cures sweet repose; if much, his health and strength promoting a good concoction of his food, does not suffer his sleep to be disquieted with crude and offensive vapours. Besides, labour occupying the mind, keeps it free from those anxious thoughts and covetous desires which ordinarily break our rest.—" But the abundance of the rich will not suffer him to sleep." This may be understood either of the abundance of wealth occasioning many cares, businesses, fears, and perplexities, which are its certain consequences, Gen. xli. 29; Prov. iii. 10; Luke xii. 16, 17; or of the fulness of diet, gluttony, and excess of delicious fare, which occasions distempers, and so prevents sleep. This last seems rather to be intended, and it may be considered as directed against rich gluttons, who spend their time in rioting and feasting, and so overcharge nature with intemperance beyond its strength, Luke xvi. 19. and xxi. 34; which causes indigestion and malignant humours, by which sleep is removed or disquieted, Eccles. viii. 16; Prov. iv. 16, 17: and this is a great vexation, for sound sleep is a divine blessing, Ps. cxxvii. 2; Prov. iii. 24.

13. There is a sore evil which I have seen under the sun, namely, riches kept for the owners thereof to their hurt.

An evil that occasions sickness, a very grievous and bitter evil, ch. iv. 2.-" Riches kept for the owners thereof to their hurt," Prov. i. 19; either proving to them occasions of sin, and fuel of lust, and causing pride, vanity, oppression, violence, gaming, gluttony, idleness, and excess, Hab. ii. 9, 10; Luke xii. 15-21; 1 Tim. vi. 9, 10; Deut. vi. 11, 12. and viii. 10—12 ; Prov. xxx. 9; Jam. ii. 6, 7. and v. 3-6: or exposing them to envy and danger, to rapine and oppression, Prov. xiii. 8; 2 Kings xxv. 6, 7, 9, 12.

14. But those riches perish by evil travail : and he begetteth a son, and there is nothing in his hand.

"Perish by evil travail," or with much affliction; by their own improvidence, imprudence, luxury, &c.; or by the fraud, circumvention, and violence of others; or by casualties and miscarriages in business; or by some secret blast and curse from God, Prov. xxiii. 5: and that after much toil and labour to procure them, after great solicitude and anxiety to preserve them, and after every possible degree of forethought and tenderness towards his children to provide for them." He begetteth a son, and there is nothing in his hand;" or in his

power and possession, Dan. ii. 38; John iii. 35; 1 Kings xx. 6; 1 Chron. xxix. 12: " his hand," i. e. either the father's, to leave to the son, or the son's, to inherit after his father.

15. As he came forth of his mother's womb, naked shall he return to go as he came, and shall take nothing of his labour, which he may carry away in his hand.

Though he could secure all his wealth from perishing, yet he himself must leave it, and depart out of the world as destitute as he entered it. And that which has no power to free us from death, to comfort us in our last moments, or to accompany us into another world, can afford no foundation of happiness, nor impart solid tranquillity, Job i. 21; Ps. xlix. 17; 1 Tim. vi. 7; Luke xii. 20, 21.-" To go," i. e. to die, ch. iv. 4; Job xvi. 22; Ps. xxxix. 13; Phil. i. 23 :—“ and shall take nothing of his labour;" that is, of his estate acquired by hard labour, ch. ii. 19; Prov. v. 10; Deut. xxviii. 33; -" which he may carry away," or cause to go along with him, "in his hand." He cannot carry away one handful of all his riches and possessions.

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16. And this also is a sore evil, points as he came, so shall he go

that in all

and what

profit hath he that hath laboured for the wind?

As before, ver. 13. His riches probably are not kept for his hurt, or do not perish in his lifetime, yet they cannot preserve him from death, nor administer comfort to him in the hour of dissolution. Riches profit not in the day of wrath. His death and his birth are set with exact proportion, the one over against the other."And what profit hath he that hath laboured for the wind?" for that which will not stay, which cannot be retained, and which is emptiness and vanity. Thus words of wind are empty and vain words, Job xvi. 3; a man walking in wind is a lying prophet, Mic. ii. 11: so, to reap the whirlwind, Hos. viii. 7; to fill the belly with the east wind, Job xv. 2; to inherit wind, Prov. xi. 29; to bring forth wind, Isai. xxvi. 18; to feed upon wind, Hosea xii. 1; to speak to the air, 1 Cor. xiv. 9; and to beat the air, 1 Cor. ix. 26; are expressions to denote vain and fruitless enterprizes. Here money is com. pared to wind the one has wings with which to fly away, Prov. xxiii. 5; so has the other, Ps. civ. 3: the one cannot be held, Prov. xxx. 4; nor can the other, 1 Cor. vii. 31.

17. All his days also he eateth in darkness, and he hath much sorrow and wrath with his sickness.

Or, according to the words in their exact order, thus: "All his days he eateth in darkness and much sorrow, and his sickness and wrath." Here is a further vanity of riches in the hands of a covetous worldling: he denies himself a full, free, and comfortable enjoyment of outward comforts; he cannot even unbend his mind from his anxious cares when he sits down to his table; but as he gets, so he enjoys his wealth in darkness; i. e. (for the following words are exegetical) in sorrow and wrath, even unto sickness." All his days he eateth in darkness." It may be understood either literally, that he lengthens out his labour, and grudges to spare himself any times of necessary refreshment, so as to defer eating till it be dark, when he cannot work any longer; or rather metaphorically, he partakes of his food without any pleasure, and with much trouble and anxiety of mind, which is implied in the word darkness, Isai. xlix. 9, 10. and 1. 10; Mic. vii. 8.-" And hath much sorrow," or "indignation." The word in some copies (as the learned observe) is read with the points of a noun; in others, of a verb and so they render it, multum irascitur, vel, indignatur, he is very angry, or he sorroweth much, and has sickness and wrath. The meaning (as I conceive) is, "he eateth in