Annotations on the book of Ecclesiastes

2. He made us after his own Image, to know him, and to have special interest in him, and acquaintance with him; and being made like him, we are the more obliged unto his service, Eph. 4.23, 24.

3. By that Power which created us, we are continually preserved; if he withdraw ⟨p. 379⟩it, we presently perish, In him we live, and move, and have our being. The more vigour and strength we have, the more sensible we should be of that Divine supportance, which continueth it unto us, Act. 17.27—30. Psal. 104.28, 29.

4. He who hath power to create, hath power to destroy; and he will show the same Almighty power, in destroying those, who live not suitably to the ends of their Creation, 1 Sam. 2.6, 8. 2 Thess. 1.9. This creating power of God, should teach us to fear him. Jer. 5.22.

4. He who hath power to create, hath power to destroy; and he will shew the same Almighty power, in destroying those, who live not suteably to the ends of their Creation, 1 Sam. 2.6, 8. 2 Thess. 1.9. This creating power of God, should teach us to fear him. Jer. 5.22.

before the evil days come, &c.] If thou ⟨p. 380⟩wilt have God to pity and help thee in thy evil days, thou must serve him in thy good days. The days of old age, are called evil days, aetas mala, in Plautus, because they bring many pains and troubles along with them: vitae hyems, the Winter of our life, as Solon called it, nam res plurimas, pessimas cum advenit affert. As the days of youth are called, aetas bona, in Cicero, and aetas optima in Seneca: Because then nature is strong and vigorous, and doth most fully enjoy it self. Thine old age will bring evils enough of its own, Do not thou bring upon it the bitterness and burden of all thy youthful follies; repentance is a hard work, when thy sins are fewer, and thy strength greater: When infirmities bend thy back, do not keep thine iniquities to break it. Since the days of old age will be evil days, Lay up as many graces as thou canst to sweeten it, as many comforts as thou canst to strengthen thine heart against the evils of it. Gather, in Summer, against such a Winter as this, Prov. 10.5. That old age may not be to thee an evil age, but as it was to Abraham, a good old age, Gen. 25.8.

before the evil dayes come, &c.] If thou ⟨p. 380⟩wilt have God to pity and help thee in thy evil dayes, thou must serve him in thy good dayes. The dayes of old age, are called evil dayes, aetas mala, in Plautus, because they bring many pains and troubles along with them: vitae hyems, the W•nter of our life, as Solon called it, nam res plurimas, pessimas cum advenit affert. As the dayes of youth are called, aetas bona, in Cicero, and aetas optima in Seneca: Because then nature is strong and vigorous, and doth most fully enjoy it self. Thine old age will bring evils enough of its own, Do not thou bring upon it the bitterness and burden of all thy youthful follies; repentance is a hard work, when thy sins are fewer, and thy strength greater: When infirmities bend thy back, do not keep thine iniquities to break it. Since the dayes of old age will be evil dayes, Lay up as many graces as thou canst to sweeten it, as many comforts as thou canst to strengthen thine heart against the evils of it. Gather, in Summer, against such a Winter as this,

And the years wherein thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them] This seems to be added, as an aggravation of the evil of those ⟨p. 381⟩evil days, that if they be lengthened into years, yet all that while a man can find no matter of pleasure or content, whole years together shall be full of weariness and sorrow. So Job complains of the length of his misery, that he possessed months of vanity, Job 7.3. and Hezekiah, Isai. 38.12, 13, 15. The very strength of the years of an old man, is all labour and sorrow, Psal. 90.10.

And the years wherein thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them] This seems to be added, as an aggravation of the evil of those ⟨p. 381⟩evil dayes, that if they be lengthened into years, yet all that while a man can finde no matter of pleasure or content, whole years together shall be full of weariness and sorrow. So Job complains of the length of his misery, that he possessed moneths of vanity, Job 7.3. and Ezekiah, Isai. 38.12, 13, 15. The very strength of the years of an old man, is all labour and sorrow, Psal. 90.10.

V. 2. While the Sun, or the light, or the Moon, or the Stars be not darkened: nor the clouds return after the rain] These words may be understood either Literally, or Allegorically, as those that follow. Literally, the meaning is, That unto old men, by reason of the decay of their senses, even the lightest bodies seem to be darkened; they look upon the Sun at noon through the clouds and scales which are over their own eyes. And whereas it is a pleasant thing to behold the Sun, Chap. 11.7. this shall minister no delight at all unto them: Light is little worth unto a man that is in misery, Job 3.20, 23. Allegorically, It is by some understood so, as that the Sun, Moon, Stars, Light, may refer unto some parts in man, signified thereby; (as the other parts of the Allegory ensuing do) and thus: First, the Chaldee Paraphrase referreth it unto the face, and eyes; ⟨p. 382⟩Before the glory and beauty of thy face be changed, and the light of thine eyes be darkened, and the comeliness of thy cheeks be abated, and the Apples of thine eyes, the Stars of thy countenance be extinguished; and thine eye-lids drop down tears, as Clouds after rain. Secondly, others understand it of the weakening of the inward vigour of the Soul, and rational faculties; Understanding, Perspicacy, Memory, Judgment, Fancy; all which in the nature of man, answer to the celestial Lights. Others, by Sun, Moon, Stars, and Light, understand the various sorts and degrees of prosperity and joy, which men meet with in their younger years: and so the sense to be, Remember thy Creator in the days of thy youth, before those evil days come; wherein all thy light shall be turned into darkness, all thy prosperity into sorrow, before greater and lesser comforts do all fail thee, and thy days and nights be full of trouble and darkness, one calamity (like storms in the Winter) coming upon the neck of another. Prosperity is usually in Scripture compared unto the Sun, and to light, Judg. 5.31. 2 Sam. 23.4. and in greater prosperity, then usual the light of the Moon is said to be as the light of the Sun, and the light of the Sun seven fold, Isai. 30.26. & 60.20

4.23, 24. & 15.9. Ezek. 32.7, 8. Joel 2.10. & 3.15. Amos 8.9. Matth. 24.29. And this sense seemeth most genuine, as expressing the reason, why the days of old age are evil days, and years wherein a man hath no pleasure, because, both day and night, the life of such a man is full of darkness and trouble. Therefore mention is made of Sun, and of Moon and Stars, to note the incessant pains, aches, troubles, weaknesses which this age is afflicted with, Job. 7.4, 13, 14, 18, 19. Psal. 32.4.

4.23, 24. & 15.9. Ezek. 32.7, 8. Joel 2.10. & 3.15. Amos 8.9. Matth. 24.29. And this sense seemeth most genuine, as expressing the reason, why the days of old age are evil days, and years wherein a man hath no pleasure, because, both day and night, the life of such a man is full of darknesse and trouble. Therefore mention is made of Sunne, and of Moon and Starrs, to note the incessant pains, aches, troubles, weaknesses which this age is afflicted with, Job. 7.4, 13, 14, 18, 19. Psal. 32.4.

nor the clouds return after rain] This likewise may be understood generally of the troubles of old age; in the former sense, to no•e the continual returns of them day and night. A proverbial speech, expressing the constant succession of one grief, pain, disease, calamity, after another; as when the Weather is set in to rain, one cloud is no sooner blown over, but another ucceeds and brings more rain. Velut unda supervenit undae. Others, understand it of the Catarrhs, and defluxions, which by reason of natural weakness, and ⟨p. 384⟩want of heat to concoct them, do still ascend from the stomach to the head, and from thence fall down upon the breast and lungs; so that the head is ever rainy, never serene.

nor the clouds return after rain] This likewise may be understood generally of the troubles of old age; in the former sense, to no•e the continual returns of them day and night. A proverbial speech, expressing the constant succession of one grief, pain, disease, calamity, after another; as when the Wether is set in to rain, one cloud is no sooner blown over, but another ucceeds and brings more rain. Velut unda supervenit undae. Others, understand it of the Catarrhs, and defluxions, which by reason of natural weaknesse, and ⟨p. 384⟩want of heat to concoct them, do still ascend from the stomack to the head, and from thence fall down upon the breast and lungs; so that the head is ever rainy, never serene.

The former sense seems most pertinent, because in this verse, is a general description of the miseries of old age, the particular specification whereof follows in the rest. For as Usurers, before the whole debt is paid, do fetch away some good parts of it for the loan: so before the debt of death be paid by the whole body, Old age doth by little and little take away sometimes one Sense, sometimes another; this year one Limb; the next another; and causeth a man, as it were, to dye daily. No Sun can dispel the clouds and sorrows of old age, but Christ, who is the Sun of Righteousness, and the bright Morning Star, Mal. 4.2. Prov. 4.18. Rev. 22.16.

The former sense seems most pertinent, because in this verse, is a general description of the miseries of old age, the particular specification whereof follows in the rest. For as Usurers, before the whole debt is paid, do fetch away some good parts of it for the loan: so before the debt of death be paid by the whole body, Old age doth by little and little take away sometimes one Sense, sometimes another; this year one Limb; the next another; and causeth a man, as it were, to dye daily. No Sun can dispel the clouds and sorrowes of old age, but Christ, who is the Sun of Righteousness, and the bright Morning Star, Mal. 4.2. Prov. 4.18. Rev. 22.16.

V. 3. In the day when the keepers of the house shall tremble, and the strong men shall bow themselves, and the grinders cease, because they are few, and those that look out of the windows shall be darkened] The Body is here compared to an House, or Castle, so elsewhere called, Job. 4.19. 2 Cor. 5.1. […] watchmen and Keepers, to […] being broken open. By these, ⟨p. 385⟩some understand the outward Senses, which observe any danger approaching, and give timely notice of it to have it prevented. Others, the inward Faculties of Memory, Wisdom, Providence, which take special care of the common safety. Others, and the most, The Hands and Arms, which are the principal instruments, which the Body useth in repelling any evil from it. Others, understand the Ribs, whereby the vital parts are fenced and hedged in, that danger may not easily come near them: As the expression is, Job 10.11. Though the Verb, Tremble, seem to carry the sense chiefly unto the Hands and Arms, which are more subject unto palsies, and shakings; yet it is not amiss to take in many of the other: The Head, the seat of the Senses, as the Watchman; the Arms, as the Soldiers in a Castle; the Ribs, as the Walls and Works which serve to defend it: All which are much shaken and weakened in old age.

V. 3. In the day when the keepers of the house shall tremble, and the strong men shall bow themselves, and the grinders cease, because they are few, and those that look out of the windows shall be darkned] The Body is here compared to an House, or Castle, so elsewhere called, Job. 4.19. 2 Cor. 5.1. 〈…〉 watchmen and Keepers, to 〈…〉 being broken open. By these, ⟨p. 385⟩some understand the outward Senses, which observe any danger approaching, and give timely notice of it to have it prevented. Others, the inward Faculties of Memory, Wisdome, Providence, which take speciall care of the common safety. Others, and the most, The Hands and Arms, which are the principal instruments, which the Body useth in repelling any evil from it. Others, understand the Ribs, whereby the vital parts are fenced and hedged in, that danger may not easily come near them: As the expression is,

and the strong men shall bow themselves] The Legs and Thighs, which were wont to carry the body upright, shall now falter and shrink under their weight, and buckle for feebleness, Isai. 35.3. Or, the Back, which is the strongest part of the body […] bearing burdens, shall bow and stoop under ⟨p. 386⟩its own weight. Symmachus rendereth it, [Greek or Hebrew], shall perish, or be corrupted; the Septuagint, [Greek or Hebrew], shall be perverted, shall, as it were, trip up and supplant one the other with crooked and unsteady motion. The old Wife in the Comedian, excused her slow and faltering pace, because she carried a very heavy burden, the weight of seventy four years. Cajetan understandeth it literally, when the strongest men that are do fail, and stoop through weakness.

and the strong men shall bow themselves] The Leggs and Thighs, which were wont to carry the body upright, shall now falter and shrink under their weight, and buckle for feebleness, Isai. 35.3. Or, the Back, which is the strongest part of the body 〈…〉 bearing burdens, shall bow and stoop under ⟨p. 386⟩its own weight. Symmachus rendreth it, 〈non-Latin alphabet〉, shall perish, or be corrupted; the Septuagint, 〈non-Latin alphabet〉, shall be perverted, shall, as it were, trip up and supplant one the other with crooked and unsteady motion. The old Wife in the Comedian, excused her slow and faltering pace, because she carried a very heavy burden, the weight of seventy four years. Cajetan understandeth it literally, when the strongest men that are do fail, and stoop through weakness.

and the grinders cease because they are few] Dents molars, the great jaw-teeth, wherewith we grind our meat, shall cease and be unable to work, because they are diminished and made few, or because they do diminish their grinding, being sluggish and dull, both for want of strength in themselves, and of appetite in the stomach.

and the grinders cease because they are few] Dentes molares, the great jaw-teeth, wherewith we grinde our meat, shall cease and be unable to work, because they are diminished and made few, or because they do diminish their grinding, being sluggish and dull, both for want of strength in themselves, and of appetite in the stomach.

and those that look out of the windows shall be darkened] The Vulgar, per foramina, through the holes; as Zach. 14.12. It is elsewhere rendered, Windows, 2 Reg. 7.19. Isai. 60.8. Gen. 8.2. So it is understood of the dimness of the eyes in old men, Gen. 27.1. & 48.10. Solomon Glassius in his Rhetorica Sacra, by Windows understandeth Spectacles, which for weakness of sight, aged men are necessitated to use: Cajetan applieth ⟨p. 387⟩it to all the Senses; and by foramina, understandeth the holes of the Ears, Nose, Mouth, as well as of the Eyes. All these for want of vital spirits, being blunted and dulled in their exercise. But the words [looking out] and [darkened] plainly limit the meaning unto the sight only, which through the want of spirits, dryness, and ineptitude of the Organs, hardness of the membranes, defluxion of humours, and other inconveniences, is much weakened in aged men. So that it is noted as a strange thing in Moses, that when he was a hundred and twenty years old his eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated, Deut. 34.7. and the like we read of Caleb, Josh. 14.10, 11.

and those that look out of the windows shall be darkned] The Vulgar, per foramina, through the holes; as Zach. 14.12. It is elsewhere rendred, Windows, 2 Reg. 7.19. Isai. 60.8. Gen. 8.2. So it is understood of the dimness of the eyes in old men, Gen. 27.1

By these Infirmities, we should be taught, in our younger years, to provide and lay in comforts against them, and not to trust in the strength of our own Arms, which are so easily broken, but to make the Lord our Arm, and his Right hand our Keeper, whose Arms are everlasting, Isa. 33.2. Deut. 33.27. Psal. 121.5. Not to rest upon our own bottom, nor stay only upon our own strength, by which no man shall be established, 1 Sam. 2.9. but to make the Lord our stay and support, in whom there is everlasting strength: He is eyes to the blind, and feet to the lame, he giveth power to the faint, and to them ⟨p. 368⟩that have no might, he increaseth strength, Psal. 18.18. Isai. 26.4. & 40.29. & 41.10. Psal. 145.14.

By these Infirmities, we should be taught, in our younger years, to provide and lay in comforts against them, and not to trust in the strength of our own Arms, which are so easily broken, but to make the Lord our Arm, and his Right hand our Keeper, whose Arms are everlasting, Isa. 33.2. Deut. 33.27. Psal. 121.5. Not to rest upon our own bottom, nor stay onely upon our own strength, by which no man shall be established, 1 Sam. 2.9. but to make the Lord our stay and support, in whom there is everlasting strength: He is eyes to the blind, and feet to the lame, he giveth power to the faint, and to them

V. 4. And the doors shall be shu• in the streets, when the sound of the grinding is low, and he shall rise up at the voice of the bird, and all the daughters of music shall be brought low] Various interpretations are given of these particulars. Some understand the first clause, literally, The doors of the house, by which he was wont to go into the streets, to visit his friends, to walk up and down about his business, shall be now shut up; He shall, by reason of his many infirmities, keep within doors, and abstain from all public meetings, wherein, in his younger years, he was wont greatly to delight. Others, refer it allegorically to the Body, here compared to an House, the doors whereof towards the street, are, in old age, shut up, and made useless. Whereby many things are understood, First, The two Lips, which are the doors of the mouth outwardly, Psal. 141.3. The word is in the dual number. Or, The Mouth, which is the door of the heart: This may be applied, both unto eating, and unto speech, unto the Oesophagus, and the Arteria, the passages for the meat to go down to the stomach, and for the breath to go to the ⟨p. 389⟩lungs, called fistula cibaria, and fistula spiritalis. These pipes are haply here compared unto the street, or passage down into several parts within the body, which have doors or covers, that open one way, and shut another way when we eat and drink, that our food may go right to the stomach, and not away to the lungs. These doors in old age are, through weakness, shut up, and as it were off from their hinges, do not so pliantly and readily do their proper office, as they were wont to do. Whence difficulty of swallowing, and difficulty of speaking; unto which two, most of the interpretations of this place may be referred. Some by these two d••rs, understand the Eye-lids, when they are weak, and hang down over the eyes. Others, All the Senses, which are the outward doors, by which objects enter, and are admitted to the Soul. All which, in old age, are so weakened, and unuseful, that they do very little service.

V. 4. And the doors shall be shu• in the streets, when the sound of the grinding is low, and he shall rise up at the voice of the bird, and all the daughters of musick shall be brought low] Various interpretations are given of these particulars. Some understand the first clause, literally, The doors of the house, by which he was wont to go into the streets, to visit his friends, to walk up and down about his business, shall be now shut up; He shall, by reason of his many infirmities, keep within doors, and abstain from all publick meetings, wherein, in his younger years, he was wont greatly to delight. Others, refer it allegorically to the Body, here compared to an House, the doors whereof towards the street, are, in old age, shut up, and made useless. Whereby many things are understood, First, The two Lips, which are the doors of the mouth outwardly,