John Calvin Commentary Luke 12:19

"And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, be merry." — Luke 12:19 (ASV)

Take your ease, eat, drink, enjoy yourself. When he exhorts himself to eat and drink, he no longer remembers that he is a man, but swells into pride by relying on his abundance.

We daily perceive striking instances of this disdainful conduct ²⁷⁰ in irreligious men, who hold up the mass of their riches, as if it were nothing less than a brazen rampart against death. When he says, Eat, my soul, and enjoy yourself, there is an emphatic meaning in this Hebrew idiom; ²⁷¹ for he addresses himself in such a manner as to imply, that he has all that is necessary for gratifying all his senses and all his desires.

²⁷⁰ “D’une telle mecognoissance et fierte;” — “of such ingratitude and pride.”;” — “of such ingratitude and pride.”

²⁷¹ “En ceste locution Hebraique il y a une vehemence et proprie plus que les mots n’emportent de prime face;” — “in that Hebrew form of expression there is greater force and propriety than the words at first sight bear.”;” — “in that Hebrew form of expression there is greater force and propriety than the words at first sight bear.”