Ecclesiastes 5:10

He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver; nor he that loveth abundance with increase: this is also vanity. NOT BE SATISFIED WITH SILVER Not only will God punish at last, but meanwhile, "not be satisfied with silver" - the oppressive gainers of "silver" find no solid 'satisfaction' in it. NOR HE THAT LOVETH ABUNDANCE (Hamon-literally, multitude, bustle; implying the turmoil which is inseparable from wealth) "with increase" - is not satisfied with the gain that he makes....

9-17 The goodness of Providence is more equally distributed than appears to a careless observer. The king needs the common things of life, and the poor share them; they relish their morsel better than he does his luxuries. There are bodily desires which silver itself will not satisfy, much less will worldly abundance satisfy spiritual desires. The more men have, the better house they must keep, the more servants they must employ, the more guests they must entertain, and the more they will have hanging on them. The sleep of the labourer is sweet, not only because he is tired, but because he has little care to break his sleep. The sleep of the diligent Christian, and his long sleep, are sweet; having spent himself and his time in the service of God, he can cheerfully repose in God as his Rest. But those who have every thing else, often fail to secure a good night's sleep; their abundance...

Verse Ecclesiastes 5:10. _HE THAT LOVETH SILVER SHALL NOT BE SATISFIED WITH_ _SILVER_] The more he gets, the more he would get; for the saying is true: - Crescit amor nummi, quantum ipsa pecunia crescit. "The love of money increases, in proportion as money itself increases....

EXPOSITION ECCLESIASTES 5:1 Section 6. Man's outward and secular life being unable to secure happiness and satisfaction, can these be found in _popular religion?_ Religious exercises need the observation of strict rules, which are far from meeting with general attention. Koheleth proceeds to give instruction, in the form of maxims, concerning public worship, prayer, and vows. ECCLESIASTES 5:1 This verse, in the Hebrew, Greek, and Latin Bibles, forms the conclusion of Ecclesiastes 4:1; and is taken independently; but the division in our version is more natural, and the connection of this with the following verses is obvious....

HE THAT LOVETH SILVER SHALL NOT BE SATISFIED WITH SILVER,.... The tillage of the earth is necessary, a very laudable and useful employment, and men do well to busy themselves in it; without this, neither the common people nor the greatest personages can be supplied with the necessaries of life; but then an immoderate love of money is criminal, which is here meant by loving silver, one kind of money, which when loved beyond measure is the root of all evil; and besides, when a man has got ever so much of it, he is not satisfied, he still wants more, like the horse leech at the vein cries Give, give; or he cannot eat silver, so Jarchi; or be "fed with money", as Mr. Broughton renders it; and herein the fruits of the earth, for which the husbandman labours, have the preference to silver; for these he can eat, and be filled and satisfied with them, but he cannot eat his bags of gold and silve...

3. EXHORTATIONS ON DIFFERENT VANITIES CHAPTER 5 _ 1. Concerning worship and vows (Ecclesiastes 5:1)_ 2. Concerning extortions (Ecclesiastes 5:8) 3. The vanities of wealth (Ecclesiastes 5:10) 4. The conclusion (Ecclesiastes 5:18) Ecclesiastes 5:1. The writer, King Solomon, seems to have been exhausted in his descriptions as to the things under the sun. He pauseth and turns to something different. He meditates on worship, that man aims to get in touch with the unsee

CONCERNING DESPOTISM AND WEALTH. Ecclesiastes 5:8 f. The oppression and injustice that one sees (_in_ an Oriental satrapy) are not to be wondered at when we remember the graded hierarchy of officials who are all eager simply to enrich themselves. There is no reference to God; read, One high official is watching over another, and there are higher ones (perhaps the king) over them. Yet on the whole a king, especially if he take an interest in agriculture, is an advantage to a country. So we may interpret the extremely difficult Ecclesiastes 5:9 (_cf. mg.)._ Ecclesiastes 5:10 ff. The avaricious man is always poor; though his wealth increases he lacks satisfaction, enlarged inc

NOR HE THAT LOVETH, &C.. And who is [ever] content with abundance without increase (capital without interest). No socialism or "corruption" of text here....

_He that loveth silver_ The sequence of thought led the DEBATER from the evils of the love of money as seen in mis-government to those which are seen in the life of the individual man. The conspicuous fact was the insatiableness of that passion for money; "Semper avarus eget; hunc nulla pecunia replet." "The miser still is poor, no money fills his purse." Juven. _Sat_. xiv. 139. The second clause may be taken either as in the A. V. as a maxim HE WHO CLINGS TO WEALTH (the word implies the luxury that accompanies wealth as in Psalms 37:16; 1 Chronicles 29:16; Isaiah 60:5), THERE IS NO FRUIT THEREOF, or as a question, Who clings to wealth? There is no fruit thereof

HE THAT LOVETH ABUNDANCE, &C.— _And he who loveth numerous company, no income shall be sufficient for him._ See Desvoeux, p. 281....