John Trapp on Ecclesiastes 3:6

Verſ. 6. A time to get] Heb. to ſeek: for men do but ſeek here, they do not properly get what they cannot long hold. How much better therefore were it to ſeek God? Cujus inventio eſt ipſum ſemper quaerere, (as Nyſſen hath it here) the finding of whom is always to ſeek him, and in ſeeking of whom there is ſo great reward, Heb. 11.6. Seek yee mee, and yee ſhall live, Amos 5.4. Seek him that maketh the ſeven Stars and Orion, verſ. 8. Seek him in a time when hee may bee found, Pſal. 32.6. Now is th[illegible: 1 letter] [illegible: 1 letter]ccepted time, now is the day of Salvation, [non-Latin text not transcribed]. Naz. Aug. 2 Cor. 6.2. Take the preſent Now and bee ſerious, and then God ſcorns to do as Heathen Idolls did, viz. to ſay to the ſeed of Jacob, Seek yee mee in vain, Iſa. 45.9. How greedy are men of getting gain? Get God, and you get all: Habet omnia qui habet habentem omnia.

And a time to loſe] There is an uncertainty in riches, 1 Tim. 6.27. a deceitfulneſs, Mark 4.19. alye, Joh. 2.8. they were never true to thoſe that truſted them,Mim[illegible: 2 letters]s. ſubject they are to vanity or violence, Matth. 6. How ſeldome doe Gameſters grow rich? Vitrea eſt fortuna; cum ſplende[illegible: 1 letter], frangitur. And as they ſay of the metal, they make glaſſe of; it is neareſt melting, when it ſhines brighteſt in the fire: ſo are many rich men neareſt ruine, when at greateſt luſtre, as Haman, Herod, Pythius, &c.

A time to keep] 'Tis good for a man to keep ſomewhat by him. Bonus Servatius facit bonum Bonifacium, according to the Dutch blunt Proverb,Eccleſ. 11.1. A good Saver, makes a good wel-doer. See the Note on Prov. 6.8.

And a time to caſt away] To caſt bread upon the waters, upon thoſe poor Creatures that pinched with penury, water their plants, feed upon tears. And although bread and other comforts caſt upon ſuch may ſeem caſt down the waters, becauſe no hope of recompence, yet thou ſhalt bee recompenced at the Reſurrection of the Juſt (ſaith Chriſt to ſuch) and bleſſed in the mean while, Luk. 14.14. Temporalia Dei ſervis impenſa non pereunt, ſed paer[illegible: 1 letter]uriunt, Almes periſheth not, but is put to uſe.