9 Rejoyce e, O young men f, in thy youth, and let thy heart chear thee g in the days of thy- youth, and walk in the'way of thy heart, and inthe ſight of thine eyes h: but know thou ?, that for all theſe :hings £ God will bring thee into judgment 7.
e This verſe is tobe underſtoed either 1, As a ſerious Advice to this purpoie,ſeing Life is ſhort and tranſitory, improve it to the beſt advantage, take comfort in it whilit you may, onely do it with mo- deration, and the fear of God. Or rather 2. As an Ironical conceſ- ſion, ſuch as are uſual both in Scripture, as x Kings18: 27; & 22: Is: Ezek: 28: 3, 4: Mat: 26: 45: and in other Authors, For this agrees much better with the context, and with the Expreflions' here uſed And ſo the ſenſe is, I forſee what evil uſe ſome ment will make of
. what { have now ſaid : Things being thus, Let ns eat and drink, for #9 morrew we ſhall die ; as they alſo reaſoned, 1 Cor: '15: 2. f He ſpeaks to young men particularly, becauſethey have both the great- eſt ability,and the ſtrongeſt Inclinations to purſue ſenſual pleaſures, andare moſt impatienteither ofReſtraint or Admonition. g Indulge thy frolick and jolly humour,and take thy fill of delights. þ What- ſoever thine Eye or Heart luſteth after;deny it not to them ; asthis Phraſe is taken, Num: 15:39; nor is it ever uſed in a good ſenſe. Compare Job 31: 7: Pſal. 81: 12: Jer: 18 12: > Pet: 2: 14; 8 Joh: 2: 16. 7 But in the midſt of thy feaſtings and jolliry it will become thee, if thou art a reaſonable Creature, to conſider thy reckoning, and* whether thou doſt nor purchaſe thy Gold too dear. , & For all thy follies and finful Luſts,which thou ſleighteſt as tricks of youth. I Will force thee to appear before his Judgment: ſeat, to give a ſe- rious account of all thy youthfFal and exhorbitant courſes, and to receive that ſentence which thy own Conſcience will then fay thou doft juſtly deſerve, And if chou likeſt thy ſenſuality upon theſe terms, much good may it do thee, I do not envy thee,nor defire to par-
Irs: take of thy delicates. | | #7. ro Therefore remove || ſorrow » from thy heart, .ahd putaway evil » from thy fleſh o ; for childhood and
.youth. are vanity p. 'm i.e. Senſualand diſorderly Luſts, which he elegantly and em-
.mate, that although ſuch praCtices do at preſenc gratifie and delight, 'mens Senſes and vain Minds,yet they will ſhortly and certainly _ 4 man to intolerable and crernal forrows; whack it is thy Wit-
ee_— ——- ———-—-
ECCLESIASTES.
-Phatically calls ſorrow, with reſpe& to the foregoing words, - tomti= | &
FY
mm <0 Pavan, m Or asit 1s rendred in the margent,and by di- = _ -rs, #1ger ; apaſſion to which men are'moſt prone in the -rray” _ Whereby he may underſtand either anger ag:inſt fuck Fl Chis tharp admonition ; or rather againſt. God, who hath laid atk —_ reſtraints upon them, and threatens ſuch puniſhments to ' _ or ollowing their own natural Inclinations. ' $o the fenſe is; es = quarrel with thy Judge, but ſubmit and make thy Peace with coat - —oaghve War agzinitall thy Sins. » Allevil Concupiicen- - : uits, whick though now they ſeem'good to thee, . will ano? Er Cay appear ro be very evil and bitter things. o From thy bodi- 5 Fegrr rig Which hementions not excluſively, as if he would _ v them their ſpiritual evils, but Emphatica!ly, becauſe young => re whom he is here ſpeaking, are moſt given to fleſhly cor bo. - y _ Þ 1: E, Moſt vain, either 1. in theirtemper and diſpoſi - _ oung men ace frothy ,and fooliſh,and inconſiderate,whereby= Y run into manifold dangers, and therefore they ſhall dt wel w iearken to the Counſels of thoſe who by their greater Wiſdom& <APEFIENCE, are more capable Judges of theſe matters. Or 2. In - eir Condition. The time of Youth is vaniſhing and tranſitory,and Id-age and Death will ſpeedily come, againſt which every man in
his wits will take care to lay in ſolid proviſions and comforts.
| CHA P. XI. Early Piety recymmended before old age come one, aud death be near : Old age deſcribed ; and Death,1 7. The Concluſzon; all « Vanity, 8. The Preachers end in this Book, 9 ——12: The ſum of all LearninggEx. perience, ane Happineſs is to fear God, and keek bis Commandments becauſe God will bring all to Judgment, 1 2-24.
*
thy youth ce, while the evil days 4 come not,nor
; the years draw nigh * when thou ſhalt ſay, I have no * See Plealure in theme ;
FE, To wit, praQically, or ſo as to fear, and love, and faithfully 35s ' ſerve and worſhip him, which when men do nor, they are faid to forget God, P/a: 9: 17: 8106: 21; and in many other places. bThe firſt Author, and continual Preſerver of thy Life and Being,. and of all the perfe&ions and enjoyments which accompany it, ro whom thou haſt che higheſt and ſtrongeſt obligations to do ſo, and upon whom thou haſt 2 conſtant and neceſſary dependance,and therefore to forget/him is moſt unnatural, and inhumane,and diſingenuousty c For then thou art moſt ableto do it, and thou oweſt the beſt of thy Time and Strength to Godzthen thou haſt opportunity to do ir; and thou maiſt not live to Old-age : then it will be gaoſt acceptable to God, and moſt comfortable to thy ſclf,as the belt evidence of thy ſinceriry, and the beſt proviſion for Old age and Death ; and then it15 moſt neceſſary for the conquering thoſe imperuousLuſtsandPaſe ons which drown ſo many Thouſands of young Men in perdition, both in this Lite,and in that to come, 4 The time of Old-age,which .1S EV11, 5. e. burdenſome and calamitous in it ſelf, and far more grievous and terrible when it is loaded with the ſad remembrance of a mans youthful Follies and Lufts,and with the dreadful proſpe& of - approaching Death and Judgment, which makes bim ſce that he can- not live, and yer dare not die, and with the conſideration and ex- perience of the hardneſs of his heart, which in that age 15 rarely brought to true Repenrance, and ſo generally expires cither in vain preſumption,or in helliſh deſperation, e My Lite is now bitterang burdenſome to me, and worie than death :. which is frequently the . Condition of Old age, * | ! 2 While the ſun;or thelight,or the moon, or the ſtars