The sluggard has now, with much ado, got out of his bed, but he might
as well have lain there still for any thing he is likely to bring to
pass in his work, so awkwardly does he go about it. Observe, 1. The
pretence he makes for his slothfulness: He hides his hand in his bosom
for fear of cold; next to his warm bed in his warm bosom. Or he
pretends that he is lame, as some do that make a trade of begging;
something ails his hand; he would have it thought that it is blistered
with yesterday's hard work. Or it intimates, in general, his aversion
to business; he has tried, and his hands are not used to labour, and
therefore he hugs himself in his own ease and cares for nobody. Note,
It is common for those that will not do their duty to pretend they
cannot. I cannot dig, Luke xvi. 3. 2. The prejudice he sustains by his
slothfulness. He himself is the loser by it, for he starves himself: It
grieves him to bring his hand to his mouth, that is, he cannot find in
his heart to feed himself, but dreads, as if it were a mighty toil, to
lift his hand to his head. It is an elegant hyperbole, aggravating his
sin, that he cannot endure to take the least pains, no, not for the
greatest profit, and showing how his sin is his punishment. Those that
are slothful in the business of religion will not be at the pains to
feed their own souls with the word of God, the bread of life, nor to
fetch in promised blessings by prayer, though they might have them for
the fetching.