Matthew Poole and continuators on Ecclesiastes 3

1 TO every thing there is a season , and a time to every purpose under heaven.

A certain time appointed by God for its being and continuance, which no humane Wit or Providence can prevent or alter. And by vertue of this Appointment or Decree of God, all the vicissitudes and changes which happen in the world, whether comforts or calamities, do come to pass. Which is here added partly to prove what he last said, Ch. 2. 24, 26. that both the free and comfortable enjoyment of the Creatures which some have, and the crosses and vexations which others have with them, are from the hand and counsel of God: partly to prove the principal Proposition of the Book, that all things below are vain, and Happiness is not to be found in them, because of their great uncertainty, and mutability, and transitoriness, and because they are so much out of the reach and power of Men, and wholly in the disposal of another, to wit, God, who doth either give or take them away, either sweeten or imbitter them, as it pleaseth him; and partly to bring the minds of men into a quiet and chearful dependance upon Gods Providence, and submission to his Will, and a state of preparation for all events.

Or, will or desire, to wit, of man. To all mens designs, attempts and businesses. Not only natural, but even the free and voluntary actions of men, are ordered and disposed by God to accomplish his own purpose. But it must be considered, that he doth not here speak of a time allowed by God wherein all the following things may lawfully be done, which is wholly besides his scope and business, but only of a time fixed by God, in which they would or should be done.

2 A time to be born, and a time to die : a time to plant , and a time to pluck up that which is planted:

A certain period unknown to Man, but fixed by God, in which a man must unavoidably die; of which see Iob. 14. 5. Iob. 13. 1.

Wherein God enclines a mans heart to planting.

Marginal references: Heb. to bear.

3 A time to kill , and a time to heal : a time to break down , and a time to build up:

When a man shall die a violent death, either by chance, as Exod. 21. 13. or by the sentence of the Magistrate, or by the hands of Murderers.

When he who seemed to be mortally wounded shall be healed and restored.

When houses shall be demolished either by the fancy of the owner, or by the rage of other men, or otherwise.

4 A time to weep , and a time to laugh: a time to mourn, and a time to dance:

When Men shall have just occasion for weeping and mourning.

5 A time to cast away stones , and a time to gather stones together: a time to embrace , and a time to refrain from embracing :

Which were brought together in order to the building of a Wall or House, but are now [illegible: 1+ letters]ast away, either because the man who gathered them hath changed his mind, and de[illegible: 1+ letters]ists from his project, or by other causes or accidents.

When persons shall enter into friendship, and perform all friendly offices one to another.

Either through alienation of affections, or grievous calamities. See Ioel 2. 16. 1 Cor. 7. 5.

Marginal references: Heb. to be far from.

6 A time to get, and a time to lose : a time to keep, and a time to cast away :

When Men shall lose their Estates, either by Gods Providence, or by their own choice.

When a man shall cast away his Goods voluntarily, as in a storm to save his Life, as Ionah 1. 5. Act. 27. 18, 19. or out of Love and Obedience to God, as Mat. 10. 37, 39▪ Heb. 10. 34.

Marginal references: Or, seek.

7 A time to rent , and a time to sew: a time to keep silence , and a time to speak:

When men shall rend their Garments, as they did in great and sudden griefs, as Gen. 37. 29 Ioel. 2. 13.

Wherein men will or shall be silent, either through grief as Iob 2. 12, 13. or by sickness or weakness, or because God denies a man ability to utter his mind.

8 A time to love , and a time to hate: a time of war, and a time of peace.

When God will stir up the affection of Love, or give occasion for the exercise or discovery of it to others.

9 What profit hath he that worketh, in that wherein he laboureth ?

Seeing then all actions and events in the world are out of mans power, and no man can at any time do or enjoy any thing at his pleasure, but only what and when God pleaseth, as hath been now shewed in many particulars, and it it as true and certain in all others, hence it follows, that all mens labours, of themselves, and without Gods help and blessing, are unprofitable, and utterly insufficient to make them happy.

Marginal references: Ch. 1. 3.

10 I have seen the travel which God hath given to the sons of men , to be exercised in it .

I have diligently observed and considered upon this occasion.

Or, the occupation or business, mens various employments, and the differing successes of them

Either 1. Which God hath imposed upon Men as their duty: and therefore Men must labour, although it brings them no profit, as was now said. Or 2. Which God hath inflicted upon Mankind as a just punishment for their sins; to which therefore Men ought quietly to submit.

That hereby they might have constant matter of exercise for their diligence, and patience, and submission to Gods Will and Providence, and for all other Graces. Or, that they might be afflicted or humbled therewith; as the same Phrase is rendred by divers, Eccl. 1. 13.

11 He hath made every thing beautiful in his time : also he hath set the world in their heart , so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end .

This seems to be added as an Apology for Gods Providence, notwithstanding all the contrary events and confusions which are in the world. He (i. e. God, expressed in the last clause of the verse) hath made (or doth make or do, by his Providence in the government of the world) every thing (which he doth either immediately, or by the ministry of Men, or other Creatures, for God worketh in and with all his Creatures in all their actions, as is agreed by Divines and Philosophers,) beautiful (decently and conveniently, so that, all things considered, it could not have been done better in his time, in the time which he had appointed, or which he saw most proper and fit for it: or, in its time or season, when it was most fit to be done. Many events seem to mens shallow and perverse judgments, at least for a time, to be very irregular and unbecoming, as when wicked men prosper in their impious and unrighteous Enterprizes, and good men are sorely oppressed and afflicted, and that for righteousness sake; but when men shall come throughly to understand God's works, and the whole frame and contexture of them, and to see the end of them, they will then say, that all things were done most wisely and most seasonably; whereof we have eminent instances in Ioseph, and David, and Mordecai, and the Iews of his time.

i. e. In the Hearts of men, as the following words shew, where Man is expressed. The sense is either 1. Although all God's works are beautiful, yet men do not discern the beauty of them, because the World is in their Hearts, their minds are so busied and distracted with the thoughts, and cares, and love, and business of this World, that they have neither leisure, nor Heart seriously to study God's works. But this inordinate love of the present World comes from Man's own corruption, and not from God, and therefore it seems harsh to impute it to God, and improbable that Solomon would have phrased it thus, that God hath set or put the World, i. e. Worldly Lusts in mens Hearts. Or 2. As God's works are beautiful in themselves, so men are capable of discerning the beauty of them, because God, hath set the World in mens Hearts, he hath exposed the World, and all his dispensations in the World, unto the view of mens minds, both because he hath wrought his works so evidently, and publickly that men might easily observe them; and because he hath given men reason whereby they may discover the Wisdom and Beauty of all God's Works, if they diligently apply themselves to the study of them.

So this is another reason why men do not discern the beauty of God's works, because they do not see the whole frame or course of them from the beginning to the end, but onely some small parcels or fragments of them, the eminent works of God being oft begun in one Age, and finished in another. Or yet so that, &c. Or except that (as this Phrase properly signifies, and is elsewhere used) no Man can find out, &c. Thus it is an exception to the next foregoing clause, and the sense is, It is true God hath put the World into mens Hearts, or made them capable of observing all events and dispensations of God in the World, but this is to be understood with a limitation, because there are some more mysterious works of God, which no Man can fully understand, because he cannot search them out through or from the beginning to the end.

Marginal references: Ch. 8. 17.

12 I know that there is no good in them , but for a man to rejoyce, and to do good in his life.

By clear reason, and my own long and certain experience.

No other satisfaction or felicity which a Man can enjoy.

In Creatures or Worldly enjoyments.

Either 1. to himself, as it is fully expressed, Psal. 49. 18. Or 2 to others; to employ them in acts of Charity and liberality towards others. Or 3. towards God, to use them, and to live in the fear of God, which is necessary to the happiness of this as well as of the other life.

13 And also that every man should eat and drink , and enjoy the good of all his labour, it is the gift of God .

i. e. Hath power or an Heart to use what God hath given him, as it is expressed, Ch. 6. 2.

Of which see the Notes on Ch. 2. 24.

Marginal references: Heb. see, Job 7. 7. Ps. 34. 12.

14 I know that whatsoever God doth, it shall be for ever : nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken from it : and God doth it, that men should fear before him .

All God's counsels or decrees are eternal and unchangeable, and his providence works effectually, so as men cannot resist or hinder it.

Men can neither do any thing besides or against God's Counsel, and Providence, nor hinder any work or act of it.

Not that men should make this an occasion of despair, or idleness, or dissoluteness, as some abuse this Doctrine, but that by the consideration of his Soveraign and irresistible power in the disposal of all Persons and things as pleaseth him, men should learn to trust in him, to submit to him, to fear to offend or rebel against him, and more carefully and industriously to study to please him.

15 That which hath been, is now; and that which is to be, hath already been , and God requireth that which is past .

Things past, present, and to come, are all of the same nature, and all ordered in the same manner by one constant counsel, and settled course in all Parts and Ages of the World. There is a continual return of the same m[illegible: 1+ letters]tions and influences o[illegible: 1+ letters] the Heavenly Bodies, of the same seasons of the Year; and a constant succession of [illegible: 1+ letters]ew Generations of Men [illegible: 1 word] [illegible: 1 word], [illegible: 1 word] all of the same quality. The same thing in substance was said before. Ch. 1. 9.

i. e. Reneweth, as this word is used, Iob 3. 4.

Th[illegible: 1+ letters]t time and those things which are irrecoverably gone in themselves, but are as it were recalled, because others of the same kind arise and come in their stead. Heb. that which is driven away, with a mighty force, as time present is violently thrust away by that which comes after it.

Marginal references: Heb. that which is drivers away.

16 And moreover , I saw under the sun the place of judgment , that wickedness was there ; and the place of righteousness , that iniquity was there.

This is mentioned, either 1. as another vanity, to wit, the vanity of Honour and Power, which is so of[illegible: 1+ letters] an instrument of injustice and oppression. Or rather 2. as another argument of the vanity of worldly things, or an hindrance of that comfort which men expect in this life, because they are oppressed by their Rulers.

I perceive it by information from others, and by my own observation.

In the Thrones of Princes and Tribunals of Magistrates, where Judgment should be duely executed.

Judgment was perverted, the guilty acquitted, and the innocent condemned.

In which Righteousness should be found and should dwell, if it were banished from all other places.

17 I said in mine heart , God shall judg the righteous and the wicked : for there is a time there , for every purpose, and for every work .

Mine Heart was sorely grieved at this disorder, but I quieted it with this consideration.

Absolving and saving the just, and condemning the wicked.

Fixed by God's unalterable Decree. He implies that as this life is the Sinners time in which he doth whatsoever seemeth good in his own Eyes, so God will have his time to reckon with them, and rectifie all these disorders.

In the presence or at the Judgment Seat of God, which is easily understood out of the foregoing words, the relative being put for the antecedent, as it is Numb. 7. 89. Esth. 9. 25. Iob 1. 21. Psal. 14. 5. & 114. 2. Or it may be rendred, then, as this Particle is used Psal. 14. 5. Hos. 2. 15. and as it is usual in other Authors for Adverbs of place to be put for Adverbs of time.

For the examining and judging not onely all mens practices or open actions, but also all their secret Thoughts and Purposes, all the evil which they either did, or designed, or desired, or endeavoured to do. The design of this Verse is partly to strike a terrour into oppressing Potentates, and partly to satisfy the doubts, and support the Spirits of good men who are oppressed in this life.

Marginal references: Ver. 1.

18 I said in my heart concerning the estate of the sons of men , that God might manifest them and that they might see that they themselves are beasts .

And further I considered with my self.

Concerning their condition and deportment in this present World.

God suffers these horrible disorders among men, expressed v. 16. that he might discover men to themselves, and by permitting these actions shew what strange Creatures they are, and what vile Hearts they have▪ which men would not otherwise understand or believe. See 2. Kings 8. 13, 14.

Heb. that they are Beasts to themselves, either 1. one to another, devouring and destroying one another. Or 2. in their own judgment, or themselves being Judges; that although God made them Men or reasonable Creatures, yet they have made themselves Beasts by their brutish practices, and that men, considered onely with respect unto the present life, which is the onely thing valued and regarded by most men, and the vanity whereof is the Principal subject of this Book, are as vain and miserable Creatures as the Beasts themselves, the great differences between Men and Beasts being such as respect the other life. For men seem here to be called Beasts in both these respects, and the latter he prosecutes more largely in the following Verses.

Marginal references: Or, that [illegible: 1 word] might [illegible: 1 word] God and see, &c.

19 For that which befalleth the sons of men, befalleth beasts , even one thing befalleth them: as the one dieth, so dieth the other , yea, they have all one breath , so that a man hath no preeminence above a beast: : for all is vanity.

They are subject to the same Diseases, pains, and casualties

As certainly, and no less painfully.

One breath of life, which is in their Nostrils, one and the same living Soul, by which the Beasts perform the same vital and animal Operations. For he speaks not here of Man's rational and immortal Spirit, nor of the future Life.

In respect of the present life and sensible things, Nay the Beasts have quicker senses than men, and therefore enjoy more pleasure in those things, and that with less dangers and mischief than men do.

Marginal references: Ps. 49. 12. 20. Ch. 2. 16.; Heb. Spirit.

20 All go unto one place , all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again .

To the Earth, as it is expressed, v. 21. out of which they were both taken.

Which is meant onely of their Bodies, as it is explained. Eccles. 12. 7.

Marginal references: Gen. 3. 19.

21 Who knoweth the spirit of [illegible: 1 word] that [illegible: 1 word] upward, and the spirit of the [illegible: 1 word] that goeth downward to the earth:

It might be objected that the condition of men and beasts are vastly differing, because Man's Spirit goeth upward to God, Ch. 12. 7. but the spirit of a beast goeth downward together with its Body, and perisheth with it. To this he answers, Who knoweth this? Which is not to be understood as if no Man did know it, or as if the thing were utterly uncertain and unknown, for he knew it, and positively affirms it, Ch. 12. 7. but that few know it; as the same manner of expression is understood, Prov. 31. 10. Who can find? Isa. 53. 1. Who hath believed, &c? Which note the scarcity or difficulty, but not the nullity or impossibility, of the thing. Besides he seems here to speak not so much of a speculative, as of a practical knowledge, as such words are most commonly used. Who considers or regards this, or layeth it to Heart? True it is, there is such a difference, which also is known and believed by wise and good men: but the generality of Mankind never mind it: their Hearts are wholly set upon this life, and upon present and sensible things, and they place all their hopes and happiness in them, and take no thought nor care for the things of the future and invisible World. And as to them, with whom Solomon hath to do in this matter, the argument is strong and good, being, as Logicians call it, an Argument to the Man; and there is no considerable difference between sensual men and beasts, because their affections are set upon the same Objects, and both of them are partakers of the same sensual satisfactions and subject to the same sensual pains and miseries, and their hopes and felicity perish together, to wit, at death, and therefore such men are no more happy than the beasts that perish. Others understand it thus, Who knoweth this? to wit, by sense or experience; or, meerly by his own reason, or without the help of Divine revelation. But, with the leave of so many worthy Interpreters, and with submission to better Judgments, the former seems to be the truer sense.

Marginal references: Heb. [illegible: 1 word] [illegible: 1 word] [illegible: 1 word].; Heb. [illegible: 1 word] a[illegible: 1+ letters] cending.

22 Wherefore I perceive that there is nothing better , than that a man should rejoyce in his own works ; for that is his portion : for who shall bring him to see what shall be after him ?

To wit, for a Man's present satisfaction, and the happiness of this life.

That he comfortably enjoy what God hath given him, and not disquiet himself with cares about future events. He seems to speak this, not in the Person of an Epicure, but as his own judgment, which also he declareth, Ch. 2. 24. & 5. 18, 19. & 8. 15.

This is the benefit of his labours: he hath no more than he useth, for what he leaveth behind him is not his, but another Man's.

When once he is dead he shall never return into this life to see into whose hands his Estate falls, and how it is either used or abused; nor is he at all concerned in those matters.

Marginal references: [illegible: 1 word]. 12.