the sweet contentments of this life, without omitting the duties of our calling, this being the entire portion which we can here possess of all our labours, ver. 7, 8, 9, 10. He then enters upon the contemplation of another wonderful providence of God, that of events seeming to befal men by chance rather than by reason and design, and contrary to those previous dispositions by which we are led to expect very different effects from those which come to pass, ver. 11. The reason of which he partly subjoins; namely, the invincible ignorance of all men of the proper seasons in which actions should be performed, or their inability to prevent the evils which are coming upon them, and which may suddenly surprise them, ver. 12. Lastly, lest he should seem to draw us into a supine neglect of suitable means, on account of the apparent fortuitous turn of human events, he shews the excellent advantage of sound wisdom to extricate us from such dangers, by the example of a poor wise man, who being in a small city, which was weakly garrisoned and defended, by his wisdom deliyered it from the power and military assaults of a mighty king who came against it, ver. 13, 14, 15. And after adverting to the vanity of neglecting so wise a person because of his po verty, he concludes with asserting, that silent

wisdom is better than clamorous, ostentatious power, accompanied with all the instruments of war; and that as one wise man may avert much danger, one wicked man may destroy much good, ver. 16, 17, 18.

1. For all this I considered in my heart even to declare all this, that the righteous, and the wise, and their works, are in the hand of God: no man knoweth either love or hatred by all that is before them.

"All this I considered in my heart." [ gave all this in my heart, I laid it up in my heart. It denotes special study and attention, Luke ii. 51. and xxi. 14.-" Even to declare all this;" to prove, examine, perfectly understand, and clearly manifest all this. The word signifies to purify and purge, because when a thing is soiled and defaced it is with more difficulty known, 2 Cor. iii. 16, 17, 18.-" That the righteous, and the wise, and their works, are in the hand of God;" i, e. that the persons and the works of the best and most prudent men are not in their own power, or at their own disposal, but are guided by a divine providence, and by a secret, invisible, unprevented direction from above, by him who

worketh all things according to the counsel of his own will. To be" in the hand of God" denotes, first, subjection to his power, John iii. 35; Mat. xxviii. 18; John v. 22. Secondly, direction and guidance by his providence, Acts iv. 28; Jer. x. 23; Prov. xvi. 9. and xx. 24; Exod. xxxiv. 24. Thirdly, ruling by his powerful, though sometimes secret and invisible, government. So the hand of the king signifies the command or order given by the king, 1 Chron. xxv. 3. Fourthly, custody and protection from evil by his care, Esth. ii. 3; Isai. lxii. 3; John x. 28, 29. Our works are transient, and as they proceed from us, seem to vanish away; but they are always in God's hands, and written in his book, for the purpose of being reserved to the time of retribution, so that not one of them shall be unrewarded, Heb. vi. 12. Our persons, our times, our employments, are all in the hand of God, so that men cannot act towards us or dispose of us as they will, John xix. 10, 11. nor can we dispose of ourselves as we please; but he that is wisest, and knows what is best for us, and for what services we are peculiarly adapted, determines, as it pleases him, our persons, our times, our places, our callings, our work, and our wages, as may redound most to his glory, whose we are, and whom it is our happiness to serve, in

what station soever he shall think proper to place us, 2 Sam. xv. 25, 26.-"No man knoweth either love or hatred by all that is before them." The words will admit of such a reading as this: The righteous, and the wise, and their works, are in the hand of God; also love and hatred. He loveth whom he will, he hateth whom he will, Rom. ix. 11, 12, 13, 15: no man knoweth any thing that is before him; no man can discover the counsel or the love and hatred of God by any outward circumstances, the same events equally happening to the good and the bad, ch. viii. 14; Mat. v. 45. Or, no man can know whether what he loves or what he hates shall befal him, let him guide his actions with ever so much rectitude and prudence; since all events depend not on the counsel of man, but on the providence of God, Rom. ix. 16; Jer. ix. 23, 24; Isai. xlv. 9; Jam. iv. 13, 14, 15.

2. All things come alike to all: there is one event to the righteous and to the wicked; to the good, and to the clean, and to the unclean; to him that sacrificeth, and to him that sacrificeth not: as is the good, so is the sinner; and he that sweareth, as he that feareth an oath.

Some suppose this and the following verses (to ver. 13.) to be the perverse judgment of atheists and epicures on the preceding doctrine of Providence; but we must remember, that Solomon speaks only of outward things, and their different administrations, together with the remedies of the vanity and vexation that attend our present condition; whilst he proves, that all the confused events of worldly things are restrained and limited by the holy hand and wise providence of the Almighty: which being premised, all that is here asserted consists very well with the will of God, and with the scope of this book; which is to set down such rules, de tranquillitate animi, as may reconcile us to the vanities of this life, and dispose us contentedly to pass over the time of our earthly pilgrimage." All things come alike to all." Omnia sicut omnibus. So Symmachus, & παντα ὅμοια τοῖς πᾶσι, “ all alike unto all." This is the reason why we cannot judge of love or hatred by outward events: for though good things are promised to good men, and evil things threatened against wicked men, the blessed God so proceeds in the fulfilment of these promises and denunciations, that faith only can discover the difference, all things externally and to the eye of sense appearing alike