344 on the Excellency of the Seul, all his experience, fee his tellimony of all, in Ecclef. I. 2. Ilaoity of vanity, pith the Preacher, vanity of vanities, all is vanity. Obferve theft five things in it - -- Firft, The things of this world are not onely vain, but vanity in the abfiract : --- Second y, They are an exceilive vanity, vanity of va- nities, --- Thirdly, A heap of vanity, vanity of vanities , - Fourthly, All is vanity, - -- Fifthly, Hee adds his name to this, Saith the Preacher; Now the, word that is tranflated here Preacher,in the Hebrew, as thofe that know the tongue, know, it lignifies one gathered , and it is in the feminine gender, and fo force think it notes the foul of Solomon, that gathered wifdome after hee had been gathering vanity fo long : But this is the refult of it , that all things in the world are onely vanity, and that vanity of vanities, heaps of vanity;or elfe a foul gathered to God, after all his departure from him, Hee faith it is fo; herein Solomon is like a man that bath gotten to the top of an high hill , fuch a hill as there are perhaps hundreds of people of a thong conceit, that upon the top of the hill are very rich treafures to bee had and they are all fcrambling up the hill, and treading even one upon another that they may get up the hill ; Now Solomon had got to the top of the hill before the red, and hee feting men keeping a flit to get up out of fuch a conceit, cries out to them, Sirs you are all deceived, you are perfwaded that if you could get .eflates, and honours, and promotions, that then you fhould have a great deal of content, why, I am got upon this hill, and I finde there is nothing but dirt here, there is nothing here that will anfwer all your toyl, and trou- ble, and e.peêtation, but you will bee utterly deceived; this is the meaning of this. Scripture : , And then next unto Solo - on, one of the wifeft and.holiefr inen that ever lived upon the earth, St. Paul in the New Tefiament; mark, as foon as ever God did but work upon his hearty to Phew unto him better things, Phil. 3. 8. Hee profeffes that hee did account all thugs but.loft fsr the excellency of the knowled e of Chrifl efat, verf,: 7. But what things were gain to mee,thofe I counted lofs for Chri fl, yea do;tbtle f s, and I account all thing but lofs for the
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