and his providence, when events happen contrary to our views and inclinations. Be not hastily nor revengefully angry against rich op pressors, Ps. xxxvii. 1; Prov. xxiii. 17, 18. and xxiv. 19; ch. v. 2. Anger is naturally an hasty passion, and very apt to prevent reason. The philosopher compares it to a dog which barks at a man before he observes whether it be his master or a stranger, and to a hasty messenger who runs away without his errand: and therefore slowness and deliberation are necessary to keep it within its proper bounds, Jam. i. 19; Prov. xix. 11. and xv. 18; Tit. i. 7; it wilful and precipitate, Gen.

being of itself very

xlix. 6; Hab. i. 6. David was overtaken with this fault in the case with Nabal, 1 Sam. xxv. 21, 22; and the disciples, Luke ix. 54, 55.— "For anger resteth in the bosom of fools." That is said to be in the bosom which is much loved, cherished, delighted in, Deut. xiii. 6. and xxviii. 56; John i. 18; Ruth iv. 16: thus fools delight in anger; it rests within them, is in its proper place, and is ever ready to enrage and inflame them. A wise man uses anger as medicine in its proper season, but a fool uses it as his constant diet. It is an inmate in a fool; it is but a passenger through the heart of a wise man, without lodging in it all night, Ephes. iv. 26. Hence the apostle, ex

horting to perfect patience, directs us to pray for wisdom as the foundation of it, Jam. i. 4, 5.

10. Say not thou, What is the cause that the former days were better than these? for thou dost not enquire wisely concerning this.

Solomon does not forbid us, with godly sorrow and holy zeal, to bewail the corruptions of the days in which we live, and to be sensible of the sins and judgments which render them evil: for it cannot be questioned that some ages are worse than others; there were purer, and then darker and more corrupt times of the church, Gen. vi. 11, 12; Amos v. 13; Ephes. v. 16; 2 Tim. iii. 1-5; 2 Thess. ii. 3; Luke xviii. 8. But, first, he condemns our aptness to pass over the good things we enjoy in our own age, and to look only on what presses hard upon us; to complain of wrong, oppression, and injustice now, as if former ages had not the like reasons, or other evils, from which we are freed, to complain of as well as we: Israel had God's presence and manna in the wilderness; and yet they undervalue these fayours, because they miss the provision they had in Egypt, Exod. xvi. 3; Numb. xi. 4, 5, 6. and xiv. 1-4. Secondly, he teaches us not to charge the evils we experience to the times,

but to our sins, which make the times evil: which is, as if a sick man should think he would be better were he removed into another chamber, or laid upon another couch. He that is wicked now, would have been so in the best of times, Mat. xxiii. 30. Thou canst not change the world; thy business is to mend thyself: a briar is but a briar, though it be in paradise; and a lily is a lily, though it grow in a wilderness. Thirdly, according to the scope of the passage, his principal purpose is to reprove our proneness to murmur at the providence of God, because he has given us our lot in an age of trouble and oppression; and thus foolishly charge him, as if human affairs were not balanced with a due measure of equality and impartiality in the distribution of outward blessings. But do not, as if he had said, question the government of the world, nor the wisdom and righteousness of the Almighty in his proceedings. Leave God's work to himself, to whom it belongs to temper and order the several ages of the world in what manner it pleases him. Attend thou to thy own duty, be contented with the present condition of the times, study how to serve God in thy generation, leave not thy station, depart not from thy rank, afflict not thyself with evils which thou canst not prevent, walk with God as Noah

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did in the worst of times, Gen. vi. 9. and let the depravity of the age in which thou livest make thee wiser, more humble and circumspect, as fire emits the greatest heat in the coldest weather.-" Otherwise thou dost not wisely enquire concerning this matter." The meaning is, It is a foolish arrogancy to complain of the providence of God, as if thou wert wise enough to teach him, or to amend his works, Job xxxviii. 2, 3. and xxi. 22.

11. Wisdom is good with an inheritance; and by it there is profit to them that see the

sun.

This is to be understood comparatively; for wisdom is good of itself, but it is more useful and beneficial to its possessor and to others when it is united with an inheritance; as the Rabbins say, Bona est lex cum viâ terræ. Wisdom without wealth is despised, ch. ix. 15; and wealth without wisdom is a snare, a temptation, the fuel of lust, pride, vanity, luxury, and oppression, 1 Tim. vi. 9; Ps. xlix. 6; Prov. xxviii. 11. Therefore as life, here expressed by seeing the sun, is uncomfortable without the means and supports of life, an inheritance to support it; so an inheritance is cumbersome and injurious without wisdom to order it. But wealth, in the hand of a wise

and good man, is an excellent instrument of doing much good, Isai. xxiii. 18; Prov. iii. 9; Isai. lx. 6, 9; Luke xvi. 9; 1 Tim. vi. 17-19. Here we see, first, it is not the possession, but the proper use of wealth, which makes life comfortable. Secondly, that wealth, without wisdom rightly to improve it, is not beneficial to its owner. Thirdly, that it requires peculiar skill and prudence so to manage an estate, that it may be good to ourselves and others. Fourthly, that wealth is a great ornament to wisdom, Prov. xix. 24. and a valuable instrument of public, as well as private, beneficence, according to the observation, Wealth is the sinews of action. Fifthly, that it is happier for a wise man to have an inheritance, an estate derived from his ancestors, than to be compelled to gain wealth by his own labour and industry: res non parta labore, sed relicta.-" And by it there is profit to them that see the sun;" that is, by wisdom with an inheritance there is more profit, or more excellent advantage to men in this life, than if they were separated; or, though wisdom is good with an inheritance, yet the fruit of wisdom is more excellent, beneficial, and permanent, than the profit of an inheritance.

12. For wisdom is a defence, and money