In
this chapter we have, I. A pressing exhortation to works of charity and
bounty to the poor, as the best cure of the vanity which our worldly riches
are subject to and the only way of making them turn to a substantial good
account, ver. 1-6. II. A serious admonition to prepare for death and
judgment, and to begin betimes, even in the days of our youth, to do so,
ver. 7-10.
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The
Obligations to Be Liberal; Answers to Objections against Liberality.
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1 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 knowest not what evil shall be upon the earth. 3 If
the clouds be full of rain, they empty themselves 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 observeth the wind
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 hand: for thou knowest not
whether shall prosper, either this or that, or whether they both shall be
alike good.
Solomon had often, in this book, pressed it upon rich people to take the
comfort of their riches themselves; here he presses it upon them to do good
to others with them and to abound in liberality to the poor, which will,
another day, abound to their account. Observe,
I. How the duty itself is recommended to us, v. 1. 1. Cast thy
bread upon the waters, thy bread-corn upon the low places (so
some understand it), alluding to the husbandman, who goes forth, bearing
precious seed, sparing bread-corn from his family for the seedness,
knowing that without that he can have no harvest another year; thus the
charitable man takes from his bread-corn for seed-corn, abridges himself to
supply the poor, that he may sow beside all waters (Isa. xxxii. 20),
because as he sows so he must reap, Gal. vi. 7. We read of the harvest
of the river, Isa. xxiii. 3. Waters, in scripture, are put for
multitudes (Rev. xvi. 5), and there are multitudes of poor (we do not want
objects of charity); waters are put also for mourners: the poor are men of
sorrows. Thou must give bread, the necessary supports of life, not
only give good words but good things, Isa. lviii. 7. It must be thy
bread, that which is honestly got; it is no charity, but injury, to give
that which is none of our own to give; first do justly, and then love
mercy. "Thy bread, which thou didst design for thyself, let the
poor have a share with thee, as they had with Job, ch. xxxi. 17. Give
freely to the poor, as that which is cast upon the waters. Send it a
voyage, send it as a venture, as merchants that trade by sea. Trust it upon
the waters; it shall not sink."
2. "Give a portion to seven and also to eight, that is, be free
and liberal in works of charity." (1.) "Give much if thou hast
much to give, not a pittance, but a portion, not a bit or two, but a
mess, a meal; give a large dole, not a paltry one; give good measure
(Luke vi. 38); be generous in giving, as those were when, on festival days,
they sent portions to those for whom nothing was prepared (Neh. viii.
10), worthy portions." (2.) "Give to many, to seven, and also
to eight; if thou meet with seven objects of charity, give to them all,
and then, if thou meet with an eighth, give to that, and if with eight more,
give to them all too. Excuse not thyself with the good thou hast done from
the good thou hast further to do, but hold on, and mend. In hard times, when
the number of the poor increases, let thy charity be proportionably
enlarged." God is rich in mercy to all, to us, though unworthy; he gives
liberally, and upbraids not with former gifts, and we must be merciful
as our heavenly Father is.
II. The reasons with which it is pressed upon us. Consider,
1. Our reward for well-doing is very certain. "Though thou cast it
upon the waters, and it seem lost, thou thinkest thou hast given thy
good word with it and art likely never to hear of it again, yet thou
shalt find it after many days, as the husbandman finds his seed again in
a plentiful harvest and the merchant his venture in a rich return. It is not
lost, but well laid out, and well laid up; it brings in full interest in the
present gifts of God's providence, and graces and comforts of his Spirit;
and the principal is sure, laid up in heaven, for it is lent to the Lord."
Seneca, a heathen, could say, Nihil magis possidere me credam, quam bene
donata--I possess nothing so completely as that which I have given away.
Hochabeo quodcunque dedi; hæ sunt divitiæ certæ in quacunque sortis humanæ
levitate--Whatever I have imparted I still possess; these riches remain with
me through all the vicissitudes of life. "Thou shalt find it,
perhaps not quickly, but after many days; the return may be slow, but
it is sure and will be so much the more plentiful." Wheat, the most
valuable grain, lies longest in the ground. Long voyages make the best
returns.
2. Our opportunity for well-doing is very uncertain: "Thou knowest
not what evil may be upon the earth, which may deprive thee of thy
estate, and put thee out of a capacity to do good, and therefore, while thou
hast wherewithal, be liberal with it, improve the present season, as the
husbandman in sowing his ground, before the frost comes." We have
reason to expect evil upon the earth, for we are born to trouble;
what the evil may be we know not, but that we may be ready for it,
whatever it is, it is our wisdom, in the day of prosperity, to be in good,
to be doing good. Many make use of this as an argument against giving to the
poor, because they know not what hard times may come when they may want
themselves; whereas we should therefore the rather be charitable, that, when
evil days come, we may have the comfort of having done good while we
were able; we would then hope to find mercy both with God and man, and
therefore should now show mercy. If by charity we trust God with what we
have, we put it into good hands against bad times.
III. How he obviates the objections which might be made against this duty
and the excuses of the uncharitable.
1. Some will say that what they have is their own and they have it for their
own use, and will ask, Why should we cast it thus upon the waters?
Why should I take my bread, and my flesh, and give it to I know not
whom? So Nabal pleaded, 1 Sam. xxv. 11. "Look up, man, and consider how
soon thou wouldest be starved in a barren ground, if the clouds over
thy head should plead thus, that they have their waters for themselves; but
thou seest, when they are full of rain, they empty themselves upon the
earth, to make it fruitful, till they are wearied and spent with
watering it, Job xxxvii. 11. Are the heavens thus bountiful to the poor
earth, that is so far below them, and wilt thou grudge thy bounty to thy
poor brother, who is bone of thy bone? Or thus: some will say, Though
we give but little to the poor, yet, thank God, we have as charitable a
heart as any." Nay, says Solomon, if the clouds be full of rain,
they will empty themselves; if there be charity in the heart, it will
show itself, Jam. ii. 15, 16. He that draws out his soul to the hungry
will reach forth his hand to them, as he has ability.
2. Some will say that their sphere of usefulness is low and narrow; they
cannot do the good that they see others can, who are in more public
stations, and therefore they will sit still and do nothing. Nay, says he, in
the place where the tree falls, or happens to be, there it shall be,
for the benefit of those to whom it belongs; every man must labour to be a
blessing to that place, whatever it is, where the providence of God casts
him; wherever we are we may find good work to do if we have but hearts to do
it. Or thus: some will say, "Many present themselves as objects of
charity who are unworthy, and I do not know whom it is fit to give it
to." "Trouble not thyself about that" (says Solomon);
"give as discreetly as thou canst, and then be satisfied that, though
the person should prove undeserving of thy charity, yet, if thou give it
with an honest heart, thou shalt not lose thy reward; which way soever the
charity is directed, north or south, thine shall be the
benefit of it." This is commonly applied to death; therefore let
us do good, and, as good trees, bring forth the fruits of righteousness,
because death will shortly come and cut us down, and we shall then be
determined to an unchangeable state of happiness or misery according to what
was done in the body. As the tree falls at death, so it is likely to lie to
all eternity.
3. Some will object the many discouragements they have met with in their
charity. They have been reproached for it as proud and pharisaical; they
have but little to give, and they shall be despised if they do not give as
others do; they know not but their children may come to want it, and they
had better lay it up for them; they have taxes to pay and purchases to make;
they know not what use will be made of their charity, nor what construction
will be put upon it; these, and a hundred such objections, he answers, in
one word (v. 4): He that observes the wind shall not sow,
which signifies doing good; and he that regards the clouds shall not
reap, which signifies getting good. If we stand thus magnifying every
little difficulty and making the worst of it, starting objections and
fancying hardship and danger where there is none, we shall never go on, much
less go through with our work, nor make any thing of it. If the husbandman
should decline, or leave off, sowing for the sake of every flying cloud, and
reaping for the sake of every blast of wind, he would make but an ill
account of his husbandry at the year's end. The duties of religion are as
necessary as sowing and reaping, and will turn as much to our own advantage.
The discouragements we meet with in these duties are but as winds and
clouds, which will do us no harm, and which those that put on a little
courage and resolution will despise and easily break through. Note, Those
that will be deterred and driven off by small and seeming difficulties from
great and real duties will never bring any thing to pass in religion, for
there will always arise some wind, some cloud or other, at least in our
imagination, to discourage us. Winds and clouds are in God's hands, are
designed to try us, and our Christianity obliges us to endure hardness.
4. Some will say, "We do not see in which way what we expend in charity
should ever be made up to us; we do not find ourselves ever the richer; why
should we depend upon the general promise of a blessing on the charitable,
unless we saw which way to expect the operation of it?" To this he
answers, "Thou knowest not the work of God, nor is it fit thou
shouldst. Thou mayest be sure he will make good his word of promise, though
he does not tell thee how, or which way, and though he works in a way by
himself, according to the counsels of his unsearchable wisdom. He will work,
and none shall hinder; but then he will work and none shall direct or
prescribe to him. The blessing shall work insensibly but irresistibly. God's
work shall certainly agree with his word, whether we see it or no." Our
ignorance of the work of God he shows, in two instances:-- (1.) We know
not what is the way of the Spirit, of the wind (so some), we know not
whence it comes, or whither it goes, or when it will turn; yet the
seamen lie ready waiting for it, till it turns about in favour of them; so
we must do our duty, in expectation of the time appointed for the blessing.
Or it may be understood of the human soul; we know that God made us, and
gave us these souls, but how they entered into these bodies, are united to
them, animate them, and operate upon them, we know not; the soul is a
mystery to itself, no marvel then that the work of God is so to us.
(2.) We know not how the bones are fashioned in the womb of her that is
with child. We cannot describe the manner either of the formation of the
body or of its information with a soul; both, we know, are the work of
God, and we acquiesce in his work, but cannot, in either, trace the
process of the operation. We doubt not of the birth of the child that is
conceived, though we know not how it is formed; nor need we doubt of the
performance of the promise, though we perceive not how things work towards
it. And we may well trust God to provide for us that which is convenient,
without our anxious disquieting cares, and therein to recompense us for our
charity, since it was without any knowledge or forecast of ours that our
bodies were curiously wrought in secret and our souls found the way into
them; and so the argument is the same, and urged to the same intent, with
that of our Saviour (Matt. vi. 25), The life, the living soul that
God has given us, is more than meat; the body, that God has made us, is
more than raiment; let him therefore that has done the greater for us be
cheerfully depended upon to do the less.
5. Some say, "We have been charitable, have given a great deal to the
poor, and never yet saw any return for it; many days are past, and we have
not found it again," to which he answers (v. 6),
"Yet go on, proceed and persevere in well-doing; let slip no
opportunity. In the morning sow thy seed upon the objects of charity
that offer themselves early, and in the evening do not withhold thy hand,
under pretence that thou art weary; as thou hast opportunity, be doing good,
some way or other, all the day long, as the husbandman follows his seedness
from morning till night. In the morning of youth lay out thyself to
do good; give out of the little thou hast to begin the world with; and in
the evening of old age yield not to the common temptation old people are
in to be penurious; even then withhold not thy hand, and think not to
excuse thyself from charitable works by purposing to make a charitable will,
but do good to the last, for thou knowest not which work of charity
and piety shall prosper, both as to others and as to thyself, this
or that, but hast reason to hope that both shall be alike good. Be
not weary of well-doing, for in due season, in God's time and that is
the best time, you shall reap," Gal. vi. 9. This is applicable
to spiritual charity, our pious endeavours for the good of the souls of
others; let us continue them, for, though we have long laboured in vain, we
may at length see the success of them. Let ministers, in the days of their
seedness, sow both morning and evening; for who can tell which
shall prosper?
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A
Caution to the Young; Exhortation to Early Piety.
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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. 9 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 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.
Here is an admonition both to old people and to young people, to think of
dying, and get ready for it. Having by many excellent precepts taught us how
to live well, the preacher comes now, towards the close of his discourse, to
teach us how to die well and to put us in mind of our latter end.
I. He applies himself to the aged, writes to them as fathers, to awaken them
to think of death, v. 7, 8. Here is, 1. A rational concession of the
sweetness of life, which old people find by experience: Truly the light
is sweet; the light of the sun is so; it is a pleasant thing
for the eyes to behold it. Light was the first thing made in the
formation of the great world, as the eye is one of the first in the
formation of the body, the little world. It is pleasant to see the light;
the heathen were so charmed with the pleasure of it that they worshipped the
sun. It is pleasant by it to see other things, the many agreeable prospects
this world gives us. The light of life is so. Light is put for life, Job
iii. 20, 23. It cannot be denied that life is sweet. It is sweet to bad men
because they have their portion in this life; it is sweet to good men
because they have this life as the time of their preparation for a better
life; it is sweet to all men; nature says it is so, and there is no
disputing against it; nor can death be desired for its own sake, but
dreaded, unless as a period to present evils or a passage to future good.
Life is sweet, and therefore we have need to double a guard upon ourselves,
lest we love it too well. 2. A caution to think of death, even in the midst
of life, and of life when it is most sweet and we are most apt to forget
death: If a man live many years, yet let him remember the days of
darkness are coming. Here is, (1.) A summer's day supposed to be
enjoyed--that life may continue long, even many years, and that, by the
goodness of God, it may be made comfortable and a man may rejoice in them
all. There are those that live many years in this world, escape
many dangers, receive many mercies, and therefore are secure that they shall
want no good, and that no evil shall befal them, that the pitcher which has
come so often from the well safe and sound shall never come home broken. But
who are those that live many years and rejoice in them all? Alas!
none; we have but hours of joy for months of sorrow. However, some rejoice
in their years, their many years, more than others; if these two things
meet, a prosperous state and a cheerful spirit, these two indeed may do much
towards enabling a man to rejoice in them all, and yet the most
prosperous state has its alloys and the most cheerful spirit has its damps;
jovial sinners have their melancholy qualms, and cheerful saints have their
gracious sorrows; so that it is but a supposition, not a case in fact, that
a man should live many years and rejoice in them all. But, (2.) Here
is a winter's night proposed to be expected after this summer's day: Yet
let this hearty old man remember the days of darkness, for they shall
be many. Note, [1.] There are days of darkness coming, the days
of our lying in the grave; there the body will lie in the dark; there the
eyes see not, the sun shines not. The darkness of death is opposed to the
light of life; the grave is a land of darkness, Job x. 21. [2.] Those
days of darkness will be many; the days of our lying under
ground will be more than the days of our living above ground. They are many,
but they are not infinite; many as they are, they will be numbered and
finished when the heavens are no more, Job xiv. 12. As the longest
day will have its night, so the longest night will have its morning. [3.] It
is good for us often to remember those days of darkness, that we may
not be lifted up with pride, nor lulled asleep in carnal security, nor even
transported into indecencies by vain mirth. [4.] Notwithstanding the long
continuance of life, and the many comforts of it, yet we must remember
the days of darkness, because those will certainly come, and they will
come with much the less terror if we have thought of them before.
II. He applies himself to the young, and writes to them as children, to
awaken them to think of death (v. 9, 10); here we have,
1. An ironical concession to the vanities and pleasures of youth: Rejoice,
O young man! in thy youth. Some make this to be the counsel which the
atheist and the epicure give to the young man, the poisonous suggestions
against which Solomon, in the close of the verse, prescribes a powerful
antidote. But it is more emphatic if we take it, as it is commonly
understood, by way of irony, like that of Elijah to the priests of Baal (Cry
aloud, for he is a god), or of Micaiah to Ahab (Go to Ramoth-Gilead,
and prosper), or of Christ to his disciples, Sleep on now.
"Rejoice, O young man! in thy youth, live a merry life, follow thy
sports, and take thy pleasures; let thy heart cheer thee in the days of
thy youth, cheer thee with its fancies and foolish hopes; entertain
thyself with thy pleasing dreams; walk in the ways of thy heart; do
whatever thou hast a mind to do, and stick at nothing that may gratify the
sensual appetite. Quicquid libet, licet--Make thy will thy law.
Walk in the ways of thy heart, and let thy heart walk after thy eyes,
a rambling heart after a roving eye; what is pleasing in thy own eyes do it,
whether it be pleasing in the eyes of God or no." Solomon speaks thus
ironically to the young man to intimate, (1.) That this is that which he
would do, and which he would fain have leave to do, in which he places his
happiness and on which he sets his heart. (2.) That he wishes all about him
would give him this counsel, would prophesy to him such smooth things as
these, and cannot brook any advice to the contrary, but reckons those his
enemies that bid him be sober and serious. (3.) To expose his folly, and the
great absurdity of a voluptuous vicious course of life. The very description
of it, if men would see things entirely, and judge of them impartially, is
enough to show how contrary to reason those act that live such a life. The
very opening of the cause is enough to determine it, without any argument.
(4.) To show that if men give themselves to such a course of life as this it
is just with God to give them up to it, to abandon them to their own heart's
lusts, that they may walk in their own counsels, Hos. iv. 7.
2. A powerful check given to these vanities and pleasures: "Know
thou that for all these things God shall bring thee into judgment, and
duly consider that, and then live such a luxurious life if thou canst, if
thou darest." This is a kolashrion--a
corrective to the foregoing concession, and plucks in the reins he had
laid on the neck of the young man's lust. "Know then, for a
certainty, that, if thou dost take such a liberty as this, it will be thy
everlasting ruin; thou hast to do with a God who will not let it go
unpunished." Note, (1.) There is a judgment to come. (2.) We must every
one of us be brought into judgment, however we may now put far from us that
evil day. (3.) We shall be reckoned with for all our carnal mirth and
sensual pleasures in that day. (4.) It is good for all, but especially for
young people, to know and consider this, that they may not, by the
indulgence of their youthful lusts, treasure up unto themselves wrath
against that day of wrath, the wrath of the Lamb.
3. A word of caution and exhortation inferred from all this, v. 10.
Let young people look to themselves and manage well both their souls and
their bodies, their heart and their flesh. (1.) Let them take care that
their minds be not lifted up with pride, nor disturbed with anger, or any
sinful passion: Remove sorrow, or anger, from thy heart; the
word signifies any disorder or perturbation of the mind. Young people are
apt to be impatient of check and control, to vex and fret at any thing that
is humbling and mortifying to them, and their proud hearts rise against
every thing that crosses and contradicts them. They are so set upon that
which is pleasing to sense that they cannot bear any thing that is
displeasing, but it goes with sorrow to their heart. Their pride often
disquiets them, and makes them uneasy. "Put that away, and the love of
the world, and lay thy expectations low from the creature, and then
disappointments will not be occasions of sorrow and anger to thee."
Some by sorrow here understand that carnal mirth described v. 9, the
end of which will be bitterness and sorrow. Let them keep at a distance from
every thing which will be sorrow in the reflection. (2.) Let them take care
that their bodies be not defiled by intemperance, uncleanness, or any
fleshly lusts: "Put away evil from the flesh, and let not the
members of thy body be instruments of unrighteousness. The evil of sin will
be the evil of punishment, and that which thou art fond of, as good for the
flesh, because it gratifies the appetites of it, will prove evil, and
hurtful to it, and therefore put it far from thee, the further the
better."
III. The preacher, to enforce his admonition both to old and young, urges,
as an effectual argument, that which is the great argument of his discourse,
the vanity of all present things, their uncertainty and insufficiency. 1. He
reminds old people of this (v. 8): All that comes is vanity;
yea, though a man live many years and rejoice in them all, All that
has come already, and all that is yet to come, how much soever men promise
themselves from the concluding scenes, it is all vanity. What will be
will do no more to make men happy than what has been. All that come
into the world are vanity; they are altogether so, at their best
estate. 2. He reminds young people of this: Childhood and youth are
vanity. The dispositions and actions of childhood and youth have in them
a great deal of impertinence and iniquity, sinful vanity, which young people
have need to watch against and get cured. The pleasures and advantages of
childhood and youth have in them no certainty, satisfaction, nor
continuance. They are passing away; these flowers will soon wither, and
these blossoms fall; let them therefore be knit into good fruit, which will
continue and abound to a good account.
Contents
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