And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

but I say unto you, that not even Solomon in all his glory was clothed as one of these.

and yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his magnificence could array himself like one of these.

yet I tell you that even Solomon in all his splendor was not robed like one of these.

Not even Solomon in all his glory This means, that the kindness of God, which is gloriously displayed in herbs and flowers, exceeds all that men can accomplish by their wealth or power, or in any other way. Believers ought to be convinced that, though all means fail, they will want nothing that is necessary for their full satisfaction, provided they continue to enjoy the blessing of God alone. O you of little faith In this respect Christ justly accuses us of deficiency or weakness of faith: for the more powerfully we are affected, according to our own grovelling views, by anxiety about the present life, the more do we show our unbelief, if every thing does not happen to our wish. Many persons, accordingly, who in great prosperity appear to possess faith or at least to have a tolerable share of it, tremble when any danger of poverty presents itself.

Solomon in all his glory - Some suppose that as the robes of state worn by the eastern kings were usually white, as were those of the nobles among the Jews, that therefore the lily was chosen for the comparison.

And yet I say unto you, that even Solomon in all his glory,.... This is a certain truth, to be affirmed in the strongest manner, and to be believed, that not only men and kings too in general; but even particularly Solomon, the richest and most magnificent of all the kings of Israel, whose grandeur, and glory, exceeded all the princes of the earth; that even he, not in his common dress, but when "in his glory", and in "all" his glory, when arrayed with his royal and richest robes, with his crown on his head, and when seated on his throne,
was not arrayed like one of these lilies, or flowers of the field: for the glory and beauty of his garments were purely from art, but their's by nature; which can never be equalled by art. This phrase, "Solomon in all his glory", is the same which the Jewish doctors, in their writings, express by , "Solomon in his hour" (g): that is as their commentators explain it (h), , "in the time of his reign"; for they say he was first a king, and then a private person. Now, not whilst he was a private person, but when a king, in the height of his grandeur and magnificence, and when dressed out in the most splendid manner, he was exceeded in array by a single lily: or the sense is, in his royal apparel. For as the same doctors say,
"what is a man's "glory?" It is his clothing that is his outward glory; and again, garments are the glory of a man (i).''
(g) Misn. Bava Metzia, c. 7. sect. 1. T. Bab. ib. fol. 49. 1. & 83. 1. & 86. 2. (h) Jarchi & Bartenora in ib. (i) Tzeror Hammor, fol. 95. 1. & 99. 4. & 110. 4.

And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these--What incomparable teaching!--best left in its own transparent clearness and rich simplicity.

Even Solomon in all his glory. To the Jew the court of Solomon was the highest representation of human glory. The magnificence of the court is not only celebrated in Jewish writings, but in all Oriental literature, and it is still proverbial throughout the East. Yet he was never arrayed with the taste and beauty of one of these. It is probable that both birds and lilies were in sight from where the Lord was sitting.

Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these - Not in garments of so pure a white. The eastern monarchs were often clothed in white robes.