Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible
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Ecclesiastes
Book: Ecclesiastes
Chapter: 6
Overview:
The vanity of riches. Also of long
Life and flourishing
families.
(1-6) The little advantage any one has in outward
things.
(7-12)
1-6 A
Man often has all he needs for outward enjoyment; yet the
Lord leaves him
So to
Covetousness or evil dispositions, that he
makes
No good or comfortable use of what he has.
By one means or
other his possessions come to strangers; this is vanity, and an
evil disease. A numerous family was a matter of fond desire and
of high honour among the
Hebrews; and long
Life is the desire of
mankind in general. Even with these additions a
Man may not be
able to enjoy his riches, family, and
Life. Such a
Man, in his
Passage through
Life, seems to have been born for
No End or use.
And he who has entered
On Life only for one moment, to quit it
the next, has a preferable
Lot to him who has lived long, but
only to suffer.
7-12 A little will serve to sustain us comfortably, and a great
Deal can do
No more. The desires of the soul find nothing in the
wealth of the world to give satisfaction. The
Poor Man has
comfort as
Well as the richest, and is under
No real
disadvantage. We cannot say, Better is the sight of the eyes
than the resting of the soul in
God; for it is better to live
By
Faith in things to come, than to live
By sense, which dwells
only upon present things. Our
Lot is appointed. We have what
pleases
God, and let that please us. The greatest possessions
and honours cannot set us above the common events of human
Life.
Seeing that the things men pursue
On Earth increase vanities,
what is
Man the better for his worldly devices? Our
Life upon
Earth is to be reckoned
By days. It is fleeting and uncertain,
and with little in it to be fond of, or to be depended
On. Let us
return to
God, trust in his
Mercy through
Jesus Christ, and
submit to his will. Then soon shall we glide through this
vexatious world, and find ourselves in that happy place, where
there is
Fulness of joy and pleasures for evermore.