weep as though we wept not;" and ever to be, "when 
 we buy, as though we possessed not, and when we use this world 
 as not abusing it; because the fiishion of itpasseth away." 
 
164 LECTURE IX. 
 
 The chapter concludes with a description of the manner in which 
 the temporal bounties of Divine providence should be received 
 and enjoyed: — 
 
 Verses 18-20. Behold that which I have seen: it is good and 
 comely for one to eat and to drink, and to erijoy the good of all his la- 
 bor that he taheth under the sun all the days of his life, which God 
 giveth Mm; for it is his portion. Every man also to whom God hath 
 given riches and wealth, and hath given him power to eat thereof, and 
 to take his portion, and to rejoice in his labor; this is the gift of God. 
 For he shall not much remember the days of his life ; because God 
 ansivereth him in the joy of his heart. 
 
 The sentiment of these verses is very similar to what he had re- 
 peatedly expressed before: chap. ii. 24-26. iii. 12, 13, 22. I shall 
 refrain, therefore, from enlarging in the illustration of them. The 
 expression in the eighteenth verse, "This is his portion," is not, 
 by any means, to be understood in the same sense as when it is 
 said of the " men of the world," that they " have their portion in 
 this life;" Psalm xvii. 14. The meaning is, that "the good of all 
 his labor" is "the gift of God," as well as the life itself in which 
 the acquisitions of property are made : and whatever, through the 
 Divine blessing upon his labors, he acquires, is to be looked upon 
 as given him to he enjoyed; the God who bestows it, allotting to 
 every individual his particular po/'^/on of earthly good, — "dividing 
 to every man severally as he Avill." And the manner in which 
 Solomon introduces God as the giver both of life and of its enjoy- 
 ments, shows us how they ought to be received, and how to be 
 used ; — surely, in a way consistent with his will, and conducive to 
 his glory. It can neither be "good" nor "comely" to enjoy the 
 benefit, and to forget the Author of it; to spend the "portion" 
 which God allots, in occupations and for purposes which God ab- 
 hors. And the man who, in his moments of dissolute revelry, 
 quotes Solomon in excuse or palliation of libertinism, as if he gave 
 his sanction to the " lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the 
 pride of life," either has not thought of liis words at all, or has 
 thought of them with most pitiable and malignant perversity. 
 
 In contemplating our worldly acquisitions, we are ever in dan- 
 ger of " burning incense to our own net, and offering sacrifice to 
 our own drag ;" of taking the credit, that is, and giving the praise, 
 to ourselves. Against this danger Moses Avarned the Israelites; 
 
ecclesiastp:s v. 8-20, 165 
 
 and we need the warning not less than they: — '* Beware — lest, 
 when thou hast eaten and art full, and hast built goodly houses, 
 and dwelt therein ; and when thy herds and thy flocks multiply, 
 and thy silver and thy gold are multiplied, and all that thou hast 
 is multiplied; then thy heart be lifted up, and thou forget the 
 Lord thy God, — and say in thy heart. My power, and the might 
 of my hand, hath gotten me this wealth. But thou shalt remem- 
 ])er the Lord thy God ; for he it is that giveth thee power to get 
 wealth." Dent. viii. 11-14, 17, 18. But God is not only the be- 
 stower of whatever a man is enabled to acquire of "riches and 
 wealth;" but he is further represented here as giving "power to 
 eat thereof, and to take his portion, and to rejoice in his labor." 
 The ability, power, or capacity of enjoyment, here spoken of, may 
 be considered as including health of body, peace and tranquillity 
 of mind, and such a providential ordering of circumstances, as to 
 afford full opportunity in other respects ; no untoward hinderance 
 coming between the possessor and the free and unembarrassed use 
 of his property. TMs, too, as well as wealth itself, Solomon pro- 
 nounces to be "the gift of God;" and he immediately contrasts it, 
 as we shall see in the beginning of the next chapter, Avith its op- 
 posite ; with the case of a man to whom God gives the " riches, 
 and wealth, and honor " themselves, but withholds the " power to 
 eat thereof," — the capacity and the opportunity of enjoyment. 
 We decline farther remarks till we come to this contrast. 
 
 The general meaning of the twentieth verse, — " For he shall not 
 much remember the days of his life, because God answereth him 
 in the joy of his heart," — probably is, that whereas, to the dis- 
 contented and the unhappy, time passes slowly and heavily, — 
 every minute is numbered, — the hours are tedious and irksome, — 
 their days and their nights are alike wearisome; — to the man above 
 described, on the contrary, the man of contentment, and cheerful- 
 ness, and piety, who enjoys a healthy body, and a thankful, depen- 
 dent, resigned, and happy spirit; who enjoys God in all things, and 
 all things in God, — to him the time passes lightly and pleasantly; 
 the hours fly over him "on angel wings:" he smiles on the rising, 
 and smiles on the setting sun ; he is not harassed with the remem- 
 brance of past ills, over which the memory of the discontented 
 man is for ever brooding in peevish fretfulness; nor is he dis- 
 quieted with careful solicitude about the future, but, in the exer- 
 
166 LECTURE IX. 
 
 cise of faith in God, enjoys to-day, and leaves to-morrow "to take 
 care for the things of itself." The man whose desires God thus 
 answereth, — giving him "joy of heart" in his labors and in the 
 ^^ portion" arising from their success, — goes through the world 
 with as large a measure of happiness as can well be furnished in 
 it. "The days of his life he does not much remember," because 
 they are not marked for future recollection by those calamities 
 and sufferings, of which the memory (alas ! for the selfishness and 
 ingratitude of men !) is in general so much more tenacious than it 
 is of past enjoyments. His life is a "river of pleasures," to which 
 his recollections and his anticipations, as well as his present bless- 
 ings, are all so many tributary streams. Abundant cause has 
 such a man for heart-felt ascriptions of praise, both to the God of 
 providence, and to the " God of all grace." 
 
 To expatiate in practically improving this passage would lead 
 to unavoidable repetition. I shall only observe: — 
 
 1. In the first 'place, the propriety and the duty of keeping con- 
 tinually in mind that "He that is higher than the highest regard- 
 eth" every step of our procedure through life; — that his eye is 
 unceasingly upon us ; that he marks every thought, every look, 
 every word, every action; that he "compasses our sitting down 
 and our rising up, and is acquainted with all our ways." Forget 
 not this, ye children of God: — "There is no creature that is not 
 manifest in his sight; but all things are naked and opened unto 
 the eyes of Him with whom we have to do :" — and let the remem- 
 brance of it be a powerful and prevalent restraint upon all evil. 
 "Stand in awe, and sin not." In a particular manner, let what- 
 ever power, authority, and influence you possess, be uniformly 
 exercised in justice and in mercy, "elust and true are all the 
 ways of the King of saints." He is "the righteous God, and he 
 loveth righteousness." And often does he express a peculiar re- 
 gard to the rights of the poor, and a watchful and indignant jeal- 
 ousy of their infringement. The Lord Jesus, the King of Zion, 
 has "chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of his 
 kingdom." Tliey constitute a large proportion of his subjects. 
 "He shall judge the poor of the people, he shall save the children 
 of the needy, and shall break in pieces the oppressor. He shall 
 deliver the needy when he crieth, the poor also, and him that hath 
 no helper. He shall spare the poor and needy, and shall save the 
 
ECCLESIASTES V. 8-20. 167 
 
 souls of the needy. He shall redeem their souls from deceit and 
 violence; and precious shall their blood be in his sight." Let us, 
 then, my Christian brethren, beware of "despising the poor." 
 And especially, when in the church we are called to the exercise 
 of judgment between brother and brother, let us be on our guard 
 against all " respect of persons," — all partiality, all favoritism on 
 the one hand, and oppression on the other. It is not of the mere 
 practice of courtesy in places of worship, but of the exercise of 
 judgment in the meetings of the church, regarding matters of con- 
 troversy between the ricli and the poor, that the apostle James 
 speaks, when he gives us, as he gave others of old, the following 
 important directions : — " My brethren, have not the faith of our 
 Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons. For, 
 if there come into your assembly a man with a gold ring, in goodly 
 apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment; and 
 ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and say unto 
 him, Sit thou here in a good place ; and say to the poor. Stand 
 thou there, or sit here under my footstool : are ye not then partial 
 in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts? Hearken, 
 my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world 
 rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised 
 to them that love him? but ye have despised the poor. Do not 
 rich men oppress you, and draw you before the judgment-seats? 
 Do not they blaspheme that worthy name by the which ye are 
 called ? If ye fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, Thou 
 shalt love thy neighbor as thyself, ye do well : but if ye have re- 
 spect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convicted by the law as 
 transgressors. For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet 
 offend in one point, he is guilty of all. For he that said, Do not 
 commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. jSTow, if thou commit no 
 adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the 
 law. So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the 
 law of liberty. For he shall have judgment without mercy that 
 hath showed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment." 
 James ii. 1-13. 
 
 2. In the second jjlace. Let the minds of all, and especially of 
 "the brethren of low degree," be impressed, from the consideration 
 of this passage, with such declarations as these: — "A little that a 
 righteous man hath, is better than the riches of many wicked:" — 
 
168 LECTURE IX. 
 
 "Better is little with the fear of the Lord, than great treasure and 
 trouble therewith:" — "Godliness with contentment is great gain. 
 For we brought nothing into this world ; and it is certain, we can 
 carry nothing out. And having food and raiment, let us be there- 
 with content." True happiness depends not, as we have seen, on 
 situation. In as far, indeed, as the real and substantial comfort 
 of different situations is concerned, happiness is much more equally 
 diffused than, on a hasty and superficial survey of mankind, we 
 might be ready to conclude. Every situation has its peculiar 
 cares, disappointments, deficiencies, and trials. No earthly con- 
 dition brings with it unalloyed satisfaction: and frequently the 
 alloy is most abundant where we should hardly expect it to be 
 found. The great and steady source of peace and joy is true re- 
 ligion; — that state of mind in which a man "sets the Lord con- 
 tinually before him;" traces all events to his providence ; acknowl- 
 edges him in all his ways ; makes him the supreme portion of his 
 soul; follows his will; submits to his appointments; seeks his 
 glory; and delights in his love. This makes every condition 
 happy; every station honorable. He is truly rich who is "rich 
 toward God," Every one else, though crowned with gold and 
 diamonds, "clothed in purple and fine linen, and faring sumptu- 
 ously every day," is "poor, and miserable, and wretched, and 
 blind, and naked." True religion, a life of faith and love, and 
 active devotedness to God, is accompanied with a sweet and 
 cheering sense of hie paternal favor, amidst all the viciss itudes of 
 life. And this alone can impart peace and hope to the soul when 
 it is lingering on the verge of time, and just about to quit the 
 world, and enter on eternity. It is only leaving the paltry, and 
 perishing possessions of earth, for the full enjoyment of the "better 
 and more enduring substance," so long anticipated as the object 
 of hope and desire; — the "inheritance that is incorruptible, unde- 
 filed, and that fadeth not away." "I have fought a good fight; 
 I have finished my course; I have kept the faith. Henceforth 
 there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, 
 the righteous Judge, shall give to me at that day ; and not to me 
 only, but to all them also that love his appearing." 
 
 3. In the last ^ilace. Let this passage recommend to all, the 
 authoritative and kind and salutary admonition of the merciful 
 Redeemer: — "Labor not for the meat that perishes, but for th t 
 
ECCLESIASTES V. 8-20. 169 
 
 meat which cndureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man 
 will give you; for him hath God the Father sealed." He is him- 
 self the bread of life; — bread, of which whosoever eateth shall live 
 for ever. And every man that would have the life must eat of 
 the bread. It is the only food of the soul. It is for high and 
 low, rich and poor together. " The king himself" must be "served 
 of the" gospel "field." And all are invited to partake of this 
 heavenly provision. "Spend no longer your money for that 
 which is not bread, and your labor for that Avhich satisfieth not. 
 Hearken to the voice of God, and eat ye that which is good. 
 Come ye, buy and eat, yea come, buy wine and milk without 
 money and without price." "The Spirit and the Bride say. Come; 
 and let him that heareth say, Come; and whosoever Mall, let him 
 take of the water of life freely." Obey the gracious invitations t 
 and then indeed you "shall not much remember the days of your 
 life." The load of self-accusing reflection and of anxious antici- 
 pation will be lifted from your spirit. You will commence a 
 career of new and unknown felicity. God will "answer you in 
 the joy of your heart." "While many say. Who will show us 
 any good? he will lift upon you the light of his countenance ;"^ 
 and this will " put a gladness into your heart," such as you never 
 experienced, even "when your corn and your wine increased." 
 You will "go on your way rejoicing;" "counting all things but 
 loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ ;" assured that 
 "nothing shall separate you from the love of God;" "forgetting 
 the things that are behind, and reaching forth unto those things 
 which are before, and pressing toward the mark, for the prize 
 of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus." And when you shall 
 liave reached your eternal home, "the land of sacred liberty and 
 endless rest," "the former things shall no more be remembered 
 nor come into mind," except to give zest to the pleasures, ever 
 new and ever growing, of that holy and happy place, where " God 
 shall wipe away all tears from your eyes." 
 
LECTURE X. 
 
 ECCLESIASTES VI. 1-12. 
 
 'There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, and it (is) common among 
 men: 2. A man to whom God hath given riches, wealth, and honor, so that 
 he wanteth nothing for his soul of all that he desireth, yet God giveth him not 
 power to eat thereof, but a stranger eateth it: this (is) vanity, and it (is) 
 an evil disease. 3. If a man beget a hundred (children,) and live many 
 years, so that the days of his years be n],any, and his soul be not filled with 
 good, and also (that) he have no burial; I say, (that) an untimely birth 
 (is) better than he: 4. For he conieth in with vanity, and departeth in 
 darkness, and his name shall be covered with darkness. 5. Moreover, he 
 hath not seen the sun, nor known (any thing:) this hath more rest than the 
 other. 6. Yea, though he live a thousand years twice (told,) yet hath he 
 seen no good: do not all go to one place? 7. All the labor of man (is) for 
 his mouth, and yet the appetite is not filled. 8. For what hath the wise 
 more than the fool? what hath the poor, that knoweth to walk before the 
 living? 9. Better (is) the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the de- 
 sire : this (is) also vanity and vexation of spirit. 10. That which hath been 
 is named already, and it is known that it (is) man : neither may he contend 
 with him that is* mightier than he. 11. Seeing there be many things that 
 increase vanity, Avhat (is) man the better? 12. For w'ho knoweth what (is) 
 good for man in (this) life, all the days of his vain life which he spendeth 
 as a shadow? for who can tell a man what shall be after him under the 
 
 The case described in the beginning of tliis chapter forms an 
 intended contrast, as I formerly noticed, to the one mentioned in 
 the close of the fifth. In that case, the possession of wealth and 
 its attendant blessings was happily associated with the capacity of 
 enjoyment, or what the wise man denominates " power to eat there- 
 of" In the case which he now states, the wealth is supposed to 
 be bestowed, but the capacity of enjoyment withheld: — 
 
 Verses 1, 2. There is an evil ichich I have seen under the sun, and 
 H is common among men: A man to whom God hath given riches, 
 
ECCLESIASTES VI. 1-12. 171 
 
 wealth, and honor, so that he ivanteth nothing for his soul of all that 
 he desireth; yet Godgiveth him not power to eat thereof, but a stranger 
 eateih it: this is vanity, and it is an evil disease. 
 
 This evil was common, it should seem, in the days of Solomon; 
 and we are far from being without instances of it in our own. 
 Human nature being in every age the same, we may expect it, 
 with the exception of the changes which the varying state of so- 
 ciety and of manners necessarily produces, to exhibit in general 
 the same appearances. " There is a man to whom God hath given 
 riches," — abundant pecuniary treasures; — "and wealth," — an es- 
 tate, it may be, in land, with numerous flocks and herds, — sheep 
 and oxen, — camels and asses; — "and honor," — the external splen- 
 dor of riches attracting public admiration, and the weight and in- 
 fluence which, in every country, are associated with Avealth. 
 
 But, alas! with all this bounty, "God giveth him not power to 
 •eat thereof." Although all his schemes of emolument have pros- 
 pered, — his riches have flowed in upon him, so that "he wanteth 
 nothing for his soul of all that he desireth," — all his wishes, in 
 regard to the object on which his heart was set, having been fully 
 realized : yet some untoward occurrence, some insuperable obstacle, 
 comes between him and the enjoyment of his possessions, depriv- 
 ing him of the opportunity, or of the capacity, of availing him- 
 self at all of his overflowing resources of earthly greatness and 
 felicity. His' body, for example, may be afilicted by painful or 
 exhausting sickness, by which every thing the world can furnish is 
 bereft of its relish, so that " he never eateth with pleasure ;" and 
 all his riches and wealth cannot arrest the progress of his malady ; 
 cannot impart a moment's ease, or give efficacy to a single medi- 
 cine: or, a series of heavy domestic afflictions may so prey upon 
 his spirit, as to render all his honors and all his pleasures vapid 
 and irksome ; so that, to remind him of them is only to deepen his 
 gloom by making him feel anew their tastelessness; it is singing 
 songs to a heavy heart;" it is but embittering the reflection, 
 
 " How ill the scenes that offer rest, 
 And heart that cannot rest, agree." 
 
 Instances of such a nature are, alas ! far from being rare : and they 
 
 •are not less humbling to our self-dependent pride, than they are 
 
 .aifeeting to our feelings of sympathy. 
 
 ^'A stranger eateth it." A self-interested, artful man, taking 
 
172 LECTURE X. 
 
 advantage.of circumstances, insinuateshimself into the good graces 
 of the proprietor ; lives upon the fat of his estate ; secretly wastes 
 his substance in the advancement of his own projects ; and per- 
 haps draws the whole into his hand at the owner's death : — or, in 
 one or other of a variety of imaginable ways, it falls, in the provi- 
 dence of God, into the possession of a stranger. This is severely 
 mortifying. It is a picture of the vanity of the world. And it 
 is "an evil disease;" the very idea of having the means of enjoy- 
 ment in the most profuse abundance, and yet being excluded from 
 the capacity of using them, being in itself enough to prey upon 
 the spirits, to sink them to the dust, to produce mental malady, 
 and to increase and hasten forward that of the bodily frame. 
 
 I am aware, that by some the character here described is under- 
 stood to be that of the miser; and the want of "power to eat there- 
 of" to mean the want of disposition, or the absolute unwilling- 
 ness, which forms the strange distinction of this anomalous and 
 pitiable being, to make any use of his j)Ossessions ; to take any 
 enjoyment of them. And, no doubt, this is well named "an evil 
 disease." It is a wasting distemper of the soul, partaking alike 
 of aberration of intellect and perversity of heart. But the charac- 
 ter of the miser was very particularly delineated before, — in the 
 seventh and eighth verses of the fourth chapter; and it appears, 
 therefore, not unreasonable to understand the passage before us, 
 rather, as setting forth a new case. 
 
 On this case he enlarges in the following verses; introducing 
 into it additional particulars, for the sake of giving the greater 
 force and vividness to the impression of it upon the mind: — 
 
 Verses 3-6. If a man heget a hundred children, and live manif 
 years, so that the days of his years be many, and his soul be not filled 
 tvith good, and also that he have no burial; I say, that an untimely 
 birth is better than he. For he cometh in ivith vanity, and departeth 
 loith darkness, and his name shall be covered with darkness. More- 
 over, he hath not seen the sun, nor known any thing: this hath more 
 rest than the other. Yea, though he live a thousand years twice told, 
 yet hath he seen no good. Do not all go to one place f 
 
 The case here is still that of a man of wealth, and riches, and 
 honor. But to these are superadded : — 
 
 In the first place, A numerous family of children and grandchil- 
 dren; — a matter of fond desire, and of high honor, amongst the 
 
ECCLESIASTES VI. 1-12, 173 
 
 Hebrews; as you may be satisfied by simply recollecting how 
 frequently the number of a man's immediate descendants is par- 
 ticularized in the account given of him in the Scripture history. 
 Suppose him, then, to have ever so many, — "a hundred children :" 
 
 Secondly, Long life: — an object of desire, not to the Hebrews 
 merely, but to mankind in general ; of one of the strong instinctive 
 washes of our nature. Every man desires, and every man hopes, 
 to live long upon the earth : and Satan spoke no more than truth 
 when he said, "All that a man hath will he give for his life." 
 All goes overboard when it is in jeopardy. Well : suppose him 
 to " live many years, so that the days of his years be many." Let 
 him complete, nay, let him far exceed, the ordinary limit of the 
 life of man. 
 
 The supposition then is, that even with these additions to his 
 wealth and honor, " his soul is not filled with good;" all the while, 
 that is, he has had no capacity of enjoying his riches, and family, 
 and life; for the expression seems to be evidently equivalent to 
 that in the second verse, not having "power to eat" of the sub- 
 .stance God hath given him : — all the days of his protracted time 
 he has "eaten in darkness" and in bitterness of spirit. And when 
 he comes to die, and to number the last of his "many days," he 
 "has no burial;" no respect and honor in his death; no interment 
 corresponding to his w' ealth, and consequence, and station. Many 
 are the ways in which we may imagine this to happen. The 
 "stranger" who has deluded him by his ingratiating arts, out- 
 witted his heirs, and got possession of his property, having had 
 no object but this in view, having been influenced by considerations 
 entirely selfish, now that his end is gained, may care little about 
 the honorable obsequies of the man, of whom he has got all that 
 he wanted. He who courted and flattered the living, may thus 
 neglect and spurn the dead. Or, even his children themselves 
 may have felt and acted toward him in a similar manner ; loving 
 the money more than the man ; wearying for the old fellow's de- 
 departure ; glad to have him out of the way, and with bare decency 
 to thrust him into his grave, — that they may part amongst them 
 his treasures. Such things may take place, without supposing 
 the character described an utterly sordid miser. 
 
 Causes of a very different kind may also prevent a man from 
 ^'having burial." He may die amongst strangers, in a foreign 
 
174 LECTURE X. 
 
 clime; he may be cast away at sea; or he may perish on land, in 
 circumstances that preclude even his countrymen and friends from 
 doing him honor at his death, by the regular rites of sepulture. 
 But the strong language used by Solomon, shows that he meant 
 something more than the mere accidental absence of the funeral 
 solemnity. It is his not receiving what he might and ought to- 
 receive. The man is represented as living without enjoyment, and 
 dying without honor: — his life resembling the fabled punishment 
 of Tantalus in the heathen mythology, from whose lips, ever 
 burning with unquenchable thirst, the cooling stream receded ere 
 they could touch it; and over whose head hung the most delicious 
 fruits, which mocked every effort to reach them that he might 
 satisfy his longing appetite; — and his death, notwithstanding all 
 his wealth, being obscure and ignoble, unfelt and unlamented. 
 
 Such is the case supposed : the verdict pronounced upon it is,. 
 "I say, that an untimely birth is better than he:" and the reasons, 
 of the verdict follow, in 
 
 Verses 4-6. "For he cometh in with vanity, and departeth in 
 darkness, and his name shall be covered with darkness. Moreover,, 
 he hath not seen the sun, nor known any thing: this hath more 
 rest than the other. Yea, though he live a thousand years twice 
 told, yet hath he seen no good: Do not all go to one place?" 
 
 Most commentators understand the fourth verse as referring to 
 the abortion ; and, consistently witli this view of its subject, trans- 
 late it — "although it cometh in with vanity and departeth in dark- 
 ness, and its name shall be covered with darkness." But thi&. 
 seems to me very unnatural. "An untimely birth" can hardly 
 with any propriety be spoken of as coming in and departing at all,, 
 inasmuch as it is never numbered amongst the living, nor has any 
 place in the society or the habitations of men. And what is the- 
 name of an abortion? or, what sense is there in speaking of its 
 name as " covered with darkness," when the thing itself has never 
 seen the light, and its very existence has been unknown? I un- 
 derstand the verse, therefore, of the man described in the preceding, 
 context, and as assigning Solomon's reason for giving the prefer- 
 ence to "an untimely birth." The man "cometh in" to the world 
 " with vanity." He not only enters on a life which at the best is 
 vain, uncertain, unsatisfying, and transitory ; but even, as to this 
 life, having "seen no good" in his passage through it, he seems j, 
 
ECCLESIASTES VI. 1-12. 175 
 
 as far as he himself is concerned, to have been born to no purpose, — 
 for no end or use, — in vain. He goes through the period of his 
 earthly existence, a mere passive exemplification of the utter vanity 
 of expecting sure and solid happiness from the present world ; and 
 then he "departs in darkness," without the light either of com- 
 fort or of honor; — his name is "covered with darkness;" he is 
 immediately forgotten ; no sooner out of sight, than out of mind. 
 The fifth verse, however, is evidently spoken of the abortion : — 
 "Moreover, he hath not seen the sun, nor known any thing: this 
 hath more rest than the other." It is true, that an untimely birth 
 has had no enjoyment; but neither has it had suffering; or, sup- 
 posing it to have had life when born, its suffering has been but 
 momentary ; and it is with the condition of the man who has been 
 troubled and tantalized through life, and unhonored and unla- 
 mented in death, that its destiny is compared. The comj)arison 
 regards the absence of suffering, rather than the proportions of 
 positive enjoyment: — "This hath more rest than the other;" or, 
 "this hath rest rather than the other;" which, in the jiresent case, 
 is much the same in real amount with — " this hath rest, and not 
 the other." The rest of the grave is meant; where the untimely 
 birth is immediately laid. It has not "seen the sun," indeed, or 
 enjoyed the cheering light of heaven. But what is the cheering 
 light of heaven to the man whose eye it gives "to see no good?" — 
 to whom it only discloses, day after day, the same dreary scenes 
 of woe? The abortion has the advantage, in "not having known 
 any thing;" for it is better to know nothing at all, than to know 
 nothing but trouble. It is laid in the grave, without having tasted 
 the miseries of human life ; in the grave, where, amid the silence 
 and solitude of death, the cares and disappointments, the disquie- 
 tudes, and mortifications, and distresses, of this world are neither 
 felt nor dreamed of. It would have been better, in Solomon's 
 judgment, for the unhappy being he had depicted, to have been 
 "carried from the womb to the grave." Such was the wish of Job 
 Avhen, overwhelmed with accumulated sufferings, he "opened his 
 mouth, and cursed his day:" — "Why died I not from the womb? 
 why did I not give up the ghost when I came out of the belly? 
 why did the knees prevent me? or why the breasts that I should 
 suck? For now should I have lain still, and been quiet; I should 
 have slept; then had. I been at rest, with kings, and counsellors. 
 
176 LECTURE X. 
 
 and princes : or, as a hidden untimely birth, I had not been ; as 
 infants which never saw light. There the wicked cease from 
 troubling ; and there the weary be at rest. There the prisoners rest 
 together; they hear not the voice of the oppressor. The small 
 and great are there, and the servant is free from his master. 
 Wherefore is light given to him that is in misery, and life unto 
 the bitter in soul ; who long for death, but it cometh not ; and 
 ^ig for it more than for hid treasures; who rejoice exceedingly, 
 and are glad when they can find the grave?" Job iii. 11-22. 
 
 These words of bitter complaining from the lips of the afflicted 
 Patriarch serve further to illustrate the following verse: "Yea, 
 though he live a thousand years twice told, yet hath he seen no 
 good: do not all go to one place?" Suppose the life of this hap- 
 less being, who is surrounded with means of enjoyment which he 
 cannot use, were prolonged to more than double the length of the 
 longest life ever spent upon earth, — yet, if he "sees no good" from 
 its commencement to its close, and then " goes to one place " with 
 the abortion — even to the grave, the place of perfect equality, the 
 common receptacle of corruption, the " end of all flesh ;" is not the 
 verdict pronounced in the third verse founded in truth — "I say 
 that an untimely birth is better than he?" Nothing can be more 
 preposterous, than to attach value to existence, apart from enjoy- 
 ment; as if it were better to he, even although in misery, than not 
 ■to be at all. The measure of the value of existence is simply the 
 -quantum of good that is enjoyed in it. When we speak of the 
 cessation of being, we find it difficult to divest ourselves of the 
 impression of a kind of dreary consciousness of non-existence as 
 accompanying it. We fancy ourselves continuing to be, and yet 
 sensible that we are not. I need not say that such feelings are 
 intirely illusory. The cessation of existence being the cessation 
 of all consciousness, he who ceases to be, is as if he never had 
 been. And he who has not entered on life at all, or who has en- 
 tered on it one moment, only to quit it t)ie next, has a preferable 
 lot to that of him who has lived long, but lived only to suffer. 
 
 In the seventh and eight verses, we have a further illustration 
 of the little advantage, as to the things of time, possessed by one 
 man above another: — 
 
 Verses 7, 8. All the labor of man is for Jm mouth; and yet the 
 
ECCLESIASTES VI. 1-12. 177 
 
 appetite is not filled: for what hath the wise more than the fool f what 
 hath the poor, that hioioeth to walk hefwe the living f 
 
 "All the labor of man is for his mouth;" that is, the direct 
 and leading end of all human toil, of every occupation of men, in 
 all the departments of society, is the support of life. This is first; 
 and every thing else is subordinate to it. It is obviously the most 
 important result of human effort in all the businesses of life ; one 
 to which every other will be readily sacrificed ; one without which 
 no other could be enjoyed. This was the object assigned to the 
 labor of man, when the ground had been cursed on account of his 
 sin : — " Cursed is the ground for thy sake ; in sorrow shalt thou 
 eat of it ail the days of thy life; thorns also and thistles shall it 
 bring forth to thee ; and thou shall eat the herb of the field ; in 
 the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto 
 the ground ; for out of it wast thou taken : for dust thou art, and 
 unto dust shalt thou return." — "He that laboreth," says Solomon 
 elsewhere, "laboreth for himself; for his mouth requireth it of 
 him." Gen. iii. 17-19. Prov. xvi. 26. The effect of human la- 
 bor, therefore, is chiefly valuable as it answers this end : " Take 
 no thought for your life," said he who had the correctest estimate 
 of the comparative value of the objects of desire, — "take no (anxious) 
 thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; 
 nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more 
 than meat, and the body than raiment?" He, then, who has life 
 sustained by his labor, has the first end answered of all human 
 exertion. 
 
 " Yet the appetite is not filled." This is true of all. It is never 
 durably filled; but requires to have its cravings, which are ever 
 returning, satisfied anew from day to day. And the cravings of 
 appetite return to the rich as well as to the poor. The former as 
 well as the latter can only take, of all his profuse abundance, as 
 much at a time as his appetite will receive. In this respect, too, 
 ^' what hath the wise more than the fool ?" The most learned 
 and sagacious of men has, in this matter, no pre-eminence over 
 the mere idiot, who, by some means or other, obtains a sufficiency 
 of food, and whose appetite relishes it as well as the other's. The 
 wise man can neither prevent the returnings of hunger ; nor, when 
 they do return, can he allay them more effectually than tlie fool. 
 In this essential point of human comfort, they are substantially 
 12 
 
178 LBcrruKE x. 
 
 alike. The skilful anatomist, who possesses an intimate acquaint- 
 ance witH the whole of the complicated and wonderful mechanism 
 of the human frame, and the man who knows little more than the 
 difference, in properties that meet the senses, between the flesh 
 and the bones, divide and masticate their food by the same instru- 
 ments, and receive it into the same organ of digestion; it is mixed 
 with the same juices, undergoes the same changes, affords the same 
 variety of secretions, and carries the same nourishment, through 
 the same channels, to the same bodily members, which all occupy 
 the same relative positions, and respectively fulfill the same func- 
 tions. 
 
 ''What hath the poor," it is added, "who knoweth to walk be- 
 fore the living?" The answer is not directly given: but it seems 
 to me to be indirectly implied in the ninth verse : — 
 
 Verse 9. Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the 
 desire. 
 
 The poor that knows how to conduct himself with propriety 
 and prudence, maintaining a behavior correspending with the sta- 
 tion assigned him among the living ; — who is ingenious, industri- 
 ous, obliging, and respected accordingly, enjoys the necessaries 
 and the true comforts of life as well as the richest. He has " the 
 sight of the eyes," that is, he has substantial p-esent enjoyment in 
 what he obtains; and in this, being satisfied with it, possessing 
 the tranquillity of a contented spirit, he has what is " better," 
 more conducive to true happiness, than the unsatisfied "wander- 
 ing of the desire" after new objects of pursuit; which, even when 
 successfully attained, leave the mind still craving, never disposed 
 to say. It is enough. This incessant restlessness of desire after 
 different pleasures, is truly "vanity and vexation of spirit;" and 
 it is a vanity and vexation to which they are especially subject, 
 who set their hearts on the wealth and gratifications of this world 
 as their portion. 
 
 The tenth verse, as it stands in our English translation, is ex- 
 ceedingly obscure: — 
 
 Verse 10. That which hath been is named aheady, and it is knovm 
 that it is man.' neither may he contend loith him that is mightier 
 than he. 
 
 The intention of the writer seems to be, to express the common 
 frailty and vanity of the nature of man, as having been the same 
 
ECCLESTASTES VI. 1-12. 179 
 
 in all thathave ever existed; and the verse might be thus rendered : — 
 *'For he who (or, whosoever) hath been, — his name is long since 
 named ; * and it is known what he is, — (even) man ;" (or, " and it ia 
 known that he is MAN :) neither may he contend with him that is 
 mightier than he." Take any person that has existed, or that 
 now exists; any individual of the present or of former genera- 
 tions ; — whatever may have been his station, whatever his charac- 
 ter; "his name has been long since named," God having of old 
 given one name to the entire race. "Male and female created he 
 them, and blessed them; and called their name Adam in the day 
 when they were created." The name signified originally their 
 formation from the dust; but it came afterwards to be associat<:'d 
 with their return to the dust: "Dust thou art, and unto dust thou 
 shalt return." This, then, is the state and doom, the origin and 
 the end, of every one without exception, whose name is man. In 
 his best estate, he is altogether vanity, — sinful dust and ashes. 
 And as God formed him from the earth, named him man, and, 
 when he sinned, destined him to earth again; it is in vain for him 
 to "contend with him that is mightier than he:" his "vanity," 
 as a frail and mortal creature, being the result of Divine appoint- 
 ment, and the execution of a Divine sentence, is utterly irretrieva- 
 ble. All must submit successively to the same doom ; and every 
 attempt to avert it is at once foolish and impious. 
 
 Man, then, -considered in himself, is vanity. But may not this 
 "vanity," if it cannot be intirely done away, be at least lessened, 
 and the "vexation" arising from it mitigated, by the nature of 
 the pursuits to which man devotes himself during his vain life? 
 The answer must be, Yes ; provided we include amongst these 
 pursuits ti'ue religion, which constitutes the dignity and the happi- 
 ness of every rational nature. But if we confine our regard to 
 those pursuits and occupations merely, which relate to the present 
 world, and which are limited in their continuance and results by 
 the few days of man's abode upon earth, then the answer is to be 
 found in the following verse: — 
 
 Verse 11. Seeing there be many things that increase vanity, what 
 is man the better f 
 
 * " His name is long since named." I have thought myself justified in ren- 
 dering the word ^2^ ^0'>^9 since. It occurs only in this Book, chap, i, 10. iii. 
 16. vi. 10. ix. 6. "As a particle, it denotes, a considerable length of time, a 
 good while, as we say, poM, or to come" — Parkhurst. 
 
180 LECTURE X. 
 
 Having alluded, in the tenth verse, to the vanity of the nature 
 of man, as a creature of the dust, and doomed to dust again; he 
 here represents this original and inherent vanity of his fallen na- 
 ture as "increased," instead of being mitigated, by a large propor-^ 
 tion of the employments of mankind, and by their attempts at the 
 attainment of happiness from earthly sources alone. In this view, 
 the whole of the preceding part of the book is a comment on this 
 verse. "What is man the better" of all these attempts? His 
 temporal comforts, indeed, both personal and social, may, as the 
 result of some of them, experience improvement. But even this 
 cannot be effected without a heavy accompaniment of evil, pro- 
 ducing a scene so checkered, as to have given rise to many de- 
 bates, whether, in the average lot of man, the enjoyment or the 
 suffering preponderates : — and, when he is contemplated in the 
 light in which every wise and good being must regard him, as 
 rational, immortal, and accountable, with what an emphasis of 
 deep concern, may the question be asked, "what is man the 
 better?" How frequently is he the worse I How often do his 
 various engagements draw away his mind from the only true source 
 of happiness ! How few, comparatively, repair to it ! — how many, 
 alas ! to the " springs of false delight !" And, even, as to temporal 
 enjoyment, how often are the anticipations of men, — their fears in 
 one quarter and their hopes in another, — agreeably or bitterly dis- 
 ajjpointed ; the dreaded evil turning out for good, and the wished- 
 for good, proving the occasion of evil ! 
 
 Hence it is added, in the twelfth verse: — 
 
 Verse 12. For who knoweth what is good for man in this life, all 
 the days of his vain life, which he spendeth as a shadow f for who 
 can tell a man what shall be after him under the sunf 
 
 No man can previously affirm, with confidence, what situation 
 will be best for him in this life; for the reason just hinted, that 
 the very objects which a man most eagerly covets and pursues, in 
 the expectation of finding happiness from them, so often, when 
 they have been obtained, bring him, instead of happiness, disap- 
 pointment, and misery, and ruin ; and he discovers too late his 
 error and miscalculation. When the inquiry, "Who will show 
 us any good?" is confined to the things of this life, it can receive 
 no satisfactory answer; no answer that will hold permanently 
 true. It must be continually reiterated, from reiterated disap- 
 
ECCLESIASTES VI. 1-12. 181 
 
 poiiitment; each source successively failing, or quickly satiating, 
 and palling upon the taste; no man being able in this wilderness 
 to discover for himself, or to point out to others, any fountain of 
 pure and perennial joy; any fountain that can with certainty be 
 depended upon, even during the fleeting years of a single life. 
 Riches, honors, power, and pleasure, and even knowledge itself, 
 all are precarious, — incapable of being insured even for the short 
 period of his "vain life, which he speudeth as a shadow;" — equally 
 unsubstantial, equally transient, and equally trackless. " Man 
 that is born of a woman — cometh forth as a flower, and is cut down ; 
 he fleeth also as a shadow, and continueth not." — " Our days on 
 earth are as a shadow, and there is no abiding." And yet, not 
 only is it impossible to secure, for the brief duration of this vain 
 and shadowy existence, the sources of enjoyment recommended by 
 other guides and other teachers than Him who is himself the Su- 
 preme good; but even while they last they are unsatisfactory. 
 With a precariousness belonging to them every successive mo- 
 ment, they unite a constant feeling of present deficiency. And in 
 addition to this ; a man's happiness, in as far as it depends on the 
 possession and hope of earthly things, is not a little affected by 
 his prospects of the future, as well as by what is at the moment 
 passing over him; — by the use that may be made of his substance 
 when he has left it behind him; by the reputation in which his 
 name may be held by posterity; by what he imagines, with or 
 without reason, may befall his family; and by other anticipations 
 of a similar kind: — yet of such things he is utterly ignorant, and 
 all around him are as ignorant as himself. No one can open to 
 him the secrets of futurity: "for who can tell a man what shall 
 be after him?" His " vain life" must speedily come to a close; 
 and this must terminate, completely and for ever, all his connec- 
 tions with this world ; so that he can no more have " a portion in 
 any thing that is done under the sun." Hoav inexpressibly light 
 and worthless, then, are all those pursuits that end at the grave, 
 and that leave, even to the most successful of their votaries, the 
 moment he has closed his eyes on time, no profit, no result, nothing 
 whatever, — but that which he has vainly estimated as the prize 
 of life; leaving him, alas! a blank for eternity! 
 
 Must the question, then, as to "what is best for a man all the 
 days of his vain life," be left without an answer? Is there no 
 
182 LECTUEE X. 
 
 one that knows it, and can furnish a satisfactory reply? Yes, my 
 friends, i£ is answered; answered by unerring knowledge and 
 supreme authority; — it is answered in this blessed book of God; 
 of which the leading and all-gracious design is, to show us the 
 way to true happiness both here and hereafter. Here multitudes 
 have found it; and many of them, after having run the whole 
 round of earthly pleasures in the vain pursuit. They have at 
 length renounced these empty or polluted cisterns, and have learned 
 to "draw water with joy out of the wells of salvation." They 
 have found in the Creator, to whom the lessons of the Bible di- 
 rected them, what they sought with no success from the creature. 
 They have "wept a silent flood" over their former follies; and 
 "the Father of mercies" has wiped the tears of penitential sorrow 
 from their eyes, and filled their souls with his own peculiar joys. 
 Having " tasted that the Lord is gracious," they have learned to 
 say, with delight unfelt before, "The Lord is my portion, saith 
 my soul ; therefore will I hope in him :" — "It is good for me, that 
 I draw near unto God :" — " Men of the world have their portion 
 in this life: as for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness; I 
 shall be satisfied when I awake with thy likeness :" — " Blessed be 
 the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed 
 us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:" — 
 "Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift!" 
 
 The favor of God, the service of God, and the "good hope 
 through grace" possessed by the children of God, — these are "good 
 for a man," — these are good for every man, "all the days of his" 
 otherwise "vain life." "He has showed thee, O man, what is 
 good: and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, 
 to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?" — "Blessed 
 is the man that feareth the Lord, that delighteth greatly in his* 
 commandments :" — " Blessed is tlie people, whose God is the Lord !" 
 
 Human life, considered in itself, apart from its connection with 
 eternity, is vanity; a fleeting shadow; a fading flower; a vapor 
 that endureth for a moment, and then vanisheth away. Man, 
 contemplated merely as the possessor of such a life, is vanity; a 
 creature formed of the dust, and soon to return to the dust again : — 
 all his pursuits, be they what they may, that arc confined to this 
 transitory and precarious existence, are vanity; and all will be 
 found in the end, as they have many a time been found in present 
 
ECOLESIASTES VI. 1-12. 183 
 
 experience, to be "vexation of spirit." If this lesson is not learned, 
 with salutary effect, in this world, it will be learned in all the 
 everlasting anguish and unavailing desperation in the next. Oh ! 
 if the soul, when trembling on the verge of eternity, when the 
 last fibre of the thread of life is parting, can only look backward 
 with tormenting regret, and forward with more tormenting doubt 
 and despair ! — what a state for an immortal and accountable crea- 
 ture ! — to feel the torturing conviction, that he has been trifling, 
 or worse than trifling, all his days ; that he has thrown his life 
 away on "vanity," and has nothing left as the result but "vexation 
 of spirit;" that it is too late to make provision for the world to 
 come, and which is just opening to him in all its darkness, and all 
 its unknown terrors; that he has finished and sealed the "senseless 
 bargain" (Oh how bitterly does he feel it to be so?) of "Eternity 
 for bubbles;" that he has bartered and damned his soul for the 
 "pleasures of sin" and the worthless nothings of a world that 
 has passed away from him ! It is not necessary that a man should 
 have " seen no good," or should have had " no power to enjoy " 
 his " riches, and wealth, and honors," and family, in order to his 
 feeling their emptiness in his latter end, when his soul is absorbed 
 in one grand concern, and longs for a peace and a hope which they 
 are incapable of imparting. Even though he had derived from 
 them through life the whole amount of pleasure which, without 
 the influence -of true religion, it is in their power to bestow; ^till, 
 it is pleasure that is gone with each passing moment, and leaves 
 the soul at last drearily desolate, and unprovided for the boundless 
 prospect that lies before it. He has " received in his life-time his 
 good things," and all must be left behind him. He has lived with- 
 out God, and without God he must die. His life has been faithless, 
 and his death must be hopeless. He has laid up for himself treas- 
 ures on earth, and there is no treasure reserved for him in heaven. 
 He has said to his soul, "Thou hast goods laid up for many years; 
 take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry;" and when " his soul is 
 required of him," he feels himself " a fool." He " came in with 
 vanity," and he " departeth in darkness." It is the everlasting 
 existence by which it is followed that stamps importance on the 
 life of man. Should a man double the age of Methuselah, his life 
 (though to us, with our narrow span of threescore years and ten, 
 it might seem like a little eternity,) would still be vanity, if it 
 
184 LECTURE X. 
 
 were spent without reference to the endless duration that is beyond 
 it. Another year, my friends, has just gone over us, and is now 
 as irrecoverable as " the years before the flood." But, Oh remem- 
 ber, it will not have as little influence on our future destinies. 
 Ask yourselves how it has been spent. Ask yourselves how all 
 the years of your past life have been spent. How many have you 
 lived? and what have you been doing? Have you anticipated 
 eternity? Have you made any provision for your immortal ex- 
 istence? Have you, in the way of his own appointment, secured 
 the blessing of God, and a title to the inheritance above? Are 
 there not many of my hearers whose consciences say No to such 
 inquiries? — who have lived twenty, thirty, forty, sixty, nay, per- 
 haps fourscore years, " without God in the world," — " without 
 Christ and without hope?" Oh! trifle no longer with interests 
 of such tremendous magnitude. " Live not the rest of your time 
 in the flesh, to the lusts of men, but to the will of God." "Choose 
 the good part that shall never be taken away from you." " Seek 
 ye the Lord while he may be found; call upon him while he is 
 near." " The Spirit and the Bride say. Come; and let him that 
 heareth say, Come; and whosoever will, let him come, and take 
 of the water of life freely." 
 
LECTURE XI. 
 
 ECCLESIASTES VII. 1-6. 
 
 " A good name (is) better tlian precious ointment : and the day of death than 
 the day of one's birth. 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. 3. Sorrow (is) better than laughter: for 
 by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better. 4. The heart 
 of the wise (is) in the house of mouning; but the heart of fools (is) in the 
 house of mirth. 5. (It is) better to hear the rebuke of the wise than for a 
 man to hear the song of fools. 6. For as the crackling of thorns under a 
 pot, so (is) the laughter of the fool. This also (is) vanity." 
 
 Having represented, in a great variety of views, the vanity of 
 human life, and of its numerous and diversified pursuits, Solomon 
 now proceeds to set before us the counsels of wisdom, for the re- 
 gulation of our desires and the guidance of our conduct in this 
 vain and transitory world. Some of these, like many of the say- 
 ings of our Divine Lord, stand in direct opposition to the ordi- 
 nary sentiments and practices of mankind. But they are not, on 
 t;his account, the less worthy of our most serious attention : for it 
 need not, surely, be matter of surprise, that the thoughts and the 
 feelings of a fallen and depraved creature, whose heart is corrupt, 
 and whose understanding is the dupe of its corruption, should not 
 coincide with the mind of the infinitely wise and the infinitely 
 holy; — that to such a creature the directions and admonitions of 
 Heaven should, in many instances, appear paradoxical and ex- 
 travagant. 
 
 Verse 1. A good name is better than precious ointment; and the 
 day of death than the day of one\s birth. 
 
 Perhaps this might, without impropriety, be considered as a re- 
 ply to the question in the close of the preceding chapter : >' Who 
 
186 LECTURE XI. 
 
 knoweth what is good for man all the days of his vain life which he 
 spendeth as a shadow? for who can tell a man what shall be after 
 him under the sun ?" There is one thing, answers Solomon, which 
 is eminently good for a man; good while he lives, and the pos- 
 session of which will render the day of his death even better than 
 the day of his birth ; it is "A GOOD name." This will bless his 
 life, and embalm his memory. But, respecting "a good name," 
 several things are carefully to be observed. In the first place, it 
 means more than merely being well spoken of. A man may be well 
 spoken of, nay, may even acquire high renown, who, judging on 
 Scripture principles, ought rather to be condemned; the world 
 very frequently, in their estimate of character, not only allowing 
 a little apparent good to compensate for much real evil, but even 
 "calling good evil, and evil good; putting darkness for light, and 
 light for darkness ; bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter." Many, 
 alas ! are the instances, in which " that which is highly esteemed 
 amongst men is abomination in the sight of God." A good name, 
 in the Scriptural use of the phrase, is a reputation for what is truly 
 good; for piety, wisdom, integrity, benevolence, and other genu- 
 ine excellences of character. It is further to be noticed, that the 
 reputation must be considered as including the reality, — the actual 
 possession of the virtues that are the ground of praise. A reputa- 
 tion, indeed, for qualities which we are conscious to ourselves we 
 do not possess, so far from imparting any true satisfaction to the 
 mind, must, on the contrary, occasion the most painful emotions ot 
 vexation, and shame, and self-reproach. Whilst there remains a 
 spark of generous and honest feeling in the bosom, nothing can 
 be more distressing than unmerited commendation. 
 
 Rightly understood, then, — as signifying a reputation founded 
 in the real possession of what is truly good, good in the sight of 
 God, — "a good name is better than precious ointment." Two 
 qualities are expressed by the comparison. It is pleasant, and it 
 is valuable; as the ointment is odoriferous, and costly. "Ointment 
 and perfume rejoice the heart: so doth the sweetness of a man's 
 friend by hearty counsel:" — "Because of the savor of thy good 
 ointments, thy name is as ointment poured forth; therefore do the 
 virgins love thee :" — " Behold, how good and how pleasant it it, for 
 brethren to dwell together in unity ! It is like the precious oint- 
 ment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron's 
 
ECCLESIASTES VII. 1-6. 187 
 
 beard; that went down to the skirts of his garments:" — "Mary 
 took a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly, and anointed 
 the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair : and the house 
 was filled with the odor of the ointment." Prov. xxvii. 9. Cant, 
 i. 3. Psalm cxxxiii. 1, 2. John xii. 3. These passages show the 
 ground for both the ideas which we conceive the comparison to 
 express. But the sign falls far below the thing signified, both in 
 its pleasantness and its preciousness. 
 
 A good name is to its possessor a source of pure and exquisite 
 enjoyment; gratifying in a high degree to his feelings, when it is 
 not pronounced, by a secret consciousness, to be intirely unfoun- 
 ded. It is pleasant as the fragrance of rich perfume; sweet and 
 refreshing, soothing and exhilarating to the soul. The sweetness 
 of it should be estimated by the bitterness of its opposite. 
 
 But it is not merely, nor chiefly, as a source of pleasure to a 
 man's own mind, that a good name is to be prized : — it is of more 
 substantial value, as an important qualification for usefulness. The 
 power of any man to do good depends", in an eminent degree, on 
 the reputation he enjoys. His character multiplies his opportuni- 
 ties, inspires confidence, gives weight to his counsels, and free- 
 dom, and energy, and effect, to all his doings. To the man of in- 
 consistency it will be said with scorn, "Physician, heal thyself;" 
 but he whose reputation is established for uniform integrity, pos- 
 sesses a winning and commanding influence, which he may turn 
 to most profitable account, in the cause of truth, benevolence, and 
 piety. It is our duty, therefore, to desire "a good name;" not 
 merely on its own account, or for the satisfaction it affords to our- 
 selves, but for the sake of its utility, in enabling us the more effectu- 
 ally to promote the glory of God, and the good of men. It gives 
 us, to use the language of mechanics, a rest, and a 'purchase, in ad- 
 vancing every good work, which nothing else whatever can fur- 
 nish. For this reason, they are decidedly and very far in the 
 wrong, who despise, or rather, perhaps, who affect to despise, "a 
 good name," and to pour contempt on the opinion of the world, 
 and disregard, as unworthy of their notice, whatever men may say 
 of them. It is true that our first and highest concern should be, 
 to "commend ourselves unto God;" and, compared with this, it 
 should be "a light thing" with us "to be judged of man's judg- 
 ment." It is also true, that we should employ no means of ob- 
 
188 LECTURE XI. 
 
 taining a character amongst men but the direct and honorable 
 means of a steady and consistent deportment; the cultivation and 
 the display (not the ostentatious, but the unobtrusive and una- 
 voidable display) of real goodness, — goodness that follows its every- 
 day course of well-doing, — 
 
 " Holds the noiseless tenor of its way," — 
 
 neither courting observation nor shrinking from it; not varnish- 
 ing itself with a false lustre, but appearing in all its native sim- 
 plicity and loveliness ; not shadow, but substance ; not tinsel, but 
 bullion. Whilst all this is readily conceded; still we maintain, 
 that to be totally unconcerned whether we be slandered or ap- 
 proved, whether "our good be well or evil spoken of," is as im- 
 moral as it is unnatural. The same apostle who counted it "a 
 light thing to be judged of man's judgment," and kept in mind 
 that "he that judged him was the Lord," was, at the same time, 
 earnestly solicitous, and took measures of prudent precaution ac- 
 cordingly, to "provide for -honest things, not only in the sight of 
 the Lord, but also in the sight of men ;" he denied himself, and 
 declined the benefit of his just rights, that he "might cut off oc- 
 casion from them that desired occasion" to reproach and calumni- 
 ate him; and this, for the very reason we have been assigning, a 
 regard to his official usefulness, — " lest he should hinder the gos- 
 pel of Christ." The same principle is involved, also, in the pro- 
 cept, "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your 
 good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven." 
 
 "And the day of death (is better) than the day of one's birth." 
 This seem a strange saying. The birth of a child is a season of 
 gladness, gratulation, and festivity. The death of the same child, 
 when it has advanced to manhood or to age, is the occasion of sor- 
 row and bitter lamentation. It comes into the world amidst re- 
 joicings, and leaves it amidst tears. Yet it is here affirmed that 
 "the day of death is better that the day of one's birth." The af- 
 firmation may be understood in different ways : — 
 
 It may be interpreted generally, in connection with the view 
 given of the vanity and vexation of the life of man. It may be 
 the sentiment of chapter iv. 1-3, generalized; applied to human 
 life on the whole, instead of being confined to one particular de- 
 partment of observation: as if he had said, Seeing "all is vanity 
 
ECCLESIASTES VII. 1-6. 189 
 
 and vexation of spirit," — seeing there are so many springs of bitter 
 water in this valley of tears, of which all who pass through it 
 must drink, the man whose journey has terminated is more en- 
 viable than he who has it yet to begin ; to the former all its evils 
 having ended in the grave, — the land of deep forgetfulness, where 
 "the weary are at rest." The truth of the sentiment, in this 
 general view of it, is proportioned to the measure of suffering en- 
 dured by the person's self, or, to the increase of his own unhappi- 
 ness in consequence of the sufferings Avitnessed by him in others. 
 
 But if we adopt this principle of explanation, it is evident, we 
 must stop short at the grave. We must contemplate man simply 
 as passing through this world, and the grave as the close of his 
 journey, — the boundary of his course. Now, we can hardly for a 
 moment suppose that Solomon meant we should look no further; 
 that we should consider man merely as the creature of a day, — ■ 
 his life limited by the little span of " threescore years and ten," 
 cut off from all connection with a life to come. Yet if we do look 
 beyond the grave, we must necessarily introduce into the senti- 
 ment before us certain limitations and distinctions. It certainly 
 is not true respecting all who die, that the day of their death is 
 better than the day of their birth. To many it is fearfully the 
 reverse. And perhaps, as I before noticed, the distinction is 
 hinted by the connection of the saying with that which precedes; 
 the superiority of death to birth being affirmed only of the man 
 who possesses "a good name," in the sense we have affixed to the 
 phrase. 
 
 We rejoice when a man is born into the world. The joy is 
 natural; nor is there any impropriety in it. But let me suppose 
 for a moment, that we were let into the secret of the little stran- 
 ger's future history; and suppose he were exhibited by the Oracle, 
 tormented by incessant disease, crossed and fretted by perpetual 
 disappointments and vexations; every blossom and promise of 
 personal and social joy invariably and intirely blasted; a man of 
 sorrows, and familiar with griefs: — how completely then would 
 our feelings of gladness be changed to those of heaviness and an- 
 guish! This would be the case, even viewing things with reference 
 to the present life alone: and too often is the birth of a child, with 
 inconsiderate and vacant listlessness, thought of in no other light. 
 But what is the event in reality? It is the entrance of an im- 
 
190 LECTUEE XI. 
 
 mortal creature on an interminable existence. Yes; — that little 
 feeble babe, that hangs in dependent helplessness upon the breast, 
 is a child of immortality. When you have numbered the sands 
 of the ocean, you will not have numbered the years of its existence. 
 There resides in that tender little frame a spiritual substance, a 
 soul, which death cannot touch, possessing powers capable of in- 
 definite, and eternal expansion, and susceptibilities of everlasting 
 enjoyment or of unending woe; — a spirit, that "smiles at the drawn 
 dagger, and defies its point;" that shall " triumph in immortal 
 youth;" that is destined to live, as long as God himself. Suppose, 
 then, we could get still farther into the future history of the babe 
 that has just made its entrance into our world, and is passing 
 through it to another: — suppose we could find access to the book 
 of Heaven's decrees, and could ascertain its eternal destiny; and 
 were infallibly assured, that after a life of unintermitted suffering 
 here, it was to sink into an eternity of woe : — Oh ! should we not 
 then weep over him tears of blood? should we not wring our 
 hands, in speechless agony, over his little cradle, and be ready to 
 "open our mouth and to curse his day?" Surely it could not then 
 be true, that the day of death would be better than the day of 
 birth. No ; for there can be no suffering here, comparable to the 
 misery of hell. The sentiment we should then utter, would be, — 
 "Good were it for that child, if it had never been born!" 
 
 The saying before us, then, must be confined to the wise and the 
 good; to the children of God; those who have believed his word, 
 and walked in his ways, and have had "a good name" in "the 
 Lamb's book of life." Of them it is emphatically true; true in all 
 its extent of meaning; true, not only when this life has been a life 
 of unusual suffering — when they go to heaven "out of great tribu- 
 lation;" but true, even taking life in its "best estate," freest of evil 
 and fullest of good. This is the language alike of the Old and of 
 the New Testament records. To such, death is a salvation; a sal- 
 vation from sin, and from all the evil of which sin is the cause. The 
 day of birth is the day of entrance on a sinful, and therefore on a 
 suffering world : the day of death is the day of entrance on a sinless, 
 and therefore a perfectly happy world. "To die is" thus "gain." 
 " Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord." — " They shall hunger 
 no more, neither thirst any more, neither shall the sun light on 
 them, nor any heat : for the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne 
 
ECCLESIASTES VII. 1-6. 191 
 
 shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters ; 
 and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes." The passage 
 through Jordan into the land flowing with milk and honey, was 
 better to the Israelites than the passage through the Red Sea into 
 the difficulties, and dangers, and distresses of " the waste howling 
 wilderness." 
 
 Our journey through this world is toward that which is eternal. 
 How long it is to be, or how short, we are all equally ignorant. But 
 the prime concern is, with regard to each of us, that, however 
 short or however long, it may end well. Consequences unuttera- 
 bly important — interests of eternal moment — depend on its ter- 
 mination. Yet, alas ! such is the natural earthliness of our minds, — 
 such the fascinating and seductive influence of "the things that 
 are seen," — that although we know and acknowledge them to be 
 but temporal, they are ever excluding from our thoughts and 
 desires the "things that are unseen," though they are eternal. 
 Alas! for the wisdom of human nature; — alas! for the boasted 
 prudence of rational ^nd calculating man, that it should be so ! 
 But that it is so, we cannot cast even a hasty glance upon the 
 world, — we cannot turn our eye inward for a moment to the se- 
 crets of our own hearts, — without the sad conviction forcing itself 
 upon our minds. The man must have renounced all pretensions 
 to soundness of intellect and rectitude of feeling, who will not ad- 
 mit the importance of immortal creatures considering with seri- 
 ousness the prospects that are before them; laying to heart the 
 things that belong to their everlasting peace, and not sacrificing 
 eternity to time, excellent and ever-during joys for the paltry 
 vanities of the world and " the pleasures of sin which are but for 
 a season." But if this be granted, — if such consideration be the 
 wisdom of such creatures ; — then, whatever has any tendency to 
 correct the deceptions of time, and to keep men in mind of eterni- 
 ty, to counteract the power of sensible objects, and to give pre- 
 dominant influence to those that are spiritual, must be infinitely 
 " better," — more conducive to the true interests of mankind, — 
 than what has a contrary tendency ; — a tendency to aid the natural 
 depravity and worldliness of the heart, in blinding, alluring, and 
 bewitching men, to their endless ruin. 
 
 It is on this principle, that the maxims contained in the follow- 
 ing verses are founded: — 
 
192 LECTURE XI. 
 
 Verses 2-4. It is bdtei- 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 
 mil lay it to his heart. Sorrow is better than laughter: for by the 
 sadness of the countenance the heart is made better. The heart of 
 the wise is in the house of mourning : but the heart of fools is in tJie 
 house of mirth. 
 
 " It is better to go to the house of mourning," — the house where 
 Death has paid his gloomy visit, and has spread his pall over the 
 light of domestic joy, — "than to go to the house of feasting," 
 where all is gaiety and merriment, and animal indulgence. The 
 reason of the preference is assigned : — " for that," namely death, 
 and the mourning attending it, "is the end of all men; and the 
 living will lay it to his heart." The general tendencies of the two 
 contrasted scenes are thus expressed. It is not to beinferred that 
 in every case it is wrong to go to a " house of feasting." Our 
 blessed Master, though " holy, harmless, undefiled, and separate 
 from sinners," graced a marriage-feast with his presence, and sup- 
 plied, by miracle, the means, not of inebriation, (infinitely far from 
 our minds be such a thought !) but of innocent convivial cheerful- 
 ness: — and the apostle Paul, when he makes the supposition of 
 Christians being "bidden to a feast" by "any of them that be- 
 lieve not," lays them under no prohibition of compliance, should 
 they be " disposed to go," but only cautions them as to some parts 
 of their conduct while there. John ii. 1, etc. 1 Cor. x. 27, etc. There 
 are joyous seasons, and occurrences in life, when we may, without 
 impropriety, unbend ourselves in social festive enjoyment: al- 
 ways taking heed, that we keep within the limits of Christian 
 temperance ; and never forgetting the Divine Author of all our 
 blessings, and our obligations to use them to his glory. But still, 
 the house of feasting has peculiar temptations. Its general tenden- 
 cy, proved, alas ! by much mournful experience, is to produce for- 
 getfulness of God and of spiritual things; to fill the mind with 
 worldly vanities; to dissipate serious impressions; and thus, in- 
 stead of counteracting, to aid the deceptions of time and sense. 
 " The harp and the viol, the tabret and pipe, and wine, are in 
 their feasts : but they regard not the work of the Lord, neither 
 consider the operation of his hands." — "They lie upon beds of 
 ivory, and stretch themselves upon their couches, and eat the lambs 
 out of the flock, and the calves out of the midst of the stall. They 
 
ECCLESIASTES VII. 1-6, 193 
 
 chant to the sound of the viol, and invent to themselves instruments 
 of music like David: they drink wine in bowls, and anoint them- 
 selves with the chief ointments: but they are not grieved for the 
 affliction of Joseph." — "Job's sons went and feasted in their 
 houses, every one his day; and sent and called for their three 
 sisters, to eat and to drink with them. And it Avas so, when the 
 days of their feasting were gone about, that Job sent and sanctified 
 them, and rose up early in the morning, and offered burnt-oiferings 
 according to the number of them all, for Job said, It may be that 
 my sons have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts. Thus did 
 Job continually." Isa. v. 12. Amos vi. 4-6. Job. i. 4, 5. 
 
 In the house of mourning, on the contrary, lessons the most 
 salutary, in regard to the best interests of men, are presented, with 
 awakening energy, to the mind; lessons which, alas! we are all 
 of us too prone to forget, and of which the very frequency of repe- 
 tition is ever apt to diminish the vividness of the impression. We 
 are there reminded of "the end of all men;" and reminded, conse- 
 quently, of our own. The tendency of such scenes is, to lead "the 
 living to lay this to heart ;" to induce to serious reflection on the 
 past, and anticipation of the future; to bring home to the secret 
 meditations of each man's bosom the prospect that awaits himself; 
 and to press upon his consideration the all-important question, 
 how he may meet the closing scene in peace and hope. 
 
 And is it not a desirable thing, that the living should consider 
 their latter end ? — that they should think, with seriousness, of the 
 events that are before them; — of death, and judgment, and eterni- 
 ty? — No, says the man of this world. Such thoughts and antici- 
 pations are inconsistent with present enjoyment, which is every 
 man's present concern: they produce dejection and gloom; they 
 drive men mad. Why torment ourselves before the time? Why 
 torture the present moment by anticipating moments that are far 
 away? — "begone, dull care!" Let us catch the pleasures of the 
 passing hour ! Let us pluck the rose before it withers ! Let us 
 not, like fools, conjure up the phantoms of to-morrow, to scare 
 away the joys of to-day ! Let us not throw over our present sun- 
 shine the shadows of a future darkness! — Ah! vain man! and 
 will this thoughtlessness prevent the approaches of Death, or keep 
 thy latter end at a distance? Will it arrest the flight of that 
 "numbered hour" that shall lay thee with the dead, and summon 
 13 
 
194 LECTURE XI. 
 
 thy parting spirit to the judgment-seat of God? Will Death spare 
 you, because you laugh him to scorn ; or the evil hour linger, be- 
 cause you do not prepare for its coming ? O remember, that which 
 is far off in your imagination may be very near at hand in reality. 
 AVhilst the rich man, in the parable, was saying to his soul, " Thou 
 hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease; eat, 
 drink, and be merry ; God said to him. Thou fool ! this night thy 
 soul shall be required of thee: then Avhose shall those things be 
 which thou hast provided?" 
 
 The language of Solomon, in this passage, implies his knowledge 
 and firm conviction of a future state of happiness and misery. For, 
 if death were "the end of all men," as to their existence, it would 
 be difficult to establish the wisdom of his maxims. "Let us eat 
 and drink, for to-morrow we die," might then be pleaded for as 
 the most rational principle of human conduct; and the libertine 
 might maintain a successful argument with the moralist and the 
 divine. But, taking the case as it really stands, nothing can be 
 conceived of greater consequence than to persuade men to " lay to 
 heart" their state and their prospects, and to provide for the happi- 
 ness of a never-ending existence. If this object is gained by af- 
 fliction, affliction is the greatest blessing of a man's life; the kindest 
 appointment of a beneficent providence. If the "heaviness" that 
 springs from trouble issues in "the joy of God's salvation;" if the 
 darkness of sorrow introduces into the soul the light of spiritual 
 and everlasting gladness ; what cause has the patient to say, — " It 
 was good for me that I was afflicted !" 
 
 " Sorrow is better than laughter." Is this the sentiment of a 
 morose and cynical misanthrope ? — or of an infatuated and gloomy- 
 minded devotee? Certainly, adversity is not in itself jsreferablo 
 to prosperity. Solomon does not say it is. But adversity has 
 many a time produced effects more truly and permanently bene- 
 ficial than prosperity. There is a mighty ditference between the 
 Divine and the human estimate of things. If a man's spiritual 
 advantage is promoted by suffering, he is, in God's account, a great 
 gainer; and if his prosperity either prevents him from thinking 
 of higher blessings, or entices away those aftections that had been 
 fixed upon them, he is an unspeakable loser. The words of Solomon 
 express the result of experience, and are dictated, not by cynical 
 moroseness, but by genuine enlighted benQvolence; benevolence that 
 
ECCLESIASTES VII. 1-6. 195 
 
 is chiefly concerned about the highest interests of men. The reason 
 of the preference given of sorrow to laughter is, that " by the sad- 
 ness of the countenance the heart is made better." And the rea- 
 son is just and weighty. The improvement of the character in its 
 inward principles — the establishment and promotion of true re- 
 religion in the soul — of the highest and purest affections of which 
 the heart is susceptible — is an end incomparably more excellent 
 than the acquisition of any temporal benefit, and cheaply purchased 
 by the loss of it. And such is the spiritual tendency of sorrow, 
 springing from affliction ; opposed to that of thoughtless incon- 
 siderate mirth. The troubles of life are here supposed to produce 
 sadness. They are not in themselves "joyous, but grievous." 
 " Ye are in heaviness through manifold trials." But the sadness 
 conduces to spiritual profit; and this is the ground of the prefer- 
 ence. When the Nile overflowed the adjacent lands in Egypt, all 
 around would wear the aspect of desolation and dreariness : but 
 when the flood subsided, it left fertility and wealth behind it, and 
 supplied food and life to millions. So is it when the floods of 
 tribulation rest for a time on the heart ; they serve to meliorate 
 the soil, to soften and enrich it, and prepare for a more abundant 
 produce of the fruits of righteousness. This is the gracious de- 
 sign of God, their heavenly Father, in all the afflictions allotted 
 by him to his children. " We have had fathers of our flesh who 
 corrected us, -and we gave them reverence : shall we not much 
 rather be in subjection to the Father of spirits, and live? For they 
 verily for a few days chastened us, after their own pleasure; but 
 he for our profit, that we may be partakers of his holiness. Now, 
 no affliction for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous : 
 nevertheless afterward, it yielded the peaceable fruit of righteous- 
 ness, unto them who are exercised thereby." Heb. xii. 9-11. The 
 humbling and otherwise salutary efl'ect of such correction is finely 
 expressed by the prophet Jeremiah: "I have surely heard Eph- 
 raim bemoaning himself thus ; Thou hast chastised me, and I was 
 chastised, as a bullock unaccustomed to the yoke ; turn thou me, 
 and I shall be turned, for thou art the Lord my God. Surely 
 after that I was turned, I repented ; and after that I was instructed, 
 I smote upon my thigh: I was ashamed, yea, even confounded, 
 because I did bear the reproach of my youth. Is Ephraim my 
 dear son ? Is he a pleasant child ? For since I spake against him I 
 
196 LECTURE xr. 
 
 do earnestly remember him still ; therefore my bowels are troubled 
 for him;' I will surely have mercy upon him, saith the Lord." 
 Jer. xxxi. 18-20. — "Before I was afflicted," says David, "I went 
 astray; but now have I kept thy word." — "It was good for me 
 that I was afflicted; that I might learn thy statutes." Psalm cxix. 
 67, 71. And whilst such has been the experience of God's chil- 
 dren, as to the influence of sanctified afflictions in cherishing in 
 their souls the principles of vital godliness: those that were far 
 from God and far from righteousness have been not seldom in- 
 debted to them, as the means of their first excitement to religious 
 concern, and of their turning from the error of th eir way. Even 
 the hardened Manasseh, branded with impiety and oppression, and 
 stained w^ith innocent blood, with whom warning and expostula- 
 tion had been vain, — "when he was in affliction besought the Lord 
 his God, and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers, 
 and prayed unto him ; and He was entreated of him, and heard his 
 supplication, and brought him again to Jerusalem, into his king- 
 dom. Then Manasseh knew that the Lord he was God." 2 Chron. 
 xxxiii. 12, 13. 
 
 The "laughter" of which Solomon speaks, is the laughter of the 
 fool ; that thoughtless mirth, which excludes reflection ; dissipates 
 the mind; unfits it for every thing serious; and leaves the heart 
 worse instead of better. On these accounts : — 
 
 Verse 4, " the heart of the wdse is in the house of mourning ; but 
 the heart of fools is in the house of mirth." 
 
 "The wise" may be understood either of the man M'ho is un- 
 der the predominant influence of that " fear of the Lord, which is 
 wisdom;" or of the man who consults his own best interests, pur- 
 suing the best ends by the best means. These, indeed, are pro- 
 perly descriptions of but one character. The best and highest 
 ends are, without all question and beyond all comparison, those 
 which relate to our connections with God, and to our eternal ex- 
 istence. He is truly " wise for himself," who "looks not at things 
 seen, which are temporal, but at things unseen, which are eternal." 
 And this right estimate of the things of time and of eternity will 
 ever be found in union with the fear of God. The everlasting 
 welfare of the whole man, for which God has graciously made pro- 
 vision by the gospel, is the highest good on which the heart can 
 fix its desires. We need not be surprised that "the heart ot the 
 
ECCLESIASTES VII. 1-6. VJ7 
 
 fool should be in the house of mirth." The fool's objeet is present 
 pleasures ; and of pleasure he has formed a miserably false eon- 
 oeption. His grand inquiry is, how he may most effeetually ban- 
 ish all care from his mind; how he may drive away every thing- 
 gloomy, by which he means especially every thing serious, and pass 
 his time most lightly and pleasantly; that is, with the least possi- 
 ble intrusion of reflection, or of anticipation. For these ends, he 
 makes choice of the " house of mirth " and " feasting." He would 
 be always in it, drinking down care, and laughing at melancholy. 
 The longer he pursues his career of thoughtlessness, thoughtless- 
 ness becomes the more necessary to his peace. Incessant mirth 
 becomes the more iudisj^ensable, as its intervals become the more 
 irksome. His heart is in the house of mirth. The house of mourn- 
 ing he never frequents from choice ; never sets his foot on its 
 threshold but from unavoidable necessity. The "wise man," on 
 the contrary, is considerate. He " looks before and after." He 
 reflects on the past; he contemplates the present; he anticipates the 
 future. He is a man of thought. Feeling himself sinful, and , 
 knowing himself accountable and immortal, his state before God, 
 and his prospects for eternity, are the chief subjects of his concern. 
 Profiting by the experience of others, and by his own; convinced 
 from both, that "it is better to go to the house of mourning than 
 to go the house of feasting; that sorrow is better than laughter, 
 for tliat by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better;" 
 "his heart is in the house of mourning." He goes thither "not 
 by constraint, but willingly." It is his choice: not so much, in- 
 deed, that he may learn any thing new, as that he may have truths 
 more deeply impressed upon his mind, which it is of the last im- 
 portance for him to remember and habitually to feel, but which, 
 he is deeply sensible, he is continually prone to let slip. The 
 wise man and the fool may thus be distinguished by their respec- 
 tive likings. The former would prefer going to the "house of 
 mourning" to read anew a lesson of serious and salutary wisdom, 
 to spending hours of thoughtless levity and laughter in the house 
 of mirth. There cannot be a more decisive evidence of folly, than 
 when nothing gives any pleasure but merriment and frivolity. 
 He who cannot converse with eternity — he who cannot look for- 
 ward to death and judgment — without feeling an interruption of 
 his pleasure; without a cold misgiving of heart and !i fretful im- 
 
198 LECTUEE xr. 
 
 patience to get rid of the unwelcome and intrusive thoughts; is in 
 a state of' mind far from such as any truly wise man can desire 
 for himself; or any truly benevolent man can, without emotions 
 of the deepest concern, contemplate in others. 
 
 Verse 5. It is better to hear the rehnke of the wise, than for a man 
 to hear the song of fools. 
 
 The "song of fools" is one of the modes of expressing that 
 "mirth" which had just been mentioned in the fourth verse, as 
 characterizing the "house" which fools love to frequent. It is 
 the jovial utterance of either the profligate sensuality, or the un- 
 reflecting and empty levity, of the fool's mind. To "hear the 
 jjong of fools" is to court their company, and participate in their 
 irrational pleasures; of which the tendency is to assimilate the 
 character to theirs; to banish thought; and to inspire a relish for 
 dissipation and insensate merriment and riot. With this is con- 
 trasted the advantage of "hearing the rebuke of the wise." Ke- 
 buke is of all things the most unpalatable in itself. But many 
 things are salutary that are bitter, and many things sweet that are 
 destructive. Let the youth who feels the inclination to frecjuent 
 the "house of mirth," and to "hear the song of fools," listen to 
 the "rebuke of the wise," who, in pity to his soul, dissuades, ex- 
 postulates, and reproves. The indulgence of his propensity may 
 be more agreeable at the time; but the end will be poignant and 
 unavailing regret that the "rebuke" was disregarded. Be as- 
 sured, it is infinitely better to choose and to frequent the company 
 of those who will deal faithfully with your faults, and rebuke and 
 correct your errors even with a salutary severity, than to associate 
 Avith such as will regale you with the poisoned sweets of flattery; 
 applaud you in your follies; extol your spirit; encourage you in 
 your schemes of frolic or of mischief; laugh at your jests; clap your 
 toasts; and join the chorus of your jovial songs. "Pie that re- 
 gardeth reproof shall be honored." — "He that refuseth instruc- 
 tion despiseth his own soul : but he that heareth reproof getteth 
 understanding." — "He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: 
 but a companion of fools shall be destroyed." — " Let the righteous 
 smite me; it shall be a kindness : and let him reprove me; it shall 
 be an excellent oil, that shall not break my head : for yet my 
 prayer also shall be in their calamities." Prov. xiii. 18. xv. 32. 
 xiii. 20. Psalm cxli. 5. 
 
JiCCLESIASTES VII. 1-6. 199 
 
 Wliilst, from the company and counsels of the wise, and the les- 
 sons of the house of mourning, there accrues the most valuable 
 and lasting benefit, — happiness, sterling in its nature and eternal 
 in its duration; — on the contrary. 
 
 Verse 6. As the cracklmg of thorns under a pot, so is the laughter 
 of the fool. This also is vanity. 
 
 CWld any similitude be more strikingly descriptive? The blaze 
 of dry thorns is sudden, noisy, and cheerful. But, enlivening as 
 it is while it lasts, it is as transient as it is sprightly. It sub- 
 sides as quickly as it rises. The bickering flame is soon extinguish- 
 ed, having only served to make the gloom the deeper; and nothing 
 is left behind but unsightly and unprofitable ashes. Kindled 
 "under a pot," it Avants that steady intensity of heat that is ne- 
 cessary to any powerful or permanent effect upon its contents ; so 
 that even while it lasts it docs little service. "So is the laughter 
 of the fool." It is mirthful and boisterous, and, for the time, looks 
 like happiness. But, like the blaze of dried thorns, it is soon 
 over ; and it leaves no profit. It has answered, and even that in 
 appearance only, the care-killing end of the moment: but the sub- 
 sequent dulness and ennui are only the deeper. " The end of that 
 mirth is heaviness," And when the days of such laughter shall 
 be exhausted, then will come the sad fulfillment of the Saviour's 
 words, — "Woe unto you that laugh now! for ye shall mourn and 
 wee])." Well then may we adopt, respecting such laughter, the 
 verdict formerly pronounced upon it, — "I said of laughter, It is 
 mad ; and of mirth. What doeth it?" 
 
 1. From this passage, observe, wi, the first j^lace; that the benefit 
 derived from visits to "the house of mourning" should not be 
 merely our own. We ought to frequent it, not only that we our- 
 selves may learn the spiritual lessons which are taught us by its 
 scenes of woe ; but that we may impart consolation, and support, 
 and profit, to its sorrowing inmates; that we may wipe the tear 
 from the eye of grief; pour the oil of soothing sympathy into 
 the wounded spirit; bind up the broken heart; draw the souls of 
 the mourners to God ; impressing on their minds the Divine in- 
 tention in every trial ; spiritualizing their meditations and de- 
 sires; and rendering the feelings of nature subservient to the pur- 
 poses of grace. Our own distresses, and our own consolations, 
 are intended by the God that afflicts and comforts us, to fit us for 
 
200 LECTURE XI. 
 
 such visits of mercy ; — to qualify us for the house of mourning; — 
 to make lis experienced comforters. " Blessed be God," — says the 
 suffering apostle of the Gentiles, — " Blessed be God, even the Father 
 of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of 
 all comfort; who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we 
 may be able to comfort them who are in any trouble, by the com- 
 fort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God !" Thus, by 
 the religion of the blessed Jesus, selfishness is excluded from every 
 tiling. Our very trials are not sent, nor our consolations under 
 them administered, for ourselves alone. To ourselves, indeed, 
 they are precious and life-giving; but on ourselves, whether we 
 be ministers or private Christians, the design of them does not 
 terminate. The example of our Divine Master is an example of 
 benevolence and love: — "Look not every man on his OAvn things, 
 but every man also on the things of others : let this mind be in 
 you, which was also in Christ Jesus." Phil. ii. 4, 5. And even 
 HE is represented as having learned sympathy, and skill in the 
 adrainfstration of comfort, by his experience of suffering : — " We 
 have not a high priest who cannot be touched with the feeling 
 of our infirmities, but who was in all points tried like as we are, 
 yet without sin :" — " for in that he himself hath suffered, being 
 tried, he is able to succour them that are tried :" — " though he were 
 a Son, yet learned he obedience" — the difficulties and trials at- 
 tending it, — "by the things which he suffered." Heb. iv. 15. ii. 
 18. V. 8. Thus his sufferings were, in every way, turned to ac- 
 count, for the benefit of his people. 
 
 2. In ilie second place; Remember, the time is fast approaching, 
 Avhen the dwelling-place of every one of us shall, in reference to 
 ourselves, become the "house of mourning." This is "appointed 
 unto all." jSTeither riches, nor jjower, nor learning, nor love, nor 
 friendship, can possibly avert it. Death's impartial visits are paid 
 alike at the palace and the cottage. Remember, then, the solemn 
 time is coining, when, either suddenly, or by the gradual ravages 
 of disease, we, like others, must " go the way Avhence we shall not 
 return." The time is coming, when we shall be laid on our sick- 
 bed ; when the messages of anxious friends shall be brought in 
 whispers to our door ; when the parting sigh shall pass our lips ; 
 Avhen we shall be stretched in our shroud, cold and insensible; 
 when agonized relatives shall steal in silence to our apartment, 
 
ECCLESIASTES VII. 1-6. 201 
 
 with gentle step and timid hand, as if afraid of disturbing our 
 slumbers ; lift the covering from our face, to gaze, in pensive 
 anguish, on our altered features, and to drop the last warm tear 
 on our feelingless cheek ; when the company of mourners shall 
 assemble, to convey our mortal remains to their long home; and 
 when, "the earth having returned to the dust as it was, and the 
 spirit of God avIio gave it," "the place that now knows us, shall 
 know us no more:" — when all those affecting lessons, Avhich we 
 have so often learned from the death of others, shall be learned 
 by others from ours. O the blessedness of having a good hope, in 
 that infinitely momentous crisis, when we must part from all be- 
 low, and part for ever! — that survivors, whilst they mourn our 
 departure, may say over our grave, with well-founded assurance, — 
 "Blessed are the dead that die in the Lord!" 
 
 3. Lastly; From such passages as this, the author of this book has 
 sometimes been condemned and scouted, as a gloomy and morose 
 moralist; a cynical philosopher; contemplating human life through 
 the distorted medium of a disappointed and imbittered spirit; dis- 
 posed to aggravate all its evils; to depreciate all its enjoyments; to 
 frown on its harmless pleasures;- and determined to be pleased with 
 nothing. Let us consider this view of his character. 
 
 (1.) Those who bring the charge should know that a difficulty has 
 at times been felt by some, to vindicate him from the very opposite 
 imputation. His language, in some parts of the book, is such, 
 that they have been surprised and startled by it, and have felt it 
 less easy of reconciliation than any other parts of the Bible, with 
 the lessons of Christian soberness and spirituality of mind; and 
 they have been at a loss what answer to make, when it has been 
 (pioted by the laughing sceptic as a sanction for enlarged indul- 
 gence in the gratifications of a present world. Now, should not 
 this lead both to suspect that they are alike misapprehending his 
 meaning, and that, as he cannot be justly chargeable with both 
 extremes, he is, in fact, chargeable with neither? 
 
 (2.) A great part of what dissatisfied and harassed the mind of 
 Solomon was, not the evils suffered by himself, but those which 
 he saw or knew to be endured by others. We have had a speci- 
 men of this in the beginning of the fourth chapter: — "So I re- 
 turned, and considered all the oppressions that are done under the 
 sun: and behold the tears of such as were oppressed, and they had 
 
202 LECTURE xr. 
 
 no comforter; and on the side of their oppressors there was power; 
 but they liad no comforter. Wherefore I praised the dead that 
 are already dead, more than the living that are yet alive. Yea, 
 better is he, than both they, who hath not yet been, who hath not 
 seen the evil work that is done under the sun." Are not these 
 praise-worthy feelings? Is there no credit due for the benevol- 
 ence, which was thus made unhappy by the woes of others? Shall 
 we condemn, as a gloomy and cynical misanthrope, the Christian 
 poet, the delicate and tender-hearted Cowper, when, over-whelmed 
 by the contemplation of human guilt and human suifering, his 
 benevolent spirit bursts forth in the utterance of indignant grief:-— 
 
 "O for a lodge in some vast wilderness, 
 Some boundless continuity of shade, 
 Where rumor of oppression and deceit. 
 Of unsuccessful or successful war, 
 Might never reach me more! My ear is pain'd, 
 My heart is sick, with every day's report 
 Of wrong and outrage, with which earth is fill'd." 
 
 (3.) When he does express dissatisfaction with life, os to his own 
 jpersonal enjoyment of it, it is not on account of the evils that had 
 befallen hi in. The feelings which lie expresses are not those of a 
 man fretted and alienated from the world by the injuries done to 
 him, and longing to be away from the society and sight of beings 
 whom he hates and contemns. Neither are they the feelings of 
 impiety, irritated by the unpropitious dealings of Providence; 
 charging God foolishly, and thinking ho "does well to be angry 
 even unto death;" opening his mouth in blasjihemy against the 
 Author of his existence, and the ordainer of his lot. The com- 
 plaints he utters are not complaints of evil suffered, but of the 
 unsatisfactory nature of good enjoyed. Of this he possessed a rich 
 and enviable abundance and variety ; as much as could well fall 
 to the lot of man. — Be it so — you are ready to say, — and does 
 this mend the matter? Why, it is Avorse than the other. We 
 can find some grounds of apology for his repinings who has been 
 the victim of incessant disappointment, vexation, and calamity. 
 Eut here was nothing of the kind. What ailed the man? to be 
 dissatisfied and full of complaints, when there was nothing in his 
 condition but good! What thankless ingratitude! what unrea- 
 .sonable, capricious, intolerable discontent! — No, my friends. His 
 
ECCLESIASTES VII. 1-6. 203 
 
 feelings were not thus destitute of reason and piety. The cause 
 of the dissatisfaction expressed, it is no difficult matter to assign. 
 The good in question was all pursued, obtained, possessed, and 
 enjoyed, apart from God. It was then, — in "the days of his vanity," 
 it failed to yield any solid enjoyment: and when he came to him- 
 self, he felt the cause of the failure, and recorded the salutary les- 
 son. And O that the lesson, the dictate of his dear-bought ex- 
 perience, were written in every heart! — "graven as with an iron 
 pen and lead in the rock for ever !" — that all has been, is, and 
 
 MUST BE, UNPRODUCTIVE OF HAPPINESS, WITHOUT GOD ; — "VANI- 
 TY OF VANITIES, ALL IS VANITY." 
 
 But Solomon did not do the world justice. It was not a fair 
 experiment. A chemist, when he wishes to ascertain the virtues, 
 of any substance, takes care to separate from it, as thoroughly as 
 he can, all extraneous ingredients, that he may have it unmixed, 
 and thus obtain a correct result. When, in like manner, our ob- 
 ject is to ascertain the capacity of any thing to impart pleasure, 
 ought we not, on the same principle, to divest ourselves to what- 
 ever has any tendency to interfere with, or to mar, the enjoyment 
 it seems fitted to afford? — Solomon perhaps tried to do this. But 
 he could not. He had too much remaining of tlie religious im- 
 pressions of his earlier days, for making the experiment with fair- 
 ness. He knew God too well — the God of his father; from whom 
 he had received the solemn paternal charge, which he never could 
 obliterate from his remembrance, — " And thou, Solomon my son, 
 know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect 
 heart and with a willing mind ; for the Lord S(>archeth all hearts, 
 and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts: if thou 
 seek Him, he will be found of thee; but if thou forsake him, he 
 will cast thee off for ever!" In obedience to the charge of this 
 pious father, he had begun his career in the fear ofthe Lord. He 
 had, therefore, too many recollections, and too many anticipations, 
 to allow of his being happy in the pursuit of the vanities of 
 the world, and the pleasures of sin. These, in spite of him, must 
 have intruded at times even on his maddest social hours; and 
 must have armed every moment of solitude and reflection with 
 a tormenting sting. No yesterday, during that period, would 
 look l)ack upon him with a smile. And Solomon's case is, in this 
 respect, far from being a solitary one. Persons who have been 
 
204 LETURE XI. 
 
 '* brought up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord," but 
 have cast oft' the fear of God and tlie jirofession of religion, can 
 seldom get entirely rid of these early convictions and impressions. 
 They are continually haunting them. Such persons are often dis- 
 tinguished by the lengths to which they go in vicious indulgence. 
 The reason is, that they are making an eftbrt to get above their 
 prejudices and silly fears. They are solicitous to conceal them, 
 and determined to show their companions in sin their superiority 
 to them. But such persons, I repeat, do not do justice to the 
 world. Oh ! it is a fearful experiment, to be fairly made. That 
 the world may yield its pleasures pure and unadulterated, — I mean 
 such pleasures as it aftbrds to its votaries, who follow it as their 
 chief good, to the exclusion of spiritual joys, — the mind must bo 
 stripped of all the vestiges of early religious instruction, of all sense 
 of God, of all anticipation of judgment and eternity; the voice of 
 inward remonstance must be entirely stifled, and the "conscience 
 seared as with a hot iron." If a man can thoroughly accomplish 
 this, he will then have the pleasures of sin in their perfection. 
 But, oh! can a state be imagined more unutterably fearful? Could 
 a heavier curse be conceived to light upon a man, than the curse 
 of success m. the attempt to divest himself of every principle that 
 would interfere witli the unraingled enjoyment of forbidden plea- 
 sures ? 
 
 Besides ; the very persons who cavil at ISolomon for his calumni- 
 ous representation, as they account it, of human life, themselves 
 contributed not a little to the irabittering of his feelings, after he 
 came to look back on his unhallowed experiment, and to record 
 its results. The laughter of the fool, — the giddy joy of the vain, 
 the thoughtless, the dissipated, and voluptuous, — is one of the most 
 aftecting and distressing sights to a serious and spiritual mind : 
 and such was that of the reclaimed and penitent King of Israel. 
 Inconsiderate sinners may laugh at the pain they give to the godly. 
 But the pain is the product of Ijenevolence, as well as of piety. 
 The self-delusion, the present privation, and the anticipated 
 wretchedness of sinners, are its source; and their ^velfare in time 
 and in eternity is the sincere and fervent desire of all by whom 
 it is felt. " I beheld the transgressors, and was grieved." — "' Rivers 
 of waters run down mine eyes, because they keep not thy law." 
 <) "be ye not mockers, lest your bands be made strong." — "Love 
 
e{k;le8IAstes yii. 1-6. 205 
 
 uot the world, neither the things that are in the Avorkl." — "The 
 hist of the flesh, and the lust of the eye, and the pride of life," 
 will all deceive you at last. They will leave you worse than 
 destitute. If you give them the preference, and persist in living 
 without God, the day of your death, however you may flatter 
 yourselves, will not to you be better, but infinitely worse, than 
 the day of your birth. Many a poor worlding will envy through 
 eternity the child that was carried from the womb to the grave ; — 
 will wish, with unavailing regret, that the day of his birth had 
 also been the day of his death; — and will load with bitter impre- 
 cations the hour that commenced an existence to which he cannot 
 put a termination, and which his own sin and folly have rendered 
 irremediably miserable. Dost thou believe, then, on the Son of 
 God? It is only to those who, when they quit this world, go to 
 be with Christ, that "to die is gain," — that "the day of death is 
 better than the day of birth :" and none can be admitted where 
 He is, but those who have believed, and loved; confessed, and 
 honored; and served him here. If you renounce the world, and 
 seek God in Christ as your portion, He will " come unto you, and 
 make his abode with you." He will be the light of your habita- 
 tion when it becomes a "house of mourning," and, when he takes 
 you hence, it will be to his own house above, where "the days of 
 your mourning shall be ended !" 
 
LECTURE XII. 
 
 ECCLESIASTES VII. 7-14. 
 
 "Surely oppression maketh a wise man mad ; and a gift destroyetli the heart. 
 8. Better (is) the end of a thing than the beginning thereof; (and) the 
 patient in spirit (is) better than the proud in spirit. 9. Be not hasty in 
 thy spirit to be angry; for anger resteth in the bosom of fools. 10. Say 
 not thou, What is (the cause) that the former days were better than these? 
 for thou dost not inquire wisely concerning this. 11. Wisdom (is) good 
 with an inheritance; and (by it there is) profit to them that see the sun. 
 
 12. For wisdom (is) a defence, (and) money (is) a defence: but the ex- 
 cellency of knowledge (is, that) wisdom giveth life to them that have it. 
 
 13. Consider the work of God: for who can make (that) straight which 
 he hath made crooked? 14. In the day of prosperity be joyful, but in the 
 day of adversity consider: God also hath set the one over against the other, 
 to the end that man should find nothing after him." 
 
 It is evident, that what is said, in the first of these verses, of 
 the tendency of oppression to "^nahe a wise mc^n mad/' may be 
 understood either of the suffering or of the exercise of oppression. 
 The former, it is needless to prove, serves to fret, and harass, and 
 exasperate the spirit; so that there are not wanting instances, in 
 which men, even eminent in reputation for wisdom, have, by its 
 long continuance, — by their being the constant victims of injustice, 
 privation, insult, and violence, — been worked up to a pitch of abso- 
 lute frenzy ; have given way, after long and difficult restraint, to 
 the burst of ungovernable indignation, and have acted the part of 
 madness, rather than of considerate sobriety. Moses, describing 
 the unrighteous oppression which, amongst other curses, should 
 befall the Israelites under the Divine visitation for their sins, 
 concludes in these words: — "Thy sons and thy daughters shall 
 be given unto another people, and thine eyes shall look, and fail 
 
/ 
 
 ECCLESIASTES VII. 7-14. 207 
 
 with longing for them all the day long; and there shall be no 
 might in thy hand. The fruit of thy land, and all thy labors, 
 shall a nation which thou knowest not eat up ; and thou shalt be 
 only oppressed and cruslied alway; so that thou shalt be mad for 
 the sight of thine eyes which thou shalt see." Dent, xxviii. 32-34. 
 
 I am disposed, however, to understand the expression in the 
 passage before us, as relating to the oppressor, rather than to the 
 oppressed. The possession of power carries in it a strong tempta- 
 tion to its abuse; a temptation before which even men who had 
 borne a previous character for wisdom, have not seldom fallen. 
 And when a man, even a wise man, exalted to power, once gives 
 way before the tempting inducements to its corrupt employment, 
 the very exercise of opj^ression tends to infatuate and bewilder him. 
 It blinds his judgment; it perverts his principles; it hardens his 
 heart; it changes his character. A contention arises in his bosom 
 between the love of power, with the profit of its abuse, on the one 
 hand, and the remonstrances and upbraiding of conscience, on the 
 other. The reluctance too, so mighty in human nature, to own 
 an error, produces a passionate impatience of reproof and counsel, 
 which is proportionally the more vehement, as he is inwardly 
 sensible he is WTong. This state of mind drives him forward to 
 measures of new violence; the very opposition of conscience, re- 
 acting as an irritating stimulus in tlie contrary direction; the 
 anger at its torturing remonstrances producing a desperate effort 
 to silence and banish them ; as when a man, to show his indignant 
 scorn of rebuke, repeats his fault more offensively than before. 
 One step leads on to another; till his conduct, losing all the char- 
 acteristics of wisdom, becomes like that of a man bereft of reason, 
 and swayed by the derangement of passion. 
 
 One of the reasons for preferring this interpretation of the for- 
 mer part of the verse, is its affording .so dear a connection with 
 the latter: — ''and a gift destroyeth the heart J^ — "A gift" is a bribe 
 to oppression. T]ie taking of gifts was prohibited by the law of 
 Moses, on account of the same corrupting tendency that is here 
 ascribed to them. The man, indeed, who consents to receive a 
 gift, known to be bestowed with such an intention, is already cor- 
 rupted. "Judges and officers shalt thou make thee in all thy 
 gates, which the Lord thy God giveth thee, throughout thy tribes : 
 and they shall judge the people with just judgment. Thou shalt 
 
-208 LECTURE XII. 
 
 not wrest judgment: thou shalt not respect persons, neither take 
 .a gift : for a gift doth blind the eyes of the wise, and pervert the 
 words of the righteous. That which is altogether just shalt thou 
 follow, that thou mayest live, and inherit the land which the Lord 
 thy God giveth thee." Deut. xvi. 18-20. "A gift destroyeth the 
 heart." It operates as a temptation. It undermines the principles 
 of impartial equity, and deadens the feelings of humanity and 
 mercy. It perverts the moral sentiments, and leads to the woe 
 ^denounced on the man who "calls evil good, and good evil; who 
 puts darkness for light, and light for darkness." 
 
 This view of the verse accords well with Solomon's leading 
 design. It contains, on this interpretation, an additional reason 
 why we should not " envy the oppressor," or covet very earnestly 
 the possession of power, seeing it carries in it a temptation so dan- 
 gerous; an influence so perverting. 
 
 Verse 8. Better is the end of a thing than the heginning of it; and 
 the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit. 
 
 This verse appears to be intended for the oppressed; although 
 it expresses, at the same time, a general truth. The design of it 
 is to recommend patience, as a remedy against the evils of oppres- 
 -sion, and against the calamities of life in general. 
 
 Things are better judged of by their end than by their begin- 
 ning. The morning often lowers, when the succeeding day is 
 clear. And thus, in the arrangements of providence, events fre- 
 <[uently appear very dark and unpromising, of which the final 
 issue is, beyond expectation, good. On this account, we should 
 beware of being "hasty" in judgment, in feeling, or in action. 
 Jacob said, "All these things are against me!" But, though ap- 
 pearances seemed to justify his despondency, all things were 
 "working together for his good." "Ye have heard," too, "of 
 the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord, that the 
 Lord is very pitiful and of tender mercy." He "turned the cap- 
 tivity of Job," and " blessed his latter end more than his be- 
 ginning." And (to quote a case more immediately connected 
 with the subject of the preceding verse,) when the children of 
 Israel were oppressed with increasing rigor by Pharaoh and his 
 task-masters; when their work was required, by the lawless caprice 
 of a despot, without materials being furnished for it, and they 
 were beaten for not producing it; when their plight was so de- 
 
ECCLESIASTES Vll. 7-14. 20& 
 
 plorable and heart-sinking, that when Moses, in the name of Je- 
 hovah, spoke to them the words of Divine encouragement and 
 promise, "they hearkened not unto him, for anguish of spirit, and 
 for cruel bondage;" all seemed dark and desperate. But "better 
 was the end than the beginning." Jehovah, at length, brought 
 them out " with a high hand and an outstretched arm." He " loosed 
 the bands of wickedness, he undid the heavy burdens, he broke 
 every yoke, and let the oppressed go free." The oppressor may, 
 in "the beginning," appear to have the best of it; but, in "the 
 end," he will liavc reason to envy the victims of his tyranny. Not 
 unfrequently, even in this world, the righteous God, in his over- 
 ruling providence, makes the infatuated ambition, the blind ob- 
 stinacy, and the relentless cruelty, of the oppressor, the means of 
 his own ruin, and of the deliverance of the oppressed: — and, at 
 any rate, if retributive justice should not visit him now, the most 
 powerful abuser of authority, the most independent and ruthless 
 trampler on the rights of his fellows, must give his own account 
 at last to the "Judge of all." 
 
 Let such considerations produce patience under wrongs: — "The 
 patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit." Patience is 
 here, for a very obvious reason, opposed to pride. Pride is one 
 of the chief sources of impatience; of that hastiness of temper 
 which can brook no wrong, which kindles in an instant at every 
 real or fancied injury, and clamors for immediate revenge. Hu- 
 mility, on the contrary, is the parent, not of insensibility, but of 
 gentleness and meekness; the opposite of quick, and passionate, 
 and resentful irritability; of u patience that suffers in submission, 
 and waits in hope ; bearing even the evils that are inflicted by men, 
 in the remembrance that men arc but "God's hand," Psalm xvii. 
 14; and resting in tlie tranquil expectation that "the end will be 
 l)etter than the beginning ;" that the providence of God will make 
 "darkness light" before his injured children, and "crooked things 
 straight." 
 
 Patience is "better" than passionate and hasty "pride," both 
 as being more conducive to happiness, and as being more in har- 
 mony with the Divine will. The "patient in spirit" has more 
 comfort, tranquillity, and true enjoyment, in his own bosom, tlian 
 the "proud in spirit:" — his self-control enables him to be more 
 useful, in supporting and counselling others around him, for which 
 14 
 
210 LECTURI-: XII. 
 
 he -would be incapacitated by the agitations of passion: — and lie 
 is, at the* same time, prevented by it from acting with that pre- 
 cipitate impetuosity which, springing from pride, serves, in general, 
 only to aggravate calamity, and to hasten ruin. Besides, patience 
 is the temper of mind which God approves, and pride that which 
 he condemns : so that he who cherishes and displays the former 
 is intrinsically, in the estimate of the great Lawgiver, "better" 
 than he who indulges the latter. The same sentiment is often ex- 
 pressed by Solomon, as one of much general importance, and of ex- 
 tensive application. "Only by pride conieth contention:" — "He 
 that is slow to wrath is of great understanding ; but he that is 
 hasty of spirit exalteth folly:" — "A wrathful man stirreth up 
 strife; but he that is slow to anger appeaseth strife:" — "He that 
 is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his 
 spirit than he that taketh a city." Prov. xiii. 10. xiv. 29. xv. 
 18. xvi 32. 
 
 In immediate connection with tlie sentiment thus expressed, is 
 the admonition in the ninth verse: — 
 
 Verse 9. Be not hady in thy spirit to be angry ; for anger rcsteth 
 in the bosom of fools. 
 
 I shall not, at present, enter into any disquisition respecting the 
 lawfulness of anger, or make any attempt to ascertain the precise 
 limit at which it becomes criminal. Those, I am satisfied, have 
 gone to an extreme, who have contended that the passion is, in its 
 own nature, sinful. Cases are not only supposable, but of no in- 
 frequent occurrence, in which its emotions may be fliirly justified. 
 Yet it is one of those passions for which a person feels afraid to 
 plead ; because it requires, instead of encouragement and foster- 
 ing, constant and careful restraint; and the propensity in every 
 bosom to its indulgence is ever ready to avail itself of an argument 
 for its abstract lawfulness to justify what all but the subject of 
 it will condemn as its causeless exercise, or its criminal excess. 
 In both these respects there is hazard ; — of its springing up on 
 improper occasions, and of its going beyond reasonable bounds. 
 
 There are two views, suggested by this verse, in Avliich every 
 prudent man will be desirous to guard against anger; its ready 
 admission, and its long retention. "Be not hasty in thy spirit to 
 be angry ; for anger resteth in the bosom of fools." If we regard 
 the glory of God, who is himself " long-suffering, and slow to an- 
 
ECCLESIASTE8 VII. 7-14. 211 
 
 gor," or our own personal and social happiness, wliicli has so often 
 been fearfully disturbed by the violence and inveteracy of the pas- 
 sions, we will give diligent heed to this admonition. Great has 
 been the dishonor done to God, and incalculable the mischiefs pro- 
 duced to men, by hasty and by long-cherished anger. It is in 
 the bosom of "fools" that anger "resteth." To retain and foster 
 it is a mark of a weak mind, as well as of an unsanctified heart : 
 and this is here assigned as a reason why ^ve should not be hasty 
 to admit it. We should be cautious of receiving into our bosoms 
 what wc are forbidden to harbor in them. If it be foolish to re- 
 tain it, it must be foolish to give it ready entrance. David ^vas 
 "hasty in his spirit to be angry" against Nabal; and none will 
 deny that his provocation was strong : yet he saw reason after- 
 wards to bless God for preventing the indulgence of his hasty pas- 
 sion, which, in the inoment of sudden irritation, had threatened 
 what could never have been justified. Seel Sam. xxv. "Be yc 
 angry," says the apostle, "and sin not: let not the sun go down 
 upon your wratli. Neither give place to the devil." Eph. iv. 26, 
 27. The connection of these words seems, without straining, to 
 intimate, Avhat experience abundantly confirms, that the Tempter 
 of mankind often avails himself, in a special manner, of this pas- 
 sion, to drive its subjects to the commission of sin. "Wherefore, 
 my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, 
 slow to wrath: for the wrath of man worketh not the righteous- 
 ness of God." James i. 19, 20. 
 
 One great source of unhappiness in the Avorld — a copious and 
 perennial spring of bitter waters— is discontent, — dissatisfaction 
 with the situation, as to time, place, and circumstances, in which 
 Divine providence has placed us. It is, I think, against such a 
 temper of mind that the warning is pointed in verse tenth : — 
 
 Verse 10. Say not thou, Mliat is the cause that the former days 
 were better than these f for thou dost not inquire wisely concerning this. 
 
 It is obvious, that the complaint here supposed may be under- 
 stood in two senses. It may relate to character, or to condition; 
 to comparative degrees of impiety and wichedness, or to compara- 
 tive degrees of calamity and suffering. It is in the latter sense that 
 I understand it here: yet you will excuse a remark or two on the 
 former. 
 
 The complaint, in what may be termed the moral view of it, has 
 
212 LECTURE XII. 
 
 been common, I snppose, in every age, since the beginning of the 
 world. Had it all along been true, it is impossible to conceive, 
 bad as the world is, how ranch worse it mnst have been. Bnt 
 the degeneracy of the times, as it is never out of the mouths of some 
 amongst ourselves, so Avas it always in the lips of the very gene- 
 ration they praise, who extolled in their time the one which pre- 
 ceded it ; and that again its still more worthy predecessor. The 
 truth is, we are, on many accounts, exceedingly incompetent 
 judges. There is much difficulty in taking a comparative view 
 that shall be sufficiently comprehensive and impartial, of our own 
 and other times. We are extremely apt to confine our estimate 
 to particular descriptions of character or departments of conduct, 
 which happen, whether from accidental circumstances, or from our 
 peculiar mental temperament, to have more particularly attracted 
 our attention and impressed our minds : and to overlook the end- 
 less variety of modifications and aspects under which the corrup- 
 tion of our nature displays itself; to forget that, in human society, 
 there is a fashion in morality, as there is in every thing else, of 
 which it is the very essence to fluctuate, and to show, in successive 
 periods, capricious and changeful predilections; that religion and 
 virtue, though declining in the quarter of the country which forms 
 the immediate sphere of our observation, may be reviving and 
 making progress in another; that when the prevalence of any 
 particular vice has been the occasion of injury and suffering to 
 ourselves, we naturally feel and speak strongly, under the irrita- 
 tions of self-love, magnifying in our imaginations both the in- 
 trinsic enormity of the evil, and the extent to which it is practised. 
 So much do these and other causes affect the judgment, that twc» 
 persons, differing in circumstances, and in mental constitution and 
 moral sentiment, shall produce, from the very same scene of life 
 and manners, descriptions so unlike each other, as that we shall 
 be at a loss to believe the identity of the subject: just as two 
 painters, following each his own taste and fancy, may, from the 
 same assortment of objects, by variety of grouping and arrange- 
 ment — by the different degrees of retirement or of prominence given 
 to each — and by their opposite styles of shading and coloring — 
 present us with two pictures so totally dissimilar, as that we may 
 look long and narrowly, ere we discover the points of coincidence. 
 T might illustrate these remarks by an application of them to 
 
E<J€LESIASTi:S VII. 7-14. 213 
 
 our own times, in our own country. That in sonic classes of the 
 community there has been a declension in purity of morals, sobriety 
 and moderation, and personal and family religion, will hardly 
 admit of a doubt. It was naturally to be expected, from the pro- 
 gressive increase of riches and luxury, which never fail to bring 
 along with them a set of new vices, and to relax the tone of public 
 virtue. Infidelity, too, and irreligion have been of late more un- 
 blushingly avowed, and have drawn from some of their unhappy 
 votaries more daring, more artful, and more extended efforts for 
 the diffusion of their unhallowed and mischievous principles, than 
 for many years have been witnessed amongst us. Yet many and 
 interesting are the favorable characters of the present age; and 
 some of its evils have originated in the existing good. The zeal 
 of Christians for the diffusion of the word of God, and of the 
 knowledge and the influence of "pure and undefiled religion" at 
 home and abroad, has been enlarged, and its exertions multiplied 
 and ardent, beyond all former example. And this not only indi- 
 cates an abounding of the good principles of piety and benevolence, 
 as the sources from which it must proceed ; but, accompanied as 
 it is with so much united prayer for the Divine blessing, it cannot 
 fail to be productive of salutary effects, in the amelioration of in- 
 dividuals and communities. It is at once an index of good ex- 
 isting, and an efficient means of its advancement. It shows a 
 fountain Avhence it emanates; and it carries with it, in all its ten 
 thousand streams, a purifying and healing virtue. The evil has 
 become more visible by its contrast with the good. The efforts 
 of infidelity have arisen from the efforts of the friends of the Bi- 
 ble, and the wonder is, not that they should have been made now, 
 but that they should have been so long suspended. It is a trial of 
 strength between truth and error, between Heaven and Hell. Hell 
 has its partial successes and triumphs; and the great majority, 
 alas ! remain on the side of the prince of darkness. But Heaven, 
 we trust, is at present prevailing ; and of ultimate and universal 
 victory, to the full extent of the Divine purposes and predictions, 
 it were i4iipious to doubt. My own firm persuasion is, that true 
 religion is not on the decline, but on the increase, both in our own 
 country, and in the world at large. 
 
 Let us, however, beware. We are not to fancy, from the lan- 
 guage of Solomon, that there is no difference, in a moral view, 
 
214 LECTURE XII. 
 
 between different periods; or that such diiference is not a fair and 
 legitimate subject, and an interesting one too, of candid observa- 
 tion, inquiry, and comparison. A]id, whilst we cannot acquiesce 
 in the incessant complainings of men who are for ever sigliing 
 after old times, and "saying that the former days were better than 
 these," we ought to be on our guard against light impressions of 
 the abounding evils of our age and country; for evils still prevail 
 to a most deplorable extent, and their guilt is awfully enhanced 
 by the super-abundance of spiritual privileges, and by the very 
 means employed for their exposure and prevention. 
 
 But although I iiave ventured these general remarks on this 
 view of the jjussage, the other, as I have already noticed, appears 
 to be tlie meaning of the writer. It refers to the comparative 
 measiu'e oi .wfjcring rather than of sin; of natural rather than of 
 m )ral evil. He is finding fault with a dissatisfied spirit — a dispo- 
 sition to be continually complaining of the times, as if in them 
 Avere to be found all the elements of misery — laying on them the 
 blame of that unhappiness of which the eomplainer carries about 
 the cause in his own bosom: — "Say not of the former days, they 
 Avere better than these; for thou dost not inquire icisely concerning 
 
 this:' 
 
 In the fird place. Thou art inquiring for the cau-ic of what thou 
 shouldst first ascertain with certainty to he a fact; of v\^hat possibly 
 has no existence but in thine own distempered imagination, or 
 partially informed judgment. All the idle speculations about a 
 golden age, and the purity and liappiness of the simple and primi- 
 tive state of society, uncontaminated by the corrupting refinements 
 of civilized and luxurious life, come under this reproof There 
 has been no golden age in this world, but the short period of 
 paradisiacal innocence and bliss, enjoyed l)y the first progenitors 
 of our sin-accursed race. 
 
 Secondly. Consider with thyself farther, that thou knowest the 
 evils of former times only bi/ report; whereas of present ills thou 
 thyself /cf/es^ the pressure. By this feeling thy judgment is liable 
 to be perverted. Or, thou scest the distress that is endured by 
 others; and distress that is seen affects the heart more deeply than 
 distress that is reported. The sight of the eye is more impressive 
 in such cases, than the hearing of the ear. Thou canst balance, 
 Avith an unbiassed mind, the (jood and the evil of "olden tim 
 
ECCLESIASTES VII. 7-14. 215 
 
 to wliicli thou art not a party ; but a sufferer is more ready, througli 
 the selfishness of his nature, to brood over his one calamity, than 
 to contemplate with gratitude his multiplied blessings — to nauseate 
 the drop of bitter, more than to relish the cup of sweets. 
 
 Thirdly. In uttering thy complaints with a dissatisfied and 
 repining spirit, thou art unwise: for thou arraignest, in so doing, 
 the all-wise providence of the Most High, mIio assigns to every 
 successive age its portion of evil and of good. He has "fixed the 
 times before appointed, and the bounds of our habitation;" and 
 it is our true wisdom to be pleased and satisfied with whatever 
 has seemed good to the wisdom that is infinite. What he does is 
 ever best. The complaints of a fretted spirit are ungodly; and 
 the "inc^uiries" of such a spirit are equally unwise in their prin- 
 ciple, and delusive in their results. 
 
 Verse 11. Wisdom is good mitlt an inheritance; and by it there 
 is 2Wojit to them that see the sun. 
 
 The former part of this verse is sometimes understood to mean, 
 that icorldly ]jossessions are little worth icithout loisdom; because 
 the possessor of an inheritance, who is devoid of discretion, will 
 either squander it away through thoughtless improvidence, or will 
 not .use it at all, or will employ it for ends that are worse than 
 unprofitable ; that are criminal and pernicious. I imagine, hoAV- 
 ever, the marginal reading, which accords with a common mode 
 of Hebrew comparison, to be the true one, — "Wisdom is better 
 than an inheritance." The eleventh and twelfth verses are obvi- 
 ously connected together, the latter being explanatory of the former; 
 " Wisdom is better than an inheritance, and a profit (or profitable) 
 to them that see the sun" — that is, to mankind: — 
 
 Verse 12. For wisdom is a defense, and money is a defense, bid 
 the excellency of hnowledge is, that wisdom f/iveth life to them thcd 
 have it. 
 
 "Wisdom is a defense, and money is a defense;" both affording, 
 in different ways, the means of security from the ills of life. Wis- 
 dom enables a man to consult his own safety, to "foresee evil and 
 hide himself," and to make many friends by his circumsj^eict and 
 prudent behavior. Riches, too, surround their possessor with 
 friends; they are a powerful protection against his enemies; and 
 the effectual means of averting many evils, and securing many 
 benefits: — "a rich man's wealth is his strono- citv." — "But the ex- 
 
216 ]>ECTURE XII. 
 
 cellence of knowledge" — its peculiar advantage — " is, that wisdom 
 giveth life to them that have it." In this especially consists its 
 superiority to an inheritance. 
 
 "Wisdom" must here, I think, be understood in its best sense; 
 as signifying not mere prudence and discretion, but including along 
 with these the knowledge that "maketh wise unto salvation." 
 Without this no man is truly wise. " The fear of the Lord, that 
 is wisdom." True wisdom leads its possessor to act according to 
 just views of the comparative value of different objects of desire 
 and pursuit ; and, therefore, to give a decided and cordial prefer- 
 ence to the things that are unseen and eternal, above those that 
 are seen and temporal ; the latter, when laid in the balance against 
 the former, being "altogether lighter than vanity." It is obvious, 
 I think, that the expression, "wisdom giveth life to them that have 
 it," cannot mean merely that it enables a man the more eifectually 
 to provide for the continuance and the comfort of the present life. 
 In this respect "money" might be considered approaching to a 
 par with it; and at any rate such a consideration would never have 
 been mentioned by Solomon with so much emphasis. The se- 
 curity and comfort of this life, indeed, had already been included 
 in the comparison, "Wisdom is a defense, and money is a defense;" 
 which represents them both as, thus far, answering the same pur- 
 pose. But wisdom, the "wisdom that is from above," imparts not 
 only the true enjoyment of the present life, but "life eternal" 
 to them that have it. This is its peculiar excellence. "Happy 
 is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth under- 
 standing: for the merchandise of it is better than the merchan- 
 dise of silver, and the gain thereof than) fine gold. She is more 
 precious that rubies; and all the things thou canst desire are not 
 to be compared unto her. Length of days is in her right hand, 
 and in her left hand riches and honor. Her ways are ways of 
 pleasantness and all her paths are peace. She is a tree of life 
 to them that lay hold upon her; and happy is every one that re- 
 taineth her." Prov. iii. 13-18. — "Take fast hold of instruction; 
 let her not go : keep her, for she is thy life." Ibid. iv. 18. — " This 
 is life eternal, that they might know thee, the only true God, 
 and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent." John xvii. 3. — " Now, 
 therefore, hearken unto me, O ye children; for blessed are they 
 that keep my ways. Hear instruction, and be wise, and refuse it 
 
ECCLESIASTES VII. 7-14. 217 
 
 not. Blessed is the man that heareth me, watching daily at my 
 gates, waiting at the posts of my doors. For whoso findeth me: 
 findeth life, and shall obtain favor of the Lord. But he that sin- 
 neth against me wrongeth his own soul : all they that hate me love- 
 death." Prov. viii. 32-36. This indeed is true "profit to them that 
 see the sun." — " Riches profit not in the day of wrath." The life 
 that is obtained by wisdom, "cannot be gotten for gold, neither 
 shall silver be weighed for the price of it." " What is a man pro- 
 fited, if he should gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or 
 what shall a man give, in exchange for his soul?" Matt. xvi. 26> 
 
 The possession of this heavenly wisdom, then, is the great se- 
 cret of human happiness. Under its influence, its possessor will 
 be led rightly to improve the varying circumstances and conditions; 
 of life, satisfied with the wise and immutable purposes of heaven. 
 
 Verses 13, 14. Consider the work of God: for who can make that 
 straight ivhich he hath made crooked f In the day of prosperity, be joy- 
 ful; but in the day of adversity, consider: God also hath set the one- 
 over against the other, to the end that man should find nothing after him^ 
 
 To "consider the work of God," — to observe with close atten- 
 tion, and acknowledge with pious reverence, his providential hand, 
 is an important part of true wisdom ; as well as to bear habitually 
 in mind the complete and unceasing dependence of all creatures, 
 on his sovereign will: — "Who can make that straight, which he 
 hath made crooked?" This has no reference to the previous, un- 
 discovered purposes of God, as to the future arrangement of his 
 providence. These are no rule to us. AVe are not to allow our- 
 selves to be influenced, either by such conjectural anticipations, or 
 by any idea of invincible fatality. Our business is, to use with 
 diligence the means that are placed in our power of obtaining com- 
 fort and happiness, and, in the spirit of humble faith, to leave the 
 event to God. But when the event comes, whatever it may be> 
 we are called to acquiesce in it; not murmuring and complaining, 
 and "fighting against God." That were as vain, as it would be 
 impious: for "who can make that straight, which he hath made 
 crooked?" There is no contending, with success, with innocence, 
 or with safety, against the appointments of providence. Our wis- 
 dom is to make a proper improvement of them. "Behold, he 
 taketh away; who can hinder him? who will say unto him. What 
 doest thou?" — "Behold, he breaketh down, and it cannot Ix' built 
 
'218 LECTLTHE XII. 
 
 again; liQ shiitteth up a mai), and there can be no opening." — 
 " When he giveth quietness^ who then can make trouble? and when 
 he hideth liis face, who then can behold him?" — "He doeth accord- 
 ing to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants 
 of the earth : and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What 
 doest thou?" Job ix. 12. xii.'l4. xxxiv. 29. Dan. iv. 35. 
 
 "In the day of prosperity be joyful ; but in the day of adversity, 
 consider." 
 
 God has given us of the bounties of his providence; and it is 
 liis intention, in bestowing them, that they should be enjoyed by 
 us with grateful and cheerful hearts. Joy is the proper feeling 
 for the season of prosperity and blessing. Xot to be joyful, would 
 imply the want of a becoming spirit of thankfulness to the giver. 
 When the children of Israel were commanded to appear before 
 the Lord, with the offering of the first-fruits of their land, the 
 charge was given in these words: — "Thou shalt set it before the 
 Lord thy God, and shall worship before the Lord thy God. 
 And THOU SHALT REJOICE in cvcry good thing which the Lord 
 thy God hath given unto thee, and unto thy house, thou, and the 
 Levite, and the stranger that is among you." And, in denouncing 
 against them the curses of heaven, Moses uses the following re- 
 markable language: — "Because thou scrvedst not the Lord thy 
 
 God WITH JOYFULNESS, AND WITH GLADNESS OF IIEAllT, for the 
 
 abundance of all things; therefore slialt thou serve thine enemies, 
 wliich the Lord shall send against thee, in hunger, and in thirst, 
 and in nakedness, and in want of all things: and he shall put a 
 yoke of iron upon thy neck, until he have destroyed thee." Deut. 
 xxvi. 10, 11. xxviii. 47, 48. 
 
 Whilst prosperity is the season of joy, adversity is a Divine call 
 to serious consideration. Not that in prosperity consideration is 
 to be banished, or that joy is to be excluded in adversity. No. 
 There are joys wliich are often most sweetly and most intensely 
 experienced in times of trouble. The Christian "glories in tribu- 
 lation," He is "sorrowful, yet always rejoicing." And when all 
 goes well with us, — when the kindness of heaven "fills our mouth 
 with laughter and our tongue with singing," — we must never dis- 
 miss serious thoughts. AYe should be " when we rejoice, as though 
 Ave rejoiced not;" remembering the precariousness of earthly de- 
 li::;lits, and "joining trembling with our mirth." But it is the de- 
 
ECCLESIASTES VII. 7-1-1. 219 
 
 sign and the tendency of adversity to rouse to consideration. This 
 is its proper effect. "Is any among you afflicted? let him pray." 
 Adversity contains an immediate, and frequently a startling and 
 impressive, call to such reflections as, alas ! prosperity is ever in 
 danger of driving a\vay. It sobers the intoxicated spirit. It 
 summons back the mind from its heedless and perilous wanderings, 
 "lu the day of adversity," then "consider" the Authoe of 
 your trials. Whatever be their nature, and whatever the instru- 
 ment of their infliction, they are the appointment of providence; 
 they come from the hand of a wise and merciful God, who, in all 
 his ways. Is entitled to your thoughtful regard. — "Consider" the 
 CAUSE of all suffering. It is all to be traced to sin. Sin is the 
 bitter fountain of every bitter stream that flows in this wilder- 
 ness. — "Consider" the great general design of adversity; to ex- 
 cite to self-examination, repentance of sin, and renewcid vigilance ; 
 to promote the increase of faith, and love, and hope, and spiritu- 
 ality of mind, and general holiness of heart and life. These vari- 
 ous topics of consideration are fitted, when duly laid to heart, to 
 produce the sentiments and feelings that are suited to times of trou- 
 ble. The first, to inspire silent and reverential submission to the 
 Vv'ill of God, who is the author of our trials ; the second, humilia- 
 tion of spirit under a sense of sin, as their cause; and the third, 
 an earnest desire for the spiritual profit, which constitutes the gra- 
 cious design of the Divine chastiser. "Thou shalt also consider 
 in thy lieart, that as a man chastcneth his son, so the Lord thy 
 God chasteneth thee: therefore thou shalt keep the command- 
 ments of the Lord thy God, to walk in his ways, and to fear him :" 
 — "'The Lord's voice crieth unto the city, and the man of wisdom 
 shall see thy name ; hear ye the rod, and M'ho hath appointed it :" 
 — "Who is he that saith, and it cometh to pass, when the Lord 
 commandeth it not? Out of the mouth of the Most High pro- 
 ceedeth not evil and good. Wherefore doth a living man com- 
 plain, a man for the punishment of his sins? Let us search and 
 try our ways, and turn again to the Lord : let us lift up our heart 
 Vi'itli our hands unto God in the heavens:" — "Now therefore, thus 
 saith the Lord of hosts, Consider your ways. Ye have sown much, 
 and bring in little; ye eat, but ye have not enough; ye drink, but 
 ye are not filled with drink ; ye clothe you, but there is none warm ; 
 -and he that earneth wages, earneth wages to \mt it into a bag witli 
 
220 LECTURE XII. 
 
 holes. Thus saith the Lord of hosts, Consider your ways:" — 
 *' No chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous but grievous; 
 nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteous- 
 ness unto them who are exercised thereby. Wherefore lift up the 
 hands which hang down, and the feeble knees ; and make straight 
 paths for your feet." Deut. viii. 5, 6. Mic. vi. 9. Lam. iii. 37- 
 41. Hag. i. 5-7. Heb. xii. 11-13. Such 4ire some of the many 
 Scriptural addresses to persons in adversity ; in all of which may 
 be recognized, with equal clearness, its Author, its cause, and its 
 design. 
 
 Prosperity and adversity are, in the present life, and more or 
 less in the history of every individual, intermingled together. 
 They come and go with a frequent and uncertain alternation ; so- 
 that in the highest prosperity, we should never lose sight of ad- 
 versity, or allow ourselves to forget how near a change may be. 
 If we do forget it, it is not for want of incessant mementos. In tha 
 appearances which the world is every day and every hour present- 
 ing to our view, the Supreme Disposer of events is continually 
 "setting the one over against the other." One man is prospering 
 while another is suffering; the prosperity of one is commencing,, 
 whilst that of another is terminating: the same man who pros- 
 pered yesterday, suffers to-day: prosperous and afflictive occur- 
 rences befall the same individual at the same moment. And what 
 is the purpose of God in this constant alternation and intermingling, 
 of good and evil ? 
 
 It is, — " to the end that man may find nothing after him." 
 This expression is obscure. I shall content myself with men- 
 tioning several different interpretations of it, leaving it to your- 
 selves to decide between them : — 1. That no man might come after 
 God, to review his providential administration, and discover de- 
 fect or fault; imagining that things might have been managed to 
 better advantage : — this alternation of prosperity and adversity in 
 the lot of individuals, and in the general aspect of the world, be- 
 ing the wisest arrangement, both for the glory of God and for the 
 good of men — who need adversity to prevent the intoxicating in- 
 fluence of prosperity, and prosperity to lighten the overwhelming, 
 pressure of adversity; who require, amidst the temptations of the 
 world, to be constantly reminded of its precariousness ; and whose 
 characters are, by varying circumstances, elicited and displayed,, 
 
ECCLESIASTES VH. 7-14. 221 
 
 ;so as to make the justice of God apparent in the final judgment. — 
 2. That men might be sensible of their intire dependence, the les- 
 ison being brouglit home to their minds by their felt inability to 
 alter, in the smallest degree, what he has done before, and fixed. 
 No creature can "find any thing after Him," who "openeth, and 
 no man shutteth, and shutteth, and no man openeth :" and this 
 ought to produce humble submission to his sovereign appoint- 
 ments ; seeing the attempt is thus vain to "find" what he has not 
 willed. — 3. That men, impressed with the uncertainty of earthly 
 good, might find their only satisfying portion in God himself; 
 that nothing besides him can confer true and permanent felicity; 
 and that in him there is enough to impart and to secure it, with- 
 out any thing being sought for after him: that they might be led, 
 from choice and experience, to say, "The Lord is my portion, saith 
 my soul; therefore will I lioi^e in him :" — " Whom have I in heaven 
 but thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire in comparison 
 of thee. My flesh and my heart fail; but God is the strength of 
 my heart, and my portion for ever." 
 
 1. Let us, from these verses, learn, in the first i^lace, to beware 
 of ambition, — of eagerly coveting the acquisition of power. Let 
 the dangers arising from it to its possessor be considered, and we 
 .shall rather be disposed to say, with humble self-distrust, "Lead me 
 not into temptation !" We shall be jealous of ourselves with godly 
 jealousy; and, instead of being eager to acquire, we shall be back- 
 ward to accept, what contains in it such a temptation to its abuse, and 
 the abuse of which serves equally to infatuate the oppressor, and 
 to madden the oppressed. Not that a Christian is enjoined, or even 
 warranted, uniformly to decline every situation of power and in- 
 fluence, where he might bring his principles into exercise for the 
 benefit of society. No : it may be his duty to accept a trust, to 
 which the voice of his fellow-citizens, and the voice of providence, 
 concur to invite him. There are, besides, various descriptions 
 and degress of power, which arise from the relations established 
 by nature between man and man. With whichsoever of these we 
 are intrusted, let it be our prayer, that the grace of God may en- 
 able us to "use" our authority "as not abusing it;" for in every 
 case we may be under temptation, constant or occasional, to excess 
 and oppression. You have authority as parents, or as teachers, 
 or as masters, whether of domestic servants, of field laborers, or 
 
222 LECTURE xir. 
 
 of workmen in the various departments of business : — see that yoii 
 never exert your j30 ?(,'£■?■ beyond the limits oi right; for the grati- 
 fication of any selfish principle, or the attainment of any selfish 
 end ; for any purj^ose, other than the good of those over whom 
 you possess it. And if you now hold, or should ever be called to 
 hold, a magistracy, or any situation of public trust and influence^ 
 let the strictest equity, the most incorruptible integrity and honor, 
 in combination with the tenderest clemency and the most kindly 
 benevolence, characterize your whole conduct; '4hat the name of 
 God and his doctrine be not blasphemed." 
 
 2. Secondly ; Let us cherish in our hearts, and exemplify in our 
 lives, the virtues of meekness, and patience, and long-suffering. 
 These are truly Christian virtues ; despised by a proud world, but 
 inculcated in the Scriptures with a frequency and earnestness that 
 mark their value in the sight of God; and recommended to our 
 approbation and practice by the perfect example of our blessed 
 Master, — "who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when 
 he suffered, threatened not; but committed himself to Him who 
 judgeth righteously;" who "was led as a lamb to the slaughter, 
 and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he opened not 
 his mouth." — Cultivate those lowly and lovely tempers, both 
 towards one another, and towards all men. "Walk worthy of 
 the vocation wherewith ye, arc called; with all lowliness and 
 meekness, with long-suffering, forbearing one another in love; 
 endeavoring to keep the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace :" — 
 " Warn them that are unruly, comfort the feeble-minded, support 
 the weak, be patient toward all men. See that none render evil 
 for evil unto any man; but ever follow that which is good, both 
 among yourselves, and to all men :" — " Love your enemies, bless 
 them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for 
 them who despitefully use you, and persecute you ; that ye may 
 be the children of your Father who is in heaven : for he maketh 
 his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on 
 the just and on the unjust." — Be ye therefore perfect, even as 
 your Father who is in heaven is perfect." Eph. iv. 1-3. 1 Thess. 
 V. 14, 15. Matt. V. 44, 45, 48; with Luke vi. 36. 
 
 3. Thirdly; Let me recommend to all " the wisdom that cometh 
 from above :" — the knowledge and the faith of Divine truth, and 
 the practice of the Divine will. This wisdom is infinitely better 
 
ECCLESIASTES VII. 7-14. 22^y 
 
 than any earthly inheritance; than any amount of earthly treas- 
 ures, in possession or in hope. " It giveth life to them that have 
 it." It "maketh wise unto salvation'^ — the most important end, 
 above all comparison, that can engage the contemplation, the de- 
 sire, or the pursuit, of immortal beings. With this wisdom is 
 associated the favor of God, in which is life; and the "sure and 
 certain hope" of an inheritance incorruptible, undefiled, and that 
 fadeth not aAvay;" an inheritance incomparably more excellent, 
 and infinitely more enduring, than the finest and the largest on 
 earth; an inheritance, of which "the land that flowed with milk 
 and honey" was but a poor and temporary figure; "the better, 
 the heavenly country." He is emphatically a fool, who disregards 
 this "eternal inheritance," and "lays up for himself treasures on 
 earth, where moth and rust corrupt, and thieves break through 
 and steal." Jesus Christ is "the wisdom of God." The knowl- 
 edge of Him in his true character and mediatorial work, is eternal 
 life. Prize more and more, my Christian brethren, this saving 
 knowledge, and hold it fast unto the end; when its true value, 
 partially appreciated now, will be fully apparent, and delightfully 
 experienced. "Will ye also go away?" said Jesus to his twelve 
 apostles, with the look and the tone of tender interest, when some 
 had " gone back, and walked no more with him." " Lord,"|said Pe- 
 ter in reply, — and, oh ! adopt ye the answer, and let it come from a 
 devoted spirit, — " Lord, to whom shall we go ? thou hast the words 
 of ETERXAL life!" — "Beware, lest, being led away by the error 
 of the wicked, ye fall from your own steadfastness; but grow in 
 grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus 
 Christ." John vi. 68. 2 Pet. iii. 17, 18. "And may God, who 
 commanded the light to shine out of darkness, shine into the 
 hearts " of all who hear me, " to give the light of the knowledge 
 of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ !" 
 
 4. Fourthly; Let the mixture of prosperity and adversity, which 
 in this world is seen and felt by all, produce in all the blessed 
 effects that have been described. Instead of carping at the divine 
 arrangements, and vainly seeking jiermanent enjoyment amidst 
 the uncertainties and fluctuations of the world, be satisfied with 
 what you cannot improve ; bow to what you cannot alter ; and 
 turn for constant and lasting happiness to that " Father of lights " 
 who is the author of "every good and perfect gift;" who has 
 
224 LECTURE XII. 
 
 stamped mutability and fickleness on every thing created, and is 
 liimself alone "without variableness or shadow of turning." Let 
 those who know God, — who have "tasted that the Lord is gra- 
 cious/' — cultivate and display tempers of mind corresponding to 
 the states in which his providence alternately places them. Let 
 the one and the other lead them to himself. "I have learned," 
 says the apostle of the Gentiles, — may we all learn, from the same 
 heavenly teacher, the same blessed lesson! — "I have learned, in 
 ■whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. I know both 
 how to be abased, and I know how to abound : every where, and 
 in all things, I am instructed, both to be full and to be hungry, 
 both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through 
 Christ who strengtheneth me." Phil. iv. 11-13. 
 
 5. Lastly ; And oh! let the man of this world, whether at the 
 present moment in prosperity or adversity, be persuaded to " con- 
 sider." A portion, in a scene so changeful and so fleeting, will 
 not do. If you are prospering, recollect that, short as your earthly 
 life must be, your prosperity may be shorter. If you are suffering, 
 you have already learned the precariousness of prosperity. "Set 
 not, then, your eyes any more on that which is not;" but seek for 
 yourselves, "in heaven, a better and more enduring substance;" — 
 in heaven, where prosperity and adversity are no longer set "the 
 <one over against the other," but all is "fulness of joy, and pleas- 
 ures for evermore." Fret not at the vanity of the world. Murmur 
 not that your prosperity has not been more steady. Its departure, 
 if you rightly improve it, may do you infinitely more good than 
 you could have derived from its longest continuance, or its highest 
 possible augmentation. Vent not a sinful spleen in unprofitable 
 complaints of the times, and repinings that your lot had not been 
 cast in an earlier and a better age. The times, no doubt, are bad ; 
 yet bad times might be the best times for mankind, if they would 
 but make a right use of them, and learn from them the salutary 
 lessons of spiritual wisdom. And M'ith you, my friends, the very 
 best times are bad, — miserably bad, — whilst you continue to live 
 "'without God in the world." The best times are the worst, if 
 they take away your hearts from him, and impose upon you the 
 unsubstantial and passing shadows of happiness for its solid and 
 eternal realities. " O taste, and see that the Lord is good : blessed 
 is tne man that trusteth in him." 
 
LECTURE Xni 
 
 ECCLESIASTES VII. 15-22. 
 
 *■'' All (tbings) have I seen in the days of my vanity : there is a just (man) th.it 
 perisheth in his righteousness, and there is a wicked (man) that prolongcth 
 {his life) in his wickedness. 16. Be not righteous over much ; neither make 
 thyself over wise: why shouldest thou destroy thyself ? 17. Benotover much 
 wicked, neither be thou foolish: why shouldest thou die before thy time? 
 18. (It is) good that thou shouldest take hold of this; yea, also from this 
 withdraw not thine hand : for he that feareth God shall come forth of them 
 all. 19. Wisdom strengtheneth the wise more than ten mighty (men) who 
 are in the city. 20. For (there is) not a jnst man upon earth, that doeth 
 good, and sinneth not, 21. Also take no heed unto all words that arc 
 spoken ; lest thou hear thy servant curse thee : 22. For oftentimes also 
 thine own heart knoweth that thou thyself likewise hast cursed others." 
 
 Verse 15. All things have I seen in the days of my tanity: there 
 is a just man that perisheth in his righteousness, and there is a loiehed 
 man that jyrolongeth Ms life in his vnekedness. 
 
 "Behold/' says the Psalmist, "thou hast made my days as a 
 hand-breadth, and mine age is as nothing before thee : verily every 
 man, at his best estate, is altogether vanity." All a man's days 
 on earth might therefore be with propriety denominated "the 
 days of his vanity." The designation, however, appears to be ap- 
 plied by Solomon to tha.t period of his life, during which he for- 
 sook God, and tried to find his happiness from worldly sources. 
 The days of this period were, indeed, emphatically what he here 
 denominates them. In the course of these days, he had taken a 
 very extensive survey of human life, and had marked with atten- 
 tion, in the spirit of a philosophical observer, the various circum- 
 stances which, in different situations, affected the happiness of 
 mankind: — "All things," says he, in verse fifteenth, "have I seen 
 in the days of my vanity." 
 15 
 
226 LECTUEE XIII, 
 
 He specifies one of his observations, and founds upon it tlie 
 counsel of wisdom: — "There is a just man that perisheth in his 
 righteousness, and there is a wicked man that prolongeth his life 
 in his wickedness." The subject here, I apprehend, is not the 
 conduct of Divine providence respecting the fortunes and lives of 
 the righteous and the wicked ; but rather the treatment which 
 these two opposite characters frequently experience from the world; 
 though this, no doubt, takes place under the superintendence, and 
 by the permission, of Heaven. Solomon had noted various in- 
 stances, in which the consistently righteous man, — the man who 
 by his conduct " testifies against the world that its deeds are evil ;" 
 and especially one who, along with this character, holds a station 
 of power and eminence in which he feels his obligation to act 
 conscientiously, without regard to fear or to favor, to flattery or 
 to threatening,— exposed himself to the malignant operation of 
 hatred and envy, by which his days had been at once imbittered 
 and cut short, through open violence or by secret treachery : whilst 
 the wicked man had "prolonged his life in his wickedness," act- 
 ing on principles more congenial to the likings of the world in 
 which he lived, and employing arts for his preservation such as 
 the just man could not in conscience have recourse to: so that 
 sometimes he had even succeeded in lengthening out his days hy 
 his wickedness, wdiilst the good man had prematurely perished/or 
 his righteousness. From the days of " righteous Abel," downward 
 through the history of all nations, facts are not wanting in corrob- 
 oration of Solomon's statement. The whole army of martyrs, as 
 well as many an ill-requited patriot, might be brought as wit- 
 nesses to its truth. 
 
 With this general observation what follows is to be considered 
 as in immediate connection: — 
 
 " Verses 16-18. Be not righteous ovei^ much; neither malx thyself 
 ovefi^ %oise; why shouldst thou destroy thyself f Be not over much 
 wicked, neither he thou foolish ^ why shouldst thou die before thy timef 
 It is good that tlwu shouldst take hold of this; yea, also from this 
 withdraio not thy hand: for he that feareth God shall come forth oj 
 them all. 
 
 Persons who relish not, nor study, the word of God as a whole, 
 have often particular parts of it which they like ; favorite texts, 
 such as, when severed from their connection, and regarded in their 
 
ECCLESIASTES VII. 15-22. 227 
 
 sound rather than their sense, appear to suit their pre-conceived 
 opinions and prevalent desires. These little insulated scraps of 
 Scripture, misunderstood and perverted, and applied to purposes 
 the very opposite of the Divine intention, obtain a free currency 
 amongst multitudes of people, many of whom, perhaps, never read 
 them in their Bibles, but have got them at second-hand as max- 
 ims of high authority ; and they are quote on all occasions, and 
 referred to with the easy confidence of a geometrician quoting his 
 axioms. In this, and in many other ways, the word of God meets 
 with treatment which would be resented as an insult by any hu- 
 man author; being made to express sentiments in perfect contra- 
 riety to its general spirit, and even to its most explicit declara- 
 tions. 
 
 Few texts (perhaps I might say none) have been in such gene- 
 ral favor; have been caught at, and circulated, and appealed to 
 with approbation by so great a variety of characters ; as the first 
 clause of the sixteenth verse, — "Be not righteous overmuch." 
 ^ts grand recommendation lies in its being so undefined; suscepti- 
 ble of so many shades of meaning; prescribing no precise bound- 
 aries, but leaving matters conveniently at large; and thus afford- 
 ing latitude for every man to fix his own standard, (and even that 
 may be very fluctuating,) and then to ajDpeal to Scripture against 
 all who go beyond him, as exceeding reasonable bouijds, and be- 
 ing "righteous- over much." For it is surprising how men who 
 hate and disregard the Bible in its great truths and requirements, 
 will yet quote its words, nay, even plead for its. authority, when 
 it can be made, by any perversion, to accord with their own incli- 
 nations, ' 
 
 The saying is a favorite one with the profligate, Avho, in curs- 
 ing the enthusiasm and hypocrisy of others, vainly fancies that 
 he is vindicating his own vice and folly ; and who reckons it quite 
 a sufficient reason for rejecting with scorn a serious and salutary 
 advice, that it comes from one whom all must allow to be — "righ- 
 teous over much !" 
 
 Often, on the other hand, is it appealed to by the man of mor- 
 ality, who, with stern severity, condemns the profligate, but who 
 piques himself on his own sobriety, honesty, industry, kindness, 
 and general decenc}; of character; and making this external vir- 
 tue his religion, though without a single sentiment or emotion of 
 
228 LEci'uRE xirr. 
 
 inward godliness, considers every thing beyond it as being-"- 
 "righteous over mHch!" 
 
 Many, who are equally destitute of the true spirit of religion; 
 who feel its services an irksome drudgery; whose secret language 
 in them all is, — " What a weariness is it !" and who, therefore, satisfy 
 their consciences with very flimsy apologies for the neglect of them, 
 are ever ready to pronounce those "righteous over much," who 
 cannot see their excuses in the same satisfactory light with them- 
 selves. 
 
 This admonition, too, is a weapon in constant use with the 
 thousands, whose religion consists in the strict observance of its 
 outward forms, in their appropriate times and places. They would 
 not for the woidd be missed out of their pew on the Sabbath, and 
 with even greater reluctance on certain days of human institution. 
 But they are clear for keeping religion in its proper place. This 
 is a topic on which they continually insist; a sj)ecies of jiroiwiety 
 which, in company with a smile of self-complacency, is for ever 
 on their lips. It is all well, if a man minds religion on its own 
 appropriate day, and attends to his business the rest of the week. 
 These things must not be made to clash. "Six days shalt thou 
 labor, and one thou shalt rest," are God's own prescriptions: — 
 and the Bible itself enjoins us not to be — "righteous over much!" 
 
 But thete are none to whom this favorite caution is of more es- 
 sential service, than those professors of religion, of whom, alas ! 
 the number is not small, who, disliking "the offence of the cross," 
 are desirous to keep on good terms with both Christ and the world; 
 and who cover from others, and try to cover from themselves, the 
 real principle of their conduct, by prudential maxims of imposing 
 plausibility, and some of them in the terms of Scripture. The 
 wisdom of the serpent, they say, is recommended to ua, as well as 
 the harmlessness of the dove. They cannot see the use of ex- 
 posing themselves and their religion to needless derision. They 
 are ever mightily afraid, lest, by the over-strictness and uncom- 
 plying spirit of its professors, men should be led to form gloomy 
 notions of the gospel, as a system of morose and jiuritanical aus- 
 terity. "We must needs go out of the world," they allege, "if 
 we are to take no part in its pleasures." Under the pretext of 
 recommending religion, such persons meet the world half-way; 
 they join in its follies and vain amusements; they rather court 
 
ECCLESIASTES VII. 15-22. 229 
 
 than shun its intercourse; f>,nd they sanction their unseemly com- 
 pliances by an appeal to the admonition before us; regarding the 
 reproach cast upon others who tliink a more decided and marked 
 separation from the world their duty, as bixjught upon them- 
 selves by their own imprudence, — by carnfing matters too far, — 
 by being "righteous over much!" 
 
 A passage of Scripture that has been so much abused, and of 
 which the abuse is so extensively prejudicial, it is of great im- 
 portance rightly to understand: and, before noticing any of the 
 different views that have been taken of it, I shall state what to me 
 appears to be its true meaning. 
 
 The whole passage seems to be an instance of serious and im- 
 pressive IRONY: of which the subject is, the line of conduct most 
 prudent to be pursued, supposing the end in view to be the secur- 
 ing of favor, honor, and prosperity in the world. Thus : — " There 
 is a just man that perisheth in his righteousness, and there is a 
 wicked man that prolongeth his life in his wickedness." If, there- 
 fore, you wish to avoid the enmity of the world, with its mis- 
 chievous and sometimes deadly consequences, and to insure favor, 
 success, honor, and long life, — "be not righteous over much:" — 
 remember that religion is a matter, in which men, in general, are 
 particularly fond of moderation ; and beware of assuming an ap- 
 pearance of sanctity greater than the world is disposed to approve 
 of, or to bear witJi. — " Neither make thyself over wise ; why shouldst 
 thou destroy thyself?" Recollect, that the same feelings of envy 
 and malignant jealousy may be excited, as they very often have 
 been, by high degrees of superior intelligence and wisdom. Be 
 not obtrusive, therefore, with your eminent endowments. Deal 
 prudently. Be cautious of exasperating the jealous pride of others. 
 Besides the risks that arise from envy, such qualities may bring 
 you often into the critical situation of an arbitrator; in which you 
 must unavoidably expose yourself to the re-seutment of one or other 
 of the parti&s, and possibly even of both. A nd from various other 
 sources danger may arise to you. But, at the same time, beware. 
 Similar effects may be j^roduced by opposite causes. Although 
 men do not like over much religion, you must be on your guard, 
 on the other hand, against the extreme of wickedness: — "Be not 
 over much wicked." You will expose yourself to suspicion and 
 hatred, as a dangerous member of society : men will become your 
 
230 LECTURE XIII. 
 
 enemies ,from fear, and will think they confer a benefit on the 
 community, by making riddance of you : nay, in the excess of 
 riotous and unbridled profligacy you may be betrayed into deeds 
 which may awaken the vengeance of human laws, and bring you to 
 an untimely end. Let prudent consideration, then, set bounds to 
 your licentiousness. — ^" Neither be thou foolish; why shouldst thou 
 die before thy time?" As there are hazards attending high pre- 
 tensions to wisdom, so are there risks peculiar to folly. The 
 absolute fool becomes the object of contempt. His life is hardly 
 thojLight worth an effort, faf less a sacrifice, for its preservation. 
 The fool is easily made the tool and the dupe of a party; expos- 
 ing himself to be the prey of virulent enemies, or of selfish pre- 
 tended friends. Folly leads a man into innumerable scrapes. It 
 may induce him heedlessly to mix with ^vicked associates, and may 
 thus, as indeed has many a time happened, occasion his suffering 
 for crimes in the perpetration of which he had no active hand„ 
 and which, fool as he is, he would shrink from committing. And 
 in numberless ways he may come, by his folly, to "die before his 
 time." If, therefore, I repeat, your object be to shun the world's 
 enmity, with its possible and probable effects, and to secure the 
 world's favor, Avith its desirable accompaniments and consequences^ 
 take care of these extremes; — as "there is a just man that perish- 
 eth in his righteousness, be not righteous over much, neither make 
 thyself over v/ise; why shouldst thou destroy thyself?" — and 
 though "a wicked man" may, and sometimes does, "prolong his 
 life in his wickedness," yet "be not overmuch wicked, neither be 
 thou foolish; why shouldst thou die before thy time?". 
 
 All Scripture irony is serious, and intended to impress on the mind 
 important lessons. The passage is, in this respect, similar to that 
 striking one towards the close of the book: — "Rejoice, O young 
 man, in thy youth, and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy 
 youth, and walk in the ways of thy heart, and in the sight of thine 
 eyes: — but know thou that for all these things God will bring 
 thee into judgment." So here, the admonition closes with an 
 impressive recommendation of the fear of the Lord, as the best 
 and only means of inspiring true peace and tranquil security of 
 mind ; as a sovereign antidote against the fear of man ; and a 
 powerful incentive to the faithful and firm discharge of duty in 
 every situation : — 
 
ECCLESIASTES VJI. 15-22. 231 
 
 Verse 18. "It is good that thou shouldst take hold of this, yea, 
 also from this withdraw not thy hand: for HE THAT feareth 
 God shall come foktpi of them all." 
 
 "It is good" — supremely good and advantageous — "that thou 
 shouldst lay hold. on this," — that is, on what I am now about to 
 mention; "yea, also from this withdraw not thy hand," — that is, 
 let this antidote against the perils of an evil world, and against 
 the fear of man, which so often brings a snare, be the subject of 
 thy constant and attentive remembrance; the object of thy supreme 
 and unceasing desire, and of thine unabated endeavors after its 
 thorough attainment and its permanent influence; — "for he that 
 feareth God shall come forth of them all." Instead, of adopting 
 any of the maxims, or following any of the schemes, of a carnal 
 policy and worldly wisdom, "be thou in the fear of the Lord all 
 the day long:" — "Sanctify the Lord God in your heart; let him 
 be your fear, and let him be your dread : and He shall be for a 
 sanctuary." He shall be thy fortress and strong tower; so that 
 thou shalt not need to be afraid of what man can do unto thee. 
 ^'Thou shalt dwell on high; and thy place of defense shall be the 
 munition of rocks." — " He that dwelleth in the secret place of the 
 Most High, shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I 
 will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress; my God; 
 in him will I trust. He shall cover thee with his feathers, and 
 under his wings shalt thou trust: liLs truth shall be thy shield 
 and buckler." Psalm xci. 1, 2, 4. — " Fear not them who kill the 
 body, but are not able to kill the soul : but rather fear him, who 
 is able to destroy both soul^nd body in hell. Are not two spar- 
 rows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall to the 
 ground without your Father. But the very hairs of your head 
 are all numbered. Fear ye not, therefore, ye are of more value 
 than many sparrows." Matt. x. 28-31. 
 
 The nineteenth verse may be connected with this, as containing 
 an amplification of the idea expressed in the latter part of it: — 
 
 Verse 19. Wisdom strengtheneth the ivise more than ten mighty men 
 who are in the city. 
 
 "Wisdom," — that is, this wisdom, the fear of God, declared in 
 other places to be wisdom, and the beginning of wisdom, — this 
 wisdom "strengtheneth the wise:" it fortifies and invigorates the 
 soul; it elevates it above every other fear; it inspires the heart 
 
232 LECTURE xm. 
 
 rath, a firm feeling of security, and with resolute, undaunted 
 courage in the path of duty, however beset with enemies and ob- 
 structed by difficulties. "Thou wilt keep him in j>erfect peace 
 whose mind is stayed on thee, because he trusteth in thee." — 
 ^'- Wisdom strengtheneth the wise more" — imparts to them more of 
 inward confidence, and of real safety — "than ten mighty men;" ten 
 experienced and skilful, powerful and intrepid leaders; or, under- 
 standing the number ten as a definite for an indefinite, more than any 
 number of valiant warriors "who are in the city" can give to its 
 inhabitants when invested by a besieging foe. Such a cit}^ may be 
 deemed secure, when so- defended : but the fear of God is a still 
 stronger and surer defense to those who put their trust in his power 
 and mercy. — Or, supposing the "ten mighty men who are in the 
 city" to be the foes of "him who fears God," wisdom makes him 
 stronger than his enemies; gives him fortitude of mind against 
 them, however numerous and however mighty. He that is with 
 him is more than all that can be against him; so that he may say, 
 with the Psalmist, — "Though a host should encamp against me, 
 my heart shall not fear; though war should rise against me, in 
 this will I be confident:" — "I laid me down and slept; I awaked, 
 for the Lord sustained me : I will not be afraid of ten thousands 
 of people, that have set themselves against me round about." The 
 felt security of those who- are under the special protecting care of the 
 Almighty, is finely represented by the case of the prophet Elisha,. 
 when surrounded in Dothan by the host of the king of Syria. 
 When his servant, on rising in the morning, saw the city invested 
 on all sides with horses and chariots, he said, with a fearful heart,, 
 "Alas! my master, how shall we do?" Elisha answered^ — "Fear 
 not; for they that be with us are mo-re than they that be with 
 them." And he prayed, and said, — "Lord, I pray thee, open his 
 eyes that he may see. And the Lord opened the eyes af the young 
 man, and he saw: and behold the mountain was full of horses and 
 chariots of fire round about Elisba." This host of the Lord was. 
 unseen but by the eye of faith. To the mind of the prophet it 
 imparted the most fearless composure, under circumstances in which^ 
 to the eye of sense, his destructio.n must have seemed inevitable. 
 2 Kings vi. 15-17. 
 
 In vindication of the general principle which I have adopted 
 for the explanation of this passage, let it now be observed, in the 
 
ECCLESIASTES VII. 15-22. 233 
 
 jird place: The motives which Solomon employs to recommend and 
 inforce his advice evidently show that, in the fifteenth verse, >vhen 
 he speaks of "a righteous man perishing in his righteousness, and 
 a wicked man prolonging his life in his Avickedness," he refers not 
 directly to the conduct of providence, but to tlie consequences 
 arising to the righteous and the wicked, from the feelings of man- 
 kind towards them: for, in the ordinary administration of God, 
 the duration of human life does not appear to be at all regulated 
 by the characters of men. 
 
 Secondly. If the counsel, — "Be not righteous over much" means, 
 that it is our duty to be righteous, but that we should beware of 
 excess in righteousness; tlien the opposite counsel, — "Be not over 
 much wicked," if taken seriously, (that is, as having nothing in 
 it of the nature of irony,) must, on the same principle of interpre- 
 tation, be understood to signify, that we may be wicked, provided 
 we take due care not to exceed, or to go beyond bounds in our 
 wickedness. But this, surely, can never be the counsel of the word 
 of God. Every reader of the Bible will be instantly sensible how 
 much it is out of unison with the universal tenor of its sentiment 
 and phraseology. 
 
 Thirdly. Righteousness, when opposed, as it is here, to wicked- 
 ness, usually means, in Scripture language, true religion in general, 
 in all its various branches, of principle and of practice; the intire 
 profession and course of conduct of a good man. In this enlarged 
 sense I understand it here; and this makes me dissatislied with 
 other interpretations of the passage. 
 
 Some consider righteousness as referring particularly to the ex- 
 ercise oi justice, Sind the admonition not to be righteous over much, 
 as a caution against the over-rigid application of the principles of 
 equity; pressing every thing to an extreme; never tempering jus- 
 tice with clemency, but exacting satisfliction and punishment, 
 without mercy, on all occasions, even for the most trivial faults. 
 But if righteousness mean simply justice, then wickedness must 
 mean simply injustice; and if "be not righteous over much" be 
 a warning against the extreme of justice, "be not over much 
 wicked" must be a warning against the extreme of injustice; a 
 warning which we certainly should not expect to find in that book 
 which admits of no compromise between right and wrong, and 
 whose sentence is, — "He that is faithful in that which is least is 
 
231 LETUrtE XIII. 
 
 faithful also in much; and he that unjust in the least is unjust 
 also in much." Luke xvi. 16. Those who have adopted the 
 interpretation I am speaking of have not, I think, sufficiently 
 attended to the antithesis in the passage; nor; duly considered, that 
 the true principle of interpretation, whatever it may be, ought 
 to apply, with equal fairness and ease, to both sides of it. There 
 is reason, indeed, to think, that the counsel — " be not righteous 
 over much," is quoted by multitudes without the most distant 
 recollection, and by not a few without even the Jcnowledge, of its 
 being followed immediately by the admonition not to be "over 
 much wicked." 
 
 Others, understanding the terms "righteous" and "wicked," 
 as I think they ought to be understood, in their more general ac- 
 ceptation; and at the same time conceiving "Be not righteous 
 over much" to be Solomon's serious counsel; cannot, however, 
 deny, that of true righteousness, of real religion, of genuine, un- 
 sophisticated goodness, there cannot be excess. They are, there- 
 fore, under ,the necessity of qualifying and restricting after all. 
 Some of them explain the words as a caution against intemperate 
 zeal, exerting itself indiscreetly, contentiously, and to the injury of 
 religion : — some, as a warning against a blind and bigoted supersti- 
 tion, displaying itself in an excessive attachment to rites and cere- 
 monies of human invention; or even, it may be, to external insti- 
 tutions of Divine appointment; Avhilst the spirit of vital godliness 
 is intirely or in a great measure overlooked: — others, as an admo- 
 nition against a needless scrupulosity about„ trifles ; a want of proper 
 discrimination between smaller and greater matters; between what 
 have been termed essentials, and non-essentials ; from which have 
 arisen the hottest contentious, and numberless unnecessary schisms. 
 
 Of all these, and other interpretations of a similar kind that 
 might be noticed, it may be observed in general: — First, that these 
 things are not properly righteousness ; but the mere adjuncts, and 
 unjustifiable accompaniments or counterfeits of righteousness : and 
 secondly, that if such things are meant in the exhortation, " Be not 
 righteous over much," if will follow, that what is said in the verse 
 preceding, of " the righteous man perishing in his righteousness," 
 must be considered as expressing, not the consequence of his real 
 godliness itself, but of his imprudent profession and practice, or 
 his needlessly ostentatious display, of it. But tliis certainly is not 
 
ECX'LESIASTES VII. 15-22. 235 
 
 what Solomon means, when he contrasts the "righteous perishing 
 in his righteousness," and the "wicked prolonging his life in his 
 wickedness." 
 
 Considering righteousne.<^s, then, in its proper sense; in the sense 
 in which it is generally used in the Bible; I must repeat what has 
 before been hinted, that no nmn who is conversant in the contents 
 of that blessed volume, can for a moment admit the idea of its 
 containing a caution against the excess of it; — the excess of true 
 relfgion and moral obedience. Were such excess possibk, surely 
 it is not the side on which we are in danger of erring, and require 
 to be seriously admonished. Shall Ave warn him against too much 
 spirituality of mind, who feels himself by nature "carnal, sold 
 under sin," and in whose bosom the "law of sin" is incessantly 
 striving against the "law of his mind?" Shall we put him on his 
 guard against allowing the love of God,— the comprehensive princi- 
 ple of all righteousness, — to occupy too much of his heart, whose 
 nature is enmity against him? Shall we caution against loQking 
 too constantly at the things which are unseen and eternal, a crea- 
 ture whose propensities are so powerful to seek liis portion in the 
 things that are r,een and temporal: who feels his affections drawn 
 downward, and bound to the earth ? How preposterous the thought, 
 of warning a sinful creature against the excess of holiness! — a self- 
 ish creature against the excess of benevolence and integrity ! — an 
 earthly-minded creature against too intimate fellovv'ship with 
 heaven ! — a creature surrounded with temptations to equivocate be- 
 tween God and the world, and who carries about within him prin- 
 ciples of the old man., to -^Vhich, alas ! these temptations are too 
 congenial, against a profession and conduct too decided on the part 
 of God and of godliness ! — a creature who is so much in danger of 
 seeking glory from men, against estimating too highly or coveting 
 too eagerly, the honor that cometh from God only! — a creature, in 
 a word, that has so many sadly prevailing tendencies to the intire 
 dereliction of righteousness, against being "righteous over much !" 
 
 Lasfbj. The whole of the language of the Divine word, in do- 
 scribing the character at which God's people ought continually to 
 aim, is fitted to impress on every mind the impossibility of the 
 dreaded excess, — of being "righteous over much." Let a few 
 passages suffice as a specimen of many. " If any man be in Christ ; 
 he is anew creature: old things are passed away; behold all things 
 
236 LECTURE XIII. 
 
 are become new." — "Every man that hath this hope in him/' (in 
 Christ; namely, the hope of seeing him as he is and being like 
 him,) "jiurifieth himself even as He is pure." — "Brethren, I count 
 not myself to have apprehended; but this one thing I do: for- 
 getting the things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those 
 things Avhich are before, I press toward the mark, for the prize of 
 the high calling of God in Christ Jesus." — "Set your affection on 
 things above, not on things on the earth." — "I beseech you, there- 
 fore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies 
 a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your rea- 
 sonable service : and be not conformed to this world ; but be ye 
 transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove 
 what is the good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God." — " They 
 that are Christ's have crucified the flesh, with the affections and 
 lusts." — "Love not the world, neither the things that are in the 
 world: if any man love the world, the love of the Father is not 
 in him." — "Ye cannot serve God and mammon." — "The friend- 
 ship of the world is enmity with God: whosoever therefore will 
 be a friend of the world, is the enemy of God." — "Having there- 
 fore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from 
 all pollution of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear 
 of God." — "Giving all diligence, add to your faith, fortitude; and 
 to fortitude, knowledge; and to knowledge, temperance; and to 
 temperance, patience ; and to patience, godliness; and to godli- 
 ness, brotherly-kindness ; and to brotherly-kindness, charity." — 
 "For none of us liveth to himself, and no man dietli to himself: 
 for whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, 
 we die unto the Lord: whether we live, therefore, or die, we are 
 the Lord's." 2 Cor. v. 17. 1 John iii. 3. Phil. iii. 13, 14. Col. 
 iii. 2. Kom. xii. 1, 2. Gal. v. 24. 1 John ii 15. Matt. vi. 24. 
 James iv. 4. 2 Cor. vii. 1. 2 Peter 5-7. Rom. xiv. 7, 8. These 
 passages, which are only an exemplification of the current phrase- 
 ology of the Bible on the subject of Christian holiness, express a 
 spirituality, a decision and self-denial, a universality, persever- 
 ance, and progress, of practical obedience, utterly inconsistent with 
 any cautions against the danger of excess, and admonitions to 
 moderation. Of such sedatives, alas ! we stand not in need. All 
 the exciting stimulants that can be applied to our minds are few 
 enough, and weak enough, to keep us on the alert against the 
 
ECCLESIASTES VII. 15-22. 237 
 
 temptations of the world, and alive to the great ends of our being. 
 The sinless perfection of our moral nature, is the object of com- 
 manded pursuit, and of promised attainment. We can never, even 
 in a future world, go beyond this; and in the present world, bear- 
 ing about with us to the end the corruption of the old man, we 
 can never reach it. We can never exceed the requirements of the 
 precepts I have been repeating. To be "righteous over much/' 
 is an impossibility. 
 
 The statement in the twentieth verse, — - 
 
 Verse 20. For there is not a just man %ipon earthy that doethgood, 
 and sinneth noi^'' — 
 
 Is made without exception or qualification ; and ought for ever 
 to lay in the dust the lofty pretensions of some professing Chris- 
 tians, as if they had attained to a state of perfect freedom from 
 inward and outward sin ; a pretension pregnant with the most 
 astonishing self-ignorance, or the most presumptuous spiritual 
 pride. There are "just men upon the earth:" they "do good," 
 and manifest by its fruits the nature and qualities of the tree. But 
 there are no perfect men upon earth; none who can say, without 
 the most pitiable self-deception, "I have no sin." There is many 
 a one that "doeth good;" but no one that "doeth good and sin- 
 neth not;" — no, not one. Not only are we guilty of many sins 
 along with our good deeds ; but in our good deeds themselves there 
 is sin. "There is not a just man upon earth that doeth good, 
 and," even in the good that he doeth, "sinneth not." We have 
 all of us abundant reason to say, not only that "in many things 
 we offend," but that in every thing we "fail and come short;" and 
 still to come to God with the prayer of the publican, — "God be 
 merciful to me a sinner." 
 
 But the connection of the verse with what precedes is not, at 
 first view, very obvious: and accordingly difierent translations 
 have been proposed of the connective particle, rendered by our 
 translators "For;'' some joining it with what goes before, and 
 others with what follows. There seems no need for any altera- 
 tion. The verse connects in a natural and edifying manner with 
 the sentiment of the eighteenth and nineteenth verses : — "It is good 
 that thou shouldst lay hold of this; yea, also from this withdraw 
 not thy hand: for he that feareth God shall come forth of them 
 all. Wisdom," — this wisdom, the fear of God, — " strengtheneth 
 
238 LECTORE XIII. 
 
 the wis^ more than ten mighty men who are in the city." The 
 admonition to cultivate the fear of God is then enforced by the 
 appropriate consideration, "For there is not a just man upon earth, 
 that doeth good, and sinneth not." You are a sinful and imper- 
 fect creature; having the seeds of all evil within you; evey lia- 
 ble to feel the power of temptation, and to fall before it. Cher- 
 ish, therefore, the fear of God, as the great preventive of evil : the 
 strengthening and sustaining principle amidst abounding intimi- 
 dations and allurements; that which alone can counteract the pro- 
 pensities of corruption. One temptation to sin, a frequent and a 
 strong one, is the fear of man. But the predominant fear of God 
 raises the 'mind above it^ gives vigor of heart, boldness of coun- 
 tenance, and energy of resistance ; and, maintained in exercise by 
 the Spirit of God, secures the final victory. 
 
 Yerses twenty-first and twenty-second contain some further ne- 
 cessary advice, for the preservation of our peace and happiness in 
 life:— ' 
 
 Verses 21, 22. Also, take no heed unto allicords that are spoken; 
 lest thou hear thy servant curse thee: For oftentimes also tlvine oicn 
 heart hnowcth, that thou thyself liheioise hast cursed others. 
 
 This precept requires practice more than it needs illustration. Its 
 general nature is sufficiently plain. It is addressed to those who 
 are apt to be jealous of what is thought and what is said about 
 them by others; who are continually on the tiptoe of listening sus- 
 picion. It has been said, and is almost proverbial, that listeners 
 seldom hear good of themselves. It is quite natural to expect that 
 it should be so. The very practice shows the man's conscience to 
 be inwardly whispering to himself, that it is not good he is en- 
 titled to hear. The anxious curiosity indicates the existence of 
 such a secret suspicion; and he who indulges it well deserves the 
 mortification he receives. If we regard our own happiness, we 
 shall pay attention to this admonition. The/fecling must be one 
 of exquisite distress, when a man, expecting commendation and 
 blessing, hears from the lips that should have uttered it, reviling 
 and malediction. In such a case, surely, "ignorance is bliss." It 
 may often happen, that a person, under the irritation of temporary 
 passion, may utter hastily the severe reflection, and the impreca- 
 tion of evil, to which he would by no means stand in his cooler 
 moments. What he has hastily uttered he quickly fcgets. P?i* 
 
ECCLESIASTES VII. 15-22. 2.30 
 
 lie who is the subject of it cannot so readily banish it from his 
 mind; he cannot, from his self-partiality, make adequate allow- 
 ance for the momentary passion that has produced it; he broods 
 over it; it leaves a deep and rankling wound; and he thus makes 
 himself lastingly unhappy, by hearing what he who said it has 
 not lodged in his bosom for a single hour. We should, besides, 
 be influenced to receive this admonition by the consideration sug- 
 gested in the twenty-second verse :— " For oftentimes also thine 
 own heart knoweth that thou thyself likewise hast cursed others." 
 You not only are aware, my fellow-ehristians, how you were wont 
 to feel and to speak, when you were destitute of the grace of God ; 
 but you are conscious to yourselves how you are apt to be affected 
 still : how ready you are, in the moment of irritation, to kindle 
 with resentful emotion, and to utter the wish of evil; nay, how 
 much you are Jn danger of even retaining and cherishing the spirit 
 of malediction. Sensible of this, you will " beware of giving heed 
 unto all words that are spoken." Your own consciousness will 
 prevent you from thinking it impossible that you should hear any 
 evil of yourselves; and it will, at the same time, teach you, to 
 make allowance for the passions and the hasty speeches of other 
 men. 
 
 1. From this passage, I may, in the first place, address to my 
 fellow-ehristians, the words of the apostle John: — "Marvel not, 
 my brethren, if the world hate you." jSTo strange thing happens 
 to you. It has been so, as the apostle, in the connection of the 
 words quoted, reminds his brethren, froM the very beginning; 
 from the time when God said to tiic serpent, — "I will put enmity 
 between 'thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed." 
 "Cain was of that wicked one, and slew his brother: and where- 
 fore slevr he him? Becauco his own works were evil, and his 
 brother's righteous." The same principle of enmity against God 
 and his spintual children continued to operate in the days of 
 Solomon; who saw "the just man perishing in his righteousness, 
 and the wicked man prolonging his life in his wickedness." And 
 never was the hostility of human nature to God and goodness ^ 
 more afPectingly displayed^ than at the fullness of time, during the \) 
 personal ministry of the Son of God ; . when the Eternal Word, 
 made flesh, dwelt amongst men, "full of grace and truth." He 
 Avas hated by the world, because, by the perfection of his example. 
 
240 l.ECTtJRE xiir. 
 
 and the faithfulness of his ministry, he "testified of it that its 
 deeds were eviL" And most emphatically might it be said of 
 him, that he "perished in hit? righteousness." His apostles after 
 him experienced the same effects from the same cause, agreeably 
 to his own faithful premonition : — " If the world hate you, ye know 
 that it hated me before it hated you. If ye were of the world, the 
 world would love his own : but, because ye are not of the world, 
 but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth 
 you. Remember the word that I said unto you, — The servant is 
 not greater than his liord. If they have persecuted me, they will 
 also persecute you. If they have kept my saying, they will keep 
 yours also." And the case is still unaltered. The enmity between 
 the seed of the serpent and the seed of the woman still subsists. 
 Various circumstances in providence, indeed, prevent it (and for 
 this we have cause to be thankful,) from operating in the way of 
 public persecution of the Christian name. But still it exists, and still 
 it shows itself in an endless variety of more private ways, wherever 
 the decidedly serious and spiritual religion of the gospel is exhibited. 
 Unregenerated human nature likes not God and holiness one w^hit 
 better now than it has ever done. The pure and lowly Saviour 
 is still, and often even in the midst of professed and nominal at- 
 tachment to him, "despised and rejected of men :" and the tendency 
 of the cordial acceptance, and the humble and spiritual profession 
 of his doctrine, still is, to separate a man from his brethren; to 
 divide households, two against three, and three against two ; and, 
 by its collision with the corrupt passions of the heart in those who 
 continue strangers to its saving power, to strike out the sparks, 
 and kindle the fire, of persecution and strife. Wheresoever, and to 
 what extent soever, the spirit of hostility displays itself, let the 
 sufferers remember, both for their encouragement and their ad- 
 monition, the words of their Master : — " Blessed are they who are 
 persecuted for righteousness' sake; for theirs is the kingdom of 
 heaven. Blessed are ye when men shall revile you, and persecute 
 you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my 
 sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad, for great is your reward in 
 heaven." O remember, my brethren, it must be "for righteous- 
 ness' sake" that you suffer, — it must be "falsely" that you are 
 evil spoken of, else the blessing cannot be yours. "But if ye suf- 
 fer for righteousness' sake, happy are ye: and be not afraid of their 
 
ECCLESIASTE8 VII. 15-22. 241 
 
 terror, neither be troubled; but sanctify the Lord God in your 
 hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every one that 
 asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you, with meekness and 
 fear." Matt. v. 10-12. 1. Peter iii. 14, 15. 
 
 2. Secondly; Let men bewareof wresting and abusing the Scrij)- 
 tures, to their own delusion and ruin. It is a very sure evidence 
 of a man's not being decidedly righteous at all, when he is particu- 
 larly fond of the caution (misinterpreted as in that case we are 
 certain it must be,) " not to be righteous over much :" — a caution 
 which is often repeated, with a sneer of malicious satisfaction, 
 by men in whose eyes all real, heartfelt, spiritual religion; all 
 scriptural godliness ; is held as enthusiasm and madness ; — that 
 religion, I mean, which mourns for sin in deep self-abasement ; 
 which loves the Saviour supremely ; which is addicted to reading 
 the Bible, to prayer, and communion with God ; M'hicli counts the 
 Sabbath a delight; which shrinks, with a delicate tenderness of 
 conscience, from even the appearance of evil ; which ceases to have 
 pleasure in the empty vanities, the time-and-soul-killing follies, 
 of a passing world, and weeps in pity for those who have ; which 
 seeks to enjoy God in all things, and all things in God. 
 
 My friends, the subject is serious — deeply serious; worthy of 
 being in earnest about. Either you must belong to the people of 
 God, or to the world : and the time is coming when this distinction 
 shall be announced with awful solemnity, and shall be fixed, with 
 its consequences on either side, in eternal permanence. 
 
 With easy lightness of heart, and scornful rejection of serious 
 counsel from those who feel the weight of religious truth and the 
 sacredness of religious duty, you talk of "not being righteous over 
 much;" and you thus cloak^under a*Bible phrase your deplorable 
 regardlessness of the Bible's most important discoveries and most 
 imperative obligations. You spurn its pure and elevated sancti- 
 ties away from |you, and, with infatuated thoughtlessness, allege 
 its own authority for doing so. But you do not read your Bible, 
 else you never would talk thus. O my friends, do bethink your- 
 selves. A sinful creature "righteous over much !" — a sinner too good ! 
 Can you, in your consciences, believe, that the word of God seriously 
 warns you against the danger of this? If not, O beware of per- 
 verting a Divine counsel ; — beware of doing with the word of 
 16 
 
242 J.ECTURE XIII. 
 
 the Eternal God what you would resent as an insult were it done 
 with your own. 
 
 " There is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good and siuncth 
 not." Tliere is not, therefore, a just man upon earth, that can 
 stand accepted before God on the ground of his own righteous- 
 ness. Such is the character of that Being witli Avhoin we have 
 to do, and such the requiremcjits of his perfect law, that nothing 
 but a sinless righteousness can procure acceptance at his bar. 
 Such a righteousness is not to be found in fallen man. And the 
 very first, and a most distinctive feature, in the character of the 
 renewed, is the intire renunciation of all dependence on their own 
 doings, and a simple-hearted reliance on the perfect righteous- 
 ness, — the obedience, atonement, and intercession, — of the Son of 
 God. All of them are ready to say, with deep prostration of soul 
 before God, "If thou, Lord, shouldst mark iniquities, O Lord, 
 who shall stand?" — "Enter not into judgment with thy servant; 
 for in tliy sight shall no man living be justified:" — "God be 
 merciful to me a sinner!" 
 
 Forget not, at the same time, that personal righteousness, " walk- 
 ing in newness of life," is the only unequivocal evidence of in- 
 terest, by faith, in the righteousness of the Redeemer. Therefore, — 
 
 3. Thirdly ; Let Christians implore, with earnestness and con- 
 stancy, the influences of the Spirit of God, at once to deepen their 
 sense of sinfulness, and at the same time to maintaia in full vigor 
 in their souls the "fear of God:" that by this wisdom they may 
 be brought through all temptations; may "come forth" victori- 
 ous from all opposition, and untainted from all the corrupting in- 
 fluence of an evil world : — that they may manifest in increasing 
 holiness the increasing power of this sacred principle : — that they 
 juay not be " led away by the error of the wicked, and so fall from 
 tlieir own steadfastness, but may grow in grace, and in the know- 
 ledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ." Let it be their 
 constant desire and aim, to be rl(/h(cou.s more and more; never 
 thinking that they have already attained, or that they are already 
 perfect. Let them "follow holiness, without which no man shall 
 see the Lord." " Of this'' let them " take hold ;"— " from this let 
 them not Avithdraw their hand." — " Work out your own salvation 
 with fear and trembling; for it is God that worketh in you, botli 
 to will and to do of his good pleasure." — "Gird up the loins of 
 
KCCLESIASTES VII. 15-22. 24o 
 
 your iiiincls, be sober, and hope to the end for the graee tliat shall 
 be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. As obe- 
 dient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former 
 lusts in your ignorance; but, as he Avho hath called you is holy, 
 so be ye holy in all manner of conversation : because it is written, 
 Be ye holy, for I am holy. And if ye call on the Father, who, 
 without respect of persons, judgeth accordmg to every man's work, 
 pass the time of your sojourning here in fear: forasmuch as ye 
 know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver 
 and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from 
 your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb 
 without blemish and without spot: Avho verily was foreordained 
 Ijefore the foundation of the Avorld, but was manifest in these last 
 times for you ; who by him do believe in God, who raised him up 
 from the dead, and gave him glory, that your faith and hope might 
 be in God." 1 Peter i. 13-21. 
 
 4. Lastly ; Let a sense of our own liableness and i)roucness to 
 err, in heart, in word, and in conduct, render us charitable, can- 
 did, and gentle, in our judgments of others. The principle of the 
 admonition, " Take no heed unto all words that are spoken, lest 
 thou hear thy servant curse thee ; for oftentimes also thine own 
 heart knoweth, that thou thyself likewise hast cursed others," 
 may be thus, with propriety, generalized: — We ought not to ex- 
 pect too much from others, when we are conscious to ourselves of 
 our own weakness and sinfulness : and we should especially beware 
 harshness, and of severely condemning others for things of which of 
 we ourselves are guilty. "Thou art inexcusable, O man, whoso- 
 ever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou 
 condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things." 
 Horn. ii. 1. "Judge not, that ye be not judge*]. For with what 
 judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged ; and with what measure ye 
 mete, it shall be measured to you again. And why beholdest thou 
 the mote that is in thy brother's eye, and considerest not the beam 
 that is thine own eye? Oor how wilt thou say to thy brother. 
 Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye ; and behold, a beam 
 is in thine own eye. Thou hypocrite, cast out first the beam out 
 of thine own eye, and then shalt thoti see clearly to cast out the mote 
 out of thy brother's eye." Matt. vii. 1-5. 
 
LECTURE XIV. 
 
 ECCLESIASTES YII. 23-29. 
 
 "All this have I proved by wisdom: I said, I will be wise; but it (was) far 
 from me. 24. That which is far oft', and exceeding deep, who can find 
 it out? 25. I applied mine heart to know, and to search, and to seek out 
 wisdom, and the reason (of things,) and to know the wickedness of folly, 
 even of foolishness (and) madness: 26. And I find more bitter than death 
 the woman, whose heart (is) snares and nets, (and) her hands (as) bands: 
 whoso pleaseth God shall escape from her; but the sinner shall be taken 
 by her. 27. Behold, this have I found, saith the Preacher, (counting) 
 one by one, to find out the account: 28. Which yet my soul seeketh, but 
 I find not ; one man among a thousand have I found ; but a woman among 
 all those have I not found. 29. Lo, this only have I found, that God hath 
 made man upright ; but they have sought out many inventions. 
 
 Verses 23, 24. All this have I proved by wisdom: I said, I wiU 
 be wise ; but it ivas far from me. That which is far off, and exceeding 
 deep, who can find it out? 
 
 The wisdom which God imparted to Solomon did not consist 
 in the supernatural infusion of knowledge on all subjects into 
 his mind ; but rather in an understanding rendered by " the Father 
 of the spirits of all flesh" unusually acute and comprehensive, capa- 
 ble of quick discernment, clear and accurate conception, enlarged 
 views, and thus of extensive and multifarious acquisitions. And 
 it was in the diligent exercise of his mental faculties, thus strength- 
 ened, elevated, and amplified, that he gained that extent and variety 
 of knowledge and wisdom, for which he was so highly and justly 
 celebrated. 
 
 The serious and important lessons contained in this book, are the 
 result of the wisdom given him, when rightly exercised, under the 
 influence of the fear of the Lord, and the suj)erintending direction of 
 the Holy Spirit, by whom he was prompted to record his experience. 
 
ECCLESIASTES VII. 23-29. 245 
 
 "All this/' says, he, in the first of the verses I have now read, — 
 "All this have I proved by wisdom:" — I have tried all these di- 
 versified sources of happiness, and have proved the result to be 
 such as I have stated : — I have proved the lessons I now deliver 
 to be founded in truth; to be "good and profitable unto men." 
 Xot that it was a wise course by which he collected his experience : 
 but he had now, through Divine mercy, been led to apply to that 
 experience the wisdom given him ; and to teach to others the les- 
 sons he had taught to himself. 
 
 Even to the course, indeed, which procured him his experience, 
 he had been incited by the misdirected desire of wisdom, or knowl- 
 edge. This was his ruling passion ; a principle, good in itself, but 
 in its application susce^jtible of the most grievous perversion: — 
 "I said, I will be wise." On this object he set his heart, and he 
 pursued it with uuabating ardor in every direction, — in all descrip- 
 tions of experiment and research. — " But," he adds, it was far from 
 me." 
 
 1. The measure of Avisdom which he was desirous to attain, in 
 his difierent pursuits, was far from him. He still found, after all 
 his investigation, that he " knevi^ but in part ;" and the more he 
 came to know, the more did he perceive the vast extent of what 
 yet remained undiscovered; of subjects hid in darkness, or dimly 
 seen in the twilight of conjecture. In the rich mine of science, 
 he was for ever .striking on some new vein ; and, in the very ardor 
 and enthusiasm of discovery, arriving at points, beyond which no 
 mortal skill or power w'as able to penetrate. Thus even Solomon, 
 with all his marvellous faculties, experienced the truth of Avhat 
 the poet says of knowledge, — 
 
 '"Tis but to know — how little can be known." 
 
 There are limits to the powers of the mightiest minds. There 
 are many things iu the nature of the Divine Being, many things 
 in his works, and many things in his Avays, that are "past finding 
 out;" things, of Avliich the loftiest and most capacious under- 
 standings must be content to say, " Such knowledge is too Avonder- 
 ful for me; it is high; I cannot attain unto it:" — or, as Solomon 
 adds, in the folio Aving verse, "That Avhich is far off, and exceeding 
 deep, Avho can find it out?" 
 
 2. If Ave consider him as speaking of the exercise of his under- 
 
24() T.ECTURE XIV. 
 
 standing- during "tlio days of his vanity/' Avhich is probal>ly tlu- 
 case, how affecting is the representation of his pursuits! — "I said 
 I will be wise:" — and, to fulfill his resolution, he set himself to 
 the study of all the branches of human knowledge. But all the 
 while, wisdom, true wisdom, "was far from him." Having de- 
 parted from the "fear of God," true wisdom \vas nowhere else to be 
 found : a search through the universe could not have discovered 
 it. All would still have been unsatisfying, all folly, without this ; 
 wisdom and true happiness alike far from him. "Where shall 
 wisdom be found? and where is the place of understanding? Man 
 knoweth not the price thereof; neither is it found in the land of 
 tlie living. The deep saith, It is not in me, and the sea saith. It 
 is not with me; It cannot be gotten for gold, neither shall silver 
 be weighed for the price thereof. It cannot be valued with the 
 gold of Ophir, with the precious onyx or the sapphire. The gold 
 and the crystal cannot equal it; and the exchange of it shall not 
 be for jewels of fine gold. JN^o mention shall be made of coral oi- 
 of pearls; for the price of wisdom is above rubies. The topaz of 
 Ethiopia shall not equal it, neither shall it be valued with pure 
 gold. Whence, then, cometh wisdom? and where is the place of 
 understanding? Destruction and Death say. We have heard the 
 fame thereof with our ears. GOD understandeth the way thereof: 
 and He knoweth the place thereof. For he looketh to the ends 
 of the earth, and seeth under the whole heaven: to make the 
 weight for the Avinds; and he weigheth the waters by measure. 
 When he made a decree for the rain, and a way for the lightning 
 of the thunder; then did he see it and declare it; he prepared it, 
 jGa, and searched it out. And unto man he said. Behold, thi: 
 
 FEAR OF THE LoRD, THAT IS WISDOM ; AND TO DEPART FROM 
 
 EVIL IS UNDERSTANDING." Job. xxviii. 12-28. — Having forgot- 
 ten the concluding declaration of this beautiful and sublime pass- 
 age, vSolomon necessarily missed, in every other quarter in whicli 
 he sought it, the precious object of his desire. 
 
 Verse 25. I applied mine heart to hioir, and to search, and to 
 seeh out wisdom, and the reason of things, and to know the vnckednes^ 
 of folly, even of foolishness and madness. 
 
 The words in the beginning of the twenty-fifth verse express 
 the indefatigable ardor with which his end was pursued: — "I a}>- 
 plied my heart, to know, and to search, and to seek out wisdom. 
 
ECCLESiASTEs vir. 23-20. 247 
 
 and the reason of things." Tlie various terms employed, between 
 which it is quite unnecessary to attempt fixing the precise shades 
 of difference, are evidently accumulated, to convey strongly to the 
 mind the impression of eager, intense, and unwearied assiduity of 
 application ; persevering in spite of all difficulties and discourage- 
 ments. 
 
 He sought to know "wisdom, and the reason of things." He 
 was not satisfied with the knowledge of mere facts. He investi- 
 gated principles. He tried to discover causes ; both in nature and 
 in providence; and in the moral and physical departments of each. 
 And, in liis study of mankind, he examined the reasons of their 
 state, their conduct, and their prospects : and explored the various 
 sources of their haj^piness and their misery. 
 
 One of the subjects of his attention and inquiry was, "the 
 wickedness of folly, even of foolishness and madness ;" that is, the 
 foolishness and madness of men, who live "without God in the 
 world;" who " walk in the sight of their eyes, and in the imagina- 
 tion of their heart." In one view, this was a very proper and a 
 highly profitable subject of investigation. We can hardly be better 
 employed than in considering, and seriously weighing, the "ex- 
 ceeding sinfulness" of sin; and the more closely we examine it, in 
 the various lights in which it ought to be contemplated, — as com- 
 mitted against the Sovereign of the universe, infinitely holy and 
 infinitely good,, and as tending to bring dishonor upon his blessed 
 name, to unsettle the foundations of his eternal throne, and to 
 spread confusion, misery, and ruin through all his dominions; we 
 shall find it to be unsearchable, — "exceeding deep, so that none 
 can find it out." This is the case, as to the intrinsic evil and de- 
 merit of sin. Its malignity cannot be estimated by a fallen crea- 
 ture, whose judgment is perverted by its sadly prevailing power. 
 Although not, in the strict acceptation of terms, an infinite evil, 
 (for, since in infinitude there are no degrees, this would equalize 
 the guilt of all transgression,) yet, as committed against an infi- 
 nite Being, not even a holy creature (because necessarily finite, 
 though free from the bias of corruption,) can form any adequate 
 conception of the measure of its guilt. God alone thoroughly 
 knows it. He beholds it in its true undisguised nature; in all 
 the extent of its inherent deformity. He views it in the light of 
 his own spotless purity and incomprehensible majesty ; and in all 
 
248 LECTURE XIV. 
 
 its bearings and tendencies, were it allowed its unrestrained opera- 
 tion, both in reference to his own glory and to the happiness of 
 creation. The estimate which he has formed of it we learn from 
 the declarations of his word ; and especially from the sacrifice re- 
 quired for its expiation, — from the deeply mysterious and awful 
 scenes of Gethsemane and Calvary. And as the intrinsic evil of 
 sin is beyond our comprehension, so is the depth of human de- 
 pravity; the '^ fulness of evil" that is in the heart of man. "The 
 heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked ; who 
 can know it? T the Lord search the heart; I try the reins; even 
 to give every man according to his ways, and according to the 
 fruit of his doings." Jer. xvii. 9, 10. Thus God 
 
 " hides from every being but himself 
 
 That hideous sight, — a naked human heart." 
 
 Good had it been for the king of Israel, had he contemplated 
 "the wickedness of folly, even of foolishness and madness," to 
 deepen his humility ; to aggravate his horror of sin ; to soften his 
 pity for the wretched subjects of this moral mania; and to render 
 him more closely vigilant and jealous of himself, from a conscious- 
 ness of the enormous sum of hidden evil in his own heart! There 
 are some things, which it is much better for us not to know at all, 
 than to learn by experience. But Solomon, instead of satisfying 
 himself with examining "the wickedness of folly" by his obser- 
 vation of others; by their recorded warnings and dying regrets; 
 by inward reflection ; by the contemplation of God ; by medita- 
 tion on the testimony of his word; must needs subject it to per- 
 sonal experiment: he must try "foolishness and madness" as a 
 source of enjoyment: he must join the company of fools; partake 
 of their follies ; and know for himself. Infatuated prince! He 
 reaped the fruit of his doings. Good things abused are proverbi- 
 ally the worst. The wisdom bestowed on Solomon, rightly em- 
 ployed, was his own happiness and honor, and the blessing of his 
 people and of mankind. But, perverted and jirostituted, it led 
 him fearfully astray. It brought him within the eddies 'of a 
 perilous whirlpool, and exposed him to the hazard of eternal de- 
 struction. His soul, indeed, was, through sovereign mercy, re- 
 stored. But, oh! the bitterness and "vexation of spirit" whicli 
 his sinful presumption cost him ! 
 
ECCLESIASTES VII. 23-29, 249 
 
 The bitterest, yet the most dangerous and intoxicating ingre- 
 dient in the cup of folly — bitter in the end, though sweet in the 
 enjoyment — Solomon mentions in the twenty-sixth verse, in terms 
 that indicate how his heart recoiled from the recollection : — 
 
 Verse 26. And I find more bitter than death, the woman whose 
 heart is snares and nets, and her hands as bands: whoso lileaseth God 
 shall escape from her ; but the sinner shall be taken by her:" 
 
 In the preceding verse, he speaks of his having "applied his 
 heart, to know the wickedness of folly." The particular sin to 
 which he refers in the twenty-sixth verse, is frequently in the 
 Scriptures termed folly, and those who committed it, especially 
 under certain circumstances, were said to have "wrought folly in 
 Israel." — "I find more bitter than death," — that is, in the issue; 
 in the worse than deadly tendency of her tempting blandishments, — 
 worse than deadly, because endangering not the body merely, but 
 the immortal soul; not the interests of time merely, but of eter- 
 nity ; leaving nothing behind them but the bitterness of remorse, 
 and the "fearful looking for of judgment:" — "I find more bitter 
 than death, the woman whose heart is snares and nets, and her 
 hands as bands." This is the "strange woman," whom he so often 
 mentions in the book of Proverbs ; depicting her character ; de- 
 scribing her ways ; and warning against the perils of her company. 
 How strong the expression, — "whose heart is snares and nets!" — 
 signifying the multitude of her devices of temptation; and the 
 consummate skill, the secrecy, the address, the guile, ^vith which 
 she uses them, for the accomplishment of her purposes. Her very 
 "heart is snares and nets," in whose intricate and entangling 
 meshes the fascinated and deluded soul is taken captive to its de- 
 struction. — "And her hands as bands." Her powers of detention 
 are equal to her powers of allurement. Her heart is a net, to en- 
 snare the unwary ; her hands are as bands, to hold him fast when 
 her wiles have proved successful. So irresistible is the power,, 
 operating like the spell of enchantment, by which she retains un- 
 der her influence the hapless victim of her charms. Delicate as 
 the subject is, faithfulness demands that we speak plainly; es- 
 pecially for the warning of thoughtless youth. There is no sin 
 more sadly prevalent; none that has enticed more to their ruin; 
 than this. " Whoredom, and wine, and new wine, take away the 
 heart." It was this sin, that robbed Reuben of his birtliright. 
 
250 l.ECVl-ilE XIY. 
 
 and wrung' his father's lieart M'ith shame and anguish : — it is a foul 
 blot in the life Judah: — it unsheathed the sword of perfidy and 
 vengeance against the guiltless Shechemites : — it spoiled Samson 
 of his eyes, his strength, his liberty, his life; and endangered the 
 freedom of his country: — it cost DaA'id many a l)ang of penitential 
 agony; many a secret groan; many a bitter tear: — and it had 
 well nigh proved the ruin of his son and successor in the throne ; 
 whose "soul escaped, as a bird out of the snare of the fowler;" 
 narrowly escaped, and with serious damage. A hard and narroA\ 
 escape, indeed, in every case It is. It is a sin that has slain, and, 
 alas ! continues to slay, its thousands and tens of thousands. 
 
 " Whoso pleaseth God shall escape from her ; but the sinner 
 shall be taken by her." — " Whoso p^mse^A God," is, in the origi- 
 nal language, the same phrase as " the man that is (/ood before God," 
 in the twenty-sixth verse of the second chapter. The expressions 
 used here strongly intimate, that, from the greatness, the immi- 
 nent greatness of the danger, final escape is to be considered as ;i 
 remarkable interposition of heaven ; a signal instance of peculiar 
 JDivine regard. The man that is "good before God," may, alas! 
 as mournful experience has too often shown, fall before this tempta- 
 tion. And if, after falling, and yielding himself for a time to 
 guilty indulgence, he is recovered to repentance and purity, he 
 may be looked npon as rescued from extreme peril, — as "a brand 
 plucked out of the fire ;" obtaining a deliverance which nothing but 
 the grace of God could effect for him. " But the sinner," — the ob- 
 stinate sinner, whose character is thoroughly vicious ; who has no 
 ^'good thing in him towards the Lord God of Israel;" who has 
 run on in his course of sin and profligacy till he has been "given 
 •over to a reprobate mind," and is the guilty victim of Divine dis- 
 pleasure and vengeance, — he "shall be taken by her;" — yes, — and 
 he shall be held by her: — and he shall be ruined by her. "Led 
 captive by her at her will," he shall find at last that "her steps 
 take hold on hell ;" that her syren smiles have cursed him with 
 the frown of an angry God ; that her soft and silken cords have 
 only drawn him down 
 
 "To adamantine chains and penal iire." 
 *' Hearken unto me now, therefore, O ye children, and attend to 
 the words of my mouth. Let not thy heart decline to her ways; 
 g'O not astray in her paths. For she hath cast down many wounded ; 
 vea, manv strong men have been slain bv her. Her house is the 
 
ECCLESIASTE.S XT I. 23-29. 251 
 
 ■way to lioll, i^oing <lown to the chambers of death.'' Prov. vii. 24- 
 27. See the whole chapter, and also Prov. v. 3-14. xxii. 14. 
 
 Solomon's own deliverance was wonderfid; for no one could 
 go further astray, or give himself u]) more completely to the grati- 
 fication of irregular desires, than he. " King Solomon," says the 
 iHspired historian of his reign, "loved many strange women, (to- 
 gether with the daughter of Pharaoh,) wonieii of the Moabites, 
 Ammonites, Edomites, Zidonians, and Hittites; of the nations 
 concerning which the Lord said unto the children of Israel, Ye 
 shall not go in unto them, neither shall they come in unto you: 
 for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods. Solo- 
 mon clave unto these in love. And he had seven hundred wives, 
 princesses, and three hundred concubines: and his wives turned 
 away his heart." 1 Kings xi. 1-3. And then follows a ])articular 
 account of the lengths to which he went in complying with the 
 '^'abominable idolatries" of these unworthy objects of his wander- 
 ing and wanton affections. "And the Lord was angry M'itli Solo- 
 mon, because his heart was turned away from the Lord God of 
 Israel, who had appeared unto him twice; and had commanded 
 him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods : 
 but he kept not that which the Lord commanded." Ibid. 9, 10. 
 
 To these melancholy circumstances in the life of this prince 
 i:here is an obvious allusion in the following verses: — 
 
 Verses 27, 28. Behold, this have I found, saith the Preacher, 
 'Cmmting one by one to find out the accoimt; u^hich yet my sold seeketh, 
 hid I find not: one man among a thousand have I found ; bvt a wo- 
 man among all those have I not found. 
 
 "Counting one by one to find out the account," is by some 
 rendered, "weighing one thing after another to find out the rea- 
 son." Our own translation, however, seems preferable. For as 
 to the reason of what he states, we can hardly imagine that the 
 wisdom of the wisest of men, after it was set free from fascination 
 and allowed to judge without bias, could for a moment ))e at a 
 loss to discover, or hesitate to pronounce upon it. What he means 
 to tell us, then, is, that he was careful and minute in the obser- 
 vations from which he drew his account. He considered amongst 
 his courtiers, and amongst his wives and concubines, to find out 
 the number of the faithful; the truly good; the virtuous; the 
 ^godly. And tlie judgment whicli he formed from this inspection 
 
252 LECTURE XIV. 
 
 Iiad imdergoiie no change, from recollection, at the time he was 
 writing: for this is probably the meaning of the words, "which 
 yet my soul seeketh, but I find not." 
 
 " One man among a thousand have I found ; but a woman among 
 all those have I not found." — " One man among a thousand !" a 
 very small proportion, alas ! and presenting a sad picture of the 
 degenerate state of Solomon's court at the period referred to. He 
 was not then imitating the determination of his pious father: — •' I 
 will walk within my house with a perfect heart. I will set no 
 wicked thing before mine eyes : I hate the work of them that turn 
 aside; it shall not cleave to me. A fro ward heart shall depart 
 from me; I will not know a wicked person. Whoso privily slan- 
 dereth his neighbor, him will I cut off; him that hath a high look 
 and a proud heart will I not suffer. Mine eyes shall be ujjon the 
 faithful of the land, that they may dwell with me : he that walketh 
 in a perfect way, he shall serve me. He that worketh deceit shall 
 not dwell within my house : he that telleth lies shall not tarry in 
 my sight." Psalm ci. 2-7. 
 
 But small as this proportion is, it is greater than was to be 
 found amongst the icomen of the royal household: — "a woman 
 among all those have I not found." Are we to consider this as 
 expressive of Solomon's general opinion, that the number of good 
 women is inferior to the number of good men? Were we so to 
 interpret his words, they would convey a judgment contrary, as I 
 am satisfied, to truth ; and, at the same time, unwarranted by the 
 particular case on which it is founded. The reason of Solomon's 
 want of success in his search for a virtuous woman, it is not, surely, 
 difficult to discover. He sought for good where, from the nature 
 of the thing, nothing but evil was reasonably to be expected. 
 Who, that is in quest of virture, and purity, and general excellence 
 of female character, M'ould seek it in the crowded seraglio of an 
 eastern prince? 
 
 In multiplying to liimself wives and concubines, Solomon had 
 gone far astray from the original law of marriage, announced "in 
 the beginning," when God made "a male and a female, and said, 
 For this cause shall a man leave his father and his mother, and 
 shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh." 
 He had, also, doubly violated the express command of God, who 
 had not only charged the Israelites in general, that tliey shoul«J 
 
ECCLESIASTES VII. 23-29. 253 
 
 iiot'iuake marriages with the surrounding nations, because they 
 would thus be turned away from following Jehovah, to serve other 
 gods; Deut. vii. 3,4: but had also, in anticipating their future 
 desire of a king over them, in describing their character, and 
 specifying his duties, most explicitly enjoined, — "Neither shall 
 he multiply wives to himself, that his heart turn not away." Deut. 
 xvii. 17. In the transgression of these prohibitory precepts, Solo- 
 mon had greatly exceeded any of his predecessors in tlie throne of 
 Israel. 
 
 In such a situation, when, instead of concentrating his affections 
 on one wife, as the partner of his joys and sorrows, and seeking 
 domestic happiness in her faithful and undivided love, he gathered 
 around him, for magnificence and for lawless indulgence, so large 
 a multitude, with all their varieties of corporeal and mental quali- 
 ties, and necessarily placed himself in the very midst of heartless 
 blandishments, of envies and jealousies, of contending interests and 
 selfish quarrels, how could he ever hope for happiness? — and, in 
 such a situation, when he had surrounded himself with idolatrous 
 heathens, or with such Hebrew women as chose to be their volun- 
 tary associates in ministering to his voluptuousness, how could he 
 ever look for virtue^ A virtuous woman would not connect her- 
 self with such a group ; or if, by the prospect of magnificence and 
 plenty, any one whose principles were in the main good, had been 
 tempted to join herself to his court, her character was not likely, 
 in such company, to remain long free from the general corruption. 
 Of all possible ways, he certainly adopted the least promising, for 
 finding a virtuous woman. He had himself, and no other, to 
 blame. If, indeed, he had satirized the sex, because amongst such 
 a thousand he had not discovered one woman of sound principle, 
 he satirized it on most unjust, unwise, and unmanly grounds. 
 
 But I am far from thinking that he here speaks the language 
 of a disappointed and waspish satirist. He rather utters the feel- 
 ings of an abased and self-dissatisfied penitent ; of one who had felt 
 it to be " an evil thing and a bitter," to depart, as he had done, from 
 God; who "remembered the wormwood and the gall;" who per- 
 ceived and lamented the folly and the wickedness of all those 
 "inventions," by which himself and others had sought to find 
 happiness apart from the favor and the ways of God. He justifies 
 God, and condemns himself: — 
 
254 LECTURE XIV. 
 
 Verse 29. Lo! this only haue I fouiul, that God made mare* up- 
 right; but they have sought out nmny inventions. 
 
 Here is ** the conclusion of the whole matter :" — '' Of the things 
 which he had spoken this is the sum." — "God made man upright." 
 When the progenitors of our race came from the forming hand ol' 
 their Creator, tliey were the subjects of perfect intellectual and 
 moral rectitude. There was no distortion in the understanding ; 
 no obliquity in the will; no corruption in the affections. There 
 was perfect truth in the mind; perfect purity in the heart; and 
 perfect practical holiness in the life. They were made "in the 
 image, and after the likeness" of God himself; which, according 
 to the apostle, consisted especially in "righteousness and true holi- 
 ness," connected with, and arising out of, "knowledge." Other- 
 wise than thus man could not be made, by a pure, and holy, and 
 benevolent Being. To suppose the contrary, is to make God, in 
 the strictest sense, — in a sense of which it is impious to admit the 
 imagination, — the Author of sin. The subject, indeed, is enveloped 
 in difficulties, of which that man has not properly thought who 
 does not feel their magnitude. Into the discussion of these, it 
 were unreasonable to enter. I can only remark in general, that 
 the matter of fact, of the actual existence of moral evil, is too 
 notorious to admit of a moment's question : — that the Bible account 
 of its origin did not cause it; it existed independently of the 
 revelation which informs us how it began; and the rejection of 
 that revelation neither removes nor mitigates it, nor disencumbers 
 it, in the slightest degree, of its embarrassing difficuties; — that, 
 on the contrary, revelation alone, whilst it assumes and proceeds 
 upon the mournful fact, provides a remedy; all other systems, 
 finding human nature in ruins, leave it as they find it. Revelation 
 rears out of the ruins a magnificent and holy Temple to the God 
 of purity and love. That evil exists, then, is an indisputable 
 fact: — that God could not be its Author, is a proposition, which, 
 to all who entertain right notions of his character, will be equally 
 indisputable : — " God made man upright." Of all that followed, 
 although happening "according to His determinate counsel and 
 foreknowledge," the guilt and responsibility must necessarily lie 
 with man himself. This is the statement here ; and it is a state- 
 ment to the truth of which we must assent, in despite of any puz- 
 zling questions to whicli the subject has given rise: — "God made 
 
ECCLESIASTES VII. 23-29. 255 
 
 inun upright : but they " — that is, men — " have sought out many 
 inveutions." 
 
 The uprightness in Avhich man was created was the great source 
 (ifliis oi'iginal happiness. He was perfectly happy, because he was 
 ])crfectly free from that whicli is the cause of all misery, — of all ex- 
 ternal and internal suffering, llesembling his Creator in holiness, 
 he resembled him in felicity. But, alas ! through the influence of 
 temptation man became dissatisfied with the situation in which his 
 all-bountiful Lord had placed him, and with the measure of know- 
 ledge and enjoyment (abundant as it was) with which he had 
 graciously blessed him : — and the origin and the pattern of all the 
 subsequent "inventions," by whicli men have endeavored to find 
 happiness was, an attempt to obtain an augmentation of it from what 
 Jehovah had interdicted. "The serpent said unto the Avoman, Yea, 
 liath God said, Ye shall iiot eat of every tree of the garden ? And 
 the woman said uuto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees 
 of the garden: but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of 
 the garden, God hath said. Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye 
 touch it, lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the woman. Ye 
 shall not surely die : for God doth know, that, in the day ye eat there- 
 < >f, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing 
 good and evil. ^Vnd when the woman saw that the tree was good 
 for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be de- 
 sired to make one Avise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, 
 and gave also unto her husband with her, and he did eat." Gen. 
 iii. 1-6. Such were the first of human "inventions" for the at- 
 tainment of a fancied happiness. We know too well the result. 
 It "brought death into the world, and all our woe." The flat- 
 tering promise of the tempter, who "is a liar, and the father of 
 lies," proved a cursed and cursing delusion; aggravating his own 
 • 'ondemnatiou, and gratifying his malignity in damning others. 
 Many have been the "inventions" since. But they have all par- 
 taken of the falsehood and deceitfulness, the folly and impiety, of 
 the first. They have been "of the earth, earthy," — "from be- 
 neath, and not from above." They have left GOD out of the 
 account; and how could they prove otherwise than illusory? — 
 wretched proofs of the senselessness and depravity of the inven- 
 tors? — "wells without water," from which all Avho travel to them 
 "return with their vessels empty; ashamed and confounded, and 
 covering their heads?" 
 
■256 LECTURE XIV. 
 
 Solomon includes himself; and himself chiefly, in the sentence 
 of condemnation. He had tried many of these inventions. He 
 had followed the crooked ways of human folly and corruption, in 
 his search after the supreme good, during "the days of his vanity :" 
 and Iiaving felt in himself, and having witnessed in others, the 
 depth of innate dejiravity, he "justifies the M^ays of God to men," 
 and traces all the unhappiness of this apostate w^orld to its true 
 source. He had "fallen by his iniquity;" and when he "returned 
 unto the Lord his God," it would no doubt be in the spirit of that 
 language which was afterwards dictated by the prophet to the back- 
 sliding and revolting Israelites : — "Take away all iniquity, and re- 
 ceive us graciously ; so will we render the calves of our lijjs :" and 
 the Lord "healed his backsliding, and loved him freely, and turned 
 away his anger from him." We may suppose him adopting the 
 expressions of his father's penitence, and, in these appropriate 
 terms, breathing out the feelings of a broken and contrite heart : — 
 " Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy loving-kindness ; 
 according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my 
 transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, and 
 cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions ; 
 and my sin is ever before me. Against thee, thee only, have I 
 sinned, and done this evil in thy sight; that thou mightst be justi- 
 fied when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest. Behold, 
 I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me. 
 Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts ; and in the hidden 
 part thou shalt make me to know wisdom. Purge me with hyssop, 
 and I shall be clean ; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. 
 Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou 
 hast broken may rejoice. Hide thy face from my sins, and blot 
 out all mine iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God ; and 
 renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from thy 
 presence ; and take not thy Holy Spirit from me. llestore unto 
 me the joy of thy salvation ; and uphold me with thy free Spirit. 
 Then will I teach transgressors thy w^ays; and sinners shall be 
 converted unto thee." Psalm li. 1-13. 
 
 Solomon fulfilled the resolution expressed in the last of these 
 verses, when, after his recovery, he committed his experience to 
 writing, penning this book, under the direction of the Spirit of 
 God, for the warning and instruction of mankind. 
 
 From this passage, observe; — 
 
ECCLESIASTES VI T. 23-29. 257 
 
 1. In the first jylaec ; We ought not to be greatly surprised, or 
 to be easily shaken in mind, although we discover many things 
 in the works and ways of God that are above our comprehension. 
 
 Is it at all marvellous that it should be so ? The works and 
 ways of God are the works and ways of an infinite Being, Would 
 it not be astonishing, then, were it otherwise? There is hardly 
 any thing in nature that is fully understood by us. We know a 
 good deal of effects; but of causes, wonderfully little. We fre- 
 quently, indeed, impose upon ourselves, by using language that 
 appears to indicate our acquaintance with causes ; whereas, when 
 the meaning is fairly analyzed, it is found to be no more than 
 another way of expressing the effects. We say, for example, that 
 a stone falls to the earth by gravitation; and that, by the same 
 cause, the earth and other planets are attracted towards the sun, 
 and kept in their respective orbits. But when we ask the ques- 
 tion, What is gravitation ? we are at a loss for a reply. A series 
 of questions might follow, which would only bring us back to 
 where we set out. The principle, or power, itself to which we 
 have given a name, remains, as much as before, unknown to us. 
 Prom the effect we infer that the power exists ; but what the power 
 is, we cannot tell ; and it is only the effect that we can properly 
 be said to knoAV : respecting its secret nature we are profoundly 
 in the dark. — So are we with regard to the nature of substance; 
 our knowledge of bodies being confined to their sensible qualities. 
 The beautiful process of vegetation ; — the principle of animal and 
 vegetable life; — the conn(;ction of matter and spirit in our own 
 frame, and the manner in which, by nervous influence, mind im- 
 parts activity to matter, and matter conveys sensations and per- 
 ceptions to mind; — and ten thousand other things, with which we 
 ixre so familiar as hardly to think of them ; — are, when examined, 
 inexplicable mysteries. Are we, then, entitled to expect that every 
 thing should be simple and easy of explanation in the nature, and 
 in the moral dispensations, of Deity? The expectation would 
 surely be unreasonable in the extreme. Well may we say, "That 
 which is far off, and exceeding deep, who can find it out?" — "Canst 
 thou by searching find out God? canst thou find out the Almighty 
 unto perfection? It is high as heaven; what canst thou do? 
 deeper than hell; what canst thou know? The measure thereof 
 is longer than the earth, and broader than the sea." Job xi. 7-9. 
 17 
 
258 L,ECTURE XIV. 
 
 be humble ! Forget not that God alone is omniscient. Solo- 
 mon found many things unfathomable. In all likelihood, the 
 highest archangel in heaven finds many things unfathomable. Be- 
 ware, then, of the pride of reason. Beware of that sceptical and 
 unsound philosophy ("science, falsely so called,") which, in the 
 plenitude of its inconsistent arrogance, is dissatisfied with every 
 thing which it cannot fully comprehend ; — which pretends to re- 
 ject the Bible for its mysteries, whilst it cannot lift an eye amidst 
 the works of creation, without beholding itself surrounded by 
 mysteries innumerable; — which, renouncing the guidance of Di- 
 vine revelation, itself only 
 
 " leads to bewilder, and dazzles to blind." 
 
 Let us rejoice, my brethren, that true wisdom, that which "makes 
 wise unto salvation," is revealed in the Divine word, in letters of 
 light. Respecting it, no man needs to say, "I will be wise," and 
 still find wisdom "far from him." — "This commandment which 
 
 1 command thee this day," said Moses to the Israelites, "it is not 
 hidden from thee, neither is it far oif. It is not in heaven, that 
 thou shouldst say, Who shall go up for us to heaven, and bring 
 it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it? Neither is it beyond 
 the sea, that thou shouldst say, Who shall go over the sea for us,. 
 and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it? But the word 
 is very nigh unto thee, even in thy mouth and in thy heart, that 
 thou mayest do it." Dent. xxx. 11-14. And what Moses said of 
 the law, Paul affirms of the gospel: "The righteousness which is 
 of faith speaketh on this wise. Say not in thy heart. Who shall 
 ascend into heaven ? (that is, to bring Christ down from above :) — 
 or, Who shall descend into the deep? (that is, to bring up Christ 
 again from the dead.) But what saith it? The word is very nigh 
 thee, even in thy mouth and in thy heart: that is, the word of 
 faith which we preach ; that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth, 
 the Lord Jesus, and shall believe in thy heart that God hath raised 
 him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man 
 believeth unto justification; and with the mouth confession is^ 
 made unto salvation. For the Scripture saith, Whosoever be- 
 lieveth on him shall not be ashamed. For there is no diiference 
 between the Jew and the Greek ; for the same Lord over all is 
 rich unto all that call upon him : for whosoever shall call on the 
 name of the Lord shall be saved." liora. x. 6-13. 
 
ECCLESIASTES VII. 23-29. 269 
 
 2. Secondly ; Let all be admonished, and especially the young, 
 to beware of "the pleasures of sin" which are but "for a season." 
 
 You would smile at me in scorn, should I set about attempting 
 to convince you that there are no pleasures in sin. Alas! the 
 whole corruption of our nature teaches us, with an eloquence too 
 powerfully persuasive, an opposite lesson. If there were no pleas- 
 ures in sin, there would be no temptations in sin, nor any need 
 for the warnings and threatenings by which we are so strongly 
 and so frequently deterred from it in the word of God. There 
 are pleasures in sin. But, oh ! remember, there are many poisons 
 that are sweet ; sweet to the palate, but quickly convulsing the 
 frame with the agonies of death. Think of the nature, and think 
 of the end, of all sinful pleasures. Tliink of their nature. Will 
 you venture to seek your happiness in opposition to your Maker, — 
 in that which he has condemned, and which his soul hateth? If 
 you do, then think of the certain end of such pleasures. They 
 are, at best, but a palatable poison. There is death in them, — 
 eternal death. At the last, they "bite like a serpent, and sting 
 like an adder." Your own inward corruption ; Satan the prince 
 of this world; wicked men, and wicked women too; may tempt 
 you to sin. But O forget not, that every temptation to sin is a 
 temptation to ruin ; to the perdition of soul and body in hell. 
 Let the experience of Solomon warn you, — let the experience of 
 thousands besides warn you, — not to tamper with temptation. Once 
 give way, — and you cannot, nor can any man, tell how far you 
 may go. The first step is a step of tremendous peril. Tremble 
 to take it. It is a step to hell. " Flee from the wrath to come." — 
 "Touch not the unclean thing." — "Enter not into the path of the 
 wicked, and go not in the way of evil men: avoid it; pass not by 
 it; turn from it and pass away." 
 
 Ye whom God has graciously rescued from the broad way that 
 leadeth to destruction, and turned into the narrow way of life and 
 salvation, be thankful for the grace that has " made you to differ." 
 And, whilst with gratitude you say, "Not unto us, O Lord, not 
 unto us, but unto thy name give praise," say also, in the spirit of 
 humble dependence, "Hold up my goings in thy paths, that my 
 footsteps slip not." — "Lead me not into temptation." — "Lead me 
 in thy truth, and teach me; for thou art the God of my salva- 
 tion : on thee do I wait all the day." 
 
260 LECTURE XIV. 
 
 3. Thirdly; The proneness of all mankind to seek happiness 
 in other things than in the favor, and service, and image of God, 
 clearly shows them to be a fallen race. 
 
 Many have been the disputes of men about the chief good. 
 There was no such dispute in Paradise: there is no such dispute 
 in heaven. Man's original happiness was in God : — the happiness 
 of angels is in God: — there is no happiness in the universe, but 
 in God: — in the favor, in the likeness, in the service, and in the 
 enjoyment of God. All the "inventions" of men for the attain- 
 ment of happiness — and "many" they have been — long experience 
 have proved to be folly. The gospel of Christ proposes the only 
 means of effectually gaining it : because its end is to bring men 
 back to the source from whicli it originally sprung; — to restore 
 them to the Divine favor, and to the Divine image. Whatever 
 accomplishes this, will make men happy; and nothing short of 
 this possibly can. O what reason for humility, in contemplating 
 the vain endeavors of men to effect an absolute impossibility; — 
 to find happiness without God ! And what reason for thanksgiving 
 and praise for an open way, in which we may return with accept- 
 ance to our offended Sovereign, and enjoy the light of his counte- 
 nance! "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh 
 to the Father but by me." Keep in this way, my Christian 
 brethren. It is the way of peace, of holiness, of life. — And hear, 
 ye careless ones, the w^aruing voice of the Son of God, "the faithful 
 witness." It is the voice of love and mercy: — "Strive to enter 
 in at the strait gate : for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter 
 in, and shall not be able, — when once the Master of the house is 
 risen up, and hath shut to the door; and ye begin to stand without, 
 and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us:" then 
 will I profess unto you, "I tell you, I know you not whence you 
 are; depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity." Luke xiii. 24-27. 
 " He that is wise shall be wise for himself; but if thou scornest, 
 thou alone shalt bear it." 
 
LECTURE XV. 
 
 ECCLESIASTES VIII. 1-8. 
 
 " Who (is) as the wise (man) ? and wlio knoweth the interpretation of a thing? 
 a man's wisdom maketh his face to shine, and the boldness of his face shall 
 be changed. 2. I (counsel thee) to keep the kings's commandment, and 
 (that) in regard of the oath of God. 3. Be not hasty to go out of his sight: 
 stand not in an evil thing ; for he doeth whatsoever pleaseth him. 4. Where 
 the word of a king (is, there is) power: and Avho may say unto him. What 
 doest thou? o. Whoso keepeth the commandment shall feel no evil thing: 
 and a wise man's heart discerneth both time and judgment. G. Becauseto 
 every purpose there is time and judgment, therefore the misery of man (is) 
 great upon him. 7. For he knoweth not that which shall be: for who can 
 tell him when it shall be? 8. (Tliere is) no man that hath power over the 
 spirit to retain the spirit; neither (hath he) power in the day of death: and 
 (there is) no discharge in (that) war; neither shall wickedness deliver those 
 that are given to it," 
 
 Verse 1. Who is as the tcise manf and icn.o knoiveth the interpre- 
 tation of a thing f a manh wisdom maketh his face to shine, and the 
 boldness of his face shall be changed, 
 
 Solomon commences this chapter with a repetition of the praises 
 of wisdom, which lie had before affirmed to excel folly as far as 
 light excelleth darkness: — "Who is as the wise man?" A sound 
 understanding, a cultivated mind, and discriminating prudence, 
 all under the governing influence of "the fear of the Lord;" — 
 these constitute true wisdom. And, when viewed in this light, 
 surely none will hesitate to admit, tliat "wisdom is the principal 
 thing." Riches, nobility, power, confer no eminence comparable 
 to that which arises from superior intelligence, in union with 
 superior piety. "Who is as the wise man?" — who can be com- 
 pared to him, in real intrinsic excellence, or in the benefits which 
 accrue to him from his wisdom? 
 
 "And who knoweth the interpretation of a thing?" — that is, 
 who, as the wise man, — or who bid the wise man, knoAveth it? 
 
262 LECTURE XV. 
 
 ''The interpretation of a tiling," I should understand as compre- 
 hending in general the solution of dijiculties, whether in nature, in 
 providence, or in the affairs of men. This is the province of the 
 wise man. He has observed the appearances, and investigated 
 the secrets, of nature: — he has carefully marked the procedure of 
 providence, ascertaining its principles and noting its mysteries : — 
 he has studied human nature in all its varieties of character; hu- 
 man life in all its diversities of condition; and society in all its 
 multiplicity of interests and connections. He understands these 
 things himself, and he is consulted respecting them by others. 
 
 "A man's wisdom maketli his face to shine." The beauty 
 of the "human face divine" lies in its expression. The light of 
 wisdom within, beams in the countenance, imparting to it the at- 
 tractive aspect of intelligence and sensibility. It is a mild and 
 lovely light. It does not dazzle and overpower by the studied 
 brilliance of self-display, but with soft and gentle radiance in- 
 spires delight, and wins affection; for of genuine wisdom, self- 
 diffident humility is the invariable associate. "If any man think 
 that he knoweth any thing, he knoweth nothing yet as he ought 
 to know." Such wisdom gives to the countenance the expression 
 both of dignity and of grace. It commands reverence, and it in- 
 sures love. It conducts at once to honor and to friendship, to re- 
 spectful deference, and familiar intimacy. 
 
 The humility and gentleness which accompany and characterize 
 true wisdom are, by many, understood to be meant in the last 
 clause of the verse; — "and the boldness of his face shall be changed." 
 It shall be "changed," say they, to meekness and self-diffidence, 
 the opposite of that forward and brazen impudence which so fre- 
 quently distinguishes ignorance and folly. 
 
 Others interpret " boldness " in a good sense, as signifying firm- 
 ness and decision, fortitude and resolution, of character; which 
 render a man undaunted and effective in supporting the cause of 
 truth and rectitude, and resisting the encroachments of vice and 
 folly ; in facing opposition, and disregarding obloquy. Amongst 
 such a people, for example, as those whom Ezekiel had to en- 
 counter, wisdom would set the face as a flint, and enable its pos- 
 sessor to confront them with a self-possession and commanding 
 confidence, fitted to intimidate, and repress their hardened ef- 
 frontery. "The house of Israel will not hearken unto thee; for 
 
 .i^ 
 
ECCLESIASTES VIII. 1-8. 263 
 
 they will not hearken unto me : for all the house of Israel are im- 
 pudent and hard-hearted. Behold, I have made thy face strong 
 against their faces,'^and thy forehead strong against their foreheads. 
 As an adamant, harder than flint, have I made thy forehead : fear 
 them not, neither be dismayed at their looks, though they be a 
 rebellious house." Ezek. iii. 7-9. 
 
 It will at once occur to you, that if this sense of the word "bold- 
 ness " be adopted, some corresponding alteration becomes necessary 
 on the word "changed," By the interpreters in question, the 
 clause is accordingly rendered, "and the boldness of his counte- 
 nance shall he doubhdJ' But this is a far-fetched and unusual 
 ^ense of the original M^ord; if indeed it will bear it at all. 
 
 The direct and proper meaning of the Hebrew word is to hate; 
 and the Septuagint translation is probably the just one, — "but he 
 who is impudent of face shall be hated."* Instead of procuring, 
 as wisdom docs, respect and affection, the forward impudence and 
 •shamelessness of the fool will expose him to dislike and aversion. 
 Men look with pleasure on the countenance that is lighted up \vith 
 mild intelligence, but turn away with disgust from the unblushing 
 stare of petulance and self-sufficiency. 
 
 To the advice addressed to us in the following verses, it will be 
 our interest, as it is our duty, carefully to attend. It is a part of 
 that "meekness of wisdom," which "makes the face to shine," and 
 is opposed to the effrontery that is the object of such universal 
 dislike, and often^the occasion to a man of so much injury: — 
 
 Verses 2, 3. I counsel thee to keep the king's commandment, and 
 that in regard of the oath of God. Be not hasty to go out of his 
 sight: stand not in an^evil thing ; for he doeth whatsoever j^lcaseth 
 Mm. 
 
 The former of these two verses is by some rendered — "Keep 
 the commandment of the king; but according to the word of the 
 oath of God:" — which makes the last clause restrictive of the first; 
 limiting and qualifying the injunction to loyal obedience: — as if 
 Solomon had said, "Obey the king; but only in so far as this 
 •obedience can be yielded in consistency with your engagements to 
 God, the King of kings, the Supreme Euler, the Lord of the con- 
 
 * " He who is strong, i. e. impudent with his face shall be hated." — Fark- 
 .hursf. — "Wisdom enliveneth a man's countenance, but austerity in the looks 
 is hateful." — Hodgson. 
 
264 LECTURE XV. 
 
 science, whose authority is first and highest." That such a limi- 
 tation of the precept is necessary to be understood, admits of no 
 question. To the mightiest of earthly monarchs, when his com- 
 mands are not in harmony with those of heaven, but call for a 
 violation of "conscience towards God," we must say, with all re- 
 spectful mildness, yet with immoveable determination, "Whether 
 it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than 
 unto God, judge ye." — " We must obey God rather than men." 
 Acts iv. 19. V. 29. 
 
 In this view of the words, the expression " the oath of God " 
 might possibly mean the oath so frequently taken by Jehovah 
 himself to maintain his word inviolate, confirming, " by two im- 
 mutable things in which it is impossible for God to be," both his 
 promises to obedience and his threatenings against transgression > 
 "As I live, saith the Lord God," gives the promise all its power 
 of encouragement, and the threatening all its energy of dissuasion. 
 
 The more simple and probable meaning, however, is, the oath 
 of fidelity and allegiance to the king which they had taken in the 
 name of God, — in his presence, and under appeal to Him and his 
 awful sanction. You have sworn obedience and fealty: see that 
 ye do not forswear yourselves, by disobedience and rebellion. 
 
 " Be not hasty to go out of his sight:" — that is, either to leave 
 his presence, or to throw up your office and quit his service with 
 inconsiderate rashness, under the hurrying influence of caprice or 
 passion; whether the king be displeased with you, or you with 
 him. Be not imprudently hasty and precipitate. " If the spirit 
 of the ruler rise up against thee, leave not thy place ; for yielding 
 pacifieth great offences." Quickness and irritability of temper 
 are culpable towards any man ; they are particularly reprehensible 
 towards one to whom we owe the highest official respect. 
 
 " Stand not," (that is, persist not,) " in an evil thing:" — If you 
 are conscious of having done wrong, be prompt to confess it, and 
 to submit thyself to the royal clemency. Do not persist in high- 
 spirited self-vindication, whilst you are secretly sensible of your 
 error. There are some tempers so peculiar, so proudly peculiar, 
 that they will much rather make confession to an equal, and still 
 more readily to an inferior, than to one who is above them. But 
 readiness to own an error or a fault is our duty to all. It is a 
 part of true wisdom. It amounts to saying, — what a man mu^t 
 
ECCLESIASTES VIII. 1-8. 255' 
 
 be very self-sufficient indeed who is unwilling to say, — ''I an> 
 sensible that I may err; and in seeing my error to-day, I am wiser- 
 and better minded than I was yesterday." 
 
 A special reason is assigned for the admonition, as it regards- 
 our conduct to rulers: — " for he doeth whatsoever pleaseth him." 
 Whilst your first and most sacred regard should be to the " oath 
 of God," yet your own interest is also involved. You are in the- 
 king's power. He may degrade you from your station, deprive- 
 you of your emoluments, and inflict upon you such punishment 
 as shall not be alleviated by the consciousness of its being unde- 
 served. The headstrong passion that persists in evil, because it 
 cannot brook submission, is itself inexcusable; and it may cost 
 you dear: for, — 
 
 Verse 4. Where the word of a king is, there is power ; and icho-- 
 may say unto him, What doest thouf 
 
 The royal authority is accompanied with power; so that what 
 it wills and ordains it has ability to carry into execution. Per- 
 verse resistance and obstinate self-vindication are, therefore, vaiiv 
 and hazardous. It is your interest, as well as your duty, to con- 
 fess and to submit. 
 
 "For who may say unto him, What doest thou?" There are^ 
 cases, — there were then, and there are still, — in which to say so- 
 would not only be proper, but an imcumbent duty. The man 
 who has been called, in providence, to the high and important 
 station of a counsellor to royalty, is under the most sacred obli- 
 gations, both to his master and to his country, to fulfill his trust 
 Avith in(;orruptible integrity; obligations which he ought to feel^ 
 even apart fi-om "the oath of God;" though he should not for- 
 get that it, also, lies upon him. If the king discovers an inclina- 
 tion to adopt and ibllow unjust, oppressive, or otherwise pernicious 
 measures, such a man, as he must answer to God, should feel him- 
 self bound, with all becoming resj^ect indeed, yet with unshaken 
 firmness, and at whatever risk, to "say to him. What doest thou?" 
 and to endeavor, by all possible means of persuasion, to " stay his 
 hand," A counsellor that has principle to do this, is the greatest 
 blessing, (alas! that the blessing should in all ages have been sO' 
 rare!) that a monarch can possess. If his master feels not the 
 value of his faithful counsel, and, in the pride and- folly of hi&- 
 heart, will take his own way, such a counsellor will be venerated 
 
266 LECTURE XY. 
 
 in his abdication or his downfall; and having, like Micaiah, the 
 son of Imlah — ("among the faithless, faithful only he!") — ex- 
 onerated his conscience by wholesome, though unpalatable, advice, 
 he will enjoy, also, the blessing of inward peace, even if the con- 
 sequences of his fidelity should to himself be irons and a dungeon, 
 with " bread of aflSiction, and water of affliction." 
 
 But it is not at all of such firmness of integrity that Solomon 
 here speaks. It is of the man who "persists in an evil thing." 
 It is from this that he dissuades, as implying at once sin and folly : 
 the sin of adding the vindication of evil to the doing of it; and 
 the folly of provoking, by such fool-hardiness, a power so far 
 superior to his own. 
 
 The best way, accordingly, of shunning the king's displeasure, 
 and the vengeance of the law, is prescribed in the fifth verse; — 
 
 Verse 5. Whoso keepeth the commandment shall Jed no evil thing; 
 -and a loise man's heart discerneth both time and judgment. 
 
 "The commandment" here, may mean either "the king's com- 
 mandment," according to the phrase in the second verse, — or 
 rather, perhaps, the commandment of God; by which may be 
 understood the will or law of God in general. By the precepts 
 of that law, indeed, which He had given to Israel, it was the duty 
 both of the king and jjeople, respectively, to regulate their conduct : 
 that law the people were to obey ; that law the king was to enforce. 
 ■"The king's commandment," therefore, might be considered as 
 the law of the land, given by the Divine Legislator himself: and 
 the sentiment expressed is, that the best and surest way to the 
 enjoyment of a "quiet and peaceable life," under the secure protec- 
 tion of the governing powers, was, "to live in all godliness and 
 honesty." He who thus "kept the commandment" should "feel 
 no evil thing." — "Who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers 
 -of that which is good?" The sentiment, directions, and language 
 of Solomon in this passage, bear so close a resemblance to those of 
 Paul, when he writes on the same subject to the Christians at Rome, 
 that we may quote the latter as a New Testament commentary on 
 the former; — "Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers; 
 for there is no power but of God : the powers that be are ordained 
 of God. Whosoever, therefore, resisteth the power, resisteth the 
 •ordinance of God ; and they that resist shall receive to themselves 
 •condemnation. For rulers are not a terror to o^ood Avorks, but to 
 
ECCLESIASTES VIII. 1-8. 267 
 
 the evil. Wilt thou, then, not be afraid of the power? Do that 
 which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same: for he is 
 the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which 
 is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain; for he is 
 the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that 
 doeth evil. Wherefore, ye must needs be subject, not only for 
 wrath, but also for conscience' sake. For, for this cause pay ye 
 tribute also : for they are God's ministers, attending continually 
 upon this very thing. Render, therefore, to all their dues; tribute 
 to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom 
 fear; honor to whom honor." Rom. xiii. 1-7. — It is evident that 
 these apostolic precepts are just those of Solomon in a more ex- 
 panded form. The same "counsel" is given; it is enforced by 
 the same considerations, of "wrath" and of "conscience;" and 
 the same means are prescribed for shunning the severity of the 
 ruling power; — called by Solomon, "keeping the commandment," 
 by Paul, "doing that which is good." 
 
 There are many good people that are very imprudent people. 
 Their behavior is, in the main, excellent; but, on many occasions, 
 it is exceedingly inappropriate. There is an intire want about 
 them of that discretion, so needful in the intercourse of life, which 
 enables its possessor to suit his conduct to time and circumstances. 
 Herein consists another eminent advantage of the man of wisdom : 
 
 "A wise man's heart discerneth both time and judgment." The 
 word translated "judgment " is one of very extensive and general 
 signification; being applicable to all ordering, regulation, dispo- 
 sition, arrangement, of events, actions, or things. It might here, 
 perhaps, be correctly enough rendered propriety ; according to 
 which every thing has its right place and due adjustment with 
 others, in the conduct of life. There are three inquiries, which 
 the man of true wisdom is ever proposing to himself: — What 
 should I do? When should I do it? How should it be done? 
 He pays regard not only to the matter or quality of his actions, but 
 to the time and the manner of them. He attends to circumstances, 
 in every department of his conduct; whether in executing his own 
 good purposes, or in repressing and frustrating the evil designs of 
 others ; in imparting counsel ; in administering reproof; in seek- 
 ing, either for himself or for others, the redress of grievances ; in 
 promoting needful improvement and reform, whether in private 
 
268 LECTURE XV. 
 
 or in public affairs ; and in all the every-day transactions and in- 
 tercourse of life; — never forgetting, what daily experience more 
 and more confirms, that success very often depends as much on 
 the choice of a right season, and the adoption of a proper way of 
 performing an action, as upon the action itself. There are many 
 persons, on the contrary, who satisfy themselves with the first 
 only of the inquiries I have mentioned. They mind the What, 
 but utterly disregard the When and the Hoio; and, their actions 
 being in themselves irreprehensible, they marvel that any fault 
 should be found with them. What have they done that's wrong? 
 And when they are told they have not been wrong in what they 
 have done, but have chosen a wrong time and a wrong manner of 
 doing it; they feel very lightly under the charge, and congratu- 
 late themselves on the admitted rectitude of the deed itself. That 
 is enough for them. 
 
 This is very unwise : and indiscretion of this kind has ever been 
 an abundant source of unhappiness to men : — 
 
 Versie 6. Because to every purpose there is time and judgment, 
 therefore the misery of man is great upon him. 
 
 The degree of mischief, and disappointment, and wretchedness, 
 arising amongst mankind from the want of wise consideration of 
 seasons and circumstances, is beyond calculation. Were men in 
 general more carefully attentive to these, a large proportion of the 
 miseries of whicli they complain might readily be avoided. But 
 some by their weakness, others by their heedlessness, — some by 
 their headstrong obstinacy, others by their excess of pliancy, — 
 some by impataent precipitation, others by procrastinating dilatori- 
 ness, — and thousands in an endless variety of other ways, — are led 
 to overlook "time and judgment," and to bring distress and ruin 
 upon themselves, or others, or both. 
 
 Although, however, "the misery of man is," by these means, 
 "greater upon him," — much greater, than it would otherwise be; 
 yet many, at the same time, are the circumstances, which human 
 foresight cannot anticipate; which elude the penetration of the 
 most sagacious; and over which the most vigilant can exercise no 
 control. The memory of the past is not associated in man, unless 
 by immediate prophetic inspiration, with the prescience of the 
 future. The events of coming time being beyond the sphere of 
 our acutest vision, we must, in very many cases, if we act at all. 
 
ECCLESIASTES viir. 1-8. 269 
 
 act upon a calculation of probabilities. So that the wisest of men, 
 and, far more, those who are deficient in ordinary foresight, are 
 liable to risk, from unanticipated contingencies, in almost all that 
 they do. From this source, also, there arise much disquieting 
 solicitude, frustration of hopes, and consequent unhappiness. This 
 is the sentiment expressed in the seventh verse: — 
 
 Verse 7. For he hnoiocth not that wJiich shall be: for who can tell 
 him irhcn it shall bef 
 
 He knows not, himself, what events are to come in future time; 
 and all his fellows being alike ignorant, he can obtain from no 
 one of them any information, either of the events themselves, or 
 of the seasons of their occurrence: an humbling truth of which we 
 are often reminded in Scripture, to impress us with a sense of our 
 intire dependence. "Boast not thyself of to-morrow; for thou 
 knowest not what a day may bring forth." Prov. xxvii. 1. "Go 
 to, now, ye that say, To-day or to-morrow, we will go into such 
 a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain : 
 Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is 
 your life? It is even a vapor, that appeareth for a little time, 
 and then vauisheth away? For that ye ought to say. If the Lord 
 will, we shall live, and do this or that." James iv. 13-15. 
 
 There is one event, — an event appointed to all, respecting the 
 time and circumstances of which this uncertainty is proverbially 
 great; an event on which, in the prosecution of our various 
 schemes, we are too little disposed to calculate; yet an event which 
 has, times innumerable, interrupted and thrown into confusion 
 and ruin, the plans and pursuits of men; entailing mischief on 
 their associates in speculation, and on their families or expectant 
 heirs. You have anticipated the event to which I allude. Of 
 death it may always with emphasis be said, "who can tell him 
 when it shall be?" It is by God, the giver of life, that "our days 
 are determined; the number of our months is with him: he has 
 appointed us our bounds, that we cannot pass." No; "ive cannot 
 pass;'' — for whensoever the time fixed in his sovereign purpose 
 for our removal arrives, then, in the language of 
 
 Verse 8. Inhere is no man that hath jiower over the spirit, to retain 
 the spirit, neither hath he power in the day of death: and there is no 
 discharge in that war; neither shall ivickedness deliver those that are 
 given to it. 
 
270 LECTURE XV. 
 
 " There is no man that hath power over the spirit, to retain the 
 spirit,"— that is, to keep the soul in its earthly tabernacle one 
 instant longer than God's appointed time. This is true of every 
 man, and true both in regard to himself and to others. The power 
 that sways millions with a nod, fails here. The wealth that pro- 
 cures for its owner all that his heart can wish, fails here. The 
 might of the warrior which has slain its thousands, and which no 
 human arm could withstand, fails here. The most earnest desire 
 of life; and the tears, and the wailings, and the fond caresses of 
 disconsolate affection; — all fail here. No man, from the prince 
 to the beggar, has power over his own spirit, or over the spirit of 
 the dearest friend on earth, to retain it — no, not for one moment ; 
 any more than he can arrest time in its course, or stay tlie speed 
 of the impetuous tempest. This is a power that resides in God 
 alone. He gave life; he sustains it; he sets the time of its con- 
 tinuance. He could add to Hezekiah's life fifteen years, as he 
 could prolong the day, by bringing back the shadow on the dial 
 of Ahaz. Nay, he could, by his incommunicable power, restore the 
 parted soul to its earthly residence, after it had fled away to the 
 world of spirits. But such power is not in man, nor in any crea- 
 ture : and on the Divine exercise of it, wdiich is sovereign and 
 uncontrollable, we are incessantly dependent. "If he set his 
 heart upon man, if he gather unto himself his spirit and his 
 breath; all flesh shall perish together, and man shall turn again 
 unto dust." Job. xxxiv. 14, 15. 
 
 "Neither hath he power in the day of death." In that day, all 
 power becomes alike impotent. All bodily vigor gives way ; and 
 all mental resources and devices are equally unavailing against 
 the last enemy. Whatever may be the wishes of a man's heart, he 
 has no ability to effect them. Opposition is vain. For the power 
 of death is, in truth, the power of God. When we speak of Death 
 as a person, and call him "the King of Terrors," I need not say 
 we use a mere figure of poetry or rhetoric. When a physician 
 succeeds in arresting the progress of a distemper, and bringing up 
 from the gates of death the life that was hanging in suspense, let 
 us beware of fancying that he counteracts any Divine intention; 
 he fulfills one. His success only indicates what the purpose of 
 Providence had been; that the sickness should not be unto death. 
 The design to add fifteen years to Hezekiah's life preceded the 
 
ECCLESIASTES VIII. 1-8. 271 
 
 intimation of it, and the application of the simple means prescribed 
 for its accomplishment. And although we have no intimation ©r 
 the intentions of heaven, yet are we equally sure that the efficacy 
 of means of recovery, in answer to prayer for the Divine blessing, 
 only shows us what these intentions, though previously kept secret, 
 had been; — does not frustrate, but accomplish them. 
 
 "And there is no discharge in that war." Every individual 
 must grapple with the last enemy. There is no possibility, what- 
 ever may be our dread of the conflict, of procuring a discharge,. 
 and shunning its horrors. No flight and no concealment can save 
 us ; nor are there any weapons of effectual resistance. " He counts 
 darts as stubble, and laughs at the shaking of the spear." And 
 it is not here, as on the plains of Thessaly, or the mountains of 
 Gilboa, or the fields of Waterloo, or (to the personal feelings of 
 the speaker, more sadly interesting than them all) the heights of 
 Salamanca;* where, though hundreds and thousands fell, hun- 
 dreds and thousands escaped and survived. This is a field in 
 which every man must advance; and every man must advance 
 alone, to single combat; and every man in succession must fall. 
 The enemy to be encountered is himself invulnerable ; and whether 
 the struggle be short or long, and however successful for a time 
 our eiforts may be to parry, or to cover ourselves from, his deadly 
 thrust, he will, sooner or later, find his way, with certain aim and 
 irresistible force, to every heart. If w^e reckon the population of 
 our world at a thousand millions, and the average of a generation 
 at thirty years, it will follow, that ninety thousand die every day ; 
 upwards of six^y every minute ; one every second of time. How 
 solemn the thought ! How rapidly is the world of spirits peopling !. 
 And, alas ! that there should be so much reason to fear that, in 
 past generations at least, whatever may be the case in those to 
 come, hell has been peopled so much faster than heaven ! 
 
 Whilst men of all stations are the indiscriminate victims of 
 death, so are men of all characters. To the children of God, " to 
 live is Christ, and to die is gain." They may meet the last ene- 
 my without dismay; as a friend, rather than an enemy, — a friend,, 
 that comes to introduce them to God. To the wicked he is em- 
 
 * In the battle of Salamanca, the author's brother fell. The reader will 
 excuse this little anachronism ; for such it will seem from the statement in=. 
 the Preface, of the time when these Lectures were first delivered. 
 
272 LECTURE XV. 
 
 phatically the "King of Terrors." Fondly would they stay his 
 •approach; fondly would they shun the combat; dreading (as well 
 ithey may) the fearful consequences. But in vain: — 
 
 "Neither shall wickedness deliver them that are given to it." 
 The profligate, the ungodly, the worldly, may, in the midst of 
 iheir vicious, or of their busy and unthinking career, laugh at the 
 fears of death, and set the God of heaven at scornful defiance. 
 But "God is not mocked." Death will have his prey. All the 
 power and all the arts of the wicked cannot withhold it. They 
 must die, and " be driven away in their wickedness." They may 
 ,say, in the ])ride and folly of their minds, "We have made a 
 covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement: when 
 the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not reach unto 
 us:" — but these are only "swelling words of vanity." God says 
 to them, "Your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and 
 your agreement with hell shall not stand : when the overflowing 
 scourge shall pass through, ye shall be trodden down by it," Isa. 
 xxviii. 15, 18. 
 
 This passage suggests the following practical reflections. 
 
 1. In ihe jii'st 'place ; This additional eulogy of wisdom, should 
 operate as an additional excitement to seek it from heaven, and 
 to cultivate it by all the means of its increase; as at once the richest 
 excellence, the loveliest ornament, the strongest recommendation, 
 and the most efficient instrument of good, in any character. Let 
 what Solomon says here impress his exhortations elsewhere: — 
 ■^' Get wisdom; get understanding: forget it not; neither decline 
 from the words of my mouth. Forsake her noi, and she shall 
 preserve thee ; love her, and she shall keep tliee. Wisdom is the 
 principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting 
 get understanding. Exalt her, and she shall promote thee; she 
 shall bring thee to honor when thou dost embrace her. She shall 
 give to thy head an ornament of gold : a crown of glory shall she 
 deliver to thee. Take fast hold of instruction ; \Qt her not go : 
 keep her;, for she is thy life." Prov. iv. 5-9, 13. 
 
 2. Secondly; Let us manifest the influence of religious principle, 
 in a becoming subjection to the government of our country; from 
 considerations both of duty and of discretion. We should feel it 
 incumbent upon us, "to shun all exasperating language; to re- 
 press all railing and indecent accusations against those who have 
 
ECCLESIASTE8 VIII. 1-8. 273 
 
 tlie management of public affairs; to engage in no virulent oppo- 
 sition, or hasty measures; to continue in our place and station; 
 not to enter upon, much less to persist in, any turbulent attempts ; 
 nor needlessly to expose ourselves to the jealousy and resentment 
 of Government." — Scott's Commentary. Not that we must ap- 
 prove, in our judgment, of every public measure; or that we are 
 never to join in temperate and constitutional means of procuring 
 the correction of abuses, and the rescinding of injurious decisions; 
 the alteration of what is wrong; or the improvement of what is 
 right. But in all, we should be prudent and temperate; influ- 
 enced by sober principle and genuine patriotic regard to our coun- 
 try; not by presumptuous self-conceit, or revolutionary frenzy. 
 And surely I may be permitted to say, that never was there a 
 period in the history of Europe, when the duty was more imperious, 
 of being cautious, and diffident, and tender, in our censures of 
 public men, and public measures, than it is in the present day. 
 Events have been so strange, — they have, in innumerable instances, 
 so completely contradicted all the ordinary calculations of proba- 
 bility, — that, without a super-human gift of foresight, no man 
 could have at all anticipated, or provided against them. Never 
 was there a season to which the language of the seventh verse was 
 more applicable, — "he kiioweth not that which shall be; and who 
 can tell him when it shall be? — never a period at which a wise 
 man could find it more diiiicult, in devising public measures, to 
 "discern time and judgment;" or when it was more unsafe and 
 unfair, to judge of such measures by their successor their failure. 
 The constant, wakeful vigilance of a free people over the plans 
 and proceedings of their rulers, is of inestimable benefit. But at 
 such a time as this, few things can be more offensive to every 
 Christian feeling, than to hear men persist in talking, with in- 
 discriminate severity of censure, of the folly and impolicy of all 
 the measures of the administration. It displays so intolerable a 
 share of arrogant self-confidence ; coupled with a deficiency so la- 
 mentable, of charity and candor!* 
 
 3. Thirdly; Let us all recollect, and keep it in constant remem- 
 
 * These observations were originally delivered in February, 1811. They 
 are I'etained without alteration, because, in the spirit of them, they are ap- 
 plicable to all times, and especially to all seasons of public difficulty and em- 
 barrassment, arising from the perplexing darkness of providential arrange- 
 ments. 
 
 18 
 
271 LECTURE XV. 
 
 brance, that there is one King, in whose hands, and in whose 
 hands alone, unlimited power is safe; whose word is law; and in 
 obeying whose authority we can never err. His commands are 
 all right; and they are all beyond dispute. To his authority let 
 as yield a willing and unreserved subjection: for "his law is per- 
 fect; his statutes are right; his commandment is pure; his judg- 
 ments are true and righteous altogether." If such be the impru- 
 dence, such the hazard, of obstinate disobedience to an earthly 
 monarch; how imminent, think you, must be the peril; how ex- 
 treme the folly ; of the man, who scorns the rebukes of his Maker, 
 ;ind hardens himself against God? Who hath ever done so, and 
 hath prospered? The words of admonition, — "Stand not in an 
 evil thing; for he doeth whatsoever pleaseth him: where the word 
 of a king is, there is power; and who may say unto him. What 
 doest thou?" — may here be applied with unlimited emphasis. Yes: 
 where the word of this king is, there is power; almighty, irre- 
 sistible power; power, which no created arm can defy with im- 
 punity. Whilst you carefully endeavor to order your temporal 
 affairs with that discretion which may insure success and pros- 
 perity; O with what miserable imprudence do you conduct your- 
 selves, whilst you live in forgetfulness of God, and in thoughtless 
 disregard of death, and judgment, and eternity! No imprudence 
 can be equal to this. "A wise man's heart discerneth both time 
 and judgment." Is it, then, consistent with the character of a wise 
 man; — does it accord with the dictates of that prudence, which 
 you wish to apply to the regulation of all your concerns; — that, 
 although you know " the time to be short " and proverbially un- 
 certain, and eternal consequences to be depending on every mo- 
 ment that passes over you, you should live unprepared for eterni- 
 ty? Is it prudent in you, conscious as you must be of guilt, to 
 run the risk of encountering the displeasure of an offended God, 
 and to pay no attention to the nature and the vouchers of what 
 conies to you in the form and with the claims of a proposal from 
 Him? Be persuaded to think, and to think now. Be wise to-day : 
 to-morrow is not yours. 
 
 4. Fourthly; Let these admonitions be inforced, by the absolute 
 and infallible certainty of your coming to death. Had you " power 
 over the spirit to retain the spirit," or could you procure a "dis- 
 charge " from the conflict with the last enemy ; could you prolong 
 
ECCLESIASTIC VIII. 1-8. 275 
 
 your life at pleasure, and secure to yourselves immortality on 
 earth ; then might you, with some pretensions to reason, disregard 
 our serious warnings, and take your own way. But well you 
 know, it is far otherwise. The hour of your departure is to you, 
 as it is to all, a secret: " Who can tell you when it shall be?" 
 But it is fixed; — fixed in the purpose of Him "without whonl a 
 sparrow falleth not to the ground." It is fixed; — and, for aught 
 you can tell, it may be very near. You may not be destined to 
 see the shining of to-morrow's sun ; and, if you should, to-morrow 
 will still be as uncertain as to-day. Many of those who are dy- 
 ing to-day had as little thought of it yesterday, as those who are 
 living to-day have of dying to-morrow. The "King of terrors " 
 you must meet, — ^you mu.'it encounter: and it is a conflict in which 
 "the help of man is vain;" in which fellow-creatures can do you 
 no service. And, will you, then, engage this enemy alone? Will 
 you enter the lists with him single-handed? Will you meet him 
 without the armor of God? — without the shield of faith, and the 
 helmet of hope? — without the breastplate of righteousness, and 
 the sword of the Spirit? Will you venture into the dark valley, 
 without the Lord with you, — without his rod and his staff to com- 
 fort you? Will you be your own light, — your own strength, — 
 your own salvation? O blind self-sufficiency! O thoughtless 
 and infatuated presumption ! You give this a wrong name when 
 you call it courage. It is insensibility ; — the insensibility of ignor- 
 ance. Look unto Jesus! He has "abolished death, and brought 
 life and incorruption to light, by the gospel." " Through death, 
 he has destroyed him that had the power of death, that is, the 
 devil ; and delivered them who, through fear of death, were all 
 their lifetime subject to bondage," Believing in him, building 
 your hopes on him, living to him, you will be safe; and no other- 
 wise. You may then anticipate death with a measure of his feel- 
 ings who said, "To me to live is Christ; and to die is gain. I 
 am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart and to be 
 with Christ, which is far better." And at the solemn hour when 
 you must bid a final adieu to the world; when, to you," "time 
 .shall be no longer;" you may say, in humble, yet triumphant con- 
 fidence, "O death! where is thy sting? O grave! where is thy 
 victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the 
 law : but thanks be unto God, who giveth us the victory through 
 our Lord Jesus Chrisi!" 
 
LECTURE XVI. 
 
 ECCLESIASTES VIII. 9-17. 
 
 "All this have 1 seen, and applied my heart unto every work that h done 
 under the sun: (there is) a time wherein one man ruleth over another to 
 his own hurt. 10. And so I saw the wicked buried, who had come and 
 gone from the place of the holy, and they were forgotten in the city where 
 tliey had so done. This (is) also vanity. 11. Because sentence against an 
 evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men 
 is fully set in them to do evil. 12. Though a sinner do evil a hundred 
 times, and his (days) be prolonged, yet surely I know that it shall be well 
 with them that fear God, which fear before him ; 13. But it shall not be 
 .well with the wicked, neither shall he prolong (his) days, (which are) as a 
 shadow; because he feareth not before God. 14. There is a vanity which 
 is done upon the earth; that there he just (men,) unto whom it happeneth 
 according to the work of the wicked; again, there be wicked (men,) to 
 whom it happeneth according to the work of the righteous. I said that this 
 :also (is) vanity. 15. Then I commended mirth, because a mtm hnth no 
 .better thing under the sun, than to eat, and to drink, and to be merry: for 
 that shall abide with him of his labor the days of his life, which God giveth 
 him under the sun. 16. When I applied mine heart to know wisdom, and 
 to see the business that is done upon the earth: for also (there is that) 
 neither day nor night seeth sleep with his eyes: 17. Then I beheld all the 
 work of God, that a man cannot find out the work that is done under the 
 sun: because tliough a man labor to seek (it) out, yet he shall not find (it); 
 yea further; though a wise (man) think to know (it), yet shall he not be 
 able to find (it). 
 
 Verse 9. All this have I seen, and applied my heart unto every 
 work that is done under the sun: there is a time wherein one man 
 ruleth over another to his own hurt. 
 
 Apart from Divine testimony, observation and experience are 
 the surest grounds of accurate knowledge. In the book of Eccle- 
 siastes, we have not the thoughts and opinions of a man who, with 
 little or no attention to facts, sits down in his closet to commit to 
 writing the speculations, conjectures, and theories of an inventive 
 and ingenious mind. We have the results of a personal survey: 
 
ECCLESIASTES VIII. 9-17. 277 
 
 of a close and acute inspection of men and things; confirmed, iti 
 many instances, by actual trial, and recorded under the superin- 
 tendence of the Spirit of truth. The book, therefore, possesses a 
 peculiar interest, as combining, in the lessons which it teaches, the 
 evidence of human experiment with the sanction of Divine au- 
 thority. 
 
 "All this have I seen," says Solomon, in the first of these verses, 
 "and applied my heart unto every work that is done under the 
 sun:" — that is, to the attentive observation, and diligent scrutiny, 
 both of the procedure of Providence towards this world, and of 
 the conduct of mankind in the various conditions of life. And in 
 the course of his survey, there was one thing which he had not 
 unfrequeutly remarked, that superiority to others — the possession 
 and exercise of authority — was coveted by many, without due con- 
 sideration of its tendencies; that unless the power be well and 
 wisely used, it had better, even for the sake of its possessor, be 
 wanted : — 
 
 "There is a time wherein one man ruleth over another to his 
 own hurt." 
 
 Had not Solomon himself experienced the truth of this? His 
 royal honor was at once his temptation to sin, and his opportunity; 
 and in sinning, himself, he led his subjects astray along with him. 
 This turned out "to his own hurt," as well as to the hurt of his 
 people; for it was in consequence of this perversion of his au- 
 thority by which he " made Israel to sin," that the Lord stirred 
 up against him various adversaries, to harass him, and to disturb 
 the peace of his reign ; and forewarned him of the rending away 
 of ten of the tribes of Israel from the dominions of his son. — Be- 
 sides, as Solomon when forsaking Jehovah, following the world, 
 and "going after strange gods," could not be satisfied with him- 
 self; and as a conscience that is ill at ease, a self-upbraiding spirit, 
 usually produces a very unhappy effect upon the temper, render- 
 ing a man, in his conduct towards others, hasty, passionate, sullen, 
 and capricious; it is not improbable that some ground had been 
 given by him, during the time, especially, of his defection from 
 the service of God, for the complaints afterwards made by his sub- 
 jects to his son and successor respecting the grievousne^s of his 
 yoke, when they presented their unsuccessful petition for its miti- 
 gation, and for a gentler system of rule. 
 
278 LECTURE XVI. 
 
 The influence of a disquieted conscience in producing angry and 
 capricious rigor, is exemplified in the case of Asa : who, when re- 
 proved by Hanani the seer, for his folly and distrust of Jehovah; 
 and threatened, as his punishment, with wars for the remainder of 
 his reign, " was wroth with the seer, and put him in the prison 
 house: and Asa," it is added in the history, "oppressed some of 
 the people the same time." He wreaked his unreasonable an- 
 ger against this prophet, and his secret rankling dissatisfaction 
 with himself, in acts of passionate severity towards his subject*^. 
 
 Some of Solomon's successors in the throne of Judah, and many, 
 alas ! of the kings of Israel, might be j^roduced as exemplifications 
 of the truth here stated ; and not a few might be added from the 
 general history of both ancient and modern nations. Often have 
 unprincipled and oppressive tyrants brought upon themselves the 
 vengeance of their subjects, and come to an untimely end. They 
 have "ruled over others to their own hurt;" their power having 
 prospered for a time, but ultimately involved them in insurrection 
 and ruin. And even if they should escape the indignant fury of 
 the oppressed, still the abuse of power is to their hurt; for "he 
 that is higher than the highest regardeth," and they "treasure up 
 to themselves wrath against the day of wrath, and revelation of 
 the righteous judgment of God." 
 
 It is, primarily at least, to such characters, that the tenth verse 
 refers : — 
 
 Verse 10. And so I saw the wicked buried, who had come and 
 gone from the place of the holy; and they ivere forgotten in the dty 
 where thefhad so done. This is also vanity. 
 
 By "the place of the holy" some understand the seat of judg- 
 ment, which, in chapter iii. 16, had been denominated "the place 
 of righteousness." It is the place which ought to be occupied by 
 the holy, and not by the wicked, and over which the Most Holy 
 may be considered as presiding, with peculiar jealousy of its purity, 
 and displeasure at its corruption. And by the wicked being 
 buried who had occupied this honorable seat, they conceive to be 
 meant, his being buried with all the splendor of funeral pomp ; 
 with all the ceremonial of lamentation and woe : — whilst their be- 
 ing "forgotten in the city" is thought to refer to the change pro- 
 duced in the public mind by death : — to that kind of good-natured 
 disposition which leads men to say no ill of the dead, — to deal 
 
ECCLESIASTES VIII. 9-17. 279 
 
 gently with their faults, — to palliate and even to banish from their 
 remembrance the very enormities for which they cursed them 
 during their lives; and to honor in death those wJio disgrace<l 
 themselves in life. 
 
 But this view is neither natural in itself, nor suitable to the 
 connection. Solomon had said, in the eighth verse, that "wick- 
 edness could not deliver those that were given to it," from the 
 stroke of death : — nay, at times, as he adds in the ninth verse, a 
 man's wickedness, especially in the abuse of power, might prove 
 the means of hurt and ruin to himself. It is the same sentiment 
 that he continues to illustrate in verse 10: — "I saw the wicked, 
 who had come and gone from the place of the holy," — who had 
 attended the sanctuary, joined in the worship of God, and cloaked 
 their unrighteousness and oppression under the garb of external 
 piety, — who had "come and gone," continuing their hypocritical 
 career in safety, no marks of Divine vengeance visiting them for 
 their awful profanation and odious dissembling; — "I saw the 
 wicked, who had lately flourished in their wickedness; who, in 
 the possession of great power, had "prospered in bringing evil 
 devices to pass;" — I saw them buried, — the victims of mortality 
 equally with others; unable any more than the meanest and the 
 weakest of their oppressed subjects "to retain the spirit," and 
 having no power more than they in the day of death : — I saw them 
 buried, — carried, in affecting humiliation and impotence, to "the 
 house appointed for all living." And this was not only the " land 
 of forgetfulness," as to any knowledge on their part of what was 
 passing amongst men ; but the " land of forgetfulness," as to the 
 remembrance of them by their survivors on earth: — "They were 
 forgotten in the city where they had so done." They had sought 
 after, and expected, perpetual fame: but men had no pleasure in 
 remembering them ; when out of sight, they were out of mind ; 
 their name and memory rotted with their carcases in the dust. 
 The sentiment is similar to that expressed by the Psalmist: — "] 
 have seen the wicked in great power, and spreading himself like 
 a green bay tree: yet he passed away, and lo! he was not; yea ] 
 sought him, but he could not be found." Psalm xxxvii. 35, 36. 
 
 I have considered the expression, " who had come and gone from 
 the place of the holy," as implying the continuance of the course 
 described, without interruption by any interposition of heaven, 
 
280 LECTURE XVI. 
 
 or indication of Divine displeasure. The forbearance of God, and 
 the abuse of it by men for their encouragement in sin, are accord- 
 ingly introduced with more particular emphasis in the eleventh 
 verse: — 
 
 Verse 11. Because sentence against an evil work is not executed 
 speedily, therefoi^e the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to 
 do evil. 
 
 A matter of fact is stated in these words, with its sad and fatal 
 influence on the minds and characters of ungodly and inconsiderate 
 men. "Sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily." 
 Particular sins are not, in the Divine administration, visited with 
 instant punishment. Nay, even the man who lives in sin; in the 
 daily and hourly defiance of every restraint; and in the fearless 
 violation of every precept of heaven ; is allowed to pursue his 
 course without the immediate arrest of judicial vengeance. The 
 lips of the blasphemer are not sealed in death the moment he has 
 uttered his blasphemy : he lives to repeat it a thousand and a 
 thousand times. Week after week is the sabbath-breaker spared, 
 to profane in succession the Days of God. The arm of justice is 
 not instantly put forth upon the murderer while the life-blood is 
 warm on his guilty hands, to hurry him away to the judgment- 
 seat of God. The secrets of impurity are not immediately brought 
 out to light, detected, exposed, and punished, by Him, from whose 
 eye "no darkness or shadow of death can hide the workers of in- 
 iquity." The haughty tyrant, the persecuting oppressor, is not 
 always, in the flush of his impious arrogance, smitten by the angel 
 of the Lord, because he gives not God the glory. See Acts xii. 
 20-23. The "unprofitable servant," — the useless cumberer of 
 the ground, — is not cut down in his first barren season, but s])ared 
 through many a year of fruitlessness and vain expectation. Sin- 
 ners of every name, and of every degree, continue to live, and 
 continue to prosper. 
 
 Such being the order of the divine administration ; such the 
 forbearance and long-suffering of God ; the corrupt and infatuated 
 children of men, bent on the indulgence of their sinful lusts and 
 passions, "encourage themselves in an evil way;" they strengthen 
 themselves in wickedness ; hand joins in hand in the combinations 
 of iniquity; "their heart is fully set in them to do evil." 
 
 Future and unseen things make a much less lively imj^ression 
 
ECCLE8IA8TB6 VIII. 9-17. 281 
 
 Oil the mind than things that are present and seen. This world 
 meets the senses in ten thousand forms of temptation ; whilst the 
 world to come is far off and invisible. The pleasures of sin are 
 immetliate, affording present gratification : its future consequences 
 are distant and unfelt. That, too, which men, from whatever 
 principle, wish to be true, they are naturally prone to believe; the 
 judgment being the dupe of the heart, and the heart "deceitful 
 above all things." They are fond of thinking that sin will not 
 expose them to such irremediable vengeance as the Bible threatens. 
 They are willing to be persuaded of this; and they flatter them- 
 selves into the persuasion by the wiles of a thousand sophistries. 
 At first, it may be, they commit sin with a timid heart and a 
 trembling hand. They hesitate long. But at length, though Math 
 irresolute tremor, it is done. No harm comes to them. No indi- 
 cations of the anger of Heaven follow the deed. They feel them- 
 selves safe. And, having tasted of the sin, it is sweet; and they 
 desire it again. It is done again ; still with scruple and shrinking, 
 but with less than before. The third time, their apprehensions 
 are still weaker; and they learn, with less and less remorse, to 
 "walk in the counsel of the ungodly, to stand in the way of sin- 
 ners, and to sit in the seat of the scornful." Finding, that they 
 are not struck dead on the spot, — that "sentence against an evil 
 work is not executed speedily," — they begin to suspect whether 
 God be actually- privy to their words and deeds ; to say in their 
 hearts to themselves, and with flattering lips to one another, "God 
 hath forgotten ; he hideth his face, he will never see it." They 
 doubt of providence; or they flatter themselves that surely the 
 Supreme Ruler, if he exists at all, and takes any notice of the 
 affairs of men, cannot be such an enemy to sin as he has been 
 represented; that he will be very merciful and lenient to the 
 frailties of his erring creatures; for how, say they, are we to know 
 what he means to do in future, if not by what he does now? He 
 will not be strict to mark iniquity : he is good; and goodness shall 
 at last carry the day. Thus they gradually cast off restraint, 
 contemn God, and say, "He will not require it." This is a fearful 
 process; but there is reason to apprehend, it is not a very uncom- 
 mon one. Wicked men are, in reference to a judgment to come, 
 like Pharaoh of old, who persisted in hardening his heart against 
 God, always " when he saw that there was respite." 
 
282 LECTURE XVI. 
 
 Such is the way in which the suspension of the sentence of God 
 against sin," — the delay of punishment, — aifects the corrupt heart.*- 
 of "the sons of men." Instead of "the goodness of God leading 
 them to repentance," they take advantage of it; they "despise the 
 riches of his goodness, and forbearance, and long-suftering, and 
 after their hardness and impenitent heart, treasure up unto them- 
 selves wrath against the day of wrath, and revelation of the right- 
 eous judgment of God." But is it an awful delusion : — 
 
 Verses 12, 13. Though a sinner do evil a huTidred times, and his 
 days be prolonged, yet surely I know that it shall be well with them 
 that fear God, who fear before him: but it shall not be well with thf 
 wicked, neither shcdl he prolong his days, which are as a shadow; 
 because hefeareth not before God. 
 
 "Though a sinner do evil a hundred times," that is, ever so 
 many times, "and his days be prolonged," — no deadly vengeance 
 lighting on his trespasses; — though, from present impunity, he 
 becomes unceasingly bold in sin ; going on from bad to worse, till, 
 at the hundredth time, his conscience becomes "seared as with a 
 hot iron:" — yet still there is a distinction between the righteouf* 
 and the wicked ; between him that serveth God, and him that 
 serveth him not. "Surely I know," — it was a matter of firm and 
 indubitable certainty with Solomon, and so it should be with us ; 
 one of those fundamental truths, one of those moral axioms, of 
 which nothing should be allowed to shake our confident assur- 
 ance: — "it shall be well with them that fear God." The fear of 
 God is here, as it is very generally in the Scriptures, put for the 
 whole of true religion, both in its inward jirinciples and its out- 
 ward practice, — both in the heart, and in the life. "It shall be 
 well with them" during life; the favor and the blessing of God 
 attending them amidst all its changes, soothing their sorrows, and 
 heightening the relish of their joys, and making "all things to 
 work together for their good." "It shall be well with them" m 
 death; — "Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright; for the 
 latter end of that man is peace:" — "The righteous hath hope in 
 his death:" "good hope," resting on a sure foundation, securing 
 his mind against the agitations of foreboding fear, and enabling 
 him to say, "O Death, where is thy sting? O Grave, where is thy 
 victory?" "It shall be well with them" in the judgment: for 
 they shall stand with acceptance before the throne of God; they 
 
ECCLESIASTES VIII. 9-17. 283 
 
 shall hear his voice address them in blessing, and shall instantly 
 feel the sentence fulfilled in the commencement of unmingled 
 and never-ending felicity. — " But it shall not be well with the 
 wicked/' — either while he lives, or when he dies, or when he 
 stands before the tribunal of God. Not while he lives; for even 
 when he prospers, it is ill with him : the curse of Heaven is upon his 
 tabernacle, and it secretly mingles itself with all his enjoyments. 
 He is "cursed in the city, and cursed in the field; cursed in his 
 basket and store; cursed in the fruit of his body, and the fruit of 
 his land; in the increase of his kine, and the flocks of his sheep; 
 cursed when he cometh in, and cursed when he goeth out." Not 
 when he dies: — for he has then nothing before him but "a fearful 
 looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour 
 tlie adversaries:" — He shall be "driven away in his wickedness;" 
 quitting in horror a world that has cheated and damned his soul: 
 or if he should "have no bands in his death," the more over- 
 whelming will be the wretchedness of his disappointment, when 
 he plunges into unanticipated woe. Not when he appears before 
 the judgment seat, — for "the ungodly shall not stand in the judg- 
 ment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous; because 
 the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous, but the way of the 
 ungodly shall perish." 
 
 "Neither shall he prolong his days, which are as a shadow." 
 The meaning is not, that he shall not live long. Many an un- 
 godly man reaches and passes the limit of "threescore years and 
 ten." But his time of departure must come. It may be earlier 
 or later. He may "do evil a hundred times and his days be pro- 
 longed." But it cannot be always so. His days are still "as a 
 shadow;" they pass successively away, and the last of them must 
 quickly arrive. And when it does arrive, every wish for pro- 
 longed life will be vain. He will not be able to command the 
 addition of a single day, any more than to arrest "the shadow's 
 fleeting form." Even when he is most anxious to live, the time 
 may come for him to die: — when he anticipates most joyously a 
 lengthened journey, he may reach the "bound which he cannot 
 pass:" — when his heart is beating highest with worldly expecta- 
 tion, its last pulse may be near at hand. And then "wickedness 
 shall not deliver him that is given to it." He "shall not prolong 
 
284 LECTURE XVI. 
 
 his days." The shadow must pass. " His breath goeth forth ; he 
 returneth to his dust: in that very day, his thoughts perish." 
 
 Although, however, there is a distinction, of which the Lord 
 and Judge of all never loses sight, between the righteous and the 
 wicked; yet, in the administration of Divine providence, character 
 is not the measure for the distribution of temporal good. This is 
 the sentiment expressed in the fourteenth verse: — 
 
 Verse 14. There is a vanity which is done upon the earth; that 
 there be just men unto whom it happeneth according to the work of 
 the wicked; again, there be moked men to tvhom it happeneth accord- 
 ing to the work of the righteous. I said, this also is vanity. 
 
 The investigation of this mystery in the providence of God, (for 
 it is of providence that Solomon evidently speaks,) we shall defer 
 till our next lecture; the sentiment which is expressed in the verse 
 now before us being enlarged upon in the beginning of the follow- 
 ing chapter. The matter of fact, I only observe at present, is 
 now, as it was then, manifest to every observer. And well might 
 it be denominated, in relation to the great design of this treatise, 
 "a vanity." Nothing could more strikingly show the vanity of 
 the world, and the folly of excessive attachment to its pleasures, or 
 confidence in its possessions. For, can any thing be more irra- 
 tional, than to fix the heart on what it is impossible for us to se- 
 cure by any means, or by any course of conduct? — what is uncer- 
 tain to the good as well as to the bad; and is neither exclusively 
 connected, in the purpose and procedure of God, with righteous- 
 ness nor with wickedness; what is neither retained by the one, 
 nor forfeited by the other; what is neither a mark of Divine satis- 
 faction, nor of Divine displeasure; what may be given with a frown 
 and taken away with a smile ; what the possession of may be a curse, 
 and the loss of may be a blessing. The very arrangement itself, 
 besides, when viewed without relation to a future world, bears 
 the aspect of vanity. It seems strange, unreasonable, unaccounta- 
 ble; like the result of a vain and unsettled caprice, rather than 
 of a wise and well-directed principle. 
 
 Verse 15. Then I commended mirth, because a man hath no better 
 thing under the sun, than to eat, and to drink, and to be merry ; for 
 that shall abide ivith him of his labor the days of his life, which God 
 giveth him under the sun. 
 
 This may be understood in two ways, according to the time at 
 
ECCLESIASTES VIII. 9-17. 285 
 
 which we suppose the commendation of mirth to have been uttered. 
 First, we might consider it as the libertine conchision, drawn by 
 Solomon, from the state of things here described, in the "days of 
 his vanity:" — as if he had said, — "Seeing these things are so, let 
 us indulge ourselves. What better can we do, than to enjoy the 
 world while it is our in power? Let us eat, and drink, and be merry ; 
 for the pleasure which a man has actually enjoyed is that alone 
 which he can say with certainty is his own; that alone which he 
 is sure shall abide with him of his labor ; that alone of which 
 he cannot be bereaved or disappointed." — Or, secondly, we might 
 interpret it as his serious inference, in the days of his returning 
 wisdom, respecting the use which a man should make of worldly 
 good, wliile God is pleased to bless hira with the possession of it. 
 In this case, " mirth " must be understood, not of licentious jollitv, 
 but of the cheerful enjoyment of the bounties of Heaven; and 
 "eating and drinking," of the happy and unsolicitous use of that 
 portion of the world's good which Divine kindness has bestowed. 
 The measure of a man's earthly prosperity, and of the success of 
 his labor, is a matter of complete uncertainty: but a cheerful and 
 contented spirit, disposed to enjoy whatever portion is sent, is a 
 sure and constant blessing. The secret of happiness, so far as it 
 depends on the things of time, is to enjoy prosperity cheerfully^ 
 and without the irksome and depressing apprehensio^i«! of an anx- 
 ious mind, as long as it continues; and if it is lessened or with- 
 drawn, still to receive our diminished and stinted supplies with the 
 same cheerful and buoyant gratitude; — thus making the best of 
 that which, both in its degree and its continuance, is so prover- 
 bially uncertain. Amidst all changes, this happy frame of spirit 
 may be preserved. It is a "joy" with which "a stranger cannot 
 intermeddle." — "A merry heart doeth good like a medicine." — 
 "He that is of a merry heart, hath a continual feast." 
 
 In this view of the verse, it contains much the same sentiment 
 as on different occasions has been already before us. r;hap. ii. 24. 
 iii. 12, 13. V. 18. He does not mean, that the unrestrained en- 
 joyment of temporal pleasures is the chief good. The whole tenor 
 of his treatise belies such a supposition. Neither does he mean, 
 that even in the enjoyment of the things of this world, we are to 
 be selfish, and to consult exclusively our own immediate gratifi- 
 cation. This is not less inconsistent with the general spirit, and 
 
286 LECTURE xvr. 
 
 the express declarations of the book. His language is neither that 
 of libertinism, nor of selfishness. It is the language of experienced 
 discretion; of piety and practical wisdom; — recommending con- 
 t-eated cheerfulness, — the thankful reception, and the free, un- 
 anxious, and lively enjoyment, of whatever portion of earthly 
 things the providence of God may be pleased to bestow; as the 
 only way of extracting from them such happiness as they are fitted 
 to yield: the only way of at all redeeming them from the charge 
 of utter "vanity and vexation of spirit." 
 
 Verses 16, 17. When I applied my heart to know unsdom, and to 
 nee the business that is done upon the earth; {for also there is that 
 neither day nor night seeth sleep with his eyes:) then I beheld all the 
 work of God, that a man cannot find out the work that is done under 
 the sun: because though a 7na,n lahor to seek it ovt, yet shall he not 
 find it; yea, further, though a wise man seek to know it, yd shall /e 
 not be able to find it. 
 
 These verses express the difficulties which Solomon experienced; 
 the inextricable perplexities in which he found himself involved; 
 in one department, especially, of his researches after knowledge: 
 in observing the labors of men, in connection with the providence 
 of God. In the sixteenth verse, " the business done under the 
 sun " refers to the toil and travail of mankind, in all its endless 
 varieties. In contemplating these, he observed tne mystery of 
 providence. He saw that success was far from being uniformly 
 proportioned to the measure of human diligence, solicitude, and 
 skill. He saw many, "rising early, and sitting late, and eating 
 the bread of carefulness ;" "neither day nor night seeing sleep with 
 their eyes," through plodding eagerness for the acquisition of pro- 
 perty, or anxious fears about its safety. And yet their days of 
 toil and nights of sleeplessness were vain; success and security 
 depending upon God: for "except the Lord build the house, they 
 labor in vain that build it; except the Lord keep the city, the 
 watchman waketh in vain." — And then, the procedure of God, in 
 reference to the works and ways of men, was "a great deep;" full 
 of mystery ; to the eye of the human observer, a[)pearing to be 
 regulated by no fixed principles; no labor, no discretion, no charac- 
 ter, affording any assurance of prosperity; but circumstances over 
 which the sagacity of man could have no control, in innumerable 
 iuHtances, and at times in a manner the most marvellous and con- 
 
EOCLESIASTES VIII. 9-17. 287 
 
 founding, crossing the path, arresting the progress, and frustrating 
 the purposes and hopes, of those who bade fairest for success ; and 
 giving that success to others to whom no one supposed it possi- 
 ble, and who hardly, even in self-flattery, expected it themselves. 
 All was wonder and perplexity, — beyond the penetration of the 
 most profound observer, though applying to the subject the closest 
 and most unwearied attention: — 
 
 " Though a man labor to seek it out, yet he shall not find it ; 
 yea, further, though a wise man think to know it, yet shall he 
 not be able to find it." To every view he can take of "the work 
 of God," — to every hypothesis he can frame with regard to the 
 principle of his providential government, difficulties present them- 
 selves, and exceptions and anomalies, which he cannot explain. 
 The hypothesis that accounts satisfactorily for one event, seems to 
 be contradicted by another; circumstances which to him appear 
 to be similar, and to warrant similar expectations, terminating, 
 not unfrequently, in opposite results; and on the contrary, trains 
 of events, and courses of conduct the most unlike each other, some- 
 times conducting to the same issues; to riches, or to poverty, — 
 to honor, or to shame. That it is to the mystery of providence, 
 ia its superintendence over the affairs of men ; over "all the busi- 
 ness that is done under the sun;" that Solomon refers, will be 
 very evident when we come to show, in next lecture, the connec- 
 tion between theend of this chapter and the beginning of the ninth; 
 and the manner in which he there exemplifies and illustrates the 
 sentiment he had here expressed. 
 
 1. In the mean time, observe, in the first place, from the verses 
 that have now been expounded : — There are instances, in which 
 the possession of power, authority, and dominion, dazzling as it 
 may be to the imagination, is yet more to be pitied than envied. 
 It is so, surely, when a man "rules over others to his own hurt:" 
 and every man thus rules, who perverts and abuses his power to 
 the purposes of oppression and selfishness. The splendor of such 
 power can be admifed by fools alone. It is the splendor of a con- 
 suming fire, at which children may laugh and clap their hands 
 with delight, reckless of the mischief it is spreading around, but 
 which more thoughtful spectators will contemplate with grief and 
 horror. The fire will at length devour him who has kindled it, 
 ;ind who exulted in its devastations. Perverted power will come 
 
288 LECTURE XVI. 
 
 back, with fearful recoil, upon its unprincipled perverter. What- 
 ever may be its present effects to the cruel oppressor, or the vain- 
 glorious ruler, it must, in the end, be ** to his own hurt," when 
 "the King of kings and Lord of lords," the Sovereign Judge of 
 all, shall call him to his reckoning. This shall be found especially 
 true of the persecuting powers of this world, who have directed 
 their violence against the church of God, and by sanguinary edicts, 
 by bonds and imprisonments, by swords, and racks, and flames, 
 have sought its extermination. The persecuted have been the 
 compassionated party. They still are, when their suiferings are 
 read in history. Yet the persecutors are infinitely more to be 
 pitied than they. From the beginning until now, the voice of the 
 blood which they have shed has "cried against them from the 
 ground," and has "entered into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth." 
 The retributive justice of God has many a time, even in this world, 
 given them blood to drink; in the cup which they have filled, 
 filling to them double: and "true and righteous have been his 
 judgments." And, oh! should they escape his vengeance here, 
 what an account have they to give to Him who hath said of his 
 people, the objects of his love, "He that toucheth you, toucheth 
 the apple of his eye !" Zech. ii. 8. The victims of their fury they 
 have "chased up to heaven;" whilst for themselves, it will be 
 found, they have been preparing a place in hell. Envy not, then, 
 such power. Prefer being its victim to being its possessor. Be 
 burned at the stake, rather than kindle it. "The. memory of the 
 just is blessed, but the name of the wicked shall rot." And how 
 unenviable is the man, who on earth is execrated while remem- 
 bered, and as soon as possible is forgotten ; and whose crimes are 
 registered in heaven, and kept from oblivion there, to cover him 
 in tlie end with "shame and everlasting contempt!" 
 
 2. Secondly; We have been considering the delay of punish- 
 ment; the patience and forbearance of God: and we have illus- 
 trated a little the effect of this on human depravity, — the use that 
 men actually make of it, as an encouragement to boldness in sin. 
 Let me press a little upon your attention its proper and legitimate 
 effect, — the use that men ought to make of it. 
 
 Instead of lulling in security, it ought to alarm ; — instead of 
 emboldening to sin, it should melt to penitential sorrow. 
 
 In the first place: — instead of lulling in security, it ought to 
 
ECCLESIASTES VIII. 9-17. 289 
 
 alarm. To make good this observation, I shall endeavor to show 
 you, that the Divine forbearance and long-suffering, so far from 
 being a proof that God thinks lightly of sin, affords convincing 
 and impressive evidence of the contrary. 
 
 (1.) First of all, we should recollect that by the patience of God 
 there is no alteration produced in the nature of sin. There is in 
 sin itself an intrinsic malignity that remains immutably the same. 
 There is in it a contrariety to the holiness, an opposition to the 
 authority, an ingratitude for the unparelleled kindness, and au 
 affront to the sacred majesty, of the infinite God, — as well as a 
 universal wrong done by it to creation, whose happiness it tends 
 to destroy, — that must render it, in all its kinds and in all its de- 
 grees, in all places and at all times, hateful in his sight. I-t is in 
 the nature of things impossible that He should ever look upon it 
 with in difference. This should be a settled conviction in all our 
 minds, and every thing that may seem opposed to it, we should rest 
 perfectly assured, has nothing of inconsistency but the appearance. 
 
 (2.) It does not at all follow that the provocation of Deity is small, 
 because he does not instantly express it in action. His anger is 
 not like that of his creatures. Men, when provoked by any injury 
 done to them, are ready to kindle immediately into a transport of 
 passion, and to indulge their resentment in word and in deed. 
 But God is infinitely above being affected in this manner. He 
 punishes sin, not from j^assion at the harm he sustains: — for "if 
 thou sinnest, what doest thou against him? or if thy transgres- 
 sions be multiplied, what doest thou unto him ?" — but because it 
 is right and necessary that sin should be punished. With a 
 composure undisturbed by the swellings and out-breakings of 
 human pride and impiety; unmoved by the scornful taunts, and 
 bitter blasphemies, and daring outrages of the ungodly; he fixes 
 his own time for "bringing it into judgment." That time may 
 by distant. But O beware of fancying, because the execution of 
 his anger is not immediate, the anger itself cannot be severe : for — 
 
 (3.) It is an evidence that it is severe, and that the expression 
 of it at last will be more aggravated. What, think you, is the 
 real reason why God suspends the execution of his sentence, and 
 "bears long" with the condemned offender? Hear Himself, in 
 answer to the question : — " Say unto them, As I live, saith the 
 Lord God, I have, no pleasure in the death of the Avickcd, but 
 19 
 
290 LECTURE XYI. 
 
 rather tliat the wicked turn unto me, and live: turn ye, turn ye; 
 for why will ye die, O house of Israel?" Now, why this solem- 
 nity of asseveration? — why this tenderness of persuasion? — why 
 this energy of expostulation and entreaty? — why does he lift up 
 his hand to heaven, and add his oath to his word? Surely the 
 death that the sinner must die can be no light or trivial evil, when 
 the God of mercy and truth is thus in earnest in warning him 
 against it. Why does He spare his offending creatures from day 
 to day? Is it that he has pleasure in sin, or complacency in sin- 
 ners? No. The reason is, that he knows the full measure of the 
 sinfulness of sin, and knows the fearful nature of its eternal con- 
 sequences. He waits to be gracious. He warns, he threatens, he 
 entreats, by his word, and by his providence; and his warnings, 
 and threatenings, and entreaties, are all of them the utterance of 
 mercy. Like a parent, when he has denounced a severe but de- 
 sorvcd punishment; a punishment that must be executed if there 
 is not repentance, humiliation, and confession : — in proportion to 
 its severity, he lingers to inflict it; he tries every method he can 
 think of, to gain his end without proceeding to extremities, — for 
 *^his bowels yearn over his son.'' If we saw a parent thus delaying 
 the stroke; exhausting all the arts of authority and love; his 
 heart wrung with anguish, and still failing him when the moment 
 of infliction approaches; — we should conclude, that the punishment 
 thus suspended must be a heavy one. The same is the inferen(,'e 
 which men should draw from the long-suffering of God. 
 
 (4.) Delay amongst men may lessen certainty, leaving room for 
 escape, and for the loss of opportunity and ability to eftect their 
 threatenings. But it cannot be so v/ith God. We have seen how 
 strongly this is affirmed in the verses we have been expounding. 
 ^'Though the sinner do evil a hundred times, and his days be 
 prolonged, — yet surely it shall not be well with him." — "His 
 judgment lingereth not; his damnation slumbereth not." — "One 
 day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years 
 as one day." And when sinners flatter themselves with their own 
 delusions, and "say in their hearts, God will not require it," their 
 destruction, from being thus unanticipated, will only come upon 
 them v/itli the more overwhelming violence; — "When they shall 
 •say, peace and safety, then sudden destruction cometh upon them, 
 as travail upon a woman with child, and they shall not esca]>e." 
 
ECCLESTASTES VIII. 9-17. 291 
 
 (5.) Ill the very perversion and abuse itself of Divine forbear- 
 ance, there is a fearful aggravation of criminality, which will be 
 added to the guilt of every sin to which it has afforded encourage- 
 ment; and will form a heavy addition to the general grounds 
 of condemnation. Mark how the inspired apostle speaks of it. 
 The disregard of God's goodness and long-suffering is, according 
 to him, nothing less than a '"treasuring up of wrath, against the 
 day of wrath, and revelation of the righteous judgment of God." 
 Rom. ii. 5. 
 
 Let the patience of God, then, alarm you, "ye careless ones," 
 instead of flattering and deceiving you. "vSet not your hearts in 
 you to do evil;" but rather "cease to do evil, and learn to do 
 well." 
 
 I noticed, as a second legitimate effect of the suspension of ven- 
 geance, that it ought to melt you to penitential sorrow. An act oi 
 unexpected clemency has sometimes, in human experience, had 
 the effect of softening a heart, which all the terrors of judicial se- 
 verity had been unable to move. Let sinners, then, consider the 
 following things : — 
 
 (1.) God has no personal interest to serve, in sparing you. A 
 judge amongst men, after he has pronounced the sentence, may 
 be afraid to inflict the punishment. The prisoner may be in cir- 
 cumstances that render it hazardous: or the judge may expect 
 some advantage' to himself from his lenity. But with God there 
 can be neither the fear of evil, nor the hope of good, from his 
 offending creatures. In proportion as a criminal perceives that 
 the clemency of his judge is cither extorted by dread of conse- 
 quences, or even by considerations of interest, it will fail to have 
 upon him any subduing or melting influence : it will only inspire 
 contempt. But, as the Supreme Judge is infinitely independent 
 of his creatures; as his acts of clemency and of sparing mercy are 
 entirely disinterested, — in no respect for his own, but all for the 
 poor offender's sake; ought not his patient forbearance to melt 
 the sinner to contrition, instead of hardening him in rebellion? 
 Say not, your continued transgression can do him no harm. It is 
 most true. The infinite God sustain damage from a creature ! or 
 l)e ultimately bereft of the smallest portion of his glory by a crea- 
 ture! It were blasphemy to suppose it. That is a gratification 
 which neither the malignity of earth or hell can ever o])tnin. "Ii 
 
292 LECTURE XVI. 
 
 thou siunest, what doest thou against hiui? or if thy transgres- 
 sions be multiplied; what doest thou unto him ? If thou be righ- 
 teous, what givest thou him? or what receiveth he of thy hand? 
 Thy wickedness may hurt a man as thou art; and thy righ- 
 teousness may profit the son of man." But ought not this very 
 indej^endence of Deity to convince you, that it is for your own 
 sakes alone that he exercises towards you his forbearing clemency? 
 And should not this give an overcoming power to his warnings, 
 as the dictates of compassionate kindness? 
 
 (2.) God is under no obligation to spare you; — no, not for a mo- 
 ment. He might in justice noto cut you oif; and he might have 
 done it long since, and have consigned you to merited perdition. 
 And what he in justice might have done, he has never Avanted 
 2)ower to do. You are not spared because he cannot destroy you. 
 He could, in one moment of time, sweep off into irremediable 
 destruction every individual of his sinning creatures; and give 
 existence to a new and better race, who should love, and fear, and 
 serve, and honor him. But instead of this, he is pleased to call 
 sinners to repentance; to invite them back to hi'mself; to hold 
 out to them, through the mediation of his Son, the sceptre of mercy ; 
 and to give them time to hear his voice, and to turn from their 
 ways and live. O think, then, — 
 
 (3.) What base ingratitude there is, in abusing this wonderful, 
 this unmerited, this free and disinterested kindness of God. N^ay, 
 ingratitude is too gentle a term. There is not a word in language 
 sufficiently strong to express the hellish malignity of such con- 
 duct, or to convey any adequate idea of its inexpressible odious- 
 uess. AVhat would you think of the man, who should derive en- 
 couragement from the very kindness of a benefactor, to neglect 
 him and to do him injury? What do you think of the unnatural 
 child, whom the very tenderness of his father encourages to dis- 
 obey and insult hl1»? Yet this is what sinners do, when, from 
 the merciful suspension of punishment, their "hearts are set in them 
 to do evil:" only, the obligations which they violate are infinitely 
 higher. God is good and kind to them amidst all their rebellion : 
 he sustains every moment the life which they are emj^loying against 
 himself. Yet, instead of the thought of his goodness breaking 
 and changing their hearts, the very experience they have liad of it, 
 and the hope of its continuance, are the considerations which cheer 
 
ECCLESIASTES VIJI. 9-17. 293 
 
 them on in their career of ungodliness. What think you of this? — 
 of trying the patience of God further, because we have found it to 
 be great ! — of sinning against him with a high hand, because we 
 know him to be "slow to anger!" — of blaspheming and insulting 
 him, because he does not instantly revenge the insult and the 
 blasphemy ! — of hardening our spirits in impious opposition, on 
 account of that very mercy which ought to soften, and conciliate, 
 and subdue them ! — of persisting to trample on his authority and 
 laws, because he himself has assured us, that he is ready to for- 
 give! O, my friends, how unnatural, how monstrous is this! 
 Surely the very thought, that you should have been guilty of any 
 thing even approaching to it, should wring your hearts with the 
 bitterness of shame and grief; should bring you to his feet in tears 
 of penitential sorrow ; and constrain you to give yourselves up 
 henceforth to him from whom you have revolted, and with b«dy, 
 soul, and spirit, to serve him, — "redeeming the time." 
 
 3. Thirdly; Let me conclude with a single word of admonition 
 to Christians: — and it shall be conveyed in the language of their 
 Lord himself. It is, to beware of the temptation which even to 
 them the seeming delay of judgment presents; — a temptation to 
 forgetfulness, to unbelief, to negligence, and to apostasy ; — "Watch, 
 therefore ; for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. But 
 know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what 
 watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would 
 not have suifered his house to be broken up. Therefore be ye 
 also ready : for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man 
 Cometh. Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord 
 hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due 
 season"? Blessed is that servant whom his lord, when he cometh, 
 shall find so doing. Verily I say unto you. That he shall make 
 him ruler over all his goods. But and if that evil servant shall 
 say in his heart. My lord delayeth his coming; and shall begin 
 to smite his fellow-servants, and to eat and drink with the drunken ; 
 the lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not 
 for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of, and shall cut him 
 asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites : there 
 shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth." Matt. xxiv. 42-51. 
 
LECTURE XVII. 
 
 ECCLESIASTES IX. 1-10. 
 
 "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. 2. All (things come) 
 alike to all: (there is) one event to the righteous, and to the Avicked; to the 
 good, and to the clean, and to the unclean ; to him that sacrificeth, and to him 
 that sacrificeth not : as (is) the good, so (is) the sinner ; (and) he that swear- 
 eth, as (he) that feareth an oath. 3. This (is) an evil among all (things) 
 that are done under the sun, that (there is) one event unto all: yea, also the 
 heart of the sons of men is full of evil, and madness (is) in their heart 
 while they live, and after that (they go) to the dead. 4. For to him that 
 is joined to all the living there is hope : for a living dog is better than a 
 dead lion. 5. For the living know that they shall die : but the dead know 
 not any thing, neither have they any more a reward ; for the memory of 
 them is forgotten. 6. Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is 
 now perished ; neither have they any more a portion for ever in any (thing) 
 that is done under the sun. 7. Go thy way, eat thy bread with joy, 
 and drink thy wine with a merry heart; for God now accepteth thy works. 
 
 8. Let thy garments be always white ; and let thy head lack no ointment. 
 
 9. Live joyfully with the wife whom thou lovest all the days of the life of 
 thy vanity, which he hath given thee under the .sun, all the days of thy 
 vanity: for that (is) thy portion in (this) life, and in thy labor which thou 
 takest under the sun. 10. Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do (it) with 
 thy might; for (there is) no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, 
 in the grave, whither thou goest." 
 
 Verse 1. For all this I considered in my heart, even to declare all 
 this, that the righteous, and the icise, and their works, are in the hand 
 of God: no man hioweth either love or hatred hy all that is before 
 them.. 
 
 In the close of the former chapter, we found Solomon declaring 
 the unsearchgbleness of " the work of God/' or the conduct of his 
 providence toward the children of men, even by the jjenetration 
 of the acutest and most experienced minds. This he confirms by a 
 reference to his own want of success in all his endeavors to fatliom 
 
ECCLESIASTES IX. 1-10. 295 
 
 the mystery; although he was cue to whom God had given "wis- 
 dom and understanding, and largeness of heart, even as the sand 
 on the sea-shore." He was earnestly desirous to have understood 
 and explained it; but after "considering in his heart" for this 
 purpose, all that he could with certainty declare was, the exis- 
 tence of the fact, and the necessity of leaving all, Avith believing 
 submission, in the hand of God: — "For all this Iconsided in my 
 heart, even to declare all this, — that the righteous and the wise,. 
 and their works, are in the hand of God ;" — in the hand of Him 
 who is infinitely just, infinitely Avise, and infinitely good. Though 
 his providence does present a mystery to our limited faculties, yet 
 he is not forgetful of those who fear him. They and their Avorks 
 are neither unknown nor unregarded: and he will one day make 
 it fully manifest, that his whole procedure has perfectly accorded 
 with his character, as " the righteous Lord who loveth righteous- 
 ness, and whose countenance beholdeth the upright." They them- 
 selves are under his special and unremitting care: — his eye is ever 
 upon them ; his ear is open to their cry : and " their works " are 
 remembered by him for good. "They that feared the Lord spake 
 often one to another; and the Lord hearkened and heard; and a 
 book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared 
 the Lord, and that thought upon his name. And they shall be 
 mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day Avhen I make up my 
 jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that 
 serveth him. Then shall ye return, and discern between the 
 righteous and the wicked ; between him that serveth God, and 
 him that serveth him not." Mai. iii. 16-18. 
 
 But, however confident we may be of this distinction being ever 
 present to the Divine mind, yet, in the general administration 
 of Providence in the distribution of temporal good and evil, 
 it often seems as if it were forgotten; so that, as it is here ex- 
 pressed, "no man knoweth either love or hatred by all that is 
 before them." As there is no description or degree of temporal 
 prosperity with which wicked men are not favored, and hardly 
 any kind or measure of adversity to which good men are not a:- 
 times subjected, no man can discover, from his external condition 
 merely, the state of the Divine affection towards him, whether he 
 be an object of the love of God, or of the contrary; the good and 
 the evil of life coming alternately in the lot of all, — the gourd or' 
 
296 LECTURE XVII. 
 
 earthly comfort flourishing one day and blasted the next, in the 
 experience of men of every description of character. This senti- 
 ment is more fully brought out, in 
 
 Verse 2. All things come alike to all; there is one event to the 
 righteous, and to the wicked; to the good, and to the clean, and to 
 Hie unclean; to him that sacrtficeth, and to him that sacrificeth not: 
 as is the good, so is the sinner; and he that sioeareth, as he thatfeareth 
 an oath. 
 
 "The clean,'''' are evidently those who were not merely atten- 
 tive to keep themselves free from ceremonial pollution, but who 
 were "pure in heart," — renewed and sanctified in the spirit of 
 their minds; and "the unclean,^' those who were destitute of this 
 inward purity, and who might, at the same time, show their dis- 
 regard of God, by carelessness about the contraction or the removal 
 of legal defilement. By "him who sacrificeth, and him who sacri- 
 ficeth not," we understand, the man, on the one hand, who is con- 
 scientious and regular in the discharge of religious duties, and, on 
 the other, the man who entirely neglects them, and lives "with- 
 out God in the world;" — the pious worshipjier, and the atheistical 
 despiscr of all devotion. "There is one event," says Solomon, to 
 tliese opposite characters : — one event, in life; — "all things," with 
 regard to the measure of prosperity and adversity, of the cares and 
 joys, the hopes and fears, the gratifications and disappointments 
 of life, "coming alike to all:" — one event in death; — not indeed 
 as to its solemn and eternal consequences, nor even as to the state 
 of mind with which its approach is anticipated, and its arrival 
 met ; but as to all the external circumstances and corporeal eifects 
 of it; no distemper coming upon the wicked (with the exception, 
 indeed, of those which are the immediate product of particular 
 vices) to which the righteous are not also liable; no degree of pain 
 or of any attendant evils afflicting the one, which may not like- 
 wise distress the other; and no loathsome taint of corruption in- 
 vading the body of the one, that does not equally prey upon and 
 consume that of the other. In these respects, "as is the good, so 
 is the sinner; and he that sweareth, as he that feareth an oath." 
 ^^ Swearing," being here opposed to "fearing an oath," must, of 
 course, mean swearing lightly and fcdsely ; and "fearing an oath" 
 is taking it with solemnity, and keeping it with fidelity, under a 
 deep impression of the evil of profaning the great and dreadful 
 
ECCLESIASTES IX. 1-10. 297 
 
 name to which the appeal is made. In such a conuectiou, the fear 
 of an oath is the fear of God : "Thou shalt/m/- the Loed thy God; 
 him shalt thou serve, and to liim shalt thou cleave, and srccar bj/ 
 his Kame." Deut. x. 20. 
 
 Such being the state of the fact, as to the providential allot- 
 ments of temporal good and evil, the observation of it has at times 
 proved a strong and distressing temptation to the children of God, 
 to. doubt and question the reality of His superintendence over 
 the affairs of men. Such a state of temptation Asaph affectingly 
 describes in the seventy-third Psalm. His "feet were almost 
 gone," his " steps had well nigh slipped :" for he was " envious at 
 the foolish, when he saw the prosperity of the wicked." He had 
 not merely observed an indiscriminate mixture in the lot of good 
 and evil men, but in some instances which had come particularly 
 under his notice, there w^as a great 2>reponderance of prosperity on 
 tlie side of the latter. Theirs was a cup of rich and almost un- 
 mingled sweetness, whilst a full cup of bitterness was "wrung out'' 
 for the other. And over these unaccountable anomalies, as they 
 seemed to him to be, he brooded in agonizing perplexity of spirit, 
 till his mind was giving way to scepticism, and drawing to the 
 very borders of apostasy and atheism. He said, "How doth God 
 know? and is there knowledge in the most High?" The prophet 
 Jeremiah, if not tempted as Asaph was, yet expresses a similar 
 feeling of difficulty and wonder: — "Righteous art thou, O Lord, 
 when I plead with thee ; yet let me talk with thee of thy judg- 
 ments : Wherefore doth the way of the wicked prosper? where- 
 fore are all they happy that deal very treacherously ? Thou hast 
 planted them; yea, they have taken root: they grow; yea, they 
 bring forth fruit: thou art near in their mouth, and far from their 
 reins." Jer. xii. 1, 2. 
 
 Whilst the Divine procedure has thus perplexed and tempted 
 the minds of God's people, it has, on the contrary, been abused 
 by his enemies as an encouragement to perseverance in sin. "They 
 r>ay unto God," in the midst of their prosperity, "Depart from 
 us, for we desire not the knowledge of thy ways. AVhat is the 
 Almighty, that we should serve him? and what.profit should we 
 have if we pray unto him?" Job xxi. 14, 15, whlw'.t|?€ preceding 
 context. 
 
298 LECTURE XVII. 
 
 This appears to be the sentiment expressed in the latter part of 
 the following verse : — 
 
 Verse 3. This is an evil, among all things that are done under the 
 sun, that there is one event unto all: yea, also the heart of the sons 
 of men is full of evil, and madness is in their heart while they live; 
 and after that they go to the dead. 
 
 The heart of the sons of men is by nature full of evil. It is 
 " enmity against God." Its " imaginations are only evil continu- 
 ally." It is "deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked." 
 Out of it "proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, 
 thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, 
 balsphemy, pride, foolishness." That must be a fearfully polluted 
 fountain from which there flow so many foul and tainted streams. 
 Natural conscience, though partaking of the corruption of the fall, 
 and very deficient and partial, very treacherous and false, in the 
 discharge of its function, has yet an eifect far from inconsiderable, 
 along with the apprehension of punishment which it inspires, in 
 restraining from the commission of iniquity even men who have 
 uo true fear of God before their eyes. But prosperity in sin tends 
 to dissolve even this restraint; it hardens the heart, stifles the 
 voice of conscience, it silences the suggestions of fear, and drives 
 a man on to a frantic wildness in the gratification of his passions 
 and desires: — "madness is in their heart while they live." 
 
 Every act of sin, being an act of rebellion against the infinite 
 God, is an act of madness; of infatuated, and impotent, and self- 
 destroying frenzy : — for "who hath hardened himself against Him,, 
 and" finally "prospered?" All worldliness of spirit, being a 
 preference, in affection and pursuit, of temporal to eternal things, 
 is madness; far beyond the derangement of the maniac who throws 
 away gold for stones, and prefers straws to pearls and jewels. But 
 the expression, "madness is in their heart," appears from the con- 
 nection rather to mean that wild and unthinking boldness; that 
 forwardness, and hardihood, and licentious extravagance in sin; 
 which arise from a course of prosperity in it, and from the seem- 
 ing distance of the evil day. " The wicked, through the pride of 
 his countenance, will not seek after God : God is not in all his 
 thoughts. His ways are always grievous; thy judgments are far 
 above out of his sight: as for all liis enemies, he puffeth at them. 
 He hath said in liis heart, I sliall not be moved; for I shall never 
 
EUCLESlASTEy IX. 1-10. 299^ 
 
 be in adversity." Fsalm x. 4-G. "How much she hath glorified 
 herself and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give 
 her: for she saith in lier heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow,^ 
 and shall see no sorroAV." Rev. xviii. 7. 
 
 How a'wful is the thought ! — " madness is in their heart while they 
 lice J' Intoxicated by success in sin, they persist in it to the last; 
 casting off the fear of God, and "mad upon their idols:" — and 
 then — "after that they go to the dead!" "The dust returns to 
 the earth as it was, and the spirit to God who gave it :" — or rather,, 
 while their bodies are laid in the grave, to be food for the worm 
 of corrujDtion, their souls depart to the "place of torment," to join 
 the " spirits in jirison," even all the wicked dead who had left the 
 world before them ! Snch is their melancholy end ; and then all 
 is over with them ; — settled for ever ; — their time of mercy gone : — 
 they are beyond the reach of hope: — 
 
 Verse 4. For to him that is joined to all the liciiig there /*• liope r 
 for a living clog is better than a dead lion. 
 
 " For to him that is joined to all the living there is hope :" either^ 
 hope in adverse times of better days to come; or rather, as the con- 
 nection intimates, hope with respect to his future state, — his slate 
 after death; — " For a living dog is better than a dead lion;" that is, 
 the meanest living is better than the noblest dead. The dog was not 
 only an unclean animal by the Mosaic law, but, being greatly des- 
 pised amongst the Jews, was often used as the emblem of what was 
 despicable and v/orthless, Of all appellations that of a dead dog 
 was the most contemptuous ; and a living dog was not much better. * 
 The lion, again, is the noblest of the beasts of the forest; mighty, 
 majestic, royal; he " turns not away for any." The meanest living 
 man possesses a superiority over the mightiest dead, in having 
 life itself, and power, and consciousness, and feeling, and enjoy- 
 
 *See 1 Sam. xxiv. 14. 2 Sam. ix. 8. 2 Kings viii. 13. In this last passage, 
 Hazael's exclamation of surprise should probably be rendered, "But what is 
 thy servant — a mere dog — that he should do this great thing?" It is not the 
 olleness, but the greatness of the thing he speaks of: and it does not seem to 
 be indignation that he expresses, at being supposed to possess dispositions for 
 for so base and odious a work ; but astonlsliment that one so mean and of so little 
 account as he affects to call himself, should be deemed competent to achieve 
 KO mighty a wox'k. It is not with horror he startles, according to the common 
 view of his words, like one unconscious at the time, of the propensities of his 
 character, and not believing himself capable of such enormities: — it is rather 
 the start of an agreeable surprise ; though he covers, by an affected humility, 
 the secret pleasure of .on aspiring ambition. 
 
300 LECTURE XVII. 
 
 ment; which Avith regard to the dead, viewed in their relation to 
 this world, are all at an end, whatever their power and eminence 
 while they lived. The carcase of the "king of beasts" may be 
 carrion to the vilest and most worthless dog that breathes. The 
 lowest and most despised subject the king of Assyria had, was in 
 these respects superior to his fallen master, when "his pomp was 
 brought down to the grave, and the noise of his viols; when the 
 worm was spread under him, and the worms covered him." The 
 most abject wretch might then stand on his tomb, and say, "How 
 art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning ! how 
 art thou cut down to the ground, that didst weaken the nations !" 
 He might stamp over his ashes, and insult his name: — no ear 
 startles at the sound ; no eye kindles ; no hand stirs to grasp the 
 avenging blade: — all is still and motionless: — "there is no voice, 
 nor any to answer, nor any that regardeth." 
 
 The description, in the third verse, of the "sons of men" shows, 
 that under that designation Solomon does not include those whose 
 liearts have been changed by Divine grace; who have been "deliv- 
 ered from this present evil world;" but the mass of mankind in 
 geiperal ; that part of the race which has ever, alas ! been the great 
 majority, who "walk after their own lusts," following the tenden- 
 cies of their fallen nature. — "To him that is joined to all the living, 
 there is hope." I might have conceived this to express the en- 
 couragement, M'hich wicked men derive from hope, to perseverance 
 in their evil courses, and even in their maddest indulgences ; and 
 "a living dog is better than a dead lion," to mean the unthinking 
 exultation of such men in the continued possession of life ; theij- 
 impious vaunting that death has not yet made them, his prey; and 
 their high-spirited determination to avail themselves of life while 
 they have it. But the connection of the following verses inclines 
 me to a different sense : — 
 
 Verses 5, 6. For the living know that they shall die: but the dead 
 Jcnoic not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the 
 memory of them is forgotten. Also their love, and their hatred, and 
 their envy, is now perished; neither have they any more a portion for 
 ever in any thing that is done under the sun. 
 
 Whatever encouragement to sin the wicked might derive from 
 their hopes of prolonging life, and even from their illusory prom- 
 ises to themselves of impunity beyond the grave, it is evident they 
 
ECCLESIASTES IX. 1-10. 301 
 
 could derivcn one from "knowing that they must die;" — unless, 
 indeed, the limitation of their time might be an excitement to 
 them, — an unhallowed excitement, — to make the most of it; to 
 drink as largely as they may of the cup of pleasure, ere the hand 
 of Death dash it from their lips : — and this is, accordingly, one of 
 the favorite themes "in the song of fools," in their hours of jovial 
 revelry. — I am disposed to think, however, that Solomon uses the 
 words more seriously. "To him that is joined to all the living 
 there is hope: — for the living know that they must die." To 
 them, death is yet to come. The solemn prospect is still before 
 them ; a prospect which must be realized, and they know not when. 
 Till the event has taken place, we cannot pronounce on their fu- 
 ture doom. While there is life, there is hope. They may consider 
 their ways. They may turn to the Lord. They may be prepared 
 for their latter end, and for meeting their God. But when once 
 the dissolution of soul and body has taken place, — all is over; 1^/e 
 is gone, and hope with it. 
 
 A variety of humbling and aifecting views are then set before 
 us, of the termination of the earthly career of wicked and worldly 
 men. 
 
 First Of all that engaged and interested their attention while 
 they lived, their knowledge is at an end. Their acquaintance 
 with every thing on earth has closed: — "the dead know not any 
 thing." We can impart to them no intelligence of what is doing 
 and of what is passing here. And what is of infinitely weightier 
 moment, we can no more communicate to their ear the tidings of 
 mercy; the knowledge that "maketli wise unto salvation:" — 
 "wisdom at" every "entrance" is now "quite shut out." 
 
 Secondly. " They have had their reward." Thus Jesus speaks 
 of those who valued and courted the praise of men, rather than 
 the praise of God. And thus Solomon here speaks of such as have 
 labored after this world; have "laid up for themselves treasures 
 upon earth ;" have pursued 2)leasure, or wealth, or power, or glory, 
 as their chief good; have continued to live in carelessness and 
 sin: — "neither," says he, "have they any more a reward:" that 
 is, they have already had it. And when they have plunged them- 
 selves into irremediable despair, it will be said to each of them, 
 contrasting their state with that of the poorest and most despised 
 and afflicted of God's children, "Son, remember, that thou in thy 
 
^02 LECTURE XVII. 
 
 lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil 
 things: but now, he is comforted, and thou art tormented." Luke 
 xvi. 25. 
 
 Thirdly. They have not even posthumous fame. Whilst their 
 reward on earth is at an end, and their sufferings in the other 
 world are commenced, never to terminate ; " the memory of them 
 is forgotten." — "As the cloud is consumed and vanisheth away, 
 so he that goeth down to the grave shall come up no more. He 
 shall return no more to his house, neither shall his place know 
 him any more." We had the same circumstance particularized 
 in the preceding chapter: — "I saw the wicked buried, who had 
 come and gone from the place of the holy ; and they were for- 
 gotten in the city w^here they had so done." 
 
 Fourthly. They are utterly impotent : they have no power what- 
 ever remaining, either to profit or to hurt, and are neither courted 
 for the one, nor feared for the other. This seems to be the idea 
 chiefly intended by their " love and their hatred and their envy 
 having now j^erished." Their power to benefit and to injure is 
 alike gone. The objects of their love can derive from it no ad- 
 vantage, nor can the victims of their hatred and envy sustain from 
 them any damage. While they lived, their favor might be courted, 
 and its effects desired ; their displeasure deprecated ; their hatred 
 and envy dreaded ; the consequences of them anxiously shunned. 
 But their mere names have no charm either of blessing or of curse. 
 The ashes of the grave can do neither evil nor good. "There the 
 -wicked cease from troubling." — "Put not your trust in princes, 
 nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help. His breath 
 goeth forth ; he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts 
 perish." Job iii. 17. Psalm cxlvi. 3, 4. 
 
 Lastly. Their portion of enjoyment, such as it was, is gone for 
 ever. They "had their portion in this life;" Psalm xvii. 14, and 
 when this life comes to a close, it is necessarily lost: — "neither 
 have they any more a portion for ever in any thing that is done 
 under the sun." While they lived, they had a portion in their 
 own labors, under the sun; but now, others are entered into their 
 labors, reaping the fruits of them, and striving to add to them. 
 These occupants shall be followed by others. But they them- 
 selves shall never return to theii' place. Death is not a temporary 
 
ECCr.ESIASTES IX. l-lo. 303 
 
 absence, but an eternal adien. And if this world be a man's por- 
 tion, Avhen lie dies it is for ever gone. 
 
 Thus the conclusion to which Solomon comes, and his solution 
 of the difficulty arising from the prosperity of the M'icked, are 
 very similar to those of Asaph: — "When I thought to know this, 
 it was too painful for me ; until I went into the sanctuary of God; 
 then understood I their end. Surely thou didst set them in slippery 
 places, thou castedst them down into destruction, Hoav are they 
 brought into desolation as in a moment! they are utterly con- 
 sumed with terrors. As a dream when one a-waketh, so, O Lord, 
 when thou awakest, thou shalt despise their image. Thus my 
 heart was grieved, and I was pricked in my reins. So foolish 
 was I and ignorant; I was as a beast before thee. Nevertheless 
 I am continually with thee: thou hast holden me by my right 
 hand." Psalm Ixxiii, 16-23. And as the Psalmist, returning to 
 a right mind, restored to confidence in God, delights himself anew 
 in his love and mercy, saying, in the spirit of self-devotion, "Thou 
 shalt guide me by thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory. 
 Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth 
 whom I desire in comparison of thee : my flesh and my heart fail, 
 but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever ;" 
 Psalm Ixxiii. 24-26. — so Solomon here, addressing himself to the 
 children of God, exhorts them to the exercise of trust and joy: — 
 
 Verse 7. Go -thy loay, cat thy bread with joy, and drinJ: thy irinc 
 ivith a. merry heart; for God noio accepteth thy worh. 
 
 Let thy mind be fully assured, notwithstanding all the appear- 
 ances of the contrary that have disquieted thy spirit, that "the 
 Lord loveth the righteous." Go thy way; be cheerful and happy. 
 
 The description of the conduct of the first Christians, in the 
 Acts of the Apostles, affords a fine exemplification of what Solo- 
 mon means in this verse: — "Continuing daily v»-ith one accord in 
 the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they did eat 
 their meat with gladness and singleness of lieart, praising God, 
 and having fiivor with all the people." Acts ii. 46, 47. The same 
 kind of joy is described in these words witli that recommended 
 in the passage before us. It is the gladness of heart that springs 
 from a sense of the Divine fiivor; from the lifting up of the light 
 of God's countenance. 
 
 "God noiv accepteth thy works:" — ^yes — even now, in the midst 
 
304 LECTURE XVII. 
 
 of all these difficulties and perplexing appearances: — let not these 
 shake and unsettle your mind : — even now, he *' loveth righteous- 
 ness, and his countenance beholdeth the upright:" — he regards 
 their works, the fruits of faith and love, with apjjroving com- 
 placency; and he will at last, before assembled worlds, manifest 
 at once his delight in his people, and his hatred of the Morkers of 
 iniquity. Therefore, 
 
 Verse 8. Let thy garments be alwuys white, and let thy head lack 
 no ointment. 
 
 White garments were worn on occasions of festive joy. Isaiaii 
 speaks of the "garment of praise" being given to "them that 
 mourn in Zion," instead of "the spirit of heaviness;" Isa. Ixi. 8; 
 and perhaps the joy of the saints in heaven is intended, as well as 
 their justification and purity, by their being "clothed in white 
 raiment." This idea is especially countenanced by one passage^ 
 where, besides being "clothed with white robes," they are repre- 
 sented as having "palms in their hands," — the palms of victory 
 and triumph, — and as "crying with a loud voice," — the voice 
 surely of exulting gladness, — " Salvation to our God who sitteth 
 upon the throne, and unto the Lamb!" Rev. iii. 4, 5. vii. 9, 10. 
 
 Anointing with oil, and with fragrant ointments, was also a 
 customary practice, to which there are various allusions in other 
 parts of Scripture. It was not only performed as a rite of official 
 consecration; it was one of the daily ceremonies of the dressing 
 chamber, and of preparation for appearing abroad; and it was 
 particularly attended to on occasions of personal, domestic, or pub- 
 lic rejoicing. Hence we read of the mourners in Zion receiving 
 "the oil of joy for mourning;" Isa. Ixi. 3; and of the blessed Mes- 
 siah being "anointed with the oil of gladness, above his fellows." — 
 "Thou hast anointed my head with oil," says the Psalmist David, 
 " my cup runneth over." Psalm xxiii. 5. — " My horn shalt thou 
 exalt like the horn of a unicorn; I shall be anointed with fresh oil." 
 Psalm xcii. 10. When Joab sent the woman of Tekoah to king 
 David, he said to her, " Feign thyself to be a mourner, and put 
 on mourning apparel, and anoint not thyself ivith oil, but be as a 
 woman that had a long time mourned for the dead." 2 Sam. xiv> 
 2. Daniel's real mourning was expressed in the same way. He 
 "ate no pleasant bread, neither did flesh nor wine come into his 
 mouth, neither did lie anoint himself at all:" Dan. x. 3, and in 
 
ECCLESIASTES IX. 1-10. ;505- 
 
 warning against ostentatious hypocrisy, Christ says, "But thou^ 
 when tliou fastest, anoint thy head, and wash thy face, that thou 
 appear not unto men to fast, but to thy Father who is in secret.'' 
 Matt. vi. 17, 18. The miraculous healing of the sick was in many 
 instances accompanied with "anointing them with oil in the name 
 of the Lord;" and the sacred influences of the Spirit of grace are- 
 denominated "an unction from the Holy One." The notion of 
 pleasure thus seems invariably associated with the practice; and 
 it was aptly indicated by the richness and freshness, and, in many 
 cases, by the aromatic fragrance, of the balsamic unguents. "Let 
 thy head lack no ointment" is equivalent to — Rejoice in the bounty 
 and loving-kindness of the Lord: "let not thy heart be troubled, 
 neither let it be afraid." And the expression " let thy garments 
 be alicays white" is of the same amount M'ith the apostolic exhor- 
 tation, "Rejoice evermore!" Take the enjoyment of whatever 
 the hand of a kind ])rovidence bestows, with a grateful and cheer- 
 ful spirit; — not with selfishness or extravagance, or thoughtless- 
 mirth; but with benevolence and sobriety, and with that true joy 
 which is independent of the possessions of time; which, coming 
 from above, infuses into the things of earth a relish of heaven, 
 and would continue to be the inmate of the pious soul, though 
 they were all removed. 
 
 Verse 9. Live joi/fuUi/ with the rvife tcJiom thoti. loced, all the days 
 of the life of thy vanity, vddch he hath given thee under the sun, all 
 the days of thy vanity; for that is thy portion in this life, and in thy 
 labor which thou tahest under the sun. 
 
 How sadly does Solomon, in these Avords, condemn Jiis own 
 practice ! He commends marriage, in the form in which it existed 
 from the beginning, as a source of genuine happiness, the sweete!?t 
 that earth can furnish ; but he warns against such departures from 
 its original institution as he had himself known, by bitter experi- 
 ence, to frustrate the kind intentions of Heaven in its appoint- 
 ment. "Live joyfully with the wife M'hom thou lovest," — the 
 one object of thy undivided aifections, with whom thou hast plighted 
 mutual faith, and who has given thee her heart in return for thine. 
 It is only in this way that conjugal and domestic felicity, the 
 purest and richest of temporal delights, and the dearest earthly 
 solace of this valley of tears, can be eifectually enjoyed. It i& 
 the will of God, intimated in nature by the numerical proportion 
 ■20 
 
306 LECTURE XV ri. 
 
 of the j^exes, and explicitly declared in his Word, that "every man 
 should have his o^vn wife, and every Avoman her own husband." 
 This was the first and permanent laAV, when God, in the beginning 
 " made a male and a female, and said, For this cause shall a man 
 leave father and mother, and cleave unto his wife, and they two 
 shall be one flesh." It were out of place to enlarge on the ad- 
 vantages, both to the parties themselves and to their oifspring, of 
 adherence to this arrangement. All recorded experience is in fa- 
 vor of it; and how could it be otherwise? Not only did such 
 flagrant transgressors as Solomon make themselves miserable by 
 the violation of it. Look even to patriarchal times. The quarrels 
 of Sarah and Hagar were a grief to Abraham; his grandson Jacob 
 was vexed by those of Rachel and Leah; while Isaac, although not 
 without sources of trial, (for who is, or who can be, in this world 
 of sin?) yet appears, in this particular, to have lived a life of har- 
 monious and tranquil happiness with his heaven-sent and loved 
 Rebekah. 
 
 But our joy in the dearest relations, as well as in all the pos- 
 sessions of life, is to be maintained in the remembrance that our 
 days are vanity : — " Live joyfully with the wife whom thou lovest, 
 all the days of the life of thy vanity, which he hath given thee 
 under the sun, all the days of thy vanity." The most intimate 
 and endearing connections, the springs of our most exquisite en- 
 joyment, are necessarily but temporary. Every marriage should 
 be formed in the recollection, that sooner or later it must leave a 
 widow or a widower. And blessed are they, whom the remem- 
 brance of the vanity of life does not deprive of the relish of its 
 joys! — "For that is thy portion iu this life;" these sources of 
 happiness, both personal and social, are given thee to be enjoyed, 
 as thine allotted measure of this world's good, while this frail and 
 mortal life continues: — "and in thy labor which thou takest un- 
 der the sun ;" — they are at once the fruit of thy labor, through the 
 smile and blessing of heaven upon the work of thy hands; and 
 they are the cheering solace of thy labor, amidst all its fatigues 
 and its occasional disappointments and difficulties. The mode of 
 expression in this verse remarkably accords with the aj^ostle's ad- 
 monition, to remember the shortness of time both in its joys and 
 its woes : — "but this I say, brethren, the time is short: it remaineth, 
 that both they that have wives be as though they Imd none; and 
 
ECCLESIASTES IX. 1-10. .'W7 
 
 they that weep as though they wept not; and they that rejoice, as 
 though they rejoiced not; and they that buy, as though they pos- 
 sessed not; and they that use this world, as not abusing it: for 
 the fashion of this workl passeth away." 1 Cor. vii. 29-31. 
 
 There is a connection between the exhortation in this verse to 
 joy, and that in the tenth to active diligence, founded on the princi- 
 ple so finely expressed by Nehemiah to the Israelites: — "Go your 
 way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions to those 
 for whom nothing is prepared : for this day is holy unto our Lord : 
 neither be ye sorry, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.^' Neh. 
 viii. 10:— 
 
 Verse 10. Whatsoever thy hand Jindeth to do, do it icith thy might: 
 for there is no ivork, nor device, nor hioidedge, nor wisdom, in the 
 grave, whither thou goest. 
 
 Dejection and melancholy unbrace all the sinews of exertion. 
 They make the hands to hang down, and the knees to become 
 feeble. When the mind is under their influence, nothing, either 
 of a temporal or spiritual nature, can be done Avith energy and 
 effect. All is spiritless and inefficient. Whereas, when the heart 
 is light; when the spirits are buoyant and cheerful; the whole 
 man, in all his powers, is prompt and vigorous for duty : — " what*- 
 ever the hand finds to do is done M-ith might." 
 
 I need not say, that whatever we are admonished thus to do, 
 must be in its nature "lawful and right." The hand may find 
 to do what God has forbidden. But this, instead of being done 
 with might, must not be done at all. The exhortation may be 
 extended to all duty, whether in reference to ourselves, to others, 
 or to God. In compliance with it, the child of God will not be 
 "slothful in business," but set an example of active industry, 
 working with his hands the thing Avhich is good ; that he may 
 "walk honestly toward them that are without;" that he may 
 "have lack of nothing;" and that he may "have to give to him 
 that needeth." In compliance with it, he will "work out his own 
 salvation with fear and trembling," in the spiritual and unre- 
 mitting use of the means of establishment and growth in grace; 
 "giving diligence to make his calling and election sure," by "add- 
 ing to his faith, fortitude; and to fortitude, knowledge; and to 
 knowledge, temperance; and to temperance, patience; and to pa- 
 tience, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly-kindness; and to 
 
308 LECTURE XVII. 
 
 brotherly-kindness, charity." In compliance with it, he will give 
 himself, with constant and persevering energy, to those works 
 which have for their objects the glory of God, and the good of 
 men, both in their temporal and eternal interests, — the works of 
 piety and benevolence. It is probably to these that the exhortation 
 chiefly points. Whatever opportunities God gives thee in his 
 providence, for promoting his own glory, and for advancing the 
 present and the everlasting well-being of thy fellow-creatures, em- 
 brace them with eagerness; apply to them all thy bodily and 
 mental energies; persevere in them with unrelaxing ardor. Do all 
 " heartily, as to the Lord and not to men :" — " do it ivith thy might." 
 exerting thyself, like a person who has much to do, and who 
 knows not how little time he may have to do it. 
 
 Such is the reason given for the admonition: — "for there is no 
 work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, 
 whither thou goest." Thou art travelling to the tomb. Every 
 moment brings thee nearer to it; and every moment may terminate 
 thy journey. iVnd when thou hast arrived at " the house appointed 
 for all living," — "there is no work'' there; active power is gone: 
 there is no "device;'' no scheme can be either planned or executed 
 there: there is no " hioidedge" of what passes on the earth amongst 
 surviving men : and there is no " wisdom;" that which was unem- 
 ployed in life, can there no longer be applied to use. In fulfilling 
 the admonition of this verse, we imitate the example of Him whose 
 disciples and followers we call ourselves : for his language, ex- 
 pressing the principle on which he acted every day, every hour, 
 every moment of his life, is in the full spirit of it : — " I must work 
 the works of Him that sent me while it is day : the night cometh, 
 when no man can work." John ix. 4. 
 
 These verses suggest the following reflections. 
 
 1. In the first place; There are some truths, in the faith of which 
 we ought at all times to be firmly established, and of which we 
 should not allow our conviction to be readily shaken by apparent 
 difiiculties. Of this description, especially, are those which respect 
 the existence and perfections of Deity. Every thing derogatory 
 to his essential excellence ; every thing of the nature of imputation 
 against any of his necessary moral attributes ; we should unhesi- 
 tatingly and with abhorrence reject. Difficulties in tlie Divine 
 administration we might well expect to find. But let nothing of 
 
ECCLESIASTES IX. 1-10. 309 
 
 this kind ever shake our conviction that He is righteous, and that 
 he " loveth righteousness and hateth iniquity." It it surely much 
 more reasonable; more accordant both with soundness of judgment 
 and with lowliness of heart; to conclude, that whatever appears 
 opposite to this is opposite in appearance only, and that the diffi- 
 culty arises entirely from our short-sightedness and limited knowl- 
 edge. "Verily there is a reward for the righteous; verily he is 
 a God that judgeth in the earth." 
 
 2. Secondly ; In the full confidence of this, let the people of God 
 "rejoice in tribulation." The design of their heavenly Father, 
 in all their trials, is in perfect harmony with the assurances of his 
 paternal love. His discipline is one of the expressions of that 
 love. He would be neither faithful nor kind, were he to withhold 
 it when, in his infinite wisdom, he perceives it to be necessary for 
 their spiritual benefit. " My son, despise not thou the chastening 
 of the Lord, neither be weary of his correction ; for whom the 
 Lord loveth he correcteth, even as a father the son in whom he 
 delighteth." — "We have had fathers of our flesh who corrected 
 us, and wo gave them reverence ; shall we not much rather be in 
 subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? For they, verily, 
 for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure, but he for 
 our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness." Prov. iii. 
 11, 12. Heb. xii. 9, 10. Be assured of this all-merciful intention 
 under the severest strokes of his hand: and even although you 
 should appear to be selected for sutfering, whilst the ungodly 
 around you are enjoying prosperity, be not startled nor stumbled 
 at this ; but look, in the exercise of faith, for present and ultimate 
 good from all that you are called to endure. Imitate Moses, in 
 "choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than 
 to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season." Repress the risings 
 of a foolish and criminal envy. Rejoice in hope. "The trial of 
 your faith, being much more precious than of gold, that perisheth, 
 though it be tried with fire, shall be found unto praise and honor 
 and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ." Cleave to the Lord 
 with purpose of heart. Bow to his sovereignty; yield to his 
 wisdom; rely on his faithfulness; rejoice in his love; be strong in 
 his strength. His grace is sufficient for you, and will "keep you 
 through faith unto salvation." — " AVhat shall we then say to these 
 things? If God be for us, who can be against us? He who spared 
 
310 LECTURE XVII. 
 
 not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he 
 not, with him, also freely give us all things? Who shall separate 
 us from the love of Christ? Shall, tribulation, or distress, or per- 
 secution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? (As it is 
 written, For thy sake w^e are killed all the day long; we are ac- 
 counted as sheep for the slaughter.) Nay, in all these things we 
 are more than conquerors, through him that loved us. For I am 
 persuaded, that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities 
 nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor hight nor 
 depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from 
 the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Horn. viii. 
 31, 32, 35-39. 
 
 3. Thirdly ; Let the ungodly and worldly man beware of inter- 
 preting his earthly prosperity, however great and however constant, 
 into a token of Divine favor and approbation, or an evidence that 
 God never will call him to "give an account of his stewardship." 
 This is a miserable delusion ; a fearful abuse of the providence of 
 God. O flatter not yourselves, as if the God who permits you to 
 prosper; the kind and indulgent Author of all your undeserved 
 and ill-requited blessings; approves or thinks lightly of your sins. 
 He hates them; and he will punish them. "He is not a God that 
 hath pleasure in wickedness, neither shall evil dwell with him." 
 Let not that be your encouragement to continued disregard of 
 God, which ought to melt you to penitence, and to wdn your heart 
 to gratitude and love. Let not your prosperity thus be your ruin. 
 It is " the prosperity of fools that destroys them." If, lulled by 
 such a delusion, you persist in forgetting God, and are only waked 
 by the summons to judgment, — w'oe is me for you! As the right- 
 eous may be assured of the favor of God, you may, with equal 
 certainty, be assured of his holy displeasure; and Avell may you 
 tremble for its consequences. "Say unto the wicked. It shall be 
 ill with him." — "When the wicked spring as the grass, and all 
 the workers of inquity do flourish, it is that they shall be destroyed 
 for ever." — "The wrath of God," which is "revealed from heaven 
 against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men," rests upon 
 them amidst all their prosperity, and shall abide u2)on them for 
 ever; — the wrath of a holy, just, almighty, and immutable God. 
 They "spring" and "flourish:" but they are not "trees of right- 
 eousness, the planting of the Lord, in whicli he is glorified:" and 
 
ECCLESIASTES IX. 1-10. oil 
 
 '' every tree that bringeth not Ibrtli good fruit, shall be hewn clown, 
 and cast into the fire." 
 
 4. Fourthly; In forming our estimate of the comparative hap- 
 piness of different descriptions of men, we should take into our 
 account the M-liole extent of their existence, and not merely this 
 transitory life. It is passing strange, that any who profess to 
 believe in the immortality of man should ever overlook this self- 
 evident principle. It is peculiarly wonderful that it should, on 
 any occasion, escape the recollection of those who have themselves 
 been taught of God, to "look not at the things which are seen, 
 but at the things which are not seen." Yet it was forgetfulness of 
 this that <3onstituted the main error of Asaph, when he was envi- 
 ous at the prosperity of the wicked ; and it was by being reminded 
 of it, that his spirit was set at liberty from the bondage of tempta- 
 tion. It was the saying of an ancient philosopher, that no man 
 should be pronounced happy till after his death; by which he inten- 
 ded to express the extreme uncertainty of earthly enjoyments, and 
 the impossibility of knowing how soon the sunshine of prosperity 
 might be overcast, and how long and how deep might be the sub- 
 sequent gloom : — how quickly the cup of sweets might be dashed 
 from the lips, and a bitter cup succeed it, so full and so nauseous, 
 as to make the sweet be all forgotten. But the word of God 
 teaches us to go still further ; not only to suspend our sentence of 
 happiness or misery till the earthly course has been finished, but 
 to look beyond its close, into the eternity that follows it. It would 
 be very foolish to pronounce a man happy in this Avorld on ac- 
 count of one day's enjoyment, succeeded by threescore years of 
 severe, uuintermitted, and unmitigated suffering. It were more 
 foolish, in the proportion of everlasting existence to the short 
 period of human life, to call him a happy man, who should enjoy 
 throughout the threescore years all that this world could possibly 
 furnish, and then sink into an eternity of woe. So mighty is the 
 disjjroportion between the present and the future part of man's 
 existence, that we cannot be said to have estimated his happiness 
 at all, if we have left the latter out of our calculation. For the 
 lives of all mankind together bear no proportion to eternity. They 
 are not to it what the twinkling of an eye is to the life of Methu- 
 selah. We are not required to prefer the temporal situation of 
 Lazarus, to that of the rich man. But who, in the ])osses=ion of a 
 
312 LECTURE XT LI. 
 
 soand understanding, w»uld hesitate to prefer the character and 
 intire existence of the one to the character and intire existence of 
 the other? Who would not prefer the poverty, and sores, and 
 sc[ualid -wretchedness of the beggar, followed by an endless dura- 
 tion of bliss; to the riches, and health, and finery, and sumptuous 
 fare of his lordly superior, succeeded by everlasting torment in 
 the "fire that never shall be <:|uenched?" 
 
 5. Fifthly; Let the precariousness of the tenure by which life is 
 held ; along with the decisiveness of death, in for ever terminating 
 all connection with the concerns of time, and fixing irreversibly 
 the future state; warn the ungodly, the careless, the worldly, to 
 seek a more durable portion than any they can possess here, and 
 to flee in time for refuge from the coming wrath. What a sad 
 thing will it be, my friends, should it be said at last of any one 
 ■of you. He has had his reward ! "To him that is joined to all 
 the living there is hope." Improve, then, the time of your merci- 
 ful visitation. "To-day, if ye will hear his voice, harden not 
 your hearts." For when a man has been "joined to the dead," 
 if he has lived and died in his sins, hope is at an end. His sentence 
 is sealed; and the seal can never be broken. From the prison of 
 hell he can never return to this world ; and between it and the 
 ;abodes of the blessed there is fixed a great and impassable gulf; 
 ■across which no sounds of mercy, no tidings of salvation, no pro- 
 'clamations of pardon, reach his ear. "Hope never comes, that 
 <;omes to all." 
 
 As there is hope for all that are "joined to the living, Ave are 
 encouraged to announce and recommend to all that live, the mercy 
 offered by the gospel to sinners through the one Mediator. But still 
 remember, words cannot express the uncertainty of life. To some 
 of you, this may be your last warning. To-morrow may disjoin 
 you from the living, and settle your etei'ual doom. O look now, 
 then, unto Jesus. Defer not reflection to a day that may never 
 be yours, — "Turn ye, turn ye, for why will ye die?" 
 
 Lastly ; Let Christians recommend religion by displaying its 
 cheerful influence. It is an article of your creed, that the dis- 
 coveries, of the gospel are "good tidings of great joy," and that 
 " wisdom's ways are ways of pleasantness." Let not your deport- 
 ment belie your professed belief. Are you to show yourselves be- 
 lievers of glad tidings, by "hanging your heads like a bulrush, 
 
ECCLE81A8TE.S IX. I-IO. •]l-> 
 
 and .spreading sackcloth and ashes under you?" by a countenance 
 never lighted up with a smile? by nothing but sighs, and tears, 
 and groans? Is it not the precept of God, intimating at once your 
 duty and your privilege, "Rejoice evermore?" Light is the em- 
 blem of knowledge, and purity, and joy; and in all its three em- 
 blematic senses. Christians are "children of light." "Come then, 
 O house of Jacob, and walk in the light of the Lord." Truly thi.^ 
 light is sweet. Present to all around you a just and inviting vie^\■ 
 of your religion. "Lie not against the truth," by leading every 
 one that looks you in the face to fancy it a system of inveterate 
 and incurable melancholy. There is a wide distance between 
 cheerfulness and levity; betM^een the tranquil yet animated glad- 
 ness of the believing soul, and the frothy and transient mirth of 
 the fool. Religion is at an equal distance from unbecoming fri- 
 volity and sullen moroseness. It is the day-light of the soul. 
 Let it appear in its true character. Let it infuse its cheering in- 
 fluence into your enjoyment of all your earthly blessings. "Eat 
 thy meat with gladness, and drink thy wine wuth a merry heart; 
 and live joyfully ^\■itll the wife whom thou lovest." And not only 
 so; but, animated by the faith of the Divine promises, and by tla- 
 blessed prospects that are before you, " rejoice in tribulations also; 
 knowing that tribulation worketh patience ; and patience, experi- 
 ence; and experience, hojje; and hope maketh not ashamed, be- 
 cause the love of God is shed abroad in your hearts, by the Holy 
 Spirit who is given unto you," Rom. v. 3-5. 
 
LECTrKE XVIII 
 
 ECCLESIASTES IX. 11-18. 
 
 " T returned, and saw under the .sun, that the race (is) not to the swift, nor 
 tlie battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, not yet riches to men 
 of understanding, nor yet favor to men of skill; but time and chance hap- 
 peneth to them all. 12. For man also knoweth not his time: as the fishes 
 that (are) taken in an evil net, and as the birds that (are) caught in the 
 snare; so (are) the sons of men snared in an evil time, when it falleth sud- 
 denly upon them. 13. This wisdom have I seen also under the sun, and 
 it (seemed) great unto me: 14. (There was) a little city, and few men with- 
 in it; and there came a great king against it, and besieged it, and built 
 great bulwarks against it. 15. Now tliere was found in it a poor wise man, 
 and he by his wisdom delivered the city ; yet no man remembered that same 
 poor man. 16. Then said I, Wisdom (is) better than strength: neverthe- 
 less the poor man's wisdom (is) despised, and his words are not heard. 17,. 
 The words of wise (men are) heard in quiet more than the cry of him that 
 ruleth among fools. 18. AVisdom (is) better than weapons of war: but one 
 sinner destroyeth much good." 
 
 Having, in the preceding part of the chapter, stated the fact 
 of the indiscriminate distribtition of temporal good and evil in the 
 administration of providence, and having drawn from it there- 
 flections and practical lessons which it suggested; the wise man 
 returns to the further examination of the same subject, or at lea-st 
 of one very closely connected with it in the Divine procedure: — 
 
 Verse 11. I returned, and saw under the sun, thcd the race is noi 
 to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, 
 nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor i/et favor to men of shiU; 
 but time and chance happeneth to them, all. 
 
 This verse has not only a connection ^vith the general subjeci 
 of the preceding passage, but a more immediate relation to verse 
 tenth. In it he exhorts to the application of vigorous diligence 
 in "whatever our hand findeth to do." Here he suggests a cau- 
 tion against a too sanguine confidence of success, after the exer- 
 
ECCLE.SIA8TES IX. 11-18. 315 
 
 tion of all our ability and all our skill. Diiferent characters are 
 prone to oppose extremes. Some are so timid and diffident, that 
 they will hardly undertake or exert themselves in any thing, from 
 the apprehension of failure. Others are so dauntless and ardent, 
 that failure hardly ever enters into their calculations. The former 
 are in danger of losing opportunities both of doing and of obtain- 
 ing good. They stand in need of excitement. The admonition 
 of the tenth verse requires to be pressed upon their practical re- 
 gard, that they may not become the victims of inactivity and 
 sloth. The latter are in danger of precipitation and extravagance, 
 and, by their high undoubting assurance of success, of preparing 
 for themselves the bitterness of disappointment. They need the 
 counsels of humility and dependence. The lesson of the eleventh 
 verse must be urged upon their notice; a lesson, of which the truth 
 must be obvious to every attentive observer of human affairs : — 
 '' The race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither 
 yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor 
 yet favor to men of skill ; but time and chance happeneth to them 
 all." 
 
 We very naturally expect, that the lightest of foot should al- 
 ways get first to the goal, and win the prize ; that in battle, the 
 most numerous and well appointed and powerful army should 
 uniformly be victorious; that the man of intelligence and prudence 
 in business should never fail to make rich; that he who courts 
 favor and popularity, by skilful and well-devised arts, should in- 
 variably succeed in gaining the good graces of his fellow-men. 
 But experience frequently contradicts our expectations. The man 
 who is "swift of foot as a wild roe" may trip and stumble, or by 
 some untoward accident be thrown behind his less fleet competitor. 
 Innumerable are the circumstances that affect what is called the 
 fortune of war, — the chance of battle, — so that at times a hundred 
 may put ten thousand to flight. The most intelligent and pru- 
 dent do, not unfrequently, with all their application and care, fail 
 of getting forward in the world; riches seeming unaccountably to 
 elude their grasp. And the most insinuating and skilful courtier 
 defeats sometimes his own purposes, or is thwarted by occurrences 
 which he could not control, and becomes the most unpopular of 
 men. 
 
 We are not to conclude from this, that there is no adaptation 
 
316 LEC'TUilE XVIII.. 
 
 of means to ends, — no tendency in these qualities to the desired 
 event, more than in their opposites; — that there is no superior 
 probability of success to the swift more than to the slow, to the 
 strong more than to the weak, to the intelligent more than to the 
 ignorant, to the skilful more than to the foolish. Far form it. 
 Were this the case, we might give up altogether the use of means 
 for the attainment of our ends, or be utterly regardless of their na- 
 ture. The meaning evidently is no more than that, with all a man's 
 superiority, success is not to be insured: — no man must count upon 
 it with certainty — "Time and chance happeneth to them all." 
 
 "Time." — There are favorable and unfavorable times in which 
 men's lot may be cast ; and such times, too, may occur alternately 
 in the experience of the same individual. A man of very inferior 
 tiilent, should he fall on a favorable time, may succeed with com- 
 parative ease; whereas in a time that is not propitious, abilities of 
 the first order cannot preserve their possessor from failure and 
 -disappointment. And even the same period may be advantageous 
 to one description of business, and miserably the reverse to another; 
 and it may thus be productive of prosperity to men who prosecute 
 the former, and of loss and ruin to those engaged in the latter ; 
 although the superiority in knowledge, capacity, and prudence^ 
 may be all, and even to a great degree, on the losing side. 
 
 "Chance." — We must not understand Solomon as intending by 
 the use of this word, to convey the idea that there is, or can be, 
 any thing absolutely fortuitous. The reign of chance can never be 
 more than imaginary. The very supposition of it is pregnant 
 alike with impiety and absurdity. It is atheism, enhance is a 
 term denoting ignorance, not on God's part, but on ours. It ban 
 lyeen happily defined, although by a poet, yet without a poet's 
 iietion, — "direction which we cannot see." The blind Goddess of 
 Fortune is but the creation of a foolish and ungodly fancy. With- 
 out our Heavenly Father, "a sparrow falleth not to the ground;" 
 and no figure could more strongly express the idea of unremitted 
 attention to the minutest interests of his children, than his "num- 
 bering the hairs of their heads." — "The lot is cast into the lap; 
 but the whole disposing thereof is of the Lord." 
 
 The obvious meaning of chance here is, that there is an endless 
 variety of circumstances and events, which cannot be foreseen, and 
 over which, therefore, no man can have any control, which yet 
 
EC0LE8IASTE8 IX. 11-18. . 317 
 
 must materially alfect the success or the failure of all his schemes 
 and operations. These "secret things" which "belong unto the 
 Lord," appear to us as if they came by chance; and men who fear not 
 God, idly talk of Fortune fevoring them when they prosper, and 
 of her being blind, capricious, and partial, when they fail. But 
 all is under the superintendence of Him who is infinite in wis- 
 dom, power, and goodness. And even with regard to ourselves, 
 it is going too far to represent human life as a perfect lottery, in 
 which the wheel goes round, and blanks and prizes are drawn out, 
 without discrimination and with equal frequency, for the indolent 
 and the active, for the prudent and the foolish ; as if indolence 
 and activity, prudence and folly, were without distinction in their 
 respective tendencies. There is, however, beyond question, as 
 imiversal experience evinces, and as the present times impressively 
 testify, a vast deal of uncertainty in calculating the probabilities 
 of a man's success in any pursuit. Unanticipated circumstances 
 may assign the laurel to the slow, and leave the SAvift uncrowned;, 
 may give victory to the Aveak, and bring defeat and shame to the 
 strong ; may confer riches and favor on the ignorant and indis- 
 creet, and withhold them from the wise, the skilful, and intelli- 
 gent. That "chance" must have this restricted meaning, is ob- 
 vious : for even if it were understood as exclusive of providence, 
 still, facts could never bear out the affirmation that there are no 
 distinctive tendencies in different principles and modes of conduct, 
 and that it is, unqualifiedly, all one as to the result, whether a man. 
 be diligent or slothful, prudent or insensate. 
 
 The sentiment of the eleventh verse is expanded in the twelfth : — 
 
 Verse 12. For man also knoweth not his time: as the Jishes that 
 
 are taken in an evil net, and as the birds that are caught in the snare; 
 
 80 are the sons of men snared in an evil time, when itfalleth suddenly 
 
 ■upon them. 
 
 " Man knoweth not his time," refers to the uncertainty of events^ 
 the fickleness of human affairs, already mentioned. A man may 
 select his time for the execution of any purpose, with much ap- 
 parent sagacity. To others, as well as to himself, it may seem, 
 the most promising that could have been chosen. Yet who can, 
 with certainty, tell him what shall be? He knoweth not what a 
 day may bring forth. The wind may suddenly shift. The tide 
 may unexpectedly turn. The times may surprise him by an un- 
 
318 • LECTURE xvm. 
 
 looked for change. He may cast his seed into an excellent bed, 
 in the best of weather; but numberless are the circumstances that 
 may blast his hopes of a harvest. To-day may be an auspicious 
 time, and his prospects may be brightened by the splendour of 
 hope : — to-morrow may be unfavorable, and may cloud them with 
 the darkness of despair. In this world of mutability, he must 
 always plan and act with a measure of uncertainty ; and ought to 
 preface all his undertakings with — "If the Lord will." 
 
 The fishes and the birds, roaming through their respective ele- 
 ments, with all the happy agility of freedom, dart suddenly into 
 the net of the fisherman or the snare of the fowler. They are 
 taken by surprise; taken, beyond escape; and taken, to be des- 
 troyed. " So are the sons of men snared in an evil time, when it 
 falleth suddenly upon them." An evil time is a time of misfor- 
 tune and calamity, which often comes unexpectedly, without the 
 possibility either of its being anticipated, or of its mischievous 
 effects being shunned. 
 
 There is one most important time, of which men are left in total 
 ignorance; the time that closes their connection with this world, 
 terminating all their schemes, and labors, and enjoyments, and 
 prospects. To the ungodly, this is indeed "an evil time," the 
 worst of all times: and how often has it "fallen suddenly upon 
 them !" How often, when a man has been in the uninterrupted 
 course of his prosperity, rising rapidly to the summit of his 
 wishes ; — when he has realized his fortune, finished his house, laid 
 out his lands, — and is saying to his soul, "Soul, thou hast much 
 goods laid up for many years ; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be 
 merry," — is he "snared in an evil time," and in a moment goes 
 down to the grave! — 'O that men were wise, that they understood 
 this, that they would consider their latter end." 
 
 His general observations Solomon illustrates by a case, which 
 we may suppose to have been a matter of fact that had come to 
 his knoAvledge: — 
 
 Verses 13-16. Thin wisdom have I seen also under the sun, and 
 it seemed great unto me. There was a little city, and few men within 
 it; and there came a great king against it, and besieged it, and built 
 great bidwarhs against it. Now there was found in it a poor wise 
 man, and he by his wisdom delive^rd the city ; yet no man remembered 
 this same 2^00 r man. Then said I, Wisdom is better than strength ; 
 
ECCLE8IASTES IX. 11-lX. 319 
 
 neceiiheless, the poor man^s v-isdora /.s despised, aud Ins irords are 
 not heard. 
 
 "This wisdom seemed great" to Solomon. He was delighted 
 with it. It was found where it was not looked for.^The govern- 
 or» of the city, the public functionaries, would no doubt set all 
 their wits to work, to devise means of safety. But they could 
 think of none that gave any promise of proving eifectual. They 
 were at a stand; and would of, course, have surrended at discretion, 
 or have perished by the sword of exterminating vengeance. In 
 this emergency, an obscure, unknown, "poor man, by his wisdom 
 saved the city," which was little in itself, ill defended, and quite 
 incapable of withstanding the besieging army of a great king. 
 
 "Yet no man remembered this same poor man." The danger 
 was no sooner over, than he was ungratefully forgotten, and his 
 important service was unrewarded. "Wisdom," on this occasion, 
 was "better than strength," and prevailed against it, foiling the 
 might of the assailing enemy. But the honor that is due to wis- 
 dom is not always obtained by its possessor. Had this wise man 
 been at the same time a man of station and wealth, his name w^ould 
 probably have been recorded in the annals of the city, a pillar 
 possibly reared at the time to commemorate his service, and a 
 monument of regret erected over his grave. But the man was 
 poor ; and having been neglected before, he quickly relapsed into 
 Ms original obscurity. "His wisdom was despised, and his words 
 were not heard." They %oere indeed heard; but it Avas only in the 
 moment of danger and alarm. Or, for aught we can say, the poor 
 man's scheme might be devised and executed by himself, done 
 secretly, or with the concurrence and aid of a few more of his own 
 station. And whether this was the case, or whether it was laid 
 before the chief men of the city, and by them adopted, the effect 
 might be envy, and consequent studied neglect. For although a 
 pressing sense of immediate danger might induce them at the time 
 to listen to and follow his counsel, it might still be with the des- 
 picable feelings of spiteful jealousy ; and when the danger was 
 past, the same feelings might induce them to treat with neglect 
 the poor benefactor of their city ; or he might speedily escape their 
 memories, as "the chief butler," w^hen restored to his honors, "rc- 
 jnembered not Joseph, but forgot him." 
 
 But why is this incident introduced here ? What is its connection 
 
320 LECTURE XVIII. 
 
 with the writer's subject? The eouuection is far Iroin being dis- 
 tant. It presents an ilhistration, in two views, of the sentiment 
 in the eleventh verse. It shows, in the first place, that "the battle 
 is not to the strong." A mighty monarch came against this small 
 and feeble city, invested it, and constructed his works around it. 
 Its destruction seemed inevitable. But there happened to be with- 
 in its walls, amongst the obscure part of its population, a poor 
 man, who in his wisdom suggested some expedient, which baffled 
 the exertions and frustrated the hopes of the enemy, rendering all 
 his engines and bulwarks useless and unavailing. This little cir- 
 cumstance, unforeseen and unexpected, disconcerted the whole pro- 
 ject, and gave preservation and victory to the weak. It shows, 
 secondly, that "favor is not to men of skill." It does not appear, 
 it is true, that the poor man had any such object in view as courting 
 favor. But he displayed wisdom and skill; and he missed their 
 merited recompense. His poverty and obscurity, or the envy of 
 those in power and station, dej)rived him of his due. 
 
 Verse 17. The words of wise men are heard in quiet more than the 
 cry of him that ruleth among fools. 
 
 There seems, at first view, an inconsistency between the end of 
 the sixteenth verse and the seventeenth. In the former it is said, 
 "The poor man's wisdom is despised, and his words are not heard: — 
 in the latter, "The words of wise men are heard in quiet, more 
 than the cry of him that ruleth among fools." — In the seventeenth 
 verse, there is probably a reference to the quiet way in which this 
 " poor wise man " saved the city. We may suppose him to have 
 communicated his scheme to two or three privately, who had the 
 good sense to hear him, and to enter into his views; and whilst 
 " the cry of him that ruled among fools," — the loud and bluster- 
 ino- bravadoes, it may be, of a senseless and headstrong ruler, were 
 not only unavailing, but calculated to hasten and to aggravate 
 the ruin of the place, — the wisdom of this poor man was "heard 
 in quiet," and was secretly, and without noise and ostentation, 
 working its deliverance. This renders the sixteenth and seven- 
 teenth verses quite consistent ; the latter referring to the attention 
 shown to his wise suggestions at the time, and their influence in 
 effecting the deliverance of the city ; and the former, to the sub- 
 sequent disregard of the man himself and of his wisdom, when 
 the threatening danger was past, — the indisposition then either to 
 
ECCLESIASTES IX. 11-18. 321 
 
 hear or to profit by it, or to give respect and honor to its pos- 
 sessor. 
 
 Verse 18. Wisdom is better than weapons of loar'. but one sinner 
 destroyeth much good. 
 
 In the instance which Solomon had just adduced, the truth of 
 the former part of this verse had been illustrated and established. 
 Wisdom had proved its superiority to military weapons and war- 
 like engines, for it had effectually overcome them; and it had 
 thus accomplished what forcible resistance would have attempted 
 in vain. And even on the supposition that "weapons of war" 
 could have delivered the city, still it must have been at the ex- 
 pense of blood, and of varied and accumulated distress, — of the 
 tortures of the wounded, and the groans of the dying, and the 
 tears of widows, and orphans, and friends; all which was prevented 
 by the timely exercise of wisdom. 
 
 From his being contrasted with one " sinner," we are naturally 
 led to consider the wise man as not only politically sagacious and 
 prudent, but wise in a higher sense, — truly good, influenced by 
 right principles, by motives of genuine disinterested benevolence, 
 by regard to the will of God and the obligations of duty, satisfied 
 with the attainment of the benefit to others, without stopping to 
 calculate the possible results to himself. This one wise man effected 
 much good : but " one sinner destroyeth much good." It is far 
 easier to do harm, than to do good. And one wicked man, pos- 
 sessed of a little mischievous subtlety and address, may, and alas ! 
 often does, succeed in thwarting and frustrating the best concerted 
 schemes; overturning the most prudent and beneficial regulations ; 
 effectually embarrassing the wisdom of the wise ; and impeding 
 the efforts of the benevolent ; and thus producing the most serious 
 and incalculable injury. 
 
 The influence of one truly wise and good man may be very ex- 
 tensive, both upon the temporal and the spiritual condition of 
 others; in preventing evil, and in promoting personal and social 
 happiness. But how much good, on the contrary, may not one 
 sinner destroy ! and how much positive evil may he not be the 
 instrument of working ! How often has such a man broken the 
 peace and ruined the comfort of families, which might otherwise 
 have remained united and happy ! How often has he sown in 
 secret the seeds of jealousy and discord in a circle of friends and 
 21 
 
322 LECTURE XVIII. 
 
 acquaintances! How often fanned the flame of discontent, se- 
 dition, and rebellion, in a community enjoying a happy measure 
 of peace, freedom, and prosperity! How often has he blasted 
 characters by defamation and slander, and thus marred and de- 
 stroyed extensive usefulness! How often, by falsehood and mis- 
 representation, has he imposed on others, to the loss of their pro- 
 perty, the ruin of their affairs, and the consequent distress of them- 
 selves and families ! How often — But time would fail me to enu- 
 merate all the ways in which a sinner may destroy temporal good. 
 Then, when we think of the good he may destroy, and the evil 
 he may occasion, of a spiritual kind, how weightily must the ob- 
 servation be felt by every serious mind ! By plausible and so- 
 phistical, but palatable and seductive reasonings, he may shake 
 and root out the half-formed principles of the unestablished in- 
 quirer, acting as Satan's instrument in "catching away what has 
 been sown in his heart;" by his example, his counsel, his sneers, 
 and his flatteries, by adorning in captivating and alluring colors 
 the pleasures of sin, touching by ridicule the feelings of false pride, 
 representing as unreasonable the restraints of religion and virtue, 
 praising the spirit, and working on the vanity of his victim, he 
 may successfully entice the young and unwary to criminal in- 
 dulgence, and may thus baffle the efforts, and balk the delighted 
 hopes, of godly parents. He may take a malignant pleasure in 
 plying his arts of temptation upon the more established, and he 
 may exult in the desolating effects of his occasional]success, — when 
 a godly man has been entangled in his snares, or has tripped and 
 fallen over any of his stumbling-blocks, and has thus offended the 
 church of God, opened the mouths of the profane to scorn and 
 blasphemy, and hardened the infidel in his unbelief, and the trans- 
 gressor in his course of sin. He may set himself down as a centre 
 of contagion, and may spread all around him a moral and spiritual 
 pestilence, counter-working all the purifying, salubrious, and life- 
 giving efforts of piety and benevolence, of parental solicitude, 
 ministerial zeal, and private philanthropy. The corruption of 
 one may spread to ten; of ten to a hundred; of a hundred to a 
 thousand. And it goes down through succeeding generations. 
 The corrupted father communicates the taint to his children ; and 
 they again to theirs. So that the pernicious influence of " one 
 sinner" that lived in the time of Solomon, may be widely felt, 
 
ECCLESIASTES IX. 11-18. 8B8 
 
 though it cannot be traced, even at the present day; and the mis- 
 chief of one destroyer of good amongst ourselves, may continue 
 and increase to the very close of time ! 
 
 My Christian brethren, let us bear in mind, that this infectious 
 nature of sin is one of the reasons why we are admonished to at- 
 tend to the purity of fellowship in the church of God. "Know 
 ye not, that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump ? Purge out, 
 therefore, the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are 
 unleavened. For even Christ, our passover, is sacrificed for us. 
 Therefore, let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the 
 leaven of malice and Avickedness, but with the unleavened bread 
 of sincerity and truth." 1 Cor. v. 6-8. "Looking diligently, lest 
 any man fail of the grace of God : lest any root of bitterness, 
 springing up, trouble you, and thereby many be defiled." Heb. 
 xii. 15. O let us beware of ever fancying there can be safety, 
 where the Lord has declared there is danger. We are not suf- 
 ficiently impressed with the deceitfulness of our own hearts, when 
 we entertain such a thought. Let us ever cherish humility and 
 self-vigilance ; and see to it that we ourselves be promoters and 
 not destroyers of good. Let us, at the same time, in the united 
 exercise of Christian love and Christian faithfulness, guard against 
 the wilful admission of corruj^tion, the voluntary implanting of 
 " roots of bitterness ;" and when corruption has been unwittingly 
 received, and has subsequently discovered itself, let us beware of 
 its presumptuous retention, in open-eyed disobedience to the will 
 of Christ; self-sufficient insensibility to our own danger; and dis- 
 regard of the honor of his name. 
 
 Although there are principles in our nature, as fallen creatures, 
 which render the work of the sinner, in doing evil and destroying 
 good, much more easy than that of the wise man in promoting 
 good and repressing evil, yet let us be encouraged in all our bene- 
 volent labors, especially those for the spiritual benefit of others, 
 by considering the extent of possible advantage from success in 
 a single instance. The seduction of one is fearful, both in itself, 
 and in the sad train of consequences that may arise from it. But 
 let us not forget how valuable, in itself and in its possible results, 
 is the conversion and salvation of one. " If any of you do err 
 from the truth, and one convert him, let him know, that he who 
 converteth the sinner from tlie error of his way, shall save a soul 
 
324 LECTURE xviri. 
 
 from death, aud shall hide a multitude of sins." Even if the good 
 stopped here, it would be inestimably precious; for "what is a 
 man profited, if he should gain the whole world, and lose his own 
 soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?" But 
 think of the influence of this individual on others, in the family, 
 in the circle of relatives and friends, and in the neighborhood to 
 which he belongs; and, through them, on successive generations 
 to the end of time. "He established a testimony in Jacob, and 
 appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers that 
 they should make them known unto their children; that the gene- 
 ration to come might know them, even the children who should 
 be born, who should arise and declare them to their children ; that 
 they might set their hope in God, and not forget the works of 
 God, but keep his commandments." Psalm Ixxviii. 5-7. How 
 animating is the thought, (and there is no enthusiastic extravagance 
 in it,) that the good we now do may continue to be felt, aud felt 
 in a constantly widening circle, till the last trumpet shall sound ! — 
 that one sinner brought back to God may, for aught we can tell, 
 prove, in course of time, the salvation of thousands ! The solitary 
 seed that has yielded thirty, sixty, or a hundred fold, stops not 
 there. Each of the grains of its produce may yield the same ; and 
 field must be added to field to receive the accumulating increase. 
 Let parents, let ministers, let Sabbath-school teachers, let all in 
 their raspective spheres of spiritual influence, be stimulated by 
 such considerations to lively and persevering exertions; and to 
 the seizure of every opportunity, on which prudence lays not an 
 evident interdict, of "seeking the profit of others that they may 
 be saved." 
 
 Let us further learn from this passage, to beware of self-depend- 
 ence. If " the race is not to the SNvift, nor the battle to the strong," 
 then ought the admonition to be obeyed, as the dictate of Divine 
 wisdom as well as the injunction of Divine authority — "Trust in 
 the Lord with all thy heart, and lean not unto thine own under- 
 standing. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and he shall direct 
 thy paths." Fully assured that — although to us the future is un- 
 certain, and events that have been unanticipated may to our minds 
 seem accidental — there is no such thing as chance or fatalism, but 
 that all things are under the immediate and unceasing superin- 
 tendence of an all-wise providence, let us consider it as our part 
 
ECCLESIASTES IX. 11-18. 325 
 
 to use means, to look to God for liis blessing, and to leave the 
 issue in his hands. This state of mind is the most consistent at 
 once with duty and with happiness. It keeps the spirit tranquil; 
 disposed to gratitude for success, and at the same time prepared 
 for possible disappointment; "the peace of God, which passethall 
 understanding, keeping the heart and mind through Christ Jesus." 
 As we ought not to "boast of to-morrow, because we know not what 
 a day may bring forth ;" so, neither should we be over-anxious 
 about to-morrow, because we may be distressing ourselves about 
 what we are never to see. How beautiful, how affectionate, how 
 persuasive, and how full of argument, the Saviour's exhortations 
 to his disciples against all anxious concern about the future days 
 of life! "Wherefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your 
 life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink ; nor yet for your 
 body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and 
 the body than raiment? Behold the fowls of the air; for they sow 
 not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly 
 Father feedeth them. Are not ye much better than they ? Which 
 of you, by taking thought, can add one cubit unto his stature? 
 And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the 
 field, how they grow ; they toil not, neither do they spin : and yet 
 I say unto you, that even Solomon, in all his glory, was not ar- 
 rayed like one of these. Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of 
 the field, which to-day is, and to-morrow is cast into the oven, 
 shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? There- 
 fore take no thought, saying, AVhat shall we eat? or. What shall 
 we drink? or. Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (for after all 
 these things do the Gentiles seek ;) for your heavenly Father know- 
 eth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the 
 kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall 
 be added unto you. Take, therefore, no thought for the morrow; 
 for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Suf- 
 ficient unto the day is the evil thereof." Matt. vi. 25-34. 
 
 And whilst we learn the lesson of dependence on God respecting 
 all our temporal interests, let us be equally on our guard against 
 depending on ourselves in our Christian course, in our spiritual 
 warfare, — in "running the race set before us," — in "fighting the 
 good fight of faith." Our speed in the one, our courage and 
 strength in the other, and our victory in both, must come from 
 
326 LECTURE XVITI. 
 
 above. Divesting ourselves of all self-confidence, let our trust be 
 in Him who "giveth power to the faint, and to them that have 
 no might increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and 
 be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: but they that 
 wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength ; they shall mount 
 up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; they 
 shall walk, and not faint." Isa. xl. 29-31. 
 
 Further : It is the part of true wisdom to be prepared, as far 
 as its precautions can reach, against possible emergencies. Let 
 none of you, then, count upon life, — no, not for an hour; — for 
 "man knoweth not his time." Death is at once the most certain 
 and the most uncertain of all things. It must come; but ivhen, 
 or how, O who shall tell us? Every one of us has his "time," 
 fixed in the purpose of Him who "appoints us our bounds, that 
 we cannot pass." How awful will it be, if that time come upon 
 any of you unawares! — if, "as the fishes are taken in an evil net, 
 and the birds are caught in the snare," so you should be "snared 
 in an evil time," by its "falling suddenly upon you." Ah! then 
 will it be to you an evil time indeed ! O ye careless children of 
 men, who are treading every moment on the verge of eternity, 
 trifle no longer with its infinitely weighty concerns ; lest it should 
 be with you as it was with the incredulous and infatuated antedi- 
 luvians, who scorned the warning voice of the " preacher of right- 
 eousness." They were " eating and drinking, marrying and giving 
 in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark; and 
 knew not until the flood came, and took them all away." Beware, 
 then, last while you "say. Peace and safety, sudden destruction 
 should come upon you!" " What meanest thou, O sleeper ? Arise, 
 and call upon thy God" to save thee from the gathering storm; 
 for the elements are conspiring thy ruin. Think not to brave it. 
 Speed thee to the Ark which he has provided for thy security, and 
 where alone thou canst be safe. Come to Jesus ! Make him thy 
 refuge! All shall then be well, — all safe, — safe for eternity. 
 
 And ye, brethren in the Lord, join to the lesson of dependence 
 on God, the lesson of sleepless vigilance. It was not to men of 
 the world, but even to his own disciples, that Christ addressed 
 the warning, — " Take heed, lest at any time your hearts be over- 
 charged with surfeiting and drunkenness, and the cares of this 
 life, and so that day come upon you unawares." — "Be ye, there- 
 
ECCLESIASTES IX. 11-18. 327 
 
 fore, sober, and watch unto prayer." Be ever at your respective 
 posts, in the service of your Master : and then, although you know 
 not the time of his coming, it will never be to you " an evil time." 
 Whether he arrive "at even or at midnight, or at cock-crowing, 
 or in the morning," let him find you watching. 
 
 In occupying your talents for the glory of God and for the good 
 of men, you may^not always meet from the latter with a suitable 
 return. This "poor wise man, who by his wisdom delivered the 
 city," had he been again placed in similar circumstances, might 
 have been tempted to consult his own preservation only, and to 
 leave those who had so ungratefully neglected and scorned him, 
 to shift for themselves. This would have been the conduct dicta- 
 ted by the ordinary principles prevalent in the world. But the 
 Bible teaches a lesson more disinterested and generous. We must 
 not be "weary in well-doing," even to those from whom we may 
 have met with a sorry recompense. Let your eye be directed, not 
 to men, but to him who " is not unrighteous, to forget your work 
 and labor of love, which ye show toward his Name;" and his 
 example is to be the model from which you are to copy : — " Love 
 your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that 
 hate you, and pray for them who despitefuUy use you, and perse- 
 cute you ; that ye may be the children of your Father who is in 
 heaven : for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, 
 and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. For if ye love 
 them who love you, what reward have ye? do not even the pub- 
 licans the same? And if ye salute your brethren only, what do 
 ye more than others ? do not even the publicans so ? Be ye there- 
 fore perfect, even as your Father who is in heaven is perfect." 
 Matt. V. 44-48. 
 
LECTURE XIX 
 
 ECCLESIASTES X. 1-10. 
 
 " Dead flies cause the ointment of the apothecary to send forth a stinking sa- 
 vor: (so doth) a little folly him that is in reputation for wisdom (and) 
 honor. 2. A wise man's heart (is) at his right hand; but a fool's heart at 
 his left. 3. Yea also, when he that is a fool walketh by the way, his wis- 
 dom faileth (him,) and he saith to every one (that) he (is) a fool. 4. If 
 the spirit of the ruler rise uj) against thee, leave not thy place; for yielding 
 pacifieth great offences. 5. There is an evil (which) I have seen under the 
 sun, as an error (which) proceedeth from the ruler: 6. Folly is set in great 
 dignity, and the rich sit in low place. 7. I have seen servants upon horses, 
 and princes walking as servants upon the earth. 8. He that diggeth a pit 
 shall fall into it; and whoso breaketh a hedge, a serpent shall bite him. 9. 
 Whoso removeth stones shall be hurt therewith; (and) he that cleaveth 
 wood shall be endangered thereby. 10. If the iron be blunt, and he do not 
 whet the edge, then must he put to more strength: but wisdom (is) profit- 
 able to direct." 
 
 Having spoken of the excellence of wisdom, Solomon here pro- 
 ceeds to lay down certain maxims, relative both to its advantages, 
 and to the mode of its exercise. 
 
 The first of these is an observation founded on universal ex- 
 perience, and arising both from the nature of tlie thing, and from 
 the corruption of the human heart : — 
 
 Verse 1. Dead flies cause the ointment of the apothecary to send 
 forth a stinking savoi^; so doth a little folly him that is in reputation 
 for wisdom and honor. 
 
 When tlie apothecary has compounded his ointment of the richest 
 and sweetest ingredients, with much skill, and care, and time ; if 
 flies fall into it, and die there, and putrify, especially in a hot 
 climate, they will destroy its plea.sant fragrance, and produce an 
 oifensive stench. So, when a man has acquired a high reputation 
 for wisdom, and an honorable character, the higher he rises in 
 
ECCLESIASTES X. 1-10. 329 
 
 public estimation, the more cautious and guarded he requires to 
 become in his behavior : for " a little folly " will mar, and may- 
 even ruin his good name; and bring him to neglect and disgrace. 
 As dead flies spoil the sweet odor of the ointment, so doth " a little 
 folly," a remaining foible, a comjjaratively trifling inconsistency, 
 or even an occasional slip, affect the character of the man who " is 
 in reputation for wisdom and honor." 
 
 The causes of this do not lie deep: — 
 
 In the first place. In proportion to the hight of a man's repu- 
 tation, he attracts notice. The eyes of others are upon him. The 
 fool passes unheeded ; nobody minding what he says or what he 
 does. But when a person rises to eminence, his behavior is marked. 
 It becomes the subject of scrutiny and of conversation. An im- 
 portance attaches to whatever he is, or says, or does. And the 
 more eyes are fastened on a man, the less likely is any infirmity 
 or fault to escape detection and animadversion. "A city that is 
 set on a hill cannot be hid." 
 
 Secondly. The higher a man's reputation is, the more is expected 
 of him. The less allowance, consequently, is made for his failings. 
 That which in an ordinary man M'^ould have passed unobserved, 
 is noticed in him with surprise and astonishment. Instead of his 
 defects being lost, like the spots in the sun, amid the blaze of his 
 excellences, the very light of his virtues serves to give them relief 
 and prominence^ so that they are in great danger of proving a 
 counterbalance to all his estimable qualities. 
 
 Thirdly. This danger is ten-fold increased by the influence of 
 a principle, v/hich, (alas for human nature !) is too welcome a guest, 
 too close an inmate in our bosoms; and of which we had occasion, 
 in a former lecture, to expose the odious nature and mischievous 
 eifects, — I mean spite and envy. It is the malevolent wish of envy, 
 to keep down a rising character to the common level. We are 
 mortified by the superiority of others, especially if, by talent and 
 diligence, they have passed ourselves in the race and left us be- 
 hind them. It is its aim and business, both to depreciate the 
 merits, and to magnify the faults, of its objects; and eagerly does 
 it avail itself of "a little folly," marking it with hawk-eyed 
 keenness, exposing and exaggerating it, setting it in the most un- 
 favorable lights, associating it slily and malignantly with each of 
 the person's excellences, not so as to hide it by means of them, but 
 
330 LECTURE XIX. 
 
 to disparage them by means of it, and in every way improving it 
 to the discredit and the ruin of his reputation. 
 
 Such being the case, the obvious improvement which should be 
 made of it by "the man who is in reputation for wisdom and 
 honor" is, to "ponder the path of his feet," — to be very circum- 
 spect and very consistent. This he ought to aim at with unre- 
 mitting vigilance, not only for his own sake, but for the sake of 
 his usefulness, in the employment of his wisdom and influence for 
 the good of men, and for the glory of God ; his power to do good 
 being necessarily proportioned to the esteem in which he is held. 
 
 Solomon's next observation regards the advantage of the wise 
 man over the fool, in the management of all descriptions of busi- 
 ness : — 
 
 Verses 2, 3. A wise man's heart is at his right hand; but afooVs 
 heart is at his left. Yea, also, u-hen he that is a fool walheth by the 
 way, his wisdom faileth him, and he saith to every one that he is a 
 fool 
 
 It is evident from the connection, that the heart in this place, 
 as in many other instances in the Scriptures, means the judgment 
 or understanding of man. It is the same word that, in the third 
 verse, is rendered icisdom; "His wisdom faileth him," being, in 
 the original, "his heart faileth him." The "right hand" is the 
 hand which men usually employ, in works both of labor and of 
 skill; and which they use with the greatest readiness, dexterity, 
 and success. The expression, therefore, in the second verse, "A 
 wise man's heart is at his right hand, but a fool's heart is at his 
 left," — seems to mean — First: That a wise man minds his own 
 proper business; whereas the fool neglects what belongs to him- 
 self, and is exceedingly officious, intermeddling, and full of saga- 
 cious counsel, in every one's concerns but his own. Any wisdom 
 he has is "at his left hand:" it is applied in the wrong place. — 
 Secondly: The understanding of the wise man is at all times ready 
 for his immediate direction, — "at his right hand." So that, being 
 steadily applied to its proper business, it is prepared to meet times 
 of emergency, and to act as circumstances direct, so as not to ruin 
 or even injure his affairs, either by imprudent precipitation or un- 
 necessary delay. The fool, on the contrary, is ever uncertain; 
 ever at a loss ; all hesitation and perplexity. His wisdom is al- 
 ways to seek. It is never to be found at home: but is continually 
 
ECCLESIASTES X. 1-10. 331 
 
 roaming abroad among a thousand matters with which he has 
 nothing to do : so that, in his own proper concerns he is incessantly- 
 taken at unawares, startled, disconcerted, stupified ; and the mo- 
 ment of needful action being lost, his affairs are irretrievably dis- 
 ordered. — Thirdly: That which the wise man does, his wisdom 
 enables him to do loell — with shill and dexterity — (a word derived 
 from the very circumstance of the right hand being the hand of 
 promptitude and skill,)* — whereas the fool, when he does any thing 
 at all, does it with his left hand ; not only applying any little frag- 
 ments of wisdom he may possess, in a wrong direction, but bung- 
 ling, blundering, and failing, even in that whicii he attempts. 
 
 The fool has not even so much wisdom as to conceal his folly. 
 "When he walketh by the way," — that is, in the whole of his 
 ordinary intercourse with men, — in the daily concerns of common 
 life, — " his wisdom faileth him, and he saith to every one that he 
 is a fool." He cannot meet a neighbor on the road without mak- 
 ing an exposure of his folly. By some ridiculous speech or out- 
 of-the-way action, he makes the vacancy or the distortion of his 
 mind as apparent as if he were to say to every one, "I am a fool." 
 He blabs out imprudently and inconsiderately what he does know, 
 without regard to time, place, or company ; or he talks ignorantly 
 and absurdly of what he does not know. By his words, by his 
 actions, or by his manner in both, he tells to all his folly, exposing 
 himself to the 2)ity of some, and to the contempt and derision of 
 others. .Nobody respects him ; nobody can place any dependence 
 upon him, or commit any business to his care. 
 
 The fourth verse contains one of the counsels of wisdom : — 
 
 Verse 4, If the spirit of the ruler rise up against thee, leave not 
 thy ptlcice; for yielding pacifieth great offences. 
 
 It is very similar to the advice in chap. viii. 3, — "Be not hasty 
 to go out of his sight; stand not in an evil thing; for he doeth 
 whatsoever pleaseth him." 
 
 The case brought before us is that of a real or supposed fault 
 on the part of a subject, by which the anger of his prince has been 
 excited. In such circumstances, a proud and hasty fool would in- 
 stantly throw up his place, avow himself a rebel, and endanger 
 his head. Wisdom will act a different part. "Leave not thy 
 place :" — do not rashly and passionately quit the prince's presence 
 
 *Latin-Dexter. 
 
332 LECTURE XIX. 
 
 and renounce his service. If you have committed the fault, frank 
 and ingenuous confession is more than your interest, — it is your 
 incumbent duty. If you have not, yield a little in the mean time, 
 and take a more favorable opportunity afterwards, when "the 
 spirit of the ruler " is calmer, and more disposed to listen to rea- 
 son and right, of clearing your character, and establishing your 
 innocence. Do not argue with an angry man; and least of all 
 with an angry prince. Let him have time to cool. "Yielding 
 pacifieth great offences." It settles them, and brings them to rest. 
 There is a vast deal more to be gained by meekness and [gentle- 
 ness, and by a little calm prudence and management, than by re- 
 sentful and intemperate violence. 
 
 Rulers, it is acknowledged by the Royal Preacher, do not al- 
 ways conduct themselves agreeably to the dictates of true wisdom, 
 or in a manner in all respects calculated to fix the affectionate re- 
 gards of their subjects. One evil, fitted to give dccasion for much 
 envy and jealousy, contempt and wrath, he specifies in 
 
 Verses 5-7. There is an evil tvhich I have seen under the sun, as 
 an error tchich proceedeth from the rider. Folly is set in great digni- 
 ty, and the rich sit in loio place. I have seen servants wpon horses, 
 and princes wcdking as servants upon the earth. 
 
 The evil which is animadverted on in these words is the ca- 
 pricious and nnreasonable advancement of ignorant and incapa- 
 ble minions from a low to a high station ; from inferiority and 
 subjection to eminence and authority ; whilst the nobles of the 
 land, who, from their birth, and wealth, and influence, might be 
 supposed destined to high place, and by their education, and the 
 study of the law, and government, and politics of their country, 
 qualified for elevation and rule, are overlooked and degraded, 
 being set beneath the indigent, and empty, and despicable upstart; 
 so that while a servant, — or rather a slave, — rides in all the pomp 
 of pageantry and state, princes and nobles walk — as his inferiors 
 and attendants — on foot. This was far from being a very un- 
 common case under the despotic governments of the East; slaves 
 of the palace being not unfrequently, from caprice, partiality, or 
 secret selfishness, advanced to the highest ranks, to look down, in 
 haughty superciliousness, on their natural and deserving superiors. 
 
 The passage is not to be interpreted as if it precluded men of 
 low degree from mounting by their own merit, gradually and 
 
ECCLESIASTES X. 1-10. 333 
 
 fairly, by successive steps of advancement, even to the highest aftd 
 most honorable offices of the state. The evil consists in elevating 
 the low, not merely from a low station, but from such a station 
 accompanied with incapacity: — "Folly is set in great dignity." 
 Uneducated, inexperienced, narrow-minded, and imprudent men; 
 as low in mental character as base in birth and in station; are 
 suddenly exalted to superiority and power, by senseless or un- 
 principled favoritism. Such men have disgraced their unseemly 
 dignity, by mean, mercenary, imperious, rash, and ruinous mis- 
 conduct. For, in most instances, such upstarts in the state turn 
 out not merely fools, but insolent and overbearing tyrants. 
 
 Many a time has such conduct brought shame and ruin, not on 
 the favorite himself only, but on his imprudent master, accom- 
 panied sometimes, also, with serious calamity to the state: and 
 the language of the following verse might be considered as referring 
 to the foolishness of such a ruler ; who, in degrading his nobles, 
 and exalting his unworthy minion, digs a pit for himself: — Verse 
 8. "He that diggeth a pit shall fall into it; and whoso breaketh 
 a hedge, a serpent shall bite him." 
 
 The eighth, ninth, and tenth verses, however, taken together, 
 may be more naturally interpreted, as a caution against rash, in- 
 considerate rebellion; — precipitate, ill-advised, ill-concerted, and 
 ill-conducted attempts, to overturn or to alter the established 
 government of a country. Such attempts can never be made 
 without imminent hazard to him who ventures upon them : — 
 
 Verses 8-10. He that diggeth a p)it shall fall into it; and he that 
 breaheth a hedge, a serpent shall bite him. Whoso removeth stones 
 shall be hurt thereioith; and he that cleaveth icood shall be endangered 
 thereby. If the iron be blunt, and he do not ichet the edge, then must 
 he put to more strength: — but wisdom is profitable to direct. 
 
 Even with regard to such a court minion as has above been de- 
 scribed, the patriotic desire to bring him down from his elevation, 
 and to deliver the country from the mischiefs his folly inflicts upon 
 it, may be attended with no little danger in the attempt at its ac- 
 complishment. The man who violently seeks his downfall may 
 bring injury, and possibly even death, upon himself. 
 
 But the verses have a general and strong application to those 
 who give way to the suggestions of pride and resentment for real 
 or fancied injuries, and are driven on, by intemperate discontent, 
 
334 LECTURE XIX. 
 
 to schemes of sedition, or open rebellion. When a man digs a pit, 
 there is a risk of his falling into it himself. So when either a 
 ruler becomes a tyrant, or a subject a rebel, the oppressive abuse 
 of power endangers the safety of the one, and the resistance of 
 lawful authority that of the other. The violent dealing both of 
 the tyrant and of the rebel, is ever ready to come down upon their 
 own heads. All history concurs to show us, how both the one 
 and the other have " digged pits " for themselves, — falling victims 
 to their own lawless passions, or to their inconsideration and rash- 
 ness; the retributive justice of Divine providence frequently dis- 
 playing itself, in infatuating wicked men, in leaving them to 
 outwit themselves, and to be "snared in the works of their own 
 hands." 
 
 The man who "breaks a hedge," — an old hedge, where serpents 
 are wont to lurk, — may expect to be bitten : so he who attempts 
 incautiously to break down or to root up the ancient fences and 
 boundaries of law and government, is in imminent jeopardy of 
 receiving deadly stings ; — either bringing down premature ven- 
 geance upon his head from the existing powers, or involving 
 himself in ruin by the disturbances which he excites. 
 
 "Whoso removeth stones" — from a building, for instance, with 
 the view of pulling it down, — "shall be hurt therewith;" the 
 stones falling upon him, bruising him, and breaking his bones, — 
 especially if he goes to work in a hasty and unskilful manner, or 
 attempts the removal of what is too heavy for his strength : — so 
 the man who sets himself to pull down or to alter the fabric of 
 the constitution and government of a country, undertakes a work 
 of no light or trifling difficulty, and a work always of hazard to 
 himself, and very often of fearfully doubtful benefit to others. It 
 is a vast deal easier to find fault than to mend; to complain of what 
 is wrong, than to substitute what is right ; to pull down an old 
 house, than to build up a new one. 
 
 "And he that cleaveth wood shall be endangered therewith." 
 In all cases there is risk of this. But the risk is various in de- 
 gree ; and it is especially great, when a man sets about his work 
 with bad tools: — 
 
 Verse 10. "If the iron be blunt, and he do not whet the edge, 
 then must he put to more strength;" and the more strength he is 
 obliged to apply, the hazard of accident becomes the more immi- 
 
ECCLESIASTES X. 1-10. 335 
 
 nent. So is it with the man who presumes to act the part of a 
 corrector of errors, and reformer of abuses, without natural ca- 
 pacity; without experience and skill; without adequate and well- 
 prepared means: or who attempts to accomplish by force and 
 violence what he cannot effect by prudence and management. The 
 peril to himself is thus tenfold augmented, and along with the 
 peril to himself, the hazard of mischief to others. 
 
 But in these, and in all other matters, "wisdom is profitable to 
 direct." It is of use to guide us in the whole of our conduct, 
 according to the circumstances which providence allots us: — to 
 "direct" to the most proper objects of desire and pursuit, and to 
 the best means of attaining them ; to the most eligible method of 
 employing these means, and to the most suitable time for their ap- 
 plication. All these come within the province of wisdom; and 
 to all these due attention is necessary, in order to good being done 
 effectually and safely without failure and shame, and without 
 concomitant or subsequent mischief. 
 
 1. Allow me, before closing — in the first place; to apply the ob- 
 servation in the the first verse of the chapter, in a more particular 
 manner, to Christian character. — " A good name," it is said in the 
 beginning of the seventh chapter, "is better than precious oint- 
 ment." In proportion to its value, it should be preserved with 
 care ; as the apothecary will be anxious, according to the fineness 
 and costliness of -his perfume, to keep it from dead flies, and every 
 other means of deterioration and corruption. It is precious in 
 itself, and ought to be carefully retained for its own sake. It is 
 precious on account of the happy influence imparted by it, in en- 
 forcing all a man's instructions, and counsels, and attempts at 
 usefulness; and should be cherished for the sake of its effects. 
 "When a man possesses a high character as a Cheistian, he is 
 " in reputation for wisdom and honor " of the most excellent kind. 
 This is "a good name" indeed; — the best it is possible to enjoy. 
 It is like that sacred ointment, compounded by the instructions of 
 Ood himself, which was to be applied to no common or profane 
 use, and of which no imitation was permitted to be made. O my 
 Christian brethren, of what importance is it, for the honor of God 
 our Saviour, and for the best interests of our fellow-men, that we 
 preserve this reputation untainted ! When David, by his fall, 
 ^'gave occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme," he did 
 
336 LECTURE XIX. 
 
 essential injury to both; injury that has never been repaired even 
 to this day : — for his recorded sin is still the sneer of the scoffing 
 infidel, and the encouragement of the determined oiFender. O 
 seek, earnestly and importunately seek, those supplies of grace 
 that are needful, for enabling you to maintain a steady consistency, 
 — to keep your garments clean, amid the pollutions of a defiled 
 and defiling world, — to keep the sweet perfume of your Christian 
 virtues free from the corruption of ofiensive incongruities. Re- 
 member, the eyes of the men of the world are intently fixed on 
 those whom the blessed Redeemer has "chosen out of the world," 
 and who profess to have separated themselves from its sins and its 
 vanities. They watch them narrowly. They are acute detectors 
 of inconsistency. They have a malignant satisfaction in the dis- 
 covery of evil; and, when a discovery is made, there are no bounds 
 to the severity of their censure ; they know not what it is to make 
 allowances. It speedily circulates, gathering aggravations in its 
 progress. It is commented on with all the keenness of invective, 
 and all the bitterness of sarcasm; with the sneer, the shrug, the 
 wink, the smile of irony, the sallies of satirical humor, and the 
 loud laugh of jesting and buifoonery. The unhappy transgressor 
 may have "wept a silent flood; his penitent spirit may have been 
 " pierced through with many sorrows ;" he may have " confessed his 
 transgression to the Lord," and found forgiveness at the foot of the 
 cross. But the evil he has done to others may be beyond remedy. 
 And remember, my brethren, it is not by gross sins alone that 
 your Christian reputation and usefulness may be injured. Flaws 
 and defects, and failings, which in others would pass unnoticed, 
 may be marked and magnified in you. The unguarded liberty 
 of a single hour may sink in the scale the character acquired in 
 successive years ; and even a foible may mar your influence, and 
 be like the dead fly in the ointment of the apothecary. The higher 
 you stand in situation and repute, the greater is your danger, and 
 the more imperative the call to vigilant self-jealousy. — Be you 
 ever so watchful, it is true, you may be the victims of calumny 
 and false accusation; but let it be your constant aim, with the 
 implored aid of the Spirit of God, to "abstain from all apjjearance 
 of evil," and to " cut off occasion from those who desire occasion" 
 against yourselves, and against the Master %vhom you serve. "Walk 
 in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time. Let 
 
ECCLESIASTES X. 1-10. 337 
 
 your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may 
 know how ye ought to answer every man." — "Sanctify the Lord 
 God in your hearts; and be ready always to give an answer to 
 •every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you, 
 with meekness and fear : having a good conscience ; that, whereas 
 they speak against you as of evil-doers, they may be ashamed that 
 falsely accuse your good conversation in Christ." Col. iv. 5, 6. 
 1 Pet. iii. 15, 16. 
 
 2. Secondly ; If a wise man's heart is at his right hand, and a 
 fooFs heart at his left, there is one most important particular in 
 which all are by nature fools; and the grace of God alone corrects 
 the folly. — There is one object, about which every man whose 
 understanding is not miserably perverted, must feel a special 
 solicitude; and for which, calculating on the principles of common 
 prudence, every thing else ought to be cheerfully sacrificed. Yet 
 while " all things are full of labor," the diversified toils of men 
 are almost exclusively for " the meat that perisheth." How few 
 comparatively mind the gracious injunction, to "labor for that 
 which endureth to eternal life!" This is a description of labor 
 to which men have no natural inclination ; in M'hich, alas ! every 
 man's heart is "at his left hand." He either neglects it altogether, 
 or he sets about it on false princijjles, and in a wrong way. The 
 truly wise man, the man whose heart is " at his right hand," con- 
 siders immortality as incomparably the most important concern 
 of an immortal creature; and the service of God, in whatever 
 sphere he occupies, as his happiness and his honor. To this 
 service he applies his right hand; employing in it all his power 
 and all his skill. — And whilst he pursues the highest of all aims, 
 he does it according to the directions of a wisdom sujDcrior to his 
 own. The fool may attempt to serve God in his own way and in 
 his own strength, and to attain immortal life on the ground of 
 his own fancied merits. But the wise man, impressed with the 
 presumption and vanity of all such attempts on the part of sinful 
 creatures, guilty, condemned, and without strength, accepts, with 
 gratitude, the offers of mercy. Instead of " going about to estab- 
 lish his own righteousness;" trying to make out a condition of 
 life which he has already violated; forming and breaking un- 
 profitable resolutions ; he " submits himself to the righteousness 
 of God," — "the righteousness which is by faith." "Accepted in 
 22 
 
338 LECTURE XIX. 
 
 the beloved," lie gives himself to God in active service, uuder the 
 impulse of grateful love. His right hand, and all the powers of 
 his mind directing its efforts, are devoted to his new Master. He 
 follows implicitly the dictates of his will ; throwing aside his own 
 inventions and reasonings, and pursuing Divine ends by Divine 
 means; seeking God's glory in God's own way; and never pre- 
 suming that he can improve upon the counsels of Heaven. AVhen 
 he acts otherwise than thus, his "heart is at his left hand." "Let 
 no man deceive himself. If any man among you seemeth to be 
 wise in this world, let him become a fool that he may be wise. 
 For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God; for it is 
 Avritten, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness: and again. 
 The Lord knoweth the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain." 
 If, instead of humbly abiding by the instructions given us, we 
 begin to devise rules and to follow methods of our own, it will turn 
 out in the end only an exhibition of our folly. It ^\\\\ be "saying 
 to every one that we are fools." And instead of whatsoever we 
 do prospering, nothing can be anticipated from our schemes but 
 failure and shame. 
 
 3. Thirdly ; Observe the manner in which all offences and dif- 
 ferences should be managed, if our object be to heal, and to restore 
 confidence and peace. The advice and sentiment in the fourth 
 verse may be profitably generalized. You may not be called 
 to "Stand before kings," and to incur the displeasure of rulers. 
 But in all the various intercourse of life, — in the family, in the 
 church, in the world, — bear in mind the maxim, that "yielding 
 pacifieth great offences." Nothing is to be gained by proud defi- 
 ance and angry violence; by the display of an unbending spirit; 
 a spirit that scorns to confess its own faults, and that seems to stoop 
 and condescend, with haughty superciliousness, in receiving the 
 acknowledgments of others. A gentle, yielding spirit is the spirit 
 of conciliation and harmony. Anger irritates and inflames the 
 wound ; meekness mollifies, cleanses, and heals it. Resentful pride 
 adds fury to the storm ; a mild demeanor changes it to a calm. 
 By the pouring on of oil we may smooth the wave, which we 
 should lash and rebuke in vain. "Put on, therefore, as the elect 
 of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness 
 of mind, meekness, long-suffering; forbearing one another and 
 
ECCLESIASTES X. 1-10. 339 
 
 forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any; 
 even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. And above all these 
 things put on love, which is the bond of perfectness: and let the 
 peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye arc called 
 in one body; and be ye thankful." Col. iii. 12-15. 
 
 4. Fourthly ; It is a good general principle, reasonable in its 
 nature, and beneficial in its application, that every man keep 
 within his own sphere in society, discharging its duties witli hu- 
 mility, and judging others with candor. — Public men are exposed 
 to many and strong temptations; and on many occasions, amidst 
 the contending interests of the members of their own community, 
 and the relative claims of foreign states, cannot fail to be environed 
 with perplexing difficulties. We certainly expect more than is 
 reasonable, if we imagine they are never to err, or that their errors 
 are always to be trivial. Let us place ourselves in their situation, 
 and, sensible of the deceitfulness of our own hearts, and of our 
 liableness to err and to be imposed upon even in the little coticerns 
 of common life, let us not be extravagant in our expectations, or 
 harsh and contemptuous in our judgments. — Not that princes and 
 the administrators of government are never to be told of their 
 errors, and of the dangers and the mischiefs to which the country 
 is exposed by their misrule. Only let us be diffident and candid, 
 and ready to make fair and reasonable allowances. — And let us 
 beware of rash and hasty interference. There are few things in 
 which consideration and caution are more imperiously rei [aired, 
 than the redress of grievances and the reformation of abases. 
 Resentment and pride are dangerous counsellors; and tneasares 
 of precipitation and violence are seldom either equitable or expe- 
 dient. Those men are often the most forward with their schemes 
 and their offers of aid, who are least qualified for the work, and 
 least aware either of the difficulties of its execution, or of the 
 problematical uncertainty of its consequences. — The body politic, 
 like the animal body, will ever be most vigorous and thriving, 
 when all the members keep their proper places, and duly ftilfill 
 their respective functions. And the same similitude is applied by 
 inspired authority to the church, or the body of Christ. " The body 
 is not one member, but many. If the foot shall say. Because I am 
 not the hand, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the 
 
340 LECTURE XIX. 
 
 body? And if the ear shall say, Because I am not the eye, I am 
 not of the body; is it therefore not of the body? If the whole 
 body were an eye, where were the hearing? and if the whole were 
 hearing, where were the smelling? But now hath God set the 
 members every one of them in the body as it hath pleased him. — 
 And the eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need of thee; 
 Qor again, the liead to the feet, I have no need of you. — That 
 there should be no schism in the body ; but that all the members 
 should have the same care one for another. And whether one 
 member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be 
 honored, all the members rejoice with it." 1 Cor. xii. 14-18, 21, 
 25, 26. 
 
 Beware, especially, of intermeddling with others from envy, or 
 any such malignant principle, with a view to bring them down. 
 Many a time, in such cas&s, has the saying been verified, "He 
 that diggeth a pit shall fall into it." In the secret workings of 
 his providence, the Lord often turns into foolishness the evil 
 devices of men against one another, and particularly against his 
 own people; and entangles their feet in the meshes of their own 
 snares. Haman was hanged on the gallows which he had pre- 
 pared for Mordecai; and Mordecai, whom he had sought to crush, 
 was advanced to dignity and honor. The author of a calumny 
 digs a pit, into which he not unfrequently falls himself. He pre- 
 pares^a grave for the reputation of another, and he who propagates 
 the slander assists him in deepening and widening it; and in the 
 issue it buries his own. "Judge not, that ye be not judged: for 
 with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged, and with what 
 measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again." — " He shall 
 have judgment without mercy that hath showed no mercy." 
 Matt. vii. 1, 2. James ii. 13. 
 
 Lastly. Never forget whence all the "wisdom" that is "profit- 
 able to direct," and especially all spiritual understanding of truth 
 and duty, must be sought and found: "If any of you lack wis- 
 dom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all liberally, and up- 
 braideth not: and it shall be given him." — "The wisdom that is 
 from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, easy to be in treated, 
 full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without 
 hypocrisy." — " For this cause we also * * * do not cease to pray 
 
ECCLESIASTES X. 1-10. 341 
 
 for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge 
 of his will, in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; that ye 
 might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, beingTruitful 
 in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God." — 
 "Show me thy ways, O Lord; teach me thy paths. Lead me in 
 thy truth, and teach me; for thou art the God of my salvation: 
 on thee do I hope all the day." James i. 5. iii. 17. Col. i. 9/10. 
 Psalm XXV. 4, 5. 
 
LECTURE XX, 
 
 ECCLESIASTES X. 11-20. 
 
 ''Surely the serpent will bite without enchantment ; and a blabber is no better. 
 12. The words of a wise man's mouth (are) gracious; but the lips of a fool 
 will swallow up himself. 13. The beginning of the words of his mouth (is) 
 foolishness: and the end of his talk (is) mischievous madness. 14. A fool 
 also Is full of words: a man cannot tell what shall be; and what shall be 
 after him, who can tell him ? 15. The labor of the foolish wearieth every 
 one of them, because he knoweth not how to go to the city. 16. Woe to 
 thee, O land, when thy king (is) a child, and thy princes eat in the morn- 
 ing! 17. Blessed (art) thou, O land, when thy king (is) the son of nobles, 
 and thy princes eat in due season, for strength, and not for drunkenness! 
 18. By much slothfulness the building decayeth; and through idleness of 
 the hands the house droppeth through. 19. A feast is made for laughter, 
 and wine maketh merry: but money answereth all (things.) 20. Curse not 
 the king, no not in thy thought; and curse not the rich in thy bed-cham- 
 ber; for a bird of the air shall carry the voice, and that which hath wings 
 shall tell the matter." 
 
 In these verses, Solomon pursues the same general train of 
 thought as in those which precede; comparing together the re- 
 spective qualities and effects of wisdom and folly. 
 
 Verse 11. Surely the serpent loUl bite without enchantment, and a 
 babbler is no better. 
 
 There is in these words an allusion to a practice said to prevail 
 in the East, of charming adders by the power of sounds, fascina- 
 ting them by musical incantations, and rendering them for the 
 time harmless to the persons who handled them. There are re- 
 ferences to the same custom in other parts of Scripture ; and the 
 fact is vouched by considerable authorities. "Their poison" (the 
 poison of wicked men) " is like the poison of a serpent : they are 
 like the deaf adder, that stoppeth her ear ; which will not hearken 
 to the voice of charmers, charming never so wisely." — "Behold, 
 
ECCLE8IA8TE8 X. 11-20. 343 
 
 I will send serpents, cockatrices, among you, which will not be 
 charmed, and they shall bite you, saith the Lord." Psal. Iviii. 4, 5. 
 Jer. viii. 17. 
 
 The meaning of the verse before us, however, does not at all 
 depend on the reality of the alleged fact: Whether it was authen- 
 tic, or only the general belief, the sentiment expressed is the same. 
 "Surely the serpent will bite without enchantment," — that is, he 
 will bite unless he be charmed: "and a babbler is no better." This 
 latter clause is by some rendered — " and there is no success to the 
 master of the tongue ;" and is interpreted as expressing the vanity 
 of the most exquisite incantations, even by "charmers charming 
 never so wisely," after the bite has been inflicted; * and as intended 
 to warn against delay in softening and subduing a dangerous 
 character, and thus preventing what, when once done, it may be 
 far from easy to remedy. But it was not by the subtle eloquence 
 of the tongue that serpents were charmed; and the connection 
 evidently favors the translation of the Hebrew phrase, signifying 
 " master of the tongue," by such an English designation as ^' bab- 
 bler," or talker; — a man who is all tongue. This "babbler" is 
 the very person to be charmed. He is compared to a serpent. 
 His tongue is dangerous in the extreme, — doing injury sometimes 
 without design and sometimes Avith it, — from the want of common 
 sense, or from the want of principle. It is "an unruly evil, full 
 of deadly poison." He who gives to his tongue an unrestrained 
 license, and is guided in the use of it neither by principle nor by 
 prudence, is a man that requires to be managed with peculiar 
 caution. Contradiction and violence may only irritate, and make 
 the venom of his tongue the more virulent and deadly. He must 
 be charmed. We must find out his right side, — the way to gain 
 his good graces, to tame him, and keep him gentle. If he be a 
 man of power, the danger of meddling with him becomes the more 
 imminent, and the necessity for cautious management the more 
 imperative. 
 
 But a babbler is dangerous not only to others; he is equally so 
 to himself: — 
 
 Verse 12. The words of a wise man's mouth are gracious; but 
 the lips of a fool will swallow up himself. 
 
 *Si serpens momorderit, non incantatus, quid praestabit peritissimus incan- 
 tator? — Va?i der Palm. 
 
344 LECTURE XX. 
 
 "The words of a wise man's mouth" — of the man who is guided 
 by sound principle and discretion, and a due consideration of cir- 
 cumstances and characters — "are gracious:" — they are kind and 
 insinuating; adapted, in times of difficulty, to gain and to secure 
 the friendship of others, — to avert gathering storms, and to still 
 the tempest when it has begun to rage. Such were the words of 
 Jacob, when, after having committed himself to the God of his 
 fathers, he went to meet his brother Esau, whose proud re- 
 sentment he had so much cause to fear. Gen. xxxii. And such 
 were the words of Abigail to David, when his wrath had been 
 kindled by the insolent conduct of her churlish and thankless 
 husband, and his purpose of vengeance had been formed, and was 
 on the eve of immediate execution. 1 Sam. xxv. 
 
 The contrast of the first clause of this verse with the second, 
 clearly shows what is meant by the graciousness of the wise man's 
 words : — " but the lips of a fool will swallow up himself." His 
 rash, imprudent, and passionate, or his unprincipled and slander- 
 ous talk, is incessantly exposing him to hazards, alienating his 
 friends, exasperating his enemies, and bringing upon him their open 
 or their secret vengeance. He thus digs pits for himself that may 
 swallow him up, and becomes the victim of his own folly. The 
 conduct of the successor of Solomon in the throne of Israel, affords 
 an apt illustration of "a fool's words swallowing up himself." 
 Had Rehoboam followed the sound advice of the aged counsellors 
 of his father and "spoken good words to the people" when they 
 came to implore a mitigation of their burdens, all had been well. 
 They would have sworn a willing allegiance ; would have shouted 
 " God save king Rehoboam !" and would have been, as the old 
 men expressed it, "his servants for ever." But, like a fool, in- 
 stead of his words being "gracious," he "answered the people 
 roughly;" talked, with supercilious severity, of "his little finger 
 being thicker than his father's loins," and of "chastising them 
 with scorpions in place of whips:" and his ungracious words 
 "swallowed up himself." They roused the indignant spirit of 
 the peoplo; divided his kingdom; and alienated for ever from 
 the house of David the whole of Israel except the tribe of Judah. 
 
 We cannot wonder that the fool's words should be represented 
 as thus hazardous to himself as well as to others, when we consider 
 the description of them in the thirteenth verse : — 
 
ECCLESIASTES X. 11-20. 345- 
 
 Verse 13. The beginning of the words of his mouth is foolishness ; 
 and the end of his talk is mischievous madness. 
 
 When he speaks at all he speaks foolishly; and, commencing^ 
 in folly, he concludes in madness : he either works liimself up to 
 a pitch of frenzy, by the very power of eager and continued voci- 
 feration, fretting and fuming with ridiculous and extravagant 
 passion at phantoms, possibly, of his own creation, which his wild 
 and incoherent mind has embodied into reality, and, by dwelling 
 upon them and talking of them, has aggravated to a hideous 
 magnitude: — or, if he happens to meet with the smallest check 
 or contradiction — if he is not listened to with the attention to 
 which he deems such an oracle entitled — if his hearer does not 
 appear to feel along with him to the full extent to which he ab- 
 surdly feels himself; — he is instantly on fire, all blaze, and smoke^ 
 and noise; he is thrown more and more oif his guard; till his 
 passion becomes "mischievous madness," perilous to all within 
 his reach, and whom he has power to injure, and not less perilous 
 to himself. Were it not for the harm which such a combustible 
 talker, in his moments of inflammation, may occasion, along with 
 the pain produced by the humiliating spectacle of a fellow-man 
 exposing himself as the wretched dupe of his own imbecility and 
 senseless passion, he might well be laughed at for the ludicrous 
 incongruity between his feelings and their exciting causes; be- 
 tween his endless and over-powering talk, and the subjects of his 
 voluble vehemence. — The character is in this verse shortly but 
 strikingly touched. It is far from being uncommon. And there 
 are few more dangerous, or more difficult to manage. 
 
 Feia ideas and many words, is the next feature in the portraiture 
 of the fool : — 
 
 Verse 14. A fool also is full of words: a man cannot tell ivhat 
 shall be; and lohat shall be after him, who can tell himf 
 
 Some, I believe, have fancied, that Solomon here mimics the 
 fool, — giving an exemplification or specimen of what he means. 
 Rather than cease talking, the fool will repeat the same thing in 
 much the same words: — "A man cannot tell what shall be,— and 
 what shall be after him, who can tell him?" But this, if it be 
 ingenious, is not solid. The two clauses are not of the same 
 meaning. The latter is not a mere vain repetition of the former. 
 ''A man cannot tell what shall be," expresses a person's own ina- 
 
346 LECTURE XX. 
 
 bility to dive into the future; and "what shall be after him, who 
 can tell him?" expresses the inability of all others to give him 
 the information he may wish for. 
 
 By others, the verse is considered as reproving the presumptu- 
 ous vanity of the fool's talk. His being "full of words," they 
 think, refers particularly to his foolish boastings of what he is to 
 do, — his airy promises, — his extravagant and confident schemes 
 for the future, and vauntings of their certain success ; — a very 
 common way in which the fool utters his mind and proclaims his 
 folly; forgetting entirely, that — while he thus talks at random, 
 and roams at large over the fields of futurity, with no doubts, no 
 conditional ifs, no humble recollection of dependence, between 
 him and the attainment of all his speculations — "a man cannot 
 tell what shall be; and what shall be after him, who can tell him?" 
 
 Others still, — and this is probably the true meaning, — interpret 
 the words as descriptive of the loose incoherency ; the unconnected 
 heterogeneous jumble; of the fool's discourse: which is so mingled, 
 so impertinent, so disjointed, that no man at any one part of it, 
 can tell, or can even guess, what is to come next. No man can 
 judge from what he is now saying, what he is about to say; or 
 from what he is now doing, what he is about to do. If the per- 
 son who is himself at a loss puts the question to others, he finds 
 them as unable to conjecture as himself: — "a man cannot tell what 
 is to be ; and what is to come after it, who can tell him ?" All 
 is Babel: no order, no system, no associated pairs of ideas, no 
 rational and perceptible sequence of one thing from another. 
 
 In these different interpretations, the character represented is 
 much the same ; only it is brought out from the words in diiferent 
 ways. The fool appears in them all, as a man of words, rather 
 than of ideas ; and " full of words." He talks at random about 
 every thing, past, present, or to come ; and is always equally con- 
 fident. It is vain to attempt arguing with him ; he cannot be 
 kept to a point ; he will stupify you with talk ; and he must and 
 will have the last word, even although he should only say at the 
 end the same thing that he said at the beginning. 
 
 A total want of common sense in the most ordinary affairs of 
 life and transactions of business completes the picture: — 
 
 Verse 15. The labor of the foolish wearieth every one of them; 
 because he hiowcth not hare to go to the city. 
 
ECCLESIASTE8 X. 11-20. 347 
 
 This last expression was, iu all probability, proverbial. " He 
 does not know the way into the city,"— although, it may be, living 
 in the immediate vicinity. He wanders in the openest and best 
 frequented road : — that is, he blunders in the simplest and easiest 
 matters. If there be a wrong way, he is sure to take it. — The 
 whole verse connects immediately with the preceding. "A man 
 cannot tell what is to be ; and what shall be after it, who can tell 
 him? The labor of the foolish wearieth everyone of them f' — 
 that is, all men that have any thing to do wuth him. They are 
 teazed, and harassed, and worn out of patience by his incorrigible 
 stupidity, and the blunders it is perpetually producing; blunders, 
 of which the rectification is sometimes much more troublesome 
 than the entire business about which they are committed. Send 
 the fool back to adjust his error, and it is twenty to one that he 
 makes a second worse than the first. 
 
 The whole of this description of the absurdity of the fool's dis- 
 course and conduct, and its mischievous consequences, may be 
 understood as opposed to the brief commendation of wisdom in 
 the end of the tenth verse, as "profitable to direct." The wise 
 man " orders his own affairs with discretion," and whatever is in- 
 trusted to him by others he manages with prudence, accuracy, and 
 despatch; securing to himself approbation, confidence, and ad- 
 vancement. 
 
 In speaking of the opposite efteets of wisdom and folly, it was 
 not unnatural for the writer, himself a king, to introduce some 
 remarks on the comparative influence of the one and the other, 
 when predominant in the character of public rulers : — 
 
 Verses 16, 17. Woe to thee, land, when thy king is a child, and 
 thy 'princes eat in the morning. Blessed art thou, O land, when thy 
 king is the son of nobles, and thy princes eat in due season, for 
 strength, and not for drunkenness. 
 
 " A child," in the former of these verses, refers not so much to 
 age, as to capacity. A woe is pronounced on a country when its 
 sovereign is ignorant, inexperienced, froward, fickle, willful, easily 
 imposed upon, and otherwise unfit, as a child, for his weighty 
 charge. The historian of the reign of Rehoboam the son of Solo- 
 mon, in the First book of Kings, informs us that that prince "was 
 forty and one years old when he began to reign." Yet when Abijah, 
 his son and successor, expostulates with Jeroboam and his followers 
 
348 LECTURE XX. 
 
 for their rebellion against his father, he represents Rehoboani as 
 having been tlien ^^ young and tender-hearted," and incapable of 
 withstanding them.* Tender-hearted is an epithet susceptible of 
 different significations. When it is said of the good king Josiah 
 that his "heart was tender," that lowliness and contrition of spirit 
 are meant, which arise from a sense of sin, and a becoming fear 
 of God. He "humbled himself and wept before the Lord." But 
 this was not the character of Rehoboani ; and the epithet, when 
 applied to him, must be understood as expressing irresolute timidi- 
 ty, softness, want of courage and nerve for encountering and going 
 through difficulties. But whatever we conceive to be meant by 
 tender-hearted; certainly, when we think of the age above as- 
 signed to Rehoboam, the word translated young cannot signiiy his 
 being a child in years; and yet it is the same word as that ren- 
 dered "a child" in the passage before us. It- means, evidently, 
 that he was raw and inexperienced ; deficient in vigor, and with- 
 out skill. We necessarily associate with extensive power lodged 
 in the hands of a child, the ideas of general incapacity, inexperi- 
 ence, and liableness to imposition, and the probability at least of 
 frowardness, fickleness, and self-will. Hence it is threatened, 
 through the prophet Isaiah, as a curse upon the people of Israel, 
 "I will give children to be their princes, and babes shall rule over 
 them." Isaiah iii. 4. 
 
 In such cases, it cannot be expected that public affairs should 
 prosper; and especially when, to the incapacity of the sovereign, 
 there is added thej curse of an indolent and voluptuous nobility ; 
 when not only is the king of the land a child, but her " jirinces eat 
 in the morning;" that is, when they are men "given to appetite," 
 devoted to sensual gratifications, their god their belly, indulging 
 their propensities at unseasonable times, for their own pleasure, 
 and to the neglect of the business of the State. A wise, and tem- 
 perate, and active nobility, might counteract, by their counsel and 
 their influence, the mischiefs of a weak prince's incapacity. But 
 when both these evils meet, then may it be said, with emphasis 
 as well as truth, ^ Woe to thee, O land!" Every thing must be 
 deranged and out of course; all the miseries must be felt, of mis- 
 rule, oppression, and anarchy; and all the moral horrors exhibited, 
 of a licentious and degraded community. 
 
 * Compare 1 Kings xiv. 21, with 2 Cliron. xiii. 7. 
 
ECCLESIASTES X. 11-20. 349 
 
 On the other hand — Verse 17. "Blessed art thou, O land, when 
 thy king is the son of nobles, and thy princes eat in due season, 
 for strength, and not for drunkenness." 
 
 The king's being "a son of nobles" must not be understood as 
 implying the sentiment that capacity is the uniform attendant of 
 exalted birth. "A son of nobles," evidently signifies a noble- 
 minded prince, the descendant of illustrious progenitors, possessing 
 their talents, and emulating their excellences. It stands opposed 
 to the designation, "a child," in the preceding verse. Our Lord 
 said on one occasion to the Jews, " If ye were Abraham's chil- 
 dren, ye Avould do the works of Abraham ;" and we are accus- 
 tomed, with a peculiarity of meaning which every one understands, 
 to say of a youth, the resemblance of whose character to that of 
 his pai-ent is particularly marked and striking. He is his father's 
 son. On the same principle of phraseology, "a son of nobles" is 
 one who does not disgrace his birth, but who resembles the line 
 of eminent ancestors from whom he has derived it. 
 
 The sense which we attached to the phrase in the former verse — 
 "eating in the morning," is confirmed by its being placed in con- 
 trast with "eating in due season, for strength, and not for drunken- 
 ness." It is equally plain, from the mention of drunkenness, that 
 "eating," in the sixteenth verse, means feasting in general; the 
 being addicted to banqueting and revelry. And opposed to this 
 is "eating in due season," — not for the mere indulgence of animal 
 appetite; the sordid gratification of sensual propensities; but for 
 the natural and proper end of eating — the nourishment and in- 
 vigoration of the bodily frame for the active exertion requisite in 
 the fulfillment of the duties of life. A wise, experienced, able, 
 and accomplished monarch, with a temperate, steady, and patriotic 
 nobility, devoted to public business and not to pleasure, — king 
 and courtiers jointly applying their powders, from right principles, 
 to the service of the commonwealth, — is a blessing of inestimable 
 value to a country. The administration of affairs will then, un- 
 der the smile of heaven, be proportionably prosperous; and the 
 people, experiencing the benefits of good government, will be 
 loyal and contented; and, influenced by the example of their 
 superiors, sober, industrious, honorable, and happy. 
 
 Luxury is usually accompanied by slothfulness, — the love of 
 
350 LECTURE XX. 
 
 ease and repose; and in every department of business, private and 
 public, slothfulness is the parent of loss, decay, and ruin : — 
 
 Verse 18. By much slothfulness the building decayeth; and through 
 idleness of the hands the house droppeth through. 
 
 A house requires, not only to be built, but to be kept up. If 
 due attention be not paid to this, — if a man, from laziness, after 
 having got his habitation reared, M'ill not be at the trouble of 
 necessary repairs, a damage that is at first trifling will imper- 
 ceptibly increase, and will be followed by others, till the building 
 comes to be in danger. Kesolutions to have it mended are daily 
 formed, and daily neglected; the indolent inhabitant always finding 
 some apology for putting off till to-morrow. To-morrow is so 
 near, that matters, he says to himself, cannot be much worse be- 
 fore then ; and as it is always equally near, the excuse which it 
 furnishes is always equally valid. Day after day, as the time for 
 purposed or half-j)urposed exertion comes round, the sluggard 
 yawns out to himself the same convenient assurance, that a few 
 hours can make no diiference; till, by daily procrastination, the 
 repair becomes impracticable, and the decayed and shattered tene- 
 ment "falls through." — All domestic and all national affairs will 
 necessarily go to wreck in the hands of the slothful. "The slug- 
 gard will not plow by reason of the cold ; therefore shall he beg 
 in harvest, and have nothing;" — " I went by the field of the sloth- 
 ful, and by the vineyard of the man void of understanding; and, 
 lo, it was all grown over with thorns, and nettles had covered the 
 face thereof, and the stone wall thereof was broken down. Then 
 I saw, and considered it well; I looked upon it, and received in- 
 struction. Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the 
 hands to sleep : so shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth ; 
 and thy want as an armed man." — "The hand of the diligent 
 shall bear rule ; but the slothful shall be under tribute." — " The 
 drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty; and drowsiness 
 shall clothe a man with rags." Prov. xx. 4. xxiv. 30-34. xii. 24. 
 xxiii. 21. — In this last passage the same connection is observable, 
 as in the subject of lecture, between sensuality and sloth. 
 
 When the rulers of a land addict themselves to sensual indul- 
 gence and profligacy, the public funds are wasted by the demands 
 of their luxury, and lavished on the companions of their intem- 
 perance and riot; by which means tlie treasury is empoverished, 
 
ECCLESIASTES X. 11-20. 351 
 
 and either the bushiess of government, which cannot go on for a 
 day without money, must be at a stand, or the royal coffers must 
 be replenished by injurious and oppressive taxation. : — 
 
 Verse 19. A feast is made for laughter, and wine maketh merry; 
 but money answereth all things. 
 
 Feasting and wine, laughter and merriment, are transient, un- 
 substantial, and profitless. What can they do towards the great 
 ends of government? Which of the purposes can they serve, 
 M'hich would be effectually answered by the money that is thrown 
 away upon them? The verse appears to be introduced, to aggra- 
 vate the folly and criminality of the conduct reprobated in the 
 sixteenth verse, of the princes of a land "eating in the morning," — 
 giving themselves to unseasonable and intemperate festivity. The 
 feast, indeed, yields them laughter and mirth. But woe to the 
 land, when its princes expend on such frivolous and unworthy 
 objects the money which ought to be devoted to the advancement 
 of their country's prosperity, and which, in government, equally as 
 in other departments of life and business, "answereth all things" — 
 is indispensable to every step of its procedure. 
 
 Such conduct on the part of rulers presents a very strong tempt- 
 ation to their subjects — while they cannot but inwardly disapprove, 
 dislike, and despise them — to give utterance to their feelings in the 
 language of reviling and imprecation : and the chapter concludes 
 witTi an admonition on this subject, founded on considerations of 
 prudence, which do not, however, imply the exclusion of higher 
 principles : — 
 
 Yerse 20. Curse not the king, no, not in thy thought, and curse 
 not the rich in thy bed-chamber : for a bird of the air shall carry the 
 voice, and that which hath wings shall tell the matter. 
 
 This is an important general caution : — a caution, for which 
 there is little occasion when a land is blessed Avith a king who is 
 the son of nobles, and when its princes eat in due season, for 
 strength, and not for revelry. Against such there is no disposition 
 to vent imprecations : — they are a blessing, and they are blessed 
 in return : — they reign in the hearts of a loyal and happy people. 
 But, even when it is otherwise, — when the king is a child, and the 
 princes eat in the morning, — there is an official respect due to the 
 magistracy, independently of the personal character of the magis- 
 trate. Honor is enjoined to be paid to governors as such. "Sub- 
 
552 I.ECTUKE XX. 
 
 mit yourselves to every ordinance of man, for the Lord's sake: 
 whether it be to the king, as supreme ; or unto governors, as unto 
 them that are sent by him for the punishment of evil-doers, and 
 for the praise of them that do well. For so is the will of God, 
 that with well-doing ye may put to silence the iguorance of fool- 
 ish men : as free, and not using your liberty for a cloak of ma- 
 liciousness, but as the servants of God. Honor all men. Love 
 the brotherhood. Fear God, Honor the king." 1 Pet. ii. 13-17. 
 All those general principles, on the ground of which obedience is 
 inculcated, enforce also respectful behavior, and prohibit cursing 
 and reviling. "Render therefore to all their dues; tribute to 
 whom tribute is due, custom to whom custom, fear to whom fear, 
 honor to whom honor." Rom. xiii. 7. "Conscience toward God" 
 must be our first consideration — a sense of duty arising from his 
 authority. But the fear of punishment from men, — what the apostle 
 Paul denominates "wrath," — is a second; which, although in its 
 nature inferior, is yet perfectly justifiable and legitimate. — We 
 ought not to do "in thought," what it is Avrong in the sight of God 
 to do with our tongues: for "the Lord searcheth all hearts, and 
 understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts." The most 
 secret and deeply hidden thought of a malicious and cursing heart 
 is perfectly known to Him, though it never should give itself 
 expression in words. And whilst all things are naked and open 
 to Him, — whilst our very "thoughts are heard in heaven," — let 
 us not forget that kings, and the courtiers and the satellites of 
 kings, have a sense of hearing unusually acute, and exercise a 
 vigilance which few things can escape : — " A bird of the air shall 
 carry the voice, and that which hath wings shall tell the matter." 
 This is a strong proverbial form of speech, expressive of the strange 
 and unaccountable way in which such matters are frequently de- 
 tected. They come to light — nobody knows how. The course 
 they have followed leaves no traces by which it can be searched 
 out. It is as if " a bird of the air had carried the voice." You 
 are as much at a loss as the Syrian monarch was, when Elisha the 
 prophet "told the king of Israel the words that he spoke in his 
 bed-chamber." You are lost in unavailing conjecture, when that 
 which has been "spoken in the ear in closets," or whispered in a 
 soliloquy in your most private retirement — that which you have 
 little more than thouglit — finds its way to the throne, and exposes 
 
ECCLESIASTES X. 11-20. 353 
 
 you to jealousy and to vengeance. "Curse not the king," there- 
 fore, " no, not in thy thought, and curse not the rich in thy bed- 
 chamber." Add prudence to principle. The thing is in itself 
 wrong; and it is at the same time hazardous. It involves at once 
 the displeasure of God, and the risk of forfeiting your head to men. 
 Let us now gather up some of those inferential lessons which 
 are suggested by the verses. 
 
 1. In the first lilace; The variety of characters with which we 
 must meet in our passage through the world, if we mix at all in 
 the active scenes of life, is very great; and it is a lesson of no 
 inferior consequence, to "walk in wisdom" toward them all. We 
 must not, indeed, sacrifice integrity and a good conscience. These 
 have no equivalent; no price at which they can be disposed of 
 without irreparable loss. But it is a duty, as well as an advan- 
 tage, to suit our behavior to the characters of those with whom 
 the intercourse of life brings us into contact. From a disdainful 
 or a thoughtless disregard of this lesson — from treating men of all 
 tempers and characters alike, — from scorning or neglecting to 
 charm the serpent, — much contention and wrath, disturbance and 
 mischief, have arisen. Even folli/ itself is a genus that compre- 
 hends under it no inconsiderable number of species and varieties : 
 and it is far from being a trifling or contemptible exercise of pru- 
 dence, so to conduct ourselves towards fools themselves, as to avoid 
 encouraging and puffing them up in their folly, and to save from 
 injurious impression our own reputation and interest. "Answer 
 not a fool according to his folly," says the wise man elsewhere, 
 *'lest thou also be like unto him. Answer a fool according to his 
 folly, lest he be wise in his own conceit." The seeming contra- 
 riety of these directions is perhaps most simply explained by ob- 
 serving the diiferent senses of the phrase "according to his folly." 
 Answer not a fool in a foolish manner, lest thou also be like unto 
 him. Answer a fool as his folly deserves, lest he be wise in his own 
 conceit. 
 
 2. Secondly ; Solomon, doubtless, uttered much pernicious folly 
 himself during "the days of his vanity," when he resolved on 
 making the trial of foolishness and madness as a source of enjoy- 
 ment and pleasure. But after those days, so unworthy of him, 
 were over, — when "hLs understanding returned to him," and he 
 
 23 
 
354 LECTURE XX. 
 
 deduced tlie lessons of wisdom from the experience of folly, O 
 how " gracious " were " the words of his mouth !" With the meek 
 humility and tender earnestness of one who deeply and bitterly 
 felt the absurdity and the criminality of his own ways, he ad- 
 dresses his admonitions to others, and seeks to Avin their hearts 
 to that which is good. This he does in the book before us ; and 
 how fine, too, are the exemplifications of it in the introductory 
 portion (the first nine chapters) of tlie book of Proverbs ! How 
 aifectionate, how faithful, how fervent, how insinuating, how en- 
 deariug ! That youth's heart must be sadly infatuated, or wretch- 
 edly hardened, that can slight and resist counsel so administered. 
 
 But we know into whose lips, above all others, "grace was 
 poured." "■ The Spirit of the Lord rested upon Him, — the spirit 
 of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, 
 the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord." Truly gra- 
 cious were the words which proceeded out of his mouth ; in them- 
 selves profitable and saving; and, in the manner of them, uniting 
 the divine dignity of "one who had authority," with all the mild- 
 ness and engagingness of winning persuasion : — "Learn of me, for 
 I am meek and lowly in heart." In his experience a mournful 
 evidence is presented, that the most gracious words, the fullest of 
 wisdom and kindness, will not always secure from hatred and 
 opposition, when that which is uttered is unpalatable and offen- 
 sive truth. There were times when his countrymen hung upon 
 his lips with delighted eagerness; all bearing him witness, and 
 "marvelling at the gracious words which proceeded out of his 
 mouth:" but no sooner did he touch a striug that was not quite 
 in harmony with their national and their provincial pride, tlian, 
 as if by a touch of magic, all was, in an instant, indignation and 
 wrath, and lie is hurried to the brow of a precipice, to be cast 
 down headlong. Yet ought we always, notwithstanding this, as 
 far as is consistent with fidelity to the interests of truth, to choose 
 acceptable and ingratiating words, such as may disarm resentment, 
 give assurance of good-will, and obtain for whatever we may have 
 to say a fair and favorable hearing. "Let your speech be always 
 with grace." 
 
 3. Thirdly; If "the lips of a fool swallow up himself," by 
 bringing upon him the resentment of men, and laying him open 
 
ECCLESIASTES X, 11-20. 355 
 
 to varied mischief; there is a higher and more ahirining sense in 
 which the expression will be found to liold true. Wlicn men 
 speak against God; when they "contradict and blaspheme" liis testi- 
 mony; when they talk of his thrcatenings with bravado and scorn; 
 and with sneering contempt of the invitjitions of his mercy : their 
 words are the words of folly, and they are words which in the end 
 will prove their infallible and irremediable ruin. "The kings of 
 the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, 
 against the Lord, and against his Anointed, saying. Let us break 
 their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us. He that 
 sitteth in the heavens shall laugh ; the Lord shall have them in 
 derision. Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex 
 them in his sore displeasure." — "And Enoch also, the seventh 
 from Adam, ])rophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh 
 v/ith ten thousands of his saints, to execute judgment upon all, 
 and to convict all that are ungodly among them of all their un- 
 godly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their 
 hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him." 
 Psalm ii. 2-5. Jude 14-15. Ah! ^/w/t, indeed, "the lips of the 
 fool will swallow up himself." He will be found to have em- 
 ployed them against his own life. Having despised and rejected 
 the offered mercy of God in this Avorld; instead of "gracious" 
 words from the lips of the "meek and lowly" Redeemer, he shall 
 hear the fearful sentence of the righteous and offended Judge, — 
 "Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the 
 devil and his angels." 
 
 4. Fourthly; As it is our incumbent duty to seek, by all lawful 
 means, the good of our country, let it be our prayer to Him who 
 "has the hearts of all in his hand," and who "giveth to man un- 
 derstanding," that its kings, and princes, and nobles, juay be men 
 at once of ability, of integrity, and of public and private virtue; 
 men, like those of Issachar, "having understanding of the times, 
 to know what ought to be done :" — that its " officers may be peace, 
 and its exactors righteousness," — "fearing (xod, and hating covet- 
 ousness:" — that thus, under the smile and blessing of the Most 
 High, it may be well with ou-r beloved country, both now, and in 
 generations yet to come. 
 
 5. Fifthly; My Christian brethren, — in the spiritual kingdom of 
 
356 LECTURE XX. 
 
 which we are subjects, the King is "the holy One and the just," 
 infinite ih wisdom and knowledge, as well as in holiness and grace. 
 No "woe" can ever be sounded against Zion on account of the 
 character of /(cr King. It combines in it every excellence that 
 can engage the loyalty of his subjects, and insure the prosperity 
 of his government. "Righteousness shall be the girdle of his 
 loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins : — and he shall not 
 judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing 
 of his ears; but with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and re- 
 prove with equity for the meek of the earth : and he shall smite 
 the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his 
 lips shall he slay the wicked." Nothing can go wrong under an 
 administration like this ; in which infinite goodness is directed by 
 infinite wisdom, and the purposes of both are effected by infinite 
 power. "The mountains shall bring peace to the people, and the 
 little hills, by righteousness. — In his days shall the righteous 
 flourish, and abundance of peace so long as the moon endureth." 
 For this just, and good, and wise, and mighty King shall reign 
 for ever. His sceptre is intransferable. "His dominion is an 
 everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his king- 
 dom that which shall not be destroyed." No curses of his govern- 
 ment escape the lips, or are formed in the hearts, of his happy 
 subjects. "Men shall be blessed in him: all nations shall call 
 him blessed." 
 
 6. Sixthly; Remember further, my brethren, that the saying in 
 the eighteenth verse, respecting the evil tendencies of indolence 
 and sloth, is applicable, in the full emphasis of it, to spiritual as 
 well as to temporal things. Spiritual riches are acquired by dili- 
 gence and vigilance; and spiritual declension and poverty are the 
 natural and invariable results of negligence in the use of those 
 means which God has appointed for the preservation and advance- 
 ment of the Divine life in the soul. " Work out your own sal- 
 vation with fear and trembling; for it is God that worketh in 
 you, both to will and to do of his good pleasure." The Word and 
 ordinances of God are the means. They must be used with con- 
 stancy and application of mind, with the earnestness which arises 
 from pleasure, with a fer vent desire to profit by them, and, in or- 
 der to this, with believing prayer for Divine influence to attend 
 them all with efficacy. 
 
ECCLESIASTES X. 11-20. 357 
 
 7. Seventhly; Exertion is also necessary, combined iind un- 
 wearied exertion, for maintaining and building up the spiritual 
 house or temple of the living God. It is true that, in one sense, 
 this is the work of the great Architect alone : — "Not by might, 
 nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts." — " Be- 
 hold the man whose name is the branch : and he shall grow up 
 out of his place, and he shall build the temple of the Lord : even 
 he shall build the temple of the Lord, and he shall bear the glory." 
 Zech. iv. 6. vi. 12, 13. But the Master Builder employs work- 
 men. He carries on his designs by the instrumentality of human 
 agents, — by the efforts of his people, and especially of his faithful 
 servants in the ministry of the Word. Let not our hearts, then, 
 be reluctant, and let not our hands be slack. Let not this build- 
 ing decay by your slothfulness ; let not this house drop through, 
 through the idleness of your hands. Let it not be said. If Zion 
 prospers, it is not by your means. The work is excellent and 
 honorable, involving the glory of God and the highest interests 
 of men. Let every one be emulous to place a "living stone" in 
 the spiritual Temple ; not merely to contemplate its progress with 
 pleasure, but to help it forward with zeal; till, rising in all its 
 loveliness, and in all its grandeur, it is at length completed, and the 
 top-stone brought forth with shoutings — " Grace, grace, unto it !" 
 
 8. Eighthly ; Let me conclude, by reminding sinners, that if 
 there be hazard in the most secret imaginations and whispers of 
 rebellion against an earthly monarch, the peril must be incom- 
 parably more imminent, that arises from every deed, or word, or 
 thought, of insubordination to the "King of kings and Lord of 
 lords." Nothing can escape him. The unuttered devices of the 
 heart lie naked to his inspection. He "seeth in secret." "Hell 
 is open before him, and destruction hath no covering." " There 
 is no darkness, nor shadow of death, where the workers of iniquity 
 may hide themselves." 
 
 "Who can resist th' almighty arm 
 
 That made the starry sky? 
 Or who elude the certain glance 
 
 Of God's all-seeing eye?" 
 
 He needs no " bird of the air to carry the voice, or that which 
 hath wings to tell the matter." " His eyes run to and fro through 
 
358 LECTURE XX. 
 
 the whole eartli, beholding the evil and the good." Hifi ear is 
 ever open. He slumbers not nor sleeps. And what he sees and 
 hears is recorded in a mind by which nothing is forgotten, and 
 nothing, amidst the infinite multiplicity of its remembrances, is 
 diminished in certainty or in accuracy, by the lapse of time. 
 "Curse not this King, no, not in thy thought." Your curses 
 cannot injure Him: but his curse coming down ujDon you, will 
 sink you to the lowest hell. 
 
LECTURE XXI. 
 
 ECCLESIASTES XI. 1-8. 
 
 "Cast thy bread upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after many days. 2. 
 Give a portion to seven, and also to eight; for thou know est not what evil 
 shall be upon the earth. 3. If the clouds be full of rain, they empty (them- 
 selves) upon the earth : and if the tree fall toward the south, or toward the 
 north, in the place where the tree falleth, there it shall be. 4. He that ob- 
 serveth the Avind shall not sow ; and he that regardeth the clouds shall not 
 reap. 5. As thou knowest not what (is) the way of the spirit, (nor) how 
 the bones (do grow) in the womb of her that is' with child: even so thou 
 knowest not the works of God who maketh all. 6. In the morning sow 
 thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thine liand : for thou knowest 
 not whether shall prosper, either this or that, or whether they both (shall 
 be) alike good. 7. Truly the light (is) sweet, and a pleasant (thing it is) 
 for the eyes to behold the sun : 8. But if a man live many years, (and) 
 rejoice in them -all ; yet let him remember the days of darkness ; for they 
 shall be many. All that cometh (is) vanity." 
 
 Several times, in the preceding part of tlii.s book, we have 
 found Solomon speaking of the proper way of enjoying the bounties 
 of Divine providence, — with gratitude, cheerfulness, and modera- 
 tion; occasionally hinting at the use which ought to be made of them 
 for the temporal and spiritual benefit of others. " I know that 
 there is no good in them, but for a man to rejoice and TO do good 
 in his life. — On this latter topic he enlarges in this chapter; ex- 
 hibiting, in various and very interesting and beautiful lights, the 
 virtue of benevolence, and the motives to its practical cultivation. 
 
 The passage, I am aware, has by some been applied to the virtue 
 of industry, rather than of liberality ; and this view of it has been 
 supported by plausible reasons, and ingenious criticisms. I am 
 satisfied, however, that the ordinar}' interpretation is preferable; 
 that in a treatise on the sources of happiness, it is but reasonable 
 
360 LECTUKE XXI. 
 
 to expect some special notice of the duties and rewards of bene- 
 volence; and that to this the figurative illustrations are admirably 
 appropriate. 
 
 If a man were seen scattering corn on the surface of water that 
 had inundated and overspread the fields, it might appear the act 
 of a fool ; the witless waste and unwarrantable destruction of the 
 " precious seed." But the seed, on the inundation subsiding, might 
 be deposited in a loamy and fertile bed, might spring up in rich 
 luxuriance, and yield in future days a produce of a hundred fold. 
 To some such practice as this, there seems to be a beautiful allu- 
 sion in the opening of this chapter : — 
 
 Verse 1. Cast thy bread iipon the ivaters, for thou sludt find it 
 after many days. 
 
 The word in this verse translated "bread" is, in Isaiah xxviii. 
 28, rendered "bread-corn :"— "Bread-(corn) is bruised, because he 
 will not ever be thrashing it, nor break it with the wheel of his 
 cart, nor bruise it with his horsemen." The same is evidently 
 the meaning of it here. Some, indeed, have fancied that the ab- 
 solute hopelessness of "casting bread upon the face of the waters," 
 is designed to represent the duty of beneficence and liberality even 
 where there does not exist the slightest prospect of a return ; and 
 they object to the view I am now giving of the allusion, that the 
 man who, in the case supposed, scatters his seed-corn on the waters, 
 does it with an express view to a future crop. But is this really 
 a well-founded objection? It is true that it is our duty to "do 
 good and lend, hoping for nothing again," — that is, for no return 
 from the objects of our kindness. But this does not preclude our 
 "having respect unto the recompense of the reward" from a higher 
 quarter. Nay, the prospect of an increase to ourselves, in temporal 
 or spiritual good, is, in almost all the passages that inculcate liber- 
 ality, held out as an encouragement to the practice of the duty. 
 "Honor the Lord with thy substance, and with the first-fruits of 
 all thine increase : so shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and 
 thy presses shall burst out with new wine." — "He that hath pity 
 upon the poor lendeth unto the Lord ; and that which he hath 
 given will He pay him again." — "When thou makest a dinner or 
 a supper, call not thy friends, nor thy brethren, neither thy kins- 
 men, nor thy rich neighbors; lest they also bid thee again, and a 
 recompense be made thee. But when thou makest a feast, call the 
 
ECCLESIASTE8 XI. 1-8. 361 
 
 poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind; and thou shalt be blessed: 
 for they cannot recompense thee; for thou shalt be recompensed 
 at the resurrection of the just." — "But this I say. He who soweth 
 sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he who soweth bounti- 
 fully shall reap also bountifully." — " Charge them that are rich 
 in this world, that they be not high-minded, nor trust in uncer- 
 tain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things 
 to enjoy; that they do good, that they be rich in good works, 
 ready to distribute, willing to communicate; laying up in store 
 for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that 
 they may lay hold on eternal life." Prov. iii. 9, 10. xix. 17. Luke 
 xiv. 12-14. 2 Cor. ix. 6. 1 Tim. vi. 17-19. The obvious mean- 
 ing of all such passages is, that the liberal distribution of the 
 bountiful, prompted and regulated by Scriptural principles, will, 
 in one form or another, yield him a profitable result: for "God 
 is not unrighteous," says the writer of the epistle to the Hebrews, 
 "to forget your work and labor of love, which ye have showed 
 toward his Name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do 
 minister." Heb. vi. 10. The very same motive is presented in 
 the verse before us : — " Cast thy bread-corn on tlie waters : for 
 thou shalt find it after many days."* 
 
 It may not always yield to you in this world a return in kind ; 
 but it is not forgotten of God ; it is not lost. Every work of 
 
 * Rev. Gillian Lansing, D. D., American Missionary in Egypt, in his most 
 interesting and instructive book — " Egypt's Princes, or a Narrative of Mission- 
 ary labor in the Valley of the Nile," (published by Wm. S. Eentoul, Phila- 
 delphia,) — throws a flood of light on the meaning of this verse of our author's 
 text, derived from his own personal observation in his missionary tours in the 
 land of Egypt. It Avill be seen that, while confirming our author's view of 
 the text generally. Dr. Lansing's well-known eminence a.s an Arabic scholar, 
 and his familiarity with the colloquial expressions of the Arabs, have en- 
 abled him, in addition to the testimony given from his own observation, to 
 furnish us with a most valuable illustrative criticism on this and similar texts. 
 On pages 81-83 of his book, describing what he saw from the deck of his 
 Nile-boat, he writes : — " Nearer the water's edge, a man was sowing barley on 
 the strip of mud which had been left by the retreating Nile. He sank up to 
 the thighs in mud at eveiy step. This was sowing in a good and deep soil, 
 one in which an abundant harvest might be anticipated almost as a certainty. 
 There were neither thorns nor stony places ; still there was danger of the fowls 
 of the air devouring it, for they were flying about in myriads, and the sun 
 and wind had covered the surface with a thin, dry crust, into which the seed 
 would not sink ; so that boys were following in the track of the sower, floun- 
 dering in the mud, and, as they went, harrowing in the seed with their fingers. 
 Such has hitherto been our seeding time in the valley of the Nile. We have 
 found a deep, rich soil in the Egyptian mind. In the little patches into which 
 
362 LECTURE XXI. 
 
 charity performed, every gift of charity bestowed, by his people, 
 from loVe to His name and regard to His glory, is remembered by 
 him for good. The charity which he delights iu and rewards, is 
 not, indeed, that which plumes itself on its doings as acts of merit, 
 and distributes its alms as purchase-money for heaven. It is that 
 which, disowning all self-confidence and self-glorying, is influ- 
 enced by humble and lively gratitude for the riches of Divine 
 mercy ; gives freely because it has freely received ; testifying its 
 thankfulness for the grace of Him who, "though he w^as rich, for 
 our sakes became poor, that ■we through his poverty might be made 
 rich," It "does good to all as it has opportunity, especially to 
 those who are of the household of faith;" and whatever is done to 
 his disciples for his sake, the blessed Redeemer will at last ac- 
 knowledge as having been done to himself: — " I was hungry, and 
 ye gave me meat; I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink; I v/as a 
 stranger, and ye took me in ; naked, and ye clothed me ; I was 
 sick, and ye visited me; I was in prison, and ye came unto me." 
 And when the righteous, of whom so very small a proportion en- 
 joyed the opportunity of performing acts of kindness to himself 
 in person, are represented as expressing their surprise at his lan- 
 guage, — " Lord, when saw we thee hungry, and fed thee? or thirsty, 
 and gave thee drink? when saw we thee a stranger, and took 
 thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? or when saw we thee sick 
 
 we have been able to cast the seed of the Word, there is promise of a golden 
 harvest, and already a few handfnls have been given us as an earnest of that 
 harvest; but it has hitherto been the lot of the sower to go forth with weep- 
 ing — waist-deep, in a mire of difficulties. ' But he shall doubtless come again 
 with rejoicing, bearing his sheaves with him.' 
 
 " Thix is that sowing to u'hich Solomon exhorts, in Ecc. xi. 1 .• — ' Cast thy bread 
 upon the waters, for thou shalt find it after many days!' Some commentators, 
 understanding too literally the particle 'upon,' which in the margin is given 
 'upon the face of,' have gone to the Indian rice marshes for an example of 
 the actual casting of the seed upon the surface of the water. But the phrase 
 may mean, 'm the presence of — beside' the waters ; and this agrees with the 
 fact, SIS we daily witness, of the peasants going forth and sowing the seed be- 
 side the retreating and drying up waters of the river, the pools and canals, 
 and in the broad fields through which it can be distributed by the water- 
 courses; and the prophet Isaiali, xxxii. 20, says, 'Blessed are ye that sow be- 
 side, literally upon, all waters.' This use of the phrase 'upon the waters' is 
 yet common in Arabic. When the people would go out for a pleasure excur- 
 sion, they gather up their pipes and coffee-cups, and say, ' Come, let us go 
 and sit tipon the waters ;' meaning beside the waters, on the banks of some 
 neighboring stream ; and the converse phrase is frequently used in the Koran, 
 in the constantly recurring promise to the believer, of ' Gardens, bereath which 
 flow rivers of waters.' " — EnrroR. 
 
ECCI-ESIASTES XI, 1-8. 363 
 
 or in prison and came unto thee?" — he explains his words on the 
 principle that has been mentioned, of identifying himself with his 
 people, whom "he is not ashamed to call his brethren: — "Verily 
 I say unto you, inasmuch as ye did it to one of the least of these 
 my brethren, ye did it unto me." Matt. xxv. 35-40. 
 
 Our liberality ought to be as widely diifusive, as the measure 
 of our prosperity will admit: — 
 
 Verse 2. Give a jiortion to seven and also to eight ; for thou knowcst 
 not ifhat eiril shall be upon the earth. 
 
 "Give a portion :'' — The expression is borrowed, either from the 
 custom of masters of feasts sending portions from before them to 
 the different guests at table ; as when Joseph sent messes to his 
 brethren, distinguishing Benjamin above the rest by the largeness 
 of the supply allotted to him; Gen. xliii. 34: — or from the prac- 
 tice, on festive occasions, of distributing gratuitously to the poor. 
 "Go your way," said Nehemiah to the Israelites, "eat the fat, and 
 drink the sweet, and send portions unto them for whom nothing is 
 prepared ; for this day is holy unto our Lord : neither be ye sorry, 
 for the joy of the Lord is your strength," Neh. viii. 10. The 
 Jews commemorated their providential deliverance from the ex- 
 terminating vengeance of Haman, by "days of feasting and joy, 
 and of sending portions one to another, and gifts to the ptoor.^' Esth, 
 ix, 22, " 
 
 "Give a portion to seven, and also to eight:'' — that is, sow bounti- 
 fully, and not sparingly. You are in danger of keeping within, 
 rather than of going beyond, the proper boundaries. You should, 
 therefore, be jealous over yourselves, and allow none to go un- 
 provided for, whom it is in your power to supply, Seven is one 
 of the numbers significant in Scripture phraseology of abundance 
 and completeness. Go beyond it; rather than keep within it, 
 leaning to the side on which you are naturally, from the selfish 
 tendencies of the heart, most prone to err. 
 
 This cheerful and diifusive liberality is further inforced by 
 another and a very powerful consideration: — "for thou knowest 
 not what evil shall be upon the earth," This uncertainty of hu- 
 man aifairs has been frequently noticed, in different connections, 
 in the preceding part of this book. It forms, indeed, one of its 
 principal tliemes. The present may be a season of prosperity ; 
 but it may very soon be succeeded bv a time of calamitv and dis- 
 
364 LECTURE XXI. 
 
 tress; and our ignorance of what is coming should lead us to make 
 a proper use of the bounty of Heaven whilst it remains in our 
 possession: for — 
 
 In the first place, we may soon, in Divine providence, be de- 
 prived of the means, and consequently of the ability, of doing good. 
 No man, therefore, should look forward to a time when he will be- 
 gin to lay out his substance for benevolent purposes; but each 
 should use what he has now. The contrary indicates a want of dis- 
 position, which is not very likely to leave him when his own con- 
 venient time arrives; and long, too, ere that time comes, his riches 
 may "make to themselves wings and fly away as an eagle towards 
 heaven." 
 
 'Secondly. When this does happen, it becomes a sad reflection; 
 a melancholy addition to a man's unhappiness; that he has not, 
 during his period of prosperity, been making a proper use of the 
 means of good put into his hands, — the use of them enjoined by 
 the Giver ; — that he has selfishly wrapt up his talent in a napkin, 
 and kept it close from the poor and needy, — till it is gone — un- 
 expectedly gone, and his opportunities irredeemably lost. The 
 opposite reflection is an animating support to the mind under the 
 most impoverishing and depressing bereavements ; when, in pro- 
 portion to the extent of our means, we can say with Job, — "When 
 the ear heard me, then it blessed me ; and when the eye saw me, 
 it gave witness unto me : because I delivered the poor that cried, 
 and the fatherless, and him that had none to help him: the bless- 
 ing of him that was ready to perish came upon me ; and I caused 
 the widow's heart to sing for joy. — I was eyes to the blind, and 
 feet was I to the lame. I was a father to the poor." Job xxix. 
 11-13, 15, 16. 
 
 Thirdly ; It is frequently of consequence to us, to secure friends 
 in the time of our prosperity, against the day of possible calamity 
 and suffering. — It sometimes happens, that entire reverses take 
 place in the circumstances of men ; and that he who has assisted 
 and relieved others, requires relief and assistance from the very 
 objects of his kindness. It appears to be to such vicissitudes in 
 human condition that Paul refers, when, exhorting the Christians 
 at Corinth to liberality in their contributions for the poor saints 
 who were at Jerusalem, he says to them : " For I mean not that 
 other men be eased, and you burdened: but by an equality: that 
 
ECCLESIASTES XI. 1-8. 365 
 
 now at this time your abundance may be a supply for their want, 
 that their abundance also may be a supply for your want, that 
 there may be equality ; as it is written, He that had gathered much 
 had nothing over, and he that had gathered little had no lack ;" 
 2 Cor. viii. 13-15: — every man who, in the collecting of the 
 manna, to which the last expression alludes, was found, in the 
 general measurement, to have gathered more than the daily allow- 
 ance of an omer for each member of his house-hold, supplying by 
 his superfluity the deficiency of his neighbors. — By the benevolent 
 appropriation of a part of our substance, friends may be acquired, 
 whose grateful services may, at a future time, and in altered cir- 
 cumstances, be of essential benefit to us. And if, in our time of 
 need, they should disappoint us, and give us to experience the 
 bitterness of ingratitude, still we shall be able to look up with 
 confidence to the Author of our blessings and our trials; whose 
 providence will not forsake or leave destitute those who had en- 
 deavored to act as faithful stewards of his bounty, so long as he 
 had been pleased to continue it with them. 
 
 In what opposite ways may the same consideration be applied ! 
 The very circumstance which Solomon here urges as a reason for 
 present and generous liberality, the covetous worldly-minded man 
 pleads as an apology for hoarding. I know not, he says, "what 
 evil may come ujion the earth :" I must, therefore, take good care 
 of what I have got. I must reserve it to meet the contingencies 
 of futurity. Who can tell but I may otherwise come to depend- 
 ence, and die poor myself? — A prudent precaution, to prevent our 
 becoming a burden upon others in the time of age and infirmity, 
 is by no means to be condemned. But it is an awful perversion, 
 when the apprehension of future possibilities is made an excuse 
 for griping avarice. How much more noble the use that is made, 
 by the Spirit of God, of our ignorance of the future ! Instead of 
 withholding from others on this ground, says Solomon, — rather 
 give while you have to give, — and give liberally ; — lose not the 
 precious opportunity; — "it is more blessed to give than to re- 
 ceive;" — enjoy, then, the pleasure of present beneficence; — "give 
 a portion to seven, and also to eight; for thou knowest not what 
 evil shall be upon the earth." 
 
 He then, by a very beautiful figure, illustrates the duty of the 
 man who enjoys the munificence of heaven : — 
 
366 J.ECTUIIE XXI. 
 
 Verse 3. If the clouds be full of rain, they empty themselves upon 
 the earih. 
 
 From earth, and seas, and lakes, and rivers, the sun exhales 
 immense quantities of watery vapors. These condense in the 
 atmosphere into clouds ; and the clouds do not retain their pre- 
 cious treasure, but, agreeably to the kind intention of the wonder- 
 working Author of nature, discharge their contents upon the earth 
 in refreshing and fertilizing showers. A bountiful man is a 
 "cloud full of rain" to the parched wilderness of poverty. A 
 parsimonious niggard is a "cloud without water," yielding nothing 
 but disappointment and mortification to the anxious expectant of 
 a blessing. In the sultry climate of the East, a cloud charged 
 with rain is sometimes inexpressibly precious. The very look, 
 the very thought of it, is refreshment. And as the clouds are 
 formed, by the provision of nature, for the express purpose of 
 watering the earth; so is the bounty of providence bestowed on 
 men, not merely for themselves, but " that they may have to give 
 to him that needeth." They receive, that they may impart. They 
 are blessed, that they may be a blessing. 
 
 The meaning of the remaining clause of the same verse is not 
 so obvious: — 
 
 And if the tree fall touxird the south, or torvard the north, hi the 
 place where the treefcdleth, there it shall he. 
 
 These words are very commonly used to express the sentiment, 
 that whatever character belongs to a man when he quits the 
 world, that character he must retain; there can be no subsequent 
 change : as death finds him it finally • fixes him ; pronouncing 
 the sentence, "He that is unjust, let him be unjust still; and he 
 that is filthy, let him be filthy still; and he that is righteous, let 
 him be righteous still ; and he that is holy, let him be holy still." — 
 This yields a good sense; and one by no means remote from tlie 
 general scope of the passage. The possessor of heaven's bounty, 
 is reminded that he must fall before the stroke of death; that 
 when he does fall, his state is for ever fixed, according to his 
 character and works while he lived: and a motive is thus set be- 
 fore him to benevolent activity and pious eftbrt, drawn from the 
 uncertainty of life, and from the fearful consequences of being 
 taken away amidst a course of selfish prosperity and worldly- 
 mindedness; of large promises, it inay be, for the future, and 
 
ECCLESIA.STE,S XI. 1-8 367 
 
 entire neglect of present duty; and having liis state fixed ibr ever, 
 beyond the possibility of change or remedy. 
 
 From the connection, however, the general import of the figure 
 seems rather to be, the security of a return to the man of princi- 
 pled beneficence.— In v/hatever quarter thy bounty is dispersed, 
 thou shalt find it again. As where the tree falls it lies, so thy 
 charity is not lo-st. Give in all directions; for thou shalt find it 
 again: — thy recompense is secure. It is the same sentiment, 
 otherwise expressed, with that in the first verse, — "for tliou shalt 
 find it after many days." 
 
 This is a subject, respecting v/iiich men arc ever disposed to 
 find, and ingenious at inventing, excuses. Their circumstances, 
 their families, their necessary expenditure, the uncertainties of 
 business, the ingratitude and the vices of the poor, — and especially 
 their fears about what may happen ; — these, with other apologies, 
 they plead to themselves and to one another, for not giving, or at 
 least for not giving noto, — for satisfying themselves at present 
 with hoping what they may be able to do hereafter, — for transact- 
 ing the business of charity, not by cash payments, but by prom- 
 issory notes at distant dates, which, when the time of demand 
 arrives, they find fresli excuses for renewing. — It is against the 
 timid withholders of present charity, that the fourth verse is di- 
 rected : — 
 
 Verse 4. He that obserceih the iinnd shall not sou-; and he that 
 regardeth the clouds shall not reap. 
 
 The husbandman must take his seed-time and harvest as they 
 are sent to him by the God of the seasons. The weather is not 
 in his choice. If he minds every cold wind that blows, or every 
 cloud that gathers in the sky and threatens a shower, he may lose 
 both his spring and his autumn. Day after day may pass; while 
 he is marking the direction of the wind, and gazing on the face 
 of the sky, in timid hesitation whether he may safely scatter his 
 seed, or put in his sickle; till the proper season is gone, and leaves 
 him nothing but fruitless regrets that he cannot recall it. — The 
 lesson taught by the comparison is, that we should fulfill the 
 duties of benevolence v/heu it is in our power; embracing with 
 alacrity every opportunity of doing good; not startled and pre- 
 vented by every little circumstance that may occasion inconvenience 
 or apprehension ; deferring, and deferring, from excessive scrupu- 
 
368 LECTURE XXI. 
 
 losity, and morbid fearfulness of possible mistakes and impositions, 
 till our oi)portunities of usefulness are irrecoverably gone. 
 
 But let not this principle be pushed to an extreme. Let it not 
 be considered as entirely precluding the exercise of prudence and 
 caution. In the whole of the business of life these are serviceable, 
 and in few things more so than in the practice of benevolence. 
 The farmer, although he cannot always get weather in every re- 
 spect to his mind, will not, however, purposely choose an un- 
 favorable day, either for sowing or for reaping. So ought we to 
 select our objects and our opportunities to the best advantage, lest 
 we should bestow charity that will be unproductive of good, or 
 even fruitful of evil, — being conferred on improper persons, at un- 
 seasonable times, or in an unsuitable manner. 
 
 We ought, especially, to beware of allowing our fears about the 
 future, to preponderate against the sense of present duty ; for this 
 kind of irresolute apprehensiveness w^ould lead us to refrain from 
 doing any thing that promises to be productive of good, because 
 in every case there is a posdbility of failure, — the future arrange- 
 ments of providence being entirely beyond our penetration : — 
 
 Verse 5. As thou hnowest not what is the way of the spirit, nor 
 how the bones do groio in the loomh of her that is with child; even so 
 thou hiowest not the ivorks of God who maketh all. 
 
 By "the way of the spirit," some understand tlie way of the 
 wind. "The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearestthe 
 sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, or whither it 
 goeth." And this being used by our Lord as an emblem of the 
 mysterious operations of the Spirit of God upon the minds of 
 men, — (" So is every one that is born of the Spirit,") — to these 
 operations the expression before us has by others been conceived 
 to refer. I am inclined to think, however, that "the spirit" here 
 means, neither the wind nor the Holy Ghost, but the human soul. 
 Its connection with what follows in the verse, gives more than 
 probability to this interpretation. "Thou knowest not the way 
 of the spirit, nor how the bones do grow in the womb of her that 
 is with child." The formation and growth of the human foetus 
 in the womb, is one of those secret wonders of nature, of which 
 there are so many, that elude our penetration. Anatomical skill, 
 indeed, may ascertain many facts respecting the successive stages 
 of its progress from conception to maturity ; but questions might 
 
ECCLESIASTES XI. 1-8. 369 
 
 still be asked, to which the most experienced anatomist could give 
 no reply but an acknowledgment of his ignorance. We are " fear- 
 fully and wonderfully made." The structure of our frame, so 
 "curiously Avrought," so singularly complicated, so exquisitely 
 adapted in all its parts to all its functions, is one of the most 
 marvellous products of the wisdom of Divine contrivance, and 
 the power and skill of Divine operation. The beautiful provision 
 made for the sustenance and growth of the embryo man by the 
 system of foetal circulation, — the entrance of the principle of ani- 
 mal life, indicated by its first faint fluttering movement, — and the 
 gradual increase of living vigor, till, by the pangs of parturition, 
 it is thrown from its prison, utters its first cry, and draws for it- 
 self the vital air of heaven ; — all is full of mystery and wonder. 
 But there is another secret. When, and whence, cometh "the 
 spirit?" — the immortal soul? At what time does it take posses- 
 sion of its tenement? Does it enter with the principle of animal 
 life, when the infant first stirs in the womb? — or does it unite 
 itself with the body at the moment of its birth into the world ? — 
 To such inquiries we can return no certain answer. We neither 
 know "the way of the spirit," nor "how the bones do grov/ in 
 the womb of her that is with child." The very union itself oi 
 immaterial and invisible spirit with gross corporeal substance, 
 has been, is, and ever will be, incomprehensible by our feeble 
 reason ; and the time and the manner of their first coalition is alike 
 a mystery. 
 
 " Even so thou knowest not the works of God, who maketh 
 all." — We may apply this particularly to the subject of the pre- 
 ceding verses, or more generally to the various departments of the 
 Divine procedure. There are wonders in providence, as well as 
 in creation. God has singular ways of working in both. You 
 may say, — We cannot tell how we sire to obtain any return for 
 our liberality; — we cannot imagine, how giving away should fail 
 to make us poorer, — how, by scattering, our substance should in- 
 crease. But God's ways are not your ways. He eflfects his pur- 
 poses by hidden arrangements, that are promoting their ends even 
 when to you they may seem for the time to counteract them; and 
 that bring about events altogether out of the range of human ex- 
 pectation. In your ignorance of the Divine administration, yoiir 
 best course is to discharge your duty with cheerfulness, and with- 
 24 
 
370 LECTURE XXI. 
 
 out fruitless anxieties and apprehensions ; confiding in his wis- 
 dom, faithfulness, and love; "committing your way unto him, 
 and trusting in him, that he Hvill bring it to pass;" using what- 
 ever measure of his bounty he bestows upon you, according to his 
 own directions, without reserve and without fear of the issue. A 
 proper feeling of reverence for God, who "doeth great things past 
 finding out, yea, and marvellous things without number," should 
 lead us to this implicit obedience and implicit reliance. "There 
 is no searching of his understanding." " O the depth of the riches, 
 both of the wisdom and knowledge of God ! How unsearchable 
 are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!" 
 
 Every good, and especially every benevolent action, dictated 
 by the principles of the word of God, is sowing seed for a futvire 
 harvest: and true wisdo'm consists in doing this daily, — con- 
 stantly, — losing no time, no opportunity:— 
 
 Verse 6. In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold 
 not thy hand : for thou knowest not whether shall prosper, either this 
 or that, or whether they both shall be alike good. 
 
 Many of our attempts at good may fail of the desired end; and 
 some of them may even produce results opposite to our intentions. 
 But such occurrences should not discourage us. Let them dic- 
 tate prudence, but never inspire despondency. Let them direct 
 our eiforts, but by no means slacken them. If the sowing of the 
 m orning fails, that of the evening may yield a crop ; and we can- 
 not previously tell but that both may be equally productive. We 
 cannot ascertain beforehand which of our endeavors is to be most 
 successful, nor can we be certain as to any one of them, that it will 
 not prosper. We may be tempted to try nothing, by the morbid 
 apprehension of failure. The better course is, to calculate on some 
 of our attempts failing ; and on this account, that we may have 
 the greater probability of succeeding in some, to make them the 
 more numerous ; whilst, at the same time, we bring to bear upon 
 every one of them the entire amount of prudence and forethought 
 we possess, that, as far as lieth in us, we may insure a favorable 
 issue to them all. We shall then fulfil, in its true spirit, the di- 
 rection contained in this verse. — "Let us not be weary in well- 
 doing ; for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. As we 
 have therefore, opportunity, let us do good unto all, especially 
 unto them who are of the household of faith." Gal. vi. 9, 10. 
 
ECCLESIASTE3 XI. 1-8. 371 
 
 It ought further to be remembered, that even if all our designs 
 and schemes of usefulness should, by unforeseen circumstances, 
 be frustrated; yet, having been in our hearts, and having been 
 attempted from right motives, even from the principles of benevo- 
 lence and piety, they are, in the estimate of God, the same as if 
 they had been attended with the most perfect success. Men are 
 exceedingly apt to form their judgment of actions according to the 
 issue of them. But He who "searcheth the heart" "judgeth righte- 
 ous judgment;" and even of the good intention to Avhich his pro- 
 vidence denies accomplishment, he says to its projector, "Thou 
 didst well that it was in thy heart." 
 
 It is natural, that men should desire prosperity: — 
 
 Verse 7. Truly the light is sweet, and a 'pleasant thing it is for the 
 eyes to behold the sun. 
 
 Light is a beautiful emblem of happiness or joy. We at once, 
 by a kind of instinctive association, connect with it the idea of 
 cheerfulness and pleasure; and that of melancholy and mourning 
 with darkness. This is so natural, so accordant with universal 
 feeling, that the figure is, I suppose, common to all languages. It 
 occurs frequently in the Scriptures. "Light is sown for the righte- 
 ous, and gladness for the upright in heart." — " If thou draw out 
 thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall 
 thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness shall be as the noon- 
 day."-— "The light of the wicked shall be put out, and the spark 
 of his fire shall not shine. The light shall be dark in his taber- 
 nacle, and his candle shall be put out with him." — "The light of 
 God's countenance" is the cheering influence of his favor; and, 
 to express the uninterrupted joy of the heavenly state; the absence 
 of those alternations of gladness and gloom that characterize the 
 present life; it is beautifully said, " There shall be no niglit there." 
 It is "the inheritance of the saints in light." The heavenly city, 
 seen by John in the visions of God, " had no need of the sun, 
 neither of the moon, to shine in it; for the glory of God did lighten 
 it, and the Lamb was the light thereof." 
 
 But, desirable as prosperity is, it cannot be secured. This word 
 is, in every man's experience, although in very various propor- 
 tions, a scene of alternate light and shade, clouds and sunshine :— 
 
 Verse 8. But if a man live many years, and rejoice in them aU, 
 yet let him remember the days of darkness, for they shall be many. 
 All that cometh is vanity. 
 
372 LECTURE XXI. 
 
 Long continued prosperity is very dangerous to its possessor. 
 It is apt to make him forget himself; to seduce his aifections from 
 better things, and to lead him to say within himself, " This is my 
 rest." But however long and uninterruptedly prosperity may 
 have been enjoyed, its continuance, even for a day longer, can 
 never be counted upon. *' Days of darkness " may be near, when 
 a man is least apprehending their approach. The day that has 
 gratified his utmost wishes may be the day that gives beginning 
 to disappointments and troubles. The sun of his prosperity may 
 be eclipsed in its meridian altitude. The moment that has cleared 
 his sky of its only remaining cloud, may be the moment that gives 
 indications of the coming storm. — And as the days of darkness 
 may be near when least anticipated, they may also be " many," in 
 proportion to the number of the previous days of light. Often has 
 lasting prosperity been succeeded by protracted affliction ; many 
 days of sunshine and gladness by many of "darkness and gloomi- 
 ness, of clouds of thick darkness." — Let no man, therefore, say, 
 " I shall not be moved ; for I shall never be in adversity." Job, 
 in the season of his felicity and glory, when "the candle of the 
 Lord shined upon his head, and by his light he walked through 
 darkness," — when, according to another of his beautiful figures, 
 "his root was spread out by the waters, and the dew lay all night 
 upon his branch," — Job then said, " I shall die in my nest, I shall 
 multiply my days as the sand." But while he was saying so, un- 
 thought-of troubles were gathering round him. The predatory 
 bands of the Sabeans and Chaldeans were on their march, to drive off 
 his herds, and murder his servants ; — the "fire of God" was falling 
 from heaven, and consuming his flocks with their shepherds; — 
 and the "great wind from the wilderness" was smiting the four 
 corners of the "house of feasting," and burying in its ruins his 
 entire family, his "seven sons and his three daughters!" While 
 he was saying so, the intelligence came that laid him among the 
 ashes, an agonized and desolate mourner, with his head shaven, 
 and his mantle torn; — the commencement of "wearisome days," 
 and " months of vanity," during which " his harp was turned to 
 mourning, and his organ to the voice of them that weep." — The 
 man who never anticipates and expects trouble must be but ill 
 prepared to stand it when it comes. And since "all that cometh 
 is vanity;" — since our joys are precarious and transient; since 
 
ECCLESIASTES XI. 1-8. 373 
 
 we cannot say with effect to the sun of our prosperity, "Stand 
 thou still/' when a higher authority commands it to decline into 
 the twilight of fear, and the night of darkness and sorrow ; — O 
 how unutterably foolish is the man who trusts to this vanity, and 
 calculates on no reverse! 
 
 As a part of the improvement of these verses, my friends, allow 
 me, — 
 
 1. In the first place; To extend a little this thought, of the suc- 
 cession of "days of darkness" to days of light and prosperity.—^ 
 Although such days should not at all overtake the prosperous 
 worlding during his earthly life; — though his entire course here 
 below should be marked by success in all his pursuits, and the 
 fulfilment of all his wishes ; — yet, ah ! if he dies as he has lived, 
 "a man of the world, who has his portion in this life," days of 
 darkness, — many days of darkness, — an eternity of darkness, awaits 
 him. When the light of his earthly prosperity is extinguished, 
 it must be succeeded by "the blackness of darkness for ever." 
 O then, how much more blessed is the j^oorest of the children of 
 God, who, though his "days of darkness" on earth be "many," 
 possesses, amidst the deepest of their gloom, "a joy with which a 
 stranger cannot intermeddle," — a "good portion, that shall not 
 be taken away from him," — a "treasure in the heavens that faileth 
 not;" — who, in the midst of darkness, has light from the Lord ; 
 and who has the prosj)ect of that land of light, — of knowledge, 
 and purity, and bliss, — where "the days of his mourning shall be 
 ended," — where the " Lord shall be his everlasting light, and his 
 God his glory !" Jesus " lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and 
 said. Blessed are ye poor; for yours is the kingdom of heaven. 
 Blessed are ye that hunger now; for ye shall be filled. Blessed 
 are ye that weep now; for ye shall laugh. But woe unto you 
 that are rich ! for ye have received your consolation. Woe unto 
 you that are full ! for ye shall hunger. Woe unto you that 
 laugh now ! for ye shall mourn and weep." — The " days of dark- 
 ness" in this world may come; but if you live and die without 
 God, the days of darkness of which I now speak must come. As 
 to this there is no uncertainty. It is sure as the word and oath 
 of the God of truth. All the impenitent enemies of God and his 
 Son, all the careless neglecters of the great salvation, shall be 
 banished from the blessed light of heaven to the darkness of hell, 
 where no ray of gladness or of hope enlivens the perpetual gloom. 
 
374 LECTURE XXI. 
 
 But, blessed be God, these days of everlasting darkness may be 
 avoided. "I am the Light of the world," says the Redeemer of 
 men; "he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall 
 have the light of life." And " truly this light is SM^eet ;" sweet at 
 all times; peculiarly sweet, in the season of adversity; shining 
 then in the dwellings of the righteous, and making their hearts 
 glad, when the lights of their earthly joy are dark in their taber- 
 nacle. And it is an everlasting light, — "the light of life," — of 
 life eternal. If you would possess the light of true joy, you must 
 come to the Fountain of light, — even to Him of whom it is said, 
 "In him was life, and the life was the light of men." 
 
 2. In the second place ; We should learn to consider ourselves 
 as debtors to one another, and to our fellow-men in general, in 
 every thing by which God puts it in our power to profit them. — 
 Whatever be the gift we have received, it becomes our duty to 
 " minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the mani- 
 fold grace of God." The exhortation in the beginning of the 
 chapter may be applied, in all its emphasis, to spiritual as well as 
 to temporal things. This, indeed, is the peculiar province of 
 Christian charity. In its efforts and sacrifices for the corporeal 
 and other temporal comforts of men, it finds many associates 
 amongst those who are alive to the claims of humanity and com- 
 passion, although they are destitute of religious principle : — but 
 having learned to " seek first," for himself, " the kingdom of God 
 and his righteousness," — having been taught the preciousuess of 
 the soul, and the value of eternal blessings, the Christian takes 
 into the range of his benevolent contemplations and schemes of 
 usefulness, the everlasting existence of the objects of his pitying 
 regard. To leave this out of the account, is the prevalent defect 
 of what is extolled as benevolence amongst men ; but it is the 
 extreme of inconsistency and folly. It is infinitely more foolish, 
 than if a man were to expend all his counsel and his pains to ob- 
 tain for another the ease and comfort of an hour, whilst he wilfully 
 disregarded what might secure the happiness of a lifetime; — or, 
 than if a medical practitioner were to bend all his attention, and de- 
 vote all his skill, to some slight topical ailment, whilst he allowed 
 a deadly disease to prey upon the constitution with unheeded, 
 unmitigated, and fatal fury. The eternal salvation of sinners has 
 been the great object of Divine benevolence ; for the accomplish- 
 
ECCLESIASTES XI. 1-8. 376 
 
 ment of which, all the wonders have been wrought of the mediation 
 of the Son of God. It was for this that "he who was in the form 
 of God, and thought it not robbery to be equal with God, made 
 himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, 
 and was made in the likeness of men ; and, being found in fashion 
 as a man, humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even 
 the death of the cross." He who neglects the spiritual and eternal 
 interests of men, is not of one mind with God. His benevolence 
 is wretchedly defective and spurious. He wants the spirit of 
 that world of love, where "there is joy over one sinner tliat re- 
 penteth." 
 
 3. Thirdly; Let Christian ministers, Christian parents, teachers 
 of Sabbath schools, and the disciples of Christ in general, in their 
 various departments of usefulness, be encouraged to cast the seed 
 of spiritual instruction upon the waters. We shall find it after 
 many days. "Be instant, in season, out of season;" not consult- 
 ing, but cheerfully sacrificing, your own ease and convenience. 
 "In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not 
 thy hand ; for thou knowest not whether shall prosper, either this 
 or that; or whether they both shall be alike good." In some 
 cases, it may be long before any of the seed begins to spring; and 
 in others, whole fields may speedily be "white unto harvest." 
 There is not in the spiritual the same regularity of return as in 
 the natural world. Sometimes, the seed is no sooner sown than 
 the blade appears, and is rapidly succeeded by " the ear and the 
 full corn in the ear," At other times, it may lie in the soil till 
 you think it must be rotten, and sigh over it as lost; and when 
 hope is gone, and you have given up all thoughts of iis ever ap- 
 pearing, that may be the very moment when the principle of life 
 from God quickens the gerni, and surprises and delights you with 
 the unexpected beauties of spiritual vegetation. 
 
 4. Fourthli/; In the spiritual, as in the natural world, "it is God 
 that giveth the increase." It was so, when Paul planted, and Apollos 
 watered ; and it is so still. " Neither is he that planteth any thing, 
 nor he that watereth ; but God that giveth the increase." But an in- 
 crease from the seed of the word is graciously promised : — "As the 
 rain cometh down and the snow from heaven, and returneth not 
 thither, but watereth the earth, and makcth it bring forth and bud, 
 that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: so shall 
 
376 LECTURE xxr. 
 
 my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth ; it shall not return 
 unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and 
 it shall prosper in the thing whereto I send it." Isa. Iv. 10, 11. — 
 Y/hen we sow our seed, therefore, let our prayers ascend for the 
 quickening influences of heaven ; and when any increase appears, 
 let our acknowledgments be made for those influences to the God 
 ol" all grace. The prayer of faith shall not be unanswered; the 
 exertions of zeal shall not be unblessed ; the seed-time of instruction 
 shall be followed by a harvest of the " fruits of righteousness ;" 
 the "work and labor of love" shall not be forgotten of Him for 
 whose sake, and to the glory of whose name, it is done. 
 
 5. Fifthly ; And, my Christian brethren, if a portion of your 
 worldly substance be required for the purpose of imparting the 
 bread of life to famishing millions, will you withhold it? Will 
 you keep it back from Him out of whose treasures you have re- 
 «)eived it; who still says, "The silver is mine, and the gold is 
 mine;" who honors you by j)utting it in your power to promote 
 his cause; who encourages you to liberality by the promise of his 
 blessing; and who is able to "canker your gold and silver," and 
 cause "the rust of them to witness against you?" — "Honor the 
 Lord with your substance." — "There is that scattereth, and yet 
 increaseth." Be not deaf to the appeals of Heaven. Let the 
 pleading voice of the whole Heathen world be heard. Let the 
 claims of " the seed of Abraham, God's friend," awaken the grate- 
 ful sensibilities of your hearts, and open your hands to liberality. 
 Seize the present opportunity. Let it not pass unimproved. Seek 
 not after apologies for refusal. Cover not a grudging disposition 
 by plausible objections. Let not Conscience he bribed and cajoled 
 by Avarice. Put not to the credit of prudence and principle what 
 belongs to the account of hardhearted selfishness, and the " love 
 of this present world." Allow no imaginary obstacles, or trifling 
 difficulties, to bar the present exercise of your Christian generosity. 
 " Cast you bread-corn on the face of the waters." " Give a portion 
 to seven and also to eight." — How powerful is the Divine ex- 
 postulation with Israel by the prophet Haggai ! Hear it, with an 
 awakened conscience and a willing mind. "Is it time for you, 
 O ye, to dwell in your cieled houses, and this house lie waste? 
 Now therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts, Consider your ways. 
 Ye have sown much, and bring in little; ye eat, but ye have not 
 
ECCLESIASTES XI. 1-8. 377 
 
 enough ; ye drink, but ye are not filled with drink ; ye clothe you, 
 but there is none M^arm ; and he that earneth wages, earneth wages 
 to put it into a bag with holes. Thus saith the Lord of hosts, 
 Consider your ways. Go up to the mountain, and bring wood, 
 and build the house; and I will take pleasure in it, and I will be 
 glorified, saith the Lord. Ye looked for much, and, lo, it came to 
 little; and when ye brought it home, I did blow upon it. Why? 
 saith the Lord of hosts. Because of mine house that is waste, and 
 ye run every man unto his own house. Therefore the heaven over 
 you is stayed from dew, and the earth is stayed from her fruit. 
 And I called for a drought upon the laud, and upon the mount- 
 ains, and upon the corn, and upon the new wine, and upon the 
 oil, and upon that which the ground bringeth forth, and upon 
 men, and upon cattle, and upon all the labor of the hands." Hag. 
 i. 4—11. Mark also the promise of blessing attending their com- 
 pliance with the expostulation, and derive from it the encourage- 
 ment it is fitted to give: — "And now, I pray you, consider from 
 this day and upward, from before a stone was laid upon a stone 
 in the temple of the Lord: since those days were, when one came 
 to a heap of twenty measures, there were but ten : when one came 
 to the press-fat, for to draw out fifty vessels out of the press, there 
 were but twenty. I smote you with blasting, and with mildew, 
 and with hail, in all the labors of your hands ; yet ye turned not 
 to me, saith the Lord. Consider now from this day and upward, 
 from the four-and-twentieth day of the ninth month, even from 
 the day that the foundation of the Lord's temple was laid, consider 
 it. Is the seed yet in the barn? yea, as yet the vine, and the 
 fig-tree, and the pomegranate, and the olive-tree, have not brought 
 forth: FROM this day will i bless you." Hag. ii. 15-19. 
 
LECTURE XXII. 
 
 ECCLESIASTES XI. 9, 10. XII 1-7. 
 
 "Kejoice, O young man, in thy youthi; and let tliy heart cheer thee in the 
 clays of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thine heart, and in the sight of 
 thine eyes: but know thou, that for all these (things) God will bring thee 
 into judgment. 10. Therefore remove sorrow from thy heart, and put 
 away evil from thy flesh: for childhood and youth (are) vanity." 
 
 "Eemember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days 
 come not, nor the years draw nigh, wdien thou shalt say, I have no pleasure 
 in them : 2. While the sun, or the light, or the moon, or the stars, be not 
 darkened, nor the clouds return after the rain : 3. In the day when the 
 keepers of the house shall tremble, and the strong men shall bow them- 
 selves, and the grinders cease because they are few, and those that look out 
 of the windows be darkened: 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 music shall be brought low : 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 grasshopper shall be 
 a burden, and desire shall fail : because man goeth to his long home, and 
 the mourners go about the streets : 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. 7. Then shall the dust return to the earth 
 as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it." 
 
 Or all the seasons of life, youth is the one iil which we are least 
 disposed to anticipate "days of darkness." The spirits are then 
 light and buoyant, and the heart dances to the notes of pleasure. 
 The blood is warm ; the passions are ardent ; the inward plead- 
 ings for their indulgence are powerful; restraint is felt to be irk- 
 some, and is esteemed unreasonable ; the counsels of age are apt 
 to be disregarded, as coming from those who have themselves en- 
 joyed their youth, and who, being now incapable of its pleasures, 
 Avould ungenerously deny them to others. These counsels may 
 be the results even of dear-bought experience, and the dictate of 
 the sincerest affection. But youth is incredulous of evil; never 
 
ECCLESIASTES XI. 9, 10. XII. 1-7. 379 
 
 disposed to take it upon trust from others that "all is vanity," 
 but determined to make the trial for itself. Feeling that there 
 are pleasures in sin, it flatters itself with the persuasion, that the 
 young at least may be allowed a little license. Impelled by in- 
 ward propensities, and solicited by outward temptations, it pur- 
 sues its course of indulgence. What the Bible condemns as danger- 
 ous and ruinous sins, it learns to call by the palliative names of 
 juvenile levities, irregularities, indiscretions; and laughs away re- 
 flection, as the business of maturer age. 
 
 Well aware of the character and natural proijensitics of youth, 
 Solomon, turning himself to the young, as he was naturally led 
 to do by the tenor of the preceding verse, frames his address ac- 
 cordingly : — 
 
 Verse 9. Rejoice, young man, in thy youth, and let thy heart 
 cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and icalh in the ways of thy heart, 
 and in the sight of thine eyes: hut know thou, that for all these things 
 God will bring thee into judgment. 
 
 This, as I hinted in a former lecture, is most naturally inter- 
 preted as the language of serious and awakening irony. Some of 
 the terms are such as will not bear to be explained of that inno- 
 cent cheerfulness, and chastened indulgence, which alone could 
 be directly recommended either to childhood, or youth, or man- 
 hood. — "Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth, and let thy heart 
 cheer thee in the days of thy youth." Take thy pleasure. Pur- 
 sue whatever course inclination suggests to thee. Trouble not 
 thyself with reflections or with anticipations; but yield to present 
 impulses, and spend a merry life. Give thyself no concern about 
 what may please God. Please thyself " Withhold not thy heart 
 from any joy." Follow the tide of thy passions. And if 
 
 " thy pulse's madd'ning play 
 
 Will send thee pleasure's devious ways," 
 do not check it; mind not moderating and reducing it; let it 
 bound in thy veins; and give thy youthful desires their full 
 measure of gratification. 
 
 That Solomon means more than mere merriment, mere cheer- 
 ful, unsolicitous, light-hearted jollity, — that he means i\\e. jplea^ures 
 of sin, — is evident from the phrases which follow: — "and walk in 
 the ways of thy heart, and in the sight of thine eyes." The ivays 
 of a man^s heart, in Scripture language, do not mean the ways of 
 the renewed heart; but the ways to which he is led by the dis- 
 
380 LECTURE XXII. 
 
 positions and tendencies of the heart in its natural state, unre- 
 generated by the grace of God: — "For the iniquity of his cove- 
 tousness," says God concerning rebellious Israel, "I was wroth 
 and smote him : I hid me and was wroth ; and he went on frowardly 
 in the way of his heart." To "walk in the sight of the eyes," is 
 to jjursue whatever the eyes look upon as desirable. We naturally 
 fix our eyes on that which we value and wish for, and avert them 
 from that which we dislike. The eyes thus become the index of 
 the affections. Ezekiel's wife is denominated "the desire of his 
 eyes." Seeking with eagerness the precarious treasures of the 
 world, is "setting the eyes upon that which is not." The "lust 
 of the eye," is associated with the " lust of the flesh, and the pride 
 of life." And in the second chapter of this book, Solomon ex- 
 presses the unrestrained gratification which he gave to all his pro- 
 pensities in these words, "whatsoever mine eyes desired I kej)t not 
 from them ; I withheld not mine heart from any joy." It is one 
 of the prayers of his pious father, "Turn away mine eyes from be- 
 holding vanity." The ways of the heart, and the sight of the eyes, 
 are sometimes united, to signify the practical indulgence of evil 
 tendencies. In delivering the Divine injunction to the Israelites 
 respecting the fringes of their garments, Moses says to them : — 
 "And it shall be unto you for a fringe, that ye may look upon it, 
 and remember all the commandments of the Lord, and do them; 
 and that ye seek not after your oion heart, and your own eyes, after 
 which ye use to go a whoring." Numb. xv. 39. Enjoy thyself, 
 then, says Solomon. Let thy heart follow thine eye, and thine 
 eye thy heart. Eove at pleasure amidst all the scenes of youthful 
 indulgence. While "the days of thy youth" continue, give the 
 reins to thy lusts, and satiate thyself with whatever thy heart 
 fancies. 
 
 This is counsel, which the young would like very well to un- 
 derstand as given them in good earnest. But so given, it would 
 be counsel very inconsistent with the whole tenor and design of 
 this book. Solomon takes a higher aim. His object is, to entice 
 the young to purer, and nobler, and more lasting joys; and he 
 immediately checks the indulgences of time, by pointing to eternity. 
 He draws i'n the rein, which he seemed to throw loose. He damps 
 the fire which he appeared to kindle. He exhibits a youth, giving 
 himself up to all the gaieties, and all the licentious pleasures of 
 
ECCLESIASTES XI. 9, 10. XII. 1-7. 381 
 
 the world, and in the midst of the scene of mirth and revehy, he 
 suddenly startles his ear, and thrills his heart with the summons 
 to the tribunal of God:— "Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth, 
 and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk 
 in the ways of thy heart, and in the sight of thine eyes: BUT know 
 THOU that for all these things God will bring thee into judgment." 
 This is very solemn. — Go on, young man. Pursue thy career 
 of pleasure. Give thy heart all its desires. But — count the cost. 
 Anticipate what is before thee. Remember, thou hast an account 
 to give. Think of the awful realities of a coming judgment: — 
 and then, — with these before thine eye,— follow thy present course, 
 if thou canst. Thou mayest have many companions in thy career 
 of thoughtlessness and sensuality. But O forget not, "God will 
 bring thee into judgment." Think of thyself. Thine own per- 
 sonal concern in the transactions of that day will be as sure, as if 
 thou wert to be the sole culprit, — the only prisoner at the bar, — 
 as if all creatures were swept from existence but thyself. " Knoio 
 thou" this. Be assured of it. "God has appointed a day in 
 which he will judge the world in righteousness." Let conscience 
 speak freely, and it will ratify the assurances of his Word. Laugh 
 not at the warning. I know that young men are disposed to treat 
 every thought of such a subject as a gloomy intruder on their 
 pleasures ; — I know that the problem of happiness is, how such 
 thoughts may -be most effectually and constantly excluded from 
 the mind ;— and I know that the man who ventures to suggest 
 them, exposes himself to be proscribed as rude, and stigmatized 
 as fanatical. But O beware! Listen to friendly admonition. 
 What you are tempted to laugh at now, you will find a dread 
 reality in the end. 
 
 This is not the language of sarcastic contempt, and heartless 
 indiiference, feeling no concern whether it is complied with or 
 not. It is not the language of a sated sensualist, grudging you 
 your youthful pleasures, because he can now no longer partake of 
 them himself. It is not the language of a haughty disdainful 
 Pharisee, who says in his heart,—" God, I thank thee that I am 
 not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as 
 this youthful libertine." It is not the language of a sour, morose 
 religionist, who woul'd deprive you of all enjoyment, and condemn 
 you to perpetual austerity and gloom. No, my young friends. It 
 
382 LECTURE XXII. 
 
 is the voice of sincere aifection. It is language dictated by the 
 ex23erience of one, who tried the course you are running, or re- 
 solving to run. He knows it all. His heart dissolves in tender- 
 ness over the youth whom he sees " regarding lying vanities, and 
 forsaking his own mercy." The tear trembles in his eye while 
 he addresses you. He beholds you spreading all your sails, and 
 about to launch forth, insensible of your danger, on a sea that is 
 full of perils; a sea, by whose enticements to adventure he had 
 himself been tempted out, of which the hidden dangers are most 
 imminent where its beauties are most alluring ; whose fairest spots 
 are surrounded with the most numerous wrecks, where his vessel 
 had a thousand times been in jeopardy, and from which he had, as 
 by a miracle of mercy, got back into port, in thankful amazement 
 at his own safety. He would persuade you against running the 
 same fearful risk, — against trying a course from which so few 
 have returned. 
 
 To show that his end was far from being to make them misera- 
 ble before the time, — to deprive them of their enjoyments and 
 substitute nothing in their room, — to agitate their bosoms with 
 unavailing alarms, — he adds in 
 
 Verse 10. Therefore, txmove sorrow from thy heart, and put away 
 evil from thy flesh: for childhood and youth are vanity. 
 
 This language is not of the same description with that in the 
 preceding verse, "Eejoice in thy youth, and let thy heart cheer 
 thee in the days of thy youth." There is nothing in it of irony. 
 The sorrow and the evil to be put away, are those to which the 
 course described in the preceding verse naturally conducts the 
 youth who pursues it. They are, he may be assured, its unfailing 
 attendants and consequences. The adnfonition, therefore, is one 
 of benevolent compassion ; to avoid suffering both in body and in 
 soul, both in time and in eternity. The course from which Solo- 
 mon dissuades was fitted, even in this world, to occasion affliction 
 and mourning to the heart, and disease to the bodily frame. It 
 is in warning against a life of dissolute pleasure, that Solomon 
 elsewhere urges these motives on the attention of youth : — " lest 
 thou give thine honor unto others, and thy years unto the cruel; 
 lest strangers be filled with thy wealth, and thy labors be in the 
 house of a stranger; and thou mourn at the last, Mdien thy flesh 
 and thy body are consumed, and say ; How have I hated instruc- 
 
ECCLESIASTES XI. 9, 10. XII. 1-7. 383 
 
 tion, and my heart despised reproof, and have not obeyed the 
 voice of my teachers, nor inclined mine ear to them that instructed 
 me!" Prov. v. 9-13, — and such a course not only leads to bodily 
 suifering and anguish of spirit in this world, but will infallibly 
 ''destroy both soul and body in hell." 
 
 He then adduces a motive to compliance with his admonition, 
 and afterwards prescribes the meam of its fulfilment. — The motive 
 is, the constant precariousness of life at every period of it, even in 
 the season of its greatest vigor, and under its fairest and most 
 flattening appearances : — "childhood and youth are vanity." The 
 young are naturally disposed to promise themselves long life, — 
 to count upon many days. Age, they know, must be near the 
 grave; but they have abundance of time before them, — plenty of 
 leisure to think about the life to come, before the present life shall 
 come to a close. But, alas! vanity is inscribed on all the stages 
 of our mortal course; and dependence on its prolongation is, at 
 every period of it, foolish and illusory. Childhood and youth 
 are subject to vicissitude and death, as well as manhood and age. 
 The young man who is bent on worldly pleasure is therefore 
 seriously reminded that he "knows not what a day may bring 
 forth :" that in reckoning on continued life, he is building in the 
 air; that death may arrest him in his career, when he least ex- 
 pects interruption ; and that in the state in which death finds him 
 he must give ' in his account, when " God shall bring him into 
 judgment." 
 
 The means of fulfilling the counsel, to "remove sorrow from 
 the heart, and put away evil from the flesh," are then prescribed : — 
 
 Chapter xii. verse 1. Remember noiv thy Creator in the days of 
 thy youth, ivhile the evil days come not, nor the years draio nigh, when 
 thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them. 
 
 It is the tendency of our fallen nature to forget God ; and this 
 tendency is peculiarly strong in youth, amidst the gaieties and 
 allurements of a fascinating and seductive world. Forgetfulness 
 of God is sometimes put for the whole of irreligion; and on the 
 same principle, the remeynbrance of God may comprehend all the 
 principles and affections of practical godliness. So the phrase is 
 used here. It is an admonition to early piety. 
 
 "Remember thy Creator." — Remember him, as the great Au- 
 thor of your being; and spend not the existence which He has 
 
384 LECTUEE XXII. 
 
 given and which he every moment sustains, in forgetfulness of 
 him and rebellion against him. Remember your unceasing de- 
 pendence upon him for "life, and breath, and all things," and 
 cherish the humility that becomes dependent creatures. Eemem- 
 ber him, as your all-bountiful Benefactor, both in providence and 
 in redemption; the Father of mercies, the God of salvation. 
 Remember him in all the characters in which he has been pleased 
 to make himself known to his creatures, especially that in which 
 it is the principal design of the Bible to reveal him, as " by Jesus 
 Christ reconciling the world unto himself;" just in justifying the 
 ungodly ; displaying, in the redemption of sinners by the work of 
 his Son, his infinite wisdom, his spotless purity, his inviolable 
 righteousness, and his unbounded mercy, in that inseparable har- 
 mony in which, by the necessity of his nature, they exist in his 
 perfect character. This view of God has been given to men from 
 the beginning with various degrees of progressive light, salvation 
 having, since the entrance of sin, from the first promise down- 
 wards, been the leading subject and end of Divine revelation. 
 Remember Him, with the dispositions, the worshij), the obedience, 
 the service, that are due to him. It is affectionate, reverential, 
 practical remembrance of him that is here recommended. Think 
 how awful it is, that God should be so generally forgotten by his 
 intelligent offspring : that He should have so few of their thoughts; 
 so little of their regards ! Dare ye to be singular, by devoting 
 yourselves to God in a world where he is so grievously dishonored; 
 where there are so few hearts that give him a welcome residence. 
 Choose ye his love as your portion, his service as your employ- 
 ment, his glory as your end. 
 
 And "Remember noiv thy Creator, in the days of thy youth.'' — 
 In the first place, heesMse " childhood and youth are vanity;" — be- 
 cause life is from the first uncertain ; because " the fear of the Lord 
 is the beginning of wisdom ;" and if you delay, your life may close 
 before you have begun to be wise. The youngest amongst you, 
 and the healthiest and most vigorous, is not sure of a day. If you 
 do not wish, therefore, to die in forgetfulness of God, your safest 
 way is to remember him now. — Secondly, because he is supremely 
 entitled to the choicest and best, nay to the whole, of your days. 
 He has a paramount claim upon all your time. Every day of 
 your life is misspent, that is spent without God. Think not only 
 
ECCLEsrASTES XI. 9, 10. xli. 1-7. 385 
 
 of the folly, but of the impiety, of delay. You do not intend, 
 perhaps, to spend all your days without religion. You will begin 
 to think seriously by and by. But is not this to postpone the will 
 of God to your own? to resolve that you will take your own 
 pleasure now, and, when you have sated yourselves, will then give 
 some thought to pleasing God? Is it not to say, you will devote 
 to yourselves and to your lusts the prime and vigor of your days, 
 and then give to that God who made you for his glory, and to 
 whom you owe your all, the dregs and refuse of your time ? AVhat 
 think you of this preference of self to God? Is it not deeply 
 impious? O be not, then, guilty of it. "Remember now thy 
 Creator, in the days of thy youth." — Thirdly. Your own happiness 
 is concerned in your compliance with this counsel. That happiness 
 is unworthy of the name, which is disturbed by the remembrance 
 of God. The contemplation, and enjoyment, and service of the 
 Divine Being, must be the honor and the blessedness of every 
 rational nature. There is a propriety, a beauty, and a glory, in 
 early piety. It shall be "an ornament of grace unto thy head, 
 and chains about thy neck." And, whilst it confers honor, it 
 imparts happiness. The ways of wisdom are "ways of pleasant- 
 ness, and all her paths are peace. She is a tree of life to them 
 that lay hold upon her; and happy is every one that retaineth 
 her." The earlier, therefore, you enter on these ways, you will 
 have, according'to the time that God may spare you, the longer 
 period of true enjoyment; — of enjoyment, uninterrupted by the 
 whispers of an uneasy conscience, and the scaring apprehensions 
 of a coming judgment; of enjoyment, excellent and worthy in 
 itself, and leaving no stings behind. 
 
 And, as early religion is the way to happiness in youth, it is 
 also the eiFectual means of laying it up for trouble and for age: — 
 "while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when 
 thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them." 
 
 "The evil days" are the same with the "days of darkness" in 
 the eighth verse of the preceding chapter. They are days of 
 trouble ; days of gloom and sorrow, arising from one or other, or, 
 it may be, from a combination, of the numberless "ills that flesh 
 is heir to." The arrival of such days, sooner or later, may be 
 expected by all. The Divine allotments, indeed, of temporal 
 enjoyment and suffering are exceedingly diversified, and the prin- 
 25 
 
386 LECITTEE XXII. 
 
 ciple by. which these degrees are measured is amongst the secrets 
 of Deity; giving rise, in its sovereign application, to many a 
 wondering question which we in vain attempt to answer. But 
 every man may look for his share of trial. How few are the lives 
 that are spent without days of darkness ! And for such days, a 
 course of mirthful and dissolute forgetfulness of God is surely a 
 miserable preparation. Whatever may be the thoughts of men 
 or whatever their thoughtlessness in the time of comfort, and 
 health, and prosperity, the need of religion is universally felt in 
 the season of disease, and bereavement, and woe. And, oh ! it is 
 a sad thing, when " the evil days come," and come suddenly, and 
 our sources of consolation are yet to seek : — to seek, when perhaps 
 we are almost, if not utterly, incapacitated for thinking, by the 
 nature of our bodily distemper, or by the stunning, and stupifying, 
 and distracting influence of unanticipated distress. And would 
 it not be righteous in an insulted and oifended Deity, to deny his 
 comforts in the season of need to those who had slighted and re- 
 fused him in the hours of their own preferred enjoyment? who, 
 when all was going well with them, " walked in the ways of their 
 heart, and in the sight of their eyes," and presumptuously thought 
 they could do without Him; and who, instead of being drawn to 
 him by the choice of love, are driven to him by the mere force of 
 calamity? AYould there not be justice in his turning away his 
 ear from their cry, and saying, "Because I called, and ye refused; 
 I stretched out my hands, and no man regarded : but ye set at 
 nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof; I also will 
 laugh at your calamity, I w^ill mock when your fear cometh?" 
 
 If you survive the "days of evil," — if you are not cut off in 
 youth or in manhood, — old age must come upon you; "the years 
 must draw nigh when you shall say, I have no pleasure in them:" — 
 that is, no pleasure from the sources which yielded it before, — no 
 pleasure of the kind to which you gave up your earlier days. 
 Those things which gratified your youth, and kept it in thought- 
 less merriment, will then lose their relish, and cease to be enjoyed; 
 and if you have not previously "remembered your Creator," and 
 provided other and more enduring pleasures, alas ! how cheerless 
 will be the years of your declining life ! Before these years draw 
 nigh, then, lay up for them suitable enjoyment. The only satis- 
 fying pleasures — the only pleasures which will then remain — will 
 
EOCLESIASTES XI. 9, 10. XII. 1-7. 387 
 
 be those of true religion. When every other spring lias run dry, 
 or its streams have become vapid or nauseous, the "wells of salva- 
 tion " will continue in all their fulness, and freshness, and sweet- 
 ness. The blessed truths of God will yield to the soul consolatioa 
 and peace, and tranquil gladness, and animating hope. Instead 
 of bitter and unavailing regrets for pleasures that are past and 
 can never return, you will experience, amidst the felt exhaustion 
 of nature; amidst the "labor and sorrow" of fourscore years; a 
 "joy with which a stranger cannot intermeddle." Leaning on 
 the arm of Divine love and power, you will pass without fear 
 through the "valley of the shadow of death," and be "gathered 
 to the grave, as a shock of corn, fully ripe, is brought in in his 
 season." 
 
 The same idea of the cheerless condition of age without provision 
 made for its happiness by timely piety; or rather, the view of 
 those circumstances in age that render the supports and consola- 
 tions of religion peculiarly necessary ; is expanded in 
 
 Verse 2. While the sun, or the light, or the moon, or the stars^ be 
 not darkened; nor the clouds return after the rain. 
 
 The darkening of the sun and the cheering light of day, and 
 of the moon and stars that illuminate and enliven the night, may 
 be explained either literally of the dimness of vision that is inci- 
 dent to old age, or in one or other of two figurative senses : of the 
 cessation of the sprightly enjoyment of the lights of heaven, in 
 those years of which the old man says, "I have no pleasure in 
 them;" or of the gloom of affliction, the darkness of those troubles 
 to which age is liable, which occasion dull days and wearisome 
 nights, sun and moon being alike shrouded in obscuring clouds. 
 The first of these views identifies the expression in meaning with, 
 another in the subsequent description of old age, — " and those that 
 look out of the windows be darkened." The second and third 
 are so close connected, that they may be considered as one, — the 
 infirmities, and uneasiness, and troubles of age being the principal 
 cause of light itself ceasing to charm, and losing its quickening 
 and spirit-stirring influence. The expression thus stands in 
 contrast with that in the seventh verse of the preceding chapter, 
 "Truly the light is sweet, and a pleasant thing it is for the eyes- 
 to behold the sun." 
 
 "The clouds returning after the rain" is a beautiful figure. 
 
388 LECTURE XXII. 
 
 for a succession of troubles. Between those clouds that darken 
 the sky of age there is but little interval. They may rack and 
 disperse for a short while, and the spirits be eased and lightened ; 
 but instead of the continuance of the "clear shining after rain," 
 the clouds return, and the sky is overcast anew. Not only do the 
 distresses of advanced life multiply from the enlarging circle of 
 family connections and of " children's children," in all whose trials 
 the old father's heart is interested ; but the exhaustion of the 
 bodily energies, and the general sinking of nature, afford little 
 respite from varied, and sometimes indescribable, feelings of un- 
 easiness and distress. The varieties in the condition of old men 
 are, it is true, very considerable ; and to some the description be- 
 fore us is much less applicable than to others. We meet at times 
 with cases, in Avhich, even to fourscore years and ten, the sky con- 
 tinues unusually serene, the "cloudy and dark days" being rather 
 the exception to those of sunshine and cheerfulness. But Solo- 
 mon's representation is not that of extraordinary instances, but of 
 what may in general be expected. 
 
 The principle by which we should be guided in our interpre- 
 tations of Scrij)ture ought to be, neither predilection for what is 
 old, nor fondness for what is new, nor the vanity of being original, 
 but a simple regard to truth and probability. On this principle, 
 after considering such explanations as have come in my way of the 
 following verses, with their respective critical defenses, I am satis- 
 fied that the one which has been all along the most common is the 
 most natural ; and I shall therefore, without entering at all into 
 controversy, which would be out of place, and foreign to my pur- 
 pose in these lectures, adopt it in the comments I am now to oifer 
 you. 
 
 Verses 3-5. In the day when the keepers of the house shall trem- 
 ble, and the strong men shall bow themselves, and the grinders cease 
 because they are few, and those that look out of the ivindows be darken- 
 ed; and the doors shall be shut in the streets, ichen the sound of the 
 grinding is low ; and he shall rise up at the voice of the bird; and 
 all the daughters of music shall be brought low: 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 grasshopper shall be a burden, 
 and desire shall fail: because man goeth to his long home, and the 
 mourners go about the streets. 
 
ECCLESIASTES XI, 9, 10. XII. 1-7. 38^ 
 
 "The keepers of the house shall tremble." — The hands and 
 arms, the instruments of averting threatened evil, the guards and 
 defenders of "the earthly house of this tabernacle," become feeble 
 and palsied, constantly tremulous, or shaking with the slightest 
 attempt at effort, and incapable of yielding it any, even the smallest, 
 protection from assault and injury. Old age is the time of the 
 felt cessation of power. " Cast me not off in the time of old age : 
 forsake me not, when my strength faileth." 
 
 "And the strong men bow themselves." — The limbs, however 
 robust they were formerly, bend under the weight of the body, 
 tottering with extreme frailty, and unable to give it effectual sup- 
 port. The strong men can no longer carry their burden from 
 place to place : they let it fall in the attempt even to raise it. 
 
 "And the grinders cease, because they are few." — The teeth, 
 which perform the same office to the food as the millstone to the 
 corn, comminuting and grinding it, and preparing it for the or- 
 gans of digestion, loosen and fall out; and the few that remain 
 become incompetent to the purpose they were wont to serve, so 
 that the same kinds of food cannot now be taken as before, and 
 the mastication of those which are taken is effected witli much 
 slowness and difficulty. 
 
 "And those that look out of the Avindows be darkened." — Another 
 striking and affecting symptom of age, — the decay, and sometimes 
 the total loss, of sight; exemplified in Isaac, in Jacob, in Eli, and 
 in a greater or less degree experienced by the old in general. The 
 eyes, which from their bony sockets, as from the windows of the 
 "earthly house," look out upon surrounding objects, examining 
 the near, surveying the distant, receiving notices from without, 
 imparting intelligence and intimating emotions from within, 
 watching against evil and directing to good, become suffused and 
 dim, and fail in the fulfilment of their important functions. All 
 is obscurity and confusion. The brilliance of the light itself may 
 be darkly seen; but the reflection of it from the objects on which 
 it falls is too faint to be perceptible. Children and friends ap- 
 proach, but the eyes, which wont to glance with pleasure, turn not 
 towards them ; they must speak ere they can be distinguished. 
 Dangers are at hand ; but the sentinels of the house give no alarm. 
 Other eyes than his own must guide, and inform, and warn the 
 
390 LECTURE XXII. 
 
 sightless old man. And he is bereft, too, of one of the richest 
 sources of enjoyment, — 
 
 " from the cheerful ways of men 
 
 Cut off, and, for the book of knowledge fair, 
 Presented with a universal blank, 
 Of Nature's works, to him expung'd and raz'd, 
 And wisdom at one entrance quite shut out." 
 
 " And the doors shall be shut in the streets, when the sound of 
 the grinding is low." — There is evidently, in this particular, an 
 allusion to the noise of the hand-mill in grinding the corn for the 
 day ; to the. opening of the doors in the morning for this cheerful 
 work ; and to^ the lively sound of its accompanying songs. But 
 if by the grinders, in the former verse, the teeth be meant ; then 
 in this verse the grinding must signify, under the allusion men- 
 tioned, the work which the teeth perform. The lips are, in other 
 parts of Scripture, by a very natural figure, called the doors of the 
 mouth. "Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth: keep the door 
 of my lips." Psalm cxli. 3. — "Trust ye not in a friend; put ye 
 not confidence in a guide; keep the doors of thy mouth from her 
 that lieth in thy bosom." Mic. vii. 5. In the old man, when " the 
 grinders cease," and the "sound of the grinding is low," the lips 
 are compressed with a singular firmness, — the doors of the mouth 
 shut, with a closeness that gives the countenance of age one of its 
 most marked peculiarities. 
 
 "And he shall rise up at the voice of the bird." — This proba- 
 bly expresses the general wakefulness of age. Were the interpre- 
 tation consistent with the dulness of ear incident to this period of 
 life, we might consider it as meaning that the old are easily dis- 
 turbed — the slightest noise startling them. It seems rather, how- 
 ever, simply to signify their inability to rest. They wake early; 
 €ven as soon as the cock crows or the birds begin to chirp in the 
 morning : whereas, when young and vigorous, exercise prepared 
 them for repose, and they could sleep sound and long. "Tired 
 Nature's sweet restorer " flies from the eye-lids of age, as well as 
 from those of woe. 
 
 "And all the daughters of music shall be brought low." — By 
 " the daughters of music," I understand those organs that are em- 
 ployed either in the production, or in the enjoyment of it: — the 
 lungs, which inhale the needful supply of air; that exquisitely 
 
ECCLESIASTES XI. 9, 10. XII. 1-7. 391 
 
 beautiful mechanism by which the air, in its passage from the 
 lungs, is so finely and delicately modulated; and the ear, which, 
 by a structure not less admirable, is adapted for receiving the im- 
 pressions of sound, and through which the sensations of delight 
 are conveyed to the mind. In old age, the play of the lungs is 
 less easy, and respiration more laborious; the voice becomes tremu- 
 lous and feeble ; and the command of its modulation is impaired, 
 not only by the rigidity of its own organs, but by the obtuseness 
 of those of hearing; by which last defect, too, the pleasure of 
 musical sounds is diminished, or lost. The voice is thus unfitted 
 for making music, and the ear for enjoying it. — "I am this day," 
 said Barzillai the Gileadite to king David, in declining to accom- 
 pany him to Jerusalem, — "I am this day fourscore years old: can 
 I discern between good and evil? can thy servant taste what I 
 eat or what I drink? can I hear any more the voice of singing- 
 men and singing- women? wherefore, then, should thy servant be 
 yet a burden unto my lord the king?" 2 Sam. xix. 35. 
 
 "They shall be afraid of that which is high." — Every ascent in 
 the way, up which, in the days of their youth, they would have 
 bounded with agility and ease, is now discouraging to them. They 
 stop, and take breath, and hesitate, and, unable to see themselves, 
 make many inquiries, before they will attempt what, with a de- 
 sponding shake of the head, they " fear will be too much for them." 
 
 "And fears shall be in the way." — They are full of apprehen- 
 sions of real or imaginary dangers, — of accidents that may happen 
 to them, — of obstacles over which they may stumble, — of being 
 jostled and thrown down, or otherwise hurt, — of mischiefs that 
 may come in their way, which they have not eyes to see, nor 
 strength to ward off, nor agility to escape. 
 
 "And the almond-tree shall flourish."— From the particular 
 time of the almond-tree's flourishing, it has by some been placed 
 early in spring,* whilst others have assigned it to winter.! In 
 the latter view, it has been considered as significant, in the imagery 
 of Solomon, of the closing scene of life, when 
 
 " pale concluding winter comes at bist, 
 
 And shuts the scene." 
 
 But the existing dubiety about the season gives uncertainty and 
 
 *See Cotton on the verse:— Blayney on Jer. i. 11, 12; &c. 
 t See Dathius and Van der Palm on the vei-se. 
 
^^^ -LECTURE XXII. 
 
 indistinctness to this explanation; and both on this account, and 
 on the ground of its own superior beauty and appropriateness, the 
 more common vieAv of the figure is entitled to preference. The 
 almond-tree covered with its snow-white blossoms is a beautiful 
 poetic emblem of the hoary head ; and the casting of the blossoms 
 might farther represent the shedding of the silver locks from the 
 venerable brows of age. 
 
 "And the grasshopper shall be a burden."— By those who ex- 
 plain the preceding emblem from the season of the year, this also 
 has been interpreted as referring to winter, when the grasshopper 
 which in summer had been all sprightliness and agility, becomes 
 languid and inactive, and "a burden" to itself. Thus it is, as 
 they allege who adopt this explanation, with the aged man, when 
 he experiences the feebleness of decrepitude, and is bowed down 
 with the load of his infirmities.*— But may not the expression be 
 intended simply to convey the idea of extreme feebleness f signify- 
 ing, not that the old man is, like the grasshopper at a particular 
 season, a burden to himself, although that is true; but that to the 
 relaxed and palsied imbecility of age, the lightest thing is a load. 
 Would it be an inappropriate expression for the feebleness of an 
 unnerved and emaciated frame, to say of a man, he was become 
 so exceedingly weak that he could not bear a fly to light upon 
 him? This I take to be the meaning of the grasshopper being a 
 
 •'^''ZocMsto,_sive cicac?a,per a^statem valde agilis ac Iteta, hyeme lanjruet 
 mer ?.'Sn' / ""-rf *^ Tl ^•"•' ^^" ^^"^^* «^ ^^■^«^«' ^1"<=^ during fum- 
 
 ^i^-t:{-^i:;l>,f:^'''''^ '"^ "^^^^^ ^''^"^^"^^^^^' ^^^^ ^^ ^ ^-^^^ '- 
 
 It may be owing to an undue sense of the ludicrous, but I never have been 
 .ible to view in any other light than as an ingenious conceit, with too little 
 dignity m it to have been intended by SolomoS, the resemblance which some 
 have drawn and have supposed to have been in his eye, between the shape 
 of the grasshopper and the decrepit body of a very inta old man— "Cum 
 locusta comparatur senex, propter corpus macilentum, pedes graciles et in- 
 cessuni incurvatum ac si onere premeretur:" [i.e., The old man is compared 
 Joi .* -I ' ""V ''?.?"'?* ""{ ^'^ "^^^S"^ ^«dy, shrivelled legs, and crooked 
 
 ^ W^« o ^PP'^t?,^ ^^\t^ ^ burden.-Ei). -i>«^At«^. He transtates the words 
 lii. ?r.o.^'''n^'*"'' i.-\^'f ^f • ^"- ^ •■ "*^^ ^^y^ «^^™"k, shrivelled, crump- 
 ling, craggy old man, his back bone sticking out, his knees projecting forwards 
 his arms backwards, his head downwards^ and the apophyses, or^bunXng 
 &7t " P '/^^^/ '^ r""'"^. '°^f g^^' ^« ^^^ aptly ^described by that fn^ 
 f^\)rfjS'"'ll ^" ^J'f word-who refers for fuller proof of the resemblance 
 Z J:.l^ \ ^'""dSoJomon^s portraiture of old a^e.-The resemblance may 
 mvS^?^^?.'' ^Ji ^}^ comparison, I confeas, conveys a conception to 
 my mind too odd and ludicrous to be willingly admitted on such a subject 
 
ECCLESIASTES XI. 9, 10. XII. 1-7. .39.3 
 
 burden. It is not improbable, that the phrase was a proverbial 
 one for the utmost degree of debility. 
 
 "And desire shall fail." — I rest in the ordinary interpretation 
 of these words, as signifying the cessation of the desire of animal 
 pleasures ; the appetites and propensities of nature giving way 
 with the departure of the warmth of youth, the cooling of the 
 blood, the sinking of the animal spirits, and the general exhaustion 
 of the energies and capacities of the living frame. 
 
 "Because man goeth to his long home, and the mourners go 
 about the streets." — The grave is man's long or perpetual home. 
 As time advances, indeed, the epithet will become less and less 
 appropriate, as the sleep of the tomb will be shorter and shorter, 
 till the sounding of the "trump of God;" when the slumbers of 
 centuries and the repose of a day shall be disturbed together ; when 
 righteous Abel, the earliest tenant of the tomb, shall quit the 
 narrow house, and the breath shall at the same time return to the 
 man who is yet warm in his shroud. But the terms w^ere appro- 
 priate in Solomon's days, and are so still in ours ; and to all who 
 reach the grav^e it must ever continue a perpetual home, in as far 
 as respects their return to " the place that knew them " in the 
 present world. "When a few years are come, then I shall go the 
 way whence I shall not return." — "Man lieth down, and riseth 
 not; till the heavens be no more they shall not awake, nor be 
 raised out of their sleep." — "As the cloud is consumed and van- 
 isheth away, so he that goeth down to the grave shall come up 
 no more. He shall return no more to his house, neither shall his 
 place know him any more." Perhaps the "long home" may 
 mean, not specifically the grave, but i\\Q future state in general, — 
 the " undiscovered country, from whose bourne no traveller re- 
 turns," — where the condition of every individual is immediately 
 and irreversibly settled. 
 
 " The mourners going about the streets " refers to the ancient 
 eastern custom of employing official mourners, who were hired 
 for the purpose of wailing for the dead : raising public lamenta- 
 tions over them ; attending at their funeral obsequies ; by dress, 
 and voice, and gesture, and all tha outward expressions of grief, 
 moving the feelings of kindred and spectators ; and praising the 
 excellences of the departed in dirges of plaintive music, which, in 
 extraordinary cases, were even recorded amongst the sacred melo- 
 
394 
 
 LECTURE XXII. 
 
 dies of the country. Thus " the singing-men and singing-women " 
 celebrated the virtues of good king Josiah. They "spoke of Josiah 
 in their lamentations," says the writer of the Chronicles, "to this 
 day, and made them an ordinance in Israel: and behold they are 
 written in the Lamentations." 2 Chron. xxxv. 25. To the same 
 description of persons the prophet Jeremiah alludes, when, weeping 
 for the slain of the daughter of his people, he says, "Thus saith 
 the Lord, Consider ye, and call for the mourning women that 
 they may come ; and send for cunning women that they may come : 
 and let them make haste, and take up a wailing for us, that our 
 eyes may run down with tears, and our eyelids gush out with 
 ^vaters." Jer. ix. 17, 18. 
 
 Our customs differ from theirs. We should be apt to think 
 this kind of mercenary and fictitious sorrow a burden rather than 
 a gratification to the disconsolate spirit of bereaved and agonized 
 affection ; and likely, besides, in most instances, to be proportioned 
 to the w^ealth more than to the w^orth of its subjects. But we also 
 have every day before our eyes the sight of "mourners," although 
 not of the same description, "going about the streets;" relatives 
 and friends assuming in succession for each other the garb of sor- 
 row. The man of grey hairs has followed many a bier in the 
 course of his fourscore years,— has dropt his tears offender sympa- 
 thy, or of heart-broken anguish, over many a grave:— and now^ 
 at length the mourners assemble for himself, and follow him to 
 "his long home," and commit Ms loved and venerated dust to 
 the house of silence.— Various have been the interpretations of 
 Verse 6. Or ever the silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl be 
 broken, or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or the tvheel broken 
 at the cistern. 
 
 The silver cord being loosed, and the golden boMd broken, have 
 been thought to represent life under the image of a lamp of gold 
 suspended by a cord of silver threads from the cieling of a festive 
 hall, enlightening and enlivening the company:— but the cord 
 loosens or snaps asunder, the lamp falls and is broken, the light 
 is extinguished, and all is involved in gloom.*— The remainder 
 of the verse has been interpreted as a figure taken from the furni- 
 tnre of a well. The bucket and the wheel are broken : the water 
 
 * Dathias. 
 
ECCLESIASTES XI. 9, 10. XIl. 1-7. 395 
 
 can no longer be drawn : and, instead of the busy and lively scene 
 that was wont to surround the well's mouth, all is solitude and 
 silence, the ground untrodden, the water stagnant. — The imagery 
 of the entire verse has by others been traced to this latter source. 
 "There is a cord to the hoiol, or bucket, with which the water is 
 drawn; a wheel by which the more easily to raise it; a cistern, into 
 which it may be poured ; and a jntcher, or vessel to carry it away 
 with : — but now all are broken or loosened, and become useless." 
 Thus, at death, all the functions of life terminate, and the entire 
 mechanism of the human frame is shattered and goes to decay. 
 "The lungs cease to play, the heart ceases to beat, the blood to 
 circulate ; every vessel becomes useless ; the whole surprising con- 
 trivance for forming and communicating the blood, which is the 
 life, from the fountain of the heart to every extremity of the body, 
 is entirely deranged: the silver cord is loosed, the golden bowl is 
 broken, the pitcher and the wheel are alike marred."* 
 
 But I cannot persuade myself to dismiss this interesting de- 
 scription thus hastily. — One of the difficulties which we feel in the 
 explanation of it arises from our not being acquainted with the 
 terms and phrases then employed in the different departments of 
 natural science, as far as the cultivation of them extended; nor 
 even with the names in common use, for many of the parts, es- 
 pecially in the internal structure, of the animal machine. I can 
 hardly suppo&e the phraseology of Solomon here to have been en- 
 tirely poetical ; I mean, the immediate invention of his own fancy 
 alone; expressing resemblances that had presented themselves to 
 his own mind, but had not at all been previously recognized in 
 the language of ordinary life. It is well known how many of the 
 terms and designations by which anatomists have chosen to dis- 
 tinguish the different organs and functions of the human frame 
 are figurative, — borrowed from obvious or remote analogies, and 
 likenesses to other objects and operations in nature; — and the same 
 terms and phrases, or others framed on similar principles, are to 
 be found in common discourse. 
 
 Suppose, then, we adopt the common explanation of the "silver 
 cord," (which I confess myself disposed to do) as signifying the 
 spinal marrow, — that prolongation of the brain which comes 
 down in the central tube of the back bone, and sends off nerves 
 
 * Scott's Commentary. 
 
396 LECTURE XXII 
 
 in all directions, which branch into innumerable fibers, distri- 
 buted to' the remotest extremities : — is it at all necessary that 
 we consider the name as Solomon's own, — a fine poetical image? 
 At the risk of marring to some minds the beauty of the image, I 
 must say that I think it more likely to have been the common 
 name for the part of our frame in question. We can hardly con- 
 ceive a designation more strikingly appropriate. The medullary 
 cord it is often called by anatomists at this day; and why it should 
 be denominated the silver cord no one need be told, that has seen 
 its silvery whiteness, which is particularly remarkable as it aj)- 
 pears in the living subject, or when exposed while death is recent 
 and the body fresh. — The loosing of the silver cord is the final 
 cessation of nervous influence and of all sensibility. It is by means 
 of the nerves that the soul transmits and eifectuates its volitions. 
 It is by them also that all the bodily senses convey to it the im- 
 pressions made upon them by their respective objects. Is it, then, 
 refining too much, to regard the nerves as the medium of com- 
 munication between the body and the mind? — the bond, as it were, 
 of their connection and intercourse ? — and the loosing of the silver 
 cord as the dissolution of their intimate and mysterious fellow- 
 ship? 
 
 By the "golden bowl" some understand the heart. But to a 
 bowl the heart bears no great resemblance, and still less to one of 
 gold; and it is more probably represented, in next clause of the 
 verse, by the fountain. — There are two membranes that envelope 
 the brain ; the one, firm and opaque, surrounding the whole mass ; 
 yet, though in contact, not properly connected with it, but rather 
 lining the skull ; — the other, soft, delicate, and transparent, closely 
 attached to the brain, insinuating itself between all its convolu- 
 tions, compacting and lubricating the whole. The golden bowl 
 might be the common anatomical name for this beautiful integu- 
 ment, both on account of its globular shape, and from its yellow- 
 ish color, bearing a nearer resemblance to that of gold than any 
 other part of the body. There is no occasion in this, any more 
 than in the former case, for having recourse to poetical imagery. 
 There is, in truth, much more of fancy and metaphor in the desig- 
 nations of the severe and the affectionate motlter,^' given in modern 
 
 ■''' Dura mater, and pia mater. 
 
ECCLESIASTES XI. 9, 10. XII. 1-7. .307 
 
 anatomy to the two membranes I have mentioned, than in that of 
 the golden bowl, which is founded, surely, in a greatly simpler and 
 more direct resemblance. I have somewhere seen it said, that 
 this membrane is frequently shrivelled and ruptured at death. 
 But whatever be in this, the breaking of the golden bowl may 
 signify the termination of all the functions of that most essential 
 and precious organ of the mind's operations, the brain: — "In that 
 very day, his thoughts perish." 
 
 The expressions which follow have been conceived to refer to 
 the circulation of the blood: — "and the pitcher be broken at the 
 fountain, and the wheel be broken at the cistern." — The discovery 
 of this most wonderful and beautiful process being attributed to 
 an anatomist of our owni country, at a period comparatively very 
 recent, it may be reckoned extravagant to suppose the knowledge 
 of it to have been possessed by Solomon in so remote an age of 
 antiquity. It is not at all impossible, however, that this knowl- 
 edge might then have existed, and, like some other branches of 
 science, have been subsequently lost ; which does not in the least 
 detract from the jjraise due to the modern discoverer. It seems 
 exceedingly unlikely that the circulation of the blood should be 
 an entire secret till so late as the beginning of the seventeenth 
 century. Passages have been quoted from different writers which 
 seem to prove that it w^as not unknown to the ancients, whatever 
 uses they made of their acquaintance with it, and in whatever 
 ways they might account for its curious and astonishing pheno- 
 mena. But, at any rate, let us recollect what the inspired record 
 affirms of the extent of information, in the various departments 
 of natural science, acquired by Solomon. It is true that we have 
 no remains of his researches in human and comparative anatomy. 
 But the same thing is true of other branches, in which we know 
 him to have excelled. He "spoke of trees, from the cedar-tree 
 that is in Lebanon, even unto the hyssop that springeth out of 
 the wall:" — yet, where are now the traces of Solomon's botany? 
 "He spoke also of beasts:" — what has become of his zoology? — 
 ^^and of fowl, and of creeping things, and of fishes:" — are any 
 extant works, or remnants of works, to be found in the depart- 
 ments of natural history that treat of these? Even the intima- 
 tion, general as it is, that these different provinces of animated 
 nature were extensively explored, and carefully studied by him. 
 
398 LECTURE XXII. 
 
 warrants the conclusion that he was not inattentive to their in- 
 ternal and comparative structure : and when we connect with this 
 the penetrating sagacity and comprehensive enlargement of his 
 mind, we may feel our incredulity mitigated at least, if not en- 
 tirely removed, respecting his acquaintance with the sanguineous 
 system. 
 
 The HEART is the fountain, from which the streams of vital 
 nourishment pervade the whole animal frame. To enter into 
 any minute detail of the manner in which it performs its office, 
 and of the entire system of venous and arterial vessels, would be 
 utterly out of place. Some general idea, however, may be given 
 of the process. For the due performance of its functions, the 
 human heart is divided into four distinct cavities or chambers. 
 From one of these, on the left side of the heart, the blood, in its 
 pure state, is forced, by the powerful contraction of this wonderful 
 organ, (a contraction produced by the quantity and the stimulating 
 virtue of the blood itself,) into the open mouth of one large artery, 
 which immediately branches off in smaller divisions, and these 
 again in smaller, till their numberless and unsearchably minute 
 ramifications have diffused the streams of life, and warmth, and 
 nourishment, to the remotest extremities of the body, — so perfectly, 
 you all are aware, that you cannot pierce the skin with the point 
 of a needle, without punctviring a vessel, and drawing blood. 
 From the arteries, the blood is taken up by the mouths of innum- 
 erable small veins, which, reversing what took place with the 
 arteries, unite into larger and larger branches, (like rills uniting 
 into streamlets, and these into rivers,) till at length, by two large 
 veins, one bringing it from the superior, and the other from the 
 lower parts of the body, it is poured into the upper cavity, (where 
 these two veins unite,) on the right side of the heart, — the side 
 opposite to that from which it has issued. — But observe — the blood 
 is not now in the same state. It issued of a bright red color, and 
 fit for the purposes of life. It is now of a dark purple hue, and, 
 in its passage through the body, has either contracted or parted 
 with such qualities, as to be no longer capable of supporting life, — 
 of giving warmth and nourishment to the animal frame. It must 
 be again purified. And wonderful is the provision made for this 
 necessary purpose. From the upper cavity on the side of the 
 heart to v/hich the blood was restored by the veins, it passes into 
 
ECCLESIASTES XI. 9, 10. XII. 1-7. 399 
 
 the inferior chamber on the same side : and thence it is propelled, 
 through a large artery, to the lungs. Into the lungs we are con- 
 tinually, by respiration, drawing the air of the atmosphere. The 
 vessels into which the air is drawn lie close along-side of the 
 blood-vessels, throughout the entire substance of the lungs. The 
 air which we inhale is found, when we breathe it out again, to 
 have lost its purity, and to have become unfit for the support of 
 animal life. That which it has lost has been imparted, by a 
 mysterious chemical process, to the blood ; which is sent back from 
 the lungs, in its original purity, by several large veins, which 
 unite at the upper cavity, or reservoir, on the left side of the heart. 
 From this it passes into the inferior cavity, from which it had 
 first issued, and commences anew its nutritious course through 
 the system. — Thus, there are properly two circulations, — a greater 
 and a lesser ; one through the body, the other through the lungs ; 
 both equally essential, each being useless without the other; 
 and both incessantly going on together: — two hearts, in truth, 
 beating simultaneously, receiving the blood at the same instant, 
 the one from the body and the other from the lungs, and then at 
 the same instant driving it through the body and through the 
 lungs again, and that at the rate of seventy strokes every minute, 
 during the whole course of a man's life! The various arrange- 
 ments, and exquisite contrivances, by which both these circulations 
 are effected, so as to go forward continually, independently of our 
 volitions, present a display of wisdom and power utterly over- 
 whelming ; such as no man can contemplate in a proper frame of 
 mind, without adoring the Author of his being, and exclaiming, 
 " I am fearfully and wonderfully made :" — " O Lord, how manifold 
 are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made them all." 
 
 In the verse before us, then, we may suppose the heart to be 
 the "fountain:" — the great artery, which receives the blood im- 
 mediately from it, to tJe distributed through all the rest, may be 
 intended by the "pitcher:" — and the "pitcher is broken at the 
 fountain," when, at death, this vessel loses its elastic propelling 
 power, ceases to act, collapses, and lies empty and useless. 
 
 The lohed was a power by which the water was drawn from 
 the cistern, or pit. It may be understood to represent the lungs, 
 the organ of respiration. And this, indeed, seems to be the great 
 impelling power of the whale living system; on whicli depend 
 
400 LECTURE XXII. 
 
 all the effective movements of the heart itself, and consequently 
 of every other part of the animal frame. The play of the heart 
 is maintained by the play of the lungs, by which its purity and its 
 stimulant powers are imparted to the blood. So that, by analogy, 
 not indeed in all respects correct, but as well grounded as some 
 more modern ones in anatomical science, the lungs may be said 
 to bring its fluid contents from the heart, as the wheel draws the 
 water from the well. — When death approaches, the lungs gradu- 
 ally cease to play; less and less air is inhaled, and inhaled with 
 irregularity and difficulty; the action of the heart becomes pro- 
 portionally feeble and intermittent ; till, at length, the last breath 
 is faintly expired ; the lungs collapse; the pulses all cease; and 
 the stillness of death insues. — And — 
 
 Verse 7. Then shall the dust return to the earth as it loas; and 
 the spirit sliall return unto God who gave it. 
 
 The body, formed originally from the dust, shall undergo the 
 *full execution of its sentence, — " Dust thou art, and unto dust thou 
 shalt return :" a sentence pronounced on man in consequence of 
 his sin, and of which the stroke of death, throughout successive 
 generations, has been the righteous fulfilment. For, although 
 man was formed from the dust, he was not on that account neces- 
 saj'ily mortal. The power that gave him life was able to sustain 
 it in never-fading vigor. We talk of death as coming in . the 
 course of nature. But of the original course of nature, when man 
 c^me in the beauty of holiness from his Creator's hand, it was no 
 part. It pertains to the course oi fallen nature. Man was death- 
 less while he was sinless. He became mortal when he apostatized 
 from God. And the universality of the reign of death is a mourn- 
 ful but conclusive evidence of the universality of the apostacy. 
 Every shrouded corpse, and every opening grave, should lead our 
 minds back to the entrance of sin, — to 
 
 " man's first disobedience, and the fruit 
 
 Of that forbidden tree, whose mortal taste 
 Brought death into the world, and all our woe." 
 
 And while the body is consigned to the grave, to be food for 
 the loathsome worm, and to mingle with the dust of former gen- 
 erations, the immortal spirit, the tenant of this earthly tabernacle, 
 shall — perish with it? No. — Sleep with it in the tomb for 
 ages in a state of insensibility ? No. — It shall "return unto God 
 
ECCLESIASTES XT. 9, 10. XII. 1-7. 401 
 
 who gave it." — Solomon was no materialist. He did not consider 
 the soul as of the same substance with the body, and thought as 
 the mere result of certain modifications and arrangements of matter 
 and motion, and death the final destruction of the whole man; — 
 but the body as only the organ of the indwelling spirit, like a 
 complete set of admirably adapted instruments, by which it ac- 
 quired its knowledge, and reduced that knowledge to use in the 
 execution of the dictates of its will; and the soul, though acting 
 by means of the body while it continues its occupant, yet capable 
 of existence, of thought, and of activity, in a state of separation 
 from it. Of the manner, it is true, in which a spirit exists, and 
 thinks, and acts, and enjoys, in its disembodied state, we can form 
 no distinct conception ; but we are quite as ignorant of the manner 
 in which spirit operates on matter when connected with it; for, 
 though we know the facts, we cannot account for them: and if 
 even the facts that are attested by our senses and experience we 
 are unable to explain, ought not this to prevent incredulity and 
 scepticism as to others that are beyond the sphere of our obser- 
 vation, and which we have no cause for doubting but our inca- 
 pacity to conceive of them ? 
 
 Nor was the soul, according to Solomon, to fall, during the 
 sleep of the body in the grave, into a state of insensibility, or un- 
 consciousness. — Had it been to partake in the deep slumbers of 
 the tomb, it could not have been said to " return to God who gave 
 it" any more than the body. The distinction between the two is 
 marked; and the existence of the soul, in life and consciousness, 
 when separate from the body, emphatically declared. 
 
 When the spirit thus returns to God, we are not to understand 
 that in every instance it is to remain in His presence, and to enter 
 into his joy. It goes to receive its doom from the supreme Judge ; 
 a doom, not at that time formally pronounced, indeed, but which 
 the subsequent decisions of the great day shall only recognize and 
 ratify. That day of formal judicial sentence may be distant: but 
 this is not inconsistent with immediate transition at death to happi- 
 ness or woe, — with the "spirits of the just" being "made per- 
 fect" in heaven, and the souls of the wicked "going to their own 
 place," — to that everlasting fire that is jjrepared for the devil and 
 his angels." — "The beggar died, and was carried by the angels 
 26 
 
402 LECTURE XXII. 
 
 into Abraham's bosom. The rich man also died, and was buried ; 
 and in hell he lifted up his eyes, being in torments." 
 
 The feelings, my friends, with which we contemplate the de- 
 scription in this passage, or behold it realized in our aged friends 
 or others around us, must vary according to the characters and 
 the prospects of those in whom we witness the symptoms of decay 
 and of approaching dissolution. — " The hoary head is a crown of 
 glory, when it is found in the way of righteousness." There is 
 not on earth a more venerable and delightful spectacle than of an 
 aged pilgrim "walking with God:" and a more aifecting and 
 deeply melancholy sight can hardly, on the contrary, be imagined, 
 than that of a hoary-headed sinner, who has lived his fourscore 
 years "without God in the world!" — all that time, God calling 
 and he refusing: — and the Almighty "angry with him every 
 day :" — his body now bowed down beneath the weight of years, — 
 all his powers, of action and of enjoyment, decaying, — every hour 
 likely to be his last, — time all behind him, and eternity all before 
 him, — and his soul still "dead in trespasses and sins," — the hour 
 of his departure come, and no readiness for the world to which 
 he is bound ! — O with what opposite emotions do we contemplate 
 old age in this character, and in the saint of God who, in ap- 
 proaching the close of his earthly pilgrimage, is drawing near to 
 what has long been the goal of his hopes and desires; who, while 
 outwardly decaying, is inwardly maturing for heaven; in whom 
 every symptom of coming death is but a symptom of approaching 
 life; and who, in the final exhaustion of nature, bids adieu to the 
 world in the words of aged Simeon, "Lord, now lettest thou thy 
 servant depart in peace, — for mine eyes have seen thy salvation !" 
 
 True, indeed, it is painful for affection to mark the indications 
 of increasing feebleness in the objects of its tender regard; to see 
 infirmities multiplying, and troubles gaining ground, which it 
 feels its inability to remove, and can only soothe by the gentle 
 offices of kindness; to be thus continually reminded, that the hour 
 is at hand when the dear old father, or friend, to whom it has 
 long clung in fond attachment, must take his final leave. And 
 when that hour arrives, — Avhen the "silver cord is loosed, the 
 golden bowl broken, the pitcher broken at the fountain, and the 
 wheel broken at the cistern," — even though the event has long 
 been anticipated, who can witness it Avithout deep emotion? — who 
 
ECC'LESIASTES XI. 9, 10, XIl. 1-7. 403 
 
 enn part even from exhausted ti*re without a pang of inexpressible 
 tenderness ? 
 
 Of all the periods and events of life, the concluding scene is the 
 one of deepest interest to the person himself, and to surviving spec- 
 tators. Various are the ways in which it conies, and various the 
 aspects it presents; but in all it is solemn. What can be more 
 so, than the approach of that moment which, to the dying man, 
 is the boundary between time and eternity? wiiich concludes the 
 one, and commences the other: which terminates all his interests 
 in this world, and fixes his condition for a never-ending^jxistence 
 in the world unknown? — What can be more so, than those mo- 
 ments of silent and indescribable anxiety, when the last sands of 
 the numbered hour are running; when the beat of the heart has 
 become too languid to be felt at the extremities of the frame; 
 when the cold hand returns not the gentle pressure; when the 
 restless limbs lie still and motionless; when the eye is fixed, and 
 the ear turns no more toward the voice of consoling kindness ; 
 when the breath, before oppressive and laborious, becomes feebler 
 and feebler, till it dies slowly away — and to the listening ear 
 there is no sound amidst the breathless silence; nor to the arrested 
 eye, that watches with the unmoving look of thrilling solicitude 
 for the last symptom of remaining life, is motion longer precepti- 
 ble; — when surrounding friends continue to speak in whispers, 
 and to step through the chamber on the tiptoe. of cautious quiet- 
 ness, as if still fearful of disturbing him — whom the noise of a 
 thousand thunders could not now startle — who has fallen on that 
 last sleep, from which nothing shall rouse, but "the voice of the 
 archangel, and the trump of God"? 
 
 Solemn and affecting as the scene is when man thus *'goeth to 
 his long home," — when age closes in death, — when " the dust re- 
 turns to the earth as it was, and the spirit to God who gave it;" 
 how sweetly cheering, how inexpressibly consoling is it, when the 
 valley of the shadow of death is lighted from heaven; and 
 when the grave, dark and dreary as it is, is closed over the 
 dead, "in the sure and certain hope" that as "Jesus died and rose 
 again, even so them also who sleep in Jesus will God bring with 
 him!" 
 
 Ye aged pilgrims, who have begun to experience and to exem- 
 plify the truth of Solomon's description — fear not. Let your 
 
404 LECTURE xxir. 
 
 trust b^ in him who hath said, "1 will never leave, thee, I will 
 never forsake thee :" — " Even to your old age I am he ; and even 
 to hoar hairs will I carry you." Look backward with gratitude ; 
 look upward with confidence; and look onward with hope. Your 
 " heart and your flesh fail ; but God is the strength of your heart, 
 and your portion for ever." 
 
 And, O ye who have lived from childhood to youth, and from 
 youth to age, regardless of God and of eternity, with no relish for 
 any pleasures but those of time and sense, " walking in the ways 
 of your .hearts, and in the sight of your eyes," and to whom 
 the years have "drawn nigh," and have come, when the zest 
 of those earlier pleasures is gone, and there is nothing in their 
 stead, — to whom remembrance yields only regrets, and antici- 
 pation doubt and fears : — O end not as you have begun : die not 
 as you have lived : you have thrown away your life ; throw not 
 away eternity too. Your guilt has been deep; your folly has 
 been extreme ; your danger is imminent ; but I dare not say, — 
 the mercy of God in the gospel forbids me to say, — that your 
 condition is hopeless. Even to you, the sceptre of his grace is 
 extended; even to you the voice of invitation is still addressed, 
 "turn ye, turn ye, for why will ye die?" There is but a step be- 
 tween you and deatli. O let not that last step be taken without 
 God. Bow before the footstool of his throne. Lay your gray 
 hairs there in the dust of penitential abasement. Confess your 
 guilt. Let your spirit bend to the offers of free mercy. " Believe 
 in the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved :" for he excepts 
 none from the gracious assurance, — "Him that cometh unto me, 
 I will in no wise cast out." 
 
 And ye, my young friends; which of the two characters we have 
 been bringing before your view would you wish to be yours, 
 should you live to old age? You can have but one answer to the 
 question. You desire to die in peace with God, and in good hope 
 for eternity. If such be your desire, " remember now your Creator 
 in the days of your youth." Thus prepare for an honorable and 
 happy old age, and for a death of tranquillity and hope. — But 
 your reaching old age, the word of God tells you, and the events 
 of every day tell you, is an extreme uncertainty. You have no 
 covenant with death. The years you anticipate may never come; 
 they may never even "draw nigh." — "Childhood and youth are 
 
ECCLESIASTES XI. 9, 10. XII. 1-7. 405 
 
 vanity." If, therefore, you would live a life of genuine happiness, 
 however long, — "remember your Creator in the days of your 
 youth:" and if you would be secure for a future world, at what- 
 ever period you may be summoned from this, again I say, "re- 
 member your Creator in the days of your youth." I could call 
 many amongst my hearers to witness to you, that they were 
 strangers to true enjoyment till they entered on a religious life, — 
 a life of faith upon tlie Son of God. " O taste, and see that the 
 Lord is good !" 
 
LECTURE XXni 
 
 ECCLESIASTES XII. 8-14. 
 
 "Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher; all (is) vanity. 9. And moreover, 
 liecaiise the Preacher was wise, he still taught the people knowledge ; yea, 
 he gave good heed, and sought out, (and) set in order many proverbs. 10. 
 The Preacher sought to find out acceptable words ; and (that which was) 
 written (was) upright, (even) words of truth. 11. The words of the wise 
 (are) as goads, and as nails fastened (by) the masters of assemblies, (which) 
 are given from one shepherd. 12. And further, by these, my son, be ad- 
 monished: of making many books (there is) no end; and much study (is) 
 a weariness of the flesh. 13. Let us hear the conclusion of the whole mat- 
 ter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this (is) the whole (duty) 
 of man. 14. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every 
 secret thing, whether (it be) good, or whether (it be) evil." 
 
 Verse 8. Yanifj/ of vanities, saifh the Preacher; all is vanity. 
 
 With this general declaration the book had commenced, as the 
 text of the preacher's discourse. This text he had" illustrated in a 
 great variety of lights, never losing sight of it, but frequently re- 
 peating it with particular application to the different branches 
 of his subject. He had commented on human life, in many of 
 its diversified conditions and aspects, and had shown the vanity 
 of it in each. He had at length, in the most affecting terms, de- 
 scribed the wants, and frailties, and troubles, of its concluding 
 period, and had brought it, after its longest continuance, to its 
 universal termination: — "Then shall the dust return to the eartli 
 as it was, and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it." 
 
 How appropriate, in this connection, is the repetition of his 
 text ! There is no season in which the vanity of life is more strik- 
 ingly apparent, than when a man looks back upon it from its ap- 
 proacliing close. O in what a different light does it appear to the 
 recollections of dying age, and to the sanguine anticipations of 
 
> 
 
 ECCLESIA8TES XII. 8-14. 407 
 
 vigorous and healthful youth ! The latter looks forward to long 
 life, and his flattering hopes fill the prospect with prosperity and 
 happiness: — he "rejoices in his youth, and his heart cheers him 
 in the days of his youth." To the former, the longest life ap- 
 pears in the retrospect as short as, in the anticipations of his early 
 days, it had seemed long : and, if he has continued to live for the 
 present world only, his recollections of the past must be not only 
 "vanity," but unutterable "vexation of spirit." The pleasures 
 of sin, however fascinating in the enjoyment, will then be found 
 to "bite like a serpent and sting like an adder:" — and all the fled 
 joys of worldly prosperity — O how inexpressibly vain the re- 
 membrance of them, when "the silver cord" is just giving way, — 
 the dust about to "return to the earth," and "the spirit to God 
 who gave it!" — when the recollections of time are absorbed in the 
 anticipations of eternity ! The hand of death will lift from before 
 the eyes of the dying the veil of delusive fascination that covered 
 the emptiness of earthly joys; and this solemn truth, inscribed 
 upon them all, will apjiear in its dread reality, and be felt in all 
 its bitterness by the disappointed and foreboding heart — "Vanity 
 of vanities, — all is vanity!" 
 
 The royal author of this book, we have had repeated occasion 
 to observe, does not merely draw conclusions from reasonable 
 principles and suppositions, but delivers the dictates of observa- 
 tion and experience. He had seen crowds of mortals flocking to 
 various springs, in different and opposite directions, all in quest 
 of the waters of happiness ; and he formed the resolution, (cer- 
 tainly not in wisdom,) of trying them all for himself. He records 
 in this book the results of his trial; to assure mankind, that at no 
 one of those fountains where happiness is usually sought is it really 
 to be found; and to direct them, for the attainment and permanent 
 possession of it, to the " river of God's pleasures." 
 
 The determination to warn others is, in the mind of a penitent, 
 the natural suggestion of the experience he has had of the vanity 
 and fhe bitterness of sin. The suggestion is especially strong, when 
 a professed servant of God' has gone astray. He has "given oc- 
 casion to the adversaries of the Lord to blaspheme." He knows 
 and feels this; and he is anxious to counteract, by subsequent ex- 
 ertion for the spiritual benefit of others, the mischief he may have 
 done by his wicked defection. Solomon had set a dreadful, and 
 
408 LECTURE XXIII. 
 
 Avidely pernicious example before his subjects. He here appears 
 in the character of a penitent, himself returning to God, and seek- 
 ing to bring others along with him ; employing all his wisdom 
 for this purpose. 
 
 Verse 9. *A.nd, moreover, because the Preaoher was wise, he still 
 taught the people knowledge; yea, he gave good heed, and sought out, 
 and set in order many proverbs. 
 
 "The Preacher was wise." To the origin of his unrivalled 
 wisdom we have had frequent occasion to advert. Solomon had 
 been thankful for this precious gift of God. But for a time, in the 
 latter period of his life, he had most miserably abused it. The 
 " light that was in him " had been " darkness ;" his faculties having 
 been perverted to the purposes of vice and folly. Now, when he 
 is restored to the right way, his wisdom is applied anew to pro- 
 per and worthy ends.—" When thou art restored,"— said our Lord 
 to Peter, "strengthen thy brethren:"— "feed my sheep— feed my 
 lambs." 
 
 The preacher "still taught the people knowledge;"— both by 
 speech, and by writing. He taught them knowledge of the most 
 useful and important kind,— spiritual, sactifying, saving knowl- 
 edge,— genuine, heaven-derived Avisdom. The knowledge which 
 Solomon possessed was very various. It embraced a wide circle 
 of science and philosophy. But it was not this that he taught the 
 people. It was the knowledge of true religion : and in this book 
 we have a specimen of his instructions. 
 
 I cannot but remark here, how differently the relative value of 
 things is estimated by men and by God. Many a philosopher and 
 naturalist, I doubt not, lias wished with all his heart that, instead 
 of those writings of Solomon preserved in the Bible, we had had 
 some of his treatises on the natural history of plants and animals. 
 But Divine wisdom has j udged otherwise. It is not the intention 
 of the Scriptures to teach men earthly science, but to teach them 
 religion ; not to make them philosophers, but to make them saints. 
 In consistency with this design, those writings of Solomon which 
 have come down to us as a part of the sacred canon, and which 
 we hold to have been "given by inspiration of God," are such as 
 exhibit the nature of practical godliness, and the encouragements 
 to its cultivation, and prescribe numerous and excellent rules for 
 the conduct of life. 
 
ECCLESIASTES XII. 8-14. 409 
 
 "Yea, he gave good heed:" that is, he applied hiinseli' to this 
 object. He investigated truth carefully; not uttering rash and 
 hasty sayings, but the results of meditation, and prayer, and di- 
 vine illumination. — He tried the various methods of instructing 
 men, and, amongst the rest, that of fscntentioiiAi maxims, or proverbs. 
 Of these, he "sought out and set in order many." The inspired 
 historian of his reign says, "He spoke three thousand proverbs." 
 1 Kings iv. 32. By a proverb we usually understand a short 
 pithy sentence, comprising in few words some important and no- 
 torious truth, and in current and general use. The latter part of 
 this definition does not necessarily belong to the idea of a proverb, 
 in the sense in which the term is used by Solomon. There is no 
 reason whatever for believing that all his proverbs were in previous 
 circulation, and were by him merely collected. With some of rhcm 
 this might be, and probably was, the case. But in general, they 
 appear to have been the wise man's observations on human life, 
 and on the circumstances, characters, and prospects of men, — 
 "sought out" with attentive care, committed to writing as they 
 were made, and then " set in order," or arranged, in as far as they 
 were capable of arrangement, for public use. Those of them that 
 are contained in the "Book of Proverbs" we consider as having 
 the sanction and authority of the Spirit of God. — And a wonder- 
 ful book it is. What an inexhaustible treasure of practical wis- 
 dom ! The more deeply it is searched into, the more we shall 
 always discover in it; and the more diligent and attentive our 
 observation of human life, and of human nature, both in our- 
 selves and others, the more of truth and accuracy will tliere be 
 found in its various and valuable sayings. 
 
 In teaching the people wisdom, 
 
 Verse 10. The Preacher sought to find out acceptable words; and 
 that which was u-ritten was upright, even words of truth. 
 
 "Acceptable words:" — literally, icords of delight. — He threw 
 his instructions into various forms, to attract and to fix the atten- 
 tion. He accommodated himself in this respect, as far as was 
 consistent with preserving inviolate the interests of truth, to the 
 diversified tastes of men. He took care to avoid every thing, in 
 his modes of expression, and in the general manner of his instruc- 
 tlonsj that could tend unnecessarily to irritate, disgust, and repel 
 those whom it was the desire of his heart to make "wise unto 
 
410 LECTURE xxm. 
 
 vsalvatioii." He sought to gain their ear, only that he might the 
 more effectually reach their hearts. He used all the sweetness of 
 persuasion, all the solemnity of affectionate warning, and all the 
 faithfulness of kind reproof, to win sinners from the error of their 
 ways, and draw^ them to God. The first nine chapters of the book 
 of Proverbs, present us with a most interesting specimen of these 
 "acceptable words." There is in them an inimitable union of 
 admonitory fidelity, and enticing and subduing kindness. Like 
 Paul, he " exhorts, and comforts, and charges, as a father doth his 
 children." The whole soul of the writer is breathed out in the 
 earnestness of benevolent desire. 
 
 It is plain, that his " seeking to find out acceptable words " re- 
 fers not to the matter, but to the manner of his teaching. In the 
 matter, he could not accommodate himself to the likings of corrupt 
 creatures, — creatures that are ever disposed to "say to the seers. 
 See not; and to the prophets. Prophesy not unto us right things; 
 speak unto us smooth things; prophesy deceits: get you out of the 
 way, turn aside out of the path, cause the Holy One of Israel to 
 cease from before us." Isa. xxx. 10, 11. The very reason why 
 he Avas desirous to "find out acceptable words" was, that he knew 
 the truth itself to be unpalatable. His object was, to win men to 
 that which was fitted to secure their happiness, but to which they 
 were naturally disinclined. In the doctrines and precepts de- 
 livered by him, he adhered most scrupulously to the counsel of 
 God: — "and that which was written was upright, even words of 
 truth." In this he was unbending. What he spoke and what he 
 wrote was " upright," not only as being the genuine declaration 
 of his own mind, but as according with Divine intimations, and 
 with the dictates of that law, which is "holy, and just, and good," 
 — "righteous altogether :" — and it was "true," — the unerring and 
 unadulterated truth of God. He could say, in the language of 
 the apostle of the Gentiles, "We are not as many who corrupt 
 the Word of God:" — "We have renounced the hidden things of 
 dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the Avord of 
 God deceitfully, but, by manifestation of the truth, commending 
 ourselves to every man's conscience, in the sight of God." 2 Cor. 
 ii. 17. iv. 2. — Although Paul, lest his success among the Greeks 
 should be imputed to his artificial eloquence, and not to the power 
 of the truth and Spirit of God, avoided the studied arts of Grecian 
 
ECCLESIASTEH Xll. 8-14. 411 
 
 rhetoric, — the "enticing words of man's wisdom;" yet, doubtless 
 he also, like Solomon, "sought to find out acceptable words," — 
 all the modes of earnest and faithful, but insinuating and winning, 
 persuasion. He who "warned sinners, night and day, with tears/' 
 — he who "prayed and besought men, in Christ's stead, to be rc- 
 <;onciled unto God," — would, without question, shun every thing, 
 in speech and in manner, that could be needlessly irritating and 
 repulsive. 
 
 The nature and design of the preacher's instructions are stated in 
 
 Verse 11. The loords of the tcisc are as goads, and as ludls fast- 
 ened by the masters of assemblies, which are given from one sheplierd. 
 
 They are "as goads." The meaning of this is sufficiently ob- 
 vious. The goad was a staff with a sharp point of iron, used for 
 stimulating oxen, and quickening their pace, when engaged in 
 drawing the plough, or in other labor. Thus "tlie words of the 
 wise" are intended to be excitements to the service of God: to 
 stir up to increased activity such as are already employed in it ; 
 and to rouse others from their thoughtless lethargy, to " prick 
 them in their hearts," to excite them to inquiry respecting their 
 best interests, and to animate them to press, through all opposi- 
 tion and difficulty, into the ways of God. 
 
 The latter part of the verse is not so plain ; and various have 
 been the proposed renderings and explanations of it.=*= It may be 
 observed, that the word "fastened" does not, in the original lan- 
 guage, agree in gender with "nails," Imt with "the words of the 
 wise ;"t and the whole verse may perhaps be thus rendered:— 
 "The words of the wise, which are as goads, and fastened deeply 
 as nails by the masters of assemblies, are given from one shej)herd." 
 
 "The words of the wise" are the words of Solomon liimself, 
 and of those other "holy men of God," who "spoke as they were 
 moved by the Holy Spirit." We have seen why they are com- 
 pared to goads. They are further said to be " fastened deeply as 
 jiails by the masters of assemblies." They are explained to the 
 understanding, applied to the conscience, driven home to the heart, 
 and fixed in the memories, of their hearers, by the public teaciiers 
 of the people.— There may, perhaps, be a special reference to such 
 short comprehensive sayings as the Proverbs, (verse 9,) which are 
 
 *6ee Dathius, Van der Palm, and Hodgson, on the verse; and Parkhurst'i 
 Lexicon, on the word 10 IT- + I^o^tli. 
 
412 LECTURE XXIII. 
 
 fitted to make a deep and abiding impresssion on the mind, and 
 to be easily kept in remembrance. Like nails they are at once 
 sharp, and take a firm hold. 
 
 And these words of the wise ''are given from one shepherd.'* 
 Can there be any hesitation about the meaning of this? The 
 "Shepherd of Israel, who guided Joseph like a flock, — he that 
 dwelt between the cherubim," — He is the original giver of all the 
 words of inspired wisdom. The subordinate shepherds, the di- 
 vinely commissioned teachers and guides, were many; but they 
 received all their communications from Him. The designation is 
 most frequently applied in the Scriptures to the Lord Jesus Christy 
 the Divine Messiah.* And as He, the second Person of the 
 blessed Trinity, is represented as having from the beginning had 
 the immediate conduct of the whole scheme of redemption, it is 
 likely that we should understand the words before us of Him. 
 The prophets, who prophesied of the grace that was to come unto 
 the church in the fulness of time, " inquired and investigated dili- 
 gently, — searching what or what manner of time the spirit of 
 Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified before- 
 hand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow. 
 Unto whom," says the apostle Peter, " it was revealed, that not 
 unto themselves, but unto us, they did minister the things which 
 are now reported unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down 
 from heaven." 1 Peter i. 11, 12. Thus the Spirit that spoke by 
 the prophets and by the apostles is the same. The words of the 
 wise are "the true sayings of God;" to be received by us as such, 
 with humble reverence, lively gratitude, constant remembrance, 
 and prompt and universal obedience. 
 
 Verse 12. And further, by these, my son, be admonished; of 
 making many books there is no end, and much study is a weariness 
 of the flesh. 
 
 "My son:" — This is the same style of address witli that used 
 by Solomon in the book of Proverbs. He is not, T think, to be 
 understood as directing his discourse expressly and exclusively to 
 Rehoboam, but in general to his reader, whosoever he might be. 
 It is the address of an old man^ and the expression of an affection- 
 ate heart. Solomon uses it in the same spirit with the venerable 
 
 *Compare Psalm xxiii. 1. Isa. xl. 10, 11. Ezek. xxxiv. 23. John x. 1 
 Heb. xiii. 20. 1 Pet. v. 4. 
 
ECCLESIASTEK XII. 8-14. 413 
 
 upostle John, when he writes to the disciples of Christ, in his 
 advanced age, as his little children: — "My little children, these 
 things write I unto yon, that ye sin not." 
 
 '^ By these, my son, be admonished." This may mean, either, 
 by "the words of the wise" in general, mentioned in the eleventh 
 verse, or more particularly, by the words of wisdom contained in 
 the book which he was just bringing to a close. 
 
 In the latter view of the verse it may be thus paraplirased : — 
 "Receive, my son, the admonitions conveyed in this brief review 
 of the vanity of life. *0f making many books there is no end, 
 and much study is a weariness to the flesh.' A vast deal more 
 might be written. I might multiply treatises. The subject, in 
 connection with others that are related to it, is inexhaustible. 
 But ^of making many books there is no end.' I need not set 
 myself to the endless task. By these, my son, be admonished. I 
 have said enough for your conviction and warning. Receive the 
 instruction, and be wise. I might write, till the study of what 
 was written would be a weariness to the flesh. But there is no 
 need. Let what I have written sufiice." 
 
 In the former view, thus: — "My son, I have written much, 
 and I have studied more. Many a time have I worn out my 
 bodily strength, in my researches into the Morks of nature and of 
 art, — into all the subjects that occupy human investigation. Of 
 such pursuits and labor I find there is no end : and however 
 agreeable and however profitable they may in some respects be, 
 and however worthy of a share of thy attention, — yet let me, above 
 all things, direct you to 'the words of the wise,' — to the writings 
 of Moses and the prophets, to the 'lively oracles' given through 
 them by the one Shepherd, the God of Israel. By these, my son, 
 be admonished: — make these the men of thy counsel, — thine in- 
 structors, thy guides, thy reprovers, thy comforters. From other 
 works you may receive entertainment, and, by hard and Avearisome 
 study, extensive, and, it may be, useful information. But these 
 alone can make you truly wise, wise from above, wise unto salva- 
 tion: — 'The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul: the 
 testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple: the stat- 
 utes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment 
 of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes: the fear of the Lord 
 is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the Lord are true 
 
414 LECTURE XXIII. 
 
 and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold^ 
 yea, than much fine gold ; sweeter also than honey, and the honey- 
 comb.'" Psalm xix. 7-10. 
 
 He then proceeds to sum up the whole in a single weighty sen- 
 tence, one of " the words of the wise :" — 
 
 Verses 13, 14. Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: 
 Fear God, atid keep his commandments; for this is the whole duty 
 of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, inith every 
 secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil. 
 
 "Fear God, and keep his commandments." — These words ex- 
 press a principle, along with the conduct which natively flows 
 from it, and is the evidence of its existence. The Fear of God 
 comprehends in it all the gracious aifections of the soul towardL< 
 Him, which are produced by the Holy Spirit, and ought to be 
 cherished under his supplicated influence; — holy awe of his infinite 
 majesty, his spotless purity, and inflexible justice, — fervent grati- 
 tude for his goodness and mercy, — confidence in his wisdom, 
 power, and faithfulness, — implicit submission to his sovereign 
 will, — and supreme delight in his entire character. — The fear of 
 God is founded in the knowledge of what he has revealed himself 
 to be; and it is not only inseparable from love, but invariably 
 proportioned to it in degree. There may be terror where there is 
 no love; nay, where there is deep-felt and inveterate hatred. But 
 this is as different from the gracious fear of God, as the trembling 
 of a slave who detests his master, but feels himself to be in his 
 power and at his mercy, is different from the filial reverence of 
 an affectionate and ingenuous child, who, in proportion as he loves 
 his father, dreads incurring his displeasure, and is made unhappy 
 by a single word or look of disapprobation. It is the thought of 
 his parent's anger, not the pain of correction, that grieves the 
 spirit of such a child; and the agony of that thought is exactly 
 according to the intensity and tenderness of his affection. 
 
 The fear of God, accordingly, is, in Scripture, generally put 
 for the whole of true religion in the heart, and is, not unfrequently, 
 inclusive also of its practical results in the life. Those who 
 ^' fear God," and those who have " no fear of God before their eyes," 
 are the two great descriptions of mankind. Wherever the fear 
 of God exists in the heart, there will follow the keeping of his 
 commandments in the life ; and it is from the latter that we are 
 
ECCLESrAST>S XII. 8-14. 415 
 
 to judge of the former. God's name is not feared, when las com- 
 mandments are not obeyed. Practice is the test of principle, — 
 the only sure criterion of all profession. It is the two together 
 that constitute true religion. The heart must be " right with God," 
 and the life must prove its rectitude. "The fear of the Lord, that 
 is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding:" — "The 
 fear of the Lord, is the beginning of wisdom; a good understand- 
 ing have all they that do his commandments." Job. xxviii. 28. 
 Psalm cxi. 10. 
 
 "This is the whole duty of man." — The word duty is in this 
 translation supplementary. The expression in the original — "This 
 is the whole of man" — has not, that I am aware of, any parallels 
 by which it might be illustrated. The supplement of the word 
 duty destroys its evidently designed comprehensiveness. It is not 
 only the Mdiole duty, but the whole honor, and interest, and happi- 
 ness of man. And as happiness is the chief subject of the treatise,, 
 it might, perhaps, be a more appropriate supplement than the other. 
 It is true indeed, inferentially — invariably true — that the duty of 
 man is his happiness; that the latter is inseparably associated with 
 the former. But may not this be the very sentiment Avhich Solo- 
 mon intended to convey? The duty is expressed, and tlie happi- 
 ness inferred. He sums up duty, in its principle and practice,, 
 and declares the fulfilment of this summary to constitute the whole 
 happiness of- man. That which men, in ten tiiousand ways, seek 
 in vain — all their pursuits terminating in "vanity and vexation 
 of spirit" — this is the short and infallible way to find. True re- 
 ligion — the fear and service of God — is the honor and the happi- 
 ness of man in the present life;. and what is infinitely more, it 
 embraces his entire existence as an immortal being, and secures 
 ■ his honor and happiness for the life to come. The honor and the 
 happiness of such a being can never be truly estimated without 
 viewing him in his relation to eternity. A life of true religion i.s 
 the only life that yields present enjoyment worthy of his spiritual 
 and deathless nature; audit is the only life that can ever end 
 WELL. "Fear God, and keep his commandments; for this is 
 ALL THAT CONCERNETH MAN " — is a sentiment that will be seen 
 and felt in all its truth and importance, in that solemn day, that 
 shall wind up and close the eventful history of our world, and fix,. 
 
416 LECTURE xxiir, 
 
 by an irrepealable sentence, the eternal destiny of every child of 
 Adam : — ' 
 
 "For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every 
 secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil." 
 
 The certainty of this event is ascertained by all the evidence 
 that establishes the Divine authority of the Bible; — it is confirmed 
 by the secret intimations of conscience; and by all the present 
 irregularities, otherwise so unaccountable, in the Divine adminis- 
 tration towards the children of men. — The solemnity of the event is 
 unspeakable : — the assembling of all the millions of mankind that 
 shall ever have existed, from the beginning to the close of time, 
 before the tribunal of the universal Sovereign! — when "the 
 heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall 
 melt with fervent heat; the earth also, and the w^orks that are 
 therein, shall be burnt up." 2 Peter iii. 10. — "I saw a great white 
 throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the 
 heaven fled away, and there was found no place for them. And 
 I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God. And the 
 books were opened ; and another book was opened, which is the 
 book of life : and the dead were judged out of those things which 
 were written in the books, according to their works." Rev. xx. 
 11, 12. 
 
 "Every work" and "every secret thing" shall then be "brought 
 into judgment:" — all the doings of men, however private, how- 
 ever anxiously concealed from their fellow-creatures, performed 
 in the .dead of night, and far from any human eye ; — and all their 
 thoughts, and desires, and purposes, though studiously kept with- 
 in their bosoms, and never whispered to human ear. Nothing- 
 shall escape detection and disclosure. The eye of omniscience 
 having witnessed all, and the Mind that embraces jjresent, past, 
 and future with equal minuteness and equal certainty, having re- 
 tained all; the sentence pronounced on each individual will be 
 founded in a complete and unerring knowledge of all that he has 
 been, and of all that he has done. This is probably all that is 
 meant by God's "bringing every work into judgment." There 
 will be such a development of character, as shall justify the Su- 
 preme Judge, and the judgments he pronounces and executes, in 
 the consciences of the condemned ; and certify his unimpeachable 
 righteousness to angels and men: but there seems no necessity 
 
ECCLESIASTES XII. 8-14. 417 
 
 for supposing- a public discovery of every deed, and word, and 
 (thought, of every individual of the myriads before the judgment- 
 seat. 
 
 The Scriptures assure us, that tlie Lord -Jesus Christ is to oc- 
 cupy, on that day, the throne of universal judgment: — "the throne 
 of his glory:"* and the language of the prophet, in prospect of 
 the first coming of the Son of God, may, in all its emphasis, be ap- 
 
 plied to his second: "But who may abide the day of liis coming? 
 and who shall stand when He appearetli?" Mai. iii. 2. What an- 
 swer shall we give to this solemn enquiry? Shall none stand? — 
 Yes: there shall "stand before the throne and before the Lamb a 
 great multitude which no man can number, out of all nations, and 
 kindreds, and peoples, and tongues, clothed with white robes, and 
 palms in their hands, and shall sing with a loud voice, — Salvation 
 unto our God who sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb !" 
 Rev. vii. 9, 10. And this multitude shall consist of those who 
 had sustained while on earth a certain character. That character 
 is now before us, in the text; they shall all be such as "feared 
 God and kept his commandments." "The ungodly shall not 
 stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the 
 righteous: for the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous, but 
 the way of the ungodly shall perish." Psalm i. o, 6. 
 
 It is necessary, ho^v•ever, to remind you, that the true fear of 
 God, and the obedience thence resulting, must be founded in the 
 faith of that testimony concerning himself which he has given us 
 in his Word. Nothing can be more manifest, than that, if God 
 has revealed himself to sinners, and calls upon them to fear him, 
 he means that he should be feared in the character in which he is 
 revealed. The man who, with that revelation in his hand, pro- 
 fesses to fear and to obey God on other terms than those which it 
 prescribes, instead of honoring, insults him, — instead of ottering 
 an acceptable service, presents what He must reject with indigna- 
 tion. \yhen God makes himself known to sinners, he makes him- 
 self known in a character corresponding to their condition. It is 
 to men as sinners that the Bible is addressed. If they do not read 
 it in the remembrance of this, they cannot understand it ; for the 
 meaning and appropriateness of any communication must depend 
 
 ■"- See John V. 22-17. Acts x vii. 30, 31. x. 42. Matt. xxv. 31-46. 2 Cor. 
 V. 10, &c. 
 27 
 
418 LECTURE XXIII. 
 
 on the character, and circumstances, and consequent needs, of 
 those to Avhoni it is made. As sinners, men need salvation. In 
 the Bible, accordingly, God appears as "the God of salvation;" 
 and to "show unto men the way of salvation," is its principal, — 
 nay, I might almost say, taking salvation in the most enlarged 
 sense of the term, — its exclusive design. It follows, that no sin- 
 ner can be considered as truly fearing God, till he has recognized 
 him in this relation, and distinctly and fully acquiesced in that 
 w^ay of salvation, or those proposals of mercy, which he has been 
 graciously pleased to reveal. The first expression of the genuine 
 fear of God on the part of a fallen creature, is the prayer of the 
 publican, uttered in the publican's frame of spirit, "God, be merci- 
 ful to me a sinner !" — A self-righteous sinner is the strangest, the 
 most anomalous, and self-contradictory of all characters. That 
 sinner shows that he has no right conceptions, no becoming im- 
 pressions, of the purity and justice of his offended Maker — that 
 there is "no true fear of God before his eyes" — who presumes to 
 think that he can justify himself in His presence. Before man 
 had sinned, it was the law or authoritative appointment of God, 
 that he should hold his life of original blessedness on the condition 
 of his continued innocence. But the moment man fell, and be- 
 came a sinner, his case was necessarily altered; and it is now 
 equally the law or authoritative appointment of God, that, as a 
 sinner, he must owe his forgiveness and happiness to sovereign 
 grace and mercy, through faith in a Mediator. The reception 
 given to the offers of a free salvation is now the test of loyalty 
 or rebellion. That man retains in his bosom the spirit of a rebel, 
 who persists in attempting what God has declared impossible, and 
 in flattering himself he can want what God has pronounced in- 
 dispensable; who flies in the face of his most explicit assurances, 
 that "by the works of the law no flesh living shall be justified," 
 and still "goes about to establish his own righteousness; who 
 puts in his claim for right, when he should present his petition 
 for favor ; who, openly or secretly, in words or in heart, inserts 
 his own name into that plea, from which the most High has ex- 
 cluded every name in or under heaven, but the name of his Son; 
 who professes to seek the favor of God by "keeping his com- 
 mandments," and forgets that "this is his commandment" — 
 and, to a sinful creature, necessarily the first of all his command- 
 ments — " that he believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ." 
 
ECCLESIASTES XII. 8-14. 419 
 
 Xo true obedience, besides, can be rendered to the Divine com- 
 mandments, so long as the heart continues estranged from God, 
 and in its natural state of enmity against him :— and tliis enmity 
 is slain only by the cross. The fear and the love of God take 
 possession of the sinner's heart together, when, feeling his sinful- 
 ness and condemnation, he flees thither for safety ; beholds tliere 
 " mercy and truth meeting together, righteousness and peace em- 
 bracing each other;" justice and grace revealed with equal honor 
 in the sufferings of the appointed Surety; "good-will to men" 
 in union with "glory to God." Tiio believing contemplation of 
 these Divine harmonies at once penetrates with aM'e and melts with 
 love: — and the sinner, relieved from slavish terror, and renewed 
 in rhe spirit of his mind, "runs in the way of God's command- 
 ments." Fear restrains him from evil, and love incites him to 
 good. 
 
 1. AlloAV me, then, in improving our exposition of these verses, 
 in the first place, most earnestly to entreat you all, to give attention 
 to "the words of the wise." — The holy Scriptures are the records 
 of Divine wisdom. They are very various; and they arc all 
 profitable. No knowledge, no wisdom, can be compared Avith 
 that which they reveal. The treasures of the mind of Deity are 
 laid open here. Things are made known which "eye had not 
 seen, nor ear heard, and which it had not entered into the heart 
 of man to conceive." Here, and here alone, are "the words of 
 eternal life." It is not to the philosophers of this world that 
 your attention is now invited. Their researches in the various 
 sciences, the sciences both of matter and of mind, we wish not to 
 undervalue. In their subjects, these sciences are rational and 
 dignified; in their discoveries, speculations, and reasonings, they 
 are often interesting, elegant and instructive; and in many of 
 their results, in their application to the purposes of human life, 
 they are, in no small degree, useful. But, in religion and morals, 
 the only safe instructors are those who received their lessons from 
 God himself. All others are "blind guides," who "professing 
 themselves to be wise, have become fools." — "Where is the wise? 
 where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? Hath 
 not God made foolish the wisdom of this world. For after that, 
 in the wisdom of God, the world, by wisdom, knew not God, it 
 pleased God, by the foolishness of preaching, to save them that 
 believe. For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after 
 
420 LECTUKE xxiir. 
 
 wisdom; but we," (says one of those whom God commissioned to 
 ''destroy the wisdom of the wise, and to bring to nothing the 
 understanding of the prudent,") — "we preach Christ crucified, 
 to tlie Jews a stumbling-block, and to the Greeks foolishness, but 
 unto them that are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power 
 of God and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God 
 is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men." 
 1 Cor. i. 20-25. The gospel of Christ is, with peculiar emphasis, 
 denominated "the wisdom of God," being the most astonishing, 
 and to us the most deeply interesting, of all the exertions and 
 discoveries of Divine intelligence. The mechanical skill, displayed 
 in the works of nature, marvellous as it is, must yield in excel- 
 lence to what may be termed the moral wisdom of the scheme of 
 grace. The goodness visible in creation is transcendently sur- 
 passed by the mercy manifested in redemption. It is the knowl- 
 edge of this discovery of God, that constitutes the most valuable 
 wisdom. An acquaintance with all his other works, throughout 
 the entire range of nature, supposing it attainable, could not 
 countervail the ignorance of this. It would raise its possessor, 
 indeed, to an elevation incomparably higher amongst his fellow- 
 men ; it would place his name first in the lists of scientific emi- 
 nence, and transmit it for the M^onder and applause of future 
 generations. But it would not procure him, what the wisest as 
 well as the weakest requires, the pardoning mercy of God, and 
 eternal life. There is only one description of knowledge with 
 which these are associated, and the weakest possessor of that 
 knowledge is wiser than the wisest who is without it. Despised 
 by men, it is highly esteemed with God. Excluded from human 
 philosophy; and the possession of it, so fiir from being reckoned 
 amongst the requisites of a man of science, exposing him to derision, 
 rather than procuring him honor ; it is the philosophy of the Bible ; 
 it is the philosophy of heaven : — "These things the angels desire to 
 look into." — O despise not, then, those "words of the wise," which 
 declare the "faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that 
 Christ Jesus came into the Avorld, to save sinners." Despise not 
 the words of this heavenly teacher himself, who is the A^isdom 
 and the Word of God, on whom the Spirit was poured without 
 measure, and who "spoke as never man spoke." Let his sayings 
 sink deep into your ears. Receive them with meekness, and re- 
 
ECCLESIASTES Xll. 8-1-4. 421 
 
 tain them with faith and love. Keep theiu, ibr they are your 
 life. — "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so 
 must the Son of man be lifted up; that whosoever belicveth in 
 him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so love(J 
 the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that Mhosoever 
 believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For 
 God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world ; but 
 that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth 
 on him is not condemned : but he that believeth not is condemned 
 already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only 
 begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that light 
 is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, 
 because their deeds were evil." — "All things are delivered unto 
 me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; 
 neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to 
 whomsoever the Son will reveal him. Come unto me, all ye that 
 labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my 
 yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in 
 heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For ray yoke is 
 easy and my burden is light." — " My sheep hear my voice, and 1 
 know them, and they follow me: and I give unto them eternal 
 life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any pluck them 
 out of my hand. My Father, who gave them me, is greater than 
 all; and none is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand. I 
 and ray Father are one." — "I am the resurrection, and the life: 
 he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: 
 and whosoever liveth, and believeth in me, shall never die." 
 John iii. 14-19. Matt. xi. 27-30. John x. 27-30. xi. 25, 26. O 
 that these words of "a greater than Solomon," may be esteemed 
 by you, as they truly are, words of wisdom, and not contemned 
 as foolishness! May they be "as goads," "pricking you in your 
 hearts," piercing your consciences with a sense of sin and danger, 
 and urging you forward to the only Saviour! May the great 
 "master of assemblies" himself "fasten them as nails,"— giving 
 them a deep, an abiding, a salutary and saving impression, in 
 every heart! 
 
 2. Secondly; Ye who have "tasted that the Lord is gracious," 
 who have felt the value of the word of God, and have learned to 
 "count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge" 
 
422 LECTUEE xxiir. 
 
 which it contains, — who have known in your experience that to 
 "fear God and keep his commandments" is the whole happiness 
 of man, and are satisfied that it is his highest honor, — be encour- 
 aged to persevere unto the end. Prize more and more highly 
 "the words of the wise." "Search the Scriptures." Believe the 
 truths; rejoice in the promises; practise the precepts, of this blessed 
 book. "Be ye steadfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the 
 work of the Lord." Keep in your view the solemnities of a 
 coming judgment: and whilst your hopes of acceptance at that 
 day are founded exclusively in "grace reigning through rigliteous- 
 ness unto eternal life, by Jesus Christ our Lord/' forget not the 
 obligations under which you lie to "glorify God in your bodies 
 and in your spirits, which are his." Remember, the master whom 
 you serve has said to you, respecting whatever talents he has in- 
 trusted to your management, "Occupy till I come." Use them 
 not, then, for sinful or selfish ends ; wrap them not in a napkin ; 
 but employ them with diligence for the honor of his name and 
 the interest of his cause; that when he comes to take account of 
 your stewardship, lie may own you with his approving sentence, 
 "Well done, good and faithful servant; — enter thou into the joy 
 of thy Lord." 
 
 Let not the vanities of the world seduce you from the possession 
 and the pursuit of better and more enduring joys. Let the lesson 
 that "all is vanity," be imprinted on your minds, as a truth 
 affirmed by God, and attested by the unvarying experience of 
 men. Let nothing tempt you to repeat Solomon's unwise experi- 
 ment; but rest satisfied, and act upon the assurance, that the re- 
 sult would be to you the same as it was to him. "Cleave to the 
 Lord with purpose of heart." Let him be, to the end, "the 
 portion of your inheritance and of your cup." Still "fear God, 
 and keep his commandments ;" and you will increasingly experi- 
 ence while here, and fully know hereafter, that "this is the whole" 
 happiness, and honor, and interest, "of man," for time, and for 
 eternity. 
 
 Lastly. It ought to be our desire and aim mIio profess to be 
 servants of God in the ministry of the Word, to make that word 
 the exclusive standard of all our instructions, and to present and 
 recommend these instructions with the same end in view, as to 
 our hearers, with that for which they are given to us of God. It 
 
ECCLESIASTES XII. 8-14. 423 
 
 is our duty to "speak the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but 
 the truth," with a single eve to the glory of God and the best in- 
 terests of men: — "To the law, and to the testimony: if we speak 
 not according to this word, there is no light in us ;" — and if we 
 declare the truths of this Word for selfish and unworthy pui^oses, 
 the blessed Author of it may give these truths efficacy for the sal- 
 vation of others, but our service he will disown: — he may save 
 the hearer, but he will reject the preacher. * 
 
 I have endeavored to set before you, and to press upon your 
 serious attention, the doctrine taught, and the conduct recom- 
 mended and enjoined, in this interesting portion of the sacred 
 volume, I hope with a sincere desire to promote the honor of my 
 Master, and the present and future benefit of my hearers. But 
 whatever may have been the motives and aims of the preacher, of 
 one thing be ye confidently assured, that in all that he has re- 
 vealed — in every doctrine, every precept, every promise, every 
 warning, every threatening — the Divine Author of the Bible has 
 your good invariably in view. By what else, indeed, could He 
 be influenced? — To his doctrines does he not graciously subjoin, — 
 Believe, and live ? Where amongst his precepts is the one that is 
 not fitted to promote the well-being of him that keeps if? His 
 jyromises! — are they not "exceeding great and precious?" What 
 is the sum of all his learnings, but — Do thyself no harm? And 
 even his threatenings, — the most tremendous declarations of the 
 coming svrath, — are they not the utterance of mercy? — of that 
 mercy that is " not willing that any should perish," and that "has 
 no pleasure in the death of him that dieth?" What is the lan- 
 guage of every one of them, coming from the very heart of that 
 infinite Being who "delighteth in mercy?" Is it not, — "Escape 
 for thy life!"— "Flee from the wrath to come!"— "Turn ye, turn 
 ye, for why will ye die?" 
 
 Are not the two great lessons of that book of which we are now 
 closing our review, lessons dictated by the love of a benevolent 
 God? Why does he record in his A^^ord, and urge upon your at- 
 tention, the assurance that "all is vanity," but to keep you from 
 deceiving yourselves, where deception would be your ruin? — Why 
 does he exhibit the emptiness of the shadow, but to induce you 
 to lay hold on the substance?— Why does he warn you away from 
 the "streams of false delight," but to conduct you to the fountain 
 
424 LECTURE XXIII. 
 
 of unmiugled and eternal joy? — Be assured, every one of you, 
 that all the contents of his Word are in harmony with the kind- 
 ness of his heart: — that he makes nothing your duty which you 
 will not find to be at the same time your interest: — and under 
 this conviction, hear again "the conclusion of the whole matter/' 
 the comprehensive summary of these "words of the wise" to which 
 we have been attending — the aim of the writer from the beginning 
 to the close of his treatise — the end to which he meant all his 
 details to lead — the grand lesson which the whole were intended 
 to teach and to impress : — may it be graven in indelible characters 
 on all your hearts ; and may the God by whose authority it comes, 
 give you to enjoy the full experience of its truth! — "fear God, 
 
 AND KEEP HIS COMMANDMENTS: FOR THIS IS ALL THAT CON- 
 CERNETH MAN !" 
 
 END OF THE LECTURES ON ECCLESIASTES 
 
THE CHRISTIANA'S HOF»P: 
 
 OF 
 CHRTS^T'S SECOND COMING. 
 
 [E.rtrcwted from Dr. Wardlaw's Discow-ses on the Prlnnpal PohifM of tlte 
 Rodninn Controvert)/.) 
 
 The Christian is an Expectant of Christ; oxk who looks for his 
 SECOXD APPEARAXCE. He is distinguished hy his hoprs, as well as ])y his 
 princijiles, and by his character. 
 
 The HOPE of the Christian divides itself into three parts: his hope during 
 life, his hope at death, and his hope at the second coming of Christ. To this 
 last period Christian hope is most freqnently represented [in the Scriptures] 
 as looking forward, — because the expectation of that event is naturally con- 
 sidered as including all that shall intervene before it. The saints of God, 
 under the ancient dispensation, Avere distinguished by their hope of the 
 coming of the promised Messiah in the fulness of time. And as the hope of 
 \\\?. first coming characterized his people then, so does the ho2)e of his second 
 coming characterize them ?wv\ 
 
 That he will come, to raise the dead, and to judge the world; to bless liis 
 faithful people with complete salvation, and to execute on his enemies the 
 vengeance due to their impenitent rebellion; the Scriptures do most jylainhj 
 and abundantly testify. "Let not your heart be troubled; ye believe in Cfod, 
 believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions; if it were not 
 so; I would have told you: I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go 
 away and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto 
 myself, that where I am, there ye may be also:" — "And when he had spoken 
 these things, Avhile they beheld, he Avas taken up; and a cloud received him 
 out of their sight. And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as he 
 went up, behold two men stood by them, in white apparel ; who also said, 
 Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, 
 who is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come, in like manner as* ye 
 have seen him go into heaven:" — "The Lord himself shall descend from 
 heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumj) of 
 God: and the dead in Christ shall first rise ; — then we, who are alive and re- 
 main, shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to ineet the Lord 
 in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord." John xiv. \-[\. Acts i. 
 9-11. 1. Thess. iv. lO, 17. 
 425 
 
426 THE christian's hope of 
 
 And whije the certainty of the event is thus clearly affirmed, it is no less 
 evident, that the hope of the event, and the influence of that hope, are distinctive 
 marks of a Christian; — of one who is such, not in name only, but in heart. 
 "As it is appointed unto men once to die, and after this the judgment; so 
 Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and to them that look for 
 him shall he appear the second time, without a sin-offering, unto salvation:" — 
 "Ye turned to God from idols, to serve the living and true God ; and to ivait 
 for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, who de- 
 livered us from the wrath to come:" — " Looking for that blessed hope, even 
 the glorious appearing of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ :"— " I am 
 now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have 
 fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith : hence- 
 forth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the 
 righteous Judge, shall give to me at that day; and not to me only, but to all 
 them also that love his appearing. Heb. ix. 27, 28. 1 Thess. i. 9, 10. Titus 
 ii. 13. 2. Tim. iv. 6-8. 
 
 The temper of mind which these various expressions describe is exemplified in 
 a very impressive and edifying manner, in the conclusion of the Bible: — 
 "He Avho testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Evcu 
 so, come, Lord Jesus/" Rev. xxii. 20. The spirit breathed in this holy as- 
 piration, is to be found, although in very unequal degrees, in every faithful 
 follower of the Redeemer. There is included in it : — In the first place, aflna 
 belief that he will come: — that, as certainly as the Word of God was verified 
 by his coming the first time, it shall also be verified by his second appear- 
 ance. And this confidence — resting on the faithful declaration of the God 
 of truth, and maintained by all the accumulated evidence which proves the 
 Bible to be his word— stands unshaken by the profane taunts of the ungodly 
 scoffer, who says still, as he said in the days of old, " Where is the promise 
 of his coming?" 2 Peter iii. 1-10.— Secondly, Glad anticipation of the event: 
 because it shall be a time of unprecedented honor to their Lord and Re- 
 deemer; who shall then be "glorified in his saints, and admired in all them 
 that believe;" and, instead of hanging on the cross, in ignominy and pain, 
 "despised and rejected of men," shall occupy, amidst surrounding millions, 
 the throne of universal judgment : — and because it shall be the time of com- 
 plete salvation and triumph to his redeemed people ; of the personal glory 
 and blessedness of each, and of the social happiness of all. — Thirdly, Ha- 
 bitual preparation for its approach, "None of us liveth to himself, and no 
 man dietli to himself For whether we live, we live unto the Lord ; or whether 
 we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live, therefore, or die, we are the 
 Lord's. For to this end Christ both died, and rose again, and revived, that 
 he might be Lord both of the dead and living." Rom. xiv. 7-9. The Chris- 
 tian lives with an eye to his final account. He tries his conduct, not by the 
 standard of present interest or advantage, of any kind, but by the light in 
 which it shall appear when he shall stand at the tribunal of Christ. He en- 
 deavors habitually to act according to the spirit of the apostolic exhortations 
 — "Gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end, for the 
 grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ:" — 
 
Christ's second coming. 427 
 
 "Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye 
 may be found of him in peace, without spot and blameless." 1 Peter i. 13. 
 2 Peter iii. 14.— Fourthly, Patient expectation of it. The Christian is subject 
 to many and various distresses, some of them "common to men," and others 
 peculiar to the children of God. He is "in heaviness through manifold trials." 
 But, in the hope of the glory that shall be revealed, he "possesses his soul in 
 patience." As "the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, 
 and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain," so 
 waits the believer for the salvation of God; "stablishing his heart, because 
 the coming of the Lord draweth nigh." James v. 7, 8. He " rejoices in hope," 
 and is therefore " patient in tribulation :" Kom. xii. 12; — not murmuring, and 
 fretting, and weary of the world, on account of its trials, but " resting in the 
 Lord, and waiting patiently for him;" happily assured, that his "light afflic- 
 tion, which is but for a moment, worketh for him a far more exceeding and 
 eternal weight of glory." Psalm xxxvii. 7; 2 Cor. iv. 16-18. 
 
 This hope, from its very wiiiwxQ, possesses a sanctifying t»/i<e/ice.-—" Beloved, 
 uow are we the sons of God ; and it doth not yet appear what Ave shall be ; 
 but we know, that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him, for we shall 
 see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in Him (that is, in Christ*) 
 purifieth himself even as he is pure." 1 John iii. 2, 3. It cannot fail to be so, from 
 the nature of the thing. That which we hope for, we desire; — and that which 
 we desire, we pursue. Likeness to Christ, and the felicity thence resulting, 
 cannot be the object of hope without being the object of desire ; nor can it be 
 the object of desire, without being the object of present pursuit. So that every 
 one who really has this hope in Christ — that is, whose hope has not only 
 Christ for its foundation, but complete conformity to Christ in the perfection 
 of holiness for its object — will infallibly, "purify himself even as he is pure." 
 To the man who does not thus purify himself, holy conformity to Christ can- 
 not be the object of hope; for if it were, he would lil-e if, as no man can be 
 said to hope for what he does not til:e; — and if he liked it, he would show 
 this by now seeking after its attainment. The object of such a man's hope, 
 if he has formed in his mind any definite notion of it at all, must be some- 
 thing essentially different. 
 
 The ground of this hope, which has just been alluded to, is no less distinctive 
 of the Christian than the hope itself. In looking forward to the second coming 
 of his Lord, his hope of acceptance and of eternal life rests on that work 
 which he finished at his //-si; coming;— on the atonement made by the blood 
 of his cross. Convinced that there is only one spot on the face of this earth 
 from which a guilty creature, whose mind is properly impressed with the 
 holiness of God and the evil of sin, can view the solemnities of an approach- 
 ing judgment Avithout dismay ; the Christian transports himself in imagina- 
 tion to the heights of Calvary ;— takes his station there at the foot of the 
 
 * "In him." — The expression is commonly interpreted as if it referred to 
 the believer's having this hope in himself, that is, residing in his mind and 
 heart. The i)hrasc in the original, however, is, err' avru, which expresses not 
 the exercise of hope in the heart of him who possesses it, but the ground on 
 which his hope rests. 
 
428 THE christian's hope, etc. 
 
 \ 
 
 ■cross ; — and^ with one arm embracing the sacred wood, and the other uplifted 
 
 towards heaven, surveys, with steady eye, the overwhelming scene. The 
 
 heavens open — not in tranquil serenity, as when, on the banks of the Jordan, 
 the Spirit of peace alighted on the Redeemer to consecrate him to his 
 office — but rending, and rolling away, with a mighty noise: — he beholds the 
 descending Judge, revealed in effulgent glory, and "all his holy angels with 
 him," "ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands:" — 
 he hears "the voice of the Archangel and the trump of God," "louder than 
 a thousand thunders :" — he sees the great white throne erected: — the millions 
 of the dead starting to life, and gathering before the dread tribunal — while 
 '^'from the face of Him that sitteth on the throne the heavens and the earth 
 flee away, and no place is found for them;" — "the judgment set, and the 
 books opened;" — the whole race of mankind assembled, on the right hand, 
 and on the left — all waiting their respective dooms, Avith joyful hope, or with 
 trembling apprehension ! With the eye of prophetic faith, he beholds all 
 this — and with deep solemnity of spirit he anticipates his own appearance at 
 the bar of judgment. Conscious of unworthiness and guilt, and impressed 
 with holy awe in contemplating the purity and the majesty of the Judge, 
 and the inconceivable magnitude of the results of that "great and dreadful 
 day of the Lord," — he prays, with humble fervour — "God be merciful to me 
 a, sinner!" — "If thou, Lord, shouldst mark iniquity, who, O Lord, should 
 stand?" — "Enter not into judgment with thy servant; for in thy sight no 
 flesh living can be justified." But his supplications are not the language of 
 despair. He has hope — "good hope through grace." Did he look only to 
 the throne, indeed — only to the judgment-seat, with all its attendant solem- 
 nities—his heart would fail him ; — but, looking alternately to the Throne and 
 to the Cross, the view of the one takes away the terrors of the other. He 
 who occupies the throne of judgment, is the same who " bore the sins of his 
 people in his own body on the tree." The Saviour is the Judge. The 
 remembrance of this reassures his spirit, and animates him with the con- 
 fidence of hope : "There is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared:" 
 — "Who is a God like unto thee, who pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the 
 transgression of the remnant of his heritage : he retaineth not his anger for- 
 ever, because he delighteth in mercy:" — "Lo this is my God; I have waited 
 for him, and he will save me: this is the Lord ; I have waited for him, I will 
 be glad and rejoice in his salvation." Psalm cxxx. 43; Micah vii. 18. Isa. 
 XXV. 9. 
 

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