Online Bible 1995 March/ROM-1025.iso/olb/gill/4_600.lzh/4_610.TXT

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hearing the word, making a profession of religion, and
attending on ordinances; and, as opportuuity serves,
should do good to all men, especially to the sainfs,
Gal. vi. 10. and whatsoever is in the power of their
hands, as this phrase signifies,,Lev. xii. 8. I Sam. xxv.
8. Aben Ezra refers it to the delights and pleasures of
life, such as before mentioned; which may be allowed,
when used in a lawful and moderate manner. Do it
with thy might; or strength; for though men have no
might or strength of their own to do good, which is
}ost by sin; yea, even good men, of themselves, and
without Christ, his spirit and grace, can do nothing
sph'itually good; yet there is strength in him, and to
be had from him; and who should be applied to for it,
and who gives it, Isa. xi. 29--31. and xlv. 24. Phil. iv.
13. the phrase denotes intensehess of spirit, vigour of
mind, activity and fervency; doing that which is good,
cheerfully and diligently, and not in a negligent care-
less manner; see Dent. vi. 5. Jer. xlviii. 10. For there
is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the
grave, whither thou goest; this, and not then, is our
working-time; good men at death cease from their
labours in the grave, as the night in which no man can
work, Rev. xiv. 13. John ix. 4. then the liberal man
can no more devise liberal ways and means of doing
good; his purposes of doing good are broken"off; and
no more plans can be laid, or designs formed, for the
glory of God and the good of feliow-creatures: and no
more lcnowledge of objects to do good unto; nor any
improvement in any kind of knowledge, natural or
spiritual: nor wisdom and prudence in the management
of affairs, to answer some good ends and purposes; nor
opportunity of attaining that wisdom by the Scrip-
tures, .and by the ministry of the word, which make
men wtse unto salvation: and now, since every man is
going to the grave, Iris 1ong home, the place appointed
for all living, and thiS, is the way of all flesh; and
every step he has taken, and does take, is a step to the
grave; therefore it is incumbent on him to do all the
good he can in life.
Ver. 11. I returned, and saw under the sun, &c.'] The
wise man returned to his former subject, concerning
the same events happening to all sorts of persons,
righteous and wicked, wise and unwise, ver. 1, o.. and
enlarged upon it in his mind; and took notice of va-
rious things done under the sun, and made the follow-
ing remarkt: and whereas he had exhorted men to use
all their might in doing the duties of their calling while
they lived here; he suggests, that they should not de-
pend- upon, and promise themselves, any thing from
their own strength and wisdom; but have a regard to
the providence of God, that superintends all affairs,
and gives or withholds success as he pleases; since it
may be observed, that the race is not to the swift; swift-
ness oftentimes is of no service to a man to escape
dangers, as may be seen in the case of Asahel and
others, 2 Sam. ft. 18, 23. Amos iS. 14, 15. so the Tar-
gum, "men who are swift as eagles are not helped by
"running to escape from death in battle." Or .the
sense may be, that the swift are not always made use
of in running a race; or, if they are, they do not al-
ways win the. prize, something or other Imppens to
hinder them; they fall, or become lame, when one
more slow gets the advantage of them, 1 Cot. ix. 24.
and so in spiritual things, one that is ready to halt, as
David says of himself, gets to heaven, and is saved,
Psal. xxxviii. 17. Zcph. iii. 19. when others, at first
starting or setting Out in a profession, run well for a
while, as the Galatiaus did, ch. v. 7- but afterwards
drop and fall short; for it is not of him that willeth, nor'
of him that runneth, but of God, that sheweth mercy,
Rom. ix. 16. Nor the battle to the strong: as not to the
Midianites, nor to Goliath, nor to Abner, in whom
Jarchi instances; victory is not always on the side of
the mighty and the many, but oftentimes on the side
of the weak and few; see 2 Chron. xiv. 9--15. Psal.
xxxiii. 16, 17. so in spirituals, such who go forth in
their own strength against an enemy, trusting in it,
fall; whilst weak believers, depending on the grace
and strength of Christ, wrestle with principalities and
powers, and come off victorious. Neither yet bread ta
the wise: the Targum adds, in a time of famine, when.
their wisdom cannot help them; but the sense rather
is, that skilfuI artificers, in any trade or business, do
not always get the best livelihood, yea, sometimes
want the necessaries of life, or eat the bread of sorrow,
when persons of meaner capacities shall thrive and
flourish; and even the wisest of men sometimes have
been obliged to others for bread, as was the case of
David, 1 Sam. xxi. 3. and xxv. 8. and even of a wiser
than he, our Lord himself, Luke viii. 2. and as for the
wise men of this world, the bread of life, Christ Jesus,
is neither enjoyed nor sought after by them. Nor yet
riches to men of understanding ; mention is afterwards
made of a wise man that was poor, Jarchi instances ia
Job; and, on the other hand, sometimes fools are rich,
as Nabal and others; and as for the riches of grace, and
treasures of spiritual knowledge, they are not usually
given to the wise and prudent Mnt~ vl O~ ~Y .....                           ~
~.~.., , ,o
favour to men of skill; to men of knowledge and learn-
lug, whose genius and abilities might be thought suf-
ficient to recommend them to the favour, affection, and
applause of men, and yet oftentimes fall herein; such
who have the art of address and persuasion are not
always able to ingratiate themselves, and gain the
esteem of men: Jarchi interprets it of the fayour of
God, and instances in Moses; than whom there was
not a more knowing and understanding man in Israel,
yet could not by his prayer find grace and favour to
enter into the land: but the Targum is better; "nei-
"ther they that know understanding are helped by
"their knowledgee tO find favour in tile eyes of a king."
But time and chance happeneth to them all; to the swift
and strong, the wise, understanding, and skilful; or to
the swift and slow, to the strong and weak, to the wise
and unwise; every thing befalls them just as it is or-
dered by divine Providence; for there is a certain
time fixed by the Lord for every event; and whatever
seems casual and contingent to man, and which he is
ready to call chance, is noticing but decree with God,
firm and unalterable; Plato {e} has the same expression.
Tile word signifies occurrence f, or event, which is

{e} \~meta yeou tuch kai kairov\~, Plato de Leg. l. 4. p. 827.
{f} \^egp\^ occursus, Montanus; sive eventus, Mercerus, Rambachius;
occurrent, Broughton.