John Trapp on Ecclesiastes 12:1

CHAP. XII. Verſ. 1. Remember now thy Creatour.]

HEB. Creatours, ſcil. Father, Son, and Holy Ghoſt, called by Elihu, Eloa Gnoſai, God my Makers, Job 35.10. and by David, the Makers of Iſrael, Pſal. 149.1. ſo Iſa. 54.5. Thy Makers is thine Husbands. Let us make man, Gen. 1.26. and verſe 1. Dei creavit. Thoſe three in One, and One in Three made all things; but man hee made fearfully and wonderfully, Pſal. 139.14. The Father did it, Epheſ. 3.9. The Son, Heb. 1.8, 10. Col. 1.16. The Holy Ghoſt, Pſal. 33.6. and 104.30. Job 36.13. and 33.4. To the making of Man, a Council was called, Gen. 1.29. Sun, Moon, and Stars are but the work of his fingers, Pſal. 8.3. but Man is the work of his hands, Pſal. 139.14. Thine hands have made mee (or took ſpecial pains about mee) and faſhioned mee, ſaith Job, chap. 10.8. thou haſt formed mee by the book, ſaith David, Pſal. 139.16. Hence the whole Church ſo celebrates this great work with Crowns caſt down at the Creators feet, Rev. 4.10, 11. And hence young men alſo, who are moſtly moſt mindleſs of any thing ſerious (for childe-hood and youth are vanity) are here charged to remember their Creatour, that is (as dying David taught his young Son Solomon) to know, love, and ſerve him, with a perfect heart, and a willing mind, 1 Chron. 28.9. (for words of knowledge in Scripture imply affection and practice) Tam Dei meminiſſe opus eſt quam reſpirare, To remember God is every whit as needful as to draw breath; ſith it is hee that gave us being at firſt, and that ſtill gives us [non-Latin text not transcribed], life and breath, Act. 17.25. Let every thing therefore that hath breath, praiſe the Lord, even ſo long as it hath breath; yea let it ſpend and exhale it ſelf in continual ſallies, as it were, and egreſſions of affection unto God, till it hath gotten, not onely an union, but an unity with him. Of all things, God cannot endure to bee forgotten.

In the daies of thy youth] Auguſtus began his ſpeech to his mutinous ſouldiers, with Audite ſenem, juvenes, quem juvenem ſenes and ierunt, You that are young, hear mee that am old, whom old men were content to hear, when I was but young. And Auguſtine beginneth one of his Sermons thus, Ad vos mihi ſermo, O juvenes, flos aetatis, periculum mentis, To you is my ſpeech, O young men, the flower of age, the danger of the mind. To keep them from danger, and direct them to their duty it is, that the Preacher here exhorts them to remember God betimes, to gather Manna in the morning of their lives, to preſent the firſt-fruits to God, whoſe ſoul hath deſired the firſt ripe fruits, Micah 7.1. and who will remember the kindneſs of their youth, the love of their eſpouſals, Jer. 2.1. God of old would bee honoured with the firſtlings of men and of cattel, by the firſt-fruits of trees, and of the earth, in the ſhe[illegible: 1 letter]f, in the threſhing-floor, in the dough, in the loaves. Hee called for ears of corn dried by the fire, and wheat beaten out of the green ears, Levit. 2.14. to teach men to ſerve him with the primroſe of their childe-hood. Three ſorts there were of firſt-fruits. Firſt, Of the ears of corn offered about the Paſſeover. Secondly, Of the loaves offered about Pentecoſt. Laſtly, About the end of the year in Autumn. Now of the two firſt God had a part, but not of the laſt. Hee made choice of the Almond-tree, Jer. 1.11. becauſe it bloſſometh firſt; ſo of Jeremy from his infancy, Timothy from his Mothers breaſts, &c. Hee likes not of thoſe arbores antumnales, Jude 13. which bud at latter end of harveſt. Hee cares not for ſuch loiterers, as come halting in at laſt caſt to ſerve God, when they can ſerve their luſts no longer. The Circaſſians (a kinde of mongre-Chriſtians) are ſaid to divide their life betwixt ſin and devotion: dedicating their youth to rapine, B[illegible: 1 letter]cerw. Enqui[illegible: 1 letter]. 1[illegible: 1 letter]5 Mal. 1.14 and their old age to repentance. But curſed bee that cozener, ſaith the Prophet, that hath a male in his flock, and yet offereth to the Lord a corrupt thing. Wilt thou give God the dreggs, the bottom, the ſnuffs, the very laſt ſands, thy dotage, which thy ſelf and friends are weary of?James 4 Shall thine oyl (which ſhould have been fuel for thy thankfulneſs) increaſe the fire of thy luſts, and thy luſts conſume all? How much better were it to ſacrifice early with Abraham, the young Iſaac's of thine age? to bring as hee did young Rams unto the Lord, and even, whiles thou art yet a lad, a ſtripling, to take heed to thy waies according to Gods Word? Pſal. 119.9. Yee ſhall not ſee my face, ſaith Chriſt, (as once Joſeph) except you bring your younger brother with you.

While the evil daies come not] viz. Of old age and miſery: for theſe are ſeldome ſeparated. Senectus, ut Africa, ſemper aliquid novi adportat, As Africa is never without ſome monſter, ſo neither is old age ever without ſome ailement. Multa ſenem circumveniunt incommoda, Horat. Many are the inconveniences that do encompaſs an old man. Solet ſenectus eſſe deformis, infirma, oblivioſa, odentula, lucroſa, indocilis & moleſta, ſaith Cato in Plutarch, Plut. in Apoph. Rom. old age uſeth to bee deformed, weak, forgetful, toothleſs, covetous, unteachable, unquiet. Now ſhall any man bee to beſotted and betwitcht, as to make that the task of his old age, which ſhould bee the trade of his whole life? and to ſettle his everlaſting, onely, ſureſt making or marring upon ſo ſinking and ſandy a foundation? A Ship, the longer it leaks, the harder it is to bee emptied; a Land, the longer it lies, the harder it is to bee plowed; a Nail, the further it is driven in, with the greater difficulty it is pulled our. And ſhall any man think, that the trembling joints, the dazled eyes, the fainting heart, the failing hands, the feeble leggs, of ſtrengthleſs, drooping, untractable, wayward, froward old age, can break up the fallow ground, can ever empty and pluck out the leaks and nails of ſo many years flowing and faſtning?