His breath goeth forth
That is, the breath of a son of man, of any and everyone of the
princes; it goes forth continually, and is drawn in again as long
as a man lives; but at death it goes forth, and returns no more
till the resurrection: the breath which the Lord breathed into
man, and which is in his nostrils while he lives, and is very
precarious. And when it is taken away, he dies, and he
returneth to his earth;
from whence he was taken, and of which he was made; upon which he
lived, where he dwelt, and in which he took delight and pleasure,
minding earth and earthly things, and which is now all he has;
who, though he may have had many large estates and possessions,
nay, have ruled over many kingdoms and countries, yet his
property of earth is now no more than the length and breadth of a
grave; he returns to earth as soon as he dies, becoming a lump of
clay; and particularly when he is interred in it, and when by
corruption and worms he is turned into it; in that very day
his thoughts perish;
in the day, hour, and moment he dies: not that the soul ceases,
or ceases to think at death; it is immortal, and dies not; and,
as it exists in a separate state after death, it retains all its
powers and faculties, and, among the rest, its power of thinking;
which it is capable of exercising, and does, as appears from the
case of the souls under the altar, ( Revelation
6:9 ) . But the meaning is, that at death all the purposes
and designs of men are at an end; all their projects and schemes,
which they had formed, and were pursuing, now come to nothing;
whether to do good to others, or to aggrandize themselves and
families; and therefore such mortal creatures are not to be
depended upon, since all their promises may fail; nay, even their
good designs may be frustrated; see ( Job 17:12 ) .