THE Ecclefiall:es I. 2. Vanity of Vanities, foith th1 Preacher, Vanity of Vanities; all is Vanity. I TB:E Preacher here mentioned, is no lefs a Perfon than Solomon: and this whole Book is no othct than his Rec:tntation Sermon. The Text he prcach'd on, is the fame that I have chofen; and it contains the true and feverc Judgment he p~ft upon all things under the Sun. Certainly, he , who had (a) Riches M plmtifuJ M the jl-ones of the ftreet, and (b) Wifdom M large M rhc (a) r Kin!l f~tnd of the Sea, could want no Advantages, either to try Experiments, or draw Con- 8. ~1· . clufions from them. And yet, when he had (c) employed both in the critical feJrch (b) tK,,gs of true Happinefs and Contentment, and h:td dilleeted and ranfacked the ,.,.·hole (~)9£ultj. World to find it, he returns difappointed of his Hopes, and tired with his Purfhit, r. 16, 1 7 . and begins the fad Narrative of his long Wandrings and Errors, with Vanity of Van£tits, all £s Vanity. . The whole Verfc is loaden withEmphafes: And it is firft obfervable, That hcdoth '· not glide into it by any fmooth conncxion of Scnfe or Sentences, but on a fi1dden breaks upon us, with a Ii1rprizing abntptnefs, Vanity of Vanirits. \Vhich fhews .:i Mind fo full of Matter, that it could not attend the Circumfrance of a Prologue to 11fhcr it in. Again; It is all exprcJl: in the Abfrract. It fttfficed not to ccnfi1rc all things to be 2. Vain, but they are Vanity it felf. And this Abftract bath another hcapt upon it, Va11iryo[ Vanitits. Now this refle&i- 3· on of the fame word upon it fclf, is always ufed to fignifie the height and grcatnefs of the thing expreft, a1 King of Kings, and lArd of Lords, den0tcs the highcft King, and the moft abfohttc Lord. So Oerc, Y aniry of V anirits intimates to us the moft exceeding Superlative Vanity imaginable. . Again? This is not only once pronounced, btit doubled and repeated: partly the + more to confirm this Truth to our belief; and thus Pharoah's Dream was* doubled: •Gtn,i ;2. and partly the more to imprint it upon our Confideration. Yanity of Vanities, Vanity of Vanitits tdl is Vanity. . But tho' this be expreft in mort general and comprehenfive terms, yet it muft not be taken in the ntmoft latitude, as if there were nothing at all offolid and real good extant. It is enough if we nndcrfl:and the words in a fenfe reftra ined to the fubjctl matter whereof he here treats. Forth~ wife Man * himfelf exempts the Ftar a.nd •Eu!tf 1i, Str'Uice ofGad, from that Yaniry under wh1ch he had concluded all other things. God 1 j. and Religion have in them a folid and fubftantial Good; the one as our utmoft End and Happinefs, the other as the belt proportioned Means to attain it. \Vhen therefore he pronounceth all to be Vanity, it muft be meant of all world ly and earthly things; for he fpeaks only of thcfe. And_if.,Ve iriquire whlt rhcfe worldly Things arc, that have this cenfiirc of Vanity fo vehemently paft upon thcm 1 ?t· ']~hn hath drawn up a full and true InVentory of all the Goods that are to be founct .Ill thls great Houfc of the Univerfe, 1 John 1. 16. All that i& in the World, i1 the Luft of the Fltj11, thr Ltljf of tht Eye, and the Pride of Lift. The lujfs of the Flrjh1 arc the Pleafiues of the World; whtch are all of them fttited togratifiethc fcnfual and fl.cfuly part of Man. Tl1f Lufts of rht E)•r, arc Riches; fo called, becaufe the ir greateft C frrv i ccablcnc~
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