1 Heb. and, or moreover. 21 conſidered the counſels and ways of Godzand the various merheds ot his Providence towards good & bad men,and the reaſons of them. » No Man,thovgh never ſo wiſe,and inquiſitive,and ſtudious, as it follows,is able fully and perfe&ly to underſtand theſe things. And therefore ir is beſt for Man not to per-lex himſcIfwith endleſs and fruitleſs enquiries about theſe mats ters. but quietly ro ſubmit to Gods Will and Providence, and to live in the fear of God,and the comfortable enjoyment of his bleſſings.
CHAP. ,
All things in the hand of God ; his Love or Hatred not viſible in them ; bus the ike happeneth to good and bad in thu L:fe, and in death they know nothing hereof, and are themſelves forgotten, 1 6. I: is beſt there= fire for a Man to enjoy the Gifts of God with chearfulne(s 7 9.To be diligent in his Calling, 10, and leavue ths Iſſue to God, n, 12+ The praiſe of Wiſdom, 13 — -——18
Or # all this 5 I conſidered in my heart, even to f Heb. 7
gave, Or,
ns fer to my. SM 2 wile Heerc.
declare all this c, that the righteous and the
Cena a 4 , > ——_ CCC NN, -
©Ch:3: | & Fils. | 9. 7* I
||
*Job 5:9; Ch:3. in, & IT.56 Romc1ts
33*
22,13.
x5,16,
P73: 3
* Ch:2-14
ap. IX. ECGLES
wiſe d,and their works e are in the hand of God f: no man knoweth either love, or hatred, by all thatis before
them Fg.
a -— as the Seventy Interpreters render it. b All that I have ſaid concerning the Methods of Divine Providence towards good and bad men. c To make this evident firſt ro my ſelfand rhen to others,as occaſion required, Whom he mentions norexc]ufively, as if wicked men werenotin Gods hand,for the next clauſe relates both to good and bad men,bur eminently, becauſe by the courſe of Gods providence towards them,they might ſeem to be quite negle- Red and forſaken by God. e Either efficiently, all their ations and employments ; or objeQively, all things done to rhem, all events which befzl them. f Are ſubje& rohis Power and governed by his Providence,as this Phraſe is uſed,Prov: 21, 1. John 3: 35- compared with Mar, 28:11: And therefore although we cannot fully under- ſand the reaſons of all Gods Works,as he now fſaid,Ch:8.17- yet be-
TASTES, Chap. 1X,
future rewards after death, 1s afferted by Solomon elſewhere, as we have ſeen and ſhal hereafrer ſee. 6 To wit, amongſt living men; and even in thoſe places where they had lived in great power and glory; as was noted, Chz 8; - 10.
6 Alſo their love,and their hatred, and their envy is now periſhed b ; neither have they any more a portion for ever in any thing chatis done under the ſun c.
b They neither love, nor hate, nor envy any Perſon, or thing in this World but are now alrogether unconcerned in all things done under the Sun. c In any worldly thing.By which limitation he ſuf ficiently inlinuartes his belief of their portion in the other World,
7 Gothy way d* eat thy e bread f with joy,and drink thy wine with a merry heart g; for God now aCcepteth *Ch:8. 15, thy works b,
d Make this uſe of what I have ſaid. e Thine own, the fruit of thy own labours, not what thou takeſt unjuſtly from others. f Ne-
cauſe they are done by his unerring Hand, we may be affured that
they are done both righteouſly and juſtly, and that no Man yur . fully and thankfully enjoy thy comforts,avoidingall diſtratingcare
cauſe to murmure at the Proſperity of the wicked, or ar the calami-
tiesof good rhen.g No Man can judge by their preſent and outward .
conditions or diſpenſations of Gods Providence, whether God loves or hates them,for whom he loves he chaſtens, and permitteth thoſe whom he hates to proſper inthe World. And rhis Tranſlation & In- terpretation agreeth well with the following Verſe.Bur I muſt con- feſs ir differs _ almoſt all other both ancient&modern Tranſlati- bns. And theſe words with the foregoing clauſe are tranſlated others wiſe, &that word for word according to the Hebrew, Fhe righteous. and the wiſe, ani their works are in the hand of God, alſo love and hatred.(un« derſtangd out of the foregoing clauſe,sre iz Gods hand. And this may be meant,Either 1.Of Gods love and hatred,which ke diſpoſethwhen and to whom,and in what manner he pleaſeth. Or,2. Of mens love and hatred,alſo their love and their hatred,the Pronoun their being re- peated out of the former clauſe as is frequent in Scripture. And ſo the ſenſe is, That not only mens works,as he now ſaid,but even their inward paſſions or affe&ions which ſeem to be moſt in their own power, are as much in Gods diſpoſal as their outward ations. Then follows the laſt clauſe in the ſame order in which the words lie in
the Hebrew. Text ) No Man knoweth all,or any thing which is before him.
Which I thus underſtand, Whereas all men and all cheir affeQtions,
and aQions, and the events of them are perfeQly known to God and
diſpoſed by him,menknow nothing, no not ſuch things as are moſt
Plain and eaſie and familiar to them, 'and can neither foreſee the
plaineſt chings,nor diſpoſe of the ſmalleſt things as they pleaſe, bur
all things are wholly ordered and over-ruled by Gods Providence,
not 2s men imagine or deſire, bur as he ſees fit.
| 2* All cbing« comealike to all b:there :s one event to the
righteous and the wicked, tothe good and to the clean
2#3.15. z,and to the unclean ; to him that ſacrificeth &, and to
him that ſacrificeth notzas7s the good,ſo zs the ſinner 1, and ke that ſweareth m as he that feareth an oath ».
h The good and evil things of this World do equally happen to good and bad men. # Either 1. morally cleanor holy men, Or, 2, legally, who made Conſcience of keeping himſelf pure from ll le- gal defilements,according to the Law then in force, and conſequent- ly from all other ſins upon the ſame ground. k That worſhippeth God ſincerely,though it be to his coft. / As to all outward things. m To wit, cuſtomarily, unneceſlarily, raſbly, without due conſide- ration and reverence, or falſly and wickedly. For otherwiſe thar ſome ſwearing wasrhen allowed,and in ſome caſesrequired none do or candeny. n Who isafraid ofoffending God,or abuling his Name by vain, orraſh, or falſe Oaths.
This 5s an evil 0 among all things that are done un-
der the ſun,that there is * one event untoall; yea, alſo
' the heart of the ſons of men pisfull of evil 9, and mad- |
neſs is in their heart r while they live, and after that ;bey £0 to the dead s. 0
great trouble and temptation toa conſiderate and good Man,