Though the wise man, with all his wisdom, search, and labour, could not find out the causes and reasons of divine Providence, in the branches and methods of it; yet some things he did find out, and observe, in making this inquiry, and which he declares; as that good and wise men, more especially…

For all this I considered in mine heart What goes before, in the latter end of the preceding chapter, concerning the various providences of God, the difficulty of finding out the reasons of them, and the fruitlessness of attempting it; and also what follows, the work of Providence: Solomon gave his…

All things come alike to all That is, all outward things in this life, good and bad men share in alike; which proves that neither love nor hatred can be known by them: so the emperor Mark Antonine, in speaking of life and death, of honour and dishonour, of pain and pleasure, riches and poverty,…

This is an evil among all things that are done under the sun, that there is one event unto all A very great evil, a very sore one, the worst of evils. Not an evil, as the providence of God is concerned with it, who does no evil; nor is there any unrighteousness in him; he is righteous in all his…

For to him that is joined to all the living there is hope That is, who is among the living, is one of them, and, as long as he is, there is hope, if his circumstances are mean, and he is poor and afflicted, that it may be better with him in time; see ; or of his being a good man, though now wicked;…

For the living know that they shall die Death is certain, it is the demerit of sin, the appointment of God and the time of it is fixed; it may be known that it will be, from the word of God that assures it, from all experience which confirms it, and from the decline of nature, and the seeds of…

Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished Not that the separate spirits of the dead are without their affections, or these unexercised; the spirits of just men made perfect will love God and Christ, and angels, and good men, and all that is good, more intensely; love will…

Go thy way Thou righteous man, as Jarchi paraphrases it; and indeed epicures and voluptuous persons have no need of the following exhortation, and the reason annexed is not suitable to them; but the whole agrees better with religious persons, who under distressing views of Providence, and from…

Let thy garments be always white That is, neat and clean, not vile and sordid; what is comely and decent, and suitable to a man’s circumstances; this colour is particularly mentioned because much used in the eastern countries, and in Judea; hence we so often read of washing garments, and of fullers…

Live joyfully with the wife whom thou lovest Or “see”, or “enjoy life” [[3]]: this is one of the ways of enjoying life comfortably, and one of the principal ones; that if a man has a wife whom he ought to love as himself as his own flesh, to take delight in her company, be pleasant with her, and…

Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do Not anything that is evil, which is near at hand, and easy to be found, and is in the power of men’s hands to do, ; for this is forbidden of God, abominable to him, and hurtful to men; but whatsoever is good; so the Targum, “to do good and alms to the poor;” even…

I returned, and saw under the sun The wise man returned to his former subject, concerning the same events happening to all sorts of persons, righteous and wicked, wise and unwise, (Eccles. 10:1, Eccles.

For man also knoweth not his time Though it is fixed and settled by the Lord, yet times and seasons are kept in his own power, and not known by men; not the time of his death, nor of any calamity and distress coming upon him, nor the proper season and opportunity of doing himself good, and avoiding…

This wisdom have I seen also under the sun Or, “this also I have seen under the sun, even wisdom” [[7]]: besides those things he had, just now observed, he took notice that there was such a thing as wisdom among men; though success did not always attend the wise, the understanding, and skilful; and…

There was a little city, and few men within it Which some take to be a piece of history, a real matter of fact; that as the city of Abel, when besieged by Joab, was delivered by the counsel of a wise woman, ; so there was a city, which Solomon had knowledge of, which was delivered from the siege of…

Now there was found in it a poor wise man Christ, who is man, though not a mere man, but God as well as man; who was so in purpose, covenant, and promise, before his incarnation, since truly and really so; and “poor”, as it was foretold he should be, and who became so for the sake of his church and…

Then said I, wisdom is better than strength Wisdom of mind, even in a poor man, is better than strength of body, even of the, most potent prince and powerful army, as may be concluded from the above instance; since the poor wise man could do more by his wisdom than the great king with his mighty…

The words of wise men are heard in quiet That is, by some persons and at some times, though not by all persons and always; or they are to be heard, or should be heard, though they seldom be, even the words of wise men that are poor: these are to be heard quietly and patiently, without any tumult…

Wisdom is better than weapons of war And does what they cannot do; of which the wisdom of the poor wise man is a full proof, which delivered the city from a potent prince, when weapons of war could not: see ; but one sinner destroyeth much good: his own soul by his sins, and the souls of others by…