Ecclesiastes · Chapter 12

V. 1. Now-For now thou art most able to do it; and it will be most acceptable to God, and most comfortable to thyself, as the best evidence of thy sincerity, and the best provision for old age and death. Evil days-The time of old age, which is evil; burdensome in itself, and far more grievous when it is loaded with the sad remembrance of youthful follies, and with the dreadful prospect of approaching death and judgment. No pleasure-My life Is now bitter and burdensome to me: which is frequently the condition of old age.

Verse 1. Remember thy Creator] Ëyarwb Boreeycha, thy CREATORS. The word is most certainly in the plural number in all our common Hebrew Bibles; but it is in the singular number, Ëarwb Borecha, in one hundred and seventy-six of Dr. Kennicott’s MSS., and ninety-six of Deuteronomy Rossi’s; in many ancient editions; and in all the ancient versions. There is no dependence on the plural form in most of the modern editions; though there are some editions of great worth which exhibit the word in this form, and among them the Complutensian, Antwerp, Paris, and London polyglots.

The evidence, therefore, that this text is supposed to give to the doctrine of the ever blessed Trinity, is but precarious, and on it little stress can be laid; and no man who loves truth would wish to support it by dubious witnesses. Injudicious men, by laying stress on texts dubious in themselves, and which may be interpreted a different way, greatly injure the true faith. Though such in their hearts may be friends to the orthodox faith, they are in fact its worst friends, and their assistance is such as helps their adversaries. But what does the text say? It addresses the youth of both sexes throughout the creation; and says in effect:—

I. You are not your own, you have no right to yourselves. God made you; he is your Creator: he made you that you might be happy; but you can be happy only in him. And as he created you, so he preserves you; he feeds, clothes, upholds you. He has made you capable of knowing, loving, and serving him in this world, and of enjoying him in his own glory for ever. And when you had undone yourselves by sin, he sent his Son to redeem you by his blood; and he sends his Spirit to enlighten, convince, and draw you away from childishness, from vain and trifling, as well as from sinful, pursuits.

II. Remember him; consider that he is your Creator, your loving and affectionate Father. In youth memory is strong and tenacious; but, through the perversion of the heart by sin, young people can remember any thing better than GOD. If you get a kindness from a friend, you can remember that, and feel gratitude for it; and the person is therefore endeared to you. Have any ever given you such benefits as your Creator? Your body and soul came from him; he gave you your eyes, ears, tongue, hands, feet, &c. What blessings are these! how excellent! how useful! how necessary and will you forget HIM?

III. Remember him in thy YOUTH, in order that you may have a long and blessed life, that you may be saved from the corruption and misery into which young people in general run; and the evils they entail upon themselves by giving way to the sinful propensities of their own hearts. As in youth all the powers are more active and vigorous, so they are capable of superior enjoyments. Faith, hope, and love, will be in their best tenor, their greatest vigour, and in their least encumbered state. And it will be easier for you to believe, hope, pray, love, obey, and bear your cross, than it can be in old age and decrepitude.

IV. Remember him NOW, in this part of your youth-you have no certainty of life; now is yours, to-morrow may not be. You are young; but you may never be old. Now he waits to be gracious; tomorrow may be too late. God now calls; his Spirit now strives; his ministers now exhort. You have now health; sin has not now so much dominion over you as it will have, increasing by every future moment, if you do not give up your hearts to your Maker.

V. There is another consideration which should weigh with you: should you live to old age, it is a very disadvantageous time to begin to serve the Lord in. Infirmities press down both body and mind, and the oppressed nature has enough to do to bear its own infirmities; and as there is little time, so there is generally less inclination, to call upon the Lord. Evil habits are strengthened by long continuance; and every desire and appetite in the soul is a strong hold for Satan. There is little time for repentance, little for faith, none for obedience. The evil days are come, and the years in which you will feelingly be obliged to say, Alas! “we have no pleasure in them;” and, what is worse, the heart is hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.

Verse 1. Remember — Namely, practically, so as to fear, love, and faithfully serve him, which, when men do not, they are said to forget him: thy Creator — The first author and continual preserver of thy life and being, and of all the endowments and enjoyments which accompany it; to whom thou art under the highest and strongest obligations; and upon whom thou art constantly and necessarily dependant, and therefore to forget him is most unnatural and disingenuous. Now in the days of thy youth — For now thou art most able to do it; and it will be most acceptable to God, and most comfortable to thyself, as being the best evidence of thy sincerity, and the best provision for old age and death. While the evil days come not — The time of old age, which is evil; that is, burdensome and calamitous in itself, and far more grievous when it is loaded with the sad remembrance of youthful follies, and with the dreadful prospect of approaching death and judgment. When thou shalt say, I have no pleasure — My life is now bitter and burdensome to me: which is frequently the condition of old age.

Verse 1. Remember now thy Creator. Hebrews Ëyarwb Boreicha, thy Creators. The word is plural, as µyhla Elohim, Genesis 1:1, designating the Divinity or Godhead, as Romans 1:20. Certainly, Solomon did not mean to exclude the Messiah, the Word and Wisdom of God. See on Proverbs 8:22. 30:4.

1. Remember — Solemn reminder of what youth is inclined to forget. Thy Creator — Who formed the frame described in verse 6, and will bring thee to judgment, verse 14. Now… thy youth — In emphatic contrast with thy gloomy old age, brought on by forgetting God, pictured in verses 2-5. when woe and care will render such piety difficult, and with that dissolution, (6, 7,) which make repentance impossible. Wretched is the man who gives his best days and strongest powers to the service of Satan, expecting to give God the dregs of his life, or to repent in the hour of death. No pleasure — The freshness of life is gone; the world is dark and drear; and the soured spirit has no heart for devotion.

V. 2. Which-Heb. While the sun, and the light, and the moon, &c. That clause, and the light, seems to be added to signify that he speaks of the darkening of the sun, and moon, and stars; not in themselves, but only in respect of that light which they afford to men. And therefore the same clause which is expressed after the sun, is to be understood after the moon and stars. And those expressions may be understood of the outward parts of the body, and especially of the face, the beauty of the countenance, the pleasant complexion of the cheeks, the liveliness of the eyes, which are compared to the sun, and moon, and stars, and which are obscured in old age, as the Chaldee paraphrast understands it. Or of external things, of the change of their joy, which they had in their youth, into sorrow, and manifold calamities, which are usually the companions of old age. This interpretation agrees both with the foregoing verse, in which he describes the miseries of old age, and with the following clause, which is added to explain those otherwise ambiguous expressions; and with the scripture use of this phrase; for a state of comfort and happiness is often described by the light of the sun, and a state of trouble is set forth, by the darkening of the light of the sun. Nor the clouds-This phrase denotes a perpetual succession of rain, and clouds bringing rain, and then rain and clouds again. Whereby he expresses either the rheums or destructions which incessantly flow in old men; or the continual vicissitude of infirmities, diseases, and griefs; one deep calling upon another.

Verse 2. While the sun, or the light, or the moon, or the stars, be not darkened] i.e., in the SPRING, prime, and prosperity of life. Nor the clouds return] The infirmities of old age of which WINTER is a proper emblem, as spring is of youth, in the former clause of this verse.

Verse 2. While the sun, or the light, &c. — Hebrews While the sun, and the light, and the moon, &c. That clause, and the light, seems to be added to signify, that he speaks of the darkening of the sun, and moon, and stars, not in themselves, but only in respect of that light which they afford to men. And therefore the same clause which is expressed after the sun, is to be understood after the moon and stars. And those expressions may be understood of the outward parts of the body, and especially of the face, the beauty of the countenance, the pleasant complexion of the cheeks, the liveliness of the eyes, which are compared to the sun, and moon, and stars, and which are obscured in old age, as the Chaldee paraphrast understands it. Or of the inward faculties of the mind, the understanding, fancy, memory, which may not improperly be resembled to the sun, moon, and stars, and all which are sensibly decayed in most old men. Or of external things, of the change of their joy, which they had in their youth, into sorrow, and manifold calamities, which are usually the companions of old age. This interpretation agrees both with the foregoing verse, in which he describes the miseries of old age, and with the following clause, which is added to explain those otherwise ambiguous expressions; and with the Scripture use of this phrase; for a state of comfort and happiness is often described by the light of the sun, and a state of trouble is set forth, by the darkening of the light of the sun. Nor the clouds return after the rain — This phrase denotes a perpetual succession of rain, and clouds bringing rain, and then rain and clouds again. Whereby he expresses either the rheums or defluctions which incessantly flow in old men; or the continual vicissitude of infirmities, diseases, and griefs; one deep calling upon another.

Ver. 2. Nor the clouds return after the rain. In youth, we recover our strength after infirmities; but now, the springs of nature being exhausted, the most indulgent treatment cannot restore us to bloom and vigour.

2. The old age of the God-forgetter is a world with its lights, sun, moon, stars, all darkened. The night of the soul within sheds blackness on the world without.

V. 3. The house-Of the body: whose keepers are the hands and arms, which are man’s best instruments to defend his body; and which in a special manner are subject to his trembling. The strong men-The thighs and legs, in which the main strength of the body consists. Grinders-The teeth, those especially which are commonly so called, because they grind the meat. Cease-To perform their office. And those, &c.-The eyes. By windows he understands either the eye-lids, which like windows, are either opened or shut: or, those humours and coats of the eyes, which are the chief instruments by which we see.

Verse 3. In the day when the keepers of the house] The BODY of man is here compared to a HOUSE:—mark the metaphors and their propriety.

1. The keepers shall tremble—the hands become paralytic, as is constantly the case, less or more, in old age.

2. The strong men shall bow] The legs become feeble, and unable to support the weight of the body.

3. The grinders cease because they are few] The teeth decayed and mostly lost; the few that remain being incapable of properly masticating hard substances or animal food. And so they cease; for soft or pulpy substances, which are requisite then, require little or no mastication; and these aliments become their ordinary food.

4. Those that look out of the windows] The optic nerves, which receive impressions, through the medium of the different humours of the eye, from surrounding objects—they are darkened; the humours becoming thick, flat, and turbid, they are no longer capable of transmitting those images in that clear, distinct manner, as formerly. There may be an allusion here to the pupil of the eye. Look into it, and you will see your own image in extreme minature looking out upon you; and hence it has its name pupillus, a little child, from pupus, a baby, a doll; because the image in the eye resembles such. The optic nerve being seated at the bottom of the eye, has the images of surrounding objects painted upon it; it looks out through the different humors. The different membranes and humours which compose the eye, and serve for vision, are, the tunica conjunctiva, the tunica sclerotica, the cornea, the iris, the pupil, the choroides, and the retina. The iris is perforated to admit the rays of light, and is called the pupil; the retina is a diffusion of the optic nerve in the bottom of the eye, on which the images are painted or impressed that give us the sensation we term sight or vision. All these membranes, humours, and nerves, are more or less impaired, thickened, or rendered opaque, by old age, expressed by the metaphor, “Those that look out of the windows are darkened.”

Verse 3. When the keepers of the house — The body, which is often and fitly compared to a house; whose keepers are the hands and arms, which are man’s best instruments to defend his body from the assaults of men or beasts, and which, in a special manner, are subject to this trembling. And the strong men shall bow themselves — Either the back, or the thighs and legs, in which the main strength of the body consists, and which, in old men, are very feeble. And the grinders — The teeth, those especially which are commonly so called, because they grind the meat which we eat; cease — To perform their office; because they are few — Hebrew, wc[m yk, because they are diminished, either in strength, or in number, being only here one, and there another, and neither united together, nor one directly opposite to another, and consequently unfit for their work. And those that look out of the windows be darkened — The eyes. By windows he understands, either the eye-lids, which, like windows, are either opened or shut: or, those humours and coats of the eyes, which are the chief instruments by which we see.

Ver. 3. When the keepers of the house shall tremble. When the hands shake, when the legs totter, and the limbs incline to paralysis.

3. House — The aged body is compared to a “house,” or rather to a mill structure, in which the vital functions and operations are a grinding, and which is defended by keepers, and upheld by strong men, with windows through which the inmates look out upon the world. These “keepers,” that defend, are the arms; these supporters are the legs; and the “windows” are the eyes. Of old age the arm and hand are tremulous, the legs bent and tottering, the teeth, or grinders, cease to masticate by becoming too few, and the eyes grow dim.

V. 4. In-Or, towards the streets: which lead into the streets. This may be understood either of the outward senses, which, as doors, let in outward objects to the soul: or rather the mouth, the two lips, here expressed by a word of the dual number, which like a door, open or shut the way that leads into the streets or common passages of the body; which also are principal instruments both of speaking and eating. And these are said to be shut, not absolutely, but comparatively, because men in old age grow dull and listless, having little appetite to eat, and are very frequently indisposed for discourse. When the sound-When the teeth are loose and few, whereby both his speech is low, and the noise which he makes in eating is but small. Shall rise-From his bed, being weary with lying, and unable to get sleep. The bird-As soon as the birds begin to chirp, which is early in the morning, whereas young men, can lie and sleep long. The daughters-All those senses which are employed in music. Brought low-Shall be cast down from their former excellency, and become incapable either of making musick, or of delighting in it.

Verse 4. And the doors shall be shut in the streets]

5. The doors—the lips, which are the doors by which the mouth is closed.

6. Be shut in the streets] The cavities of the cheeks and jaws, through which the food may be said to travel before it is fitted by mastication or chewing to go down the æsophagus into the stomach. The doors or lips are shut to hinder the food in chewing from dropping out; as the teeth, which prevented that before, are now lost.

7. The sound of the grinding is low] Little noise is now made in eating, because the teeth are either lost, or become so infirm as not to suffer their being pressed close together; and the mouth being kept shut to hinder the food from dropping out, the sound in eating is scarcely heard. The teeth are divided into three kinds:—1. The dentes incisores, or cutting teeth, in the front of the jaw. 2. The dentes canini, or dog teeth, those in the sides of the jaws, for gnawing, or tearing and separating hard or tough substances. And, 3. Dentes molares, or grinding teeth, the posterior or double teeth, in both jaws, generally termed the grinders; because their office is to grind down the substances that have been cut by the fore teeth, separated into their parts or fibres by the dog teeth, and thus prepare it for digestion in the stomach.

8. He shall rise up at the voice of the bird] His sleep is not sound as it used to be; he slumbers rather than sleeps; and the crowing of the cock awakes him. And so much difficulty does he find to respire while in bed, that he is glad of the dawn to rise up and get some relief. The chirping of the sparrow is sufficient to awake him.

9. All the daughters of music shall be brought low] The VOICE, that wonderful instrument, almost endless in the strength and variety of its tones, becomes feeble and squeaking, and merriment and pleasure are no more. The tones emitted are all of the querulous or mournful kind.

Verse 4. And the doors be shut in the streets — Or toward the streets: which lead into the street. This may be understood, either of the outward senses, which, as doors, let in outward objects to the soul; or, rather, of the mouth, or the two lips, here expressed by a word of the dual number, which, like a door, open or shut the way that leads into the streets or common passages of the body, as the gullet, stomach, and all the bowels; as also the wind-pipe and lungs, which also are principal instruments both of speaking and eating. And these are said to be shut, not absolutely, as if men did never eat, or drink, or speak, but comparatively, because men, in old age, grow dull and listless, having little appetite to eat, and are very frequently indisposed for discourse. When the sound of the grinding is low — When the teeth are loose and few, whereby both his speech is low, and the noise which he makes in eating is but small. And he shall rise — From his bed, being weary with lying, and unable to get sleep. At the voice of the bird — As soon as the birds begin to chirp, which is early in the morning, whereas young men can lie and sleep long. And all the daughters of music — All those senses or parts of the body, which are employed in music, shall be brought low — Shall be cast down from their former excellence, and become incapable either of making music, or of delighting in it.

Ver. 4. All the daughters of music shall be brought low. All the vocal powers, which can so admirably express the passions; which can be tender and musical in all the mother’s addresses of love to her babe; which soften anger, or thunders in the shouts of war.

4. The doors — The mouth. See Job 41:14. In or on the streets, as being the front door, with valves like the lips of a man. Shut — By loss of teeth. No dental art was known to Koheleth. Sound of the grinding is low — Not merely the mastication, but the whole digestive and vital processes are feeble and slow, so that the man’s whole bodily system is like an almost silent mill. Rise up at the voice of the bird — Better rendered by critics, it, (not he,) referring to “sound,” amounts to the voice of a sparrow. That is, the vital processes of this human mill are so feeble that its grinding “sound” is not louder than a sparrow’s cheep. This grinding “sound” is heard in the “low” and cracked voice of the old man. Daughters of music — Of man’s divine endowment of “music,” the notes and strains of the musician are the offspring or “daughters.” These are brought low, so that no true “music” can be poured forth.

V. 5. Afraid-The passion of fear is observed to be most incident to old men. High-When they walk abroad they dread to go up high or steep places. Fears-Lest as they are walking, they should stumble, or fall. The almond-tree-Their heads shall be as full of grey hairs, as the almond-tree is of white flowers. The grasshopper-They cannot endure the least burden, being indeed a burden to themselves. Desire-Of meats, and drinks, and music, and other delights, which are vehemently desired by men in their youth. Goeth-is travelling towards it, and every day nearer to it. Long home-From this place of his pilgrimage into the grave, from whence he must never return into this world, and into the state of the future life, which is unchangeable and everlasting. Mourners-Accompany the corpse thro’ the streets to the grave.

Verse 5. When they shall be afraid of that which is high]

10. Being so feeble, they are afraid to trust themselves to ascend steps, stairs, &c., without help. And when they look upwards, their heads turn giddy, and they are ready to fall.

11. Fears shall be in the way] They dare not walk out, lest they should meet some danger, which they have not strength to repel, nor agility to escape. A second childishness has taken place-apprehensions, fears, terrors, and weakness.

12. The almond tree shall flourish] xany yenaets, not flourish, but fall off. The hair begins to change, first gray, then white; it having no longer that supply of nutritive juices which it once had, this animal vegetable withers and falls off. The almond tree, having white flowers, is a fit emblem of a hoary head; or as Hasselquist says, who observed the tree in full flower in Judea, “like an old man with his white locks.”

13. The grasshopper shall be a burden] Even such an inconsiderable thing as a locust, or a very small insect, shall be deemed burdensome, their strength is so exceedingly diminished. In cases of the gout, especially in old men, the shadow of a person passing by puts them to acute pain! How much less can they bear the smallest pressure! But probably the words refer to the man himself, who, bent at the loins, and his arms hanging down, exhibits some caricature of the animal in question. The poor grasshopper has become a burden to himself. Another interpretation has been given of the grasshopper; but I pass it by as impertinent and contemptible; such commentators appear as if they wished to render the text ridiculous.

14. Desire shall fail] Both relish and appetite for food, even the most delicate, that to which they were formerly so much attached, now fails. The teeth are no longer able to masticate the food, or have all dropped out; the stomach no longer able to digest any thing; and, as the body is no longer capable of receiving nourishment, appetite and relish necessarily fail.

15. Because man goeth to his long home] wmlw[ tyb la el beith olamo, “to the house of his age;” the place destined to receive him, when the whole race or course of life shall be finished; for µlw[ olam takes in the whole course or duration of a thing; if applied to a dispensation, such as the LAW, it takes in its whole duration; to the life of man, it takes in the whole life; to time, it includes its whole compass; to eternity, it expresses its infinite duration. So old age terminates the olam, the complete duration of human life; and when life is no longer desired, and nutrition ceases, the olam of man is terminated. My old MS. Bible translates it, The hous of his everlastingness.

16. He is just departing into the invisible world; and this is known by the mourners going about the streets, the long hollow groans and throat rattlings which proceed from him; the sure prognostications of the extreme debility and speedy cessation of those essential animal functions next mentioned.

Verse 5. When they shall be afraid, &c. — The passion of fear is observed to be most incident to old men, of which divers reasons may be given. Of that which is high — Of high things, lest they should fall upon them; or of high places, as of going up hills or stairs, which is very irksome to them, because of their weakness, weariness, giddiness, and danger, or dread of falling. And fears shall be in the way — Lest, as they are walking, they should stumble, or fall, or be thrust down, or some infirmity or evil should befall them. And the almond-tree shall flourish — Their heads shall be as full of gray hairs as the almond-tree is of white flowers. And the grasshopper shall be a burden — If it accidentally light upon them. They cannot endure the least burden, being indeed a burden to themselves. And desire shall fail — Of meats, and drinks, and music, and other delights, which are vehemently desired by men in their youth. Because man goeth — Is travelling toward it, and every day nearer to it. To his long home — From this place of his pilgrimage into the grave, from whence he must never return into this world, and into the state of the future life, which is unchangeable and everlasting. And mourners go about the streets — Accompany the corpse through the streets to the grave.

Ver. 5. Man goeth to his long home. Hebrews µl[ tyb baith ôlam, the house of ages.

5. They — The man himself; expressed in the plural because his various parts and powers have been personified as so many individuals. Afraid of the high — In youth the man could look down from the high tower and not be dizzy; he could mount the cliff and not be exhausted. His brain and legs are now too weak; and he dreads all heights. Nay, fears of exposures to accidents, foes, or atmospheric miasms, are in the plain and level way. The almond tree shall flourish — This “almond tree” has been supposed to refer to the grey hairs of the aged; but the almond does not blossom white but pink coloured. Modern scholars render the words, The almond shall disgust; that is, as an edible, because the toothless old man can no longer masticate it. The grasshopper (rather locust) shall be a burden — Usually understood as a hyperbole expressive of extreme bodily weakness; the old man can scarce carry a grasshopper. But the locust was an article of food; and the meaning seems to be, that it will be too heavy a burden on the stomach for his digestion. Desire — The appetites, especially the sexual. But scholars render the phrase, The kappar shall fail to stimulate. The kappar, or caper-sauce, used to rouse the system, shall be ineffective. Tonics, appetizers, and even medicines shall cease to affect the body so nearly lifeless. Because — All these decays take place “because” man is a fading, dying being. Goeth — The continuous permanent present to express a permanent continuous fact. Man is ever growing old and going to the grave. Long home — Literally, his eternal “home,” in contrast with earth, his temporal “home.” Where that “home” is, verse 7 declares; the dust to the grave and the spirit to God. Yet these are one “home” in eternity; and none the less so because judgment (verse 14) shall within that “home” change the locality, and unite “dust” and “spirit” in final retribtution. As regularly as the corpse goeth to the grave, the mourners (perhaps in funeral procession) go, or wind, about the streets.

V. 6. The silver cord-By the silver cord he seems to understand the marrow of the back-bone, which comes from the brain, and goes down to the lowest end of it. And this is aptly compared to a cord, both for its figure, which is long and round, and for its use, which is to draw and move the parts of the body; and to silver, both for its excellency and colour, which is white and bright, in a dead, much more in a living body. This may properly be said to be loosed, or dissolved, because it is relaxed, or otherwise disabled for its proper service. And answerably hereto by the golden bowl we may understand, the membranes of the brain, and especially that inmost membrane which insinuates itself into all the parts of it, following it in its various windings, keeping each parcel of it in its proper place, and dividing one from another, to prevent disorder. This is not unfitly called a bowl, because It is round, and contains in it all the substance of the brain; and a golden bowl, partly for its great preciousness, partly for its ductility, being drawn out into a great thinness or fineness; and partly for its colour, which is some-what yellow, and comes nearer to that of gold than any other part of the body does. And this, upon the approach of death, is commonly shrivelled up, and many times broken. and as these clauses concern the brain, and the animal powers, so the two following respect the spring of the vital powers, and of the blood, the great instrument thereof is the heart. And so Solomon here describes the chief organs appointed for the production, distribution, and circulation of the blood. For tho’ the circulation of the blood has been hid for many generations, yet it was well known to Solomon. According to this notion, the fountain is the right ventricle of the heart, which is now acknowledged to be the spring of life; and the pitcher is the veins which convey the blood from it to other parts, and especially that arterious vein by which it is transmitted to the lungs, and thence to the left ventricle, where it is better elaborated, and then thrust out into the great artery, called the Aorta, and by its branches dispersed into all the parts of the body. And the cistern is the left ventricle of the heart, and the wheel seems to be the great artery, which is fitly so called, because it is the great instrument of this circulation. The pitcher may be said to be broken at the fountain, when the veins do not return the blood to the heart, but suffer it to stand still and cool, whence comes that coldness of the outward parts, which is a near fore-runner of death. And the wheel may be said to be broken at the cistern, when the great arteries do not perform their office of conveying the blood into the left ventricle of the heart, and of thrusting it out thence into the lesser arteries, whence comes that ceasing of the pulse, which is a certain sign of approaching death.

Verse 6. Or ever the silver cord be loosed] We have already had all the external evidences of old age, with all its attendant infirmities; next follow what takes place in the body, in order to produce what is called death, or the separation of body and soul.

1. The silver cord.—The medulla oblongata or spinal marrow, from which all the nerves proceed, as itself does from the brain. This is termed a cord, from its exact similitude to one; and a silver cord, from its colour, as it strikingly exhibits the silver gray; and from its preciousness. This is said to be loosed; as the nervous system became a little before, and at the article of death, wholly debilitated. The last loosing being the fall of the under jaw, the invariable and never-failing evidence of immediate death; a few struggles more, and the soul is dismissed from its clay tenement.

2. The golden bowl be broken] The brain contained in the cranium, or skull, and enveloped with the membranes called the dura and pia mater; here called a bowl, from its resemblance to such a vessel, the container being put for the contained; and golden because of its colour, and because of its exceeding preciousness, as has been noticed in the former case. Broken-be rendered unfit to perform its functions, neither supplying nor distributing any nervous energy.

3. Or the pitcher be broken at the fountain] The vena cava, which brings back the blood to the right ventricle of the heart, here called the fountain, [wbmh hammabbua, the spring whence the water gushes up; properly applied here to the heart, which by its systole and diastole (contraction and expansion) sends out, and afterwards receives back, the blood; for all the blood flows from, and returns back to, the heart.

4. The wheel broken at the cistern] The great aorta, which receives the blood from the cistern, the left ventricle of the heart, and distributes it to the different parts of the system. These may be said, as in the case of the brain above, to be broken, i.e., rendered useless; when, through the loosening of the silver cord, the total relaxation of the nervous system, the heart becomes incapable of dilatation and contraction, so that the blood, on its return to the right ventricle of the heart, is not received, nor that already contained in the ventricles propelled into the great aorta. The wheel is used in allusion to the Asiatic wheels, by which they raise water from their wells and tanks, and deep cisterns, for domestic purposes, or to irrigate the grounds. Thus, then, the blood becomes stagnate; the lungs cease to respire; the blood is no longer oxidized; all motion, voluntary and involuntary, ceases; the body, the house of the immortal spirit, is no longer tenantable, and the soul takes its flight into the eternal world. The man D-I-E-S! This is expressed in the following verse:—

Verse 6. Or ever the silver cord be loosed — By the silver cord he seems to understand the spinal marrow, which comes from the brain, and goes down to the lowest end of the back-bone. And this is aptly compared to a cord, both for its figure, which is long and round, and for its use, which is to draw and move the parts of the body; and to silver, both for its excellence and colour, which is white and bright, in a dead, much more in a living body. This may properly be said to be loosed, or dissolved, because it is relaxed, or otherwise disabled for its proper service. And answerably hereto, by the golden bowl we may understand the membranes of the brain, and especially that inmost membrane which insinuates itself into all the parts of it, following it in its various windings, keeping each parcel of it in its proper place, and dividing one from another, to prevent disorder. This is not unfitly called a bowl, because it is round, and contains in it all the substance of the brain; and a golden bowl, partly for its great preciousness and usefulness; partly for its ductility, being drawn out into a great thinness or fineness; and partly for its colour, which is somewhat yellow, and comes nearer to that of gold than any other part of the body does. And this, upon the approach of death, is commonly shrivelled up, and many times broken. And as these clauses concern the brain, and the animal powers, so the two following respect the spring of the vital powers, and of the blood, the great instrument whereof is the heart. And so Solomon here describes the chief organs appointed for the production, distribution, and circulation of the blood. For though the circulation of the blood has been hid for many generations, yet it was well known to Solomon. According to this notion, the fountain is the right ventricle of the heart, which is now acknowledged to be the spring of life; and the pitcher is the arteries which convey the blood from it to other parts, and especially that arterious vein, by which it is transmitted to the lungs, and thence to the left ventricle, where it is better elaborated, and then thrust out into the great artery, called aorta, and by its branches dispersed into all the parts of the body. And the cistern is the left ventricle of the heart, and the wheel seems to be the great artery, which is fifty so called, because it is the great instrument of this circulation. The pitcher may be said to be broken at the fountain, when the veins do not return the blood to the heart, but suffer it to stand still and cool, whence comes that coldness of the outward parts, which is a near forerunner of death. And the wheel may be said to be broken at the cistern, when the great arteries do not perform their office of conveying the blood into the left ventricle of the heart, and of thrusting it out thence into the lesser arteries, whence comes that ceasing of the pulse, which is a certain sign of approaching death.

Ver. 6. Or ever the silver cord be loosed. The spinal marrow which decays in age. This being the grand seat of the nerves, descending in pairs from the brain, its decay is connected with the decay of the whole system.—Or the golden bowl be broken. The Chaldaic reads, the vertex or top of the head; that is, the cranium, called a bowl, because it contains the brain.—Or the pitcher be broken at the fountain. The vena cava, which returns the blood from the veins to the right ventricle of the heart. Then the beating of the heart, which contracts after expansion, propels the blood into the arteries with fresh heat and force, and circulates the whole blood through the body six times in an hour, as Dr. Harvey affirms, to whom modern science has attributed the discovery of the circulation of the blood. It should have been said, that he made many observations on the circulation of the blood; for the subject was known to Solomon, and studied by the ancients.—Or the wheel broken at the cistern. The aörta, which receives the blood, now revived and warmed from the left ventricle of the heart.

6. So far decay of age is depicted; now dissolution itself. We can hardly agree with the commentators who deny that the bowl, the pitcher, and the wheel, must not each be applied to a definite object or part of dying man. The analogy of vers. 2-5 requires that these must not be construed as mere successive general images of crash and ruin, but must be individualized. Yet they cannot be individualized according to modern anatomy: but in accordance with old Hebrew ideas we may suppose the “bowl” to symbolize the head; the “pitcher,” the heart; and the “wheel,” with its cordage, the nervous and tendinous systems. The head, in Hebrew thought, did not represent the intellect, or refer to the brain; but, as the summit of man or animal, it represented the highest individuality. Genesis 40:19; Leviticus 19:32. On it was placed the crown, or other ensigns, of honour. On it retribution falls, (Genesis 3:15; Psalms 7:16Psalm 7:16;) or blessing, Genesis 49:26. To take off or break the head was a formula of death, 1 Samuel 31:9; 2 Samuel 16:9; Psalms 74:13Psalm 74:13, 14. Here the image is a golden, or gilded, yet fragile lamp — “bowl,” suspended by a cord, entwined with silver, to the ceiling above. The “cord” is loosed by decay, perhaps, or snapped by violence, and the falling “bowl” is, alas! broken. Such are life and death. Man’s existence is suspended by a thread of destiny, the severance of which is crash and destruction.

The heart, in Hebrew thought, might well be symbolized as a “pitcher” — the receptacle of the impressions, desires, and emotions drawn from the fountain of outside individual experience; yet able to so mingle its impressions as to form in itself reasonings and purposes. 2 Chronicles 7:11; Job 9:4, 38:36. At the very “fountain” the “pitcher” is “broken” and death is the result. To the cistern — that is, the well or reservoir of drinkable water — there is a “wheel,” or windlass, with chains by which the bucket is let down or drawn up from the depths. So to the man there is the system of efferent, or out-carrying, nerves, and afferent, or in-bringing, nerves. With this accord the sinews and other machineries — the bones and muscles by which man’s will puts forth or withdraws action. Break this “wheel” at the “cistern” and life’s activity for ever ceases.

Verse 7. Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God]

5. Putrefaction and solution take place; the whole mass becomes decomposed, and in process of time is reduced to dust, from which it was originally made; while the spirit, jwrh haruach, that spirit, which God at first breathed into the nostrils of man, when he in consequence became a LIVING SOUL, an intelligent, rational, discoursing animal, returns to God who gave it. Here the wise man makes a most evident distinction between the body and the soul: they are not the same; they are not both matter. The body, which is matter, returns to dust, its original; but the spirit, which is immaterial, returns to God. It is impossible that two natures can be more distinct, or more emphatically distinguished. The author of this book was not a materialist.

Thus ends this affecting, yet elegant and finished, picture of OLD AGE and DEATH. See a description of old age similar, but much inferior, to this, in the Agamemnon of Æschylus, v. 76-82.

It has been often remarked that the circulation of the blood, which has been deemed a modern discovery by our countryman Dr. Harvey, in 1616, was known to Solomon, or whoever was the author of this book: the fountains, cisterns, pitcher, and wheel, giving sufficient countenance to the conclusion.

Verse 7. Then shall the dust — The body, called dust, both on account of its original, which was from the dust, and to signify its vile and corruptible nature. As it was — Whence it was first taken. He alludes to Genesis 3:19. And the spirit — The soul of man, so called, because of its spiritual or immaterial nature; shall return unto God — Into his presence, and before his tribunal, that it may there be sentenced to its everlasting habitation, either to abide with God forever, if approved by him, or otherwise, to be eternally shut out from his presence and favour. Who gave it — Namely, in a peculiar manner; by his creating power: whence he is called, the Father of spirits, Hebrews 12:9.

Ver. 7. Then, when the spirit, as Genesis 2:7, shall return to God. The mover having taken its flight, and left the untenable habitation, the body returns to dust. Here is the close of our pilgrimage. The weary wheels of life stand still at last.

7. Dust… earth — Just as, Genesis 2:7, man was taken as dust from the ground, so now he returns to “dust.” And the spirit, then inbreathed from God, and thence forming a living person, returns unto God who gave it. It is not, in this return “unto God,” resolved back into an impersonal breath, which is a pantheistic idea unknown to the Hebrew mind. It returns, as verse 14 indicates, a personal being “unto God,” awaiting his judgment.

V. 8. Vanity-This sentence, wherewith he began this book, he here repeats in the end of it, as that which he had proved in all the foregoing discourse, and that which naturally followed from both the branches of the assertion laid down, ver. 7.

Verse 8. This affecting and minute description of old age and death is concluded by the author with the same exclamation by which he began this book: O vanity of vanities, saith Koheleth, all is vanity. Now that man, the masterpiece of God’s creation, the delegated sovereign of this lower world, is turned to dust, what is there stable or worthy of contemplation besides? ALL—ALL is VANITY!

Verse 8. Vanity of vanities — This sentence, wherewith he began this book, he here repeats in the end of it, as that which he had proved in all the foregoing discourse, and that which naturally followed from both the branches of the assertion laid down, verse 7.

8. Vanity of vanities — This solemn finale employs the key-note with which this inquiry began. It is as if the proposition then announced had now been demonstrated. The writer, committing it now to the judgment of reasonable men, feels sure of their concurrence for ever.

V. 9. Taught-As God gave him this wisdom, that he might be a teacher of others. So he used it to that end. Gave heed-He did not utter whatever came into his mind, but seriously pondered both his matter and words.

Verse 9. Because the Preacher was wise, he still taught the people knowledge] And in order to do this he took good heed—considered what would be most useful. He set in order—collected and arranged, many parables, probably alluding to the book over which we have already passed.

Verses 9-12. He still taught the people knowledge — As God gave him this wisdom, that he might be a teacher of others, so he used it to that end. Gave heed — He did not utter whatever came into his mind, but seriously pondered both his matter and his words. Therefore despise not his counsel. The preacher sought to find out acceptable words — Hebrew, xpj ybr, words of desire, or, of delight: worthy of all acceptation, such as would minister comfort or profit to the hearers or readers. And that which was written — By the preacher, in this and his other books; was upright — Hebrew, yvr, right, or, straight, agreeable to the mind or will of God, which is the rule of right, not crooked or perverse; even words of truth — Not fables, cunningly devised to deceive the simple; but true and certain doctrines, which commend themselves to men’s reason and consciences; wholesome and edifying counsels. The words of the wise — Of spiritually wise and holy men of God; are as goads and as nails — Piercing into men’s dull minds, and quickening and exciting them to the practice of all duties; fastened by the masters of assemblies — Fixed in men’s memories and hearts, in which they make powerful and abiding impressions, by the ministry of the teachers of God’s church and people, whether prophets or others, appointed by God for that work; which are given from one shepherd — From God, or from Christ, the great Shepherd and Teacher of the church in all ages, by whose Spirit the ancient prophets, as well as other succeeding teachers, were inspired and taught, Jeremiah 3:15; 1 Peter 1:11; and 2 Peter 1:21. And further, by these — By these wise men, and their words or writings; be admonished — Take your instructions from them; for their words are right and true, as he said, verse 10; whereas the words of other men are often false, or at best, doubtful. Of making many books there is no end — As if he had said, I could easily write many and large books upon these matters; but that would be an endless and needless work; seeing things necessary to be known and done lie in a little compass, as he informs us, verse 13. And much study — The reading and considering of many books, as well as the writing of them; is a weariness to the flesh — Wasteth a man’s strength and spirits, and yet does not give satisfaction to his mind, nor sufficiently recompense the trouble and inconvenience to which man is exposed by it.

Ver. 9. Because the preacher was wise, a student in natural and moral philosophy, he taught the people knowledge. He wrote popular books for schools as well as for sages, which was a proof of his wisdom, and of the benevolence of his heart. The sun loses nothing of his glory by giving light to the earth.

9. Because the Preacher was wise — Koheleth now defines himself in what may be reckoned his true character. He is a “hakam,” (Arabic, hakim,) or “physician,” like the Greek epaiwn — a professional man, a public teacher, one devoted to the solution of moral and practical problems. He also discoursed to the people on instructive subjects, and with care and research framed proverbs to guide the public thought. In his various functions of teacher, sage, and author he must have led a laborious and benevolent life. If Solomon be Koheleth his conception of such a life is singularly truthful.

V. 10. Acceptable-Such as would comfort and profit the readers.

Verse 10. He sought to find out acceptable words] xpj yrbd dibrey chephets, words of desire, words of will; the best, the most suitable words; those which the people could best understand. But these words were not such as might merely please the people; they were words of truth; such as came from God, and might lead them to him.

Verses 9-12. He still taught the people knowledge — As God gave him this wisdom, that he might be a teacher of others, so he used it to that end. Gave heed — He did not utter whatever came into his mind, but seriously pondered both his matter and his words. Therefore despise not his counsel. The preacher sought to find out acceptable words — Hebrew, xpj ybr, words of desire, or, of delight: worthy of all acceptation, such as would minister comfort or profit to the hearers or readers. And that which was written — By the preacher, in this and his other books; was upright — Hebrew, yvr, right, or, straight, agreeable to the mind or will of God, which is the rule of right, not crooked or perverse; even words of truth — Not fables, cunningly devised to deceive the simple; but true and certain doctrines, which commend themselves to men’s reason and consciences; wholesome and edifying counsels. The words of the wise — Of spiritually wise and holy men of God; are as goads and as nails — Piercing into men’s dull minds, and quickening and exciting them to the practice of all duties; fastened by the masters of assemblies — Fixed in men’s memories and hearts, in which they make powerful and abiding impressions, by the ministry of the teachers of God’s church and people, whether prophets or others, appointed by God for that work; which are given from one shepherd — From God, or from Christ, the great Shepherd and Teacher of the church in all ages, by whose Spirit the ancient prophets, as well as other succeeding teachers, were inspired and taught, Jeremiah 3:15; 1 Peter 1:11; and 2 Peter 1:21. And further, by these — By these wise men, and their words or writings; be admonished — Take your instructions from them; for their words are right and true, as he said, verse 10; whereas the words of other men are often false, or at best, doubtful. Of making many books there is no end — As if he had said, I could easily write many and large books upon these matters; but that would be an endless and needless work; seeing things necessary to be known and done lie in a little compass, as he informs us, verse 13. And much study — The reading and considering of many books, as well as the writing of them; is a weariness to the flesh — Wasteth a man’s strength and spirits, and yet does not give satisfaction to his mind, nor sufficiently recompense the trouble and inconvenience to which man is exposed by it.

10. Acceptable words — Hebrew, Words of consolation. Feeling deeply for the sorrows of his kind, he found that the words that gave them relief were the frank utterances of sincerity and truth. Such are the words of this essay, which states with fearless accuracy, like that of Shakspeare, the aspects of life as actually seen from many and various positions.

V. 11. Nails-Piercing into men’s dull minds, which make powerful and abiding impressions in them. Masters-By the teachers of God’s church, appointed of God for that work. Shepherd-From Christ, the great Shepherd of the church in all ages.

Verse 11. The words of the wise] Doctrines of faith, illustrated by suitable language, are as nails fastened by the masters of assemblies, twpsa בעלי baaley asuphoth, the masters of collections, those who had made the best collections of this kind, the matter of which was of the most excellent nature; every saying sinking as deeply into the mind, by the force of the truth contained in it, as a nail well pointed does into a board, when impelled by the hammer’s force. These masters of collections have been supposed to be public persons appointed by the prince himself, the sole shepherd, to see that nothing was put into the people’s hands but what would be profitable for them to read; and that, when any wise man gave public instructions, a good scribe sat by to take down the words; and then the master examined what he had written, to see that it was upright, and that the words were doctrines of truth. These were something like our licensers of the press; but the existence of such is little more than conjecture.

After all, masters of assemblies may mean public teachers; that which was written, the oracles of God, out of which they instructed the people; the one Shepherd, GOD ALMIGHTY, from whom they received their authority and unction to preach the truth; and by the energy of whose Spirit the heavenly teaching was fastened in their hearts, as a well-driven nail in a sound piece of wood.

Verses 9-12. He still taught the people knowledge — As God gave him this wisdom, that he might be a teacher of others, so he used it to that end. Gave heed — He did not utter whatever came into his mind, but seriously pondered both his matter and his words. Therefore despise not his counsel. The preacher sought to find out acceptable words — Hebrew, xpj ybr, words of desire, or, of delight: worthy of all acceptation, such as would minister comfort or profit to the hearers or readers. And that which was written — By the preacher, in this and his other books; was upright — Hebrew, yvr, right, or, straight, agreeable to the mind or will of God, which is the rule of right, not crooked or perverse; even words of truth — Not fables, cunningly devised to deceive the simple; but true and certain doctrines, which commend themselves to men’s reason and consciences; wholesome and edifying counsels. The words of the wise — Of spiritually wise and holy men of God; are as goads and as nails — Piercing into men’s dull minds, and quickening and exciting them to the practice of all duties; fastened by the masters of assemblies — Fixed in men’s memories and hearts, in which they make powerful and abiding impressions, by the ministry of the teachers of God’s church and people, whether prophets or others, appointed by God for that work; which are given from one shepherd — From God, or from Christ, the great Shepherd and Teacher of the church in all ages, by whose Spirit the ancient prophets, as well as other succeeding teachers, were inspired and taught, Jeremiah 3:15; 1 Peter 1:11; and 2 Peter 1:21. And further, by these — By these wise men, and their words or writings; be admonished — Take your instructions from them; for their words are right and true, as he said, verse 10; whereas the words of other men are often false, or at best, doubtful. Of making many books there is no end — As if he had said, I could easily write many and large books upon these matters; but that would be an endless and needless work; seeing things necessary to be known and done lie in a little compass, as he informs us, verse 13. And much study — The reading and considering of many books, as well as the writing of them; is a weariness to the flesh — Wasteth a man’s strength and spirits, and yet does not give satisfaction to his mind, nor sufficiently recompense the trouble and inconvenience to which man is exposed by it.

Ver. 11. As nails fastened by the masters of assemblies. Dr. Lightfoot reads, “As nails fastened by those that gather the flock into the fold.” This reading improves the text, that as the door and the fence secure the flock, so the words of the wise are the guardians of youth.

11. The words of the wise are as goads — The writer gives the reason of his undertaking, suggesting, too, his ideal of what such work should be, as if his toil would be repaid should these words prove such. And as nails — Better, And as stakes firmly set, are those (words) of the masters of assemblies. The stakes are those to which the tent ropes are fastened, firmly holding the tent in its place. Which are given — Referring to “the words of the wise.” The savings of true wisdom, whether they are radical and arousing, like goads, or conservative and supporting, like tent stakes, are from the inspiration of one Shepherd, the Allwise, who, in manifold ways, aims at the correction and instruction of his creatures. “All true wisdom is from One Wise.”

V. 12. By these-By these wise men, and their writings.

Verse 12. And farther, by these, my son, be admonished] Hear such teachers, and receive their admonitions; and do not receive the grace of God in vain.

Of making many books there is no end] Two thousand years have elapsed since this was written; and since that time some millions of treatises have been added, on all kinds of subjects, to those which have gone before. The press is still groaning under and teeming with books, books innumerable; and no one subject is yet exhausted, notwithstanding all that has been written on it. And we who live in these latter times are no nearer an end, in the investigation of NATURE and its properties; of GOD, his attributes, his providence, his justice, and his mercy; of MAN, his animal life, his mode of nutrition and existence, and his soul and its powers; of JESUS, and the redemption by him; of ETERNITY, and what it implies as exhibiting to us the pains of the cursed, and the glories of the blessed. Of several of these we know no more than they who have lived five thousand years before us; nor do we know any thing certainly by the endless books that have been published, except what bears the seal of the God of heaven, as published in that word which was declared by his Spirit. And much study is a weariness of the flesh.] O how true is this! Let the trembling knees, the palsied hands, the darkened eyes, the aching heart, and the puzzled mind of every real student declare! And should none more worthy of the name of student be within reach to consult, the writer of this work is a proof in point.

Verses 9-12. He still taught the people knowledge — As God gave him this wisdom, that he might be a teacher of others, so he used it to that end. Gave heed — He did not utter whatever came into his mind, but seriously pondered both his matter and his words. Therefore despise not his counsel. The preacher sought to find out acceptable words — Hebrew, xpj ybr, words of desire, or, of delight: worthy of all acceptation, such as would minister comfort or profit to the hearers or readers. And that which was written — By the preacher, in this and his other books; was upright — Hebrew, yvr, right, or, straight, agreeable to the mind or will of God, which is the rule of right, not crooked or perverse; even words of truth — Not fables, cunningly devised to deceive the simple; but true and certain doctrines, which commend themselves to men’s reason and consciences; wholesome and edifying counsels. The words of the wise — Of spiritually wise and holy men of God; are as goads and as nails — Piercing into men’s dull minds, and quickening and exciting them to the practice of all duties; fastened by the masters of assemblies — Fixed in men’s memories and hearts, in which they make powerful and abiding impressions, by the ministry of the teachers of God’s church and people, whether prophets or others, appointed by God for that work; which are given from one shepherd — From God, or from Christ, the great Shepherd and Teacher of the church in all ages, by whose Spirit the ancient prophets, as well as other succeeding teachers, were inspired and taught, Jeremiah 3:15; 1 Peter 1:11; and 2 Peter 1:21. And further, by these — By these wise men, and their words or writings; be admonished — Take your instructions from them; for their words are right and true, as he said, verse 10; whereas the words of other men are often false, or at best, doubtful. Of making many books there is no end — As if he had said, I could easily write many and large books upon these matters; but that would be an endless and needless work; seeing things necessary to be known and done lie in a little compass, as he informs us, verse 13. And much study — The reading and considering of many books, as well as the writing of them; is a weariness to the flesh — Wasteth a man’s strength and spirits, and yet does not give satisfaction to his mind, nor sufficiently recompense the trouble and inconvenience to which man is exposed by it.

12. And further — Hebrew, But beyond this, my son, take warning. All the books that can be made, and the most exhausting study, can make no one wiser. About fifteen thousand books are annually made in Christendom, and knowledge is rapidly increased, but duty is still taught only by the one Shepherd and Teacher, and true wisdom is from him alone.

V. 13. The conclusion-The sum of all that hath been said or written by wise men. Fear God-Which is put here, for all the inward worship of God, reverence, and love, and trust, and a devotedness of heart to serve and please him. The whole-It is his whole work and business, his whole perfection and happiness; it is the sum of what he need either know, or do, or enjoy.

Verse 13. After all, the sum of the great business of human life is comprised in this short sentence, on which some millions of books have been already written!

FEAR GOD, AND KEEP HIS COMMANDMENTS

1. Know that HE IS, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. 2. Reverence him; pay him adoration. 3. Love him, that you may be happy.

Keep his commandments] They are contained in two words: 1. “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart;” 2. “And thy neighbour as thyself.” Blessed be God, much reading and much study are not necessary to accomplish this, which is called האדם lk col haadam, the whole of Adam; the whole that God required of the first man and of all his posterity. But the Gospel of Jesus Christ must be understood to comprehend the full force of this short saying.

The word duty, added here by our translators, spoils, if not PERVERTS, the sense.

The whole passage is rendered with great simplicity by Coverdale:— “The same preacher was not wyse alone: but taught the people knowledge also. He gave good hede, sought out the grounde, and set forth many parables. His diligence was to fynde out acceptable wordes, right scripture, and the wordes of trueth. For the wordes of the wyse are like prickes and nales that go thorow, wherewith men are kepte together: for they are geven of one Shepherd onely. Therefore be warre (my sonne) that above these thou make thee not many and innumerable bookes, nor take dyverse doctrynes in hande, to weery thy body withall.

“Let us heare the conclusion of all thinges; Feare God, and kepe his comaundementes, for that toucheth all men; for God shall judge all workes and secrete thinges, whether they be good or evell.” I shall give the same from my old MS. Bible:—

And wan Ecclesiastes was most wiis he taght the peple, and told out what he had don, and enserchinge maade many parablis. He soght profitable wordis, and wrote most right sermons, and ful of trewth, The wordis of wismen as prickis and as nailis into herte pigt: that bi the counseyle of maisteris ben geven of oon scheperd. More thann thes sone myn, ne seche thou; of making many bokes is noon eend, and oft bethinking is tormenting of the flesche. Eend of spekinge alle togydir heere mee. Drede God, and his hestis kepe; that is eche man. Alle thingis that ben maad schal bringen into dome, for eche erid thinge, whithir good or evyl it be.

Verses 13, 14. Let us hear the conclusion, &c. — The sum of all that hath been said or written by wise men. Fear God — Which is put here for all the inward worship of God, reverence, and love, and trust, and a devotedness of heart to serve and please him; and keep his commandments — This is properly added, as a necessary effect, and certain evidence of the true and genuine fear of God. Make conscience of practising whatever God enjoins, how costly, or troublesome, or dangerous soever it may be. For this is the whole duty of man — Hebrew, The whole of man, or all the man: it is his whole work and business: his whole wisdom, honour, perfection, and happiness: it is the sum of what he need either know, or do, or enjoy. This makes him a man indeed, worthy of the name, and by this, and by this alone, he answers the end of his creation, and of all the divine dispensations toward him. For God shall bring every work into judgment — All men must give an account to God of all their works, and this alone will enable them to do that with joy. With every secret thing — Not only outward and visible actions, but even inward and secret thoughts. Reader, think of this, and prepare to meet thy God!

Ver. 13. Fear God and keep his commandments. Solomon closes his book as a disciple of Moses, a proof that he died in the faith. Yet St. Paul mentions David, but not Solomon, among the ancient worthies. Hebrews

11. Certainly, he did not equal David in piety and holiness.

13. The conclusion of the whole matter — After this long survey of human affairs, chiefly on their sad and shady side, this counsel has peculiar weight. It is the word of one who has tried it himself and examined it in other men. Peace with God, coming from reverent, steady obedience, — “Makes the rough paths of peevish nature even,”

and he, too, makes this the duty of every man. The whole duty — It is better syntax to read, For this is (the duty) of every man. So the Hebrew indicates. No man is exempt, for there are no mortal conditions that require disobedience to God.

V. 14. For-All men must give an account to God of all their works, and this alone will enable them to do that with joy. Every secret-Not only outward and visible actions, but even inward and secret thoughts.

Verse 14. For God shall bring every work into judgment] This is the reason why we should “fear God and keep his commandments.” 1. Because there will be a day of judgment. 2. Every soul of man shall stand at that bar. 3. God, the infinitely wise, the heart-searching God, will be judge. 4. He will bring to light every secret thing—all that has been done since the creation, by all men; whether forgotten or registered; whether done in secret or in public. 5. All the works of the godly, as well as all the works of the wicked, shall be judged in that day; the good which the godly strove to conceal, as well as the evil which the wicked endeavoured to hide. This, then, will be the conclusion of the whole mortal story. And although in this world all is vanity; yet there, “vanities will be vain no more.” Every thing, whether good or evil, will have its own proper stable, eternal result. O God! prepare the reader to give up his accounts with joy in that day! Amen.

MASORETIC NOTES

Number of verses, 222.

Middle verse, Ecclesiastes 6:10.

Sections, 4.

The ARABIC subjoins this colophon:—”Praise be to God for ever and ever!”

“By the assistance of the Most High God this book of Ecclesiastes, which is vanity of vanities, written by Solomon the son of David who reigned over the children of Israel, is completed.” The SYRIAC has, “The end of the book of Koheleth.”

There are others, but they are of no importance.

Verses 13, 14. Let us hear the conclusion, &c. — The sum of all that hath been said or written by wise men. Fear God — Which is put here for all the inward worship of God, reverence, and love, and trust, and a devotedness of heart to serve and please him; and keep his commandments — This is properly added, as a necessary effect, and certain evidence of the true and genuine fear of God. Make conscience of practising whatever God enjoins, how costly, or troublesome, or dangerous soever it may be. For this is the whole duty of man — Hebrew, The whole of man, or all the man: it is his whole work and business: his whole wisdom, honour, perfection, and happiness: it is the sum of what he need either know, or do, or enjoy. This makes him a man indeed, worthy of the name, and by this, and by this alone, he answers the end of his creation, and of all the divine dispensations toward him. For God shall bring every work into judgment — All men must give an account to God of all their works, and this alone will enable them to do that with joy. With every secret thing — Not only outward and visible actions, but even inward and secret thoughts. Reader, think of this, and prepare to meet thy God!

14. Every work into judgment — This book began with a view of the arena on which mortal life is enacted. It ends with a conclusion in which nothing is concluded but mortal cares and vanities and opportunities. We are pointed, as by the marble finger of the ancient statue, to the tribunal hereafter. In the cool light of the world where change and confusion never enter, there sits the most worthy Judge Eternal. Beyond that Koheleth is silent; but how full of meaning is his silence!