Ecclesiastes 4:15

I considered all the living which walk under the sun,.... All men that were then alive, who were capable of walking upon the earth; even all of them that were under the heavens, in every land and

I considered all the living which walk under the sun, with the second child that shall stand up in his stead. I considered all the living - all the present generation of subjects.

I considered all the living; the general disposition or humour of common people in all kingdoms, that they are fickle and inconstant, weary of their old governors, and desirous of changes. Which walk under the sun: this is a periphrasis, or description of living and mortal men, like that , that see the sun. With the second child: these words may be joined either, 1. With those which walk, or, that they walk under the sun, (i.e. upon the earth,) with the second child, i.e. follow, and favour, and worship him as the rising sun, upon whom the eyes and hopes of most people are fixed. Or, 2. With the first words, I considered all the living which walk under the sun, i.e. the temper of all subjects or people, together with the condition of the second child; which may be understood either, 1. In general, of a king’ s child, or son and heir, who is called second, in respect of his father, whose successor he is to be. Or, 2. That wise and poor child mentioned , who is said to come to reign, , and may well be called the second to the old and foolish king who became poor, , being deposed from his kingdom, whom he succeeds, being put in his place either by the humour of the people, or by some higher power. Stand up, i.e. arise to reign, as that phrase signifies, ,23 11:2,3,7,20,21.

Ecclesiastes 4:15 I considered all the living which walk under the sun, with the second child that shall stand up in his stead.Ver. 15. I considered all the living, &c.] He means the multitude, that shallow brained, but great and many headed beast, making defection from their old prince, though never so prudent, and setting up his own son against him, as they dealt by David more than once, merely out of an itch of instability and affectation of novelty. Now, as this is to others, so to kings also a vexation, to see already the common aspect of their people bent upon another object before the time; to behold them worshipping the rising sun, as the proverb is, and themselves laid aside, in a manner, as broken vessels out of request in comparison. Crowns have their cares and crosses, and high seats are never but uneasy. O vilis pannus! O base clout! said one king concerning his diadem, were it but known how many molestations and miseries do attend thee, Nemo foret qui te tollere vellet humo, no man would deign to take thee up lying at his feet. Antoninus the philosopher said often that the empire was malorum oceanus, an ocean of mischiefs; and another caused it to be written upon his tomb, Felix si non imperitassem, Happy had I been if I had never reigned. It is seldom seen, as before hath been observed, that God allows unto the greatest darlings of the world a perfect contentment, be they never so well deserving. Something they must have to complain of, that shall give an unsavoury verdure to their sweetest morsels, and make their very felicity miserable. Omnes solem orientem adorant, contemnunt occidentem. Macro, expirante Tiberio, Caium fovebat. Cui Tiberius, Tu recte, inquit, Macro, τονδυομενονεγκαταλιπωνπροςτονανατελλοταεπειγη. - Dio.

(15) I considered.—Heb., I saw. Most modern interpreters regard the “second child” as identical with the “young man” of Ecclesiastes 4:13, and understand the passage, “I saw him at the head of all his people; yet his great popularity was but temporary, and the next generation took no pleasure in him.” It seems to me that by no stretch of rhetoric can “all the living which walk under the sun” be taken for the subjects of the sovereign in question. I am inclined to think that the Preacher reverts to the general topic, and considered all the living with the “second youth,” i.e., the second generation which shall succeed them. He saw the old generation hardened in its ways, and incapable of being admonished, and then displaced by a new generation, with which the next will feel equal dissatisfaction.

Verse 15. With the second child that shall stand up] The Targum applies this to the case of Jeroboam and Rehoboam. History affords many instances of mean persons raised to sovereign authority, and of kings being reduced to the meanest offices, and to a morsel of bread. Agrippa himself ascended the throne of Israel after having been long in prison. See Josephus, Ant. lib. xviii. c. 8. This the heathens attributed to fortune. Si fortuna volet, fies de rhetore consul; Si volet haec eadem, fies de consule rhetor. JUV. Sat. vii., ver. 197. Though I have given what the Jews suppose to be the allusion in these verses, yet the reader may doubt whether the reference be correct. There is a case implied, whether from fact or assumption I cannot say; but it seems to be this: A king who had abused the authority vested in him by oppressing the people, had a son whose prudent conduct promised much comfort to the nation, when he should come to the throne. The father, seeing the popular wish, and becoming jealous of his son, shut him up in prison. In the interim the old king either dies or is deposed, and the son is brought out of prison, and placed on the throne. Then (Ecclesiastes 4:15-16) multitudes of the people flock to him, and begin to walk under the sun; i.e., the prosperous state to which the nation is raised by its redemption from the former tyranny. However, the wise man insinuates that this sunshine will not last long. The young king, feeling the reins in his own hands, and being surrounded by those whose interest it was to flatter in order to obtain and continue in court favour, he also becomes corrupted so that those who come after shall have no cause of rejoicing in him. This appears to be the case; and similar cases have frequently occurred, not only in Asiatic, but also in European history, I have, in another place, referred to the case of Rushn Achter, who was brought out of prison and set upon the throne of Hindoostan. This is expressed in the following elegant Persian couplet, where his fortune is represented as similar to that of the patriarch Joseph: - [Persian] "The bright star is now become a moon: Joseph is taken out of prison, and become a king." Rushn Achter signifies a bright or splendid star.

15. with the second child that shall stand up in his stead] If we take the word “second” in its natural meaning, the clause may point either to the wise young ruler of the previous verse, as succeeding (i.e. coming second to) the old and foolish king, or possibly to his successor, and points in either case to what we have learnt to call the “worship of the rising Sun.” All gather round him, and their name is legion. There is “no end of all the people.”

15. The second child — The word here rendered “second” is, in Ecclesiastes 4:8; Ecclesiastes 4:10, used in the sense of an ally or associate, and so it should be here, for the contrast is between him