Solomon here, as often in this book, shows that the poor have in some
respects the advantage of the rich; for, 1. They have a better relish
of their enjoyments than the rich have. Hunger is the best sauce.
Coarse fare, with a good appetite to it has a sensible pleasantness in
it, which those are strangers to whose hearts are overcharged with
surfeiting. Those that fare sumptuously every day nauseate even
delicate food, as the Israelites did the quails; whereas those that
have no more than their necessary food, though it be such as the full
soul would call bitter, to them it is sweet; they eat it with pleasure,
digest it, and are refreshed by it. 2. They are more thankful for their
enjoyments: The hungry will bless God for bread and water, while those
that are full think the greatest dainties and varieties scarcely worth
giving thanks for. The virgin Mary seems to refer to this when she says
(Luke i. 53), The hungry, who know how to value God's blessings, are
filled with good things, but the rich, who despise them, are justly
sent empty away.